Sunday 26 April 2026
Mrs Pastor Billey.
John 10
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. and it was winter.
23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch.
24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.
26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Why did Adam and Eve fall?
They didn’t listen, didn’t follow the Lord’s instructions.
The Lord said, ” My sheep. There’s a reason for this because He didn’t say my chicken, my cow, my goat, my donkey… hear my voice.
There are reasons for this. Why sheep?
What is the life of the sheep?
The sheep goes through training. The lamb, the sheep’s baby, learns from an early age to know and follow the shepherd’s voice. He follows his mother, as his mother does.
As he grows, he learns to master the voice that drives him.
And behind every tone, every word, there’s a precise instruction… So they get to know this voice and the commandments that go with it.
If another voice comes along to give the same command, the sheep doesn’t follow.
And it’s only when he recognizes the shepherd’s voice that he moves.
The sheep doesn’t know how to defend itself; its strength comes from the shepherd. She doesn’t know where to go to get the right pastures, to get water… and so on.
The one who must lead it is the shepherd.
So the sheep’s whole life is linked to the shepherd.
If he doesn’t listen to the shepherd’s voice, to go and drink, to go and graze… what’s going to happen?
That would be dramatic.
Beloved, are you a true sheep?
When a sheep hears the shepherd’s voice saying gather, let’s leave this place, whatever it does, it runs to gather.
We often say that the Lord is my shepherd. But do we follow Him?
No, and we give ourselves plenty of excuses.
The sheep is always protected. When the shepherd sees danger coming, he already warns the sheep.
But if the shepherd warns and the sheep don’t move. Who’s losing? Who will be destroyed?
The Lord says: My sheep hear my voice and follow me.
It means there’s a relationship of trust between the sheep and the shepherd.
Beyond hearing is understanding and accepting instructions.
So there’s also trust, faith, whatever order the shepherd gives.
So whatever is in front of the sheep, it follows.
Is there any doubt in you?
But often we pray, we meditate on the Word, but we don’t believe.
If you don’t believe, you won’t follow.
This is why the Lord said to the Pharisees, “You are not my sheep, so when I speak you do not follow, you do not believe.
Jonh 10.
27 My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
We have been trained to hear the voice of the thief, the serpent. Because we were born into it.
He’ll say you don’t need Jesus for this or that…
This was the voice we were used to hearing. But today, we know that this voice that speaks against what Jesus says is the voice of the serpent.
But we keep this voice so alive that when the true Shepherd says I love you, we don’t believe.
Which makes us no better than the Pharisees. They’ve seen even lepers healed, but they don’t believe. They hear but don’t follow.
Beloved destroys the voice of the serpent by stopping listening to it.
Jesus said of His sheep, they hear My voice. Which means that Jesus’ voice is different.
They are therefore able to recognize other people’s voices.
Those who study banking. Often at the checkouts, some people have trained people to be familiar with the real banknote in all its dimensions.
As a result, they can easily recognize a counterfeit bill without even passing it through the machine.
For example, a gentleman arrived at a store checkout with a $100 bill to pay for his groceries.
The cashier touched the bill and realized it was a fake. He threw this at the gentleman and said, “Not here.” And strangely enough, this gentleman didn’t even argue, he just took his ticket and left.
When the lamb is born, it learns to discern the shepherd’s voice in all its dimensions. It takes a lot of time to get to grips with this voice.
The Lord Jesus, speaking of His sheep, also means: “They know what I can do and what I cannot do; they know my principles. They won’t follow anyone else.
So when the thief comes, even if he tries to change his voice, they don’t follow him.
Beloved, we must therefore learn to discern the voice of the serpent from the voice of the Shepherd.
Because every time the sheep doesn’t listen, it dies. The sheep thieves have come to kill her.
All the devil does in our lives is kill, slaughter and destroy.
Every time we listen to the serpent, it’s death for us.
Sometimes the snake’s instructions don’t seem dangerous at first. You may think it’s good, but in the end it’s death.
Proverbs 14.
12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
It’s not God who destroys, it’s the enemy. Because the person has become attached to the devil’s voice.
Sometimes the devil comes and says to a person, “It’s too late for you, your sin is too serious, the Lord can do nothing for you,…”
Jesus told us: I died so that you might have life.
It’s a new year, we have to divorce the snake. A marriage where everything is lost. For the voice always comes to put us down, you sin too much, you’re a liar, you have no gift…
But the voice of Jesus comes to give us life.
John 10.27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
It’s up to the sheep to decide whether or not to follow.
I can listen and do nothing. But if I listen and move, then that decision is up to me.
Beloved, we must learn not only to listen to the voice of Christ but also to obey promptly.
And by doing so, the snake’s voice that we’re used to hearing will gradually diminish until it disappears.
This is how the voice of the serpent, the voice of the flesh, is destroyed.
For example, when you decide to pray, and you hear, you’re too tired, go to sleep, or this voice tells you that you’ve prayed too much, you’ve gone on too long, you can stop.
When you know that your Lord has told you the importance of prayer, and you need to develop your prayer life.
So don’t listen to that voice and pray, or keep going, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
It’s not easy at first, but persevere.
For me to have access to the green pasture, for me to have abundant life… I must have heard the voice of Christ.
Has this ever happened to you? That one day, as you’re getting ready to leave, you feel the need to take the umbrella, but didn’t do it when you looked at the sky.
And in the middle of the day, it rains, and you have no shelter.
What will you decide next time?
Probably, always take an umbrella with you.
Beloved, for the Lord to say to the Pharisees: “You are not my sheep.
This means that there are two categories: sheep and goats.
Have you ever seen how goats react?
If you tell them to go right, they do the opposite. If the instruction is to go left, they go right.
There’s the amusing story of a gentleman who asked a young man what a goat is for? And he replied, “it’s just for making goat soup.”
Beloved, we are not goats.
We are the Lord’s sheep and we must get used to the voice of our Shepherd so that we don’t die.
We must align our hearts with our minds. For we now know what comes from the soul and what comes from the spirit.
Romans 8.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
And this Word is manifest to us, only as long as we listen to the voice of the Shepherd.
We have to decide who we choose. Brothers, there is eternal life in listening to the voice of the good Shepherd.
But death by accepting the voice of the thief.
Let’s face it, every time we want to fast, or have ideas, or need to do something for the Lord, the voice of the serpent rises up. And the snake knows that by putting pressure on us, we’ll give up.
Brothers and sisters, let’s stop listening to the voice of the serpent, otherwise we’ll always be limited in our walk with the Lord, experiencing ups and downs.
We’re heading for Pentecost, and we need to grow with the Lord.
We need to be aware that we have enemies. There’s a voice that’s always trying to get you to give up.
But you must obey God’s voice.
And Jesus said in His Word, that He is in you, that He died for you, that He gave you authority to walk on serpents and scorpions, that you have access to My Presence, come to Me in time of need.
The voice of the Shepherd is what He says.
Every time that serpent’s voice speaks out against God’s plan, wants to destroy your destiny, doesn’t want you to progress…
We have the name of Jesus, the blood of Jesus…
Beloved, you have been given the power to crush, to destroy that voice by saying no and it will run away.
James 4
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
We need to do well this year.
There are so many souls perishing around the world. The Lord said: Go and make disciples of all nations.
If you have a service to do for the Lord, do it promptly. Don’t go back to sleep. Show the snake you’re in control. You’re a new person.
Brother, sister, you’re a sheep, not a goat. Follow the voice of the Lord Jesus, the voice of your Shepherd.
IN THE NAME OF JESUS, let us pray… →
Lord Jesus, my life belongs to you.
Forgive me, Lord, every time I’ve listened to the voice of the serpent.
I decide to give up listening to the voice of the snake.
Help me to discern Your voice clearly and obey You promptly.
Help me to know You.
Renew my perception, my understanding, my vision…
Thank you for forgiving me, saving me, healing me, blessing me…
In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.