Hearing the Voice of the Good Shepherd

How do we learn to recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd amid the noise of everyday life? In this episode, we explore Psalm 23:1 and John 10, revealing how a growing relationship with Yeshua/Jesus enables us to hear His voice, trust His leading, and faithfully follow Him. Give a listen. 

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SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome to the Messiah in Life podcast, where the timeless truth of God's Word meets everyday life, hosted by Bishop Justin Elwell, Presiding Bishop and Executive Director of Restoration Fellowship International. This podcast explores the scriptures from a rich messianic perspective, helping believers discover the Jewish roots of the faith, grow as disciples of Jesus the Messiah, and walk more faithfully with the Good Shepherd. This week, Justin discusses Psalm 23:1 and how we grow in relationship with the Good Shepherd in order to hear him more clearly. And now, here's Bishop Justin with today's message.

SPEAKER_01 1:10

New Ringold, Pennsylvania, at Blue Mountain Christian Retreat and Conference Center. I'm here for the week teaching. And this morning, uh, as I'm reflecting on what is on my heart, what is on my mind. Um, obviously what I'm teaching this week is on my heart and on my mind. But I wanted to uh share just kind of a thought from uh my first session yesterday that came up. I'm teaching through Psalm 23, and eventually I will record this for the podcast series here. But uh I felt maybe if I I reimagined, I took a couple of points from that first session and kind of um maybe explicated is the right word for this, those points, and uh brought them forward. Maybe they would be useful for you. So uh I'm kind of leaning into hearing the voice of the shepherd or some type of uh title like that. I haven't decided yet. But obviously, if you're listening to this, it's been titled somehow. So hopefully, hopefully it has some uh some meaning to it. So um I'm gonna be considering Psalm 23 and verse 1. And it is about hearing the shepherd, but hearing the shepherd from the posture of relationship, which is an aspect of this verse that I think quite often gets overlooked. And obviously, hearing the voice of the shepherd when we look at our messianic faith, our faith and Messiah, Jesus Yeshua, hearing his voice is one of the defining characteristics of being a disciple of Yeshua, of coming to his feet, of listening to his voice, of um fellowshipping with other believers. And what happens is in a world, obviously, that is filled with competing voices, opinions, um, distractions of every sort, fears that quite often are amplified through some type of media, the faithful have to learn to distinguish between the voice of the Good Shepherd and all of these other influences. So when David begins this psalm, this beloved psalm, it is, I would say, my favorite psalm. Um Psalm 23, Psalm 1, Psalm 119. Okay, so it is up there. But David makes this simple but very profound statement. He says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, or I have no lack. Before David speaks of the green pastures, of the still waters, the valley that's overshadowed by death, he establishes relationship. The Lord isn't just a shepherd, he is my shepherd. There's relationship, and one of the ways I explained this, how do we understand Roe is if I introduce someone to my wife, I say, This is my wife, or to a friend, this is my friend, and so on. So we understand the nature of that relationship by how we um what type of noun we use for someone else. And we we we had in our culture, we okay, I I get what this is. This is a friendship, this is an acquaintance, this is a colleague, this is his wife or her husband, or so on. So we understand the dynamic of that relationship. So when David is saying Adunai, Roe Lo Ekshar, the Lord is my shepherd, this is my shepherd. And that Hebrew word uh roi or my shepherd comes from Ra'ah, meaning to pasture, to tend, to feed, and it's that idea of stewarding, of tending to and being in proximity to, being among. And it doesn't just describe someone who owns sheep. A shepherd lives among the flock. He knows them, he protects them, he guides them, he provides for them. And interesting, of course, uh, interestingly enough, of course, throughout scripture, uh, the same word is used to define the responsibilities of kings and also other leaders. We see that in the in the Hebrew Bible as well as the New Testament. So biblical leadership was never intended to be a domination or a control. It was always meant to reflect the heart of a shepherd. And of course, we are following the good shepherd, the good shepherd, definite article. So David understood his this before he ever ruled over Israel. He learned it while he was in the lonely fields, as uh the uh a faithful shepherd of his father's sheep. So the these are the qualities that made him a good shepherd, uh, as a good shepherd that prepared him to become a godly king, not a perfect king. He was far from perfect, but ultimately what he demonstrated through us or to us is that uh he was pointing, of course, as the as the king to the greater king, the king who would come, the son who would sit upon his throne, the one he would say, my lord to, the true shepherd king, messiah, Jesus. So scripture reminds us that hearing God's voice is not primarily about a mystical experience, but about relationship. Jesus declared in John 10, My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. Notice that order. He knows his sheep before they recognize his voice. My sheep hear my voice, my sheep. So David says, This is my shepherd. Messiah says, These are my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. He knows his sheep, he knows his flock before they recognize his voice. Our confidence rests not really at all in our ability to hear him perfectly, but to recognize, to um see from scripture, to see from not only our experience of him, but uh the experience of him and of others, of his faithfulness as the shepherd, as the good shepherd. Sheep learn to recognize the shepherd's voice by spending time with him every day. Now, when I was a shepherd, my sheep knew me because I was there. They heard my voice, I talked to them. Of course, they didn't talk back, thankfully. Um, but they knew my voice, they knew my presence, they knew to be comfortable with me. So if I was tending to something, mending a fence or, you know, uh fixing a haysstand or something, they they weren't in the corner cowering. They were doing their, you know, going about their business. They knew me, they knew my presence. But if I uh try, let's say I was uh planning to leave, I was I was making my direction out of the, they began to volp, thinking, okay, well, we must be going somewhere too. And so this is an important aspect of our life of faith that we know him and that we learn to recognize his voice by being with him, by spending time with him. And that's one of the things I love about this week every year that I get to spend here at uh Blue Mountain is many of the regular distractions that I have in my everyday life, I don't find here. I'm not responsible to mow the lawn. I'm not responsible to fix this or fix that. Of course, that would help if I was asked, but they have a wonderful uh staff here. So I get to spend time without the normal distractions of my life and just enjoy, just be in presence, just be in the word, be in fellowship. So we become familiar with his voice through regular fellowship in his word. I don't know if we think about that in uh studying the word as a type of fellowship, but it really is spending time in prayer, worship, and of course, walking obediently with him, following him. So David's own experience as a shepherd helps us to understand that truth. Sheep are not naturally independent animals. Um, they depend entirely upon the shepherd for direction, for care, and they have very little sense of orientation, and they can easily um be spooked and and and just dart in a direction, and when they stop, they probably have hit something. Or they can easily wander into danger. Spiritually, we're much the same way. You know, the world teaches us to trust our own instincts, follow our own heart. But scripture teaches us to trust the shepherd, learning to hear his voice often begins by admitting our dependence upon him. And when we look at this uh verse 1, 23, verse 1, David isn't saying I'm a lion, right? A king wants to be identified with something powerful. A lion, I'm I'm a bear. He says, I'm a sheep. The Lord is my shepherd, I'm a sheep. And because of that, he's he's recognizing his lack, he's recognizing um his posture of humility before the King of Kings, and he is seeing in that of course he is not the most powerful um entity in the room. So one of the greatest obstacles to hearing his voice is that constant noise that we have around us. We have things beeping and booping, you know, breaking news coming over every uh screen. So we live in this age of constant distraction where every device competes for our attention, every opinion claims authority, every fear demands our entire focus. So the voice of the shepherd is rarely the loudest voice in the room, we might say. But it's always the truest voice. His voice is always the truest voice. Elijah, he discovered this on Mount Horeb when the Lord was not in the wind, he wasn't in the earthquake, he wasn't in the fire, he but he was in Kol Damadacha, the still voice of quietness. He wasn't in all of the distraction, he wasn't in all of the hoopla, he was in that still voice of quietness. So the Lord often speaks most clearly when we intentionally isolate ourselves from the distractions. Now, isolate ourselves from the distractions, not from fellowship, not from other people. But we sit quietly, we take time away, as Messiah would say, in our prayer closet. So we can be in his presence without being distracted by all of the surrounding and competing presences. Another important lesson is that the shepherd's voice never contradicts his written word. The Holy Spirit, of course, who inspired the scriptures will never lead us contrary to what he has already revealed. So this is why reading and meditating on the word of God is essential. The more we immerse in his word, the more readily we recognize his guidance, his directive, what he expects of us, what he uh prohibits us from partaking in. Um we can use that in our everyday circumstances of life. And we can know we might not make the perfect decision because of our own limitation, but maybe we'll make the more godly choice, even if it is not the best choice according to the world around us. But we trust that the Lord is leading us. The shepherd is still leading his people, he leads us in paths consistent with his character, consistent with his truth. So the shepherd also speaks to us through providence, right? We don't use that word too often anymore, but providential happening, right? Sometimes he opens a door, sometimes he closes a door, and we trust that he is behind that. We don't we we d need to be able to recognize that maybe that door we desired to go through, maybe it is the right door, but it's not the door right now. We're not ready for what's on the other side of that door. So at times his guidance comes through wise counsel, through the voice and the encouragement of other believers around us. That's why we need to be in fellowship. Or sometimes circumstances he sovereignly arranges, right? What the world calls coincidence. Yet even those forms of guidance must always be tested by scripture. We must learn, we must learn to see um whether or not this uh this moment, this happenstance, this uh divinely arranged appointment, or so on, is it consistent with scripture? That's how we can affirm whether or not the good shepherd has led us there um to what we say, take advantage of an opportunity, to walk away from an opportunity, however you want to frame that. But the shepherd's leading is never arbitrary, but always purposeful. He's directing us, remember, he's directing us in passive righteousness for his name's sake. And it's uh kind of I'd say that looking at a a picture above my bed here in the in the apartment, that is quoting that he'll he'll lead you in pass of righteousness for his name's sake. So maybe that part has been on my heart this week. But the greatest evidence that we have truly heard the shepherd is not simply that we know his will, but that we follow it. Right? You can know something but not do it, not act upon it. We can quote the golden rule but not live by it. Sheep do not simply recognize the shepherd's voice, they move when he calls. They pay attention when he speaks. So hearing and obeying are inseparable in biblical faith. We see that all the way back in uh Exodus 24. Every act of obedience strengthens our confidence in his leading and deepens our fellowship with him. So there's also a great comfort in knowing that the shepherd continues to speak even when we walk through the difficult valleys. As I shared yesterday, sometimes the valley is named surgery, sometimes the valley is named cancer, sometimes the valley is named depression. Whatever the particular difficulty in your life might be, whatever that name might be, we remember that he is with us. Yes, we don't have all the answers. We can't see on the top of the on the top of the valley, we can't look up onto the summits or onto the ridgeline. We can't see that from where our where we are, but we know he does. And we know that most importantly that he is with us. So the 23rd Psalm teaches us that his presence does not disappear in seasons of suffering. In fact, I would even um say this that in those valleys we learn to recognize his voice with greater clarity. He's speaking to us down in those valleys, down in those deep dark places. We see in Zachariah that he is with us down in those deep dark valleys. Trials have a way of silencing the distractions around us and focusing, focusing our attention as they capture, that moment captures our attention on his voice, reminding us that our hope rests not in our understanding, but in the shepherd who walks beside us. So as I kind of bring this to a close, remember that Psalm 23 is not just a comfort psalm. It's a psalm of discipleship. And it teaches us how to live every day under the care of the shepherd, but first recognizing before those valleys overshadowed by death, before um we get to the still waters, before we lay in the green fields, before we have a table prepared for us in the presence of our enemies, we first recognize that he is our shepherd. So the invitation is simple. Draw near to him. Spend time in his word, cultivate a life of prayer, walk in obedience, trust his leading, even when you can't see the whole path, you can't see all the way to the end. Be in fellowship with other believers. Yes, it'll challenge you at times, but I can testify to the fact that it will bring such joy. The joy will far outweigh the pain. So the more closely we walk with the shepherd, the more familiar his voice becomes. Many uh may each of us be able to say just what David said. But not as it just a theological statement, but as a settled conviction of our hearts. Remember, personally, my shepherd. Because he is our shepherd, we can follow him with confidence wherever he leaves. Amen. Amen. So, dear, dear listeners, thank you for listening once again. And at some point I'll I will reproduce this entire uh Psalm 23 series for the Messiah Life Podcast. And uh I hope this gave you just a little um help in understanding verse one, maybe personalizing it, bringing it into your life, walking it out. Um so until next time, I have to prepare to go in for the first session. But until our next episode next week, which will be Ephesians again. May I pray this blessing over your life. You have a rachar and I Vishmarkabashemashem Yeshua. May the Lord bless and keep you in the mighty name of Messiah Yeshua Jesus. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 22:06

Amen. Thank you for studying with us, and until our next episode, may the Lord bless and keep you all in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.