“Devoted to His Voice” John 10:1-6

Have you ever had a relationship in which you felt like you gave more than you received in return? We all have, whether it was friendship, dating, employment, church or neighbors, we’ve all felt, at some point, like we were more devoted to someone than they were to us. In Acts 2:42, the first church was described as “devoted”. Luke wrote that the first believers, “Devoted themselves, to the apostles teaching, to the fellowship (described by the breaking of bread) and to prayer.” Have you noticed yet that the devotion of the first church was not to actions, efforts or accomplishments? They weren’t devoted to growing the church, to living their best lives, to changing the Roman government or to building the faith that moved mountains. Their devotion was to actions that created and deepened relationships. The devotion of the first church was not to things that would change their lives or meet their needs or fulfill their desires, they devoted themselves to the relationships they were created for and for which Jesus came to reconcile, restore and redeem. Today we are going to turn back to the book of John and begin studying John chapter 10. In the first few verses, Jesus makes a statement that should shape and possibly shake our lives. In speaking about “the shepherd of the sheep”, He said, “his sheep follow him because they know his voice.” This morning I want us to realize that we are all following a voice. None of us have come to our own conclusions, forged our own way or made our own path, we are all following a voice and so it’s important that we discover whose voice we are following. But even more than that, I am praying that we will see that our devotion to God is nothing more than a response to His devotion to us.