The I Am Teachings Of Jesus
Or
Learning From Jesus – Lesson 5
Scripture To Consider:
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling [thief or robber-style pretender], he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.”
“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father [in heaven] knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold [not just of the Jewish nation or Jewish descent]; them also I must bring, and they hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”
“Therefore, My Father loves me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” John 10.11-18
Something To Consider:
We are at this moment in the earth’s history, entering into a massive amount of abounding lawlessness, especially in America, the once upon a time United States of America. Why is that? Part of the reason is that we have experienced many hirelings, many religious and political thieves and robbers firsthand within government and among the leadership ranks of the so-called organized and institutional church.
But for those who know the voice of Jesus, our good shepherd, there is hope and help! There is hope in that this earth is not our eternal home. And there is help because we are just passing through the wilderness of this wayward world. In other words, this earthly life is extremely temporary when compared to all of eternity.
And there is both hope and help in the biblically recorded fact that we as true end time believers in Jesus and present tense believers in Jesus, belong to His 21st century flock. Therefore, are we hearing the voice of Jesus, or the voices of hirelings? Are we following Jesus, or are we following pretenders masquerading as shepherds, only to be found by Jesus to be uncaring hirelings?
Something Else To Consider:
Jesus declared in our Scripture to consider, “Therefore, My Father [in heaven] loves Me, because I lay down My life.” And not only has Jesus willingly laid down His life for the sheep, but He has the power to take it up again! For according to Jesus, “No one takes it [His earthly life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.”
Where are we in the spiritual process of laying down our own lives either for Jesus or for others? Where are we in being imitators of Jesus Christ in the surrendering of our own lives, our own ambitions, and our own dreams? If we have never taken up our own cross, a true symbol of surrender, suffering, and yielding to another’s agenda, then we have not taken the first step in becoming like Christ!
In other words, Jesus instructed all true born-again believers in Matthew 16.24, “If anyone desires to come after Me [to follow Jesus], let him [or her] 1) deny himself [or herself], 2) and take up his [or her] cross, 3) and follow Me [thereby learning from Jesus].”
Therefore, have we truly denied ourselves? Have we truly taken up our own cross, a symbol of suffering and surrender? And have we truly attempted to follow Christ’s example? And if not, why not?
Something More To Consider:
If we are indeed among the end times final generation, how important is truly following Jesus our good shepherd? Following liars, thieves, robbers, hirelings, and religious and or political pretenders will ultimately lead millions if not billions of people to being separated from the truth of the Word of God, the truth concerning Jesus Christ, and the truth of our spending all eternity in one place or another simply by our own decision or our lack of making a decision.
If we are listening to the rhetoric being proclaimed on a daily basis by the overwhelming numbers of hirelings, we will be deceived if we are not already deceived. Will we become among the spiritual dead floating downstream in a lawless abounding and extremely divided ununited states of America or wherever we have been divinely placed on this earth for such a time as this?
A Few Final Words:
Jesus, the door to the sheepfold, and the good shepherd, confessed; “I have power to lay it [His life] down, and I have power to take it [up] again.” He further revealed, “This command I have received from My Father.” These words of Jesus lead us into our next mid-week message of end time importance and unto Jesus’ next I am teaching.
Until then, are we desiring to save our lives, or are we desiring to lose our lives by 1) denying ourselves, 2) taking up our own cross, and 3) by truly following after the biblical example of Jesus? These are extremely important questions we all must ask ourselves, sometimes on a daily basis and more so as we see this age coming to a close.
If we are in a deceived state of mind, and simply confess Jesus only, and do not desire to live godly lives according to Jesus and the written and preserved Word of God, we will in the end be found unreconciled at Christ’s coming. And if that be our case, we will be tremendously offended at the coming first of the Antichrist and the false prophet as predicted in the Word of God.
We have until our next lesson to consider these things. Let us therefore, be found looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, the I am gentle and lowly spiritual leader, the I am the bread of life, the I am the light of the world, the I am the door, and the I am the good shepherd.
Let’s Pray:
Our Father in heaven, help us not to fear the many hirelings that have come into the world, but let us rather work towards exposing them. Teach us to truly deny ourselves, help us to take up our own cross daily, and to follow Jesus in these soon to become perilous end times. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 