Tom Fisher And His Dog Help His Ewe And Her Lamb.Fisher Video #1

 

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Please post this true account of yet another danger threatening my sheep: Difficult Lambing. This occurred on Saturday April 5 at 10:30 AM.

As I drove my 4-wheeler across the pasture I noticed one of my best ewes laboring and heaving to bring a new lamb into this world. Ringo was worried. He kept looking in her direction. Soon I became concerned too. I could see my ewe was having trouble and decided to give her one more hour. An hour went by. My ewe was now in distress, so I gently guided her into a small lambing pen. To my amazement, Ringo instinctively helped me get her into the pen. Suddenly I realized she was giving birth to a huge lamb. One huge hoof was visible so I took a firm hold and began to gently pull harder and harder and harder. Soon another huge hoof appeared so I now had a firm grip on both fronts legs. Soon a huge head appeared and finally a beautiful new ewe lamb was born into this world. She was alive! I was relieved as this huge new lamb began to breath and cough up fluid that had gotten into her lungs. Ringo was whimpering and watching nervously as the new lamb began to struggle to get onto her feet. My ewe began to call to her new lamb so I gently pushed her new lamb in front of her, now teetering on wobbly legs. She began to lick her new lamb clean, murmuring softly and nudging it onto it's feet with her nose. Ringo was now beside himself with worry, whimpering and whining. Soon all was well. My ewe had her huge new lamb nursing at her side. 

Here are some pictures of my ewe and her newly born lamb, with Ringo nervously watching over them. My ewe is just cleaning off her new lamb. Her lamb will be white when she is finished.

God makes us much whiter than this lamb, clothing us in the righteousness of Christ in our Baptism. 

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Galatians 3:26-27

We are born again by God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in our Baptism. Here God makes us His children, heirs of eternal life, joint-heirs with Christ His Son, clothed with the righteousness of Christ, and freely given the gift of God the Holy Ghost, without our works.

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.                Matthew 28:18-20

When we were helpless infants God gave us forgiveness of all sins and eternal life without our works. As helpless infants we had nothing to give to God, but God gave everything to us, even forgiveness of all sin and eternal life.

4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;

6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

Christ our Lord told Nicodemus that everyone must be born again to enter into the Kingdom of God. This perplexed Nicodemus, so Jesus told him everyone must be born of water and the Spirit to enter into the Kingdom of God. The waters of our Baptism hold the incorruptible Word of God and God the Holy Ghost to give us God's gifts of forgiveness of sins and eternal life WITHOUT our works.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. John 3:3-21

Noah's ark is a picture of our Baptism. The waters of the flood lifted the ark above the ground that God cursed. So the waters of our Baptism saves us from our sins by the resurrection of Christ from the dead. 

Verse 21 may be placed into three sentences to help us understand:

1. Baptism saves us by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

2. Baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. I take this to mean our own works of righteousness.

3. Baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward God. 

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ:

22 Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him. 1 Peter 3:18-22

In Christ,

Tom Fisher