Model Dependence on God
Micah 5:4
“He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.”
Seek the Good of the Flock
Zechariah 9:16
“The LORD their God will save his people on that day as a shepherd saves his flock. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.”
Matthew 9:36
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
John 10:11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
Full Attention on the Flock
Luke 2:8
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.”
Acts 20:28
“Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.”
Lead
Numbers 27:17
“To go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
1 Kings 22:17
“Then Micaiah answered, ‘I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd,’ and the LORD said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
1 Chronicles 11:2
“In the past, even while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
Ezekiel 37:24
“ My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.”
“And to the leaders in the church – do not think that the evil tendencies which manifest themselves, and which all who love the right deplore, can be overcome by suppression through strict and severe discipline. But they can be overcome if the leaders will actually lead the members of the church, and especially the young members who have so much useful energy, and who often have considerable time to spare, into all manner of good activity.”1
Rule/Govern
2 Samuel 5:2
“In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”
Teach
Mark 6:34
“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.”
Loves the Flock like He Loves God
John 10:12
“The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.”
To Care for the Flock
1 Samuel 17:20
“Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry.”
Psalm 23:1
“The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.”
Psalm 78:71
“From tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance.”
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.”
Ezekiel 34:23
“I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd.”
Micah 7:14
“Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasturelands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago.”
Defend the Flock
Jeremiah 51:23
“With you I shatter shepherd and flock, with you I shatter farmer and oxen, with you I shatter governors and officials.”
Zechariah 10:2
“The idols speak deceitfully, diviners see visions that lie; they tell dreams that are false, they give comfort in vain. Therefore, the people wander like sheep oppressed for lack of a shepherd.”
Micah 5:5
“And he will be our peace when the Assyrians invade our land and march through our fortresses. We will raise against them seven shepherds, even eight commanders,”
Gather/Unify
Isaiah 13:14
“Like a hunted gazelle, like sheep without a shepherd, they will all return to their own people, they will flee to their native land.”
Jeremiah 49:19
“Like a lion coming up from Jordan’s thickets to a rich pastureland, I will chase Edom from its land in an instant. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? Who is like me and who can challenge me? And what shepherd can stand against me?”
Ezekiel 34:5
“So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.”
Zechariah 13:7
“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the LORD Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
Matthew 26:31
“Then Jesus told them, ‘This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.”’”
Mark 14:27
“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them, “for it is written: “ ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’”
A quote from a brother who decided to leave the AC church: “Shortly before I left the Apostolic Christian Church, I withdrew from a trial Minister nomination process. I was asked to make a promise to not ever work with Western Conference churches.”
Assure, Comfort, and Protect
Psalm 23:4
“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.”
Jeremiah 23:4
“I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.”
Matthew 7:15
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
Romans 16:17
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”
James 2:1
“My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.”
Revelation 2:2
“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false.”
Watch for Straying
Ezekiel 34:8
“As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock,”
Ezekiel 34:16
“I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
John 10:16
“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”
Know his Flock
Ezekiel 34:12
“As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.”
Matthew 25:32
“All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
John 10:14
“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me.”
Jeremiah 3:15
“Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.”
Rest the Flock
Psalm 23:1-3
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Jeremiah 33:12
“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In this place, desolate and without people or animals—in all its towns there will again be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.’”
Speaks the Words of God without Fear
Jeremiah 17:16
“I have not run away from being your shepherd; you know I have not desired the day of despair. What passes my lips is open before you.”
Be a Soul Keeper, Not a Sheep Rancher
1 Peter 2:25
“For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”
Take Responsibility for Wrongdoing
2 Samuel 24:17
“When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’”
1 Chronicles 21:17
“David said to God, ‘Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? LORD my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.’”
Work with Others for the Good of the 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.”
Not Responsible For Building a House for God
2 Samuel 7:7
“Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’”
The Shepherds Receive Benefits for a Job Well-Done
1 Peter 5:4
“And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”
God, grant that we may admonish one another to greater diligence in the spreading of the gospel, that we may fervently pray the Lord of the harvest, that he may send more labors into his harvest fields; that the churches, here, and there, may send out their evangelist to preach the true gospel, wherever an opening is found. It is the first love that prompts us to do this. For never has there been a new convert to Christ, who was not filled with a love toward all men and a burning desire to tell others, to tell everybody, about the savior and about the new joy, grace and peace he has found in him.
Since this love and zeal to confess, Christ is always present in new converts, I believe we are justified in calling it: “the first love”. And insofar as this zeal to confess, Christ has died down in us, insofar have we fallen from the first love.2
1 Sommer, B. L. (1929). Let His Bishopric Let Another Take, page 66. In The Fascination of the Race: And Other Essays, Apostolic Christian Publishing Company.
2 Sommer, B. L. (1929). VI Overcoming Evil, page 46. In The Fascination of the Race: And Other Essays, Apostolic Christian Publishing Company.
Author: Wilf Scheuermann ©2024; Photo by Gül Işık: https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-surrounded-by-sheep-2452311/