Jesus says that he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold but enters some other way is a thief and a robber. He who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep; the gatekeeper opens the door for him, and the sheep hear his voice and calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
He gathers his sheep and goes ahead of them and they follow him, for they know His voice and they will not follow the voice of strangers for they don't know his voice. Jesus said He is the door of the sheep.
Here we learn that those why do not come through Jesus, but come somewhere other way, this means that those who are not seeking to glorify Jesus but come some other way to seek honour or position for themselves, they are thieves and robbers. We know that thieves do not bless but would; thus we see that if we are seeking to promote ourselves as great servants of God, we will not bless the sheep but hurt and would them. The thieve and robbers think about what they will get for themselves; in the same way, those who do not come seeking Gods glory alone seek for opportunities to take advantage of the sheep, to get money, or honour or sexual pleasure for themselves.
Do you take advantage of those who are under you to get something for yourself from them? Jesus never took advantage of anyone and never sought to get anything from others but instead he always thought of how to bless others without getting anything in return; learn from Him.
The doorkeeper opens and the shepherd enters and the sheep know His voice. The sheep was first a lamb, and it was at that time of growth that it got to know the voice of the shepherd; in the Same way, we must learn to recognise the voice of the true shepherd from our earliest time as Christians; and the voice of the shepherd is written in God's word. One who claims to be a believer and does not read God's word will never know the voice of Jesus; just like a child who grows away from the parents will never know the voice of His parents.
Do you read the bible or do you wait for it to be read for you during the service?
When we develop from lambs to sheep, having been hearing the shepherds voice everyday, we'll get to know His voice and we will follow Him. What He says to us we will obey. He says the shepherd goes before the sheep and they follow him. We learn that the true shepherd is an example not a dictator to the sheep. He does not go behind them with a whip telling them you must do this and that, but goes ahead showing them, "this is the way to do it, learn from me". His mouth is not full of condemning and judging the sheep but is full of encouraging and teaching the sheep. Jer 3:15 says they will feed you with knowledge and understanding. Their speech will be of building up not destroying. The voice of the stranger they will not follow; it's filled with discouragement and condemnation.
Are you a shepherd to those younger to you or a stranger? A shepherd loves and cares but a stranger is only concerned about his own welfare.
You are blessed to be a blessing
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@Blessed Mshindi Mambo
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