SHEPHERD MY SHEEP

“He said to him again a second time,
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him,
“Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him,
“Tend (shepherd) My sheep.”
JOHN 21:16

Love for Jesus is the prerequisite to being ABLE to shepherd HIS sheep. To be a shepherd in God’s house is not a position, a job description, or a title. It is simply the expression of a life that loves Jesus. Here Jesus is speaking to one who would walk as an apostolic expression in the days ahead yet the command from Jesus is to FEED and SHEPHERD HIS sheep. The word pastor is used only once in the entire New Testament. Not once is it mentioned in the Book of Acts or in the Epistles of Titus and Timothy who were to go out and ordain (appoint or confirm) Elders in the local church. Yet the concept and passion of all of Paul’s, Peter’s, John’s, and Luke’s writings are felt in the heartbeat of the Great Shepherd shining through every page written by the unction and power of the Holy Spirit.

In today’s “church,” we have made it a position and a title; A shepherd who is going to look after the people of God. The rest can merely sit in the pew, give their 10% in the offering to support “the” ministry, and give no more thought to the result of such an idea. The reality is that anyone who is truly in Love with Jesus will naturally care for HIS sheep.

“For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state,
for all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s”
Philippians 2:20

A person who is filled with the Love of God will find that the natural flow of HIS heart is to see God’s people walk in the power and truth of HIS life. The fact that we have so little corporate expression in the Local Church is a powerful testimony to the ineffectiveness of the status quo. True ministry has only one purpose; to cause men and women to be so captivated with the beauty of Jesus that they experience their own deep convictions and desire for the Life of the Son to be manifested in their lives. We will see an incredible bursting forth of power when people are no longer seeking their own things but are more concerned with the life of the Son in those around them. Only LIFE can produce life; only LOVE can bring forth a true and natural flow of care for the life of another.

The Church of Jesus Christ needs more shepherd expressions that are the result of a deep passionate love for Jesus. Not necessarily those who are professional, schooled, and trained in the psychology of this world but those who have been brought into the Fear of the Lord which is the beginning of ALL TRUE WISDOM. Powerless counselors, worldly strategies, and mood-altering drugs will NEVER prevail against the deep symptoms of the human heart. We must come to know that only the POWER of JESUS displacing the darkness, the fear, the guilt, the shame, and the perversion of the broken heart will provide lasting change. HE is the answer and those that love HIM reveal HIM. We are all still works in progress but let us know that the answer for this world is to be found in a people who LOVE HIM. Those who truly love Jesus cannot help but empower those around them to a greater desire to rise up from where they are and to be caught up in the great pursuit of HIS Lordship and HIS LIFE!

Related Post: The Good Shepherd

Brian Troxel