Amen!!!

I know out there, not so much here on our forum, but in a lot of the traditional pastoral system, pastors still refer to the people in terms such as the “laity” (which comes from “laos”, I believe, and it does mean people) but what really bothers me is when I hear them refer to their people as “dumb sheep!” And then use the natural example, that sheep really are dumb! You know, you have to tell sheep what to do, you have to treat them spiritually like they don’t know anything..(And, sheep, when isolated, will definitely wander off, which is why they need shepherds). A thought, maybe if we equipped them and prepared them, they would know who they are, and what they are to do! (And, I don’t actually know any pastors personally that we work with who use that terminology, praise God! )

The LORD upbraided and chided the shepherds in Israel in Jeremiah 23:1-4 and Jer. 50:6,7:

Jer. 23:1-4-  “Woe to the Shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” says the Lord.  Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people:  “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them.  Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings, says the Lord.  “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds;  and they shall be fruitful and increase. “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them;  and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the LORD.

Jer. 50:6,7-  “My people have been lost sheep.  Their shepherds have led them astray;  They have turned them away on the mountains.  They have gone from mountain to hill;  They have forgotten their resting place.  All who found them have devoured them;  And their adversaries said, ‘We have not offended, Because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of justice, The LORD, the hope of their fathers.’

But Peter, the apostle, says in I. Pe. 2:25- “For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls.” This passage comes from Isa. 53:6 and through verse 8 is, of course, referring to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who bore our sins on the cross: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation?”

In John 10, Jesus uses the great illustration of the “Shepherd, sheep, and the sheepfold!” John 10:1-5;14-16- “Most assuredly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. “But he who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. “Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers…” vs.14-16- Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. “As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.”

That doesn’t sound like “dumb sheep” to me! I like the term that is most used in the epistles, especially by Paul the apostle, describing the people of God, after being described in the gospels and the book of Acts, as believers, disciples, etc. and that is… SAINTS….. (set apart, holy ones) So, the great Shepherd of the sheep is the Lord Jesus Christ, and all His sheep should hear His voice, and follow Him… If they are truly following Him, then they will follow the shepherds who are also hearing the voice of their Father… What should be the development of the SAINTS in the Lord… Gal. 4:6,7- And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” Therefore you are no longer a servant (slave) but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ… Just some midnight musings… God bless… JB

One of the things on my heart the last few days, as we approach 2015, is that we are coming “Full Circle” in the purposes of God to see a “true balance” that the “Word and the Spirit” always bring! Most us as, as reformers, do not particularly like the word “balance!” Some even believe balance is like compromise, settling for the norm instead of pressing on. But the Proverb say “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord.” (11:1)

True balance, or a just weight, is HIS DELIGHT! Balance brings a true alignment, and the alignment comes as a result of a revolution, or a re-volving that brings us to a “true center!” The center of it all is Jesus, the Christ! Col. 1:15-18- He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ( are held together ). And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, THAT IN THINGS HE MAY HAVE THE PREEMINENCE. (First place in everything)

We are no longer “on the verge” of something coming, or happening, it is here because we are in a “con-verge” or a convergence where two or more things come together, or meet together at the center! Although sometimes it seems the differences are too great, I pray tonight “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding (heart) being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints… (Ep. 1:17,18)

This great coming together of “heaven and earth”, the kingdom and the church, apostles and prophets, etc. is to bring us to the full restoration of all things, spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since time began… Let us rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, much more, having now received the atonement, i.e. at-one-ment, or the reconciliation. We have been given the ‘ministry’ of reconciliation and the ‘word’ of reconciliation! It is time we come together in this great convergence that will bring apostolic impact, not only to the church, but in the world. Let us press on more than ever to dialogue and be committed to the word of His grace, which is able 1) build you up, and 2) give you an inheritance among all those who are being sanctified. (Acts 20:32)

Yours for the kingdom,

jim

Well,… the rest of the story, yesterday… better than we could have imagined, TODAY… We left early this morning on our 90 mile drive to FaithWorld in Big Sandy/Dallardsville and stopped in “Goodrich North” subdivision in Goodrich to pick up our friends Roy and Beverly Jeffrey, who just recently bought a beautiful home in that lovely setting just south of Livingston. We had a wonderful service at FaithWorld, as Pastor Kevin, a wonderful prophetic psalmist and musician, by the grace of God just literally led us into an outstanding time of worship and praise to our Father!!

Roy & Beverly are worshipers like Pam and I, and at times my knees literally buckled in the presence of God! Such an awesome anointing… Praise and Worship is not just for “breaking the ground” to soften the heart for the Word, it is the mandate of King Jesus to open up the heavenlies and release a prophetic mantle so that the Holy Spirit can speak to us…I began my theme in Zech. 4 that, This is the WORD of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, “not by might, nor by power, but by MY SPIRIT”, says the Lord of Hosts…. He was asked several times, “What do you see” and “Do you know what you are seeing?” What are these two olive trees.. and “What are these two olive branches which through the two golden pipes empty the golden oil out of themselves?”

Zech. 4;14 he says, “These are the TWO ANOINTED ONES that stand by the Lord of the whole earth.” The “two anointed ones” in the Hebrew mean, “the TWO SONS of FRESH OIL!” Many are looking for two men like “Moses and Elijah” or Enoch and Elijah, but the Law (Moses) and the prophets (Elijah) were until John, and since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presses into it. (Luke 16:16) At the mount of transfiguration, when Jesus took Peter, James, and John up into an high mountain, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking to them. Peter said, “Lord, let us build three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” Before he could get through speaking, a bright cloud over-shadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; HEAR HIM… ( Matt. 17:1-6)

Moses and Elijah were gone and there wasn’t anyone there, save JESUS ONLY. The disciples asked him, Why then say the scribes that Elijah must first come? And Jesus answered them, saying, “Elijah truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elijah IS COME ALREADY, and they knew him not, but have done unto them what they desired. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer by them.” THEN THE DISCIPLES UNDERSTOOD THAT HE SPOKE TO THEM ABOUT JOHN THE BAPTIST… so, I asked the congregation this, “Was it Moses alone that parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel to cross over on dry ground, or was it by the “power and authority of the WORD OF THE LORD, and the Spirit of God! I asked again, “Was it Elijah alone whose word caused the heavens to be shut up and not rain for three and a half years, or was it “THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ELIJAH BY THE SPIRIT?”

Wow, the Holy Ghost rose up in us and in everyone and resounded back to Zech. 4:6- This is the WORD OF THE LORD unto Zerubbabel, “Not by might, nor by power, but BY MY SPIRIT, SAYS THE LORD OF HOSTS…” The Word of the Lord is not just the written word, the Logos, and not just the spoken word, the Rhema, but it is the LIVING WORD, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is called in heaven, “THE WORD OF GOD!” And how does the Word of God dwell in us? Through the power of the HOLY SPIRIT! Not by might (of man), nor by power (of man’s strength) but by My Spirit, says the Lord!!! Who and What are these two anointed ones (sons of fresh oil) who stand by the Lord of the whole earth? THE WORD AND THE SPIRIT!!!! CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY, this is the glory of the riches of the mystery of God among the Gentiles that is being revealed, being made known, and manifested through the sons of God today…. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God….

Wow, we were “caught up” in the presence of God, and didn’t even leave the building!!! The eyes of our heart were opened, enlightened, and illuminated by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of HIM (Christ), so that we may know what is the hope of our calling..(Ep. 1:17,18) After that, we then went to lunch with Bro. Kevin and his mom, Sis. Betty, and had a great lunch and even greater fellowship. Roy and Beverly were just thrilled by the service and meeting them, and we then loaded in the car and went on back to their house. We then had another couple of hours of more of great fellowship and sharing and finally Pam said, “Honey, you think we ought to head home?” I said, “Baby, I think your right, or Roy and I are going to have take a nap if we stay much longer!!” LOL We got home about 6:30 or so and I did take a good snooze in the recliner watching football, while Pam just “passed out!” What a day!!!

We knew something awesome was going to take place today and it was truly Eph. 3:20- Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anything we can ask or thing, or even imagine, according to the POWER THAT WORKS IN US… Get ready, the glory of the LORD is rising among us, His church, His people and His glory will be SEEN on us… let us arise with the glory of the Lord and see the “light of the knowledge of the glory of God IN THE FACE OF JESUS CHRIST…”
2 Cor. 4:6 What a day, what a weekend, and what a year coming up for the saints of God… Have a blessed week and remember, to “continue steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and breaking of bread, and in prayers… (Acts 2:42)

JB