Whose voice are you hearing?
Ever since that day, the day where Satan’s voice intruded into the lives of GOD’s Creation nearly 6000 years ago, every Man/woman have struggled to define clearly to themselves: What would it take for us to hear the Voice of GOD in this generation? Would the Voice of GOD differ from the voices of Satan and other fallen angels (demons/spirits), the voice of our Mindsets, and the voices of others who represent the spirits of the world? This is the hour and day of the now generation hearing the Voice of HIS SPIRIT and being BLOWN OVER the face of the earth to be connected to THE CHIEF SHEPHERD and HIS FLOCK.
So how do we handle this Major ISSUE which we are confronted with in this hour, if we are to fulfill our destiny on this earth? Now every issue has an origin, and to align ourselves to this reality, we must find out what GOD’S WORD underlining HIS MINDSET reveals. God’s heart or mind was always to be a PART of HIS CREATION, not apart from HIS CREATION. The distance between GOD and Man/Woman manifested only when Man/Woman decided to LOOK at THEMSELVES rather than THEIR CREATOR.
GOD’s mindset was that HIS CREATION would RELATE to HIM and THROUGH HIM the 5 fold dimension of (Genesis 1.28) would manifest on the earth. {“And GOD blessed them, and said unto them: Be Fruitful and Multiply, and Replenish the earth, and Subdue it, and have Dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth”.}
Through the above, we understand THE MIND OF GOD which was released through HIS THOUGHTS and further released through HIS WORD. So in the 1st chapter of Genesis (The Beginnings), we see how far GOD would go, to bring forth HIS MASTERPIECE of CREATION which was man. (Psalms 8.3-5) says:
{“When I consider the heavens, the work of THY fingers, the moon and the stars, which THOU has ordained; what is MAN, that THOU are mindful of him? And the son of man, that THOU visits him? For THOU have made him a little lower than GOD (ELOHIM), and has crowned him with glory and honour.”}
So GOD re-defined space and time to create the earth, the heavens, day and night, the seas, the stars and the planets, the fish, the birds, the animals, the trees and then chose to CREATE man to enjoy ALL of HIS CREATION. The Bible says in (Genesis 2.7) {“And the LORD GOD F O R M E D man of the dust of the ground, and B R E A T H E D into his nostrils the B R E A T H of L I F E (RUACH HACHODESH –HOLY SPIRIT) and man became a living soul.”}
GOD did all this for 1 single man and later on brought the woman. WHY? Because GOD made man/woman in HIS OWN Image and Likeness. The word OWN is very important, if we need to hear GOD’s VOICE.The word own means Belong to/ Right over/ Set apart/ Integrated. All these meanings summarize one word “HOLINESS”, which also means GOD, is so integrated with HIS WORD and HIS CREATION. Integrated means “BEING ONE” with.
So we also see a RELATIONSHIP between GOD and MAN prevailed over the earth. God from the heavenly realm relating to HIS CREATION- Man on the earthly realm dominating as told to. To relate, GOD brought forth the Man into a PLANTED GARDEN eastward in Eden (ADON) and put him there to dress it and to keep it. (to guard and protect). So an assignment was given to Man and that was -to work. Work means “To go and become what GOD designed man to be”, because the Garden was already Planted by GOD HIMSELF (Genesis 2.9). Another question may arise which is, who watered the garden then? This was done by the river of God in (v.10). So GOD brought HIMSELF to man daily, as man had the genes of GOD in him. Because of this, GOD’s Presence was so important for the man to FUNCTION in his ASSIGNMENT.
So GOD gave Man HIMSELF (HIS PRESENCE), by putting him in Eden (ADON or ADONAI) and assigned him his work. {EDEN or The Garden of HIS PRESENCE}. Hence man got acquainted with GOD and HIS PRESENCE, before the woman was created. This also means that to hear GOD’s VOICE, man had to get 1st acquainted with GOD’s Presence. Subsequently we see that the woman was created and brought to the man. But while creating the woman, GOD put his man to a deep-sleep {A long period of anaesthesia}.
Why did GOD arrange it this way?
First of all, we see that the 1st presence the woman experienced, was the Presence of GOD HIMSELF (Genesis 3.8) and not the man. That’s why until this day, the man finds it difficult to understand his woman. So we can say that both man and woman 1st experienced GOD’s Presence, before they met each other.
What does this imply? That man can live without the woman or vice versa, but not without God’s Presence. So in HIS Presence Man/Woman talked and walked with GOD (See Genesis 3.8). This was the purpose Man/Woman was created, to walk/talk with Their Maker GOD as they BELONGED to HIM ALONE. That’s why GOD JOINED the woman to the man, and they became 1 flesh. (See Genesis 2.24b). Without this joining by GOD, man has found it very difficult to JOIN his woman, causing broken-marriages in the process and manifestations of all types of insecurity’s, and slavery to habits and people .
THE INTRUDER/TRESPASSER CAUSES HIS VOICE TO DIVERT THEM, from their assignment:
The point to note that the 2 most perfect chapters in The Bible are the first 2 chapters of Genesis released by The SPIRIT OF GOD through his servant Moses.
(Genesis Ch.3) begins with the Intruder/Trespasser- Satan or the serpent disguised as an angel of light beguiling the woman. GOD is LIGHT and hence HIS RELATIONSHIP with man/woman had to be in the light –spirit being (1 John.1.5b). To Track down, how Satan trespassed his zone and entered the Presence of God on the earth, we need to go back to (Genesis 1.2) which describes the scene that happened before man/woman was released on the earth.“And the earth was without form, and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And The SPIRIT of GOD moved upon the face of the waters.”
What happened to the earth that was created by GOD?
It was destroyed by the fall of Lucifer (The Morning Star) and 1/3 of the angels (Revelation 12.3,4) on the earth. Scientists claim that a Great Asteroid fell on the earth destroying hence the dinosaurs and other gigantic creatures. But The Bible is explicit about this, as we study (Isaiah 14.4-20) and (Ezekiel 28.2-17). Also (Jeremiah 4.23-27) and (2 Peter 3.5-8).
Why was Lucifer cast down from the heavens?
It’s because he started looking at himself and his beauty. (Ezekiel 28.2-17). Ever since the fall, man/woman started doing the same. The moment one looks at themselves and not to GOD, their Image gets affected and hence they take on the nature of GOD’s enemy- Satan. This is what Satan did, as he came as an angel of light, bringing them from a place of acceptance with God, to a place of rejection, now being deceived into religion and religious acts in order to be accepted both by God and man. Only Paul was able to recognize the subtlety of the enemy, through the revelation he got from The Holy Spirit, in (Galatians 1.6-12) (2 Corinthians 11.3-4, 13-15).
STAGE SET BY Satan to release his word (Voice) to the woman:
If you study Ezekiel 28 and the 1st three chapters of Job, we can have a little glimpse of Lucifer-the fallen angel or the Prince of Tyrus also called Prince of Persia in (Daniel 10.13). So in Genesis 3.1, we see The HOLY SPIRIT through Moses recognizing this fallen-prince. Satan being “the father of lies” (John 8.44) stole the body of the serpent (not snake, which we are lied to by his deceived elect) and being MORE SUBTLE than any beast of the field, which The LORD GOD made, released his lies to the woman.
NOTE Genesis 3. 1-5 speaks only of Satan conversing to the woman. That’s a long conversation by any standards, isn’t it because they had no mobile-phones those days? Where was her Adam that she was joined to? How come she found an-other partner to converse with? Remember there were only 2 of them, the man and the woman on the earth and they were Joined to be ONE, like The TRINITY OF GOD, which meant that they were a part of each other in all things (bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh). They were designed to function like this all the time. God related to them from the heavenly realm and Satan had TO IMITATE GOD’s VOICE in order to speak to the woman on the earth.
What was the serpent doing?
He was releasing his lies (demonic spirits released through words) to the woman. Now I perceive, that Satan did not start talking suddenly to the woman, or then there would be a contradiction to (John 10.3-5). Satan was very familiar in speaking to the woman alone, before the dreadful day. That’s why we see Satan’s tactful questioning of GOD’s Identity and Integrity. But why?
As the master-deceiver Satan sowed seeds of his nature of lies into the woman, he released his master-plan and that was to SEPARATE THE WOMAN FROM HER CREATOR-GOD. This was Satan’s Strategy in dealing with GOD’s Creation – The Woman. Why? Because he wanted the woman to bow down and give ALLEGIANCE in worship to him and accept his rule, thus causing her to be independent from God’s wisdom, and having her own way like the father of lies.
(Incidentally Satan tried this 4000 years later, with the 2nd Adam- JESUS CHRIST. See (Mathew 4.8,9 and Luke 4.5-8).
Hence this was the 1st Breakthrough Satan was allowed to get.
Once the seed was sown, it was not difficult to cause the enmity between the man and woman that GOD joined. This Satan did by allowing his vessel (the woman) to release the FORBIDDEN fruit to her man- Adam. How did the woman become Satan’s vessel? Very simple, by allowing Satan’s seed (his word overruled GOD’s WORD for the 1st time in her) to enter into her spirit, which released already death into her. As she partook of the FORBIDDEN fruit, she gave it to her husband who was with her, and he ate too (Genesis 3.6b). After this we see the consequences that DESTROYED THE EARTH.
The 1st destruction of the earth came through Lucifer and his deceived angels falling –(Genesis 1.2) .
The 2nd destruction of the earth came through the Curses from GOD’s mouth (Genesis 3.17) onto the Creation of GOD, which were deceived by a Strange-GOD called Lucifer. After all isn’t it true, that GOD’s sheep would never hear the voice of a Stranger, then how did this happen?
N O T E: INCIDENTALLY LUCIFER fell when he was in the Presence of GOD, and followed his pattern were our 1st parents Adam and Eve, who too fell when they were in the Presence of Adonai-GOD. So what happened as a result?
Let’s DO SOME REAL D I G G I N G into (Genesis 3.7-11).
1. The EYES of Adam/Eve were opened. Which eyes were opened? Before the fall, their eyes were naturally designed to see GOD ALONE in the spirit, but instead Their SENSUAL EYES which caused them to look at themselves, like the father of lies. Since that day,
a)whatever the Sensual eyes see, they must possess or achieve. (See Proverbs 27.20). This is where most post-graduates, do their doctorate in the lustful issues of life. Be it a career or an ambitious job or owning a vehicle, a house, business or sports, enter-tainment of all kinds or secret issues of computer pornography, idolatry of self arising out of low-image issues causing bossing and manipulating of others etc. many are the destructive means of achieving one’s end. What about LUSTING for the opposite sex, be it anybody? Why do we see the women so badly portrayed in today’s society? Isn’t it that the women through their sensual eyes are trained seducers of their prey? Isn’t it that they have become flesh-traders because they have lost their I M A G E ? Aren’t the women allowing the men to treat them as they choose (reaping what is sown), after all we are in a MAN’s WORLD?
b) Another major issue that arises when the sensual eyes are opened, man/woman look at each other. Now they start looking down on others, and hence criticize them or accuse/point the finger syndrome, hence starting the ministry of the self-righteous Pharisee. We see much of this (it’s called mud-slinging) in today’s churches. Guess what, much of this type has even over-flowed into the world from the so-called Church-Pharisees, and hence we have many hyped- up Pharisees all over, in many a private company. Sadly this is a Malignant and Contagious Cancer, which JESUS CHRIST dealt with. That’s why CHRIST encountered these Pharisees mostly in churches (those days synagogues) . See how JESUS CHRIST handled this spirit in the synagogue. Please search (John.8.2-12).
Paul prayed for the church (men/women) that THE EYES OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING BE OPENED/ENLIGHTENED …….. (Ephesians 1.18-23). This is the eyes of the spirit, not sensual eyes.
2. They KNEW that they were naked. Adam and Eve were not designed to Know about their Nakedness, as they were CLOTHED (Covered) with the GLORY OF GOD all over them in the spirit realm. (See Genesis 2.25)
So how did the Sensual Knowledge of their Minds open up? Remember The Forbidden Fruit was to make One wise outside the wisdom of GOD. The wisdom of GOD was sufficient for all who operate in the spirit.
Incidentally, the moment their knowledge-realm opened up, they were chased out of GOD’s Presence. (See Genesis.3.23).Because of this suddenly Adam and Eve had to MAKE THEIR OWN WAY for their survival, and for the 1st time we see ANOTHER WAY open it’s operation. The best Adam/Eve with their children did was to try and reach GOD now by their FORBIDDEN MINDS, which was the RESULT of Partaking from the Forbidden fruit. GOD is a Spirit and they that worship Him, (Living Sacrifice) must worship Him in Spirit and Truth. (John 4.24).
How could Adam/Eve who partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good/Evil, partake of A RIGHTEOUS GOD?
How could FALLEN MAN/WOMAN be RECONCILED to A HOLY and RIGHTEOUS GOD?
So the best Man/Woman could do was to MESS UP through their Master- plan in RAISING A Tower of Babel (from their own Sensual Knowledge) (Genesis 11.1-9), and until this day Every Man/Woman have raised their O W N Tower of Babel, be it in the world or in the church. In the world they either call it the Tallest Building / Tallest Tower / Tallest Bridge etc. In the church they call it slightly different, after all wasn’t the Gate of the Temple (the Outside) in Acts.3 called Beautiful? even though the Temple (Inside) wasn’t. JESUS CHRIST’S church has got into THE MEGA spirit, and missed out on THE ALPHA and THE OMEGA Spirit (Revelation 1.11a).
Sadly like the Ishmaelites that were raised by Abram, today’s Abraham’s have been re-converted to Abram’s, and hence raising a Ishmaelite generation in the church, like themselves rather than Isaac’s.
Abram was an Idolater and was called out by GOD from the Chaldees, and his family, and his father’s house, to the land GOD chose - Canaan. As GOD found in Abram the heart of obeDIEnce, GOD Transformed Abram the idolater into Abraham, the father of nations by releasing a NEW NAME to him. As said earlier because of our sensual knowledge not destroyed, we still tend to go back to the Spirit of Idolatry, (where Abram was called out from) only now our names, our ministries, our gifts and our churches, and our degrees in theology etc. our TV programmes have dominated and taken over . The NAME OF JESUS CHRIST today is used by many for the Merchandising of their CD’s, their DVD’s demonstrating their Programmes on Ishmael, and how many Ishmael’s have got saved. No wonder it may take even more than 2000 years to see another Paul or a John or a Peter being raised in a day of compromise. ( Jude 1.3-25).
Through the sensual knowledge man/woman started EXPLORING the Moon, Mars etc, and took great pride in their achievements, but ask the same man/woman (even though they have gone in space etc.) to bring LIFE into the smallest of all seeds i.e. Mustard seed, and you will see the Brilliant Educated Fool manifest. No wonder our churches have been over-taken by the universities of education. To catch up with the world, now we match the universities by our bible-colleges and cemetaries (seminaries) etc. Today ready-made packages on our instant computerized sermons/messages have suppressed the longing of GOD’s HEART, and that is Dependence on HIM ALONE. (Proverbs 3.5-7). It’s always been this way since 300 A.D., since the clouds of the dark ages. But the TRUE SHEPHERD of our souls is coming back, and if so HE would cause HIS JUDGEMENT first to come upon His Bride – The church, because her assignment was to Be Prepared for the BRIDE-GROOM’S coming. ( 1 Peter 4.17,18).He would separate the wheat from the tares (Mathew 13.29-30) and like a True Shepherd He would separate the goats from His sheep. (Mathew 25.32-46).
3. They sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Do you remember it was the Fig-Tree many years later that was CURSED by JESUS CHRIST (See Mathew 11.13-21). Why was it cursed, because it was not fruitful, and this was because the ground was already under the curse from (Genesis 3.17). So even the leaves of this fig-tree was cursed. Everything that was connected was also under the curse.
Who else was there in the garden that made them hide from and why did they need to cover their nakedness? As I said earlier, Satan’s Master plan was to Separate the woman from GOD, but now the most important breakthrough he got was after this.
For the 1st time, the woman learnt to hide from the man, and the man from the woman. They who were joined Together as 1 flesh, now two-gether opened the door for the Curse in (Mathew 19.6 … which says: Wherefore they are NO MORE 2, but 1 flesh. What therefore GOD has JOINED TO-GETHER, let no man put asunder (separate). So it was the man who separated from the woman, whom GOD brought and hence until this day Most men/women especially in the church have brought FORTH the CURSE into being.
What is this cursed issue that has been brought forth?
It is 2 fold: a) (Genesis 2.24 related to Mathew 19.6) Man should have left his father/mother (not just physically, but from the unwanted dominion and control of his parents sensual knowledge), causing him to NOW Cleave to His wife to become the 1 flesh ordained by GOD, now Reverts the order of GOD, and leaves his wife to be cleaving to his father/mother or for that matter with somebody else in the family as a substitute. This can be on either the husband or the wife’s case in one’s marriage. That is how most In-law issues, are the Primary cause of Marriage Strife/Quarrel and Ultimately Breaking into Divorce. If they don’t cleave to them, then it would be to the children, or even colleagues. All this stems out of Roots of Rejection and one now longs for acceptance from GOD.
b) (Genesis 3.16)Unto the woman GOD said, I will greatly MULTIPLY your sorrow and your conception. In sorrow shall you bring forth children, and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall RULE over you. (Now please read also Psalms127.1-5 & Psalms 128.3-6) and how GOD brings HIS mercy into them. Sadly in the church today we still see both these curses prevailing, as most Religious Leaders have chosen to struggle in their own marriages, out of Ignorance of GOD’s Standard. See the purpose of a GODLY MARRIAGE found in (Malachi 2.13-15) and that is to raise up a Godly Generation. This is the Primary Responsibility of the Husband who is the Prophet, Priest and King of His House. Today if a believer marries another believer in a Church, they call it the will of GOD. Just because they have a earthly realm of witnesses, does it mean that the cloud of heavenly witnesses (Hebrews 12.1) have recorded this joining? No wonder the world is catching up with the divorce rate in the church. Please understand that DIVORCE is an Attitude of the Mind-set caused by extreme pain in the emotions, and can manifest in many ways. You can relate to your spouse even though your mind has already separated from her. You can relate in a church to others, even though you are separated inside in your heart from them. Divorce or Separation can manifest in ANY FORM of RELATIONSHIP even with and from children.
The Greatest SOLUTION to all the above is “(Mathew 6.12,14,15) a heart of GOD’s FORGIVENESS to anyone and everyone. That’s why JESUS could teach in (Mathew 5.23-26) how to deal with one’s enemy.
4. They hid themselves from the Presence of the LORD GOD amongst the trees in the garden. (Psalms 139.1-12) says: O Lord, You have searched me and known me………How can the clay hide from The Potter and how can the clay say: The Potter can’t see me, that’s why HE can’t understand what’s happening to me?
Today because of THE SENSUAL KNOWLEDGE released from the Tree of Knowledge of Good/Evil, man has chosen to HIDE from HIS MAKER amongst the trees. In the world, man/woman have chosen to hide among the trees of Career, Job Ambition/Promotion, Education, Sex and Illicit Relationships redefining Homosexuality and Lesbianism.
Paul calls the same as Inordinate affections caused by reprobate minds (Romans.1.18-32) . Man/woman also built towers and monuments of themselves to hide in Profession and the Field of Knowledge ( except the TRUE knowledge that comes from GOD and HIS WORD) and Academics and hence a generation of Workaholics who chose to hide from their woman, always finding another woman to look at, to complain about the 1st woman, and vice versa. It’s always somebody else’s vehicle, house, goods, spouse and job that look better and greener in pasture. Of course in the church it’s nothing better, after all much of the plastic stuff and masks in the churches are from the world itself. It’s sad that the bureaucracy of the world’s system has entered most churches, and hence instead of THE RULE OF JESUS CHRIST and HIS KINGDOM, we have abuse of every form from the elders level, to the children of the elders etc.. Most churches today have settled down for this pattern which gives them acceptance with everyone.
In the book of (Acts Ch.4.13) the Word says: Now when they (the scribes/the rulers/the elders and the kindred of the high priest) saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were UNLEARNED and IGNORANT men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them (Peter and John), that they had been with JESUS. No wonder in the previous chapter Peter and John could say: Silver and Gold we have none, but what we have we give to you. In the Name of JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth, rise up and walk…………. What a contrast of today’s Peter’s and John’s and what they carry?
5. I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid. God’s voice to them was their GLORY until now. So how did fear enter in?
The answer is very simple The VOICE which was life until now will become DEATH, because Adam/Eve are owned by the rebellious serpent- Satan and his nature dwells in them. GOD’s Voice will be terror to the wicked, who are used to hearing the voice of the father of lies. Satan’s voice is manifested through a) the voice of the world coming to us, b) the voice of our flesh (mind) and c) the voice of demons/spirits summed up in lies of every kind. Fear will always manipulate one’s life, when the serpent’s nature enters in. No wonder in the Old Testament, GOD exalts us not TO FEAR 365 times and Paul exhorts Timothy in (2 Timothy 1.7) “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind.”
GOD’s KEY for breaking the spirit of fear is found in (1 John.4.18,19) There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. Paul challenges the Ephesian church to PUT ON the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil and to TAKE the Shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. (Ephesians 6.11,16). I’m sure to Put On something, one must remove what he’s already using. The armour are not Special Designer Clothes from the Roman army, they are the fruit of the spirit awaiting to manifest in the saints daily lives.
They are:
a) there must be a girding of the Spirit of Truth, to bring truth all around us. Truth is our WAISTLINE. (John 15.3 and John 17.17).
b) the spirit of Righteousness to always be part of our breast. (always before our eyes) “Now there was leaning on Jesus’ bosom (breast) one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved”. Jesus’ love always manifests on one’s who have learnt to Lean on Him. Paul explains this in Romans.4,5,6 and in (2 Corinthians 5.21) “ For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Christ).”
c) the preparation of the gospel of Peace on our feet (Nahum 1.15) The heart and mouth should be always prepared to release the FREE Gospel of The Kingdom. Sadly we find the mouth and the heart speaking two different dimensions amongst so many a believer today. This has happened because of deception and compromise, starting from leaders who are not able to demonstrate what they preach.
d) taking the helmet of Salvation, which is identifying our thought life and pulling down every knowledge that exceeds the knowledge of God in our mind-sets. Dealing with curses of fear, unbelief, negativisms, and other strongholds that have prevailed in one’s life, as they were not confronted.
e) and the Sword of The Spirit which is The Word of God, this is the only OFFENSIVE weapon among all the weapons given, the others have a Defensive Mechanism in each of them. So how important is this in each of our lives, but for what was the armour given to the saints?
f) for Praying always with all prayer and supplication (petitions) in the Spirit and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. So this war is between the enemy and his demonic forces on one side, and the Holy Spirit and the saints on the other side. It’s a battle between the flesh and the spirit-life individually. So the armour of God was meant for those who are willing to stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
WHY IS ALL THIS EXPLANATION NEEDED, after all aren’t we dealing with whose voice are we hearing ? All the above issues of life/curses caused to Adam/Eve and their subsequent behaviour patterns were dealt with totally, by JESUS CHRIST on The Cross on our behalf.
Jesus always had a pattern of Releasing His Word to the disciples. He always drew their attention firstly to the earthly standards prevailing among men, and then He would bring in The Heavenly Kingdom dimension.
We see in (Mathew 6.1-18) Jesus speaking first of the way the religious system of his day operated, how they gave what they have and why, how they prayed and why, and how they fasted and why. Then He released the Heavenly Dimensions of The Father on the earth, and this is why He came to earth TO REVEAL THE FATHER to each of mankind, the method used was The Reconciliation by The Cross.
Jesus said in (John 10.1-3) Truly, Truly I say unto you, He that Enters not by the Door (Jesus –John.10.9) into the sheepfold, but climbs up some Other way, the same is a thief and a robber. So according to this verse, we see there are 2 types of shepherds:
1) the True Shepherd and
2) the Hireling who is a Thief/Robber.
To understand this further, lets look at (John 10.9) which says: “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture”. So the shepherd is one who has already been saved by entering the door himself, and then he goes in and out and is able to find the pasture not only for himself, but for the others he’s willing to lead. Saved means “sozoe” which means total Order of God, nothing lacking, nothing incomplete, total control over all issues in life, operating in success all the time because of the spirit-man and God’s Word’s ruling from His Kingdom. So let’s compare the ministry of the shepherd and the hireling in the words of The CHIEF SHEPHERD – OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Before we look at the ministry of The Good Shepherd, let’s closely look at the Hireling who normally claims to be a shepherd, but is a wolf in sheep’s clothing: Jesus said in (Mathew 7.13-15) : “Enter you in by the Straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction and M A N Y would go therein, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life and F E W there be that F I N D it.
Immediately after this, Jesus says: Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. So who is this false prophet Jesus is referring to? They are not shepherds, but wolves dressed up as sheep. So the false prophet claims to be a sheep, and claims even to be the mouth-piece and hearer of God’s voice. One important characteristic in a wolf is it’s interested in it’s own agendas, and not the shepherds. It’s main game is to hide and pretend to be one of the sheep, and tries to mingle in the sheep-fold not to build others, but eat them sometimes even slowly when opportunity strikes. So who would the wolf target? Most often the shepherd, because if the shepherd is smitten, then the sheep scatter easily and become a prey. In a day of EASY CHRISTIANITY, it’s not difficult to detect such wolves converted to sheep, that is why we must see the fruit of such wolf turned sheep. Also in (Mathew 25.31-46) we see there are not merely sheep, but there are goats. What’s the main distinction between a sheep and a goat? Sheep are known to be Dumb, and hence they need the shepherd’s voice all the time to guide, lead and feed them. They are irresponsibly easily distracted by other voices, and that is how we have Isaiah 53.6 speak of their nature. Whereas goats are very adamant, and have to be dealt with and delivered. Goats always B U T, and so we could see a lot of butting in the vocabulary of goats. They have to be guided also by the shepherd, but are very independent in nature. But in the passage (Mathew 25.) the main difference between the goats and sheep, were both the goats and sheep had similar opportunities in their life to demonstrate who they belong to. Secondly it’s what the sheep did, and what the goats didn’t do, notice where the King placed them in the judgement. Sheep on His right, but goats were placed on the left. Notice the excuses goats give, and see how the sheep responded in similar situations.
Now lets look at the hireling in John 10. and see the similarities between the wolf turned sheep in Mathew 7. goats in Mathew 25., and the hireling from John 10.
v.1 – The hireling does not KNOW the Door (JESUS CHRIST) and always climbs other ways. Jesus calls the hireling a robber and a thief. (See v.7/8 also) So what do these hirelings steal? They steal the life of the sheep which the shepherd lays down, they steal the inheritance of the sheep, and ultimately destroy the blessing and destiny of the sheep. Now JESUS refers here not only to the hireling, but the sheep/goats who do not ENTER THE DOOR of the sheepfold. Notice there is a SHEEPFOLD, and in today’s terminology it would mean HIS CHURCH, and also note the word climb.(Climb always refers to struggle in the flesh, human ability and own understanding, resulting from not hearing the shepherd’s voice).
v.5- The voice/voices of hirelings are always strange, and here JESUS says about HIS sheep, that they will not a) hear the voice of a stranger b) they will not follow c) they will flee from him. Notice the sequence, so we find that the hireling/ other sheep & goats only are concerned of their own agendas and strategy. They don’t reproduce other sheep, as they are mostly unhealthy or hurt/wounded. In their independence, their isolation opens the door to other seemingly similar but strange voices.
v. 10 – The thief comes not, but to steal and to kill and to destroy. This is a very vital issue in this age of compromise and easy programmes. As sheep are dumb, they are vulnerable to so many voices that satisfy their sensual knowledge. Otherwise how did Lucifer the morning star influence 1/3 of God’s angels in God’s presence and how do you think he would be operating in this hour? The simple logic that surfaces, is if one is hearing God’s voice, then where’s the life and abundant life, Jesus promised? Is HIS abundant life visible to the people around me? It could be the voice of one’s religious mindset, or the voice of the world, or the voice of demonic spirits. What I noticed is that most sheep struggle to hear the Voice of God genuinely, and the few who breakthrough don’t know how to separate themselves from the other voices that dominate. Merely reading the Bible or opening the Bible to our pet-verses doesn’t qualify one to hear God’s Voice. God’s Voice is only heard by my spirit, not my mind, however sincere I may be. Hence my mind has to stay/abide in God’s Word as much as possible, to recognize God’s voice in different situations of life. We cannot switch on or switch off when we choose to, but we must position ourself accurately to Hear God.
v.12,13 – This is the most visible characteristic of hirelings, as they don’t O W N the sheep. As the sheep are not related to the hireling, the hireling would always escape in the midst of adversity. The hireling must run for his own agendas, his own strategy, his own life and life’s ambitions, as he’s not responsible for the growth or food of the sheep. In fact he may even risk in using the sheep or the sheep’s life to get his own food, comfort or protection. He wouldn’t mind if the sheep get scattered, when he runs and leaves them in the hands of the devourer. Most hirelings only do what they are told, as they are paid to get the job done. They are mostly ruthless and selfish in their ambitions, and hence there would never be a sense of belonging or protection to the sheep. The hireling would not care or have any concern for the sheep. Most hirelings today are secure in their positions over the sheep, as they use force or manipulative devices to control the sheep.
What does the True Shepherd do with His sheep?
v.1 - He enters by the door, and surely would expect his sheep to follow the same way.
v.3 - The porter (door-keeper) opens the door of the sheep-fold, as he’s been entrusted to watch over the shepherd’s sheep, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls them by name and leads them out. What does this tell you/me? The shepherd in this case takes the responsibility for His sheep totally, and there is a distinct Relationship between the Shepherd and the sheep. Amazing He’s involved in KNOWING each sheep by Name.
What does this mean for you/me today? When GOD named Adam, Adam was totally under the authority of Jehovah. The animals, birds and fish were likewise named by Adam and hence he had authority over them. Sadly after the curse Adam names Eve, and she comes under Adam’s responsibility/authority. Now when JESUS the CHIEF SHEPHERD calls us by NAME, we are under HIS TOTAL RULE and AUTHORITY, and It’s HIS responsibility to lead us after this.
NOTE: We don’t bring GOD into our O W N programmes, but instead ask HIM what HE REQUIRES in and from us.
v.4 – He puts forth His O W N sheep – He aligns them into His Order with much care, after all HE would surely want the sheep to be Productive. This is called the FORMATION of the Sheep’s Hearing Device (FSHD).This involves much diligence and training as sheep are characterized by dumbness, especially in hearing voices. He goes before them and the sheep follow Him. In Jewish and other Eastern countries, shepherds always LEAD their sheep, thus the sheep find it easy to follow their footsteps. But sadly if you are in India, you will see all opposites, the shepherd mostly follow or chase the sheep, the Indian spade/shovel has been made to face us, but on the contrary elsewhere we see the opposite. Perhaps this is the reason, why the sheep go the opposite way easily, as they choose the easier way and that is, following their shepherds. They know His Voice – In v.3 we see Jesus speaking of His sheep hearing His Voice. Now He’s talking about further in-depth relationship and familiarity in Knowing His Voice. Knowing His Voice comes through much severing from other similar voices. The enemy doesn’t mind you hearing your shepherd, and he would do all to keep you in that realm, so that you wouldn’t rise up and get to know THE TRUE SHEPHERD’S VOICE. But those who have been trained to hear, and know The True Shepherd, would rise and go beyond and ultimately be His Voice to the people.
v.7,9 – I am The Door of the sheep. By me IF ANY man enters in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and shall find pasture. Jesus said once to Nicodemus in (John.3.5) – Except a man be born of Water and of The Spirit, he cannot ENTER into the kingdom of God. Somebody commented on a spelling mistake : “Pasture or Pastors”. Today it’s easy to find pastors but not pasture, until The Door is part of one’s everyday life. It’s surprising how people can hear GOD’s Voice on Sunday’s, when they are dominated by all other voices from Monday to Saturday in the offices/ family pressure etc. When we see the fruit, we’ll surely understand who was speaking. In today’s church-circles we find the strong voice of Religion and Religious Christianity dominating believers and even many leaders as they’re merely looking for an arena to get acceptance from other like-minded believers. The sheep have a grazing ground under the watchful eyes of the Chief Shepherd to go in and out and find pasture. Note the sheep that enter in the Door, will move in this dimension.
v.10,11 – I am the Good Shepherd; the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. Peter in his epistle in 1 Peter 5.2-4 says: “Feedthe flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight (the overseer’s assignment) thereof not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind. Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being an example to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.” I have witnessed the opposite in many a case, where shepherds expect their sheep to lay down their lives for them, as they hide in the title of being a God’s servant. Jesus’s heart in releasing life, is not merely to have it, but have it more abundantly. God’s lavishing demonstration of the shepherd’s heart. What we have, we give to others automatically? Is it life and life in all its abundance, or is it knowledge that destroys. For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. (2 Corinthians 3.6b)
v.14 – I am the Good Shepherd and know My sheep, and am known of mine. There is a BOND between the Good Shepherd and His sheep. One thing to note that with the Good Shepherd, all sheep are seen the same way, there are no special guests among sheep. Today office-titles have separated the sheep from their shepherd, and hence the Bond is not there in one’s relationship, as we see the spirit of the world enter in. What was designed to equip the saints for the works of the ministry, now have received pre-eminence because of the nature of the titles thereof. There is a great need of laying down not only our lives, but our titles to see the sheep grow. If The Master laid down His life for His sheep, I think the pattern must be followed today too. It’s important to know The Good Shepherd, but it’s more important to be known (Heb.Yadha- intimately and passionately Know) of Him. (Mathew 7.21-23).
v.16 - And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. This heart would be surely released in sons who have learnt to answer the prayer of (John.17.6-14). At this moment it seems that there’s so much division on various issues, but the day is near, where we would see the fulfillment of Jesus’s prayer, we would see how The Father would honour the Son’s Prayer. Many sheep need to come into the fold of God, where The Chief Shepherd rules and reigns from high and there will be God’s Order in His Bride as the sheep will hear His Voice. What a day will it be, where we could see only 1 fold and 1 shepherd, no religious bosses around please.
v.27,28 – My sheep hear My voice and I know them, and they follow me. This is the 4th time Jesus is emphasizing about hearing His Voice, so then the key to walking with JESUS CHRIST is hearing His Voice ALONE. The problem is not about His Voice, but when we hear other voices that have not become strange to us, even though the symptoms of death are lingering around. What about voices of loved ones, or relatives in the flesh? What about the voices of colleagues, or fellow workers in the office? What about the voices of the flesh, the world and demons/spirits which we would face daily? The list goes on, and until the sheep have learnt to distinguish The Voice of God, (not the voice of God coming through a Christian sooth-sayer, or a prophet or even a servant of God), deceptive mind-sets would claim that GOD spoke to them. How we love to use God’s name for our game. Mostly it is Christian fortune-telling that has dominated many a believer to not hear the Voice of God for himself/herself, as it’s too hot. So we now go to our PET-MEDIATORS to either prophesy or prophelie the voice of God to us. This is the curse of the 21st century, but was birthed by the Israelites in the wilderness.
See (Exodus 20.18-19) & (Deuteronomy 5.24-27) . This type works on a lottery basis, if it works in their favour, they claim that it was God’s Will, and if it doesn’t work in their favour, they say it was not God’s will. These are the religious spirits that have dominated many a church-life and destroyed what God would want. Very often I’ve learnt in hearing God’s voice directly from Him, I found that God would not speak what I like to hear or want. Most often it would be the opposite. If God’s voice was so common, why is there so much confusion amongst the same believers of any given church? The answer is simple: That God spoke to Abram when he was 75 years old, and to Moses when he was eighty. This should let us know God’s strategy in this hour concerning HIS VOICE. Brethren believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God; because many anti-Christ’s are gone out into the world, and they went out from the church (1 John.4.1 and 1 John. 3.19a). Jesus promised the sheep Eternal life, and He would plant them in His hand, where no man can pluck them out. That’s how not only our name is written on God’s Palm, but the sheep of His pasture are also placed in His hand. What an assurance to know that we belong to HIM and Rest in this truth, and we can bring Him pleasure by just being with HIM. This is above all ministry to man, this is His heart for His sheep.
We have Today Entered the Season of Leaping (no more so-called Christian activity, unwanted connections and soul-ties).
It was true that there was a Season of Waiting upon The LORD, and Looking at THE BURNING BUSH for all answers, but that was another day, another season, another dimension. It's GOD that Called out to MOSES from the Burning Bush, but that happened only when he had to TURN AWAY from his ministry ( shepherding his father-in law Jethro's sheep), Turn away and Climb Upwards alone (leaving his loved ones who were in the way) to rise up to Mount Sinai.(Exodus 3.1-5)
Prior to this, GOD stripped him of the honour of representing Egypt (God’s Enemy), stripped him beyond ANY RECOGNITION, by sending him out of the place of his comfort (the palace), even out from his own people as now he became a Destructor of Life (the spirit of anger and murder manifested), stripped him of ALL HIS LEADERSHIP qualities by making him a LONER in a wilderness called sin for a VERY SHORT PERIOD of 40 years.
Remember WHOM NOBODY WANTS, GOD DOES. Now the biggest part was the CHANGE of Moses’ name. HE was no more called Moses, but THE DELIVERER. When GOD changes a name, THE HIGHEST ORDERED ASSIGNMENT is released from heaven.
eg. Moses - Deliverer, Abram-Abraham, Simon-Peter and Saul-Paul the stalwarts of the old and new testament. How much does GOD need to strip from you and me to change our names? (Read Rev.3.12)
GOD spoke to Moses of HIS ASSIGNMENT only after HE POSITIONED himself to a meeting with THE I AM on God’s territory, not Moses’s terrain.. That is why eventually MOSES had to come to the place of asking GOD: WHO AM I? WHY ME LORD?
While Moses was a leader he didn't know how to ' STAMMER ', but when he came before HIS TRUE LEADER- THE ' I AM ', his eloquence and leadership was stripped. No more the flamboyant macho-man who led Egypt, was required, in fact he even noticed he was weak in age and strength.
What a place for the birthing of TRUE LEADERSHIP?
In fact as though this was not enough, Moses was commanded to REMOVE HIS SANDALS, as he was standing on holy ground. True Leadership is brought forth when we come onto GOD'S TERRAIN, not ours.
Remember being a shepherd he needed 3 things: Sound,(Voice)Sandals and Staff.
Sound : The Shepherd's Voice has to be distinct from all other voices, as he's not like the hireling (John.10.1-16.) So GOD was already training Moses to be the shepherd of the nation, just like David many years later.
Sandals : speaking of Alertness from enemy's schemes, very watchful to seek even the lost to nurture, feed, and see them restored. (Ezekiel 34.11,12)
Staff : speaking of Authority and Protection. Leads the sheep into paths of righteousness and comfort , also speaks of Human Strength and Ability.
God would want Moses to remove his sandals (so he doesn't run away from HIS PRESENCE to handle the sheep).God had CALLED Moses out of his earthly assignment, out of being a shepherd of sheep, to a HIGHER TASK and that is NATION DELIVERER. We have heard that without God we could do nothing, but GOD says HE would not work without man today.
THROW the staff down and immediately it turned into a serpent.
NOTE THIS: everything in our hands have the serpent nature, that's why it has to be cast down. Now GOD says: to Moses 'Pick up the rod- turned- serpent by the tail (the exact opposite our minds would tell us) .As soon as Moses did so, the serpent turned back to the rod, but I MAJOR THING happens, the ownership of the rod has changed. It is no more Moses’ staff (Rod), but now it becomes The ROD of GOD. GOD would want O W N E R S H I P over ALL HE has given to us, after all isn't it HIS anyway? WE can bring TO HIM only what HE has given us.
Now this happened to Abraham also, when he was asked to (OFFER) CRUCIFY HIS ONLY SON ISAAC at Mt. Moriah (Golgotha) in (Gen.22.). Here also Abraham had to leave his servants behind, as he climbed with his only sheep (Isaac for offering). It happened to Simon, converted to Peter(Lk.5.8) and to Saul, converted to Paul (Acts.9.5-9) in The New Testament.
WHAT ABOUT YOU, WHOSE VOICE IS EASY TO HEAR? Let this release challenge you to re-define the loving voice of The True Shepherd, so that you would not be a victim of the enemy, but a victor over the enemy. (Romans.16.20,25). Praise God.
