WHOSE ARE YOU?

WHOSE AND WHAT ARE WE?
By Mary Ann Wray

“Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us,
 and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” Psalms 100: 3

Of all the analogies Jesus could have used to describe His people, he used sheep and the concept of a flock to demonstrate how He views our relationship with Him and one another. Evidently, Jesus liked and observed animal behavior. He referred to them quite often. In Revelations 5: 5 He is referred to as the “Lion of the Tribe of Judah”. This in no way minimizes his authority or Divine personhood any more than Him referring to us as His sheep degrades our position in creation to that of an animal. However, in God’s divine design every species of animal has certain characteristics. For this reason, He often used them to describe certain characteristics of people and people groups as warnings, admonitions and examples. 

For example, He referred to the outsiders of the covenant as dogs (Matt 15: 26), those with corrupt thinking as pigs (Matt 7: 6), and the Pharisees as snakes and a brood of vipers (Matthew 12: 34)-just to name a few. A brood is defined as children of one family, so Jesus was referring to the Pharisees as the children of Satan! He called King Herod a ‘fox’ in Luke 13: 32. He also warned His disciples to beware of ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’. He then told them to be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves as he sent them out as sheep among ravenous wolves! (Matthew 7:15; 10: 16; Luke 10: 3). In the book of Matthew 25: 31-46, Jesus prophesied of His return with the angels at His Judgment Seat and that He will separate His sheep from the goats.

What I felt led to expound upon is the characteristics of certain animals Jesus referred to as they are contrasted against the sheep of His pasture (Psalms 95: 7; 1 Peter 5: 2). I recently read a book called, “Sheep, Goats and Wolves,” by Mark Barclay and another excellent book called “A Shepherd Looks at Psalms 23” by Phillip Keller. What I gleaned triggered some more thought and meditation on the subject. You see, sheep are flocking, grazing animals and are easily led. They are harmless but because they flock together they can easily infect each other if one or more becomes invaded by parasites. First aid must be applied individually by the shepherd to rid them of these critters. If these parasites get into the nasal cavity of a sheep they eventually worm their way into its brain and literally drive it mad.  That’s why David said, “He anoints my head with oil.” Also a sheep can become ‘cast’ down (Psalms 42: 5) when it trips or falls into a crevice or indenture in the ground. It can also become cast when its wool becomes too full and heavy and causes it to easily loose its balance. Because of its body mass and weight compared to the structure of its legs, it cannot pick itself up when it becomes cast (feet and belly up). When this happens it is helpless and becomes open prey for wolves. It can die of dehydration and exhaustion if it is left alone very long from kicking its legs in a panic to no avail. The other sheep may be aware but they cannot rescue it…only the shepherd.  That’s why Jesus said He would leave the 99 to go after the one! (Luke 15: 4)

Having said this, sheep are totally dependent upon the shepherd for feeding, grazing, herding and protection. That is why David wrote the 23rd Psalm. He too was a shepherd and learned many spiritual lessons by tending the flock owned by his father Jesse. While his brothers were busy doing other things, David was left with the dubious task of sheep tending. However, God eventually raised him up to become a giant slayer through the faith lessons he learned on the backside of a pasture. He was also chosen above all his brothers to be anointed as King by the Prophet Samuel. David was not ‘invited’ by his father to this prophetic conference with Samuel, yet the prophet called him out after all the other brothers were examined and found unfit for the job. David possessed certain characteristics that were lacking in his brothers! He was a man “After God’s own heart.” David was humble and non-assuming. He took care of his father’s business for years before he was elevated to a position above the rest. People are very important to God and He raises man up to advance in His kingdom largely based on how they treat and tend the people of God. It has little to do with talent, charisma or natural ability. Advancement in God’s Kingdom has everything to do with heart attitude: how we relate to His authority (can we be led ourselves as a sheep?) and how we interact with outside people and the people of God in our everyday dealings.

Sheep have sensitive digestive systems and if they eat anything dead or diseased or drink anything polluted it could very well kill them. They are ruminating creatures which means they chew cud, and it takes several attempts to completely digest what they chew on. We too, need time to digest the Word of God through repetition, prayer and Biblical meditation before the word becomes flesh in us. The Word of God and the still waters of the Spirit are what brings refreshment to our souls and nourishment to our inner man that we require in order to act and be sheep like!

You see, when Adam and Eve bit into the forbidden fruit they took on the nature of what they ate: the one who deceived them. In a way, we are what we eat! 

Since that time, man is born with a fallen nature that must be first dealt with at the Cross of Christ through faith in Jesus’ eternal atonement as the sacrificial lamb slain from the foundation of the world. After being ‘born again’ that animal nature with its passions has been “crucified with Christ” and buried in the waters of Baptism so that we are no longer subject to it or under the power of the Father of lies! However, within the soul of man (our mind, will and emotions) there lingers tendencies and the propensity to fall into deception and temptation. When Jesus taught His disciples to pray as a daily pattern, one of the things he told us to pray was to be delivered from temptation. He knows our frame! Our bodies and minds have not been totally saved (Romans 8: 23; 1 Peter 2: 2; Titus 3: 5). Our spirit man is what gets born again but our soul must continually be transformed and changed from glory to glory through the washing of the water of the word and regeneration of the Holy Ghost. (Romans 12: 1-2; 2 Cor 3: 18). How many warnings do we see laced through the entire New Testament about false prophets, false teachers and false doctrine and that we should thoroughly know the scriptures in order to escape it all?

To believe that grace has instantly transformed us in all three areas to where we transcend the world, the flesh and the devil is like living in fantasy world! 1 John 2 was written to Christians as an admonition to walk in the light, and in The Message of truth avoiding the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and pride of life. God hasn’t sent another Messianic message, or raptured the early church replacing them with a hybrid type of Christian who lives in a sphere of ‘perpetual perfection’ above the deception and temptations of the flesh or the warfare waged against us! That is sheer nonsense, but many “Kingdom” preachers today suggest this and accuse those who preach about sin and righteousness as being solely ‘sin conscious’ which they contend keeps God’s people from walking in the level of power and freedom He has for us. My friends, how can you and I truly walk in REAL grace and freedom if we don’t know its power to keep our flesh at bay and learning to be controlled by the Spirit through the renewing of our minds? (Rom 8: 23 ;2  Cor  1: 21-22).

Here are some characteristics we need to look out for. The following excerpts are taken from Wikipedia and have been condensed. I have added a practical ‘application’ insight after each description:

Fox characteristics and behaviors: In the wild, the typical lifespan of a fox is one to three years, although some may live up to ten years. Unlike many canids, foxes are not always pack animals. Foxes tend to use a pouncing technique where they crouch down to camouflage themselves in the terrain, then using their hind legs, leap up with great force to land on top of their targeted prey. Using their pronounced canine teeth, foxes grip on to their prey's neck and either shake until the prey is dead, or until the animal can be disemboweled. 

Application: Fox like attitudes in people keep them from commiting to anything very long because of their brief spiritual lifespan. Perhaps their heart condition can be likened to the stony ground where the word they hear doesn’t take root in themselves. They don’t flock as sheep do. They ‘pounce’ on their prey-come at others without warning to trap or hurt them. They crouch down to camouflage themselves so they can appear harmless or not visible at all. Therefore, they are not confrontational but wait for an opportune time to pounce on others! They pick others apart to make them appear as life-less (spiritually) in order to appear superior to others and cover their own faults.  This is what Jesus called Herod. He arrested and beheaded John the Baptist for calling him an adulterer and committing incest! (Matthew 14: 10; Luke 9: 9). Foxes don’t like you to call out and identify sin!

Snake characteristics and behaviors: There is a plethora of information about snakes and all the different types but I’m touching on one feature that stands out the most….Snakes use smell to track their prey. They smell by using their forked tongues to collect airborne particles. The fork in the tongue gives snakes a sort of directional sense of smell and taste simultaneously. They keep their tongues constantly in motion, sampling particles from the air, ground, and water, analyzing the chemicals found, and determining the presence of prey or predators in the local environment. In water-dwelling snakes, such as the Anaconda, the tongue functions efficiently under water. 

Application: A snake’s tongues is always in motion. Snake natured attitudes constantly sniff for trouble and head in its direction! No wonder Satan is called the ‘accuser of the brethren’. He’s not happy unless he’s talking about someone else and ‘sensing’ or stirring trouble! The Native Americans have a saying called, “speaking with a forked tongue”. In other words when a man said one thing but intended to do another he spoke with a forked tongue. This is exactly what the serpent did to Eve in the garden…said one thing (lie) with the sole intention to trap and destroy her and Adam.

Wolf characteristics and behavior: The wolf is a social family pack animal, whose basic unit consists of a mated pair, accompanied by the pair's adult offspring. Wolves will compete for food upon sexual maturity. Even though they are mammals they don’t tend to adopt other wolves in their fold. They typically kill them. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder. Wolves are highly territorial animals and packs travel constantly in search of prey and defend their territories through a combination of scent marking, direct attacks and howling.

Application: Because wolves are social you will find wolf-like people in any congregation trying to make an entry. They are highly competitive for position and power and would rather destroy than nurture. What they can’t conquer they will kill. Their main driver is their constant appetite for more.  They won’t follow anyone but lure others into their pack of exclusiveness for the purpose of devouring their resources, spirituality and allegiance only to use them for their own purposes and personal gain rather than nurture others to spiritual adulthood. They are incapable of this because of their veracious competitive nature.

Goat characteristics and behavior: Goats are extremely curious and intelligent. They are also very coordinated and known for their ability to climb and hold their balance in the most precarious places. They are notorious for escaping their pens by testing fences and enclosures, either intentionally or simply because they are handy to climb on. If any of the fencing can be pushed down goats will almost always escape. Goats will explore anything new or unfamiliar in their surroundings. They do so primarily with their upper lip and tongue. This is why they investigate items like buttons, camera cases or clothing et al, nibbling at them, and even eating them. When handled as a group, goats tend to display less clumping behavior than sheep, and when grazing undisturbed, tend to spread across the field or range, rather than feed side-by-side as do sheep. They will generally turn and face an intruder and bucks are more likely to charge or butt at humans than are rams. 

Application: Goat-like people are extremely intelligent characters who are cunning and impressive in their natural and intellectual abilities. However, their attitude and behavior is to challenge everything and escape boudaries, so accountability to a shepherd or other leaders is not something they like to do. By nature they are chewers therefore they will devour any doctrine they think is worth eating but won’t digest it. These types of characters will graze amongst the sheep but they keep a ‘safe’ distance. They would rather tear down their surroundings and boundaries set by leadership than flock or remain in the sheepfold under the guidance of a shepherd. They hate ‘structure’ so they usually don’t stay in an organization very long because of their roving independent nature.

Pig characteristics and behavior: A pig has a large head with a long snout. The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food and is a very acute sense organ. Pigs are omnivores and harbor a range of parasites and diseases that can be transmitted to humans. Pigs are also known to host large concentrations of parasitic worms in their digestive tract. Pigs can be aggressive in defending themselves and their young. 

Application: Pig like attitudes are ‘heady’, have their noses in everybody’s business, are defensive when confronted, and will eat any doctrine in a non-discerning way. Because of it they are full of parasites (demonic lies). They carry attitudes and ideologies that can spread dis-ease to other sheep. That’s why Jesus said not to give our pearls (of wisdom and revelation) to swine because they’ll trample them under foot (disregard scriptural revelation as not important or valuable).

In summary, our salvation is something we must take serious ownership of and work out with the fear of the Lord and trembling (Philippians 2: 12). To be sheep like takes effort and cooperation with the Good Shepherd of our souls, and those He has emplaced over us in authority. God forbid that our spiritual transformation includes becoming goat, wolf, fox or pig like rather than sheep like. We are HIS sheep and the flock of HIS pasture! Selah!