Video Talk

Jeremiah 17:13,15-17,19-20 ESV

“O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,
for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.”

“Behold, they say to me,
‘Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!’
I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
You know what came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
Be not a terror to me;
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.”

“Thus said the Lord to me: ‘Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, and say: “Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.”’”

If we were to translate this into New Testament times, this would be like talking about those who give lip service only to the Lord, but whose hearts are from him. Although they have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ, it has not altered how they live, or even if it did, they did not endure. They turned away from the Lord to go their own way, instead.

Now some or many of those who have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but who have since turned away from the Lord, or who never, in truth, turned to him in the first place, but only in form, are going to be among those who decide to mock, derail, reject, falsely accuse, attack, hound, and persecute those of us who are teaching the true gospel.

But we are not to let such treatments dishearten or discourage us in any way. And we should never run away from sharing the gospel out of fear of what other people are saying about us or to us. But we are to persevere in sharing with others that by faith in Jesus Christ they must die with him to sin and now they must walk in obedience to his commands (Luke 9:23-26).

We must stand strong in our faith and in the teachings of the Scriptures (in context), and we must go forward with the gospel and keep telling people the truth. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

My Sheep

An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…

They know my voice, so they follow me.