John 10:11-18
11“I am the good shepherd! The good shepherd lays down His life on behalf of the sheep. 12But the hired worker, not being also a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, watches the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf seizes them and scatters the sheep. 13Now the hired worker flees because he is a hired worker and is not concerned about the sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My, and I am known by My. 15Just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father, and I lay down My life on behalf of the sheep. 16And other sheep I have which are not from this fold. These also it is necessary Me to bring, and My voice they will hear. And they will become one flock, one Shepherd. 17For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, so that I shall take it again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This command I received from My Father.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father, I open my heart and mind to your teaching, please teach me now." If you haven't read the verses above yet, it is important that you do read them before you begin to read the Study. If there are Key Verses in the Bible, these qualify to be along with the most important. They are filled with knowledge, wisdom, intent, and a relationship that is near impossible for mere humans to understand.
For some reason I feel unworthy to present the Truth that is above. It consists of deep lessons on God's Plan for all of mankind, which is highlighted above. Jesus and His relationship with the Father, and by that teaching, it brings us to why did Jesus had to become a man, why did He have to come when He did, and what was His primary purpose for coming. This is teaching that doesn't get any more serious than any in the Bible. It takes in the Old with the New Testament and beyond, and it requires our complete attention to understand.
Today's easy lesson: You have heard these verses more than once if you are a regular church attending Christian. Or perhaps watching sermons on television or hearing them on the radio. I have heard them, and the pastor, teacher, or preacher using the words, now that we have time to look into them, have little understanding of the significance of the message. We know that Jesus is the Good Sheppard, and the Good Sheppard isn't just a hired man, He indeed cares for the sheep because He has raised them all since the first couple that began His flock. Each sheep He knows by name, He knows their personalities, their likes, dislikes, their penchant for doing this or not doing that. His care for the sheep is more important to Him than anything else He has. It is that simple. To put it in other terms, God made us, He has not lost interest in us, and in fact He works to this very day doing what He can to care for His entire flock, but many have wandered off where the danger of not having His protection and provision are keeping them from Him.
Jesus came as a man, half man, half God, at a time when nearly all the Israelites could be gathered together at one time, in one place, at anytime. During the silent period of about four hundred years where there was nothing heard from God directly or from a prophet, some Israelites came up with the great idea to begin to worship God by virtue of a religion named Judaism. When reading the Old Testament, God never wanted any other leadership than Him for anyone, but especially for Abraham's family. He wanted nothing made to look like Himself, because then the tendency is to worship in front of that thing, or treat it with reverence, when He is not in it nor a part of it. He did not want to give them an earthly king, as the other nations had, because He was to be their leader on earth as it is in heaven. All the Father wanted was a people of Faith that would understand that He was all in all strong enough, loving enough, and caring enough that they could trust Him for all things, and nothing or no one else. God proved to be more than able in times of famine, in times of threats from aggressors, whatever it many be, from the time of the Exodus to the time of the first moment of seeing the Promised Land for the first time. Yet, with all this proof, the Chosen still did not give God trust to continue to care for them, and there was a need to allow the wheat and the tares to be separated. That required a forty year journey in the dessert, and even then the stubborn mind of the Israelites were a constant challenge for the Father. We come quickly back to the four hundred years of silence, where Judaism is born, the people find the Law of Love, a punishment instead of a group of rules that lead to Agape' Love. God's Chosen are in a mess. Some still have Faith, some are ardent Jews, some have intermarried with others, and hope in God, but have no real knowledge of Him, and without some action from God Himself, Abraham's Family and by extension, the entire world, would be lost. We cannot throw out that Lucifer is a great part of this mess, not to take away anything from man's greedy ways, but there is a Spiritual War for souls going on, continuing on to this day.
Going back to Jesus' First Coming, God's Chosen are still small enough in numbers, and close enough in area to gather together. God saw that Jesus was needed at that time, so during the Holy Days when most Israelites of one stripe or another would be there, Jesus could be there as well, in their midst bringing the message of healing from the Father. Now we know the reason for the timing. There is the relationship of God and Jesus that we don't understand. There is the message of healing from the Father and why most Christians do not grasp it. There is the reason of how we are to worship and show our respect for the Father, and why Jesus is not the one to worship, which comes right from Jesus. Lastly, there is why of Jesus' sacrifice of beatings, the Cross, death, and burial, and most importantly the reason why He had to rise from the dead. Some of these things you know. But do you understand why?
In the coming few Studies, we will take on all the questions one, two, or whatever number the Father has in mind. We are doing this, because to understand these things is to understand the foundation of Christianity. Once you understand the strength of the foundation, you as part of the building itself, will be stronger, wiser, than ever before. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
11“I am the good shepherd! The good shepherd lays down His life on behalf of the sheep. 12But the hired worker, not being also a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, watches the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf seizes them and scatters the sheep. 13Now the hired worker flees because he is a hired worker and is not concerned about the sheep.
14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My, and I am known by My. 15Just as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father, and I lay down My life on behalf of the sheep. 16And other sheep I have which are not from this fold. These also it is necessary Me to bring, and My voice they will hear. And they will become one flock, one Shepherd. 17For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, so that I shall take it again. 18No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself; I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This command I received from My Father.”
Good Day Child of God! "Father, I open my heart and mind to your teaching, please teach me now." If you haven't read the verses above yet, it is important that you do read them before you begin to read the Study. If there are Key Verses in the Bible, these qualify to be along with the most important. They are filled with knowledge, wisdom, intent, and a relationship that is near impossible for mere humans to understand.
For some reason I feel unworthy to present the Truth that is above. It consists of deep lessons on God's Plan for all of mankind, which is highlighted above. Jesus and His relationship with the Father, and by that teaching, it brings us to why did Jesus had to become a man, why did He have to come when He did, and what was His primary purpose for coming. This is teaching that doesn't get any more serious than any in the Bible. It takes in the Old with the New Testament and beyond, and it requires our complete attention to understand.
Today's easy lesson: You have heard these verses more than once if you are a regular church attending Christian. Or perhaps watching sermons on television or hearing them on the radio. I have heard them, and the pastor, teacher, or preacher using the words, now that we have time to look into them, have little understanding of the significance of the message. We know that Jesus is the Good Sheppard, and the Good Sheppard isn't just a hired man, He indeed cares for the sheep because He has raised them all since the first couple that began His flock. Each sheep He knows by name, He knows their personalities, their likes, dislikes, their penchant for doing this or not doing that. His care for the sheep is more important to Him than anything else He has. It is that simple. To put it in other terms, God made us, He has not lost interest in us, and in fact He works to this very day doing what He can to care for His entire flock, but many have wandered off where the danger of not having His protection and provision are keeping them from Him.
Jesus came as a man, half man, half God, at a time when nearly all the Israelites could be gathered together at one time, in one place, at anytime. During the silent period of about four hundred years where there was nothing heard from God directly or from a prophet, some Israelites came up with the great idea to begin to worship God by virtue of a religion named Judaism. When reading the Old Testament, God never wanted any other leadership than Him for anyone, but especially for Abraham's family. He wanted nothing made to look like Himself, because then the tendency is to worship in front of that thing, or treat it with reverence, when He is not in it nor a part of it. He did not want to give them an earthly king, as the other nations had, because He was to be their leader on earth as it is in heaven. All the Father wanted was a people of Faith that would understand that He was all in all strong enough, loving enough, and caring enough that they could trust Him for all things, and nothing or no one else. God proved to be more than able in times of famine, in times of threats from aggressors, whatever it many be, from the time of the Exodus to the time of the first moment of seeing the Promised Land for the first time. Yet, with all this proof, the Chosen still did not give God trust to continue to care for them, and there was a need to allow the wheat and the tares to be separated. That required a forty year journey in the dessert, and even then the stubborn mind of the Israelites were a constant challenge for the Father. We come quickly back to the four hundred years of silence, where Judaism is born, the people find the Law of Love, a punishment instead of a group of rules that lead to Agape' Love. God's Chosen are in a mess. Some still have Faith, some are ardent Jews, some have intermarried with others, and hope in God, but have no real knowledge of Him, and without some action from God Himself, Abraham's Family and by extension, the entire world, would be lost. We cannot throw out that Lucifer is a great part of this mess, not to take away anything from man's greedy ways, but there is a Spiritual War for souls going on, continuing on to this day.
Going back to Jesus' First Coming, God's Chosen are still small enough in numbers, and close enough in area to gather together. God saw that Jesus was needed at that time, so during the Holy Days when most Israelites of one stripe or another would be there, Jesus could be there as well, in their midst bringing the message of healing from the Father. Now we know the reason for the timing. There is the relationship of God and Jesus that we don't understand. There is the message of healing from the Father and why most Christians do not grasp it. There is the reason of how we are to worship and show our respect for the Father, and why Jesus is not the one to worship, which comes right from Jesus. Lastly, there is why of Jesus' sacrifice of beatings, the Cross, death, and burial, and most importantly the reason why He had to rise from the dead. Some of these things you know. But do you understand why?
In the coming few Studies, we will take on all the questions one, two, or whatever number the Father has in mind. We are doing this, because to understand these things is to understand the foundation of Christianity. Once you understand the strength of the foundation, you as part of the building itself, will be stronger, wiser, than ever before. Have a Grace Day!
Brother Glenn
Complete New Testament Grace Studies link: http://gracehouseministry.blogspot.com/
