I had a great meeting with a local Pastor this morning and
was blessed to share our concerns and needs.
I was reminded that even sheep that have a safe sheepfold can be twitchy
and obstinate. In my ministry it’s
really the absolute norm but one would hope that in a body, a fellowship it
would not be so. Oh well, we can hope.
I’ve not found any reference in scripture to “bad”
sheep. lost sheep, wandering sheep even rowdy
sheep – but not bad ones.
One thing comes to mind.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Joh 10:27
It is soooooo easy in any form of ministry and service to take
on more responsibility than is rightfully ours.
If we’re the “leader” we think it’s all on us. That’s bad – and – that’s good. It’s good to take responsibility and accept the
challenges it brings but it is bad to let ourselves think it’s all on us. It wasn’t, isn’t and never will be about
us. It’s all about Him.
Sheep, even wild sheep are His sheep. Oh He lets us serve Him as under shepherds
and sheepdogs but they are still His sheep.
He is the Master Shepherd – the “sheep whisperer.” It is
His voice they hear. Yes, they can hear
it through us but we have to be very sure it is His voice they are hearing –
and not our own.
Sheep follow Him – If we’re behind Him and ahead of them
then I guess you could say they follow us.
But we have to be following Him, depending upon Him – recognizing that
He doesn’t really need us but rather has graciously invited us to work under,
with and for Him.
As we serve as His under shepherds or sheepdogs we have to
continually ask, “What has He said to the flock and what is He saying now?” It won’t be anything “new” – He’s already
made all things “new.” He is saying what
He has always said. We just need to
figure out how to apply it to the present context.
It is His voice they need to hear – so it is His words we
need to speak.
Of course the hard part it “getting us out of the way” of
His words. That good old (err bad old)
flesh just doesn’t want us to accept that He is faithful - we are feeble and
that it’s all about Him. Sure, we do
what we can do – but when we think we are supposed to or can do His thing, we
get into bad trouble.
When we take on the burden that only the Master Shepherd can
carry we are – well – sinning. I know, I
have to consistently work on that. The results
are usually a time of discipline for my well intentioned efforts. He smacks my hand and says, “That’s mine!!” It is not pleasant but it is none the less a
blessing. The object is to submit to
Him, to rely on Him even for that drive and energy to serve – especially the
what and how!
I’ve been reading Flavel’s work, The Mystery of
Providence and I cannot tell you how what a great blessing it has been
(thanks again David). Once you get in
tune with his 17th century style of writing I promise you, you will
be well blessed. There are some “ouches”
in there but there are a lot of comforting and encouraging things as well.
I pray, for you and me, that we will seek to hear His voice
more clearly and to know when the sheep need to hear His voice – or our voice
from Him. I doubt that this side of
heaven we’ll ever nail this down. But
through prayer, study and sharing with others who struggle we will get better
and better.
Remember too that our battle orders are summed up in one
word:
μαθητευσατε – make
disciples
This is the what – we trust Him to show us the how – His how!
I like to say that by His power – the power of the Gospel, “We
catch ‘em, the Holy Spirit prepares ‘em and He cooks ‘em till they’re done.”
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