Part 1: The Shepherd Sheep Relationship

Doors are divine opportunities God purposefully and thoughtfully sets before us. God sets these doors before us so that we can walked through them. It takes seeing eyes; hearing ears and understanding hearts to recognize them. It takes courage and obedience to walk through them.

• The Door of Freedom (Acts 16:26)
• The Door for an effectual Work for God (1 Corinthians 16:9)
• God’s Open Door of Preaching (2 Corinthians 2:12)
• The Door of Witness (Col 4:3) Utterance
• The Door of Opportunity and none can shut it (Rev 3:8)
• The Door of Salvation is always OPEN! (Rev 3:20) His Name is Jesus!
• The door of Hope – Joshua 7
• Door of Healing and reconciliation
• Opened doors of unique friendship and partnerships

To recognize and walk through these doors we must cultivate a relationship with the Father. In fact throughout the scripture God invites us into:

Shepherd and Sheep Relationship – Psalm 23 is a classic example that relationship:

• The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. It’s good to know Jesus as Savior, but we need to make Him Lord of our lives. Not just of some parts, but of every part of our lives.
• I shall not want. This speaks about doors of provision and contentment
• He makes me to lie down in green pastures. This speaks about doors spiritual, emotional, physical nourishment
• He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. This speaks about doors of rest and restoration
• He leads me in the paths of righteousness. This speaks about doors of spiritual growth
• Even in the valley of the shadow of death. He places a doorway through which I can walk. We were never meant to stay in the valley, we were meant to go through it.  He brings me through doors of deliverance, break through, Healing and reconciliation
• His rod and your staff, they comfort me. This speaks about doors of comfort
• He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. This speaks about doors of provision and protection
• He anoints my head with oil; my cup runs over. The door of more than enough – all sufficiency

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work.

This Shepherd and Sheep relationship are centered on three recurring phrases or words in both the Old and New Testament.

• Ears to hear
• Eyes to see
• And hearts to understand

Isaiah 44:18

They do not know nor understand; For He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

John 12:40

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.

Matthew 13:13

Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Luke 10:23

For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it.

John 12:40

He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, lest they should see with their eyes, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.

 Acts 28:26, 27

Go to this people and say: Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn.

This is the way the shepherd leads the sheep

Unfortunately, too many times we don’t hear him, see him, nor understand him. And it’s not because he is not speaking or leading, but because of our unwillingness to follow. But the true, willing and obedient sheep always hear, know and follow his lead.

 John 10:3, 4, 5

To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.

Sometimes the Lord tells us something to do, but we decide to ignore Him. Sometimes He calls us into obedience, but we harden our hearts. Sometimes He simply wants to use us, to bring a word of encouragement, to lay hands on the sick or give extravagantly, but we hesitate.

The problem with that is:

If we continually ignore and resist the Lord, grieve the Holy Spirit, we build up dullness, a certain kind of insensitivity and the things of God, the voice of God and the leading of His Holy Spirit become less clear and more indistinct and vague.

That’s why we struggle understanding the will of God. Discovering the will of God or walking through opened doors was never meant to be a difficult task. Unfortunately, our lack of obedience over time creates a kind of callousness, dullness that leaves us confused.

Hebrews 5:11

We have much to say, but it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Our dullness and disobedience actually puts us out of sync with God. The noise of our disobedience clouds out the voice of God.

Hebrews 3:5

Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.

• The condition of our heart determines whether we will hear God and walk through open doors.
• The condition of our heart determines whether we will see God and follow him through open doors.

John 7:17

Jesus said, anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out…

Isaiah 1:9

If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land…

Here’s the point:

We need to make God know that the answer is yes.., whatever it is he wants from us… whatever it is he asks of us… wherever he leads us… the answer is yes. My heart needs to be predisposed… willing to obey. That’s how doors open and stay open before us.

That takes care of the struggle of trying to force the hand of God. Prayer is not a means by which we convince God. Martin Luther said, “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of His willingness.” And the way we lay hold of His willingness is by offering our willingness to him.

When that happens, Proverbs 4:18 becomes true… scripture says, But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

Application:

Your obedience is the key, your ticket that unlock doors.

A simple act of obedience is an avalanche that slides open door after door.

The more doors you walk through by your obedience – the more doors are opened to you.

So in short, Obedience is a gift that keeps on giving.