sheep

At this time last week I would have never expected I’d be writing this post today. It just didn’t seem possible. There appeared to be too much sin and too much hardness of heart. It looked as though someone I dearly love would remain entrenched and would go the way of many others. It was sad, it was heavy, it was heart wrenching…there appeared to be very little, if any hope.

But God!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:20-21

Amen! Let it be so!

God can sew in the hardest of ground and I saw a man stand before the assembly broken over his sin. He repented and he confessed his sin. He was afraid of the terror of the Lord, because he saw what sin does in the hearts of men.

We live on this earth for such a very short time and for the majority of the people they never consider their sin. There is no fear of the Lord! He’s a Sunday school story they heard and forgot long ago, He’s a by-product of some ignorant sheep herders, just something written by man thousands of years ago, certainly not relevant today.

Or worse yet, the practice of church discipline’s for the fanatics. It’s for the legalistic that only desire to go around pointing out others sin. “I’m okay, you’re okay”, is what they think. As long as we are here on Sunday, or Saturday night, everything is cool.

But God!

He’s rich in mercy and abundantly ready to forgive, yet that hard and stony ground must be plowed over and churned up, there’s difficult work that needs to be done. That hard and leathery heart must be pierced with the needle of the law so the gospel can enter in, and without the law breaking a mans heart there is no hope. [1] There must be conviction; there must be an adherence to God’s Word. It must be dealt with biblically, or it’s only man’s wisdom. Not the power of the Almighty Himself.

Bones must be broken…or there will be no healing.

For I acknowledge my

   transgressions,

And my sin is always before me.

Against You, You only, have I

   sinned, and done this evil in Your

   sight—

That You may be found just when

   You speak,

And blameless when You judge. – Psalm 51:3-4

Sin must be dealt with and the only way to deal with it properly is to first acknowledge the sin. Sin will blind us. Sin will harden us. Sin will deceive us and cause us to think all kinds of “good” things about ourselves. Only by God’s truth can we be set free, because sin also enslaves us.

We need God’s church and we need God’s Spirit to convict us, to call us to repentance and then to gently and lovingly restore us. I’m sure it didn’t feel very loving for quite a long time, because this battle has raged for what seems like a very long time. The enemy was well fortified, but God’s power is far greater and the victory has already been won at the cross.

But from our perspective we must remain engaged and fight. We don’t know if the soil is good or not. We must do our part and the Scriptures are clear, although mostly ignored by the “church” today.

Today the hard work really begins for this brother. He has a mess to clean up. Time will tell if the confession is real or not. It was really awesome to have him back, to see a completely different countenance than I’ve seen for almost a year. But when reality sinks in, and the pressures of life resume, outside the walls of the safety of the assembly, what will happen? Only God knows and time will tell.

The Lord Jesus Christ deserves His witness to proclaim His name. To seek forgiveness for the wrong that has been done, to acknowledge Him where He has been denied, to call sinners to repentance and preach the gospel of peace.

Outside of Him there is no peace and those that have been around this man need to know that. They need to hear a broken confession and humble acknowledgement of sin. It’s going to be a narrow and difficult path for sure if it’s a true testimony and I trust that it is. I trust he won’t fail the test, but the trials will be difficult most certainly.

Today I am hopeful, I’m joyful and I’m humbled. I feel a sense of peace that I’ve not felt in a while over this situation. I’ve seen it go the opposite way too many times. I’ve seen the hardheartedness of men too often turn away and go somewhere that isn’t quite as difficult. They might fool themselves, they might fool others but God will never be mocked and I hope it is well with their souls. The Christian life is full of trials, it’s full of difficulty and not every day is Friday. In fact most days are Mondays if we are truly in the faith.

Create in me a clean heart, O

   God,

And renew a steadfast spirit

   within me.

Do not cast me away from Your

   presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit

   from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your

   salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous

   Spirit. – Psalm 51:10-12

Kevin

[1] This thought from Behold Your God Page 164 – “The needle of the law must puncture the hard leathery heart before the thread of the gospel can pass through.”

Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may it more abundantly. John 10:7-10

What are sheep, and what is the significance of them in the Bible?

Most people will read their Bibles and rarely consider the importance of the reason Jesus uses this metaphor to describe believers. The majority of us live in urban areas and the most we think of sheep is when we see a mattress commercial showing us the imagery of counting sheep. It’s just not something we think much about.

In our modern society being compared to sheep is very insulting, as we think sheep are stupid, they are followers, and are most often led to slaughter. Everyone wants to be a leader; nobody wants to be a follower. We want to be strong-willed, independent and self sufficient. This is the American way. To be otherwise is weak and needy.

On our recent trip to Israel, for the first time in my life, I saw sheep grazing on the hillsides and actual shepherds walking with them. It was quite an incredible scene. The shepherds are a group called Bedouins and they are nomadic Arabs, they live a very simplistic life in the hills surrounding Jerusalem.

Sheep are very needy and this is one of the reasons most people have no interest in being associated with this idea of being one. Sheep would not last long if left to their own devices; they are easy targets for predators having very little natural defenses. This is why sheep flock together, which provides protection. Those that act independently are an easy target for predators.

Sheep need lots of personal attention and care; they often wander off and when left on their own will not live long. A small cut can lead to infection that will quickly kill them, and because they are easily preyed upon sheep naturally hide their weaknesses and illness. Sheep are very susceptible to external parasites, such as bot flies that will lay their larvae into the flesh and it will eventually cause death if left untreated. A shepherd must be diligent to inspect the condition of his flocks.

Despite what most people believe, sheep are not stupid, although they behave “stupidly” and not generally for their own benefit. They have the ability to understand human voices and even know their names. They will follow their shepherd and not another, but instead flee.

“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of stranger.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. John 10:3-6.

How many people really understand this illustration? Isn’t this still true today? Do you really want to think of yourself in this way? This may be a good barometer of your spiritual health. Are you independent of the church and mostly do your own thing, or do you desire to be led as though you realize you need shepherding.

Sheep don’t think about the fact they need a shepherd, it’s just a reality that they do.

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Matthew 9:36-38

Next time we will take a look at the role of the shepherd and Christ being the Chief Shepherd.

Kevin

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