📖 Sermon Title: What Kind of Sheep Are You?
A Prophetic Warning Against Wandering and a Call Back to the Shepherd
📖 Introduction: The Blessing of Having the Lord as Shepherd
It is a blessing right out of the gate to have the Lord as our Shepherd.
Not a hireling who runs at the first sign of trouble.
Not a stranger who uses and discards.
Not a thief who only comes to kill, steal, and destroy.
But the Good Shepherd — the only One who lays down His life for His sheep.
John 10:11 (KJV):
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
Before we can talk about restoration, green pastures, or still waters,
we must first stop and ask ourselves a deeper question:
“Is the Lord truly your Shepherd?”
Because if He’s your Shepherd, then you must be His sheep —
not a goat.
The blessing of Psalms 23 is reserved for those who belong, listen, and follow.
📖 Point 1: Sheep Hear and Follow the Shepherd
John 10:27 (KJV):
“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Sheep are known by three undeniable traits:
They hear His voice.
They know His voice.
They follow His voice.
Hearing without following is deception.
Following without hearing is dangerous.
Both are required for true belonging.
If you're not listening… if you're resisting… if you're wandering…
You are not acting like a sheep —
You are living like a goat.
📖 Point 2: Dakar Revelation — Goats Wander; Sheep Stay Close
When I traveled to Dakar, goats were everywhere —
In the roads.
In the markets.
On the beaches.
But something struck me deeply:
I never saw a sheep.
I could hear distant bleating, but I never once saw sheep roaming wild.
The sheep were protected. Covered. Hidden.
The goats moved freely — chasing trash, running into traffic, risking death at every turn.
At first glance, their lives looked free.
But the truth was brutal: freedom without the Shepherd is fatal.
Goats love freedom even when it leads to destruction.
Sheep love the Shepherd even when it limits their movement.
Boundaries are not bondage — they are blessings.
📖 Point 3: Sheep vs. Goats — Heart Posture, Not Just Location
Matthew 25:32–33 (KJV):
“And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.”
The sheep and goats were mixed together — until the separation.
Differences between sheep and goat
Sheep -Trust the Shepherd
Goats -Trust themselves
Sheep- Stay close to the flock
Goats - Wander independently
Sheep- Submit to correction
Goats - Resist and rebel
Sheep Obey the Shepherd
Goats- Follow feelings and flesh
This is not about religious performance.
This is not about appearance.
It is about the posture of your heart.
📖 Point 4: Recognizing the Shepherd’s Voice vs. Strange Voices
John 10:5 (KJV):
“And a stranger will they not follow but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”
There are many voices calling today:
Voices of fear
Voices of pride
Voices of deception
Voices of flesh
Voices of culture
True sheep do not debate with strange voices.
They run.
You can fake the sound.
You can mimic the appearance.
But you cannot fake true surrender to the Shepherd’s voice.
📖 Expanded Revelation: Eve in the Garden — When Sheep Entertain Strangers
God gave Adam the Word directly (Genesis 2:16–17).
Eve received it through Adam’s stewardship.
Then came the stranger:
Genesis 3:1 (KJV):
“Yea, hath God said…?”
Eve didn’t flee. She entertained the stranger.
She added to the Word out of confusion.
Genesis 3:3 (KJV):
“3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
God never said "don't touch."
What God actually said Genesis 2: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God says one thing and a sheep with goat tendencies will hear another.
When you entertain what God never authorized, confusion and compromise creep in.
Eve mistook the stranger’s voice for wisdom — and it cost her everything.
📖 Satan: The Hireling and Master Deceiver
John 10:12–13 (KJV):
“But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd... leaveth the sheep... and the wolf catcheth them…”
Satan shows up like a shepherd — but he’s a hireling.
He uses half-truths.
He appeals to emotions.
He speaks to ego.
He justifies rebellion.
But the sheep — Hallelujah! — know the difference!
📖 Goat Behavior in Scripture
🟥 Adam and Eve
Had the Word, had the presence, chose independence —
acted like goats, and lost Eden.
🟥 Balaam
Heard God’s voice, loved unrighteous gain —
acted like a goat, and cursed himself.
🟥 King Saul
Anointed by God, feared man more than God —
offered partial obedience, lost the kingdom.
Goat behavior always leads to loss.
📖 Deep Prophetic Charge: Goat Behavior — Choose Life
Goat behavior is fatal.
It looks like freedom.
It sounds like strength.
But it leads to death.
Ego has no place in the Kingdom.
Pride and self-will will take you straight into separation from the Shepherd.
There is no crown without surrender.
There is no true leadership without following first.
There is no glory without humility.
Proverbs 14:12 (KJV):
“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
You may feel strong now.
You may feel independent now.
You may even feel justified in your wandering.
But hear this clearly:
Feeling right does not mean you are walking right.
Comfort does not confirm correctness.
The path of pride may seem right for a season —
but its end is destruction.
Ask yourself boldly today:
Am I resisting godly correction?
Am I wandering without accountability?
Do I obey only when it’s convenient?
Do I follow feelings over faith?
Do I despise spiritual boundaries?
Have I been masking rebellion with religious language?
If your outward display is loud but your inward posture is rebellious — that is goat behavior.
God is not impressed by public displays.
He is drawn to surrendered hearts.
It may humble your pride to live as a sheep —
but it will save your life.
It may bruise your ego to stay fenced —
but it will preserve your destiny.
Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV):
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
📖 Rewards of Being a True Sheep
Choosing to walk humbly as a sheep brings rich rewards:
Provision — The Shepherd leads to green pastures.
Protection — The Shepherd fights off every wolf.
Peace — Still waters flow under His leadership.
Discernment — The sheep know the difference between truth and deception.
Eternal Life — The sheep are promised a place in His everlasting fold.
The safest place in the world is not outside the fence — it is under the Shepherd’s hand.
📖 Short Testimony: A Personal Return to the Shepherd
There was a season where I wanted to run — where I thought I knew better.
The boundaries God placed around me felt too tight, too limiting.
I flirted with wandering.
But the Shepherd, in His mercy, pulled me back.
And it was only after humbling myself, surrendering fully, that I realized:
What I thought was bondage was actually blessing.
What I thought was restriction was actually my rescue.
📖 Prophetic Picture: The Shepherd is Still Calling
I see a valley where goats have scattered into the cliffs, where the wolves are circling.
But I see the Good Shepherd standing in the center, His rod and staff stretched out.
He is gathering His sheep under His cloak.
He is speaking.
His pasture is still open.
His gates are still swinging wide.
His voice is still calling.
Choose wisely.
Choose the Shepherd.
Choose life.
📖 Altar Call: Return to the Shepherd
You may be standing in the field.
You may be carrying a Bible.
You may be fluent in church language.
But if your heart is wandering, rebellious, prideful —
the Shepherd is calling you home.
Today is the day to repent.
Today is the day to return.
📖 Prayer of Repentance
“Lord, I thank You for being my Good Shepherd.
Forgive me for every time I acted like a goat —
when I chose my way over Yours,
when I entertained the voice of a stranger,
when I resisted the fences You placed around me.
Today I return. I repent. I surrender.
I want to hear You clearly, follow You fully, and walk with You closely.
Restore my soul.
I am Your sheep.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
📖 Prophetic Declaration (Repeat Out Loud)
I will not act like a goat.
I will not follow a stranger.
I will not resist correction.
I will not sacrifice what God didn’t ask for.
I will return to the Shepherd.
I am His sheep.
I know His voice.
I follow Him fully — no turning back!
📖 Final Charge
Sheep receive restoration.
Goats receive separation.
Choose wisely.
Stay close.
Stay humble.
Stay covered.
Stay His.
