“And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of strangers” (John 10:5).

Stranger (Def): (Gr): Allotrios from Allos: Belonging to another, i.e., not one’s own; foreign, not akin

There is a problem with the people of God today having to do with voices. There are many voices speaking and being heard, but much of the speaking is being done by Strangers in the House of God, and not by the voice of the Shepherd.

Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John regarding the relationship between the Shepherd and the sheep. This relationship is one of belonging. The sheep belong to the Shepherd, they know His voice; and He calls each one by name. Jesus identifies with His sheep as their true Shepherd. He said:

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His Life for the sheep” (John 10:11).

The Stranger is one who belongs to another with a different interest, a different message, or word and a different heart. The Stranger has no bond with the sheep and only uses the sheep for his own selfish interest and gain. Today there are too many Strangers in the House of God.

There is a true voice, the voice of the true Shepherd. His voice, His message, His Word is the Word of Life. His Word conforms with the Scriptures, the Prophets, the Apostles Doctrine, and is attested to by the Holy Spirit. There is a witness, a confirmation, a testimony to the Truth.

I Belong to Jesus. During my college years we had a group of believers who were very zealous for God in the days of the Jesus Revolution. It seemed everyone belonged to something: Jackets with Letters were worn by athletes, fraternity brothers and sorority sisters. School letters and Greek letters abounded throughout the campus. We, small group that we were, wanted our identity too. So, we purchased bright yellow, fluorescent buttons with the words I Belong to Jesus on them. Yes, we were, indeed, Jesus Freaks in a world full of strangers who had every kind of message, lifestyle, and culture one could embrace.

Today, those Strangers are in the House. They belong to another, not to Jesus. They have come into the House by another way, not by the Door. Jesus said:

“Verily, verily I say unto you, he that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But He that enters in by the door is the Shepherd of the sheep. To Him the porter opens, and the sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name, and leads them out. And when He puts forth His own sheep He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him for they know His voice” (John 10:1-4).

Whose voice are you following? The Good Shepherd’s? The hireling (cf. John 10:12)? The thief? The robber? The false prophets?

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privately shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (II Peter 2:1).

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets are gone into the world” (I John 4:1).

To whom do you belong? To the Lord, or to another? The voice to which you follow will give you away.

Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves” (Matthew 7:15). “Many false prophets shall rise and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11).

Beware the Strangers in the House.

“The thief comes not but to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I am come that you might have Life, and that you might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

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