Learn From the Sheep*

We have the impression that sheep are dumb animals, but there is at least one area in which sheep show how smart they are. They can recognize their owner's voice, and answer his call. They cry out like babies when they get into trouble, trusting that their shepherd will come to their rescue. We see new end time signs every day that the media mis-labels as climate change, or happenstance. However, we need to ask ourselves as the sheep of the Lord, "What is my role, and what is my response to all of these things?" The Word of the LORD to the prophet Ezekiel makes our role clear, as those who can read the signs: "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked of his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." (Ezek. 3:17-19). The watchman is required to give a warning at the word of the LORD's mouth, or he will be held accountable for the death of the unwarned, whether he is wicked or a righteous man found in sin (see v. 20-21). The LORD also prophesied to Ezekiel regarding spiritual shepherds who do not properly care for the flock of God, which are His people: "...thus saith the LORD God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattereed, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered...my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them." (Ezek. 34:1-6). Churches aren't healing the sick, or looking for the lost sheep, but they are involved in activities and programs they were not called to do. There are sheep that need rescue. The LORD promised Ezekiel that He will search out the sheep Himself that had been scattered because of the negligent shepherds. "...so I will seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day...and will bring them to their own land, and feed them..." (Ezek. 34:11-13). The phrase used "in the cloudy and dark day" calls us to mind of the end time day of the LORD, which is described as being darkened, and cloudy. There are scattered sheep in these last days that need shepherds to bring them in. In the Psalms, God's people are described as "the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand". (Ps. 95:7). As God's sheep, we are to bow down and kneel before our Maker, who is God, in worship. We are warned not to harden our hearts against our Shepherd. "Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." (Ps. 100:3). The prevailing lie of our age is that we were not made by God, but evolved by accident. His sheep must know that God made us, that we are dependent upon Him, and that He leads us as a Shepherd. His sheep must, as a result, acknowledge Him, bringing Him their worship and praise (Ps. 100). It is important to understand our relationship with Jesus as sheep to their Shepherd, especially in these end times when false shepherds and even false sheep are numerous. This relationship of sheep to Shepherd is the basis of our salvation. Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep...I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine." (Jn. 10:7-14). What makes our Good Shepherd different in every way from someone who is just hired to do the job? Jesus said that the hireling will flee before danger, such as the approach of a wolf, leaving the sheep unprotected and scattered before the predator (v. 12). The hireling will protect his own life first, because he doesn't care for the sheep as his own. This is proven not to be the case of our Good Shepherd, Jesus, who laid His life down for the sheep. The Good Shepherd not only guards the life of the sheep, but provides the sheep with abundant (perissos- meaning over and above, super-added, superior, extraordinary) life. Jesus goes on to tell His Jewish listeners what He, as Good Shepherd, will also accomplish: "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd." (v. 16). In our Good Shepherd, there only exists one flock, both Jew and Gentile, disregarding denominational divisions, united in their common Shepherd. What unites this flock is not found in religious practices and men's doctrines, or in the worship of the idols that man creates, which proliferate in our age (Amos 5:18-27), but the unity of the flock is found in the voice of the Good Shepherd, and the promise found in that voice of rejoicing in the abundance of life now, and in the new heavens and new earth to come: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain." (Isa. 66:22, see also 2 Peter 3:9-18, Isa. 65:17-19). The apostle Peter wrote that considering this prophetic promise, our manner of life should reflect the eternal purpose to which we have been called: the anticipation of the new creation. Our lives as the sheep of the Good Shepherd should be of holy conversation and godliness, looking for the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness dwells, found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Peter concluded: "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Pet. 3:18-18). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 7/18/21 message to the church. To contact: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and at endtimeschool.com. Also, contact us with your prayer requests, and to obtain Dr. Stevenson's newest book, "NAZAH: White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling".