Safeguarding the sheep
by Ivan Ho 23 June 2025
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
The sheepfold is the set boundary within which a pastor keeps his sheep safe. There is a door through which the sheep enters, and the door is Jesus Christ Himself. There are wolves who found their ways into the sheepfold by climbing over the walls surrounding the sheepfold. They are people who subtly enter into the local churches through illegal channels. Some are invited in, some through connections, others just find their way in somehow without passing through the door of Jesus. Wolves come in to bring false teachings, ungodly influences, personal agenda and divisions to the churches. The notion that “Jesus loves everyone and so everyone is welcome into the church” is exposing sheep (who are supposed to be helpless, dumb animals) to all sorts of harms. We need to beware of people who don’t come in through Jesus Christ. If they come in to seek God, they will find God, but if they come in with other agenda, we need to beware. Part of the primary job descriptions of a good shepherd is to protect the sheep from attacks of wolves, usually wearing sheep clothings so they’re not easily identifiable.
I have even heard testimonies of ex witch who infiltrated churches with demonic assignments to attack pastors, key leaders and church members. Thank God she was saved and now exposes the tactics of the enemy which she used to deploy.
Unfortunately, a lot of pastors and leaders are ignorant of demonic assignments upon their lives and their families because they’re too busy in their ministries.
lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
2 Corinthians 2:11 KJV
Many pastors think if they put gifted people, religious people with good profiles in various departments, they’ve got the job done. Little do they know, people carry spirits, some possibly being demonic. If gifted people carrying wrong spirits are put in positions of authorities, all hell breaks loose!
The Doorkeepers: where are they?
There’s another important person called porter mentioned in John 10:3 who is the doorkeeper of the sheepfold. He is like the security officer at the airport who makes sure that every passenger is screened before they board the plane. The thing is, almost all passengers would welcome security checks except in churches which have become “free for all” entities these days. Do we have porters in churches nowadays? If there’s one, I haven’t come across any. I believe the porters are people who have the spirit of discernment working closely with the pastor of the house, having the authority to prevent wolves from entering the sheepfold. He’s the first line of defence: food for thought.
Ancient sheepfold: Bible history
Layout of Old Testament tabernacle
Maybe we can borrow the O.T. layout of tabernacle (except that there’s no veil between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies) in the way we set up our church to reach out to non-believers.
Non-believers should be kept in the Outer Court where they can join classes that introduce them to Jesus. If they show genuine characteristics of seekers wanting to seek after God, they can enter into the Holy Place, the place designed for genuine seekers where they can hear more about Christ and interact with believers. For me, a seeker is one who welcome/ agrees with the teachings of Jesus but has yet become born again in Christ. There’s no barrier between the Holy place and Holy of Holies so the seekers can enter the Holy of Holies through Jesus anytime.
Those who come with false teachings, selfish/ demonic agenda, those who cause divisions to family members, those who reject the teachings of Jesus/ the bible and those who practice ungodly lifestyles should be kept in the Outer Court. In fact, such individuals shouldn’t even be accepted into the Outer Court. They shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the church lest they bring damages and chaos to other people’s lives.
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
Only those who have repented and accepted Jesus into their hearts and become born again believers can enter the Holy of Holies and join the church, the body of Christ. BTW, I didn’t join any church until I have met Christ personally.
Although God’s intention is to bring all mankind into the presence of God. Because of our sins, every person must have his or her sins cleansed by the blood of Jesus before he can enter into the kingdom of God.
The problem with some modern day charismatic churches is: unbelievers are first put in an environment where they can experience the presence of God without them being introduced to the gospel of Jesus, without them seeing the need to repent and accept Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour. It’s great that some unbelievers can experience God and sense the power of the Holy Spirit, and some of them do end up becoming genuine followers of Christ. But there is no guarantee that individuals who have experienced the power of God will be convicted to turn to Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
Jesus says: “Believe in God, believe also in me” (John 14:1b).
The Jews believed in God but they didn’t believe Jesus was their Messiah. Just because a person believes in the existence of God does not necessarily mean he or she also believes in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Holy of Holies the safest place
When Jesus died on the cross, the veil separating the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies was torn into two, signifying that we can now access the Holy of Holies directly through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is the only door by which the sheep must enter into the sheepfold.
The Holy of Holies is where the presence of God is, the place where no demons in hell can prevail. Strictly speaking, the church is neither the Outer Court nor the Holy Place, but should be operating in the realm of the Holy of Holies. In other words, without the presence of God, there is no church. There may be religious practices, but without God’s presence, real church is non-existent in the religious set up. Jesus said to Simon Peter: “Upon this Rock (Jesus Himself) shall I build My church, and gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
When the church is built upon Jesus Christ instead of the ideas of man, the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The church is neither a physical building nor a religious organisation, but it is the body of Christ in which the Holy Spirit dwells inside individual believers. When the body of Christ allows Christ to manifest, they bring the presence of God wherever they are. The church isn’t just confined to Sunday services in some physical buildings. It is wherever and whenever the presence of God is. The devil may try to attack the sheep but he can never overcome the saints who are in the presence of Jesus Christ.
This brings me to the question of whether a born again spirit filled believer of Christ can be demon possessed or not? The answer is “No”, a disciple of Christ cannot be demon possessed, for demonic spirits cannot cohabit with the Holy Spirit in the body of a believer. They are not flatmates!
Having said that, a believer can be subject to demonic attacks. Demonic forces can attack him externally on his finances, his loved ones and so on. A believer can also be tempted by the devil and subject to demonic influences in his or her minds.
Jesus once said to Peter “Get behind me satan, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of man“. (Matthew 16:23) Jesus didn’t cast demon out of Peter but our Lord knew that satan was influencing Peter’s mind.
That’s why we need to put on the Armour of God at all times to guard against attacks of the enemy.
Sheepfold our home base
The sheepfold is the home base in which the sheep finds rest, protection, healing and restoration. The local church is important where people can call home but the sheep are not supposed to be confined within the four walls of the local church.
The question to the pastors of local churches is: “How can sheep find rest where there are presence of wolves in sheep clothings?” The local church is supposed to be the place where people can fulfill their destiny in God instead of the place where the enemies are allowed to sabotage their destinies.
That is why it is important to be the church that preaches the uncompromising word of God, the church that allows Christ to manifest, the church that can become the light upon dark places, the church that keeps wolves out to safeguard the sheep.
As long as the church is built upon the word of Christ, though there will be persecutions and demonic attacks, the enemy shall never prevail against it!