The sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4b

I grew up on a small farm in California. Our animal pens were in a canyon with pasture land on

the flat lands above the canyon. In the summer, our sheep would graze on the dry grasses of

the flat land... palatable but not too nutritious. Once a day, my father would whistle for the

sheep to come in for some alfalfa hay. Within a few seconds, the flock would come bounding

down the canyon walls. They knew their shepherd’s voice.

But oddly enough, they did not know mine. When I would bring them wheelbarrow loads of

fresh succulent weeds pulled from the garden, they would not respond to my whistling. No

thundering herd came pouring down the canyon walls no matter how much I lured them with

tasty cheeseweed, mustard, thistle, and grass. But once again, if my father whistled for them,

they would come and eagerly feast on these choice greens. They trusted only their shepherd’s

voice.

Scripture calls us the sheep of Jesus’ flock, sometimes this truth is complimentary, sometimes it

is sobering, But what marks us as His sheep is that we know His voice, Through the faith that

the Holy Spirit has given us, we are able to read His word and know that it is truth. Through the

faith that the Holy Spirit has given us, we trust that Jesus is our Good Shepherd that came to

give His life to protect and rescue us from our enemies of sin, death, and the devil. Through the

faith that the Holy Spirit has given us, we await the day when our Good Shepherd will lead us

finally out of this valley of death and into pleasant pastures,

But we cannot listen to any other supposed shepherd’s voice. If their voice does not follow our

Good Shepherd’s voice found in His holy word, we are not to be lured in by it. We are to remain

distant... just as my earthly father’s sheep remained distant when they heard my whistle and

voice calling to them. The voices of our world, the evil one, and even our own sinful natures are

siren calls leading us to rocky crags of our own eternal death. We cannot listen to them. They

are not our Good Shepherd’s voice.

How then are we to distinguish our Good Shepherd’s voice from all of the voices calling out to

us? We can only do so by daily staying in God’s word. We should not be content with a

near-starvation diet of God’s Word from merely hearing a weekly sermon. We should feast

greedily on His word through Bible classes, daily devotions, and personal study. Then we will

hear our Good Shepherd’s voice clearly. Blessings,

Frank Van Brocklin

Principal/Staff Minister

Noted for Immanuel Lutheran School:

❖ Thank you to everyone who made our Grandparents’ Day on April 20 a huge success.

Roughly 110 grandparents, students, members, and faculty turned out for chapel, open

house, craft, and lunch. What a blessing!

❖ This Friday, April 28, Carey Hartwig’s piano students will be playing in a piano recital

beginning at 6:00 PM. All members of the school and congregation are invited to attend.

An ice cream social will follow the event.

❖ On Saturday, April 29, there will be a gathering to discuss called worker mental health

issues in the wake of COVID 19. The meeting will begin with fellowship at 9:00 AM. All

congregation members are invited and encouraged to attend.

❖ Our next ILSA meeting will be on May 3 at 6:00 PM in the school library.