Christ our forever-compassionate Shepherd. (Pretty long read😉)
Believers, it's no coincidence that the author of the most popular Psalms 23, David, was a shepherd before he became king. The relationship that a sheep has with its shepherd is one of ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE on the shepherd and David expresses this in this wonderful Psalm for us to see the everlasting love of our Saviour Jesus Christ the good Shepherd.
Did you know that sheep are hopelessly helpless and lost without a shepherd? Worse, a sheep that has fallen over on its back (cast sheep) will remain in this "cast down" position until someone with experience comes to right it. If no one does, after some time in the cast position, gas begins to collect in its stomach and it hardens; blood circulation to extremities and air supply is cut off, and the sheep will eventually die. Before it dies, wild animals and scavengers that notice its distress start to devour it while it's still alive!
All of these things are typologies of what happens to a person who does not have Christ as Saviour. Emphasis on Saviour. Many people profess Christ but do not see Him as Saviour and Shepherd. They believe that when they are "cast down" like a sheep aka when they go astray and fall into sin, get oppressed by the devil, get sick, get broke, etc, they can "right themselves" with God by their works and law-keeping.
No matter what a sheep in this position does ("All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own..." Isaiah 53:6,) it cannot make itself stand uprightly much less walk right. It cannot save itself. Trying to get upright on its own will only make things worse. Remember Galatians 5:4-
"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."
Cut off from the Shepherd, devouring predators aka the devil seeking whom to devour, will devour the sheep alive! The devil goes about looking for such Christians who are trying to right themselves by their own efforts so he can devour them! Believers, by God's grace, let's not be found here. See the counsel of our Lord God in Isaiah 30:14-17 (MSG)
...“Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on Me—..."
When a shepherd finds a cast down sheep, he restores it: he reassures it, massages its legs to restore circulation, gently puts the sheep in an upright position and holds it in position until it becomes stable again; the sheep are usually groggy and confused when they are first righted.
After righting the sheep, the shepherd holds it steady for a minute or two so it can get its bearings, otherwise it can just stumble over and get cast again. This situation is very much like how the gospel of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ confuses many who have been steeped in the teaching of the law (cast down and trying to get right with God on their own) when they hear it for the first time. But our loving Saviour never lets us go. Grace children, that's why we're in Him today.
The sheep could have pooped on itself while cast so the shepherd needs to clean it up as well. The sheep does nothing. The Shepherd does everything.
Believers, it's no wonder that the analogy of the "sheep and Shepherd" is one that is used a lot by our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lord our Shepherd, in describing His relationship with us His sheep. He Himself said in John 15:5 "...for without me, you can do nothing." Nothing. Not even breathe!
Remember the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15. The Shepherd went in search of, found, carried on His shoulders, took home and threw a party for the sheep that went astray! Who on earth throws a party for errant/guilty people that were sought out and saved from their own mistakes!
Jesus our Shepherd makes us not lack. He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still waters. He restores our souls. He leads us on the path of righteousness because we the sheep are like Jon Snow in that we know nothing! The blessings of the sheep in that glorious Psalm that we often recite without meditating! His "goodness and mercy hunt us down" all the days of our lives.
Yet we believe things like "God helps us only when we play our part by being good and being sensitive to the Spirit." Not so. We can do NOTHING without Him. In our flesh (human effort) dwells no good thing.. Paul in Romans 7:18 said
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find."
Also, many people believe that when a child of God gets cast like the sheep (fails, sins, makes mistakes, has little faith, etc,) God becomes disgusted, fed-up and even angry with him. Nothing could be further from the truth! Christ our Shepherd has compassion on us ALWAYS and will never say "Shebi I warned you; oya continuuu!" Titus 2:14 says of our Saviour:
"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
He gave His life to free "cast down" sheep from their death-bound positions and make us upright for His own intent and purpose; to make us His very own people. Why would our Saviour use the very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us? This is akin to a doctor refusing to treat his beloved child who has cancer...wait for it...because the child has cancer! Please let's take our brains to church!
Notice that ANY sheep can get "cast down," aka fall into sin and troubles, whether it has a shepherd or not. The difference is, with Christ who will never leave us nor forsake us as our Shepherd, we are led not to get cast and have an advocate who pleads our case with our Abba Father if we do sin. See 1 John 2:
"1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world."
But many people think that being born-again and having the Lord as our Shepherd means that we will not make mistakes or commit sin in life again. Not so. We are in Christ (under Grace) SO THAT we will not continue to sin and not BECAUSE we have stopped sinning. Without His Grace, we all would be forever cast down. Ephesians 2:9 says-
"Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."
His gift of righteousness to us is everlasting and apart from our works, but this is no excuse for us to wallow in sin as many say. It is the key to right living. Now see what His word says of the righteous man that falls in Proverbs 24:16-
"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity."
But in the eyes of the world, the righteous man is the man that does not ever fall! Believers, we are righteous by faith and not by works! Let's take our heads to church! There is none righteous, no, not one. Only through the obedience of Christ are we made righteous in the sight of God. It is a gift.
The Lord our Shepherd will never dis-flock a sheep because it is cast down. He loves us into wholeness and watches over us so that we do not get cast down. But if we do fall, He saves us (that's why He came) and lets no harm come to us. It is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more" and not our puny efforts at doing good. Peter's denial shows us that when one relies on human strength to do the right thing and the devil asks to "sift you like wheat"(Luke 22:31-34)... the arm of flesh will fail. Our boast is in Christ alone.
The Good Shepherd with His sheep: what a picture of who our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is to us! When we are on our backs, flailing because of guilt from sins, grief, or grudges, our loving Shepherd reassures us with His grace, lifts us up, holds us and loves us into wholeness.
The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.
Believe Right and you will Live Right.
Did you know that sheep are hopelessly helpless and lost without a shepherd? Worse, a sheep that has fallen over on its back (cast sheep) will remain in this "cast down" position until someone with experience comes to right it. If no one does, after some time in the cast position, gas begins to collect in its stomach and it hardens; blood circulation to extremities and air supply is cut off, and the sheep will eventually die. Before it dies, wild animals and scavengers that notice its distress start to devour it while it's still alive!
All of these things are typologies of what happens to a person who does not have Christ as Saviour. Emphasis on Saviour. Many people profess Christ but do not see Him as Saviour and Shepherd. They believe that when they are "cast down" like a sheep aka when they go astray and fall into sin, get oppressed by the devil, get sick, get broke, etc, they can "right themselves" with God by their works and law-keeping.
No matter what a sheep in this position does ("All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own..." Isaiah 53:6,) it cannot make itself stand uprightly much less walk right. It cannot save itself. Trying to get upright on its own will only make things worse. Remember Galatians 5:4-
"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."
Cut off from the Shepherd, devouring predators aka the devil seeking whom to devour, will devour the sheep alive! The devil goes about looking for such Christians who are trying to right themselves by their own efforts so he can devour them! Believers, by God's grace, let's not be found here. See the counsel of our Lord God in Isaiah 30:14-17 (MSG)
...“Your salvation requires you to turn back to Me
and stop your silly efforts to save yourselves.
Your strength will come from settling down
in complete dependence on Me—..."
When a shepherd finds a cast down sheep, he restores it: he reassures it, massages its legs to restore circulation, gently puts the sheep in an upright position and holds it in position until it becomes stable again; the sheep are usually groggy and confused when they are first righted.
After righting the sheep, the shepherd holds it steady for a minute or two so it can get its bearings, otherwise it can just stumble over and get cast again. This situation is very much like how the gospel of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ confuses many who have been steeped in the teaching of the law (cast down and trying to get right with God on their own) when they hear it for the first time. But our loving Saviour never lets us go. Grace children, that's why we're in Him today.
The sheep could have pooped on itself while cast so the shepherd needs to clean it up as well. The sheep does nothing. The Shepherd does everything.
Believers, it's no wonder that the analogy of the "sheep and Shepherd" is one that is used a lot by our Saviour Jesus Christ, the Lord our Shepherd, in describing His relationship with us His sheep. He Himself said in John 15:5 "...for without me, you can do nothing." Nothing. Not even breathe!
Remember the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15. The Shepherd went in search of, found, carried on His shoulders, took home and threw a party for the sheep that went astray! Who on earth throws a party for errant/guilty people that were sought out and saved from their own mistakes!
Jesus our Shepherd makes us not lack. He makes us lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside still waters. He restores our souls. He leads us on the path of righteousness because we the sheep are like Jon Snow in that we know nothing! The blessings of the sheep in that glorious Psalm that we often recite without meditating! His "goodness and mercy hunt us down" all the days of our lives.
Yet we believe things like "God helps us only when we play our part by being good and being sensitive to the Spirit." Not so. We can do NOTHING without Him. In our flesh (human effort) dwells no good thing.. Paul in Romans 7:18 said
"For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find."
Also, many people believe that when a child of God gets cast like the sheep (fails, sins, makes mistakes, has little faith, etc,) God becomes disgusted, fed-up and even angry with him. Nothing could be further from the truth! Christ our Shepherd has compassion on us ALWAYS and will never say "Shebi I warned you; oya continuuu!" Titus 2:14 says of our Saviour:
"He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."
He gave His life to free "cast down" sheep from their death-bound positions and make us upright for His own intent and purpose; to make us His very own people. Why would our Saviour use the very sins that He came to save us from as an excuse for not saving us? This is akin to a doctor refusing to treat his beloved child who has cancer...wait for it...because the child has cancer! Please let's take our brains to church!
Notice that ANY sheep can get "cast down," aka fall into sin and troubles, whether it has a shepherd or not. The difference is, with Christ who will never leave us nor forsake us as our Shepherd, we are led not to get cast and have an advocate who pleads our case with our Abba Father if we do sin. See 1 John 2:
"1 My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. 2 He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world."
But many people think that being born-again and having the Lord as our Shepherd means that we will not make mistakes or commit sin in life again. Not so. We are in Christ (under Grace) SO THAT we will not continue to sin and not BECAUSE we have stopped sinning. Without His Grace, we all would be forever cast down. Ephesians 2:9 says-
"Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it."
His gift of righteousness to us is everlasting and apart from our works, but this is no excuse for us to wallow in sin as many say. It is the key to right living. Now see what His word says of the righteous man that falls in Proverbs 24:16-
"For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises again, But the wicked stumble in time of calamity."
But in the eyes of the world, the righteous man is the man that does not ever fall! Believers, we are righteous by faith and not by works! Let's take our heads to church! There is none righteous, no, not one. Only through the obedience of Christ are we made righteous in the sight of God. It is a gift.
The Lord our Shepherd will never dis-flock a sheep because it is cast down. He loves us into wholeness and watches over us so that we do not get cast down. But if we do fall, He saves us (that's why He came) and lets no harm come to us. It is His "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more" and not our puny efforts at doing good. Peter's denial shows us that when one relies on human strength to do the right thing and the devil asks to "sift you like wheat"(Luke 22:31-34)... the arm of flesh will fail. Our boast is in Christ alone.
The Good Shepherd with His sheep: what a picture of who our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is to us! When we are on our backs, flailing because of guilt from sins, grief, or grudges, our loving Shepherd reassures us with His grace, lifts us up, holds us and loves us into wholeness.
The Holy Spirit will teach you all things.
Believe Right and you will Live Right.
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