An Overview of the Central Burden and Present Truth
of the Lord’s Recovery before His Appearing
Message Six
Shepherding according to 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 Shepherd the flock of God among you, overseeing not under compulsion but willingly, according to God…
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.
Acts 20:28 Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has placed you as overseers to shepherd the church of God, which He obtained through His own blood.
Word of Appetizer
What is shepherding according to God?
To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to our preference, interest, purpose, and disposition. According to God in 1 Peter 5:2 means that we live God; only those who live God can shepherd according to God.
To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to what God is in His attributes. God is love, light, holiness, and righteousness. “According to God” is at least according to these four attributes of God. We must shepherd the young ones, the weak ones, and the backsliding ones according to these four attributes. Then we will be good shepherds.
Spiritual Burden
In order to shepherd according to God, we need to live a shepherding life. We need to shepherd the flock of God according to the loving and tender heart of our Father God and according to the seeking and shepherding spirit of our Savior Christ. All of us need to be under the organic shepherding of Christ and be one with Him to shepherd one another. We are both sheep and shepherds, shepherding and being shepherded in mutuality. Through this mutual shepherding, the church as the Body of Christ will build itself up in love.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
To shepherd is to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock.
In the Lord’s recovery today, there is an urgent need of shepherding; to shepherd the believers is crucial for their growth in the divine life unto maturity for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Shepherding depends on teaching; if we cannot teach, we cannot shepherd; our shepherding should always be with teaching, and our teaching should always be with shepherding.
The Experience of Life
We all need to know and experience Christ as the Shepherd of our souls. As the Shepherd of our souls, Christ oversees our inward condition, caring for the situation of our inner being.
Because our soul is very complicated, we need Christ, who is the life-giving Spirit in our spirit, to shepherd us in our soul, to take care of our mind, emotion, and will and all our problems, needs, and wounds. As our pneumatic Shepherd, Christ takes care of us from within our spirit. From our spirit Christ reaches all the parts of our soul and takes care of us in a tender, organic, all-inclusive way.
Practice and Application
Those who shepherd the flock of God should shepherd according to God. To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to God’s nature, desire, way, and glory, not according to our preference, interest, purpose, and disposition.
In order to shepherd according to God, we need to live a shepherding life. We need to shepherd the flock of God according to the loving and tender heart of our Father God and according to the seeking and shepherding spirit of our Savior Christ.
We are both sheep and shepherds, shepherding and being shepherded in mutuality. All of us need to be under the organic shepherding of Christ and be one with Him to shepherd one another.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 To shepherd is to take all-inclusive tender care of the flock (Matt. 9:36; 1 Pet. 5:4)
(Please illustrate that First, the Lord’s shepherding was in His earthly ministry. Second, the Lord’s shepherding is in His heavenly ministry.）
T2 Christ’s shepherding of His flock includes His caring for their outward things and also their inner being (1 Pet. 2:25)
(Please illustrate that Christ shepherds us by caring for the welfare of our inner being and by exercising His oversight over the condition of our soul, our real person.)
Day 2
T1 Anyone who would be a shepherd must also be a teacher (Eph. 4:11)
(Please illustrate that according to Ephesians 4, the shepherds and the teachers are one category.）
T2 To exercise yourselves to use the grace you have received and the gift you have been given to care for others (Col. 1:28)
(Please illustrate with examples that we can teach others by what we do.)
Day 3
T1 He is the Shepherd of our soul (1 Pet. 2:25)
(Please illustrate that no doubt, the body does give us many problems. Nevertheless, our real problem is in our soul.）
T2 Our soul need the Lord’s shepherding (1 Pet. 2:25)
(Please illustrate with experiences that the Lord is truly the Shepherd of our soul. He directs our mind, comforts our emotion, and leads and guides our will.)
Day 4
T1 The shepherd exercises oversight in order to supply the flock with whatever is needed (1 Pet. 5:2)
(Please illustrate that a shepherd’s oversight is related to protecting the flock, leading the flock, and feeding the flock.）
T2 According to God means that we must live God. We must have God on hand (1 Pet. 2:25; 5:2)
(Please illustrate that to shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to what God is in His attributes.)
Day 5
T1 The constitution of Christ in our spiritual life has a shepherding aspect (John 1:10-11)
(Please illustrate that we cannot shepherd anyone, but Christ constituted into us is the Shepherd.）
T2 The reigning aspect is first the shepherding aspect (Gen. 37:2; 41:40, 57)
(Please illustrate that reigning authority comes from the shepherding life.)
Day 6
T1 The church grows through shepherding (1 Cor. 12:24-26)
(Please illustrate that in a church, everyone must pick up the burden to take care of others.）
T2 We must learn to trust and rely upon the ones who are under our care (1 Cor. 12:24-26)
(Please illustrate that the more we pick up the burden to shepherd others, the more things we will need to learn.)
