The Lord is my Shepherd; He is the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.
He is shepherd to us when He is first Lord to us. He is not shepherd to us if we are unwilling to listen to Him.
He gives His work of shepherding to His under-shepherds; He allots sheep to under-shepherds. It is His work; under-shepherds will give account for the sheep.
Sheep who are shepherded do not lack what they need; under-shepherds are tasked with the work of the Shepherd. All that the Lord would do, they are to do.
Sheep are to be made to lie down in green pastures; shepherding is teaching disciples to meditate in the Word. This can be taught.
Sheep are to be led gently to waters of rest; shepherding is guiding disciples to come to Jesus and drink. Disciples need rest; they need renewal. They need the work of the Spirit.
The souls of sheep are to be brought back from their wandering; shepherding is bringing disciples back from the love of the world. Sheep are near-sighted; they get lost easily. Disciples must be turned back from following their souls.
Sheep are to be guided in the well-worn paths of righteousness; shepherding is leading disciples in the Way. What His sheep do in their life matters to Him, His name is on them. If His sheep wander off, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. If His sheep are eating a farmer’s grain, it is the Shepherd’s responsibility. There is a Way; shepherds should recognize when their sheep are not on it.
Sheep are not to be afraid of the dark; shepherding is being there with disciples in the darkness. It is the shepherd who carries a club; he can fight what threatens them. It is the shepherd who has a staff; he can take hold of his sheep. The under-shepherd must be there; through him Jesus shepherds.
Shepherding is oversight, not rule. The shepherd watches; he knows what is going on. He leads; he doesn’t drive. The sheep are not there to serve him; he is to serve them. He has a passion for them; he wants them to thrive.
What the under-shepherd does is significant to Jesus.
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:4
-Greg Whitten
August 12, 2009
July 23, 2009
GIFTS
Spiritual gifts work through a person’s spirit. Our spirit within impels us, like a wind driving ships across the sea. A particular gift implants a drive within; but in order for that gift to be expressed, we must choose to act on what our spirit within impels.
If one is given a gift of teaching, he must work at teaching. The gift does not give him teaching, only the drive to teach. It takes ten years to become an expert at anything. If one is given a gift of service, he must work at what is necessary to serve. A medical degree takes years to earn. Gifts are not shortcuts; they are the drive to do what we are meant to do.
Spiritual gifts are given by God; but they can lie dormant within us because we have not acted upon them. Paul urged Timothy to stir up the spiritual gift within him. What is in our spirit may require years of work to express.
Tiger Woods is gifted; not because golf was easy for him, but because he was driven to practice more than anyone else. He is arguably the best player in the world because he has worked harder at it than anyone else.
Spiritual gifts require spiritual freedom. We cannot serve others effectively if we are slaves ourselves. We must be free to work out what He is working in us. We cannot prophesy if we do not listen to His voice. We cannot teach if we have not learned to follow. We cannot exhort if we have given in to sin.
Only disciples can find freedom.
“…If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
Only disciples can realize the spiritual gift God gave them.
The fulness of what God intended is realized when a disciple fully acts upon what his spirit within impels him to do. It is then that the spiritual gift becomes a gift to the body of Christ.
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-12
-Greg Whitten
If one is given a gift of teaching, he must work at teaching. The gift does not give him teaching, only the drive to teach. It takes ten years to become an expert at anything. If one is given a gift of service, he must work at what is necessary to serve. A medical degree takes years to earn. Gifts are not shortcuts; they are the drive to do what we are meant to do.
Spiritual gifts are given by God; but they can lie dormant within us because we have not acted upon them. Paul urged Timothy to stir up the spiritual gift within him. What is in our spirit may require years of work to express.
Tiger Woods is gifted; not because golf was easy for him, but because he was driven to practice more than anyone else. He is arguably the best player in the world because he has worked harder at it than anyone else.
Spiritual gifts require spiritual freedom. We cannot serve others effectively if we are slaves ourselves. We must be free to work out what He is working in us. We cannot prophesy if we do not listen to His voice. We cannot teach if we have not learned to follow. We cannot exhort if we have given in to sin.
Only disciples can find freedom.
“…If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32
Only disciples can realize the spiritual gift God gave them.
The fulness of what God intended is realized when a disciple fully acts upon what his spirit within impels him to do. It is then that the spiritual gift becomes a gift to the body of Christ.
“And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ…” Ephesians 4:11-12
-Greg Whitten
July 15, 2009
CHURCH
Christianity has been largely defined by church for most of these two thousand years; Christianity has been understood primarily to be what happens inside a religious service. Our language has no other meaning for “church”.
Our English word “church” does not come from the Greek word it translates, but from a Greek phrase, “kyriakon doma”, meaning “the Lord’s house”. The essential thought in the English word “church” is that it is the Lord’s house.
But there is a true Tabernacle in heaven, which the Lord pitched, not man. This is the Lord’s house; this is the place of His throne, and the soles of His feet. For us to call something on earth the Lord’s house is like Aaron fashioning a golden calf, and saying this is the god who brought you out of Egypt.
His house is in heaven; it is there that we must direct our hearts. We must ascend the hill of the Lord; we must draw near to the throne of grace. Like priests we must enter alone into the holy place, to offer up what is acceptable to Him.
The word used in the Greek New Testament is “ekklesia”, meaning “assembly”. This is the word Jesus used; this is the word the apostles used. In Acts 19 this word is also used three times to refer to Greek citizens of Ephesus gathered together because of rumors about the apostle Paul. This is the primary meaning of this word. When the New Testament uses this word, it is using a non-religious word; ekklesia is an assembly of citizens. It does not imply house; it does not imply a religious service.
By turning ekklesia, assembly, into the Lord’s house, we have placed a graven image between believers and the throne of grace. The graven image can keep believers from a secret life. If “church” is the means to the throne of grace, then believers will not learn to seek Him in the wilderness. We will not learn to seek Him alone in the dawn.
Disciples should walk a narrow path. Disciples give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret; what the Father rewards was not done to be seen. The riches of discipleship cannot be found by those who do not know how to walk with Him alone.
For us to gather as ekklesia on earth, we must first find grace in heaven. We bear fruit out of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ; this fruit feeds others. Without this abiding relationship, we will have nothing significant to give others.
Ekklesia is a gathering of the citizens of the kingdom of God, who have walked in the City of God.
-Greg Whitten
Our English word “church” does not come from the Greek word it translates, but from a Greek phrase, “kyriakon doma”, meaning “the Lord’s house”. The essential thought in the English word “church” is that it is the Lord’s house.
But there is a true Tabernacle in heaven, which the Lord pitched, not man. This is the Lord’s house; this is the place of His throne, and the soles of His feet. For us to call something on earth the Lord’s house is like Aaron fashioning a golden calf, and saying this is the god who brought you out of Egypt.
His house is in heaven; it is there that we must direct our hearts. We must ascend the hill of the Lord; we must draw near to the throne of grace. Like priests we must enter alone into the holy place, to offer up what is acceptable to Him.
The word used in the Greek New Testament is “ekklesia”, meaning “assembly”. This is the word Jesus used; this is the word the apostles used. In Acts 19 this word is also used three times to refer to Greek citizens of Ephesus gathered together because of rumors about the apostle Paul. This is the primary meaning of this word. When the New Testament uses this word, it is using a non-religious word; ekklesia is an assembly of citizens. It does not imply house; it does not imply a religious service.
By turning ekklesia, assembly, into the Lord’s house, we have placed a graven image between believers and the throne of grace. The graven image can keep believers from a secret life. If “church” is the means to the throne of grace, then believers will not learn to seek Him in the wilderness. We will not learn to seek Him alone in the dawn.
Disciples should walk a narrow path. Disciples give in secret, pray in secret, fast in secret; what the Father rewards was not done to be seen. The riches of discipleship cannot be found by those who do not know how to walk with Him alone.
For us to gather as ekklesia on earth, we must first find grace in heaven. We bear fruit out of an abiding relationship with Jesus Christ; this fruit feeds others. Without this abiding relationship, we will have nothing significant to give others.
Ekklesia is a gathering of the citizens of the kingdom of God, who have walked in the City of God.
-Greg Whitten
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