Deeper understanding of the kingdom of God is missed by so many due to spiritual shallowness, irreverence, and inconsistency in the fear of God. Psalm 25:14 The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant. (Emphasis added.) Here we see there are secrets that God only reveals to those who fear Him. Walking in the fear of the Lord is the place where true wisdom begins to permeate the child of God through revelation concerning covenant-living. This wisdom is imputed holiness and righteousness that dwells among true followers of God. A fundamental responsibility placed upon the child of the kingdom is discerning the body of Christ and its earthly function.
Many attempt to fulfill their earthly function through using worldly mindsets and strategies to corner true sheep, or even good shepherds that have given their life for the flock of God. We are experiencing signs of the closing age more than ever before. The roaring lion is out in full force unleashing his tools of demise on those who are vulnerable creatures of prey without the nature of a lamb or sheep. This age of rebellion is so deceptive that even these targeted victims do not realize that their plight is disobedience to God and His kingdom principles. Only the true sheep know the difference between the fox or the prophet (shepherd). Ezekiel 13:3 Thus saith the Lord God; Woe unto the foolish prophets, that follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! V.4 O Israel, thy prophets are like the foxes in the deserts. The true shepherds hear from God, but foxes work to outsmart and snoop around seeking out every little splinter they can use to pierce a tender heart within the faithful and truthful.
The truth and glory of being shepherded is in opening the heart in submission and humility to the correction and perfection of the loving hands of God. The selfish desires of serving our own will God cannot use. Our will must be shepherded into a deep surrender through which His love can be manifested. Even the perfect Lamb of God could not perform His own will. This perfect Lamb found His will to be a plea for the removal of the bitter cup that night in Gethsemane. Luke 22:42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. This submission of the Lamb of God enabled Him to become the Shepherd of all shepherds. This same truth now is the way in which shepherds are formed for the true sheep of the flock of God. The shepherded child of God begins as a lamb and transitions into a mature sheep and, if God chooses, can then also become a useful servant of unfeigned obedience to the call and will of God. There are some who esteem themselves as shepherds but have never found the courage to allow true discipleship to form their life. They maintain the nature of foxes with ideas to outsmart and outdo one another so as to draw sheep after themselves. These are not true shepherds and are very dangerous.
John 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. V.2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. A true shepherd is one who enters in by the door and does not lead where he has never been nor speaks what is not in his own heart. Certainly, there are those who have climbed the walls by learning how to do things in their own way, but they never became a true lamb or sheep walking with a shepherd next to them. These have never learned the Shepherd’s voice because they know not the life of a lamb; they are thieves and will eventually pursue sheep-robbery. I cannot stress enough the value and ultimate importance of desiring true life-surrendering discipleship. It is only a lamb or a true sheep that can embrace soul-correction and spiritual reformation from a human shepherd. Many desire correction directly from Jesus or the Holy Spirit, because it is too humbling to receive discipleship from a fellow human shepherd. However, this is God’s way of wisdom in forming us after His desire. Let us not forget, man will never become a spiritual shepherd unless he has first learned a life of surrender and gone in through the same door of the sheepfold. Who is my earthly shepherd? It is not a book, a CD, a DVD, or broadcast. It is someone you walk with. Hallelujah!
