The Shepherd’s Responsibilities

One of the many reasons God calls each individual Christian to be part of a local Church is so that they are properly shepherded. God has ordained that each of His sheep is cared for and nourished and although outside ministries can supplement a believer’s spiritual intake, speaking to elders from the city of Ephesus said, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28)

It is interesting that the Greek word ???????? (poimaino) is here translated as “care for” in the ESV while other translations use the word “feed.” A better translation would be “shepherd.”

Local Church elders are given the task of shepherding the sheep which means taking responsibility for the total well being and welfare of each sheep under their care. “Shepherd the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

There are four main tasks for a shepherd.

(1) Feeding – Providing a safe place for sheep to eat healthy food

“The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.” – Psalm 23

“Doctrinal preaching certainly bores the hypocrites; but it is only doctrinal preaching that will save Christ’s sheep. The preacher’s job is to proclaim the faith, not to provide entertainment for unbelievers – in other words, to feed the sheep rather than amuse the goats” – J. I. Packer, A Quest For Godliness.

(2) Shearing

Shearing is generally carried out in the spring, so sheep don’t become overheated in the summer. A long fleece is likely to become dirty and drag along the ground, increasing the possibility of flystrike.

A bulky fleece decreases the mobility of sheep.

In hot weather, sheep with too much wool are extremely susceptible to heat stress!!

Shearing keeps stained wool and mud-contaminated wool separate from new fleece growth.

Shearing can be stressful for sheep and it therefore requires skill to shorn efficiently and quickly, without causing harm to sheep or shearer.

Because newly shorn sheep become colder faster, its important to place them in paddocks with windbreaks and plenty of pasture.

The best time to apply louse and flystrike prevention treatments is right after shearing.

Providing sheep with coats or covers are a good option on small farms when the weather is cold or wet.

(3) Dipping

This task might appear cruel to outsiders who have no knowledge of shepherding, but it is an act of love and care, ridding the sheep of harmful bacteria and insects that would inevitably, over time, cause great harm to the sheep. Sheep dip is a liquid formulation of insecticide and fungicide which shepherds use to protect their sheep from infestation against external parasites such as itch mite (Psorobia ovis), blow-fly, ticks and lice.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

(4) Defending the sheep against attack from wolves
The Apostle Paul was very much aware of this danger and constantly warned the Ephesian elders of this:

Acts 20:29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

The Hardening of Pharoah’s Heart

The Hardening of Pharaoh and the Hope of the World
(Sermon by John Piper, © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org)

Exodus 9:8-17
And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.

12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses. 13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

How shall we know God? How shall we know what God is like and how we are to think about him? When I ask myself this question, one response comes crashing into my mind with overwhelming certitude: human opinion counts for nothing. What you feel about the way God should be and what I feel about the way God should be counts for nothing. If someone rises up and makes a pronouncement about what they can believe and can’t believe about God, that is as significant in determining what is true about God as the creaking of a window in the wind. Human opinion counts for nothing in defining God.

How than shall we know him? For it is very crucial that we know him. If he is there, nothing in the universe matters more than he does. If he is there, he is like the thunder clap and we are like the scratch on a faint recording. If he is there, he is like the sun shining in full strength and we are like dust-mote floating in the morning beam of bedroom light. If he is there, he is absolute and we are utterly dependent.

But now I am risking putting my opinions forward, which don’t matter at all. How shall we know him? We will know him by his own initiative to reveal himself. This he did most clearly and powerfully in sending his Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Then he said that he would send the Holy Spirit to guide his apostles into all truth so that the truth of Christ and the Father would be preserved and displayed in the inspired Word of Scripture (John 16:13). The effect of this promise was that the apostles could say, “We impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

Drawing Upon the Old Testament
But the apostles and their associates who preserved the truth of Christ for us in their gospels and letters were led by the Spirit in them to immerse themselves in the Old Testament as well as the teachings of Jesus. “In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1). As the Spirit led the apostles into all truth, he did so by leading them to a true and deep understanding of what God had done and said in the Old Testament.

This is what we see all through the book of Romans, especially in chapter 9 where we have been since November 3. In Romans 9:4-5 he deals with “the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises, the patriarch” – all of which he sees in the Old Testament. In verses 6-12 he deals with Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau from Genesis. In verse 13 he refers to Malachi 1:2-3, “Jacob I loved and Esau I hated.” In verse 15 he quotes Exodus 33:19 (“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion”), and builds his argument for the justice of God on it. And then in verse 17 he quotes Exodus 9:16 and concludes from it in verse 18, “So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.”

So if we ask, How can we know God? God’s answer is: I reveal myself to you mainly in my Son Jesus Christ, and through his inspired apostles in the New Testament, who take us back to the earlier revelation of God in history and show us that all of divine revelation is of one piece. The God of the Exodus is the God of Romans. The God who dealt with Pharaoh is the God who deals with us.

So Paul roots his teaching about the sovereignty of God and the freedom of God and unconditional election in the Old Testament at every point in Romans 9. He is eager for us to see that New Testament revelation of God is one with Old Testament revelation of God. Continue reading

The Sovereignty Bible Test

“Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the peoples of the world revere Him. For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever; the purposes of His heart through all generations.” – Psalm 33:8-11

“Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’ calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.” – Isaiah 46:10-12

“Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.'” – Revelation 19:6

I found this test (below) on a blog site on the internet, where it indicated that it had gotten the test from another place, and when I went there, it said the same exact thing. Where it originally came from, I dont know. It remains something of a mystery!

Before each question there is a verse of Scripture. If you look at each verse, the answers become very clear. Having said that, the ramifications concerning what the answers mean are quite profound.

God bless, – Pastor John

Read: Eph 1:11 – “him (God) who works all things according to the counsel of his will.”

1. If God works all things after the counsel of His will, how much does He work to the will of you, me, Satan, etc.?

A. None.

B. 20%

C. 50%

D. 85%

Read: Isaiah 14:24 The Lord of hosts has sworn: “As I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”

2. How much of what He purposes to come to pass, doesn’t? Continue reading

The Suffering Servant of Isaiah

One of the most clear Bible prophecies that has already been fulfilled concerns Isaiah’s portrayal of the Suffering servant, found in Isaiah 52:13 – Isaiah 53. Written around 700 years before the time of Messiah, it is a fascinating description of One whose mission it would be to bear the sins of God’s people, be cut off from the land of the living and rise again from death.

The passage itself is extremely clear, yet it remains controversial for the simple fact that its implications are so radical. Many Jews see this passage as referring to the nation of Israel itself, while others see this as perhaps speaking of a second Messiah, for they cannot see (or refuse to see) how a victorious world conqueror could also be one who is shamed and despised in the way Isaiah decribes. However, Christians believe there is just one Messiah who fulfills every prophetic prediction in Himself by means of two comings into this world. In the first coming, He came to remove sin by means of His sacrifice, in the second, He comes to reveal the extent of His rule as King of Kings and Lord of lords. He already is the Lord; He already is the King, though earthly eyes still await the visible evidence of His rule. Yet just as certainly as the prophecies of Messiah’s birth, life, death and resurrection were fulfiled in His first coming, so the King will come again one day soon to claim what rightfully belongs to Him. Even so, come Lord Jesus.

Here’s my friend, Dr. James White as he walks us through Isaiah’s astonishing predictions, found in chapter 52:13 and following:

Part 1

Part 2

Chapter and Verse Divisions

Did you know? Chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original Bible text but were added much later for reference sake. This is something of a mixed blessing. In one way, it is a very good thing because it enables people to find a specific text quickly (imagine a preacher today asking people to turn to a text in Isaiah or Jeremiah and the people having to read through each book until they came across the verse he was refering to). Yet in another way, it is not a good thing as it tends towards people reading only specific texts rather than seeing each verse in its original context. Nevertheless, the chapter divisions and verse numbers have become indispensable as technical references for Bible study.

CHAPTERS: Stephen Langton added what we use today as the chapter divisions in the 12th century. He did this into the Latin Vulgate. The tradition is that these divisions were later transfered to the Hebrew Bible. From manuscripts dating back to the fourth century, however, some form of chapter divisions were used.

There are 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament. This gives a total of 1,189 chapters (on average, 18 per book).

Psalm 117 is the middle chapter of the Bible, being the 595th Chapter.
Psalm 117 is also the shortest chapter of the Bible.
Psalm 119 is the longest chapter of the Bible.

VERSES: In 1551, Robert Estienne (a.k.a. Stephanus) added verse divisions to his fourth edition of the Greek New Testament, while en route between Paris and Lyons, France. Some scholars, critical of the way he divided verses, suggested he did so while on horseback.

The first translation to employ his versification was the Geneva translation of 1557 (whole Bible, 1560).

There are 23,145 verses in the Old Testament and 7,957 verses in the New Testament. This gives a total of 31,102 verses, which is an average of a little more than 26 verses per chapter.

Healing is in Your hands

Healing is in Your hands by Christy Nockels

No mountain, no valley, no gain or loss we know
Could keep us from Your love
No sickness, no secret, no chain is strong enough
To keep us from Your love
To keep us from Your love

Chorus
How high, how wide
No matter where I am
Healing is in Your hands
How deep, how strong
Now by Your grace I stand
Healing is in Your hands

Our present, our future, our past is in Your hands
We’re covered by Your blood
We’re covered by Your blood

Chorus
How high, How wide
No matter where I am
Healing is in Your hands
How deep, how strong
Now by Your grace I stand
Healing is in Your hands

Bridge
In all things, we know that
We are more than conquerors
You keep us by Your love

(Repeat Chorus)

Christmas in July!

Proverbs 23:23 “Buy truth, and do not sell it; buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.”

As the saying goes, “if you think education is expensive, try ignorance!”

Ligonier Ministries is offering a very limited time offer this weekend (July 9th and 10th) of 30% off all material sitewide!

Start date: July 9, 2011

End date: July 10, 2011

With over 5,000 resources to guide the growing Christian, including the Reformation Study Bible, books, CD’s, DVD’s, mp3’s – help spread the word.

Just click on the green Ligonier Ministries icon on this page (top right) which will take you directly to the Ligonier store, and when you come to order products, use the Promo code: SAVE30

I’m sorry.. I’m thinking about cats again

I can’t work out if this is real or whether this is just an amazing acting job.. but… this is Debbie with her first attempt at finding love through an internet dating site. She does not actually say this, but reading between the lines, I think that she is looking for a cat lover – wouldn’t you agree?

The above video has spread like wildfire on the internet with almost 12 million views (as I write this).

Now a music video has been made of it, which should bring a smile to all cat lovers out there – found here.

oh… and now that we’ve all been there and done that, we can all buy the t-shirt now too: http://carahartmann.spreadshirt.com/

Is Church Membership Biblical?

“Church membership is a formal relationship between a local church and a Christian characterized by the church’s affirmation and oversight of a Christian’s discipleship and the Christian’s submission to living out his or her discipleship in the care of the church.”

I haven’t always believed in a formal Church membership, over time I began to see the sheer weight of evidence of the New Testament scriptures that clearly shows that the early Church did indeed have a form of membership.

One verse I came across, Hebrews 13:17, I found to be very convincing, all by itself. There believers are told:

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

In thinking about the implications of the verse I realised that it could only be implemented if:

(1) Each believer knows the identity of the leaders he/she is to submit to

(2) The Elders/Leaders know exactly who they are accountable for

For this to happen VERY STRONGLY implies church membership – the people belong to a local church with elders in place and all know who are a part. It seems that this verse was also instrumental in changing Pastor Matt Chandler’s thinking on the issue. Here’s a short article by him on the subject: Continue reading

Friday Round Up and a Recommendation for Pastors

(1) Please keep our evangelistic outreach to Kerala, India in your prayers. Update here.

(2) Its been well said, “If your pastor is struggling, and you are not praying for him, the failure is yours too. If your pastor is succeeding, and you are praying for him, the victory is yours together.” I want to remind you to pray for your Pastor and elders. They are God’s gift to you for the welfare of your soul.

Pastor Alistair Begg writes, “Brothers, our work is solemnly momentous, involving good or ill to thousands; we deal with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savor of life unto life or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the special target of the hostility of men and devils; they watch for our faltering and work to trip us at the heels.

Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt; above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many difficult cases, and our wits are at a quandary; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to encourage you by our preaching; we desire to be a blessing to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners.

Therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. We are miserable men if we miss the help of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the Gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you: “Brothers, pray for us.” (1 Thess 5:25)”

Here is a outline for prayer as the weekend approaches. Many have shared with me that it has been a very useful and practical guide.

(3) Earlier this week I wrote two posts called “Letter to a Charismatic” (1) and (2). In it I refered to the Church in Redding, California led by Bill Johnson. I am even further troubled after reading this review of Bill Johnson’s book “When Heaven Invades Earth.”

(4) Ligonier has some SUPER deals today in this week’s $5 Friday sale here. I would particularly recommend getting the book “Five Things Every Christian Needs to Grow.”

“People need to maintain a diet of nutritious foods if their bodies are to grow and thrive. But what do the people of God need in order to grow and thrive in the Christian faith? In this book, noted theologian and pastor R.C. Sproul identifies five of the crucial “nutrients” that promote spiritual growth: Bible study, prayer, worship, service, and stewardship. With biblical insight and practical wisdom, Dr. Sproul teaches Christians how to maintain a balanced “diet” that will lead to growth and mature Christian living. This book is an important resource for new believers to learn these spiritual disciplines and become grounded in the Christian faith in a way that anyone can understand.”

Pastors – perhaps consider making this book a gift for each family in the church. Normally it is $12 per book so the $5 price today is certainly worth considering. Sale starts Friday at 8 a.m. EST and ends Saturday at 8 a.m. EST here. Remember, if you decide to purchase material, you can claim a further 10% discount on these and on ALL Ligonier products (as a reader of this blog) by using the coupon code EGRACE10.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins… 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.