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NASB | John 21:16 He *said to him again a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me?" He *said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You." He *said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 21:16 Again He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with total commitment and devotion]?" He said to Him, "Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend]." Jesus said to him, "Shepherd My sheep." |
Bible Question: How many years does a famine last? Our church has been going through for sometime now and needs to go through some serious repentence. |
Bible Answer: John 21:16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 1 Peter 5:2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: Notice here that Peter who was called by Jesus as a shepherd, and told to feed the flock, has a revelation of feeding the flock being most importantly of all the Word of God. I cannot pass judgment on your particular church but I am speaking generally concerning why some churches are dry and boring and the members feel like attending is a test in endurance. A common reason is that the shepherd is either not called to feed the flock or is neglecting his chief duty. What does it mean to feed the flock. It is obviously a broader subject than what can be entered here in this short post, but I will summarize the picture of the shepherd that will not want for spiritual growth in his flock. If a man of God will make Prayer and the Ministry of the Word his chief concern so that he will shut himself up with God and allow the Holy Spirit to make him a broken and contrite vessel emptied of self and seeking only the Glory of Christ, and if he will study the word as a man that seeks treasure, then God will grant him not just another sermon but a fresh word from heaven, though the doctrine he preaches may be as old as the church, the freshness will come forth as a message from a prophet, and the people will be challenged to go all the way with Christ in a new way as never before. This is not something that God holds back from men, but few are willing to pay the price to seek it. As someone once said, "Salvation is indeed free, but everything else will cost you something." When Peter said to feed the flock he meant feed them the Word. Peter considered the Word more necessary than daily bread, (as the Lord said) and Peter said that as desperately as a newborn babe needs milk, so a saint needs the word to grow. (Which verse had nothing to do with preaching elementary messages or weak sermons, or to speak on the level of a Christian just saved yesterday, but this verse speaks of the comparison of the desperate need for the Word of God to survive. In other words teaching a deep message of an abundance of scriptures and doctrinal truth is just as much feeding the sheep as preaching the simple messages we call "milk" but which Peter never called milk. This verse is telling us how important it is to eat the Word. If we understand this we will understand that if our sermons are too light and fluffy and contain little scripture, we are not feeding the flock at all. Some would say.. but the new Christians cannot handle the "strong meat and must be given milk," which is not from this verse bur another context where Paul is rebuking them for that. If Paul rebukes them for it, it is not our goal to keep our flock in that condition. In public preach on the level of the mature and the immature will grow up into it by hearing it. This lesson seem so hard for so many to learn. The majority of churches are anemic when it comes to feeding the flock the Word of God. We would call meat what Paul called the first principles of the oracles of Christ. I do not say any of these things with criticalness but with grief in my soul, knowing that the return of Christ is at the very doors, and it is high time to awake out of sleep and preach a challenging message that will shake the people from their indifference before it is too late. The pastors are taught to be loving and kind to the point that they are afraid to preach a challenging message of repentance. It is not the Love of God shed abroad on our hearts by the Holy Ghost that makes them this way, but a human sympathy not wanting to hurt any ones feelings. This at times is commendable but we must learn to have the Love of God motivate us and give way to human emotions that make us uncomfortable when it comes to rebuking in love the indifference in the flock. When the pastor does this with a heart of Love the people welcome it and they are helped to repent and break free of the chains of lethargy that have them bound. They will love the pastor for it, and sheep will come from every part of the city to join such a church. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for John 21:16 | Author | ||
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psalms94 | ||
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Just Read Mark | ||
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DocTrinsograce |