Of Sheep and Wolves

The Wolf at the Door

There is a rising discernment of ‘end-times’ in these present days. Earthquakes are reported almost daily, storms are reaching ever more destructive power, floods brought by storm or tsunami. Financial disasters in the news with billions being just gambled away, corruption reaching unparalleled heights being exposed, ministries falling due to financial and moral deficiencies, churches folding or splitting or just wasting away due to schisms, arguments, gossip, and, sad to say, woeful shepherding. Everything that can be shaken is being shaken. Everything built on the Rock is being preserved and protected.

These are times when the enemy is indeed ‘prowling round like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour’ (1 Peter 5:8). These are times to beware the ‘wolf at the door’ – the ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’ – Satan’s emissaries who would tear down and destroy the church. Much of the trouble is as stated in John 10:12 “The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.” The pastor for whom things are going a little bit wrong or not to plan . . . . . ?

There are many wolves prowling round church doors at the moment. Without even going into the political arena, there are financial wolves, pharisaic wolves, pastor loving and pastor hating wolves, gossip wolves, and probably worst of all, antipathy wolves. That’s just a few – there are many more out there. Satan has his wolves positioned outside every single church door and if we let any one of them in, then our flock is almost certainly going to be damaged and maybe doomed completely.

There are many ways the wolf can get through the door but there is one way which, I think, is an almost fail-safe way of keeping them away. If there is unity in the church, then this slams shut any door of opportunity the enemy may otherwise have had to get in and cause problems. I am talking about unity in Jesus, unity of vision, unity of purpose, unity of belief, and unity of action. A church united in these objectives is a church built on the Rock that is Jesus Christ Himself. A church built on other foundations, or preaching another gospel, may prosper for a time but will ultimately fail and the wolves will devour it and probably nearly all the people in it.

When Jesus returns, He will judge the Church first, and yet the Word tells us to start now – 1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” What will then become of those churches not in unity, those who have allowed the wolf amongst them? Thinking about that, I suppose it will be the same rules of judgement for them as for us individually. All their efforts will be thrown in the fire and only that which is good will remain.

That’s quite a thought isn’t it?