Christ is the
mystery no 136
Christian Life no
17
The Role of a
Shepherd pt2
Brian Kocourek
Sunday we began examining the role of a Shepherd, and
we found ourselves examining the things Jesus told Peter a Shepherd should do.
Number 1 was to feed His Sheep, and number 2 to care for the sheep.
In Hebrews 5:12-14 &
6:1-3 we read, "In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over
again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being
still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But
solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have
trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the
elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again
the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the
dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.
Or as
brother Vayle said, Hebrews 6 means to
stop fussing about who is right and who is wrong, and move on into
maturity.
So if
not milk, then what is the meat of Scripture? It is the training in
righteousness so that the sheep can be fully equipped, able to stand in the day
of testing.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is
useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so
that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Sunday school classes, story time, music programs, and focus on the family
type social programs do not feed
sheep. Sons of God, "the Sheep of His hand", must feed on the
Word of God as it is rightly
divided. And it must be the Word for the day in which they live.
Not only is a shepherd responsible for feeding God's
flock they have been assigned by God, but the shepherd is also responsible for
watering God's flock.
Genesis 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the
shepherds would roll the stone away from the well’s mouth and water the sheep.
Then they would return the stone to its place over the mouth of the well.
Water, in the Bible, is represents the Holy
Spirit. And water is also represented in Scripture for washing and
cleaning.
Ephesians 5:26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with
the washing of water by the word,
A shepherd must make sure his flocks are watered
regularly, for without it they will loose their strength.
Ever present water 61-0723M P:45 Now, we find out that, along this road,
after they got like this, they come to a place of Horeb.
And H-o-r-e-b, Horeb, then
we find out... Let's break that name down. That's where the--the name "Horeb" means, a "dry place" or a
"desert." And when we get out of fellowship with one another
in the church, and out of fellowship with the Holy Spirit, it brings us to a
dry place, a desert, nothing alive, everything got stickers on it.
See, a desert, a little piece of cactus with that sticker on it. Did you know
what that is? That's a precious little tender leaf that hasn't had no water; it's just wound itself up so tight till it's a
sticker. And when you see somebody like that, maybe it's a precious soul
that could been watered right, would've been a tender little leaf or something.
But instead of that, it's wound itself up till it's a sticker, just punching at
everything, you know, finding fault. Only thing it needs is just water.
That's all. It just needs a revival, or a breaking up, a refreshing from the
Lord. It'll unfold its little self, if you'll just put it to the water.
But the problem is that you can take a horse to water
but you can't make him drink. And when that horse gets stubborn you can try to
lead it all you want, but it isn't going to go until you put a burr under its
saddle or take a whip. And a horse that has been whipped will always remember,
and will wait to get the chance to get even. So that has never been the answer.
So whatever way you try, if you can get that horse to water and he won't drink,
it is because he is a sick horse. And if you try to force him to drink for his
own good, you'll get kicked if he doesn't want to drink.
So dryness represents a stony and hardened heart, as
brother Branham said because you are out of fellowship with the saints and with
God. Therefore in Scripture we see that the shepherd would bring the sheep to
the well, and roll away that stone, or in the spiritual that stony heart, and
offer the washing of water by the Word to the sheep, Because
water heals, water cleanses and water refreshes.
Now, remember, Jesus also told Peter to care for
my sheep. That means the
Shepherd is to do everything he can think of to make sure the sheep are healthy
and safe. Let's pick up again from 1 Thessalonians
again where we left off Sunday, and we will read from chapter 2 this time. And we will see this life and
this care that the apostle Paul spoke concerning His Love for Jesus and His
Love for His brethren.
2 Brothers and sisters, you yourselves know
that our coming to you was not a waste of time. Paul knew he wasn't wasting
his time but more importantly, the people also knew that he was not there to
waste his time, nor theirs. And you people here, just like that first church at
Thessalonica, you know we have not wasted our time coming together each Sunday
and Wednesday night. Other wise you wouldn't make the effort that you do to be
here twice a week like as you have. You know the importance of gathering
together and more so as you see the day approach. And so we see Paul
acknowledge this attribute of those believers. Because it is so easy to get
caught up into the cares of this life, and find yourself missing out on the
blessings of God's blessings that come through our gathering together unto Him.
Brother Branham made this
clear in Christ is the Mystery of God, 45
And now, you've got tapes on that. You've
got tapes on what we believe. You got tapes on discipline in the church: how we behave ourselves in the
46
That's right. Stay right together. If the brother, you think he's
a little wrong, or the sister, say, "Lord, don't let me ever have the
root of bitterness spring up, 'cause it'll affect him, and it'll take
the Christ right out of my life." That poison acids of malice,
and jealousy, and hatred, that'll just take the Holy Spirit right away from you.
It'll run Him from the Tabernacle here. It'll kill the Spirit of God or
drive it away from here, hurt your pastor; it'll do everything. See? Don't
you do that. You just wax that much
closer together. Draw up the... Take the buckle, as the brother testified
(a minister here the other night) about having a buckle (seeing it in a
vision). Just, that buckles on the whole armor of God; just put it on, tighten
up, move right up close to one another. Love one another anyhow.
Talk nice about one another. Say nice things about one
another, and then God will bless you.
So
you want to get blessed? Then say nice things about others. That spirit of gossip
is nothing but the acid of malice as brother Branham said, and it will take
what anointing you have in your life away from you.
Look,
it is easy to blame our spiritual condition on the pastor, and say I am not
getting fed, but you are responsible for your own spiritual condition, not the
pastor. All he can do is lay in that Word and feed you what he is feeding on.
But if you get together and start the gossip, you have a promise that the
Spirit of God will leave you. That is Thus saith the Lord from the lips of a
vindicated prophet. Then when you do
come to church living in that atmosphere of Gossip, I will guarantee that you
will not get fed, and you will find things to be critical about. Why? Because
he said when the Holy Ghost leaves you become like a sticker always pricking at
this and that.
And
did not the prophet teach us that you get what you are looking for. Did not he
say if you come here to find fault I can guarantee you will find it. and if he said that about himself then what about a lowly
five fold minister who doers not come with Thus saith the Lord.
Is your life worthy 63-0630E P:74 Don't
fuss. When the
family gets in a fuss, don't fuss with them. Your mother said, "I ain't having you go up there to that old church anymore.
What are you... All you're thinking about now, you're
letting your hair grow out; you look like some old grandma." Don't
fuss with her. Say, "Okay, mother. That's all right, I love
you just the same, and I'll be praying for you as long as I
live." See? Now, don't fuss. See? Temper breeds temper.
First thing you know you grieve the Holy Spirit away from you and you'll
be fussing back. Then the Holy Spirit takes Its
flight. That's right. Temper breeds temper, and love breeds love.
Be full of love. Jesus said, "This will all men
know you're My disciples when you have love one for another." That's the
fruit of the Holy Spirit: love.
Lamb and dove 60-0805 P:47 "I'll dress the way I want to, that's
my business." No, it isn't. It's God's business." I'll take
care of my family the way I want to. Preacher ain't
got no business telling me that." Yes, I have
too. You ought to take care of it the way God told you to take care of it.
That's right. Stop all this nonsense. But we don't do it. You see what it is?
We let down the bars. What happened? The Holy Spirit took It's
flight. When you started to acting like that, the Holy Spirit left.
Lamb and the dove 56-0917 P:11 The Lamb wasn't a grumbler. The Bible said,
"He opened not His mouth. When he was reviled,
reviled not again." But oh, that's the reason that the Dove
could stay on the Lamb. But us, just let someone do something against us,
and we get hot in the collar. What happens? The Lamb... The Dove takes
its flight. The Holy Spirit leaves. Many times you wonder why can't we have that peace that we used to have. There's
something took the Dove away. That's right.
Now,
I admit, that has been my weakness, and I ask your prayers for me to overcome.
Our normal human reaction to our being attacked is to fight back, and yet Jesus
when asked by His Father to die on the cross he surrendered his will to the
Fathers will.
He
didn't want to get crucified, yet he had to died to
self first, before he could do what the Father asked him to do. "Not my will but thy will be done". Then when
He surrendered His will to the will of His father, he walked willingly to his
death. That was God in Him working to Will first and then to do.
Can
we willingly walk to our death to self. When others
attack you, can we say, Father into Thy hands I commit this fuss? And then not
fuss back? I know I have defended myself when I should not have done so. I
should have died to Brian so that Christ might have lived himself out in me
when under attack. Because after all, it's not me being attacked, it's the
Words of a vindicated prophet concerning John
And
John
So
we need to learn to be more like the lamb of God. When
men revile us, we bless them and curse them not.
Jesus
said, Matthew
The Apostle Paul also aid in 1 Corinthians
Then
Paul says in verse 2 You remember how we had just suffered
through brutal and insulting attacks in
He
said, we were not thinking of ourselves when we made the efforts to come unto
you, and neither do you think of only yourselves when you put out so much
effort to gather together to hear the
Gospel. Because your gathering encourages one
another, and it builds up the faith of the others, so you see, each one of you making sacrifice's
on your part makes it better for body.
3 For we haven’t approached you—or anyone
else for that matter—with some error or impure motives or deceitful agenda;
4 but as we have been approved by God and
entrusted with the good news, that’s how we are telling the world.
Paul
is expressing here that it is such a good thing when you have a ministry like
his or any faithful shepherd who makes the sacrifice to bring the true Word
without false motives, error, or deceitful agenda.
But
to see a real shepherd has but one motive for tending his flock, and that is to
care for them as he would care for his own children. He comes with no motive in
his heart but to see God's lambs grow in mercy and grace,
except that he might see his flock grow in the unity of the Faith and in the
knowledge of the son of God. That they might grow up into Him in all things.
Paul
continues in verse 4, We aren’t
trying to please everybody, but
God, the only One who can truly examine our motives. 5 As you know,
we didn’t sandwich the truth between cunning compliments—we told it
straight—and before the eyes of God, we never conspired to make a single cent
off of you. 6 We didn’t come
seeking respect from people—not from you or anyone else—although we could have
leveraged our position as emissaries[a] of the
Anointed One, the Liberating King. 7 Instead, we
proved to be gentle among you, like a nursing mother caring for her own
children. 8 We were so
taken by you that we not only eagerly shared with you God’s good news, but
we also shared with you our own lives. That’s how much you’ve come to mean to
us.
9 Don’t you
remember, my brothers and sisters, how hard we worked and struggled? We worked
day and night so that we wouldn’t be a burden to any of you and so that we
could continue to proclaim to you the good news of God. 10 Both you and
God can confirm how well we treated the believers: we were always holy, just,
and blameless. 11-12 As
you know, we comforted and consoled each of you as a father soothes his own
children, encouraging you to live lives worthy of God—of the One calling you
into His own kingdom and into His glory.
3 But after all our attempts to come to you
were frustrated, we decided it was best for Silvanus[a] and me to
stay behind in Athens by ourselves 2 and to send
Timothy (our dear brother and servant of God,[b] our partner
in the good news of the Anointed One) to strengthen, comfort, and encourage
you in your faith 3 so that you
won’t be shaken by the sufferings and wither under this stress that we know
lies ahead. 4 Certainly you
remember that when we were with you, we warned you of the suffering we would
have to endure; now, as you well know, it has happened. 5 This is why
I couldn’t stand it anymore and sent Timothy to report on the state of your
faith: because I was worried the tempter had tested you and, if so, all of our
hard work would have come to nothing.
6 You can imagine my relief and joy when
Timothy returned to us with such good news about you, about your faith and love
for us, about how you have such good memories of us and long to see us as much
as we long to see you. 7 Hearing this
about your faith, brothers and sisters, brought comfort to us in our
stress-filled days of trouble and suffering. 8 For if you are set firmly in the Lord,
then we can truly live. 9 What thanks
would ever be enough to offer God about you for all the jubilant celebration
we’ll feel before our God because of you? 10 We remain
vigilant in our prayers, night and day praying to once again see your faces and
to help complete whatever may be lacking in your faith.
You
can see Paul's love for Jesus is very obvious here, but it is also very obvious
that his love for the brethren is as great. And Chris's Spirit reinforces Paul love
in every way. How else is he able to walk away from beating after beating and
endure those trials and hardships of the heart and mind? He must constantly been
praying for those he could and could not reach.
For those he was with and for those he has to leave behind. Paul loves
Jesus, and so he cannot help but embrace the brethren as passionately as he did.
11 May God
Himself, our Father, along with our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, navigate our
way to you. 12 May the Lord
flood you with an unending, undying love for one another and for all
humanity, like our love for you, 13 so that your
hearts will be reinforced with His strength, held blameless and holy before
God, our Father, when our Lord Jesus, the Anointed, the Liberating King,]
appears along with all His holy ones. Amen.
The Good Shepherd, sets such an example with the flock
of love and selfless service so in return others will go out and do the same and
selflessly minister to others as they have seen the example before them.
Now, another thing the Shepherd must do is to at times
he must shear the sheep. This is a useful for the sheep, because that
long wool in the summer can cause over heating in the sheep, and cause him to
loose his good health. For the benefit of all, the sheep must be sheared
... That means they must be disciplined, encouraged and rebuked ... to keep
them fit for service to the Lord.
2 Timothy 4:2-5 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of
season; correct, rebuke and encourage— with great patience and careful
instruction. For the time will come when men will not
put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they
will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn
aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship,
do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties
of your ministry.
Hebrews 12:7-11 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son
is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone
undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected
them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and
live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but
God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No
discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it
produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained
by it.
1 Thessalonians
Titus
Now, this word despise is not what you think. In the
Greek it comes from two words which means to think of
you in an excessive way either for or against. So when brother Vayle rebuked
those who made too much of his ministry, he was telling them if you do, you are
despising me. You are making me anti Christ. Because if you make any ministry
above God's chosen way which is through His direct Mouth to Mouth prophets,
then you have rejected the voice of God to this generation.
When people say, you can take what brother Branham
says and make it say two completely opposite things,
you are making mockery of God's Voice. God is not the author of confusion, and
to say God's voice is confusing and you need the filter of another man who is not
vindicated to understand what a vindicated prophet of God is saying, you are
calling that prophet, God's own Voice when God has spoken mouth to mouth. You
are calling God the author of confusion.
And to say you must have a filter over that voice, tells me you think
that voice must be muzzled. That attitude is about as close to blaspheming the
Holy Ghost as you can get. and with that attitude no wonder they
become confused.
Isaiah 40:11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have
young.
The shepherd at times, if he sees the lambs wandering
away, ie: if they have a wandering spirit, running
here and running there and running away from the flock, the shepherd would take
that lamb and break it's leg and then he would have to carry that lamb wherever
he went. And he does that because he loves that lamb, not because he wishes to
harm that lamb. The shepherd who broke the leg of the lamb has to carry it
everywhere.
And no
man would do that if he didn't love that sheep?
Now, we know that no man can know the things of God
unless the Spirit of God is in him. And when the lambs are wandering, that is
the same spirit as wondering. Only the Lord Jesus Christ
can save and cause a person to be born again. But when a lamb is newly
born, the shepherd still has responsibilities.
Fellowship through reconciliation 55-0605 P:20
Now, when God had them
in His perfect control, they walked with Him and talked with Him in the garden.
But as soon as he lost his fellowship with God, he become a wanderer,
wondering around, no place to go, tossed about. That's the way a man
becomes today. Here it is, now listen. When a man comes
out of fellowship with God, he becomes a wanderer, going about joining one
church and leaving that one and joining another. They don't satisfy him
here; he goes over to the Methodist; from Methodist he goes to Baptist, and to
the Pentecostal, to the Pilgrim Holiness, from place to place, wondering
about, because he's lost fellowship, fellowship with God. You
refuse a church of this and a church of that, maybe it's you. Just find
fellowship and anywhere is home sweet home, as long as you have
fellowship with the Lord. Amen. That's kind a hard, but that's good. That kinda straighten you up,
get...?... There's more vitamins in that, than all the
drugs stores there is in the city's got. Amen. Give you joy, peace,
understanding, confidence when you have fellowship with the Lord.
Greatest battle ever fought 62-0311 P:40 As the Bible speaks, "Wandering
stars (over in the book of Jude), foaming out their own shame..." And
we don't want to be wandering stars: wonder if this is right, wonder if that's
right, wonder if it will happen, wonder if--how it could be. Don't
wonder, stay like those stars of the heaven as a real soldier at his post
of duty. Stand there believing. Life and death...
So you can see when people begin to wonder if this is
right and that is right they are out of fellowship with God. And those who
listen to tapes of God's Voice every day, are moving on with God and have a
love and a peace and with it a rest because they know that what they hear that
prophet say, they are hearing from this pulpit each week. By their fruits you
shall know them. So if brother Branham said that wandering spirit is a
wondering spirit, then watch what they do and you will know what is guiding
them.
And please do not tell me you have peace with God but
you are running here and their to try to prove
anything, because Peace brings rest, and rest is based on perfect trust. But if
you are wondering you do not have perfect trust or you wouldn't wonder, and
thus wander.
John
Now, when the shepherd rolls away the stone for the
sheep to drink, he is doing so that they might have refreshing from the
presence of the Lord, because water represents the Holy Spirit, and the
refreshing that comes from the presence of the Lord.
Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth
in the seat of the scornful.
2 But
his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his
law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper. 4 The
ungodly are not so: but are
like the chaff which the wind driveth away. 5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6 For the
LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
Notice it is the ungodly that are drive away by every
wind of doctrine. And ungoldy means un-God-Like. They
wander here and they wander there. But those Righteous
seed, or rightly wise seed, and planted by the water, by the Spirit and by the
washing of water by the Word. They are planted. They know where the water is.
As Jesus said to Peter, will you go also, and he said, "Lord, where can we go, for thou hast the words of
eternal Life." And you know when Jesus asked that question?
Right after he hammered them all because of their unbelief and the seventy
turned their backs, and said that is a hard saying who can hear it, and they
deserted him.
Psalms 23:1-6 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in
want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they
comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
Following the lead of the Good Shepherd the five fold shepherds
are to lead the sheep to pasture and to pure water. Their duty is to teach them and
restore them. To guide them in paths of righteousness.
To protect them from wolves and beasts in the world with the
rod and staff. The rod and staff are for discipline of the flock
and for protection for the flock.
Proverbs
1 Samuel 17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand,
chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his
shepherd’s bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
We are
to discipline the sheep to be aware of the pitfalls of the world. We are
to lead the flock out and teach them to stay together in unity. Sheep
automatically have one type of unity, which they are to "keep".
Ephesians 4:3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of
peace.
In closing let me say this. The only way to be a sheep
is to be born again. Otherwise if you are in the flock you are either a
goat or a wolf who has crept in unawares.
Those who are born again have a bond of peace, a unity
of the Spirit. But there is another unity that we must build the sheep up
into ... the unity of the Faith. And I think most people who believe the
Message believe that all the doctrine of the message is taught in that book,
right? Then can we say what that book says? In closing let me read a couple
paragraphs from the Seven Church Ages Book.
Introduction 16. Now remember this. Christ in the
Church Age Book
Chapter 2 - The
Let us pray