Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, I want to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
Imagine yourself going in for a job interview, but when you got there, there were approximately fifteen other people who were in line applying for the exact same position. When your name was finally called, you sat down for your interview with the manager, but after a few minutes, you realized that you really didn’t like him very much. When the interview was completed, he thanked you for coming in, but kindly explained that you weren’t exactly the candidate that they were looking for. As you left the store you became infuriated because a lot of your friends worked at that store, and you wanted to be part of the same team. When you got home, you decided to go around the manager, usurping over him, and wanted to talk to somebody higher up in the company in order to secure the job. Well, it just so happened that your dads high school friend was the owner of that company, so you decided to use that influence and go directly to him, and go around the manager of the store. When you talked to the owner on the phone, he told you that any hiring decision for his company belonged to the manager, and to him alone. After a few minutes of begging for the job, he said, I trust this manager very much, because my son knows what he’s doing.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
In order to obtain eternal life with the heavenly Father, you cannot go around or usurp over His only begotten Son Jesus, because the only way you can enter in is by following Christ and His teachings. The Father will not allow access to paradise unless you come through His Son Those who try to go around Jesus and the doctrines of our faith, are nothing more than thieves.
John 10:1-11 (KJB) Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep..To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. Iam the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
In the military, they don’t like it when you try to go around or over those who have direct authority over you. A private doesn’t usurp over their commanding officer in order to talk to the general, because they expect you to go through the proper channels. Those who do this usurp authority, which is exactly what the devil did to God, when he led Eve astray in the Garden of Eden. He placed himself above God. The Apostle Peter once did the same thing to Christ Jesus, and Jesus said, get behind me Satan. It’s exactly like a wife who refuses to submit to her husband, or children who will not submit to their dad. These actions are caused by a rebellious nature which God hates, and without repentance damnation wil surely follow.
Maybe some of you can think of a time when you paid for a wristband to get into the county fair, and you got to ride on any ride that you wanted for just one price. But when you were riding the ferris wheel, you watched as people climbed over the chain link fence in order to get into the fair. Eventually when people found out about it, all of them were ejected from the park. This happened because they refused to go through the ticket counter. Our Lord Jesus is our ticket to heaven, and the only way to paradise is through Him, and those without a ticket will be expelled at judgement day.
The Apostle Paul was set forth as an undershepherd of Christ to watch over the church, and he was well aware that if he was wasn’t around, or even if he passed away, grievous wolves were waiting to show up in order to ruin or break up the church. As soon as Paul was out of the way, they would quickly appear. Those who do such things are Satan’s ministering devils. Many people hated Paul and the disciples of the Lord. People hated Jesus without a cause and wanted Him crucified on a cross. Why such hatred? Because they themselves refuse to submit and obey the God of all authority and the creator of Heaven and Earth. The devil has been usurping God since the very beginning. He is a deceiver and rebellious, and refuses to repent of his own wickedness, but his time is short and Jesus will destroy him with great vengeance. The Lord will battle against him with the sword of His mouth and the brightness of His coming. The devil will be devoured and consumed in the righteousness of our Lord, and he will have nowhere to run except into the depths and damnation of hell fire, along with all those who embody the same spirit. True undershepherds of the Lord are given to the church to protect the sheep of God, by guiding and instructing you in the will of God and the teachings of our faith.
Years ago people would rustle cattle and steal horses, and when they stole, they didn’t go to the owner of the animals, they simply jumped over the fence and robbed them. The devil is at work today trying to rob sheep from the church. The devil doesn’t want you to follow and obey Christ, but follow him and his rebellious ways. Sheep represent people in the church, and a shepherd stands guard over the sheep. James, John and the other Apostles stood watch over the church as under-shepherds of the Lord. Their purpose was to protect the sheep from those who were trying to destroy their faith. When a wolf tried to attack the sheep, they had better watch out, because men of God were ready to thump them on the head with the two-edged Sword of God’s Holy Word. The Ministers of Christ would also cry out to Jesus to fight their battle for them, and He would come swiftly to their aid, just as He did for Moses and the Israelites. I guarantee you that those who choose to rebel, and refuse to repent of their wicked works will be utterly consumed by eternal fire, and eternally destroyed from the presence of God. The true sheep listen to Christ, and the refusal to accept His teachings only proves one thing, that certain people were never really a part of His flock. They claim Jesus is their Shepherd but they refuse to follow His teachings. Why would you call Him your Shepherd but won’t follow or do what He says?
In the civil war, they would recognize the sound of the trumpet, which called soldiers to a specific action. For many years I had a trumpet hanging on the side of our home. When I blew it, the children recognized that it was me calling them, and they would return obediently back to the house. A shepherd also had distinct calls for his sheep that they would recognize, and come quickly back to the shepherd. The point is that the sheep of God listens and obeys Christ Jesus, who calls each of us to a life of obedience to the teachings of Holy Scripture.
John 10:27 (KJB) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
To follow Christ means to obey Him and the teachings of Scripture, and those who claim otherwise are tares among the wheat, and the children of the devil. Remember that you might be able to get around a pothole on the highway. You might be able to get around a fallen tree on a four wheeler trail. You may even be able to portage your canoe around a waterfall, but there is one thing that nobody will ever be able to get around come judgment day, it is our Lord Jesus Christ and His everlasting teachings.
Some people might want to get a job so bad, that they will usurp over the one who is in charge of hiring, but when it comes down to biblical truth, you can’t usurp over it; you can’t go underneath it, and it is for certain that you will never be able to,….
……Go around it.
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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