We can enter into a new revival by participating in Christ’s heavenly ministry to feed His lambs and shepherd His sheep in order to take care of God’s flock, which is the church issuing in the Body of Christ; we need to shepherd people according to the Lord’s pattern, cherishing and nourishing them, caring for them and loving them.
Lord Jesus, we want to enter into a new revival by learning to shepherd others according to God. We come to You, Lord, to learn from You, for You are the good Shepherd. We open to Your shepherding. Shepherd us inwardly. Lead us to waters of rest. Cherish us and nourish us. We allow You, Lord, to shepherd others through us according to God. We want to cooperate with Your heavenly ministry of shepherding today. Release the shepherding according to God in the Body and for the Body today. Amen!
We have seen that there are three main ways for us to enter into a new revival, according to God’s word. First, we need to see the vision of God’s eternal economy and arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation.
It starts with the vision; once we see a vision of God’s economy, we will be captured by the Lord, we will give ourselves to Him, and He will have a way to uplift our living and work.
After seeing a vision, after we see the vision of God’s economy, we can never be the same; this vision will govern and control us, and we will have a particular kind of living. The living we have is the life of a God-man. We will simply live the same way that Jesus lived.
We will learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus, and we will let Christ live in us today. This is where we are today. We have seen a vision of God’s economy, and now we are exercising our spirit to cooperate with the Lord day by day.
We learn to always rejoice, unceasingly pray, and in everything give thanks. We learn to contact God, even live a life of contacting God and living in the presence of God.
As we live in God’s presence, we come to people and bring the presence of God to man, ministering God into them for them also to be brought into the enjoyment of Christ.
In all things, as we do this and that, as we speak this and that, and as we go here and there, we want to live the life of a God-man according to the Lord’s model by setting our mind on the mingled spirit, walking, living, and having our whole being according to the mingled spirit. Amen!
Christ Shepherds us by Cherishing us in His Humanity and Nourishing us in His Divinity to gain us for God’s Economy
The third way for us to enter into a new revival today so that we may hasten the Lord’s return is shepherding according to God. We need to participate in Christ’s heavenly ministry to feed His lambs and shepherd His sheep in order to take care of God’s flock, which is the church that issues in the Body of Christ (see John 21:15-17; 1 Pet. 2:25; 5:1-4; Heb. 13:20-21; Rev. 1:12-13).
To shepherd others according to God is to incorporate the apostolic ministry with Christ’s heavenly ministry.
In John chapters 1-20 we see the process Christ went through all the way to His ascension, but then we have chapter 21 which seems to be an appendix; this is Christ in His ascension, and He did one particular thing: He shepherded His disciples.
It seems that Christ’s earthly ministry finished in chapter 20; however, chapter 21 speaks to us of the Lord’s heavenly ministry, in which He shepherds us.
He is the good Shepherd who came to lay down His life for His sheep (John 10:10-11), and now in His ascension, He is still shepherding His sheep. We need to see the pattern of Christ in shepherding us for the fulfillment of God’s eternal economy.
We can say that the content of God’s entire New Testament economy in His complete salvation is Christ as the Son of Man cherishing us by redeeming us from sin, accomplishing His judicial redemption through His death (1 Tim. 1:15; Eph. 1:7), and Christ as the Son of God nourishing us to impart the divine life into us abundantly, carrying out His organic salvation in His resurrection (John 10:10; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Eph. 5:29).
The whole of the New Testament can be summarised in Christ as the Son of Man cherishing us to accomplish His judicial redemption and Christ as the Son of God nourishing us by imparting His divine life into us to carry out His organic salvation.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; this is His judicial redemption. He came so that we may have life and have it abundantly; this is His organic salvation.
God sent His Son to us that we may have life and live through Him in His divinity (1 John 4:9) – this is nourishing.
God gave His only begotten Son that we who believe into Him may not perish through His redemption in His humanity (cherishing) but may have eternal life in His divinity (nourishing), as seen in John 3:16.
Thank the Lord for coming to shepherd us by redeeming us in His humanity judicially so that we may have eternal life in His divinity for Him to save us organically. Hallelujah! The way Christ carried out His ministry of gospel preaching was by shepherding.
For example, in Luke 19:1-10 we see that He went to Jericho just to visit and gain one person, a chief tax collector.
He didn’t go there to do a big gospel preaching campaign and gain thousands of people; He focused on one person, and His preaching was a shepherding.
Through this one person, He could gain all his friends, for he welcomed salvation. In John 4 we also see how He took a detour from His trip to go through Samaria; He had to pass through Samaria, purposely detouring to Sychar to gain one immoral woman.
He cherished her by asking her to give Him something to drink in order to nourish her with the flowing Triune God as the river of water of life (John 4:3-14; Rev. 22:1).
He didn’t condemn the sinful woman, nor did He expose her sins to everyone; He simply asked her to give Him a drink, and then He gave her to drink of the river of life.
In John 8 we see another story, where Christ as the One without sin did not condemn the adulterous woman but cherished her for the forgiveness of her sins judicially and for the setting free from her sins organically (John 8:1-11, 32, 36).
She was caught in adultery, but He did not condemn her; rather, He exposed the hypocrisy of those who condemned her, and at the end He told her, Go and sin no more.
He could have condemned her, for He was the truth and God Himself, but He cherished her in His humanity for the forgiveness of her sins, and He set her free in His divinity to nourish her.
It is also very significant to see that, even on the cross, while He was dying physically, the Lord saved one person; the first one saved by Christ through His crucifixion was a robber sentenced to death (Luke 23:42-43).
This is how He carried out His earthly ministry, by cherishing and nourishing people.
He cherishes us in His humanity to cause us to open to Him and receive Him, then He nourishes us in His divinity to dispense Himself into us as life. May we open to His shepherding and may we learn from Him to shepherd others also!
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming to shepherd us by cherishing us in Your humanity and nourishing us in Your divinity. Hallelujah, our Lord Jesus is so lovely and cherishing, for He makes us happy in His humanity so that He may dispense Himself into us in His divinity. Thank You for dying for us on the cross to redeem us; what a cherishing it is to be redeemed and have our sins forgiven. Thank You, dear Lord, for coming into us as life, even as the life-giving Spirit, to save us organically; what a nourishing this is! We open to You. Thank You, Lord, for not condemning us today according to righteousness but being willing to forgive our sins, cleanse us from our sins, and deliver us from the power of sin so that we sin no more! Amen, Lord Jesus, thank You for Your wonderful shepherding. You are our good Shepherd, and You laid down Your life for Your sheep. Thank You for shining on us to expose our sins and thank You for flowing into us as the river of water of life. We open to Your shepherding. We want to learn from You to shepherd others also!
We need to Shepherd People According to the Lord’s Pattern in His Ministry for Carrying out God’s Eternal Economy
The entire New Testament presents to us the wonderful and lovely person of Jesus who came as the good Shepherd; He came to shepherd us and bring us back to God, and even in His ascension, He is still shepherding us.
After His resurrection, Christ still cares for us, not by appearing to us physically but by cherishing us in His humanity and nourishing us in His divinity.
We believers in Christ enjoy the Lord’s wonderful shepherding in our Christian life, and as we come to His word, we see His pattern of shepherding.
We can enter into a new revival by shepherding people according to God; we need to shepherd people according to the Lord’s pattern in His ministry for carrying out God’s eternal economy.
However, sometimes what we see among us is not the same kind of attitude and spirit that the Lord had.
We may not have the Father’s loving and forgiving heart, and we may not have the Saviour’s shepherding and seeking spirit. This is why we are barren. We may go on year after year without having any fruit, that is, without bearing fruit for the Lord.
The Lord told us that by our fruit we will be known of what kind we are (Matt. 12:33), but it may seem that we are a tree without fruit.
If we truly abide in the Lord and allow Him to abide in us, He will flow in us and through us, and we will spontaneously bear fruit (John 15).
But it seems that, the more we know, the more knowledge of the Scriptures and of the ministry we may have, the more barren we are. Oh Lord!
May the Lord save us from being puffed up by much knowledge, and therefore rather regulating others and criticising them than loving them and caring for them (1 Cor. 8:1).
We are short of love and shepherding. For us to bear fruit, we need to love them as the Lord did, and we need to shepherd them as Christ did. May we reconsider our ways before the Lord (Hag. 1:5).
May we learn to visit the saints and the new ones, having the Father’s loving and forgiving heart.
In ourselves, we do not have genuine love for others; we may want to gain someone for the Lord, but we may not really love them. Even more, we may not truly forgive others; when they say something that offends us, we may remember it. Oh Lord.
We truly need to open to the Lord’s shepherding and let Him infuse us with Himself as the good Shepherd. We need to learn from Him to shepherd others according to God.
We need to shepherd people according to the Lord’s pattern in His ministry for carrying out God’s eternal economy (Matt. 9:36; John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; 1 Pet. 5:4).
This means that, even as He cherishes us to make us happy in His humanity and then nourishes us to dispense Himself into us in His divinity, so we need to do today by being one with Him.
We need to cherish people, that is, make them happy and make them feel pleasant and comfortable in the humanity of Jesus (Matt. 9:10; Luke 7:34).
We follow His pattern to cherish people in the humanity of Jesus so that they open to be nourished.
We need to nourish people, that is, feed them with the all-inclusive Christ in His ministry of three stages, in the divinity of Christ (Matt. 24:45-47).
After we cherish the new ones, the saints, or even those who are not saved, we need to minister something of Christ to them, for them to touch the Lord.
May we follow the pattern of Christ to first warm up people first, cherishing them in the humanity of Jesus so that we may nourish them in the divinity of Christ.
Oh, how much we need to open to the Lord in this matter for Him to work this out in us!
Lord Jesus, we want to shepherd people according to Your pattern in Your ministry for carrying out God’s eternal economy. We open to Your wonderful shepherding in Your heavenly ministry today. Shepherd us, Lord, and have a way to shepherd others through us. Lord Jesus, grant us to have the Father’s loving and forgiving heart as we care for others. We want to shepherd people according to God by loving them and caring for them even as You love us and care for us. Lord, give us Your shepherding and seeking spirit today so that we may seek others, shepherd them according to God, and love them. We just open to You, Lord, and we want to learn from Your pattern of shepherding. May we learn to cherish people by making them happy, comfortable, and pleasant in the humanity of Jesus! May we learn to nourish people to feed them with the all-inclusive Christ in the divinity of Christ. Amen, Lord, save us from condemning or regulating others; may we rather shepherd them, seek them, and love them, being one with You to shepherd people according to Your pattern!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ricky Acosta on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” chs. 7-11, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Great Need for a New Revival (2026 Memorial Day Blending Conference), week 1, “Cooperating with the Lord to Bring In a New Revival That Will End This Age” – day 5.
- Hymns on this topic:
– O Lord, do cherish us, as on Thyself we feed; / Warm us so tenderly and meet our every need. / Our hardness soften, Lord, till we are Yours indeed; / Oh, cherish us, dear Lord, we pray. / O Lord, do cherish us today, / Until our coldness flees away. / Oh, hold us close to Thee / And cherish tenderly; / O Lord, do cherish us today. (Hymns #1135 stanza 4 and chorus)
– Jesus, our wonderful Shepherd / Brought us right out of the fold / Into His pasture so plenteous, / Into His riches untold. / Glorious church life, / Feasting from such a rich store! / Here where we’re dwelling in oneness / God commands life evermore. (Hymns #1221 stanza 1 and chorus)
– O brother, won’t you gather in the local church? / A fountain here is flowing deep and wide. / The Shepherd now would bring you to the local church, / Where thirsty spirits can be satisfied. (Hymns #1234 stanza 3)
