A) INTRODUCTION.

B) THE SHEPARD.

C) ACTING OUT.

 

 

A) INTRODUCTION

 

 

When sheep come to a rushing river that the Shepard has guided them to, even if they are near death for thirst, they will not drink from the stream.  They instinctively know that to get their wool wet would be certain death.  So the Shepard gathers some rocks and builds a little dam-way such that there is a place of calm waters in the rushing stream.  Then the sheep will partake of the living waters.

 

Sheep are generally known as Dumb.  But every Shepard will tell you that if there is a hole in the fence they will find it.

 

 

B) THE SHEPARD

 

 

Most sheep will naturally follow the Shepard.  However, when one wanders off, the Shepard is sure to notice and bring it back.  Should this become a normal behavior for the sheep, the Shepard will retrieve the sheep and break its leg.  This may seem quite drastic at first appearance, but the Shepard has taken upon Himself an extra burden.  He must now carry the sheep on His shoulders everywhere while waiting for the leg to heal.  When the leg is well enough, the sheep is let down.  But it is not well enough when there are steep hills or low valleys or ruff terrain.  Then the sheep must once again be assisted.  Through this process the sheep learns to become dependant upon the Shepard and when totally well we find that the sheep never wanders a far distance from the Shepard than is accountable.

 

 

C) ACTING OUT

 

 

In a true account, one day an actor wanted to discover just how good an actor he was.  He just happened to be on the set of a movie, when off in the distance he noticed a heard of sheep and how they followed everywhere the shepherd went.  So he decided he would be a shepherd for a day and have the sheep follow him.  Therefore, he went to the shepherd and asked him if he could train a month with him when he was not working on the movie set.

 

The shepherd agreed, but was straight forward with the actor, that this would not work.  However, the actor walked, talked, and mimicked, the shepherd for an entire month.  Even the movie crew thought that he was excellent at mimicking the shepherd.

 

Thus, the day came when the actor would attempt to have the sheep follow him.  The actor traded cloths with the shepherd, and even cut a little piece of the shepherds beard off and mixed it in with his.  But as soon as he got fairly close to the sheep they all began to run from him.

 

The actor came back to the surprised and laughing movie crew, and then he came to the shepherd and asked what and why did that happen.  His only and quick reply was:  “The Sheep Know Their Shepherd.”

 

The actor however was persistent.  He pushed the Shepard to tell him how he could lead the sheep and be their Shepard.  The Shepard responded that there was only one way.  With excitement the actor wanted to know how?  The Shepard responded:  “You can only lead my sheep when they are sick.”

 

The moral of the account, spiritually speaking, is that you are most vulnerable to Satan’s attacks when you are “sick,” both physically and especially mentally.