SUNDAY MORNING
8/19/2007
SHEEP POWER!
MATT.10:16
What do you think about this as a job description?
“WANTED: VERY KIND, LOVING, AND FAITHFUL PEOPLE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THOSE WHO MAY BE MEAN AND AGGRESSIVELY DANGEROUS BECAUSE THEY WON’T WANT TO HEAR THE MESSAGE.” This doesn’t sound like the best working conditions does it?
Jesus was telling us here that we as His disciples are being sent out as He was to preach the gospel to a lost and dying world. We are to be His mouth piece here on the earth. That means He has appointed us to do His work. The world is a mess because of man’s sinful nature and satan’s influence. We are to be as sheep sent out among wolves. Sometimes for us as Christians these conditions make us want to hang back, but our scripture says “I”, Jesus, send you out. He has appointed us as ambassadors to a world that has taken on satan’s characteristics. As we look at this it may seem like it would be impossible, sheep among wolves. Sheep don’t have strong teeth and claws to fight with. So they are not very good fighters. They are not even very fast so they are not able to get away easily. They are usually thought of as kind of dumb. Wolves on the other hand are powerfully built with strong teeth, they are very cunning, and they can run fast. They have been known to kill animals many times bigger than themselves. They have even killed humans. I mean, which would you rather have for a high school team name: The St. Johns mighty wolves or the St. Johns peaceful sheep? The first thing that it makes you think is that Jesus must have made a mistake, sending us out as sheep. But lets look closer at what Jesus was saying.
We are to be far removed from the ways of the world. He didn’t want us acting like the world. If we did we would end up just like the world. Remember when Jesus said if you live by the sword you will die by the sword? If we are like the world we will get caught up in the things of the world and we will end up with the same results as the world. The person who uses manipulation and destroys others to get to the top of the company will some day be manipulated and stepped on as the next one pushes his way to the top. What I’m saying is in reality it doesn’t work for the world, it might have the look of success but it just leaves people hurting even the one who does most of the hurting will end up in a mess. God doesn’t want that for us. We are not to be like the world. A lot of the world really knows that what they are doing isn’t working so if we look and act just like them they won’t be impressed.
Well lets look at some of the advantages the sheep have over the wolves. You might think that they have no advantages over the wolf but recognize this: we have put lots of tax payers dollars into getting wolves back into Az. in the wolf relocation project in the white mountains because they disappeared from our state. We have plenty of sheep in Az.
1. Sheep are special and valuable to the shepherd. LUKE 15:4-7, 1JOHN 3:1, JOHN 10:11, 1JOHN 4:10, JOHN 15:13. Just like in the natural we are so special and valuable to our Shepherd. The apostle John understood this, he kept on calling himself the disciple who Jesus loved. We need to do that too. It would keep us out of a lot of trouble if we really understood how much we are loved by our God. The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear. Much of the time we react like the world instead of running to our God and it causes us to get hurt. In John 10:11 it says that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. If we realize not only did Jesus lay His life down for us but He is for us now. What He did in laying His life down for us has bought us incredible promises that can help us every day of our lives. ROM.8:31&32. If He is for us who can be against us? We have to realize that same love that God had to send Jesus to die for us didn’t stop then. God’s great love works on our behalf no matter what circumstances we face. The wolf doesn’t have the advantage of the shepherds love. We do!!! Hallelujah!!! We can choose to act like the wolf or we can choose to cuddle up to our shepherd. When we act like the world or the wolf we distance ourselves from the shepherd.
2. We can call on our Shepherd anytime in any struggle. When a shepherd hears a commotion in the sheep pen you can better believe that he grabs a weapon and runs. PS.86:7, PS.91:15. ISA.59:1&2, The wolf or the world doesn’t have the same privilege that the sheep does. This doesn’t have to remain the case. Any one can repent, accept Jesus as their savior and call on the Lord to have the same opportunity. I’m not saying that God never hears the prayers of the lost, but I am saying that they usually don’t understand how to pray. HEB.4:16. JOHN 14:13&14. WOW!!!
Do you see this as an incredible advantage over the wolf?
3. The shepherd protects the sheep. Going along with the last point the protection is a great advantage of the sheep over the wolf. The shepherd not only protects the sheep from the wolf and other predators but from every day situations like wandering away or getting caught in something. Most of us would admit that without the Lord we don’t know where we might have ended up. Some of us would not be alive now. God as our shepherd is always looking out for our interests. EPH.6:10. We are to be strong in the Lord’s power. The sheep has all the power of the shepherd on his side. To contrast that the wolf has all the power of the shepherd against him. What an advantage! The sheep is not limited to his own power. In the movie: “The Bear” a bear cub whose mother died took up with a male bear. They traveled together. One of my favorite parts happened when they got separated and the little bear came upon a mountain lion. When the mountain lion came at the cub he stood up trying to scare it away. The mountain lion all of a sudden started backing away. The little bear cub thought he had scared him away but what had really happened was that the big bear came up behind the little bear. It wasn’t the cub but the big bear that frightened the lion away. We may not look very frightening but we have a Father that is all powerful. We as the Lord’s sheep are only limited to our own human power when we reject God’s power. DEUT.20:3&4, JOSH.23:10.
4. The sheep are led by the shepherd. We have the great privilege to be guided by our good Shepherd. ROM.8:14. 2COR.2:14a, PS.23:1-6.
5. The sheep hear the shepherds voice. JOHN 10:2-5. Compare that with JOHN 8:42-47. Since God’s word is truth and it is the truth that sets you free (John 8:32) it is an amazing advantage to be a sheep. PRO.2:1-7. To hear God’s voice is to walk in His wisdom or His Godly principals. Walking in God’s principals bring God’s blessings into our lives.
6. Sheep trust their shepherds. More than they are afraid of the wolves they trust their shepherds. That is called faith. PRO.3:5&6. HEB.11:6. This last verse promises that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Our faith in our shepherd brings rewards. Remember Jairus? People from his house came and reported that his daughter had died, don’t trouble the master any more they said. Jesus told him, “Don’t fear only believe.” Jairus got to see his daughter come back to life. Incredible. MARK 9:23. As God’s sheep we have the incredible advantage of walking by faith in this life. This is one of the most powerful advantages of being a sheep. The more we are able to walk in faith the more God is able to bless us. Its faith that brings God’s blessings down to us. We don’t have to just accept the things this world throws at us. We can receive God’s blessings by faith. EPH.1:3. 1JOHN 5:4&5. Even though at first glance our first scripture may seem like we are prey to the world in reality God has given us victory over the world. But we must remember who we are. We are not to be like the world rather we are to be light to the world. We are to show the world there is a better way. His name is Jesus. That scripture says to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. That means God’s wisdom can keep us out of the traps the rest of the world falls into. We are not to have the attitude to destroy or enemies. We are to love them. Our goal should be to see them come into the sheepfold. Remember when you feel like you as a Christian are thrown out to the ravenous wolves of this world it is not the world that has the advantage, but rather you do as God’s sheep.
