Main Scriptures: John 10:1-end
More Scriptures: John 10:5, Mark 9:29, Matthew 6:63
The fourth commandment we shall be considering today is taken from John chapter 10 and verse 5. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers (John 10:5). The godly husbandman and the head of the family COMMANDS ENORMOUS INFLUENCE HIS OWN SHEEP.
As the head of your family and the shepherd over your sheep, God commands you to influence your wife and children unto godliness and righteousness and shield them from the attractions of satan, sin and the world. You are the man of influence, great influence. God wants your voice to be loudest in the lives of your wife and children much more than the voice of the strangers. You have so much power from God to impart your wife and children for the glory of Jesus Christ. Recall the encounter in Joshua 24:13-15. The people of Israel seemed to be unsure of their stand with God. And Joshua, the leader, who took over from Moses, stood up and declared, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15)”. And the people responded, “We will serve the Lord”. The questions that you should ask yourself today are these. How much influence do you command in and over your wife and children? How much of your life as a good and godly husband has been built into the lives of my sheep to the extent that no other person’s influence has a greater hold on them? Have you been able to lay a godly sound foundation for your wife and children to build on? Who do they (wife and children) think you are? Do they see you as their mentor and godly model? How much of your teachings, instructions and counsel have been entrenched into their hearts to the extent that they can easily recall when they are faced with the situations that want to challenge their godly virtue? How loud is my voice in their lives?
You must understand that there are so many distractions out there, calling for the attention of your wife and children. These distractions come from peer pressure, worldly role models, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. These pressures are competing to have a space in the lives of your sheep. They want to influence your sheep and take them away from the godly path you have created for them. You must acknowledge that you and your sheep cannot run away from the market places of life-school, business, politics, work place. The Bible says that though we are in the world but we are not of the world. They will meet with people, visit places, go to school, watch TV and read books. What is important is that wherever they find themselves, they will stand for righteousness because your voice is much louder than the voice of strangers. But you must live an effective prayer life, coupled with fasting like Jesus Christ, for empowerment. (Mark 9:29)
SPIRITUAL EXERCISE
- Father, in the Name of Jesus, empower me with the grace to be an effectual intercessor for my sheep.
- Father, in the Name of Jesus, give me the grace to subject my body to fasting.
- Father, in the Name of Jesus, put Your fear in the hearts of my sheep and help them to obey You.
FAITH CONFESSION
I have power with God and I am empowered by the Holy Spirit to make the voice of God loudest in the lives of my wife and children because that is what makes me the good and godly husband in Jesus Name. Amen.
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