It is humbling (and rightfully so) that I can get up in front of a hundred people I don’t know and talk politics or anything else and not have problems, but giving a devotion or even writing this my stomach pits up. Isn’t God great to keep me leaning on Him. Striping away my own self-confidence and relying that He is the message and messenger. May we all be convicted to submit to His word and stay focused on Him. These next few verses are some of my favorite in the Bible. With that you can guess we will be here awhile. I pray that ever time we read these verses it is afresh and touches our heart.
Extra credit: Speaking of pits in stomachs, this is from a recent devotion I gave at a prayer breakfast. I went with my favorite bible character (Elisha) as discussed by one of my favorite authors A. W. Pink It is a reminder to us all that the best of men are men at best
Jhn 10:26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
Discussion forum - When did Christ say unto them before?
In our previous verses these Jews asked for plain speech. His response is some of the plainest speech we find. It is amazing still how many pervert or ignore these words. What a solemn straightforward answer Jesus provides to them. The subject here is without question, the condition is without question, and the result is without question.
The subject - are the sheep and the goats. It should not surprise or disturb people that there are only two sorts of people alluded to. It does not discern Baptist or Independent, Calvinist or Armenian, Protestant or Catholic. Christ divided the whole world into but two classes; sheep and goats. The elected before the foundation of the Earth and the Damned. Those who He will be glorified by His mercy and those He will be glorified by His justice.
The condition – Those who are not His sheep will not, cannot, become sheep. You do not believe and become a sheep but are His. And the ones that are not His will not believe because they are not His sheep.
The result - “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
