“Baa” or “Maa”?

As we’ve talked about before, sheep and goats are different.

I’ve read that sheep bleat a “baaa” sound while goats make more of a “maaa” sound.  Of course, since each is a completely different species of animal from the other, you probably would expect that there are other differences.  You would be right.  But my thought today is not really about animals…it’s about us.

There are four passages I looked at recently.  These four came to mind as I was trying to listen for the Shepherd the other day.  They compare and contrast “goats” from “sheep” even though the passages use different names for them.  Here’s what I’d like you to do.  If you don’t have time now, come back when you do.

Take a sheet of paper and make two columns on it.  Be sure to draw a line right down the middle.   At the top of the left column write “Goat” and at the top of the right column write “Sheep”.  Now read through the  passages listed below and under “Goat” write down everything that you learn about the “natural man” or the person who “lives according to the flesh” (in other words, the Goat).  And as you read, write down everything that you learn about the “spiritual man” or the person who “lives according to the Spirit” in your “Sheep” column.

Now, remember…1)  Don’t forget to actually draw a line between your columns and 2) Be sure to write EVERYthing even if you don’t quite understand it.  We’re not trying to understand everything just yet.  We just want to HEAR His voice.

Here are the passages:

• 1 Corinthians 2:12-16
• Romans 8:5-13
• Colossians 3:1-11
• 1 John 2:3-6, 15-17

I’ll be back tomorrow to check in on what you heard.

Listening with an open heart…

“As Sheep to Be Slaughtered”

(This is a continuation of the previous three posts, beginning with “Praying Sheep”.)

Beginning with a call to prayer, Jesus has now called His disciples to give them His authority to be sent out as messengers.  With that mission authority, Jesus has also been giving them instructions about where to go, who to go to, what to do, and how to go about it.  And now…the best part!

The next bit of instruction begins with “Behold…”. I’m thinking that knowing where to go, who to go to, what to do, and how to go about it are very important pieces of information for us who are being sent out.  But did you notice Jesus prefacing ANY of those instructions with a “Behold”, which means “Hey guys, now listen up!”?  No, I didn’t either.  So what’s so important about this new piece of instruction which He is going to give us?  Let’s listen and find out.

You probably should read it through first and then let’s compare notes.

There are several things that caught my attention:

• “I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves”
• “But BEWARE of men; for they WILL deliver you up…”
• “But WHEN they deliver you up…”
• “Brother WILL deliver up brother to DEATH, and a father his child; and children WILL rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to DEATH.”
• “And you WILL BE HATED by ALL on account of My name…”
• “But WHENEVER they persecute you…”

Oh my!  No wonder the Shepherd said we should listen up!  Doesn’t it sound like He is saying that those who have been called to be sent out should expect that there is much suffering waiting for them — maybe even death?   He doesn’t say “IF” they deliver you up or “IF” they persecute you.  He says “when”.  Should that surprise us?  Maybe it does.  But SHOULD it?  If this were the ONLY time that the Shepherd said anything like this then maybe we could more easily be tempted to act like we didn’t hear Him.  So, has He said anything like this before?  Definitely!

In fact, He talks like this a LOT!  Take a few minutes and listen to what the Shepherd says.

So, if the Shepherd says so much about the suffering that we MUST face because of Him — if the Shepherd says that we should consider ourselves “as sheep to be slaughtered” — shouldn’t we be asking ourselves if that is really happening to us?  Maybe it is for you.  Then praise God that you are worthy to suffer for His Name.  If not, why not?

I’d really like to discuss this with you more.  I know I’m not the only one who is still listening…

Well-Equipped Sheep

(Take the time to read the previous two posts before reading this one.  Thanks.)

After praying for workers, the disciples are called and sent out to be the workers.  One important thing to notice when Jesus called them is that He GAVE them something.

He gave them AUTHORITY!  Jesus doesn’t send us out without also giving us the necessary empowerment to carry out our mission.  We need to know that we GO equipped with His AUTHORITY.

I also want you to see what else He gave them.  He gave them instructions!  Now you may want to spend some time looking over the next several verses but I’m going to give you my “big picture” of what those instructions were all about.

• He told them WHERE to go.
• He told them WHO to go to.
• He told them WHAT to do.  (Looks like the same things Jesus was doing, doesn’t it?)
• He told them HOW to do it.
• And what He tells them next is the most interesting part!  (That’s in tomorrow’s post.)

One final thought before I ask you to be sure to read tomorrow’s post…I wonder what the Shepherd would have said if after He told them WHAT to do, one of the apostles had raised his hand and said, “Uh, Jesus, I’ve never healed the sick or cleansed anybody and I know I’ve never raised any dead person.  I’m not sure that I can do that.” What do you think Jesus would have said?  I think He would have reminded them “I’ve already given you My AUTHORITY!  So, go!”

Again, isn’t it true that we sheep would much prefer to think that the Shepherd is caring for us just to make us fluffy, fat, and sassy?  Clearly, that is not His intention.  His intention is to care for us and to equip us for a mission.  The most interesting and surprising part of that mission is in tomorrow’s post.  I’ll see you then.

Continuing to listen…

A New Breed of Sheep

(You probably want to read the previous post before reading this.)

OK, so Jesus had them pray for workers and then God answered by making THEM the workers.  There is a very subtle change that takes place here.  Read the text and notice what the twelve are called in verse one compared to verse two.

Did you read it?

In verse one they are called “disciples” and in the next verse they are referred to as “apostles.”  The difference is more than just a name!  As a disciple, they were learners/students.  As an apostle, they are still needing to learn but now they have been summoned to be a “new breed of sheep” — now they have been CALLED and SENT OUT.

It’s one thing to sip comfortably by the quiet waters and to graze peacefully in the green pastures.  But that’s not the kind of sheep our Shepherd wants us to be.  We are the “church” — literally, “the called-out ones”!  I can’t wait for you to listen to what the Shepherd says next!  See you tomorrow!

Continuing to listen…

Praying Sheep

Recently I was listening to the Shepherd tell about those early days when He sent out His disciples.

As Jesus traveled, He was teaching and ministering to the needs of the people.  He “felt compassion” for them because “they were …like sheep without a shepherd.”  By the way, in the gospels, every time Jesus has compassion on someone, He ALWAYS takes some action.  His compassion is never just some sympathetic feeling.  He always acts on His compassion.  This time is no different.

In addition to His own teaching and ministering, He also instructed His disciples to PRAY.  The opportunity was great but the workers were few.

Now the interesting thing is that in the verses that follow we learn that the twelve disciples were then sent out as workers!  Think about that for a minute.  They prayed for workers and God answered!  He sent THEM!  And the great thing about this is that they went!!  Now doesn’t that tell us something?

What good is it to pray for something if we’re not willing to do our part?  For instance, what good does it do for someone to pray for God to help them……lose weight, for instance, if they are not willing to give up the brownies and ice cream and maybe do a little exercise?  Wouldn’t that seem to be hypocritical and even an insincere request?

What about us?  Do we ever pray for God to strengthen our spirit at the same time that we neglect the spiritual disciplines for our life?  Do we ever pray for God to grow our churches but yet we neglect to share our faith with those who need the Shepherd?  If so, wouldn’t those be hypocritcal and even insincere requests?

It’s a lot more fun when the Shepherd says something that convicts your heart about somebody else, isn’t it?

Nevertheless, still listening…

“Trouble-Shooting” for the Sheep

I bought a printer for my desk at the house the other day.  It came with the standard support materials including a section called “Trouble-Shooting”.  In other words, when you encounter problems that you don’t understand, check out that section for help.  At first, it’s not real reassuring to think that the manufacturer feels a need to tell me what to do when their stuff doesn’t work right.  But then again, problems do happen, don’t they?

I got to thinking about when stuff doesn’t go right for us, personally.  And here’s what I heard. (Go ahead and hit the link so you can read the passage for yourself.)

To “trouble-shoot” problems, FIRST we need to identify the source of the problem.  Certainly, Peter says that some suffering is caused by things that really should NOT be part of who we are.  But did you notice how he identified the suffering that COULD BE (maybe even “should be”) a part of our lives?

• a fiery ordeal which comes upon you for your testing
• sufferings of Christ  (i.e. falsely accused, misunderstood, killed, etc.)
• reviled for the name of Christ (being abusively criticized for your Christlikeness)
• suffers as a Christian
• suffer “according to the will of God” (You mean, God might “will” us to suffer?)

It probably would be good for all of us to ponder over that list for a while.  For instance, why a “test”?  Is God trying to learn something about us that He doesn’t already know?  So, who’s learning from the test?  Why would God “will” us to suffer?  I’m interested in your thoughts.  But I’ll press on for now.

Secondly, we need to adopt His advice which seems to me to be…

1. Don’t be surprised when trouble happens but instead be prepared and grateful that you have been identified as a follower of Christ.  (verses 12-13)
2. Don’t be ashamed but instead be certain to give glory to God by what you do, say, and think.   (v16)
3. Entrust yourself to Him.   (v19)

Listening for His voice before the trouble happens…

Let the Sheep Say So!

One of Sunday morning’s worship songs reminded me of something that the Shepherd has said.

In Psalm 107, four common life struggles are described:

1. Having too many choices at first sounds like a good thing.  But when we cannot discern the best choice from all the other good ones then it’s like wandering around in a desert.  You go one way for a while only to become discouraged so you try another and then another and then another direction — each one leaving you even more discouraged.  Wow, doesn’t that sound familiar?
2. Feeling trapped with no choices isn’t much better especially when our entrapment is the result of our own rebellion against the voice of the Shepherd.  It’s a humbling experience to realize that we should have listened to His voice much sooner.
3. Just being foolish and getting ourselves involved in self-destructive behavior is a lesson too often learned too late.
4. Finding ourselves in situations out of our control would seem to me like being tossed around on a ship in the middle of a storm.  From no fault of our own, we just get caught in circumstances where we have no control over the “ups and downs”.  What a helpless, lonely, and hopeless feeling!

So, the psalmist describes four all-too-common experiences in life.  Most are the result of poor choices but one certainly is not.  However, ALL of them have an unpleasant effect on us — leaving us “distressed”, “humbled”, “near to death”, and at our “wits’ end”.  Fortunately, they ALL can be resolved.  In each situation, those in trouble “cried out to the Lord” .

And in EACH situation the Lord provided exactly what they needed.

1. To the one with too many choices, the Lord provided the one, right, trustworthy Way.
2. To those trapped, the Lord made it possible for them to be freed from what had held them captive.
3. To those injured by their own foolishness, the Lord healed them with His Word.
4. To those caught in situations beyond their control, the Lord took control.

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.  Let the redeemed of the Lord [that's us sheep] say so!” Ps. 107:1-2

Still listening…

Way to Go!

A friend of mine shared something recently that I thought was pretty cool!  He purchased a knife from the Buck Knives company and in the packaging was their product warranty registration info.  In that little pamphlet, there was a message from the “Buck Family.”  They welcome the purchaser into their family and then they say this…

“Now that you are family, you might want to know a little more about our organization.  The fantastic growth of Buck Knives, Inc. was no accident.  From the beginning, management determined to make God the Senior Partner.  In a crisis, the problem was turned over to Him, and He hasn’t failed to help us with the answer.”

“Each knife must reflect the integrity of management, including our Senior Partner.  If sometimes we fail on our end, because we are human, we find it imperative to do our utmost to make it right.  Besides being our Senior Partner, He is also our Heavenly Father.  It’s a great blessing to us to have this security in these troubled times.  If any of you are troubled or perplexed and looking for answers, may we invite you to look to Him, for God loves you.” They then printed John 3:16.

Way to go, Buck Knives!  I especially appreciate that they want what they produce to “reflect the integrity” of God.  May we all want that same thing!

What an encouragement to hear about one of the sheep listening to the voice of the Shepherd!

Small Sheep Who Know

As I continue to think about yesterday’s post… (You might want to read “Big Sheep or Small Sheep?” before you read this.) …I was thinking about those ordinary folk in that list — like the farmers, shepherd boy, food taster, fig raiser, and even a religious guy.

For just a minute, consider what it would be like to have been one of them. You start thinking that God wants you to do something but it just sounds CRAZY! Rebuild the wall around a city I’ve never been to? Rebuke the king of the land? Attack 135,000 soldiers with 300 guys?

Can’t you just hear their friends and their families? “You’re going to do WHAT!!???” Everybody starts reminding them why it cannot be done. You know…you’ve heard something similar, haven’t you? “Nobody has ever done that before!” “Why do you think YOU could do that?” “What about your other responsibilities?”

OK, I know, they had “faith.” And certainly, they must have! But when did THEY really KNOW that they had faith? Well, here’s what I’m thinking. In almost all of those instances, there was opposition. For instance, there were people who did all they could to discourage Nehemiah from rebuilding the wall. There were people who threw stones at Paul. Disciples were put in jail. Surely, somebody thought building an ark in the middle of dry land was a bit strange and they said something to Noah! But even when it was tough to obey…even when people made jokes about them…even if their families didn’t understand why…they didn’t give up. They didn’t quit. And I think THAT’s when they really could KNOW they had faith.

It’s one thing to start something believing it will all work out. But what about when it doesn’t really look like it will? What about those times when it’s not obvious that you’re doing the right thing? What about all those times in the doing of the task that there just seems to be so much and maybe even so many telling you that your effort is a waste? What then?

That’s when you’ll be glad that you’ve been listening for the voice of the Shepherd. When you remain steadfast in doing what He has said even when it’s difficult…even when you cannot SEE the results you have hoped for…isn’t THAT when you KNOW? Isn’t that when you can really KNOW that the choices you make in life are being made by faith and not because of the stuff you see or feel?

What a difference listening and following His voice will make when you really need to KNOW.

Still listening for His voice…

Big Sheep or Small Sheep?

Reminded by something that Mark Batterson wrote in his newest book, Wild Goose Chase, I took some time to listen to the Shepherd.  Here’s what I heard:

When God was…

• …needing to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, He used a food taster who had no architectural or construction training and who had probably never even been to Jerusalem.
• …going to feed 5,000 people, He used the five loaves and two fish that were in a little boy’s lunch.
• …needing someone to lead 300 men against an army of 135,000, He didn’t use a military guy.  Instead, He used a farmer who was hiding out down in a winepress trying to thresh his wheat.
• …needing someone to write half of the New Testament, He used a guy that had previously done all that he could to stop Christianity.
• …going to save a few from a world-wide flood, He used another farmer to build the ark rather than…I don’t know, maybe somebody who had built a BOAT before!
• …going to kill an armed 8-foot blaspheming giant, He used a shepherd boy with a slingshot.
• …getting ready to revolutionize the world with the good news of Jesus, He used “uneducated and untrained” men.
• …needing someone to confront and rebuke the nation’s leadership, He used a sheep farmer who also raised figs.

You know, when someone tells you something over and over and over again, it usually means that they want you to give attention to something that they think is important for you to know.  After looking at a list like the one above and seeing what God did through people who had no qualifications for the task, doesn’t it seem like God is trying to tell us,  “Hey, doing what I want is not about YOUR abilities!”

But yet, it’s like we haven’t been listening because don’t we so often shy away from God-inspired tasks because we don’t think WE’re up to it?  In other words, WE’re not skilled enough, trained enough, experienced enough, equipped enough, or in some other way “big” enough to get it done.  Maybe the real problem is that we’re TOO big.  When we’re too big in our own eyes then success or failure will depend on us.

Maybe we’re not small enough.  If we were small enough then we would know that WE could never accomplish anything without Him.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3)

What do you think?

Listening today for My Shepherd’s voice