1. HEAR–Respond to God
Titus 3:4-6
But—“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.a 6He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.
God meets a real need inside each and every one of us.
Isaiah 49:16
we are engraved on the palm of His hand;
Psalm 17:8
you are the apple of His eye.
Quote from Packer.
“There is tremendous relief in knowing that His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion Him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench His determination to bless me.”
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the Lord says:“Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom,
or the powerful boast in their power,
or the rich boast in their riches.
24 But those who wish to boast
should boast in this alone:
that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord
who demonstrates unfailing love
and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth,
and that I delight in these things.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
We were made to know God.
Notes:
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2. KNOW–Recognize His voice
John 10:3
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
John 10:4
After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.
John 10:14-15
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
Sheep have excellent hearing. If we know Jesus, we should know and recognize His voice.
Sheep are also easily distracted.
If we are not careful we drown out the voice of God with all the noise that we have continually around us.
John 17:21
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
I and the Father are one…
“His profound relationship with God characterizes the intimacy He seeks with His followers.”
It is also why Jesus died. He has a profound commitment to the ones He loves…like the shepherd with His sheep.
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3. OBEY–Do what He says.
HOW TO WALK THIS OUT
Colossians 3:12
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
Kindness is the disposition to think about others, it adds greatly to the joy of their existence to let them see (even in little ways) that we are not forgetting them, but are giving them a place in our thoughts. As God’s holy and beloved, we are to be the vehicles of the Divine thoughtfulness.
JOHN 10:27