He Guides & Protects his sheep from Filth & Harm...
Ultimately, he laid down his life to protect the sheep,
because he cared for the sheep more than he cared for his own self...
Are you a part of his flock?
Goats are known to be more stubborn and independent than sheep...
The Good Shepherd doesn't lead goats, he leads sheep.
It takes a humility and submissiveness to follow the "Good Shepherd."
Predators will come after sheep and goats alike, when the opportunity arises...
False prophets are compared to "wolves in sheep's clothing."
The devil is compared to a "roaming lion, seeking who he may devour."
You will be able to identity both of these predators in disguise by looking at their "fruit,"
aka the by-product of the spiritual SEED they live from.
It takes discernment, honesty and wisdom to identify factors in the spirit with accuracy, but it's not rocket science...
Are there predator's in disguise in your life?
Are you one?
What about goats in the sheep fold?
Would you be able to recognize them?How about if you were one?
“Enter through the narrow gate.
For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
“Watch out for false prophets.
They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles?
Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
-Matthew 7:13-23
“I tell you the truth, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber!
But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice.
They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”
Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant,
so he explained it to them:
“I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them.
Yes, I am the gate.
Those who come in through me will be saved.
They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.
The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy.
My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming.
He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.
The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also.
They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again.
No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.
For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again.
