WHY SHEEP
Jesus refers to us as sheep, why? Is He telling us that we
are helpless as sheep? We know sheep without a shepherd go astray, get lost,
injured or die. Like sheep without a shepherd, we also will go astray in this
world. We need a shepherd to guide us and give us instructions as we go through
life or we’ll end up like that lost sheep.
He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the
greatness of his folly he shall go astray.
PROVERBS 5:23
He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray.
PROVERBS 10:17
So he shepherded them according to the integrity of
his heart,
And guided
them by the skillfulness of his hands.
PSALM 78:72
There are times a female sheep will reject its lamb, even
kicking it away, becoming rejected and alone in this world. (These female sheep are the ones that
represent a corrupt world, and the rejected baby lambs are believers this world
rejects, because the world has turned against God. These are the ones the True Shepherd
came to save.)
He will feed His flock like
a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.
ISAIAH 40:11
As a shepherd seeks
out his flock on the day he is among his scattered
sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the
places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark
day.
EZEKIEL 34:12
For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.
MATTHEW 18:11
These lambs without a shepherd to save them, they will
surely die. (Like them without a Savior to
save us, many will die going astray in their sins.) A good shepherd has
compassion on God’s flock, and will care for them, feeding them with the
knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. (There are many good shepherds that stand on God’s
word leading His sheep, believers to Jesus, the True Savior.)
And I will give you shepherds according to My heart,
who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
JEREMIAH 3:15
I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them;
and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed,
nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.
JEREMIAH 23:4
And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude
and was moved with compassion for them, because
they were like sheep not having a shepherd.
So He began to teach them many things.
MARK 6:34
These rejected lambs started out looking lost and
heartbroken, (They needed a Savior.) Thanks
to Jesus, they have become members of His family, after being rejected by this world
and loved ones. (God warns us that
families will be divided for His name sake and we will be hated by the world, even
by the ones we love.)
The Lord is near
to those who have a broken
heart,
And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
PSALM 34:18
53 Father will be divided against son and
son against father,
mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law.”
LUKE 12:53-55
18 “If the world hates you, you know that
it hated Me before
it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would
love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but
I
chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates
you.
JOHN 15:18-19
When these lambs (believers)
are old enough, and learn of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ, they are
sent back out into the herd (world,) telling
others of God’s saving grace through repentance of sin and receiving Jesus who
shed His blood and died for our sins, becoming our Lord and Savior. God will then
send His Holy Spirit to live in them, making them a member of His family, and to
be a witness of the True Shepherd (Jesus
Christ) who saves (The lost and
rejected people.) lambs.
27 Then He took the cup, and
gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
MATTHEW 26:27-28
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of
truth, the gospel
of your salvation; in whom
also, having believed, you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our
inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased
possession, to the praise of His glory.
EPHESIANS 1:13-15
And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
ROMANS 10:15
These lambs (believers)
never forget their shepherd’s love or voice. They will hear Him, obey Him and
follow Him. (Only believers, hear and follow
the True Shepherd, Jesus Christ.) (Yes, Jesus cares for all those in this world,
but in the end, He will separate the
goats from the sheep, for the goats do not know His voice or respond to Him.)
26 But you do not believe, because you are
not of My sheep,
as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and
I know them, and they follow Me.
JOHN 10:26-27
the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,
for He dwells with you and will be in you.
JOHN 14:17
32 All the nations will be gathered
before Him, and He will
separate them one
from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep
from the goats. 33 And He will set
the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to
those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My
Father,
inherit the
kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
MATTHEW 25:32-34
If one of these lambs (once
saved) strays off its path (sins)
or is attacked by an enemy, (Satan)
they can cry out for their shepherd (Jesus
Christ) to save them, knowing he will hear them.
In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out
to my God; He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry
came before Him, even to His
ears.
PSALM 18:6
Then they cry
out to the Lord in their trouble,
And He brings them out of their distresses.
PSALM 107:28
If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 JOHN 1:9
When Jesus the True Shepherd calls us home, the only ones
that will be going to heaven will be His sheep (Believers), for they know His voice. (Jesus knows each of us by name and we know His voice.) Jesus tells
us He is the only way in.
3 To him the doorkeeper opens, and the
sheep hear his voice;
and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 And
when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them;
and
the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
JOHN 10:3-4
I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep,
and am known by My own.
JOHN 10:14
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me.
JOHN 14:6
Sheep without a true shepherd will follow anyone who leads.
(Unfortunately many will follow these
false shepherds, be it pastors, politicians or teachers) who tell them what they want to hear, rather
than the truth, deceiving and
being deceived themselves, denying God’s truth.
But evil men and impostors will grow worse
and worse, deceiving
and being deceived.
2 TIMOTHY 3:13
3 For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine,
but according to their own
desires, because they have
itching ears,
they will heap up for
themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their
ears away from the truth, and
be turned aside to fables.
2 TIMOTHY 4:3-4
They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being
abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every
good work.
TITUS 1:16
Only God’s word can prepares us to go out into this world to
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and stand strong in our daily life, but He also
warns us that the enemy (Satan) is
also out there trying to stop us, knowing his time is short.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil walks
about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 PETER 5:8
Therefore take up the whole
armor of God, that you may be able
to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand.
EPHESIANS 6:13
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in
them!
Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For
the
devil has come down to you, having great wrath,
because he knows that he has a short time.”
REVELATION 12:12
My Prayer
I believe Jesus Christ die on the cross for my sins, I repent of my
sins and ask
forgiveness and Father I’m
asking You to send Your Holy Spirit to come and
live in me, and I will follow Jesus Christ all the days of my life.
Amen
Benediction, Final
Exhortation, Farewell
20 Now may the God of peace who brought up
our Lord
Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 make
you complete in every good work to do His will, working
in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through
Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
HEBREWS 13:20-21