Cross Walk Ranch

John 10; 5
Jesus said “my sheep know my voice and a stranger they will not follow”
While this may be true to many of the voices we hear, when it comes to the voice of pain, I’m afraid that it is no stranger to most of us. For the purpose of this study we’ve narrowed the voice of pain into three categories. While I’m quite sure there are more ways that pain speaks to us but these three have been a source of defeat and heartache for me personally .
1. The pain of being rejected.
2. The pain of betrayal.
3. The pain of loss.

Defining Pain
The first time we see pain mentioned in scripture is when it became part of the curse on humanity as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Of course we may never understand fully the pain that God went through because of their rebellion. Pain is an indicator that something is wrong. Whether physical or emotional the feeling of pain is always meant to be an indicator not something that becomes the guide to make our decisions. I think it would be scary to see how many decisions we’ve made because of the voice of pain.

The pain of being rejected.
Because of our fallen nature everyone feels the pain of rejection in some form. Cain cried out that his punishment was too much to bear and we all echo the same emotional response at times. The story of God’s dealing with Cain in relation to his offering is a wonderful story to correlate to the voice of pain. The Lord told Cain that if he would do well acceptance was within his reach. Many of us take rejection in the same form as Cain… Anger. Cain’s anger caused him to murder his brother to make up for the pain of being rejected. I’m sure most of us have never physically murdered anyone but verbally, blood is on our hands.
As with all our problems the voice of pain was dealt with through the cross. Our ultimate victory was bought and paid for on the cross. Romans 8;15 says that the Spirit of God within each born again believer has the power to bring us into the family through the adoption process courtesy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The pain of betrayal
Probably some of the most intense pain we experience comes in the form of betrayal. That’s because it’s someone close to you, a person you have allowed into your life. It is only those who we have granted access to our thoughts and emotions that can hurt you this way. Just a side note… all of us has suffered from the fall. Only by grace do we ourselves not become the betrayer. Uncovering this type of pain can be worse if you don’t allow the Lord to guide you. One of the best biblical examples is Joseph. As a young man he revealed God’s plan for his life to his brothers only to have them sell him into slavery. Only when Joseph rose to a position of authority did he realize the purpose of betrayal. If it were not for Judas Iscariot, the Lord may not have made to the Cross.
Deuteronomy 31; 6 & Hebrews 13; 5
Just as He promised the children of Israel the Lord promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. As with most hurt, betrayal can lead us to bitterness or allow God to show us the path towards healing. It is at this point when we rely on the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

The pain of loss
Most of us would agree that to live is to lose. The older we get the more loss becomes inevitable. Whether it is material things or the people we care about we all face loss in this life. Because of loss many of us continue to live with a void, a sense of emptiness that eats away at core of our emotions and mental well being. Many irrational decisions have been made because of an inner void. The first chapter of Job tells the story of a man emptied by what appears to be total loss. Philippians 3; 7, 8 tells us that to loss for the sake of the Kingdom is to gain the knowledge of Christ. Remember that Jesus was willing to empty Himself for the redemption of our souls. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to be emptied of ourselves.

Fellowship
I John 1; 1-4
There are many components that make up a healthy church. Four of those are illustrated in Acts chapter 2 “And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers”. Someone said once that fellowship is two fellows in a ship. While this is a good picture of what the end result may be it takes some effort to get everyone in the boat, much less paddling in the same direction. John tells us in verse 4 he is writing this message that our joy may be full. Certainly there is no joy in baling out our sinking ship which is sometimes called the local church.
We will never gather together as a healthy community until the turmoil in our own lives has been dealt with. John doesn’t waste any time jumping right to the problems we all face when dealing with unity.
The first of three obstacles John tackles in his quest for unity is.
Sound Doctrine – The willingness to endure correction.
Verse 7; if we walk in light we have fellowship. Fellowship comes with a cost to our pet doctrines. Sacred cows have no fellowship with the Lord. Nicodemus is a good example of someone walking in darkness. (John chapter 3)

Obedience – The willingness to follow the Holy Spirit.
2; 17 tells us that doing God’s will is the key to abiding in Him. When the disciples were asked by Jesus to “eat the flesh and drink the blood” it caused a reaction. (John chapter 6)
Love – The willingness to honor others more than yourself.
Chapter 3 verse 16 gives us the test to see if we are in fellowship with each other. Are we laying down our lives for someone else? The washing of feet in chapter 13 of John’s gospel gives us the picture of what our attitude towards each other should be.

Is the price for fellowship to high for us or are we going walk with each other until the fullness of Christ is manifest in every person that we are in covenantal relationship with?