SHEEP NOT OF THIS FOLD
(week 21/16)
OLUBI JOHNSON
John 10:16 KJV: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
Ezekiel 34:31 KJV: And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Here the Lord Jesus tells us men are His sheep and some of them are not yet in the Christian fold: not yet born-again; but He is still working on them and they will ULTIMATELY get born-again and there will be ONE FOLD AND ONE SHEPHERD!
So this tells us that there are many men who are not yet Christians BUT are God’s sheep: Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists etc.
God does not look at a man’s outward religious label: He looks at their hearts and how they are responding to God’s law written in the conscience of ALL men:
Romans 2:14-15 MSG: When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. (15) They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong.
For example, men like Abimelech (Gen.20.1-8); Naaman (2 Kg.5.1-19) and Cornelius (Act. 10.1-48) were ALL sheep not yet of the Jewish or Christian fold INITIALLY!
So we need to treat ALL men with mercy, love and patience, praying for them as though they may not yet be sheep of our Christian fold but may change with time.
John 12:47-48 AMP: If anyone hears My teachings and fails to observe them [does not keep them, but disregards them], it is not I who judges him. For I have not come to judge and to condemn and to pass sentence and to inflict penalty on the world, but to save the world. (48) Anyone who rejects Me and persistently sets Me at naught, refusing to accept My teachings, has his judge [however]; for the [very] message that I have spoken will itself judge and convict him at the last day.
Here the Lord tells us not to judge or condemn those who do not at first believe His Word; rather we should pray for them and show them acts of kindness and love so that some of them maybe saved BEFORE the last day.
1Peter 2:17 AMP: Show respect for all men [treat them honorably]. Love the brotherhood (the Christian fraternity of which Christ is the Head). Reverence God. Honor the emperor.
1Timothy 2:1-4 NIV: I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for ALL people— (2) for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (3) This is good, and pleases God our Savior, (4) who wants ALL people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
In fact God is going to raise up a great army of Christians from sheep not of this fold: people who are PRESENTLY spiritually dead in a ‘valley of dry bones’ as revealed to the prophet Ezekiel. This army will make WHOLE or COMPLETE the church of God BEFORE the Lord Jesus returns for us at the rapture.
Ezekiel 37:9-11 KJV: Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. (10) So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. (11) Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the WHOLE house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.
Galatians 3:27-29 KJV: For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. (29) And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The prophetic Word and the power of the Holy Spirit released by the church that is MANIFESTING the power of the Spirit without measure will remove the veil that is presently blinding these sheep in ALL nations from seeing the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ; this will fulfill
Isaiah 25:6-9 KJV: And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. (7) And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over ALL people, and the vail that is spread over ALL nations. (8) He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. (9) And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
