You Need A Shepherd and a Sheepfold
ICS Daily Devotions
Matthew 18:11-13 (NKJV) For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.
Although the Heavenly Father is not mentioned in the above passage, we understand His heart through it because the Son of Man, Jesus, came to declare the Father to us, including His passion and love for the lost. Reaching the lost is God’s heart. If we profess to love Him, we should do what is closest to His heart.
Sheep tend to wander and go astray to dangerous places or get stuck in the mud. They have a herd mentality and are stubborn. Unlike other animals that can hunt and protect themselves, sheep need much care and attention. We resemble sheep in many ways.
The people of Jesus’ day understood the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. The ninety-nine sheep are Christians who have a relationship with God, while the one sheep that has wandered off represents an unbeliever or a believer who has backslid. The shepherd is not abandoning the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one lost one, for they would have been cared for by the shepherd before he went out to look for the lost sheep.
John 10:3-4 (NKJV) To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
God is omniscient and knows every one of us by name. The shepherd goes before the sheep to lead them and gives a call unique to himself that his sheep will respond to. As His sheep, all of us are familiar with God’s voice, which is why we will follow His leading when we live a consecrated life. We are also led by the inner voice of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. There is safety when the shepherd leads us because ferocious wolves are ready to pounce on the sheep. In John 10:10, it says the thief will kill, steal, and destroy, whereas God wants us to have an abundant life.
The local church is comparable to a sheepfold. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, while the pastors of local churches are under-shepherds He appoints to care for the sheep in those particular sheepfolds. No shepherd will lead sheep from other sheepfolds, nor will the sheep recognise his voice because he is not their shepherd. Sheep also don’t go from one sheepfold to another. Therefore, we should not hop from one church to another but commit to a local church and allow the local pastor to shepherd us.
Sermon Series: One Soul for Christ
