“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27–28, ESV)
Look closely at the two verses above spoken by Jesus about those who follow Him. Jesus spoke these words to some Jews who were at the Temple in Jerusalem. These Jews questioned Jesus’ plans and leadership. Jesus noticed their unbelief, their doubts, their rejection (John 10:25). In contrast to these Jewish doubters, Jesus mentioned that His true followers do three things. These are found in the first verse for today, written above. True followers of Jesus a) “hear His voice”, b) “are known by Jesus”, and c) “follow Jesus” (John 10:27). Jesus called them His sheep. They are part of His flock. Then, Jesus mentioned further that these true followers will “never perish”, and “no one will snatch them out of His hand” (John 10:28). These words of Jesus have brought great comfort to those of His flock ever since. It is wonderful knowing that Jesus will give His true followers “Eternal Life”. It is just as wonderful to know that our Lord will never allow anyone to take His true followers out of His eternal grasp.
While these words remind the faithful like you of a future in Heaven, these two verses also bring a challenge. Though Heaven is assured to any true follower and though Satan cannot steal you away from Jesus, there is a way to lose your salvation. There is a way to lose eternal life. You can walk away from Jesus. Satan can’t take away your right to Eternal Life BUT you can give it up! You can choose to leave the fold. Judas was not torn from the disciples. He willingly gave up his place in the flock for thirty pieces of silver. Since true followers of Jesus a) “hear Jesus’ voice”, b) are known by Jesus”, and c) “follow Jesus”, you can leave the fold by a) “no longer listening to Jesus’ voice”, b) “rejecting Jesus”, or c) “no longer following Jesus”. Satan can’t take you away from Jesus, BUT you can willingly give up your faith and future with the Lord!
Penny grew up in a loving Christian home. She enjoyed so many good memories of a loving family, despite having little money. Her family lived on a farm in Iowa. Penny dreamed one day of traveling to far away exotic places, of spreading her wings, of finding a wonderful man and beginning her own family. Somewhere along the way, Penny also gave up on Jesus.
When Penny left for college, her family gave her a wonderful “Going-away Party”. Penny was thrilled. She was excited to begin her life but had such warm memories of her youth. At any rate, the next week, Penny left for college in Chicago. There, she not only earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology, she also went to Medical School and became a doctor. She married and began her family. With a very good income, she also owned homes in Chicago, Aruba, and even Paris.
You might look upon Penny’s life and say that she really did succeed in her goals. She did travel to far away exotic places. She certainly spread her wings and attained great knowledge and learning. She even found a cherished husband and had two children she greatly loved. But, along the way, Penny also gave up her faith. When in college, she was introduced to socialist ideals. She thought socialism was a great way to run an equitable society. She studied Marx, Lenin, and Mao. She began to see religion as a sham meant to keep women oppressed and to corrupt society. She relished feminism. She no longer felt comfortable in that religious home in Iowa. She married a man during med school who shared these views.
Today, Penny is lauded by her colleagues. She is loved as a doctor. However, her personal life is far from what she envisioned when she grew up in Iowa. She has great wealth, but she knows her husband has had multiple affairs. Penny too has had two lovers. She and her husband believed in the concept of “open marriage”. In her head, she adopted this concept willfully. Yet, in her heart, she has been secretly jealous and resentful at her husbands affairs. She only had her affairs with two younger men in an attempt to deal with his affairs with younger women. Penny’s children did not grow up with any type of faith. They were taught by their parents to be “critical thinkers” and reject any type of religious “Indoctrination”. Sadly, the two children were indeed indoctrinated. They were brought up to worship feminism, rationalism, science, and socialism. They no longer want anything to do with their mother or father.
Two weeks ago, Penny expressed for the first time something her closest friends have long thought. She is unhappy. Her children are not around. Her husband is living in Europe on vacation with another lover. Penny feels alone. Penny is miserable. Her soul has shriveled and died. Penny wonders what went wrong. In her mind, she “did everything right”. What she does not realize yet, but that day is coming, is that her rejection of Jesus has been her undoing. She walked away from Jesus. She left the fold. When she was young, Satan couldn’t snatch her away. Instead, Jenny left the fold for a life of feminism and socialism and humanism. All of those “isms” have left her empty. They can never truly feed her hungry soul. And, in the end, without knowing…. she ran right into the arms of Satan.
What would make you give up eternal life? What would make you walk away from the fold? As the saying goes, “Every man has a price!”. Do you have a price you would give for your soul? Judas sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver. What would make you walk away from salvation? I have seen people lured away by a beautiful man or woman, by wealth, by dreams of power, by the lure of the limelight. I have known those who rejected Jesus by believing the propaganda of the world, driven away by the false promises of socialism or science or religious emotion. I have even seen Christians who rejected Jesus, who were filled with doubts and anger and resentments despite giving in a collection plate every week and sitting in a church pew.
As Jesus stated, “no one can snatch you away from Him”. Satan can’t touch you. Evil may tempt you, wealth may lure you, beauty may call out to you, lusts may entice you, but none of them can forcibly take you away from Jesus. To fail God, YOU have to give up on Jesus and walk away from the fold. YOU have to make that effort to turn your back on the Lord. Each and every day, YOU will either lovingly follow Jesus, or YOU will keep distant from Him. The choice is yours. I wonder what you will do today. I wonder where you will end up.
Let there be no doubt dear friend: your choice to stay in the fold of Jesus or leave it will become overwhelmingly clear. Whether you are a church member or a heathen or someone in between, it will become all too obvious to your soul if you have chosen to listen to Jesus’ voice and obey His commands.
While these words remind the faithful like you of a future in Heaven, these two verses also bring a challenge. Though Heaven is assured to any true follower and though Satan cannot steal you away from Jesus, there is a way to lose your salvation. There is a way to lose eternal life. You can walk away from Jesus. Satan can’t take away your right to Eternal Life BUT you can give it up! You can choose to leave the fold. Judas was not torn from the disciples. He willingly gave up his place in the flock for thirty pieces of silver. Since true followers of Jesus a) “hear Jesus’ voice”, b) are known by Jesus”, and c) “follow Jesus”, you can leave the fold by a) “no longer listening to Jesus’ voice”, b) “rejecting Jesus”, or c) “no longer following Jesus”. Satan can’t take you away from Jesus, BUT you can willingly give up your faith and future with the Lord!
Penny grew up in a loving Christian home. She enjoyed so many good memories of a loving family, despite having little money. Her family lived on a farm in Iowa. Penny dreamed one day of traveling to far away exotic places, of spreading her wings, of finding a wonderful man and beginning her own family. Somewhere along the way, Penny also gave up on Jesus.
When Penny left for college, her family gave her a wonderful “Going-away Party”. Penny was thrilled. She was excited to begin her life but had such warm memories of her youth. At any rate, the next week, Penny left for college in Chicago. There, she not only earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology, she also went to Medical School and became a doctor. She married and began her family. With a very good income, she also owned homes in Chicago, Aruba, and even Paris.
You might look upon Penny’s life and say that she really did succeed in her goals. She did travel to far away exotic places. She certainly spread her wings and attained great knowledge and learning. She even found a cherished husband and had two children she greatly loved. But, along the way, Penny also gave up her faith. When in college, she was introduced to socialist ideals. She thought socialism was a great way to run an equitable society. She studied Marx, Lenin, and Mao. She began to see religion as a sham meant to keep women oppressed and to corrupt society. She relished feminism. She no longer felt comfortable in that religious home in Iowa. She married a man during med school who shared these views.
Today, Penny is lauded by her colleagues. She is loved as a doctor. However, her personal life is far from what she envisioned when she grew up in Iowa. She has great wealth, but she knows her husband has had multiple affairs. Penny too has had two lovers. She and her husband believed in the concept of “open marriage”. In her head, she adopted this concept willfully. Yet, in her heart, she has been secretly jealous and resentful at her husbands affairs. She only had her affairs with two younger men in an attempt to deal with his affairs with younger women. Penny’s children did not grow up with any type of faith. They were taught by their parents to be “critical thinkers” and reject any type of religious “Indoctrination”. Sadly, the two children were indeed indoctrinated. They were brought up to worship feminism, rationalism, science, and socialism. They no longer want anything to do with their mother or father.
Two weeks ago, Penny expressed for the first time something her closest friends have long thought. She is unhappy. Her children are not around. Her husband is living in Europe on vacation with another lover. Penny feels alone. Penny is miserable. Her soul has shriveled and died. Penny wonders what went wrong. In her mind, she “did everything right”. What she does not realize yet, but that day is coming, is that her rejection of Jesus has been her undoing. She walked away from Jesus. She left the fold. When she was young, Satan couldn’t snatch her away. Instead, Jenny left the fold for a life of feminism and socialism and humanism. All of those “isms” have left her empty. They can never truly feed her hungry soul. And, in the end, without knowing…. she ran right into the arms of Satan.
What would make you give up eternal life? What would make you walk away from the fold? As the saying goes, “Every man has a price!”. Do you have a price you would give for your soul? Judas sold his soul for thirty pieces of silver. What would make you walk away from salvation? I have seen people lured away by a beautiful man or woman, by wealth, by dreams of power, by the lure of the limelight. I have known those who rejected Jesus by believing the propaganda of the world, driven away by the false promises of socialism or science or religious emotion. I have even seen Christians who rejected Jesus, who were filled with doubts and anger and resentments despite giving in a collection plate every week and sitting in a church pew.
As Jesus stated, “no one can snatch you away from Him”. Satan can’t touch you. Evil may tempt you, wealth may lure you, beauty may call out to you, lusts may entice you, but none of them can forcibly take you away from Jesus. To fail God, YOU have to give up on Jesus and walk away from the fold. YOU have to make that effort to turn your back on the Lord. Each and every day, YOU will either lovingly follow Jesus, or YOU will keep distant from Him. The choice is yours. I wonder what you will do today. I wonder where you will end up.
Let there be no doubt dear friend: your choice to stay in the fold of Jesus or leave it will become overwhelmingly clear. Whether you are a church member or a heathen or someone in between, it will become all too obvious to your soul if you have chosen to listen to Jesus’ voice and obey His commands.