The Sheep and The Shepherd

This Is Why I’ve Come

Hey, what would you do if you knew you only had twenty-four hours left to live? Will you sleep? Write your will. Get married? or what? Well, that is a question I often ask people. Think about it for a second. What would you do? As for Jesus, when he reached thirty, knowing that he had just three and a half more years to remain on this earth, he was determined to finish his earthly ministry.

He numbered his days and “Went about all the cities and villages, TEACHING in their synagogues and PREACHING the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” — Matt. 9:35. His famous statement was, “I must work the work of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh when no man can work” and he also declared that “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:4-5).

To him “As long as I am in the world” was three and a half years so he made it His You see, he spent his time traveling from place to place preaching and teaching the word. He said “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth” (Mk. 1:38). The Message translation says “This is why I've come.”

Friend, this was the Lord's answer to that question. He said, “This is why I've come." The reason for existence on earth was His major focus, every minute of His time in the world. So over to you: why have you come? What do you want to do with your life? How do you want to spend the time you have left on earth? I pray we will all discover why we’ve come to this earth and live the rest of our lives fulfilling our destiny. Amen

The Problem of Men

Friend, when God walked the earth, He spent his time travelling from place to place, preaching and teaching the word. He “Went about all the cities and villages, TEACHING in their synagogues and PREACHING the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” — Matt. 9:35). But it's funny: here is the Son of God, born of the Holy Ghost, who descended straight down from heaven, and the only thing He set out to do was to be a "preacher." He didn't go for any of those fancy professions, nor did He aspire to be the president or an inventor (he could have made some really interesting things), but He chose to be a preacher! Why?

Why did Jesus spend his time on earth preaching and teaching people? I believe it was for these two reasons:

• It was the will of God the Father.

• The problem of man is lack of knowledge.

He observed that humanity “...is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder with no one to rescue them, they have been made loot, with no one to say ‘send them back’” (Is. 42:22 NIV). And diagnosed that “… people are gone into captivity because they have no knowledge…” (Is. 5:13). In fact, He said, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” (Hosea 4:6), and as the Great Physician prescribed, “Ye (men) shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you (them) free." (Jn. 8:32).

This was why He did more teaching than any other thing recorded in the gospels. He taught to the point that Peter said, “That word...was published throughout ALL JUDEA...” (Acts. 10:38). He said, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth" (Mk. 1:38). The Message translation says, "This is why I've come." He came to solve the problems of men through the teaching of the Word. So, though He has ascended into heaven, He organized the church and sent ministers to feed his sheep with knowledge and understanding.

The Head and The Body

Friend, Jesus, in a bid to continue his earthly ministry after his ascension into heaven, structured the church into members, company, gifts, and the Head. Being the Head, he “set the members every one of them on the body as it hath pleased him” – 1. Cor. 12:18.

1. MEMBERS: Paul said, “Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular” (1. Cor. 12:27). Every born again child of God is a member of the body. A member is the smallest unit of life in the body of Christ. You do not become a member by being a part of a church or joining a service unit; you can only become a member by being born again.  

2. SHEEPFOLD, ASSEMBLY, OR A COMPANY: “And being let go, they (Peter and John) went to their own company” – Acts 4:23. An assembly of members in the body makes up a company or a sheepfold. Hebrews 10:25 says, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...” The whole church is called the “general assembly” (Heb. 12:23) but a group of members in the body is called an assembly, company, or sheepfold. Every member ought to belong to a company.

3. MINISTRY GIFTS OR SHEPHERDS: “When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave GIFTS unto men” – Eph. 4:8 Among the members of the general assembly, “God hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers...” (1. Cor. 12:28). He set them for the perfecting of the saints, the work of the ministry, and the edifying of the body. They are to lead a sheepfold and feed them with His Word.

4. THE HEAD: “He (Jesus) is the head of the body, the Church” – Col. 1:18 The whole church is being led by her chief commanding officer, Jesus, the head of the church. He “Set the members every one of them on the body as it hath pleased him” – 1. Cor. 12:18. He links the sheep to the shepherd and the shepherd to the sheep. Friend, I have written these things to you so that you may know that you’re a member of a sheepfold led by a minister under the direction of the Head of the Church.

Give Ye Them to Eat

Friend, 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse than an infidel.” Notice that we are in the household of Jesus, and He is our head. He is not worse than an infidel and has not denied the faith, so He has provided a system to feed His body. In Mk. 6:34–43, we see a picture of how Jesus feeds his church today. He saw the multitudes and was moved with compassion towards them because, to him, they looked like sheep without a shepherd. He taught, healed, and fed them. But the point I want to make is how He fed them.

You see, He commanded His disciples, saying, “Give ye them to eat." The disciples were a picture of the ministry gifts or shepherds sent to the church today. They have been saddled with the responsibility of feeding the sheep. Jesus told Peter before his ascension, “If you love me, feed my sheep." The spirit of man feeds on the Word of God, and the bread they shared is a picture and a type of the Word of God. The apostles, prophets, and teachers were set up by Jesus as ministers in the church to feed His members with knowledge and understanding. He "commanded them to make all sit down by companies...and they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties", then "...blessed and brake the loaves and gave them to his disciples to set before them..." (Mk. 6:39-41)

That is, He blessed the Word and divided the messages; He gave some faith to preach, some healing, some bible teaching, and others prosperity, and then told them to set their message before the people. Friend, God has provided food for you in the mouth of His ministers. Go and sit down like the multitudes in the wilderness, and let these shepherds feed you with knowledge and understanding. “Give ye them to eat” was our command as ministers from the head of the church.

God Sent Men to You

Throughout history, God has been sending men to specific locations and people. There was a man sent from God whose name was John to "bear witness of the light (Jesus)" in Israel. Another, Elijah, was sent to a widow in Sarepta. A man called Jonah was sent to a great city called Nineveh. Ananias to Saul in Damascus, Paul to the Gentiles in Macedonia, and Peter to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But, who has He sent to you, or where is He sending you? You see, Jesus sends his ministry gifts, or shepherds, to specific people and locations. The Apostle Paul said Jesus, the head of the church, gave "some" apostles, "some" prophets, "some" evangelists, and "some" pastors and teachers.

The "some" here refers to a people, an assembly, a sheepfold, or a company. In ministry, one of the basic things ministry gifts are taught is to locate their message, location, and the people Jesus has sent them to. Every minister has “some” that he or she is sent to. It could be a particular race, age group, people in a specific city or community, the whole world, a country, people of a similar religion, or just an individual like Philip to the Ethiopian Eunuch. God sends his ministry gifts, or shepherds, to specific locations and people.

It is our duty as the sheep to locate, receive, believe in, and respond to the shepherds God has placed in our lives. Jesus is the way that links the sheep to his shepherd. Sometimes He shows them to you in a vision, like when Saul saw Ananias. He also tells you their names and locations in a vision, as He did for Cornelius. Because He loves you, He goes ahead to tell them about you and sends them to come and meet you. Then He opens your heart to hear the voice of your shepherds. It is my prayer that you will find and eat from your shepherds.

How To Discern a Man Sent from God to You

Friend, Andrew Wommack told the story of a Hindu or Buddhist lady who was fed up and wanted to know the true God. She prayed, saying, “God, I know you exist; would you please reveal yourself to me and let me know who the true God is?" As she prayed, a ball of light came right up to her, and she heard a voice say, “I will send you a man tomorrow who will tell you who I am." Sure enough, Andrew Wommack showed up, and she said, “You’re the one.”

You see, God sends his ministers to people, and it is our duty as the sheep to discern the shepherd sent by God to us. But the first thing you must understand about discerning the shepherd(s) sent by God to you is this: “Jesus is the way that links the shepherd to the sheep and the sheep to the shepherd." He said, “I am the door of the sheep,” and “He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold... is a thief and a robber” (Jn. 10:7 & 1). That means Jesus is the one who links the sheep to his shepherd. Malachi, the prophet, said, “He shall turn the hearts of the children to their fathers” (Malachi 4:6). And he has not changed; he did it before, and he would do it again, and probably for you through one of the following ways he did before:

·   He links you to the shepherd through dreams and visions. Saul saw a vision of Ananias, his shepherd, in Damascus. He stayed for certain days with the disciples in Damascus. (Acts 9:10-19)

·   He tells you their name and where to find them, as he did for Cornelius in Acts 10:1-6.

·   He tells them about you and sends them to come and meet you, as he did for the widow of Sarepta. (1 Kings 17:9–14).

·   He divinely arranges a meeting between you and the shepherd, like he did for Naaman. (2 Kings 5:1–15)

·   He creates a deep desire and love for the shepherd in you. (Phil. 2:13)

·   He opens your heart to hear the voice of the shepherd. (Acts 16:14)

Friend, one or all of these examples may happen to you, but deep desire, love, and an open heart to hear the words of the shepherd are key in discerning a man sent from God to you.

Jesus is Lord.

Min. Roi