Feed My Sheep

By Margaret White An Highway Ministries

This book is about tending God's people of they are like sheep. Church leaders are servants of the people but what we see today in most Churches is otherwise. The aim of this book is to stress the need for Church leaders to return and obey the word of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: May 5, 2009
• ISBN: 9781467002424

Margaret White An Highway Ministries

An Highway Ministries is a church zealous for the healing of the Church at large. We believe this is the time for a great spiritual awakening. All who will put their acts together will be part of the awakening.

Book preview

Contents

Chapter 1

GOD’S PEOPLE ARE SHEEP

Chapter 2

JESUS THE SHEPHERD OF THE SHEEP

Chapter 3

STAGES OF CHURCH GROWTH

Chapter 4

ASSISTANCE TO THE FIVEFOLD MINISTRY

Chapter 5

CORRECTION IN THE CHURCH

Chapter 6

CHURCH FINANCE

Chapter 7

THE MINISTRY OF USHERS AND THE CHOIR

Chapter 8

MINISTERING TO CHILDREN

Chapter 9

ATTACK ON THE CHURCH

Conclusion

About the Author

References

All scripture references are from the Authorised King James Bible.

The Church is referred to as she because she is a nation as well as the bride of Christ (John 3: 29).

Dedication

This book is dedicated to those who are weeping for the assembly (the Church); those to whom the reproach of her is a burden, crying like Gideon:

If the Lord be with us, why then has all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of…(Judges 6:13).

And to those who are hurting for the condition of the Church like Jeremiah did hurt for the hurt of the children of Israel, crying:

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered? (Jeremiah 8: 22)

Is there no balm in our midst? If there is, why do many come in sick and go back sick? Why many come bound and go back bound? Why is it so when Jesus promised greater works we shall do because He is gone back to His Father and sits on His right hand, making intersession for us? We read many times in the Bible, He healed them all. Since Jesus promised we shall do greater works; none should be going back from our gatherings unhealed! Yes there can be balm in our midst if we go back to the way of the Master.

A message of hope to those who are zealous for the Lord and fear His name:

I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly who are of these, to whom the reproach of it was a burden. Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame (Zephaniah 3: 18–19).

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts (Malachi 4: 2–3).

The Church shall rise up; it is God’s promise to restore both the fig tree and the vine and to restore also the years the palmerworm, the cankerworm, caterpillar and the locust have eaten.

PREFACE

Feed my sheep is a command from the Lord to His servants to tend His sheep. Jesus is the Shepherd of the sheep. The overall charge of His sheep He has delegated to the fivefold ministry namely apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Their work is to perfect the saints, and to prepare them for the work of the ministry, bringing them up to function effectively in their places in the body of Christ, as we see in Ephesians 4: 11–14:

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and some teachers: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and the cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Love

Love for the Lord must be the driving force that compels us to minister to His sheep. Jesus shows us this when He asked Peter the questions, saying, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest, thou me more than these? And Peter answered, Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. And He said to him, Feed my lambs.

He asked him a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Again Peter answered, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. And He said to him, "Feed my sheep."

Jesus asked him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He answered, Lord thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. And He said to him, "Feed my sheep." (John 21: 15–17)

Jesus by asking Peter the question three times stressed the fact that it is a must to love the Lord in order to feed His sheep. Looking with compassion on the multitude, the Lord talked to His disciples about the harvest, showing them the work of gathering and tending His sheep is comparable to that of harvest. One thing that is very important about the work of the harvest is the relationship between the labourers and the lord (owner) of the harvest. When there is a good relationship, labourers do the work of the harvest with all their hearts.

Therefore, the key to effective care for the sheep lies in healthy relationship between their leaders and the Lord. Our love for the Lord is proven by our love for one another. If we love the Lord we will automatically love His people. A lack of love for God’s people proves we do not love God. We serve the Lord not grudgingly but it is love that constrains us to do so. The Bible explains to us in I Corinthians 13: 1–3, saying:

Though I speak with tongues of men and angels, and have not charity, I am become as a sounding brass, or a tingling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

The above passage of scripture teaches us that ministry in any way without love profits nothing.

A delegated shepherd-hood

The fact that Jesus is the Shepherd of the sheep means the duties He gives church leaders are delegated. Therefore, leaders can succeed here only and only if they are submitted to the Shepherd (the Lord Jesus Christ). He will hold every one of them accountable for the stewardship of His sheep.

Christ deals directly with the local church, which is His body and He is the head of it. We can see this from the way He communicated to the seven churches in the book of Revelation. His message to each of them was individual. The Lord does not see the Church as an organised denominational structure, but He recognises His body in the form of local churches directly under Him. The leadership God appoints over His people must therefore work strictly under the authority of His word. Let us not toil in the flesh, that is, cease from our own work. We are called upon to labour to enter into this rest that we fall not into unbelief, as we are taught in Hebrews 4: 10–13.

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own work, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and the spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. (Hebrews 4: 10–13)

The temptation to lead God’s people by flesh and worldly ways is very strong, but a leader must daily overcome this and yield to the leading of the Spirit. The sin that easily besets leaders is that of raising their authorities above correction. If they fall into this temptation, they will become leaders not worthy of following. One of the things the Bible teaches us about the word of God is that it is sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4: 12). Revelation 1: 16 says:

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a two-edged sword: And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

A two-edge sword cuts on both edges. The word will cut the leaders on one edge and cut the sheep on the other edge. This makes us realise that leaders are not above the word of God. The things that Paul talked about concerning himself in I Corinthians 9: 25–27 is a serious warning to us that a leader may enlist a lot of people into heaven but he himself can be cast away!

And every man that striveth for the mystery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: Lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. (I Corinthians 9: 25–27)

Therefore, let us be temperate in all things and keep our bodies under subjection, knowing that God will faithfully reward our works. For God is not un-righteous to forget your work and labour of love, which you have shown toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister (Hebrews 6: 10).

Chapter 1 

GOD’S PEOPLE ARE SHEEP 

God calls His people sheep. He shall divide the peoples of the earth into two groups, sheep and goats, as we see in Matthew 25: 32–46; it reads:

Before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Then the righteous shall answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came to thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me…..

What makes a separation between the peoples of the earth into sheep and goats is their response to the voice of the Shepherd. Those who hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him into the fold become His sheep and those who do not follow Him remain outside the fold and are goats.

Once in the fold, the sheep do not remain idle. The shepherd expects them to multiply and also bear good fruit. All the good work done by the sheep listed in Matthew 25: 35–36 mounts to the fruit of love they bore to the name of the Lord. They are to show love to everybody irrespective of who they are, just as Jesus their Shepherd showed love to the whole multitude during His ministry days. He fed the whole multitude irrespective of whether they believed in Him or not. We may ask, how about people who are outside the sheepfold but do good works? Their good works do not make them sheep, they are still goats. The only way to become a sheep is to hear the voice of the Shepherd, repent of our ways, and follow Him into the sheepfold (the kingdom of God).

We have to realise that sheep are one of the most helpless animals; without a shepherd they are lost and therefore prey to predators. Therefore, in order to feed God’s people church leaders have to first understand their condition.

The needs and condition of the sheep

We see the needs and condition of the sheep in Matthew 9: 35–36. It reads:

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitude, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

The Lord was moved with compassion because the people were in desperate need of help, comfort, healing and guidance.

1. They fainted and therefore needed food, drink, healing, and to be strengthened.

2. They were scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. Therefore, they needed a shepherd to gather and tend them. Notice they were scattered. Their scattering was not of themselves but was by something, or someone, or some force. In order to bring them into the sheepfold, the shepherd had to contend with the force that scattered and kept them in the desperate condition they were in.

The Lord set in motion the process of gathering and tending His sheep when He contended with the forces that kept His people in bondage in Egypt and set them free. Because of the oppression of the children of Israel, God revealed His warring name to Moses, assuring him it was the LORD who would deliver Israel.

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you, and they shall say to me, what is his name? What shall I say to them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me. (Exodus 3: 13–14)

I AM; the ever living God, from everlasting to everlasting HE IS.

I AM THAT I AM: I am/will be what I am: this sounds like war, doesn’t it?

Moses went back to Egypt to face the Pharaoh in the name of I AM. When God brought out the children of Israel from Egypt with a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm, Moses sang a song. It is recorded in Exodus chapter 15. In verse 3 he sang:

The Lord is a man of war: The Lord is His name.

From this time forth God set His plan of redemption of mankind in motion. All the ordinances He gave Israel to keep were a type or shadows of things to come. The fulfilment of all is in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son. When the fullness of time was come, God sent His Son Jesus. He came and declared war on the powers and forces that scattered and are oppressing His people, by declaring:

I AM the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14: 6). This means there is no other way to God, no other truth and no other life.

I AM the door of the sheep (John 10: 7); this means there is no other door.

I AM the alpha and the omega, the first and the last (Revelation 1: 11). I AM the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the ending (Revelation 1: 8). The first and the last positions are His; He is the beginning and the ending. This means Jesus has marked His territory and no one or force can take it.

Jesus came to set free mankind from powers that enslave them. By His death and resurrection He destroyed the works of the devil, and gave gifts to His servants to continue the work of gathering and tending His sheep.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4: 8–12)

We see in the above passage that Jesus distributed the ministry of tending His sheep in the Church. To some in the body He gave the gift to be apostles, to some the gift to be prophets, to some the gift to be evangelists, to some the gift to be pastors, and to some the gift to be teachers. He has already led captivity captive, that is, destroyed the works of the devil. Therefore, we are fighting a defeated foe.

TENDING THE SHEEP

The work of tending sheep is comparable to that of harvest. Therefore, those called to tend God’s sheep ought to be servants. Jesus directed His disciples to look at the work of the harvest to make them understand what is required of them to meet the needs of the people. In Matthew 9: 36–38 we see that when Jesus saw the needs