ICS Daily Devotions
The Good Shepherd’s Desire Is for All to be Saved
John 10:16 (NKJV) And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Jesus came to His people, namely the Jews through the Abrahamic covenant and they were the sheep in the sheepfold in this passage when Jesus spoke these words to His disciples. However, God’s love is for the whole world and God wants the Gentiles to receive salvation too. God had planned for missions to the Gentiles after the Pentecost and for their incorporation into the one church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Gentiles are the “other sheep” that Jesus had in mind when He spoke these words. In truth, the Abrahamic covenant had already promised that all the families and nations of the world would be blessed!
Isaiah 53:6 (NKJV) All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
In the natural, sheep will not always be kept in the sheepfold because the shepherd has to bring them out in search of green pastures. At times, there will be hundreds of sheep under the care of a shepherd and not every sheep is following the shepherd in the wide-open terrain. There will be times when some sheep will fall off a cliff, wander away or lose their way.
Many of us are still wandering and doing what we like and have strayed away from the Creator. People are too busy trying to climb the corporate ladder or making their businesses work. God is not their priority until they encounter a major setback or crisis in their lives (e.g. a critical illness, marital problems, business failure etc). There are also many people trying all kinds of ways to look for peace. They might not be aware that religions, philosophy, material goods, worldly achievements or transcendental meditation cannot replace the emptiness in their hearts.
Jesus is looking for you if you are still lost without Him.
Matthew 18:12-13 (NKJV) What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
You and I matter to God even though some of us might not think or believe it is true. He is searching for everyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. You are priceless in the sight of God. He is pursuing you through different means and people. While the pandemic and economic crisis are not acts of God, they are definitely opportunities for God to reach out to everyone who has gone astray from Him by showing us the vulnerabilities, weaknesses and helplessness of man in the midst of it all.
He is pursuing us and nudging us to get to know Him because He loves the world and desires for none to perish without Him. Will you not come into the sheepfold of the loving Shepherd today?
Sermon Series: Who Is Shepherding You?
