Be Patterns of the Flock, Contact God in Prayer, and Care for the Feeling of the Body

We need to be patterns of the flock; the best way to shepherd the saints is by helping them contact the Lord to have His direct leading, and then help them to fellowship in the Body to have a confirmation in the Body concerning the leading they received from the Lord.

The Lord as the Good Shepherd called us out of any other fold and place and brought us into His flock, in the church life; here we are enjoying His wonderful shepherding, and we are learning to cooperate with Him to shepherd others according to God.

However, we do not shepherd others according to our natural man, our preference, or our taste; rather, we first need to come to the Lord and enjoy His shepherding, and we need to shepherd others according to God.

First, we need to pay the price to gain God – even gain more of God every day; we need to spend time with the Lord in His word to be constituted with Him and filled with Him.

There must be a rich deposit of Christ in us so that, when we meet others, we would have something of the supply of life to minister to them.

We need to pay the price to buy the truth of God’s economy, being constituted with the high truth of the eternal economy of God.

The vision of God’s economy must direct our heart to cause us to care for others according to God.

As we live the church life in the age of grace, we need to pay the price every day to gain more of God; we cannot remain passive and wait for the Lord to do everything – we need to cooperate with Him by paying the price to contact Him and deny the self.

The self is a great hindrance in our living Christ and being filled with Christ; the self must be repudiated and denied so that we may gain more of God and thus have something of God to minister to others.

Amen, for the sake of the flock, we need to take care of God’s possession – the church, the saints, the household of God – and invest our spiritual gift by giving them food at the proper time.

First, we need to eat the Lord in His word every day, and we need to gain a surplus of Christ for us to minister to others also.

We are here not only to enjoy the Lord but also to care for others by ministering something of Christ to them.

May we invest our spiritual gift by learning to give others food, spiritual food, at the proper time.

May we eat the Lord not only for ourselves but also for others, to have an extra portion of Christ to minister to them for their growth in life and going on with the Lord.

Shepherding others is not only something that we do outwardly by caring for their needs or having a meal with them; it is something spiritual, intrinsic, and it has to do with giving them food.

Not Lording it over the Flock of God but being Patterns of the Flock in Enjoying and Experiencing Christ

In 1 Pet. 5:3-4 Peter exhorted the elders not to lord it over God’s flock, which is God’s possession, but rather, to become patterns to the flock and thus honor the Lord.

The saints and the churches are not our possession; they are not the possession of the elders or the leading brothers – they belong to God, they are God’s flock, His possessions.

As we are learning to shepherd the flock of God, we need to realize that the saints and the churches are entrusted to us for our care, but they don’t belong to us; we need to be patterns to the flock instead of lording it over them.

To lord it over others means to exercise lordship over those who are ruled, just as the Gentiles do (Matt. 20:25); the people around us in society do this, the higher ones exercise lordship over those whom they rule.

But it should not be so among us; rather, we need to realize that, in the church life, we all are brothers, and only Christ is our Lord, our Master, and the Lord of the harvest (Matt. 23:8, 10; Luke 10:2).

He is the Lord; He is the Head; He is the Master, and we are NOT the Lord, we are not the Master, and we are not the Head.

The best we can do is, by the Lord’s mercy, take the lead and be patterns to others in pursuing the Lord, enjoying the Lord, experiencing the Lord, and practising the church life.

The elders in the church can take the leadership – not the lordship; they can take the leadership by becoming patterns of the flock (1 Pet. 5:3; 1 Thes. 5:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:12; 5:17).

In other words, we need to pursue the Lord, experience Him, enjoy Him, and practice the church life not in a way of lording it over others but rather, in the way of serving them so that we may be a pattern to them.

May we not mix up these two things: lordship and leadership; we do not have the lordship – only the Lord is the Master and the Head, but we can take the lead to enjoy Christ and pursue Him to become patterns of the flock.

We need to take the lead to pay the price to contact the Lord every morning, be revived every day, serve in the church life, and shepherd others; when the saints see our pattern, they will follow in spirit.

When the saints see the pattern of those who pursue Christ, enjoy Christ, and serve the Lord in spirit, they will follow; this is what the Lord needs, patterns of the flock who lead others to enjoy Christ and experience Him.

What the Bible says we should do, we should exercise our spirit and be one with the Lord to do it, and this will become a pattern for the believers for them to follow.

We need to take the lead to serve the saints and care for the church so that the saints may follow.

Lord Jesus, we want to take the lead to enjoy You, pursue You, experience You, and practice the church life. Keep us in our spirit today, enjoying You and experiencing You, and serving the saints according to You. Save us from lording it over God’s flock; make us patterns of the flock by taking the leading to serve and care for the church. Amen, Lord, You are our Lord, our Head, and our Master; we simply want to enjoy You and experience You, and we want to care for the saints according to You.

Not Directing others what to do or where to go but Helping the Saints to Contact the Lord and have His Direct Leading

It is a great temptation in the church life to tell others what to do and where to go; we may have the Lord’s leading to do this or go there, and we may simply tell others that they should do this or go there also.

We shouldn’t tell the saints where to live, where to go, and what to do without directing them to pray so that we can honor Christ as the Head of the Body.

We are not the Head or the Master; we are simply a member of the Body of Christ.

As members of the Body, we need to contact the Lord and not direct others on what to do or where to go; rather, we need to help one another to contact the Lord and have His direct leading.

It is an insult to the Lord when we act as if we know what they should do, where they should go, or where they should live.

Any decisions that we make by ourselves for others are an insult to Christ as the Head of the Body (Col. 2:19; Eph. 4:15-16).

None of us should ever tell others where they should go; rather, we should seek the Lord and help them contact the Lord in prayer to have His direct leading.

May we be saved from insulting the Lord as the Head of the Body; may we be saved from telling others what to do.

There may be a feeling that many saints should move to a certain area of a city to strengthen the Lord’s testimony there, or maybe that some young saints and families should move by the campus for the gospel.

But we should not make suggestions to others as to what they should do; rather, we should simply present the burden, pray about it, and help one another to pray.

We must contact the Lord. We may be the best candidate to move close to a campus and study, work, or live there for the Lord’s move, but no one should tell us what to do; rather, we must bring this to the Lord and offer ourselves to Him.

We shouldn’t expect others to instruct us where to go and what to do, neither should we go to the elders to ask them to tell us what to do and where to go.

When others instruct us to go there or do this, and we just do it without contacting the Lord and having His direct leading, we are in an organization, in religion.

We must go into the Lord’s presence, spend time with the Lord, and bring before Him the burden to do this, go there, or move to a certain place.

Concerning anything we do in the church life, any move, or any work, we need to contact the Lord and not merely follow others’ instructions.

We must not direct others to do something nor should we presume that we’re the Lord in instructing others where they should go; we cannot go to the Lord for someone else – everyone needs to contact the Lord and have His leading.

We shouldn’t have movements in the Lord’s recovery; we should not stir up any movement by telling others what to do.

May we spend time with the Lord inquire of Him, and seek to have His leading, and may we not direct others what to do but help them contact the Lord!

When we go somewhere or move to a place for the Lord’s move, we should have the assurance that the Lord is sending us.

We shouldn’t take orders from anyone neither should we give orders to anyone; we should simply go to the Lord and pray, contacting the Lord in prayer to have His direct leading.

Lord Jesus, we take You as our Head, our Master, and our Leader; we come to You to contact You and have Your direct leading. Keep us in Your presence, looking at the index of Your eyes, to receive Your leading concerning what we should do and where we should go. Amen, Lord Jesus, how much we need to have Your leading in our life in things both big and small! We want to stay in the organic union with You concerning all things, and we want to help others also contact You in prayer. Save us from directing others what to do and where to go; save us from presuming to know what others should do and where they should move. Oh Lord, save us from stirring up a movement in the church life; keep us coming to You, enjoying You, and having Your leading, and help other saints to contact God in prayer!

We need to check whether the Leading we have from the Lord Corresponds to the Feeling of the Body

The Bible is truly wonderful, our Christian life is truly mysterious, and the Body life is truly a wonder!

On one hand, we are individual believers who need to seek the Lord’s leading personally by spending time to contact the Lord in prayer to have His direct leading.

On the other hand, we need to check whether the leading we have from the Lord corresponds to the feeling of the Body (Acts 13:1-4; 21:4, 11).

On one hand, we need to bring everything in the Lord’s presence, praying until we are clear concerning the Lord’s leadings (Mark 1:35-38; 2 Cor. 2:12-14).

On the other hand, we need to fellowship in the Body to have a confirmation from the Body that the Lord’s leading we received personally corresponds to the feeling of the Body.

Some saints thought they had the Lord’s leading personally when they left the church life and started their own little group.

Throughout history, many thought they had the Lord’s leading, but they never checked with the Body concerning it.

It is a great danger to simply follow what we feel it is the Lord’s leading and yet not check with the Body or not listen to the feeling in the Body.

An example of this was the apostle Paul, who personally desired to go to Jerusalem, but all along the way he received warnings both from the saints and from one of the prophets that he will be bound and put in prison; however, he still went, and he suffered much as a result.

Also, Apollos was asked by Paul to go somewhere, but he didn’t feel it was the right time; therefore, he was no longer mentioned in the book of Acts or in the Bible.

Barnabas and Paul had a great discussion concerning a particular matter when they were about to go on a ministry journey, and Barnabas took Mark and went to Cyprus, while Paul and Silas were sent by the church on a ministry journey; we no longer heard concerning Barnabas in Acts, and the Lord continued to move through Paul.

Similarly today, we may have a certain leading from the Lord, but we need to also bring it to the church, in fellowship with the saints, and we need to check whether it corresponds to the feeling of the Body.

If the leading ones, after much prayer, are truly burdened about a certain matter, through fellowship they should pass on their burden to the saints and ask them to pray.

Eventually, the saints will receive a personal leading from the Lord, and they may bring this feeling in fellowship; the result is that the church sends out certain ones to do this or that, or to move to a place for the Lord’s move.

We can’t tell the saints where to go, but we can help them contact the Lord.

If we move to a place without prayer and fellowship, we will be shaken when tests, afflictions, and persecutions come; however if we pray and fellowship, we will have the assurance that the Lord sent us there, and we will never regret our move, no matter what the outward situation may be.

If we pray to contact the Lord and fellowship in the Body, we honor the Lord as our Leader and our Head, and we will have the assurance that it is Him who sent us somewhere.

But if we don’t, and we just move somewhere because we were told to, we may have regrets, and we may be shaken when tests, afflictions, and persecutions come.

Being balanced by the Body may produce the same result as if the leading ones made the decision and told us where to go; however, though the outward result may be the same, the inward nature is absolutely different.

We need to contact the Lord and have His leading, and we need to remain in the fellowship of the Body to have the feeling of the Body; then, we are balanced, and we can be one with the Lord in the Body concerning anything we do.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for putting us in the Body to be members of one another under Christ as the Head. We come to You, dear Lord, to contact You and receive Your leading concerning what to do and where to go. Amen, Lord, we come to fellowship in the Body concerning the leading we receive from You. Keep us in prayer and fellowship both personally and in the Body so that we may be balanced in our Christian life. Save us from doing things without prayer and fellowship. Save us from merely doing what others tell us to do in the church life without checking with You. Oh Lord, may we be members in the Body under the Head and interrelated and interdependent with other members!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a message given by the brothers on this topic, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1977, vol. 2, “The Spirit and the Body“, ch. 1, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Meeting God’s Need and Present needs in the Lord’s Recovery, week 5, entitled, Our Need to Walk in Newness of Life, to Serve in Newness of Spirit, and to Be Renewed in Our Inner Man Day by Day.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / Seeking Him in confidence; / Learn to touch Him as the Spirit, / Looking up in reverence. / Pray to fellowship with Jesus, / Speaking nothing in pretense; / Ask according to the spirit, / Praying by the inner sense. (Hymns #784)
  – As in a team we’d never / Act independently, / But in coordination, / Each would dependent be; / Not acting by our choosing / But following the flow, / Distraction never bringing, / The Spirit’s way we’d know. (Hymns #867)
  – Prone to be misled, I know it, / By my lofty thoughts of Thee, / Easy ’tis for self to seek Thee, / Yet not touch reality, / Oh, how much I need to find Thee, / In Thy members here below. / God eternal dwells among us, / Manifest in flesh to know. (Hymns #1225)