"Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. 30 I and My Father are one."
John 10:25-30
Jesus was speaking to the Pharisees, they condemned some of the things He was doing and Jesus answered them “I told you so, yet you do not believe me”. I am not doing this works by the spirit of Bazaleel, I am not doing it by demonic spirits, I am doing it by the power that the Father has given to me”. He said, ‘because you don’t trust, rely on me or believe me’ which means you can only believe on that which you trust and rely upon. It’s not enough to hear someone out, until there’s trust, you might not believe. Until there’s trust, you cannot rely.
Jesus was saying then that the problem with their unbelief is because they don’t trust. As believers, until we trust, we can’t rely. He said to them “the very works I do by my Father’s name are my credentials, they are my evidence.” It means Jesus was saying to them, ‘there is a basis in which you can trust’. For example, many will trust the professor of English when he speaks a particular grammar because he is a professor in that field. The basis of truth here is his credentials. The evidence he has gathered over the years gives us a basis for which we trust. Jesus said to them in verse 26 “But you do not believe and trust and rely on me because you do not belong to the fold.” Why? For someone to trust and rely, the person must belong to the fold.
In verse 27, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” People in the fold of Christ are not accidental people, they are people that hear and are listening. Those that trust and rely are those that hear and listen to my voice. They are not just people that are randomly selected, they are people that have followed the process. They hear, they listen and I know them. When I call them, they hear and they listen. There’s a difference between hearing and listening, it’s not for the sake of tautology. Scriptures says they ‘hear’ and ‘listen’ not ‘or’. They hear and listen and follow.
In verse 28, “And I give them eternal life and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages.” Who is calling you? Because whoever calls you is the voice you will hear and the credentials of whoever calls you will determine your own experience; and your experience is tied to who you are listening to. Jesus said “My own sheep hear my voice so I call them and they hear and they listen and I know them and they follow me. They follow my direction, they follow my leading because they hear and they listen.” The question now is, if it's Jesus calling us, are we hearing Him? Because, for us to be able to trust and rely on Him, we must hear Him.
Until you transit from just hearing to following, you can’t follow Him. The voice of Jesus, many hear it but how many listen? How many follow Him? In the same way, as sheep in the fold of Christ, Jesus is saying to us, many of us hear but how many are actually following? Because when you hear something, you use just your ear, the five senses but when you listen, it takes more than your hearing, it combines with your soul. It talks about attention. You can hear and not give attention to but you can’t listen without giving attention to. So many of us hear Jesus, how many of us are giving attention to Him?
Listen to Podcast: Who Is Calling You: Whose Voice Are You Responding To?
When Jesus was working on the face of the earth, there were many apart from the 12 disciples that came to Him at different points. There was a particular story that the Bible recorded of a rich young man, he came to Jesus and said to Him “How do I get eternal life?” Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matthew 19:21) He heard but did he listen? You don’t listen to Jesus and turn away, you follow. Because the evidence of you listening to Jesus is that your life will follow the instruction of Jesus, your life will follow the direction of His voice. When Paul had an encounter on the road to Damascus, the Bible said ‘there was a great light, all of them saw the light, then the voice came, “then the dialogue started?”
How did we know that Paul listened? He followed the direction of his voice. He went to where He asked him to go. He was found at the location because when God was now talking to Ananias “You will find a man called Paul, when you meet him, he is praying, this is his location.”
Many of us are praying and asking God ‘God, is it that you have not found me?’ And God is looking at you. Are you in the fold? Because the people in the fold are not just the people that hear Jesus, they are the people that listen and follow Him and He said in verse 28 “because they have done this, I give them eternal life” So, it’s not for those that hear, it’s for those that listen and follow. Paul was not anointed on the day he had the encounter with Jesus, he didn’t understand his calling on the day he had the encounter with Jesus. When he followed, he discovered. When he followed, he got anointed and more grace was released to him. So, Jesus now gave him what he needs to fulfill ministry because he followed. His sight that was lost got restored because he followed. His identity that was lost got discovered because he followed. His name was changed because he followed.
Do you know who is calling you? If Jesus is the one calling you, are you listening? Are you just hearing Him? The Bible says we should be good moral agents so you say “I will just be a good guy”, is that what He is saying? Are you listening at all? Because He is saying more than that. He is calling you to a life but you can only enjoy that life and be a partaker of that life if you follow. He said “And they follow and I give them a life that is in me, abundant life and they shall not perish” Do you believe the one that has called you? The one calling you, do you believe Him? Because if you believe Him, you will listen. If the rich man believed in Jesus, he will sell all that he had and actively follow Him.
So, he didn’t rely on Him. Scripture says they that lose their life for my sake will gain it and those that look as if they are gaining it, will be the ones to lose it. So, it is your trust and belief in the one that has called you that will determine whether His instructions will be golden laws on which you will follow or mere suggestions.
A sheep doesn’t argue, he listens and follows. This life is not my own. That’s why apostle Paul said “I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I have this life, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me, so; His word is a law.” Who is calling you? Are you showing trust? Are you relying on the laws of God or you are just relying on yours? If you trust and rely on the one who called you, you will hear His voice daily and listen to what He says and follow His direction, follow His leading, His instruction, His direction.
Who is calling you will determine your repentance, who is calling you will determine your experience. He said I know you, I have already predestined you and I called you. This people are enjoying this transition because they are following and became of the one they are following. God knew you aforetime, he predestined you to come into His fold but it’s not an automatic ticket. You have a part to play. If you don’t play your part, you can’t be equipped by Him. When God called you, how did you answer His call? Did you just hear Him or you listened? Because if you listen you will follow His instructions and you will be able to enjoy that equipping that God has for you.
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Romans 8 verse 29- 30
28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
1 Corinthians 1:28-30
God didn’t call you because you are wise or adequate or equipped, or influential and powerful. God deliberately chose you. The people in the fold of God are not people that are necessarily giants, are not people that necessarily are giant killers from the beginning or have done so much from the beginning. God picks the insignificant of no repute to conform the wise.
Verse 29 says “So that no mortal man should glory in his presence.” That was why when Jesus came, He came from a village that was written off, not having anything good come out of it. “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” That was how bad Nazareth was. This was to proof to us the kind of people God raises. So when God is asking you to do things that in the eyes of men seems impossible, it’s because He wants to show that He is the God of all possibilities. Your trust should not be in your credentials, evidence or the things you have done, it should be in the Lord, the one that has called you.
So we believe, trust, rely and depend on Him because He that called is the one that determine the degree of your equipping, not to the degree of your background. If you need a mansion to do it, He will give you, He will not consult your pastor, background to determine your future. He will consult your purpose and the reason why He has called you; why He has predestined you; then He will use that to glorify you.
Moses entering the palace to be raised by Pharaoh was not a mistake but it was part of the plan. For Moses to be placed in the basket, in the river and to be carried buy Pharaoh’s daughter and Moses’ mother to be called to nurse him was part of the plan. Look at Samuel, when his mother Hannah gave birth to him and rededicated him back to God, even though there was already a prophet in Israel before, he arrived because God called him. It had nothing to do with his background. It had everything to do with the one that called him.
The Bible says by the time Samuel was about to die, none of his words had fallen to the ground. So God does not consult your past to determine your future, He consults your purpose, your predestination. Rely on the one that has called you. Listen to the details of your call and once you have gotten the direction, follow it, follow that leading not following yourself or your reasons. Jesus said to Peter, “Follow me and I will make you.” He didn’t ask Peter to do it on his own. It is the same thing He is saying in John chapter 10 and they followed me and I give them eternal life. A life that cannot be destroyed, a legacy that cannot be destroyed. That’s what I give to those that hear, listen and follow me.
Who is calling you? If it is the Lord Jesus that is calling you, Follow Him! Listen to His voice. Spend time with Him. Listen until you get all that you need to do, and all that He is asking you to do. He is calling you today, He is knocking at the door of your life. He said “I will come in and dine with you”.
Stay Blessed!
