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You and I hear an incredible number of voices and messages on a daily basis. From politicians, to advertisers, to news reporters, we hear a never-ending cacophony of voices every day. Each voice clamors for our attention.
Amid all of these voices and all of their messages, only one voice brings life — the voice of Jesus. In John 10, Jesus refers to Himself as the Good Shepherd and states that, “The sheep hear His [Good Shepherd’s] voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out. When He has brought out all His own, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him, for they know His voice” (John 10:3–4).
Jesus was referencing something that the people of that day would see frequently. As the darkness of night was approaching, several shepherds would bring their flocks into a fenced-in pen to spend the night together. In the morning, each shepherd would stand at the gate of the pen, one-by-one, and call out to his sheep to come out of the pen and follow him. Only his sheep, who know his voice, would come out and follow him. The others would stay behind in the pen, waiting to hear the voice of their shepherd.
In our Baptism, you and I first heard the voice of our Shepherd, calling us from darkness to light, from death to life! In our Baptism, God washed away all of our sins and added us to His righteous flock.
Fortunately for us, hearing the voice of Jesus is not just a one-time experience. We hear the voice of Jesus daily as we read the Word of God and hear it taught and proclaimed. Hearing the voice of Jesus and following our Good Shepherd is a lifelong process that culminates in never-ending life in His presence. As Jesus describes, “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).
In the Tell the Wonders He Has Done ministry expansion campaign, God is blessing us to allow future generations of children to hear the voice of their Good Shepherd and follow Him to never-ending life. God continues to bless us with more and more new students, which results in more and more Baptisms and more and more confirmations. Lord willing, every day and in every classroom, the voice of the Good Shepherd will be heard by increasing numbers of students — most of whom are yet to be born!
Then, on the final day, they and we will hear the voice of our Good Shepherd calling us from our graves to life in the new heaven and the new earth, where He makes all things new (Revelation 21:5)!
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