“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.”
Luke 15:4-6
The limits of God’s searching for His lost sheep are clear:
“Until He finds it.”
The Shepherd’s Heart
God, from the very beginning, has been and always will be the ever-seeking One.
“And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
Genesis 3:8-9
Where are you?
Of course, God knew full well where Adam and Eve were physically hiding. God’s question was about relationship and intimacy. God, as the source of pure Love, felt within Himself the grief and loss of Adam’s relationship.
God seeks, God calls, and He presses men and women to the infinite wonders of relationship with Himself. Our involvement with His Body will be proportional to our relationship with Him as the unifying wonder of His Spirit. (John 17)
The great Shepherd of the sheep seeks His own. He seeks their welfare, their purity, and their victory over sin. Through our relationship with Him, we begin to feel moved upon to co-labor in His great purposes.
“Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?
“Feed MY sheep.”
John 21:16
It is impossible to hold the pure love of God within our hearts without being moved by that same love to minister to HIS sheep. Love is the fountain from which pure ministry flows. Lukewarm hearts need the stirrings of the fire and the passion of His love in this critical day.
“And because lawlessness will be increased,
the love of many will grow cold.”
Matthew 24:12 (ESV)
Where there is little of the love of Him, there will be a limited flowing of His love through us to others.
His gifts made alive by His Love
“For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.”
Galatians 5:6 (AMPC)
“to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit
for the common good.”
1 Corinthians 12:7 (ESV)
Paul goes on to describe what those manifestations are.
7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:
8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
His gifts are given to His church for His glory.
To deny His gifts is to deny the Giver.
Turn us, Lord, from cold hearts
And unbelief
Fill us with the Love
Of THE Shepherd
To feed and minister to YOUR sheep.
Break the pride of men
who calls Your sheep their sheep.
Save us from loveless hearts
That do not feel the pull and the press
to care for one another.
Break our hearts with this vital truth:
ONE Church, ONE Body.
And that church is not somewhere we go
But something we collectively ARE.
“…Everyone who loves the Father
loves whoever has been born of Him.”
1 John 5:1 (ESV)
Related Posts:
The Love of the Shepherd (LINK)
The Simplicity of Ministry (LINK)
“By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples,
if ye have love one to another.”
John 13:35
Brian Troxel
This is a lovely post with so much comfort for all of us. I know this is weird, but every time I read this parable, I wonder about the rest of the flock.
Thank you for stopping by – and yes, I think the same thing – it causes me to seek to be an effective witness of Him that others may come to Him and learn of His wonder for themselves.
Keep sharing His love as you do – it is fruitful and encouraging.
Blessings
BT
The Ministry Wagon
I had another dream about sheep, 01/15/2013. In this dream I saw what looked like a stagecoach only it was huge and unlike any I’ve ever seen before. On the side of the stagecoach I saw in very big letters the word “ministry” written. I then saw a driver sitting on top of the stagecoach holding the reins and a very large whip which he was cracking . Here comes the strange part. Every time I’ve ever seen a stage-coach it’s either being pulled by mules or horses. The animals that were used to pull and keep this stagecoach called ministry going were sheep. As I saw the driver cracking the whip over the sheep’s head to keep them moving, I noticed armed mounted horsemen who also had whips on either side of the sheep to keep them in line. In one sense they were protecting the sheep from wolves but not for the sheep’s welfare. It was so that the stagecoach called ministry could keep on moving. When a sheep would stumble or become wounded the horsemen would un-hinge the sheep from the rest and toss them to the waiting wolves to devour. I never saw the sheep given a time of rest nor did I remember seeing them fed. I do remember seeing the driver and horsemen stopping to feed themselves and what they feasted upon was some of the sheep used to pull the stagecoach ministry.
This is the word that comes to mind.
Ezekiel 34:1-5 NIV84
The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild
Another clear word concerning much of today’s “ministry”. The sheep are often driven to serve the agendas of such leaders instead of the ministers serving the heart and will of the Great Shepherd, whose sheep they truly are.
Apologize for the slow response – been travelling…
Blessings my good friend
BT