Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (3)
Message Ten
Shepherding According to God
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
John 21:15-17 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.
I. Shepherding is the full and tender care given to the flock; shepherding refers to taking care of all the needs of the sheep—John 21:15-17; Acts 20:28. (Monday)
II. The two basic elements of shepherding are cherishing and feeding—Eph. 5:29:
A Shepherding is to comfort, console, nourish with tender love, and maintain with affectionate care.
B When we shepherd others, we should first cherish them to make them happy, and then we should feed them.
———————————————————————————————————————-
III. In the Lord’s recovery today, there is an urgent need for shepherding—John 21:16; 1 Pet. 5:2, 4. (Tuesday, Wednesday)
A The greatest lack among us is the matter of shepherding.
B Shepherding the believers is extremely important for their growth in the divine life unto maturity for the building up of the Body of Christ—Eph. 4:13-16.
C The shepherding that builds up the Body of Christ is a mutual shepherding—1 Cor. 12:23-26.
D The more we are constituted with Christ, the more spontaneously we will live a shepherding life and have the burden to take care of others—Col. 1:27; 3:10-11.
———————————————————————————————————————-
IV. Christ is the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, and the Shepherd of our souls—John 10:9-17; Heb. 13:20-21; 1 Pet. 5:4. (Thursday)
A The Lord Jesus, as the Good Shepherd, came that we may have life and may have it more abundantly—John 10:10-11.
B God resurrected “the Great Shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus,” from the dead “by the blood of an eternal covenant”—Heb. 13:20.
C Christ, as the Chief Shepherd, shepherds His flock through the elders in the churches—1 Pet. 5:4.
———————————————————————————————————————-
V. “Shepherd the flock of God among you, [according to God]”—1 Pet. 5:2. (Friday)
A To shepherd according to God is to shepherd according to God’s nature, heart’s desire, way, and glory, not according to our preferences, interests, purposes, and personality.
B For us to shepherd according to God, we must become God in life, nature, expression, and function.
———————————————————————————————————————-
VI. To shepherd according to God is to dispense God into others—2 Cor. 13:14. (Saturday)
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean; for the fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints.
John 3:29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom’s voice. This joy of mine therefore is made full.
Word of Appetizer
What is the goal of the Lord’s recovery?
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
Christ’s goal is not to remove sin; it is to have the bride; therefore, as the Bridegroom, He must have a wedding. The wedding of the Lamb will be a universal wedding; it will be the marriage of the Redeemer and the redeemed. The primary work of the Lord in His recovery is to prepare His bride. In His recovery He is calling out a remnant of those who love Him and who are faithful to Him. He is sending out the call to overcome the degradation of Christianity so that a number of those who seek Him may be prepared as His bride.
Spiritual Burden
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride—the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
To love the Lord Jesus is to appreciate Him, to direct our being to Him, to open to Him, to enjoy Him, to give Him the first place, to be one with Him, to live Him, and to become Him.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple—God in Christ as the Bridegroom and God’s redeemed people as the bride.
Revelation 19:7-9 unveils Christ as the Bridegroom.
The bride is the goal of the Lord’s recovery.
The Experience of Life
God is a lover, and He created man in the image of Himself as a lover; this means that He created us so that we would love Him. Our relationship with the Lord should become more and more romantic.
When we have been fully saturated with the Triune God so that He flows out of us, we will be completely built and fitted together to become the glorious church, the beloved bride of the Lord Jesus.
Practice and Application
Whatever we love, our whole heart, even our entire being, is set on and occupied and possessed by. To love the Lord Jesus is to appreciate Him, to direct our being to Him, to open to Him, to enjoy Him, to give Him the first place, to be one with Him, to live Him, and to become Him.
If we would be qualified to attend the wedding feast of Christ, we need to live by Christ and live Him out in our daily living. This Christ, the subjective Christ, will be the wedding garment to qualify us to be admitted into the wedding feast. Therefore, we need both the justifying garment and the wedding garment.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 To love God means to set our entire being—spirit, soul, and body, with the heart, soul, mind, and strength absolutely on Him (Mark 12:30)
(Please illustrate that to fear God, to worship God, and to believe in God (that is, to receive God) are all inadequate; to love Him is the indispensable requirement.)
T2 The Bible is a romance, in the most pure and the most holy sense, of a universal couple (Matt. 25:6; 2 Cor. 11:2)
(Please illustrate that the male of this couple is God Himself; the female of this couple is God’s redeemed people, including all the saints of the Old Testament and the New Testament.)
Day 2
T1 The ultimate consummation of the whole Bible is this universal couple—the Husband and the wife (Matt. 9:15; 2 Cor. 11:2)
(Please illustrate that the four Gospels also tell us that Christ has come as the Bridegroom; in the Epistles Christ and the church are portrayed as husband and wife.)
T2 In the kingdom of one thousand years, the New Jerusalem will be composed only of the overcomers (Rev. 21:2, 9-10)
(Please illustrate that eventually, all the believers will join the overcomers to make the New Jerusalem larger than it was in the thousand-year kingdom.)
Day 3
T1 The Lord Jesus is the Lamb as the Bridegroom (Rev. 19:7)
(Please illustrate that The Lamb is for redemption, and the Bridegroom is for the wedding.)
T2 The readiness of the bride depends on the maturity in life of the overcomers (Rev. 19:7; John 3:29)
(Please illustrate that the overcomers are not separate individuals but a corporate bride.)
Day 4
T1 God’s building and our growth are for the preparation of the bride (Rev. 19:7; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that the bride having made herself ready means that the church has been completely built up and has grown to maturity.)
T2 The primary work of the Lord in His recovery is to prepare His bride (Rev. 19:7; Heb. 6:1)
(Please illustrate that those who make up the bride must not only be mature in life; they must also be built together as the one bride.)
Day 5
T1 The fine linen is the righteousnesses of the saints (Rev. 19:8; Phil. 3:9)
(Please illustrate that the righteousnesses refers to Christ lived out of us in our daily life.)
T2 According to the revelation of the whole Bible, we, the saved ones, need two garments (Luke 15:22; Rev. 19:8)
(Please illustrate that one for our salvation and one for our reward.)
Day 6
T1 The bride of the Lamb and the guests invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb refer to the same group of persons (Rev. 19:9; Matt. 22:2, 14)
(Please illustrate that those who constitute the bride of Christ are the guests invited to the wedding feast.)
T2 When Christ comes, the overcoming believers will join Him to feast at the marriage dinner of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9; Matt. 22:2, 14)
(Please illustrate that the judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will not determine whether or not we will be saved or perish; it will decide whether we will receive a reward from the Lord or suffer a loss.)
