John
10:3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out. NKJV
In my book entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul”,
I reference an example of a man in quick sand and how the more he struggles to
free himself, the deeper into the quick sand he descends. The sinful heart that
all humans beings are born with are like that man in quick sand and no amount
of self-effort will improve it or make it desire more virtuous things. Sin is
like a vice grip clamped down on the heart digging its way deep into every crevice.
The effects of original sin on every human heart is like leaven inserted into a
lump of dough as it permeates the whole dough and puffs it up many times its
original size. The original dough becomes unrecognizable and so is the heart of
everyone in the human family, none of us can know it. Bondage is the inheritance
of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden.
The average human being thinks of sin as no grave
matter because everyone does things that are wrong. They look at the outward
actions of themselves and others as a judge of gymnastics looks at and scores
the performances of the competitors according to the degree of difficulty in
their routines. The thought that there is a God that will judge a pedophile or
murderer in the same manner as a so-called “good man” that may fudge on his
income taxes is absurd. Yet all are declared guilty in God’s eyes. It is
absolutely unthinkable of the idea that sin is enslaving (no matter what form
it is expressed) and it requires deliverance by a deliverer is foreign to the
natural man or woman.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the Shepherd that locates
His sheep and delivers them from sin and makes them fit for eternity with Him.
When Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel he said to her, “You shall call His
name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” The man in the illustration
of struggling to free himself from the quick sand needs someone from the
outside to pull him out of the quick sand and lead him onto the safety of solid
ground. The Lord Jesus Christ leads the sinner out of sins enslavement into the
safety of His hands and His Fathers hands. When the true sheep hear the voice
of the Shepherd Christ Jesus our Lord, we are enabled by His voice to walk
after Him into newness of life free from the vice grip that sin once had upon
our hearts.
1
John 5:18-20 We know that those who have been made God's children do not
continue to sin. The Son of God keeps them safe. The evil one cannot hurt them.
We know that we belong to God, but the evil one controls the whole world. And we
know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. So now we can
know the One who is True, and we live in that True God. We are in His Son,
Jesus Christ. He is the True God, and He is Eternal Life. ERV
“And leadeth them out; from the
world's goats, among whom they lay, and from the folds of sin, and the barren
pastures of Mount Sinai, and their own righteousness, on which they were
feeding, and out of themselves, and from off all dependence on anything of
their own; and he leads unto himself, and the fullness of his grace, and to his
blood and righteousness, and into his Father's presence and communion with him,
and in the way of righteousness and truth, and into the green pastures of the
word and ordinances, beside the still waters of his sovereign love and grace.”
Dr. John Gill
“The Lord is my shepherd," is on Sunday, is on Monday, and is through every
day of the week; is in January, is in December, and every month of the year; is
at home, and is in China; is in peace, and, is in war; in abundance, and in
penury.” Hudson Taylor
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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