It’s Great Being a Dog – But I’d rather be a Shepherd
By Pastor Jim May
1 John 4:15-16, "Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him."
These past several weeks it seems as though God has been giving me many hard words to give to you. One of the most unpleasant tasks of being a minister, and especially a pastor, that I have found is that I am often directed by the Holy Spirit to bring messages that I know will be uncomfortable at best. I do my best to bring to you what I feel that God would have me to say, even when I know that the message is unpopular, and even condemning.
I must confess that when I begin to write down what comes to me while I am preparing these sermons, it seems that God always brings to mind someone to whom this message would speak directly. One of the things that is both a great blessing and a great source of concern at the same time is that, as a pastor, it is my job to look after the spiritual condition of the flock at this church in particular. To a lesser degree I also carry that same responsibility to our entire district.
Before I received the call to enter into this phase of ministry I didn’t always have the spiritual condition of the whole church in mind. I dealt mostly with small groups or with the youth. But to some degree I’ve always had to be concerned about those who were under the ministry that God had called me to do.
I have never taken this task lightly. When I stand behind the sacred desk, whenever and wherever that may be, I know that I stand in the place where the words that I say and the things that I do will have an eternal impact upon every soul who sits in the congregation.
Though the messages often contain things that make us laugh, I never forget how serious this business is for all of us. Sometimes I have messages that are hard to deliver because I know that the words drive deeply into the heart and reveal sin for what it is. I do not apologize for preaching the truth for that is what is necessary for all of us to make Heaven our home. However, there are times when I ask God to give me a message that will encourage his people and let them know just where they stand with God.
I have here a picture that usually hangs in my office of Jesus, as the Great Shepherd, walking with his sheep. In his right hand there is a lamb resting, looking up at him with such a look of peace and tranquility because that lamb knows that he is resting in the Master’s arms. It is a place of ultimate protection and provision for that lamb.
Walking along beside Jesus, there is another lamb, looking up at Jesus with that same look of perfect peace. There are many other sheep walking along with Jesus at the same time. One is stopping momentarily to eat of the green grass in the pasture where the Lord has led him. The others, while they are looking around, are still following the Great Shepherd as He leads them to greener pastures and still waters.
In Jesus’ left hand there is a crooked shepherd’s staff. We all know what that staff is used for. How many times in some of the hard sermons have you felt the correcting blow of that staff in your heart? You see, that staff is used for guiding the sheep and fending off the attacks of the enemy, and those attacks are always in our heart. Just as surely as it is a painful thing to beat away the hungry wolves of natural sheep, it is also a painful thing to beat away the demonic and sinful influences that attack our heart and soul. That part of the shepherd’s duty is never pleasant but it is absolutely necessary for the survival of the sheep.
The other end of that staff has a hook or a crook in it that is designed for a very different purpose. What does a shepherd do with that crook? He can use it to catch a sheep that has fallen into the mire, or into a ditch, and gently lift that sheep out of its place of danger. He can also take that crook and gently catch a straying sheep around its neck and turn it back into the fold.
This morning I want to bring you a message that uses the crook of the Shepherd’s staff instead of the blunt end of the stick. I hope to bring to you a message that will impress upon you in a greater fashion, just how much Jesus loves you and how much He wants to be your Great Shepherd.
One thing that I realize is that God has called me to be a Shepherd for this church and I pray that I can just be as loving and gentle to you as He is. I feel that in so many ways, I am inadequate and poorly trained to be the shepherd for you that I need to be, but I suppose that is the way we should feel, for none of us, no matter how long we serve or how much we know, will ever really measure up to Jesus. We just continue on doing the best we can under His direction.
But there is something that is not shown in this picture that you will just about always see in pictures and images of a shepherd and his sheep. What you don’t see here are the dogs that often work with the sheep. What is the job of that dog? His job is to keep the sheep in line for the shepherd.
He isn’t the leader of the sheep, the shepherd is. He doesn’t carry the staff, the shepherd does. That dog’s job consists of two things. He has to run around keeping up with the flock and watching the sheep all the time to pick up the strays and keep them all in the flock, and secondly, he has to always be on guard for the wolves and bark a warning all the time.
Now if there was ever a description of my job as a pastor, that dog is who I am. I don’t have the power of the staff to lift you out of the miry clay of sin, or the place where you may have fallen. Only Jesus has that kind of power. I don’t have the power to heal your sicknesses or diseases, to deliver you from those things that bind you or to set you free from guilt and sin of the past. Only Jesus has that power. All I have the power to do is to bark at you. I could use that same power as that dog could use to force you do live according to my set of rules just like that shepherd’s dog could clamp down and bite at the heels of the sheep to force them back into the flock but how long do you think that a shepherd would keep a dog that drew blood from the sheep every time that dog had to force a sheep back? I don’t think that dog would last long.
No, I not the shepherd, not in the same sense as Jesus is your shepherd. I’m just that old sheep dog, running around looking for strays, watching every wrong move you make, and doing my best to bark a warning at you not to stray too far.
From time to time there comes into the church a wolf of sorts. Nearly all of the wolves that threaten this flock walk on two legs and sometimes I have to bark at those wolves and run them off. And sometimes those wolves are dressed up in sheep’s skin so it’s hard to tell them apart. But after a little while you begin to see some of the real sheep disappearing and that’s when you know that there are wolves in the midst.
The wolves aren’t always easy to get rid of. Sometimes you want to believe that they are really sheep anyway and sometimes you even try to change them into sheep, but eventually their true nature is revealed and you have to get rid of them one way or another. I don’t like to drive anyone away from the church but sometimes I have to. Most of the time I just pray them out and let the Shepherd get rid of them while I stand aside and just keep barking at the real sheep to stay alert. Sadly, not of the sheep always survive the wolves and I have seen a lot of our sheep follow that wolf in sheep’s clothing and I am concerned greatly for their lives because I know that they face in the future. I can only pray that the Shepherd will find them again and turn them back with the crook of this staff.
I want you to know that the Great Shepherd is still leading this flock. I’m still going to run around a lot, barking all the time, and doing all I can to keep you safe. But remember this folks, that dog is useless without sheep to guard and a shepherd to lead him as well. I know that this old dog will sometimes send out the wrong bark, or maybe even develop a stink from time to time from all of the running around in the dirt, but I never lose sight of my job to keep you in the flock.
That dog is nothing more than a servant to the Shepherd and to the flock. His whole life is wrapped up in service. He’s not the leader; he isn’t the making the decisions; he isn’t determining the final destination; he is just barking and keeping every sheep in the flock until the Shepherd reaches their resting place. Only then, can that dog stop his barking and stop to rest.
I wonder if that’s why we have the old saying that “A dog is man’s best friend”? Could it be that the pastor who watches over you like a dog, be your best friend in this world? Could it be that a pastor who is concerned for your life, concerned for your soul, and concerned for your safety be the best friend you could ever have. I see you, as I see myself, with all of my flaws and shortcomings, and still I know that I can be used by the Great Shepherd to do his work for the flock. And you, with all of your faults, failures and shortcomings, are still sheep in this flock, and the Great Shepherd still loves you.
So don’t get too alarmed at my bark! Believe me, I know how to bark! I can bark and show my teeth, and bump into you from time to time in every effort to take you where I think you should go, but I don’t have a bite at all and, in reality, I must develop the nature of a dog with no teeth at all. About the best I can do is to “gum you” into serving the Lord. The real choice is between you and the Great Shepherd.
You can choose not to be a part of this flock but it won’t be easy to leave and forget because I won’t quit barking and chasing until the Shepherd calls me off, and the Shepherd won’t stop trying to bring you back until the wolves have devoured you.
Looking at that picture I can’t help but see that the sheep are all walking along with Jesus and yet they don’t all have their eyes on Him like those two little lambs. A few of the larger, older, more experienced sheep are looking directly at the Shepherd with that same look of peace, but most of the others are distracted by other things.
Maybe they are thinking that the grass sure looks greener over there, why don’t we go over there?
Maybe they are thinking that they are tired or thirsty and they wonder how long we have to go before we reach the place of rest.
Maybe a few of them are watching and listening to the dog bark and run around and they have their eyes on the dog and not on the Shepherd. If they aren’t careful, the dog might get distracted too and lead some of them astray.
But, as I look at the majority of them I get the feeling that they are simply going where the Great Shepherd leads without a care in the world, knowing that He will take care of their every need.
Those are the sheep that have learned to be content in just following Christ. Those are the sheep that listen to the Master’s voice because they stay close and hear Him speak all the time. The dog doesn’t have to bark at them constantly. The wolves don’t get to them at all because the Shepherd’s staff is there. You see, the dog can bark, but it doesn’t bother them because they know that the bark is not for them, it’s for those sheep who hang out around the edge of the flock, away from the Shepherd, and who tend to wander off more. The closer those sheep get to the Shepherd the less they are distracted and the safer they are from wandering or from the attack of the wolf. That’s where all of us should strive to be, as close to Jesus as we can get.
Looking again at that picture I can sense the love that the Shepherd has for his sheep. There isn’t one of them that he wouldn’t give his life for if he had to. Jesus did that for each of us. He died on the cross to save his lost sheep.
Matthew 18:11-14, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
Do you know how much Jesus loves you? Do you remember what He did to rescue you from the certain death of the miry clay and the wolves?
Jesus left the glory of Heaven, came to earth in the form of a man, to become the Lamb that was slain, then to rise again so that He could purchase his sheep from the clutches of the devil. Satan, like a ravenous wolf, had attacked the flock. Every sheep of God’s flock had been stolen and were being held until they were to die. Jesus left his place of safety to rescue His lost sheep.
If Jesus would leave Heaven, and become a man to die for you and I, doesn’t it make sense that He will not allow us to easily fall into the hands of the wolf again? God cares for all of his sheep. He cares for every one of us with no respect of persons. But the scripture that we read in Matthew 18 shows that the love of God, reaching out to his sheep who are hurting, is not diminished by their straying, but is stronger in its reaching out to them. His eyes watch over all of his sheep, but He is especially watching over and reaching out to those who are in trouble.
How often do we see families where there are more than one child? I have seen those parents as they love each of their children dearly and they would do anything for them that was possible to make their lives better. But just let one of those children get sick and what happens? The parents don’t stop loving, or caring about the children who are well, but they will leave them with a trusted guardian, and then take that one who is sick and focus all of their attention on that one until the sickness is gone. Then all of the children are gathered once again and the family goes on. That’s the way that the Great Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, cares for you.
God loves every one of you! He loves you with a love that can never die! He loves you more than you can know! But if you get into trouble or become spiritually sick, Jesus will leave those who dwell in safety and you are the whole focus of his love until you come back to the fold. His staff is ever reaching out for you! His staff is still fending off the wolves and He is ever calling for you to turn back to Him. He will continue to call long after many have ceased to hear him. He will continue to try to gently turn you around no matter how far you go, until you finally either answer His call or you determine to follow the path of danger. Then Jesus sadly watches as you are allowed to choose the path to death.
Sometimes the Shepherd in this natural world just can’t reach the sheep. The noise of the wind, the trees, the rushing water, the howling of the wolves, and the distractions of the world about it will not allow that sheep to hear the shepherd and it follows the path to the edge of the cliff or the quicksand and it is lost forever. How sad is that shepherd. The dog could not reach that sheep and the shepherd couldn’t either.
Our Great Shepherd has the power to always reach us but He won’t do it unless we want Him to. We have to desire to be a sheep in His flock.
As I come to a close, I want to remind you just how much Jesus cares for every one of you. It is His greatest desire to see you remain faithful to Him. He wants to lead you into still waters, green pastures and to a full table in presence of your enemies.
I’m just that dog, barking at you to keep you in line. I’m not the Shepherd. I know that pastors are referred to as shepherds in the Word of God on a number of occasions but I still think I’m more like that dog. I’m a dog that is trying be a shepherd; a shepherd like Jesus.
So if I get to barking too loudly, or nipping at your heels, or acting mad, just think of me as your guard dog, but remember that I can’t bite. I’m all noise!
Jesus loves you so much that He gave you a sheep dog that loves to bark a lot and that is ever wary of the dangers that are all around. I will do my best to guard you if you will only put up with my barking.
And now, perhaps there are some here this morning who have been distracted by the world and you have slipped back into the fold, and gotten a little too far from the Great Shepherd. Jesus is watching over you right now with His great love. He is reaching out to you right now with his crooked staff. He is calling to you right now to come back and get closer to Him. I hope you hear Him calling. I hope you respond in love to Him. If not, it won’t be long until you hear this dog barking again!
If you are in that place right now, will you come back to Jesus? The altar is open for those who Jesus is calling right now. His love is reaching out to you stronger than ever before. He doesn’t want to lose one sheep; no, not even one!
