"Feed my Sheep"

 When I first told people I was moving out to Missouri for ministry from Pa, people laughed and said Missouri is the Bible belt more churches there than stores, Pa is in the I-95 corridor and churches are shutting down every day and we need more help here.

Yet I find a need here, subtle and unknown in general but a need. It is perhaps why I am here, I don't know, I am still waiting on God for that purpose to be revealed. So before I get started on this post, let me ask you to pray for me that God will reveal His Perfect Will for me here in Missouri clearly and wholly.

In the Bible we have a discourse between Christ and Peter, perhaps one of the more well known conversations, short though it might be.

Joh 21:15  So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 

Joh 21:16  He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 

Joh 21:17  He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 

Most of you know that this is just after the Resurrection, and Christ is talking to Peter after the denial, after the tomb, after Peter has gone fishing, After Peter fell flat on his face in the midst of trials. Christ comes to Him to reaffirm His love and Peter's ministry.

He asks Peter 3 times if Peter loves Him, 3 times Peter says yes, 3 times Jesus tells Him to feed His sheep or lambs.

If you love me feed my sheep. The Great Shepherd is worried about His flock. He is worried for their welfare, their care, their Spirit and their souls.

The Shepherd watches over the flock, leads the sheep to water, to food, to places of safety, protects them from dangers, predators, and themselves when they wander away. The Shepherd's job is 24/7. The Shepherd's job is day in and day out. The Shepherd's job is to be vigilant, to be safeguarding his flock, to be keeping watch by night, to rein them in when they get too far astray, to push them on when they are in a bad situation, and to make sure they are always where the shepherd wants them to be.

In the modern world I am seeing a distinct lack of this from the shepherds, which leads me to believe we have more hirelings than shepherds in the pulpits. The hirelings are there for the money but the shepherds are there for the love of the sheep.

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 

Joh 10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 

Joh 10:13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 

Jesus is the Good Shepherd and He sends those that will love guide and protect His sheep. The hirelings will flee when danger comes, when the drought comes, when the predators come, the hireling will turn and run forgetting the sheep and worried only for themselves.

The Hireling will not feed the sheep properly, the hireling will only do what is necessary to get paid, he will not care for the sheep, he will not feed them daily, water them daily and maintain their safety. He is only looking forward to payday.

Feed my sheep. Watch over His Flock. Maintain their safety, maintain their health both spiritual and physical.

Is it any wonder that we are losing the fight, the spiritual battle in America when the sheep are not being fed more than once a week?

Is it any wonder that we have so many shallow christians when their roots are planted by the crick and not by the river? When the water source is a trickle and not a flowing stream?

Is it any wonder the children are going astray when the examples placed before them are all about the short term gratification of self, the money and the search for comfort?

The hirelings are ruining the churches of America, they have no true heart for the sheep, not true heart for the flock, no true love for the Good Shepherd, they are more interested in their paycheck.

You say " well that's overly harsh, how can you possibly make a statement like that?"

Easy, when the pulpit is silent all week except for an hour or two, there is a vacuum and the flock is fleeing safety. When their is one service, and one service only then the sheep will starve, then when they are hungry enough they will search for other sources of food. Food that is no good for them.

When there are a decided lack of services then the flock will not be continually thinking on those things that are pure and just. They will be dwelling on the things of the world for they will be of the world. We are losing the battle because we stopped fighting, we stopped caring.

The Church needs to be open, Period. Many maintain hat they are not seeing  any growth, I say it is because we do not leave the Light on, that we limit their food supply and hence there is no growth.

The hirelings need to be fired, the elder shepherds need to train the new young ones to care for the souls of the people and not the money of the flock. 

Fight for the sheep, not fleece them. Feed the sheep, not fool them.

The sheep need protection, they need more than one meal a week and they need to be aware of the shepherd's presence.

Run the hirelings off, get rid of the ones who have no desire to preach the truth, to fellowship and feed the flock more than once a week.

Christ wants His flock protected, fed, and watched over. If you can not do that then get out of the way of those who will.