The Lord Jesus Shepherds us into the Full Enjoyment of Himself in the House of God

The Lord Jesus shepherds us into the full enjoyment of Himself in the house of God now and for eternity. Amen!

The Lord Jesus as our Shepherd is shepherding us into the enjoyment of Himself even as we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, and He sets a table before us in the presence of our enemies; for the length of our days and for eternity we want to dwell in His house and feast with Him and on Him. Hallelujah!

The Lord Jesus came as our wonderful Shepherd; He said in John 10 that He is the Good Shepherd, and we as His sheep hear His voice.

Thank the Lord that we have heard the Lord’s voice and have come out of any fold to Him to be His sheep.

He is the Shepherd and we are His sheep.

He leads us out of the fold and into the enjoyment of Himself as our rich pasture.

The Lord as our Shepherd wants us to enjoy the riches of His being, the riches of all that He is as the all-inclusive Christ.

This is why God qualified us for an allotted portion of Christ together with the saints in the light (Col. 1:12). Hallelujah!

Day by day the Lord shepherds us into the enjoyment of Himself; He is the green pastures and He as the Spirit is restful waters to us.

The Lord is our rest, and as we drink Him as the Spirit who gives life, we as His sheep are at rest, we dwell securely, and we partake of what He is in spirit for our portion today.

Thank the Lord for His wonderful shepherding.

He shepherds us further in the second stage to restore our soul and guide us on the paths of righteousness (Psa. 23:3).

On one hand, we eat and drink the Lord Jesus, for He is our food and drink to be our inner supply.

On the other hand, we walk on paths of righteousness, that is, we walk according to the spirit so that we may fulfil all of God’s righteous requirements.

Only when we walk according to the spirit by being supplied with the Christ we enjoy by eating and drinking Him can we fulfil God’s righteous requirements.

Actually, God’s righteousness is lived out of us as we walk according to the spirit. So the Lord shepherds us day by day to live according to our spirit.

As we live in this way, we are revived, restored, and renewed, and our soul is transformed.

As we drink the Lord as our living water and are filled with Him, we also flow Him out to others.

On one hand, we enjoy and experience the Lord’s wonderful shepherding.

On the other hand, as we experience and enjoy His shepherding, we also express Him to shepherd others by leading them to enjoy Christ, drink the Spirit, and be restored and revived in their soul for their transformation.

The Lord Shepherds us to Experience His Presence while Walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death

Psa. 23:4 tells us that the Lord as our wonderful Shepherd takes care of us even while we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

He shepherds us in the third stage of the experience of the presence of the resurrected pneumatic Christ while walking through the valley of the shadow of death (Psa. 23:4; 2 Tim. 4:22; 2 Cor. 12:7-10).

Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil, for the Lord’s presence is with us.

The Lord as the Spirit is with our spirit today, and we can enjoy His presence even when we’re in the valley.

We can enjoy the Lord’s presence to be comforted, rescued, and sustained when we are walking in the valley of the shadow of death.

We can’t avoid having troubles and problems when we live on this earth.

We want to have a family, but our wife or husband may give us a hard time, or one of our children may have a certain disease or disability.

Even in the church life as the paradise of God on earth, there may be one particular person the Lord puts us with who is very difficult, and it seems impossible for us to coordinate with them.

There may be a big misunderstanding at the office concerning us and everyone may avoid to speak with us, and there’s nothing we can do about it. Oh, Lord.

There are many instances in which we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death; we are not in death, but there’s the shadow of death there.

In such situations, the Lord’s rod and His staff comfort us; He leads us and shepherds us by His very presence.

Our Christian life is not a “walk in the park” and not every day is a happy day; many times we pass through the valley of the shadow of death.

As we pass through difficult situations where the shadow of death is present, we need to remember that the Lord is with us; His presence is with us.

In such situations, we can enjoy His presence in a deeper, dearer, and sweeter way.

There may be a tragedy that strikes, an illness that comes upon us, or we are put in an environment or situation that is challenging, oppressive, and inordinately difficult.

The apostle Paul said that he had the sentence of death in himself; it was so difficult that he thought he would die.

Sometimes it may seem there’s no end in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel, for the valley of the shadow of death is so long.

In such situations we need to remember that the Lord is with us.

His presence is with us. His rod and staff comfort us, and the Lord protects us, instructs us, guides us, and leads us.

Even though everything around us may be so dark and there’s nowhere to turn to, for everything is so difficult and we are pressed beyond measure, we come to the Lord.

We are pressed to come to the Lord as we are and ask Him, Why, Lord? What is going on, Lord? How are You going to help me, Lord?

The Lord would then care for us by means of His rod and His staff; it may not be the pasture and living water that supply us but His rod and His staff, and His presence is with us all the time.

We simply need to rest in the Lord. As we rest in Him while walking through the valley of the shadow of death, the valley will be shortened, the shadow will be reduced, and death will be removed.

As 2 Tim. 4:22 says, the Lord is with our spirit; He is not with us in a general way but He is with our spirit in a particular way.

As we experience walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we need to enjoy the Lord’s presence in a close and intimate way, for He shepherds us even there, in the valley.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we love Your shepherding. Thank You for being with us as our wonderful Shepherd. We open to Your shepherding. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we believe that You are with us. Amen, Lord, You are with our spirit. We can enjoy Your presence. We come to You as we are. Even though all things around us are difficult and there seems to be no way out, we are pressed from every side and we come to You. We trust in Your presence. We simply want to remain in Your presence. We trust in You. We rest in You, for You will shorten the valley, reduce the shadow, and remove the death. Oh Lord, we do not look at the difficulties in our environment and we do not focus on the death around us; we simply focus on You! Guide us and instruct us by Your rod and Your staff. Bring us into a deeper and sweeter experience of Your indwelling presence. Oh Lord, we love You and we open to Your shepherding even in the valley of the shadow of death!

The Lord Shepherds us to Feast with Him in the Presence of our Adversaries: we Fight and we Feast with Him!

In the fourth stage of His shepherding, the Lord brings us into a deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ. He spreads a table before us in the presence of our enemies (Psa. 23:5). Wow!

Even in the presence of our adversaries, when we’re on the battlefield, the Lord spreads a table before us for us to feast with Him and on Him (1 Cor. 10:21).

The Lord shepherds us in warfare, in the battle, as we fight against our enemies.

We shouldn’t try to fight in ourselves or by ourselves; we need to ask the Lord to shepherd us in this fight. He spreads a table before us in the presence of our adversaries (see 2 Sam. 4:4; 9:7, 13; Gen. 14:18-20; Neh. 4:17).

We defeat the enemy not by guns and tanks or nuclear weapons but by feasting in the Lord.

The Lord has won the victory, and He as the victorious One spreads a table of victory in front of us.

We eat the table and we also eat the giants in the land. Amen!

Every day we believers in Christ are in a fight, for we are on the Lord’s side and the enemy keeps attacking us, frustrating us, and tempting us.

We fight day by day against the enemy within and the adversary without. If we do not fight the enemy, we will be defeated.

We may have adversaries in our business, our home, or even in the church; we don’t fight against people but against the enemy in the air who is using people and situations to frustrate us from enjoying Christ and accomplishing God’s purpose.

On the one hand, we feast on the Lord and partake of His riches; on the other hand, we fight for the victory.

If we’re defeated during the week, it will be difficult for us to come to the Lord’s Table and enjoy Him with the saints, for we are a defeated person.

But if we fight daily to enjoy the Lord and fight by enjoying the Lord, we will have a rich feast on the Lord’s day, for the Lord will be our feast.

He lays the table before us for us to enjoy and feast on Him.

The Lord anoints our head with oil and our cup runs over (Psa. 23:5b; Heb. 1:9; 1 Cor. 10:16a, 21).

On one hand, the Lord Jesus Christ was anointed by God, and He is God’s anointed.

On the other hand, as we feast on Him and enjoy His shepherding to defeat the enemy, we are also anointed with oil.

We are anointed with the oil of exultant joy to be one with Christ as the anointed One. And our cup runs over.

We feast with Him and we drink with Him, and we enjoy the Lord’s blessing. Hallelujah!

In Psa. 23:5 we have the Triune God as our portion in a rich way: the Son is the feast, the Spirit is the anointing oil, and the Father is the source of blessing.

The Lord shepherds us into the enjoyment of Himself as the processed and consummated Triune God: God the Father as the source of blessing, God the Son as the feast, and God the Spirit as the anointing oil.

What a wonderful shepherding!

And we can have a foretaste of this at the Lord’s Table meeting when we come together to feast with the Lord and with the saints.

The enemies are there before us and around us, but the Lord spreads a table before us in the presence of our adversaries, and we are anointed by Him and our cup runs over. Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, shepherd us into a deeper and higher enjoyment of the resurrected Christ. Hallelujah, the Lord spreads a table before us in the presence of our adversaries! Amen, Lord, we want to feast on You even as we are fighting the enemy. We stand one with You on this earth; we fight for Your interest and we fight to defeat the enemies. At the same time, we want to feast on You and with You, for You have become a rich feast to us. Yes, Jesus is our feast! We daily eat of Him and take Him in so that we may be richly supplied and strengthened to fight the battle in the Lord! Amen, Lord, thank You for becoming our feast today. Thank You for anointing our head with oil, with the oil of exultant joy! Hallelujah, the Spirit anoints us and fills us, and our cup runs over! Oh Lord, lead us into a higher and deeper enjoyment of Christ as the Spirit to such an extent that we feast in the presence of our enemies, are anointed with the oil of exultant joy, and our cup runs over!

The Lord shepherds us into a Lifelong Enjoyment of the Divine Goodness and Lovingkindness in the House of God

We may think that feasting in the presence of our enemies and being anointed with the oil of gladness is the highest enjoyment of Christ, but according to Psa. 23:6, the Lord shepherds us even further.

The Lord shepherds us in the fifth stage of the lifelong enjoyment of the divine goodness and lovingkindness in the house of Jehovah. How about that!

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of our days. Amen!

As we remain under the organic shepherding of the pneumatic Christ (Christ as the Spirit), goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our life, and we will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of our days.

Sometimes we may worry that, as we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, we may backslide or leave the church life; we need to worry not, for the Lord as our Shepherd will bring us into the full enjoyment of Himself in His house.

We trust not in our strength to keep ourselves but in the Lord’s keeping power; He is our shepherd.

Goodness refers to the grace of Christ, lovingkindness refers to the love of the Father, and follow implies the fellowship of the Spirit.

This points to 2 Cor. 13:14 where we have the grace of Christ the Son, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit being with us.

The Lord shepherds us into a lifelong enjoyment of all that the Triune God is and has and has done.

The Triune God dispenses Himself into us in His marvellous divine dispensing, and goodness and lovingkindness will surely follow us all the days of our life.

This is our destiny, and this is what the Lord’s shepherding leads us into.

The enjoyment of the processed and consummated Triune God ushers us into the enjoyment of God in the house of God (Christ, the church, our spirit, and the New Jerusalem—John 1:14; 2:21; 1 Tim. 3:15-16; Eph. 2:22; Rev. 21:2-3, 22) where we will dwell for the length of our days (in the present age, in the coming age, and in eternity).

We simply need to be open to the Lord’s shepherding day by day. No matter what happens, be open to His shepherding within.

He will lead us into the enjoyment of God in the house of God, and we will dwell in the house of God all the days of our life today and for eternity. Hallelujah!

We are not in the New Jerusalem yet, but by remaining under the Lord’s shepherding today, we have a foretaste of the New Jerusalem.

We do not need to worry that one day we may leave the church life because of the problems, troubles, or misunderstandings; we should simply remain under the Lord’s shepherding today.

We need to seek to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life (Psa. 27:4-8) so that we may behold the beauty of God, His loveliness, pleasantness, and delightfulness.

We want to remain here, enjoying the Lord’s presence and beholding Him face to face so that we may be transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18).

We want to remain in the Lord’s house and inquire of God, checking with Him about everything in our daily life (Psa. 27:4; Josh. 9:14).

What a blessing it is for us to turn to the Lord and check with Him in every detail, opening to Him.

There are many challenges and difficulties and there’s nowhere to turn but to the Lord, enquiring of Him and touching Him.

We want to be concealed in God’s shelter and hide ourselves in the hiding place of God’s tent.

As we look around us and see all the things happening, we realize that the world is becoming a scary place; but there is a shelter, a tent of God, the church, where we can hide!

In God’s house we are raised up and have our head lifted up by God (Psa. 27:5-6).

Sometimes we may get a downer, a low-grade depression; when we touch the Lord as our Shepherd, He raises up our head.

He fills us with Himself as the Spirit and we are lifted up by Him.

We will no longer look down at the things on the earth but at Him.

We will offer sacrifices of shouts of joy with singing and psalming for the glory of God (Heb. 13:15; Phil. 2:11). Amen!

We will simply praise the Lord, for it is all of Him, and His shepherding brings us into the full enjoyment of Himself in His house! Praise the Lord!

Lord Jesus, we open to Your wonderful shepherding today. Hallelujah, under the Lord’s organic shepherding, goodness and lovingkindness will follow us all the days of our life and we will dwell in the house of Jehovah for the length of our days! Amen, Lord, keep us enjoying Your shepherding today. May the grace of Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us day by day! We want to dwell in Your house for the length of our days – both in the present age, in the coming age, and in eternity! We seek to dwell in the house of God all the days of our life to behold the beauty of God and to inquire of God. Oh Lord, we love to be in Your house, beholding Your beauty and checking with You about everything in our daily life. You are the One concealing us in Your shelter and hiding us in Your tent from all the enemies. You raise us up and lifts our head up. We praise You. We offer sacrifices of shouts of joy with singing and psalming to You! Glory to our God! Praise the Lord for His wonderful shepherding!

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 Minoru Chen in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of the Psalms, pp. 144-147, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (2024 July Semiannual Training), week 2, Christ as the One with the Heavenly-ruled Deeds, Our Shepherd, Our Rest, and the Sower.
• Similar articles on this articles:
  – The enjoyment of God in His house, a portion from, Life-Study of Psalms, Chapter 28, by Witness Lee.
  – The Lord Jesus Is Our Shepherd, via, Bibles for America blog.
  – The Crucial Role of the Sisters in the Church Life – “Every saint, including the sisters, should serve the Lord both in practical matters and in preaching the gospel and shepherding others.” More via, Shepherding Words.
  – Psalm 23 – Christ in His shepherding, a portion from, Christ and the Church Revealed and Typified in the Psalms, Chapter 5, by Witness Lee.
  – Shadows of New Jerusalem in Psalms 22-27, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Shepherding the Lord’s flock, a portion from, The Fulfillment of the Tabernacle and the Offerings in the Writings of John, Chapter 62, by Witness Lee.
  – Shepherded to Shepherd, via, Living to Him.
  – The Lord Is My Shepherd, testimony via, The Church in Vancouver.
  – Psalm 23: from failure to shepherding, via, Conversant Faith.
  – Recommending the life-study of Psalms radio broadcast here.
  – How Psalm 23 Reveals the Organic Shepherding of the Pneumatic Christ, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – The experience of Christ and the enjoyment of Christ, a portion from, The Experience of Christ, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – A table prepared by my Shepherd / I feast on and Satan destroy; / My head is anointed with oil, / My cup runneth over with joy! / And now in His house I am dwelling / Enjoying the goodness of God; / My pleasure is far beyond telling, / My pleasure is Jesus my Lord! (Hymns #1170 stanzas 4-5)
  – In death’s dark vale I fear no ill / With Thee, dear Lord, beside me; / Thy rod and staff my comfort still, / Thy Cross before to guide me. / Thou spread’st a table in my sight; / Thy unction grace bestoweth; / And oh, what transport of delight / From Thy pure chalice floweth! / And so through all the length of days / Thy goodness faileth never; / Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise / Within Thy house forever. (Hymns #528 stanzas 4-6)
  – Yea, though I walk in death’s dark vale, / Yet will I fear no ill; / For Thou art with me, and Thy rod / And staff me comfort still. / My table Thou hast furnished / In presence of my foes; / My head Thou dost with oil anoint, / And my cup overflows. / Goodness and mercy all my life / Shall surely follow me, / And in God’s house forevermore / My dwelling-place shall be. (Hymns #527 stanzas 3-5)