Meeting God’s Need and Present Needs
in the Lord’s Recovery
Message Six
Entering into Christ’s Wonderful Shepherding
in His Heavenly Ministry to Shepherd the Church of God
as a Slave of God for the Fulfillment of the Dream of God
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
1 Pet. 5:2-3 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God; not by seeking gain through base means but eagerly; nor as lording it over your allotments but by becoming patterns of the flock.
1 Pet. 2:25 For you were like sheep being led astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Word of Appetizer
How can we enter into Christ’s wonderful shepherding in His heavenly ministry to shepherd the church of God as a slave of God?
Whenever we have a need, we can come to the Lord and let Him serve us so that He can serve others through us; as the life-giving Spirit, the Slave-Savior shepherds others through us by dispensing Himself as life into us so that we can become the channel for Him to dispense Himself as life into others; for the sake of the flock, the elders must enjoy the Lord every day as grace and truth so that they may be dispensers of grace and truth.
Spiritual Burden
We need to enter into Christ’s wonderful shepherding in His heavenly ministry by enjoying and ministering Christ to shepherd the church of God as a slave of God for the fulfillment of the dream of God, the eternal purpose of God.
The elders should not lord it over God’s flock, which is God’s possession; the churches are God’s possession, allotted to the elders as their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care; we need to take care of the saints in everything and in every way for the dispensing of Christ into them.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
To shepherd the flock of God is to watch over the souls of the saints, being one with the Lord as the Shepherd and Overseer of their souls in His care for the welfare of their inner being and in His exercising His oversight over the condition of their real person.
The elders should not lord it over God’s flock, which is God’s possession; the churches are God’s possession, allotted to the elders as their portion, entrusted to them by God for their care; in their fellowship with one another, the elders need to be restricted in their speaking.
The organic maintenance of the golden lampstand is Christ’s heavenly ministry to cherish the churches in His humanity and nourish the churches in His divinity to produce the overcomers through His organic shepherding; the goal of Christ’s wonderful shepherding in His heavenly ministry is to build up the New Jerusalem for the accomplishment of the eternal economy of God; for eternity we will enjoy the Lamb, who is in the midst of the throne, shepherding us and continually guiding us to springs of waters of life.
The Experience of Life
Christ as the Slave-Savior did not come to be served, but to serve; as the great Shepherd of the sheep, He served us in the past, He still serves us in the present, and He is going to serve us in the future; whenever we have a need, we can come to the Lord and let Him serve us so that He can serve others through us; as the life-giving Spirit, the Slave-Savior shepherds others through us by dispensing Himself as life into us so that we can become the channel for Him to dispense Himself as life into others.
Practice and Application
For the sake of the flock, the elders need to buy the oil every day (Matt. 25:3-4, 9), to pay the price to gain more of the Spirit, by buying the truth of God’s economy (Prov. 23:23), buying gold refined by fire that they may be rich toward God, buying white garments that they may be clothed with Christ by living out Christ, and buying eyesalve as the anointing Spirit to heal their blindness.
We should not tell the saints where to live, what to do, or where to go without directing them to pray so that we can honor Christ as the Head of the Body; we need to take care of the saints in everything and in every way for the dispensing of Christ into them; the elders must minister Christ to meet the need of all kinds of people, contacting and visiting them regularly and inviting them to their home for meals.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1: The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45; Luke 22:26-27; 12:37).
(Please explain that three passages [in Mark and Luke] help us see how Christ served us in the past, still serves us in the present, and is going to serve us in the future.)
T2: Our service in time is a preparation for our service in eternity (Matt. 25:21; Rev. 22:3).
(Please explain that the measure of God in us is the measure of our usefulness before Him.)
Day 2
T1: Christ shepherds us by exercising His oversight over the condition of our soul (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:4).
(Please explain that Christ’s shepherding of His flock includes His caring for our outward things and also our inner being .)
T2: Matthew 24:45 tells us the way to serve; it is to “give them food at the proper time” (Matt. 24:45).
(Please explain that to give them food refers to ministering the word of God and Christ as the life supply to the believers.)
Day 3
T1: To help people go directly to the Lord Himself and pray (1 Pet. 5:3; Col. 2:19).
(Please explain that any decisions that we make by ourselves for others are an insult to the Spirit.)
T2: The Spirit and the Body keep us in balance (Acts 21:4, 11).
(Please explain that the leading we have from the Lord should correspond to the feeling of the Body.)
Day 4
T1: We need to be careful about directing the young saints related to their marriage (Matt. 19:5-6).
(Please explain that we should render as much life as we can to help them and never indicate who is their best match.)
T2: We have to help the young saints related to their marriage in morality, in human life, in spirituality, and in the Lord’s way (Heb. 13:4).
(Please explain that when the elders realize that some young saints are dating in an improper way, they must render them some help.)
Day 5
T1: The way to get rid of the sins among some saints (Lev. 10:17; Heb. 3:13).
(How should we learn to minister Christ to the dear ones who are in sin?)
T2: The oneness can be maintained only in love by the Spirit (Gal. 6:1; 1 Cor. 8:1).
(How should we do our best to recover a fallen saint?)
Day 6
T1: Love covers many sins (Prov. 10:12; Psa. 32:1).
(Please explain that covering brings in blessing, but uncovering brings in a curse.)
T2: In order for the church to maintain the oneness, the brothers and sisters have to withstand reviling words (1 Cor. 6:10; Lev. 5:3).
(Please explain that only those who are dealt with in the matter of speaking and in learning not to assume headship can represent the Head.)
