Five Fold Ministry 4

The Shepherd

Ephesians 4:11–14 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

We’ve been learning that these are more than titles - they are toolboxes to equip the church for the work of minstry to attain to unity in faith and the fullness of Christ.

WITH THESE TOOLS WE BUILD BRIDGES THAT LEAD PEOPLE TO THE GRACE OF GOD AND UNITY IN THE CHURCH

What I’m noticing as we have been marinading in the Five Fold Ministry giftings, the first 3 are establishment giftings - Apostle - Prophet - Evangelist

The next two are stewardship Giftings.

You have to build the church before you take care of it.

The Shepherd is passionate about the Local assembly of the saints.

The flock.

The shepherd creates a space for the church to gather.

The shepherd is concerned about where the church is going to meet. Is it safe? Does it have enough space? Is it a good financial decision? Does it facilitate the Vision of the ministry?

1 Peter 5:2–4 ESV

2 shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3 not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.

The shepherd leads the church in humility and confidence

Humility - because the Shepherd knows that wisdom comes from God.

Confidence - in the Lord’s design - Paul - ”Follow me as I follow Christ”

It matters how a Shepherd handles emotions and personality traits.

The best shepherd bears the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness and Self Control.

The Shepherd leads to green pastures.

The shepherd knows where the food source is.

The shepherd does not consider himself the source, but leads the flock to the source of food or to the water.

The shepherd understands that difference between food and water.

Food is nutritional, for edification and for building up.

The water is refreshing, for Renewal, Rest and Reset.

Analogy:

The green pastures that we read about in Psalms 23 does not mean endless rolling fields of overgrown grasses blowing in the wind…

Small pockets of tufted grass tucked away under rocks and in crevices.

It’s the idea of just enough. Like the Children of Isreal in the exodus with Manna.

Distinction of Titles:

The difference between PASTOR and SHEPHERD.

PASTOR is a title and has been applied to the almost any kind of church leader.

Throughout the ages this has been an issue in the church, what to call the leadership roles:

Bishop, Priest, Presbyter, Elder, Deacon, Minister, Preacher, Parson, Reverend, Chaplain, Pastor etc…

It’s not bad.

Just don’t water down the application because of the same title given to so many different types of leaders.

The leader can have any one of the Five Fold Gifts or even a dominate gift of the five and the others are at work but maybe not as sharp.

The word Pastor is rooted in the Latin word pāscere

meaning

to feed

to lead to pasture

to cause to grow

It’s more powerful to know the meaning of a word than to just say it without understanding.

Ephesians 4 tells us that we are all working to attain to the fullness of the measure of Christ.

I believe that Jesus operated perfectly in all these gifts.

Jesus was the complete Five Fold Minister

How and why do I believe that Jesus had the fullness of all of these gifts within him.

Because you can’t give something away that you don’t have.

Ephesians 4 says that Jesus gave these gifts to the church.

So if he gave them - - - He had to have held them within himself.

Even deeper on that thought is that these are the characteristics of WHO Jesus is.

The Five Fold Ministry gifts are reflections of Jesus himself.

Not Just functions of Christ, but attributes of Christ.

Imagine you have a relative or a friend, someone to love so much and if you could receive anything from that person. But what stands out to you about that person is how joyful they are.

If you could receive anything from that person, You would say “I would like to be joyful like they are, I want the joy that they have”.

This is what Jesus gave to us, the gifts are attributes of himself.

We get to model Jesus to the world because the Holy Spirit empowers these attributes of Jesus in and through our lives.

When a shepherd is caring for the Church, he is practicing through the Holy Spirit, the heart of Jesus for the church.

Now, the Shepherd is not Jesus, just like an ambassador to the United States is not the United States, but carings the authority in fullness to represent the United States in other places of the world.

Don’t get twisted, I’m not saying we become Christ.

I’m saying that we become the greatest example of Christ on earth next to Christ, or the only thing better would be Jesus himself.

But Jesus invited you and I to be his hands and feet to this world.

Also, his heart, his love, his hope etc… We are in line with Christ to continue Christ’s work on this earth for all men and women.

What is Christ’s work?

Isaiah 61 ESV

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations. 5 Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks; foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers; 6 but you shall be called the priests of the Lord; they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall eat the wealth of the nations, and in their glory you shall boast. 7 Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion; instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot; therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion; they shall have everlasting joy. 8 For I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. 9 Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are an offspring the Lord has blessed. 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 11 For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations.

The ministry of the Rod and Staff

TO GUARD and GUIDE the church.

To teach the church to Guard and Guide.

Jesus as a Shepherd with Peter in John 21

3 times

“Do you love me?”

“Feed my Sheep”