The Voice of My Shepherd

If we can see past our circumstances and catch a glimpse of what God has for us, the path we are on will either lead us there or maybe we need to change directions.  

My dad told me a story last night of when he first came to the LORD and was looking for a church.  He and my mom visited some churches until one day he was listening to the radio and heard Pastor Earl Cox of Virginia preach.  Dad said he went home and told mom that he knew where they belonged. He told me that he heard the voice of his shepherd.  These words have been rolling around in my mind this morning.  Hearing the voice of the shepherd.  

It seems so many are looking for churches that can give them something, whether it is a great children's program or youth program, a drug or alcohol program, a woman's ministry, a daycare, a coffee shop, a bookstore, a national stage…the list goes on.  The Bible says that the sheep know the voice of their shepherd, not the programs he can provide.  

I believe that when you go to a church, under the Pastor/Bishop that God has placed you with, you are aligning with the vision God has for your life.  Sheep don't jump around from flock to flock.  It just doesn't happen.  I can go outside to a sheep farm in Colora and holler all day long, the sheep will continue to eat and ignore me unless I am scaring them and then they will run away.  But let their Shepherd come out there and give a yell, the sheep will come running.  They know his/her voice.  They know that its probably time to eat some more and that the shepherd will not harm them.  

Once you have found your shepherd, learn, serve, do whatever you find to do.  God can move so powerfully when His people are where they are suppose to be.  It's like on Mary Poppins when the mother screams, POSTS EVERYONE!  Everyone has a job to do to keep the house running properly. God is screaming POSTS EVERYONE but if your not in the appointed house, how can you do your job?  

John 10:11-12 "I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.  But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them."

Jeremiah 3:15 "And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding."

We need to see past ourselves and look at what God sees and hear His words.  We need a shepherd, but not just anyone.  We need the shepherd that God has ordained to lead us, feed us, teach us.