Called by Name

But the true Shepherd walks right up to the gate, and because the gatekeeper knows who he is, he opens the gate to let him in. And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for he calls his own by name and leads them out, for they belong to him.
John 10:2-3 (TPT)

Greetings in grace, Beloved family!

What a glorious time of Koinonia and fellowship on Sunday. A whole day with the Beloved peeps, doing Kingdom stuff and sharing that together in an authentic way makes my shepherd heart palpitate. While the rest of the world is trying to socially distance, hide in their basements, and develop more disdain and rejection for each other… we are growing in agape love and intimacy. That is the upside down Kingdom in operation.

There is much to say about the above verses, but one of the things I want to drill into is this, “name,” part. One of the applications to this parable (I say one because there are dozens of applications that we can draw from) is to parallel the, “gatekeeper,” with Holy Spirit and the, “true Shepherd,” obviously being Jesus. That makes the sheepfold the safe and restful place for our hearts, where all the other genuine and humble sheep gather. Do you see how “church” or Ekklesia orientated Jesus is in all of His Kingdom ways? When He speaks of the “apostles” way of life, it is a continuous reference back to the disciples who were operating in unity together, and under direct calling by the Master. It is the church being the church in it’s intended way. You cannot have a sheepfold without the sheep (plural) protected by the walls of self-discipline (fruit of the Spirit) and the gatekeeper (Holy Spirit) being allowed to occupy a place of guarding what goes in and out.

Jesus is THE Word of God and also the Great Shepherd. So, when He walks up to the gateway of our heart, and we are in a safe place of rest, He (the Word) is able to call us out, “by name.” I have always thought that this meant He would stand at the door of my heart and say something like, “Steve… come on, let’s go get some stuff done.” And in all honesty, there is still a reality and application to that way of believing. But, there was something a bit deeper that the Lord highlighted to me this week as I have been meditating this chapter. He calls, “them,” (plural) by, “name,” (singular). He does not necessarily stand at the gateway and call our birth name to get our attention… He is actually standing at the place where our heart meets the world and calls out our family name… HIS name that we are called by.

“… for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being”
Ephesians 3:14-16 BSB

If Jesus were to stand at the archway of the Beloved sanctuary and start calling each individual by their given name, it would take a while to get the body to respond fully to what He needs accomplished. But, if He stands there and calls, “BELOVED!”… then we would all turn and face our Shepherd in readiness for what He will speak next. He calls us by HIS name, not our natural name because that is who we really are!

The past few weeks, I have found myself in many, many circumstances where people are in varying places of faltering, pain, misery, stress, shame, guilt, condemnation, and just plain failing in some areas of life or even in totality. Let me say this first, how humbling that the Father can trust me with these delicate places in peoples lives AND how much deep reverence I approach each of these hearts knowing this. What is similar among these situations is that these beautiful folks were allowing the voice of the world to try and name them by something other than what our Father calls us.

The difference between condemnation and conviction:

• Condemnation names us by our sin and/or failure, which makes us pressured to believe that by nature we are flawed and broken.
• Conviction calls us by our Divine Nature and uses the sin and/or failure as an example of what we are NOT called to be or do.
• Condemnation makes us unfit for use and pushes us down into shame destroying our confidence.
• Conviction compels us to rise to the righteousness we already are and gives us a bold confidence to rise in victory over temptation.

When we are surrounded by healthy, secure, and peaceful believers (God’s sheep in a sheepfold), the voice of our Good Shepherd will resonate clearly as He calls us by HIS name into service with Him. The enemy (the thief of John 10:10) will try to sneak into our hearts in some insidious way (media, news, haters, family, coworkers, society, etc…) and call us by other names: “loser… terrible spouse… bad person… victim… liar… worthless… addict… confused… unloved…” If we believe those names, we will become those names. But, if we believe, “in the name of the Lord,” we will see our identity and our lifestyle grow into that Godly reality. Our born-again life is birthed of the Spirit and is as much of the God-nature as Jesus is.

In this Great Awakening, I believe that many are going to… and already are:

“Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin…”
1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NKJV

Beloved, spend some time today with the voice of our Good Shepherd Who is passionately calling you by His name. Do not allow any other “name calling” to enter the sanctity of your heart that should stay guarded in rest and peace.

You are the Beloved, the ones who are greatly loved!

Can you hear me shouting out your name!?
Steve