Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that I wanted to tell you a little story.
It has been claimed by many different people that the Border Collie is the number one breed when it comes to shepherding sheep. Not only is it a friendly creature, but they are fairly intelligent, and can be trained to perform many different tasks on a sheep farm. They will follow voice commands and signals in order to round up a group of sheep and bring them to their pen. This can be a huge task because some flocks can be extremely large with over 1,500 ewes with their lambs. Imagine a mother babysitting that many children! A good sheepdog will watch over the entire herd, keeping them away from the busy roads or eating valuable crops. They are extremely protective of the flock, keeping them safe from predators such as coyotes, foxes or wolves.They will guide them to the left or to the right in order to find their way all the way back home.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
Like a sheepdog, the responsibility of a man of God is to watch over the Lord’s sheep. They are charged with an incredible responsibility and must constantly make sure that they are going in the right direction together. To do this, they must do whatever is required, whether it’s a gentle bark or even a nip in the leg! This is done to keep the sheep safe from danger not only from predators but from themselves. They need to be very diligent about their duties, protecting the sheep from harm, and guiding them safely all the way back to the sheepfold.
1 Peter 5 ² Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; ³ Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. ⁴ And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
Whenever people go off to work, they normally receive some type of compensation for their time. They might receive a paycheck, or even a gift for their services. When a sheepdog works hard out in the field, their owner will reward them, providing them with a nice place to stay, and some really good food. God will also reward His faithful servants who have preached His Holy Word, and kept His sheep on the path of biblical truth. Sometimes the herd can head off in the wrong direction, but the servant of Christ must keep them from straying. He must correct, reprove, and rebuke the sheep as needed, in order to keep them on the narrow path of Christ Jesus.
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2
“These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15
“This witness is true. Wherefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith;” Titus 1:13
I’ve owned a few dogs in my life, and at times have kept special treats in my pocket to reward them when they stick close to me. The sheep of God need a steady diet of Spiritual food, because when you give them the meat of scripture, it can keep them on the path leading to eternal life.
“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Acts 20:28
“He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.” John 21:17
In order for a company to be successful, someone must take upon themselves the responsibility of leading their employees towards success. Someone has to take charge of the situation, and be an example for others to follow. Men of God must do the same thing, but it requires perfect obedience to our faith. Only then can we guide the sheep in the correct direction; lead them out of harm’s way; and point them on the path that leads to eternal life and their own salvation.
1 Timothy 4 ¹⁴ Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. ¹⁵ Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. ¹⁶ Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
As an undershepherd of the Lord, men of God must lead the sheep to Christ Jesus.
“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.” Mark 6:34
For thousands of years, Spiritual men have been tasked with this enormous responsibility.
Matthew 28 ¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: ²⁰ Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
“Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:28
Acts 28 ³⁰ And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, ³¹ Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
“And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Acts 5:42
Ephesians 4 ¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
So I guess you could say that there are a lot of similarities between a Border Collie and a preacher.
They are both watching over a flock;
They both answer to their Shepherd;
And they are both trying diligently to lead the sheep safely back home, and into….
…. The Sheepfold
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious goups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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