Shepherds and Their Care

Who will shepherd the shepherds?

In Psalm 23 we get "the Lord is my Shepherd" implying that no matter what our station is in life, or what our gift is in the church, or whoever we are that He is the Shepherd of us all. We have a direct link to Him the One Who knows us perfectly, better than even our closest friend on earth could ever know us. And we can go directly to Him. Every one of us.

But Scripture teaches that the Lord has given gifts to the church and that one of these is the gift of shepherds (pastors, Ephesians 4:11) As the following verse tells us they are for "the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ". Their responsibilities include feeding the flock of God, taking the oversight and being examples. (1 Peter 5:2-3) They are used of the Lord to help maintain the flock. We need these pastors/shepherds to help us along in the path of faith.

In order for one to fulfill this ministry it implies that he is mature himself. Not that pastors can never fail. They have and will. Failure does not negate the gift. They too need the Shepherd.

The fact that there are pastors/shepherds in the church does not imply that there is no need for the Lord as our Shepherd. Far be the thought. He still is the Shepherd of us all. And as the Chief Shepherd He is the One that the pastors/shepherds answer to and from Whom they receive their rewards. (They must give account to God for our souls - thus we submit to them).

"When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 1 Peter 5:4

So to answer the question, Who will shepherd the shepherds? is really quite simple. "The Lord is my Shepherd."

"Draw Me"

"Draw me and we will run after thee." Song of Solomon 1:4

Am I the cause of my children leaving the path and straying? Do they see me walking by faith quietly accepting whatever the Lord has set in my path? Or do they see a bitter complaining woman who questions God's every move in her life? If my children see in me joy and submission in my walk before the Lord, it will be attractive to them and they will want what I have. If my peace shows who can say they won't want that ? If my children know that Christ is my Object and that He is the One I aim to please, they will "run after" Him as well. Who, but a mother, has that kind of influence on the life of her children?

I've been listening to some tapes by C.E. Lunden. He had a series of meetings at Lassen in the 80's on Peter. They are titled: "God's Ways With Peter". Five tapes altogether. Even though I was there at the time I'm enjoying them again.

"Holiness and intelligence come from conpanionship with Jesus and no other way."

"Calling Jesus Lord. That means that you're subject to the Word of God. And not just partially subject, but aiming to be at all times subject to the Word of God. And I'll tell you that that's the only happy life because Jesus knows more than you do about what makes you happy. Cuz He made you. And if you go by His directions you will be happy. If you refuse those directions you will not be happy. There's no way to be happy except the way your Creator has ordered it. And your loving Saviour."

Great Rewards

One of my daughters was worrying that she wasn't doing much for the Lord in the way of service for Him. We were driving down the freeway after taking someone home from some kind of function. I said, " what do you mean? You just took so and so home and now you are driving me home. Just because something is not public or 'great' doesn't mean it won't be acknowledge by the Lord as a service for Him." I've been contemplating lately just exactly does the Lord find of great value in His sight of what we do for Him. I just heard recently that some young person just left the gathered saints because he felt he could do "greater" things for the Lord elsewhere! What he really meant is that the sphere here was too small. Getting back to my daughter. I told her that the Lord places a very high value on faithfulness. By just carrying on in the path of faithfulness being gathered to the Lord's name and being content to support His testimony is of great value to Him. But there is even something of more value than that! And that is communion. Do we spend time in His presence? Do we spend time with Him just talking to Him as we go about our day? He wants to hear my voice. He wants to hear your voice.

John 15 talks about fruit bearing. It says in verse five that if ye abide in Him and He abides in you, you bring forth much fruit.

"He Shall Give You Another Comforter, That He May Abide With You Forever"

I heard about a telephone conversation Bruce had with someone. It was about the Spirit of God. The question was raised, "Does the Spirit leave the believer (and thus the church) at the rapture so that He can work on earth with the saints through the tribulation?" I suppose, like all of us, he just needed to be reminded of the Scripture in John to answer his questions. That reminds me of a quote I've heard a lot over the years. "Immerse yourself in the Scriptures so that you end up thinking in the language of Scripture." (KLA paraphrase.) There's a book by H.P. Barker called "The Holy Spirit Here Today". In it Mr. Barker takes up subjects to do with the Holy Spirit and out association with Him. Each subject takes about a paragraph or two of space so is thus short and concise. My kind of book.

Brought to Him by Prayer

Does someone come to your mind that you've not thought of in months? Even years? Perhaps it's a gentle nudge from the Lord in bringing that person to mind so that you can bring him before the throne of grace. There may be a special need just at that time for them and the Lord is bringing you into fellowship with that need. Don't hesitate. Pray.

"I cannot tell why there should come to me

A thought of someone miles and years away,

In swift insistence on the memory,

Unless there is a need that I should pray.

We are too busy to spare thought

For days together of some friends away;

Perhaps Gpod does it for us-- and we ought
To read His signal as a sign to pray.

Perhaps just then my friend has fiercer fight,

A more appalling weakness, a decay

Of courage, darkness, some lost sense of right;

And so, in case he needs my prayers--I pray."

From: "How I know God Answers Prayer" by Rosalind Goforth

Real Power

"The power of testimony and personal holiness comes through prayer." C.E. Lunden

If we want real power in our lives it has to be gotten by private means. It's not something that we have been born with. It is gotten on our knees, with our faces in the dust, in private before the Lord. It is not gotten by ill means, by public display of piety or any such thing. It has to be between us and our Lord with no one to witness. Public display plays no part. To be seen of others so they will note how godly we are is hypocrisy. The very thought of it is an oxymoron. The result of prayer is communion with our God and it brings us down to humility. If we pray to be seen of men, that's pride.

We can not hide that we have not been in secret with the Lord. It will show in our manner of life--the way we talk, of what we talk, the way we respond to every day life, even when we pray aloud. People know. It shows how much time you actually spend in quiet communion with the Lord. There is no fast track to personal godliness. It is not gained overnight. It takes time and those who spend the time will be marked as such.