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WHAT IS A SHEPHERD?
FIRST, I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU WHAT MY 1828 WEBSTER DICTIONARY SAYS ABOUT A SHEPHERD AND I LOVE THIS DICTIONARY BECAUSE IT USUALLY INCLUDES GOD'S WORD IN ITS DEFINITION.
SHEPHERD
- A man employed in tending, feeding and gaurding sheep in the pasture.
- The pastor of a parish, church or congregation; a minister of the gospel who superintends a church or parish, and gived instruction in spiritual things. God and Christ are in Scripture dinominated Shepherds, as they lead, protect and govern their people, and provide for their wilfare.
NOW LET'S LOOK AT WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT A SHEPHERD. JESUS SAYS THAT HE IS A SHEPHERD, BUT NOT JUST ANY SHEPHERD, HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
God Takes Pleasure In Meeting Our Needs
Matthew 7:11, 'If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?'
MATTHEW 7: 9-11
What kind of parent would ever deny their children, the necessities of life? If you have children would you fail to feed them? Or provide for them? Or if they ask you for food would you give them poison instead? Of, course not. This is the point Jesus is making.
God is love (1 Jn. 4:8)! And His love for us is infinitely greater than any loving relationship here on earth. We can apply this truth about God's love for us to any command or example we find in God's Word where His standards for...
WELL, THAT IS ALL GOOD BUT HOW DOES GOD WANT YOU TO LIVE YOUR LIFE? NOW THAT...
God Answers Every Prayer
Matthew 7:7, 'Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:'
MATTHEW 7:6-8
Prayer which meets the requirements outlined in God's Word is always answered. Many times we don't perceive the answer because it always comes in the spiritual realm first before it is manifested in the physical realm. If we waver from our confident faith, then we abort the manifestation of that answer (Jas. 1:6-7; Heb. 10:35). But God did answer. Everyone who asks receives.
In the book of Daniel chapter 9, Daniel prayed a prayer and waited a relatively short period of time to see his answer to prayer. In less than three minutes the angel Gabriel appeared and answered all of...
Righteous Judgment
Matthew 7:1, 'Judge not, that ye be not judged.'
MATTHEW 7:1-5
There are many examples of people judging others in the scriptures. Paul prayed that our love would abound more and more in all judgment (Phil. 1:9). In light of the scriptures where Jesus and the disciples spoke of judging, it is evident that there must be a right and a wrong type of judging.
In Luke 12:56-57, Jesus uses the words 'discern' and 'judge' interchangeably. A dictionary definition of 'judge' can mean many things from 'condemn' to 'appraise, to form an opinion about; to think or consider.' There is certainly nothing wrong with discerning or appraising a situation or person. Quite the contrary, we need to try the spirits (1 Jn. 4:1)....
ARE YOU HEALED? ARE YOU PROSPERING? ARE YOU HAPPY AND NOT DEPRESSED? IS YOUR LIFE PERFECT? IT COULD BE AND SHOULD BE. GOD HAS A PROMISE FOR ALL OF THESE THINGS. THE PROBLEM IS THAT SOME PEOPLE DON'T BELIEVE HIM.
THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT DON'T REALLY BELIEVE GOD CAN DO ALL THINGS. THEN THERE ARE OTHERS THAT BELIEVE HE CAN DO ALL THINGS BUT WHETHER HE WILL DO IT FOR THEM IS A DIFFERENT MATTER. EITHER WAY,...
Taking Thoughts - Or Not
Matthew 6:31, 'Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?'
MATTHEW 6:25-34
The Greek word used here for 'thought' is 'merimnao' and denotes 'to be anxious or careful'. In this passage, as well as the parallel passage in Luke 12:22-32, Jesus is commanding us not to worry or be anxious about our material needs being met. It would be impossible to have no thought whatsoever about our physical needs. Even Jesus thought about His need for money to pay taxes (Mt. 17:24-27). We are simply not to be preoccupied with thinking about riches or spending our time worrying about necessities. These things will be added unto us as we seek first the...
I LOOKED UP THE WORD "VAIN" TO GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT IT REALLY MEANS AND FOUND THIS: "Empty; worthless; having no substance, value or importance." THIS IS WHAT PAUL WAS TALKING ABOUT IN VERSE 6, NOT LETTING ANYONE DECEIVE YOU. THERE ARE A LOT OF FALSE TEACHERS AND...
Singleness Of Vision
MATTHEW 6:24, 'No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.'
MATTHEW 6:22-24
Jesus is speaking of spiritual vision. If we keep our attention (eye) single upon Jesus, the Word, then all that we will be filled with is the light of His Word (Jn. 1:1-14; Ps. 119:105). The key to victory is this singleness of purpose (Phil. 3:13). The strength of the laser lies in the fact that all of the light is concentrated on one single point. Likewise, the strength of the Christian lies in how single his or her vision is upon Jesus, 'the author and finisher of our faith.' (Heb. 12:1-3)
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