We need to shepherd the flock of God by being patterns of the flock, that is, by following the pattern of those who are before us and by being a pattern to others in our living.
The apostle Paul, as a pattern to all the believers the members of the Body of Christ, lived Christ for His magnification as His continuation (see 1 Pet. 5:3; Phil. 1:19-21a; Acts 9:4-5, 15; 26:19; 1 Tim. 1:16).
As we serve in the church, we are not there to command or tell people what to do, but to be patterns of the flock. A pattern is not about what we say but what we are and who we are. A pattern involves the matter of our daily living.
What kind of life and living do we set as a pattern before the saints?
Our shepherding others is not merely by speaking the word of God to them by even more by showing them a pattern of living Christ and enjoying Him.
If we look at the life the Lord Jesus lived and the life of the apostles, what we see is not an organised mission board or a great work but a living, a pattern. Christ preached and did great works, but more than that He lived in a certain way. His love, His compassion, His kindness, His being merciful, and the kind of person He was touched those around Him even more than words would do.
It is the same with the apostle Paul and the other apostles. They didn’t organise missions and evangelical outreach, but they were glad to bring people not only the gospel but even their own soul, their being, themselves.
Paul reminded the believers he visited of the way that he was among them, the kind of living that he had. The ones that Paul visited were not just new converts but they were in his heart.
The world has not yet seen a group of God-men who don’t just preach the gospel but live a God-man life for others to feed on and follow as a pattern.
Paul presented a pattern to the saints so that they may imitate him, even as he imitated Christ. Parents know that the children will listen more to the way they live, their life and living, than to the words that they speak to them. How we live sounds much louder than what we speak.
The Lord’s recovery has been a history of patterning. Brother Watchman Nee was a pattern, and brother Witness Lee learned from him and even copied him. Brother Lee even did his best to speak just like brother Nee, for he was not ashamed of his pattern.
This may sound strange in today’s world, where even in Christianity people want to do a great work and do not follow others. Where today can you see two Christian workers following and copying one another, being patterns to others, and seeking to build up the church as the Body of Christ?
We can say that in the church life in the Lord’s recovery we are where we are to a great degree because of the pattern set before us by our brothers Watchman Nee and Witness Lee.
Today the saints in the churches need to see a pattern, they need to see many who live Christ, enjoy Christ, and are one with Christ in their practical daily living.
We all need to learn to imitate Paul who was an imitator of Christ, and we need to be a pattern to others in our daily living, until what others see in us and among us is not our culture, our background, or our nationality, but Christ living in us.
Today we want to start looking at the pattern of the apostle Paul as seen in the book of Acts and in his epistles; we need to see a pattern of living Christ, and we need to become a pattern to others for their shepherding.
Being a Disciple of Christ – Seeing Christ, Hearing Christ, and Learning Christ
The apostle Paul was a disciple of Christ; he saw Christ, heard Christ, and learned Christ as the reality is in Jesus (see Acts 9:1-19, 25-27; 22:14-15; Eph. 4:20-21).
Paul didn’t just see some kind of a vision or a miracle – he saw Christ. On the way to Damascus, the Lord as a wonderful person – the great corporate “Me” (Christ the Head with Christ the Body) appeared to him, and Paul heard Him and learned Him.
We need to not merely hear about Christ but hear Christ by having His appearing; when we have the Lord’s appearing and live in His presence, He becomes our mold for us to learn Christ.
Christ is the mold which we learn for us to be shaped into His image and likeness.
We need to learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus. As we spend time with the Lord and open to Him, we hear Him, we see Him, and we learn Him as the reality is in Jesus.
May we no longer rely on teachings or outward things such as practices, but may we come back to Christ to spend time with Him and hear Him, see Him, and learn Him!
Lord Jesus, we want to see Christ, hear Christ, and learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus! We want to not merely learn about You or read about You but see You and hear You! Amen, Lord Jesus, may we be Your true disciples who have an ear to hear You and whose eyes are anointed and open to see You, so that we may learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus!
Being a Chosen Vessel of Christ to Contain Him, be Filled with Him, and Overflow with Him for His Fullness
Paul was a chosen vessel of Christ to contain Him, be filled with Him, and overflow with Him for His fulness (see Acts 9:15; 2 Cor. 4:7; Eph. 1:22-23; 3:19).
At his conversion the Lord sent a little disciple to him and told him, Go, for this is a chosen vessel to me. Paul was not merely an instrument in God’s hand or a great man of God, but a vessel to contain God and be filled with God.
We need to realize that we are not merely an instrument for God to use but a vessel to be filled with God and contain God. We need to become patterns to others for their shepherding by opening to the Lord as vessels for Him to come in and fill us.
We need to stop being “busy for the Lord” by doing things for Him and simply enjoy Him by opening our vessel to be filled with Him.
God made us as His vessels for us to be filled with Him and contain Him; the result of enjoying God and being filled with God is that we overflow with Him to others, and this is our shepherding.
We are a vessel containing a treasure of great value, which is Christ Himself; we simply need to let Him fill us and shine through us.
Thank You Lord for choosing us to be Your vessels to contain You, be filled with You, and overflow with You for Your fulness. Amen, Lord, fill us today! We want to be filled with the Triune God until we overflow with God for His fulness! May we daily seek to open our vessel to You, Lord, to let You flow in and fill us so that You may flow out and be expressed in us!
Being Men of Prayer
Paul was a man of prayer; from the time of his conversion and throughout his life and work, he prayed much and he prayed again and again (see Acts 9:11; 13:1-3; 14:23; 16:13, 25; 20:36; 21:5; 22:17; 28:8; Eph. 6:18; Col. 4:2).
After the Lord appeared to him on the way to Damascus and he was blinded, Paul prayed for three days until Ananias came to him to anoint him.
Throughout his life Paul prayed not formally or as an activity but as a man of prayer. When he was in Antioch he prayed, when he was about to depart at the harbor he prayed, and even when he was in prison he prayed.
Above all, we need to be men of prayer; prayer shouldn’t be an activity we do or a formality we take care of at appointed times – prayer should be our daily living. When we wake up in the morning, we need to pray; when we go to bed, we need to pray.
All throughout the day, as we shower, prepare breakfast, eat, travel, work, rest, do chores, etc – in all things we need to pray.
We need to pray and thank the Lord for everything. We shepherd others by being a pattern to them in the way we live as a man of prayer.
Lord Jesus, make us men of prayer. May prayer be not just an activity to us but our life and our living. Save us from having prayer as a formality. Make us men of prayer, those who pray unceasingly. May prayer be as often as our breathing. Keep us opening to You concerning all the aspects of our daily life and concerning all the saints.
Depending on the Body and Doing everything in, through, and for the Body of Christ
The apostle Paul depended on the Body, doing everything in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body (Acts 9:11-12, 17-18, 25-27; 1 Cor. 1:1; 12:14-27).
From his conversion the Lord brought him into the reality of the Body by sending a little member of His Body, Ananias, to anoint him. Paul began to see and learn the importance of depending on other members of the Body.
He needed the anointing from this little member to roll away the scales from his eyes and he needed the help of the brothers to lower him in a basket through the wall when he was being persecuted.
Even when he wrote his epistles to the churches, Paul mentioned some other brothers with him; these other brothers may not have written the epistle, but Paul was in the Body and he spoke to the churches in the principle of the Body.
We need to see the Body, depend on the Body, do everything in the Body, and do everything through and for the Body. We need to realize that we need the help of the Body not just spiritually but even humanly, even in our daily life.
We need to depend on the other members of the Body and do everything in the principle of the Body.
Lord, grant us to see the Body and depend on the other members of the Body of Christ. May everything we do be in the Body, through the Body, and for the Body. Oh Lord, increase our dependence on the Body. May we know You as the Body. May we see You in all the members. May we appreciate the portion of each member in the Body.
Practicing to call on the Name of the Lord Jesus
Before his conversion, Paul went to Damascus to bind all those who call on the name of the Lord, but after his conversion, Paul practiced calling on the name of the Lord (see Acts 9:14, 21; 22:16; 2 Tim. 2:22; Rom. 10:12-13; Phil. 2:9-11).
From the greatest opposer he became the biggest caller on the name of the Lord!
We are a pattern to others by calling on the name of the Lord at every time and in every place.
Calling on the name of the Lord shouldn’t be a practice we do when we’re in the meeting; we should call on the Lord much more in our personal time with Him and all throughout the day.
Our God is rich to all who call on His name, and when we call on the name of the Lord, we are saved.
We need to live a life of calling on the name of the Lord, calling on Him everywhere and at every time.
Amen, Lord Jesus, we love to call on Your name! We are Your callers, Your lovers, Your disciples. We want to call on Your name in every place and at any time. Lord, we want to live a life of calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. Oh, what a life-giving name! Jesus – strengthening name! Oh Lord Jesus – name victorious and all-glorious!
Shepherding others by Being a Pattern of Serving the Lord as Slaves and Declaring His Word
The elders in a local church should serve the Lord not just as servants but as slaves; they are the Lord’s slaves, and they have no right or liberty to do what they want to do.
We all are the Lord’s slaves, serving Him with all our heart. Paul was a pattern of serving the Lord by serving all the saints as a slave with all humility and tears and trials (Acts 20:19-20).
We need to serve the Lord as a slave, and we need to gird ourselves with humility, being ready to shed tears and bear trials.
The saints are the Lord’s family, and the Lord wants us to serve Him as slaves by serving the saints.
We should therefore brand ourselves with humility and not be proud of anything; everything that is glorious should go to our Master, and we should be humble. To be humble and even to be humbled are not a happy thing but a thing of tears; this is not something easy.
Furthermore, we shouldn’t shrink from our duty of declaring all the things that are profitable to the saints. We shouldn’t merely tell others about the Lord but declare every bit of God’s interests that He has toward His people.
The way to shepherd the saints is not merely by teaching them in the meetings but by taking a personal interest in them and visiting them in their home. We need to visit the saints, be with them where they are, and declare the word of God to them.
Paul set up a pattern of teaching the saints publicly and from house to house; our church life needs to be a house-to-house church life in which we visit one another and speak the word of God to one another according to the need.
Lord Jesus, we want to learn to shepherd the saints by being a pattern of serving the Lord as slaves and declaring His word to His people. Grant us to be girded and even branded with humility in all our service toward You in the church. Lord, put the saints and all the homes on our heart, and be the One in us who goes to visit the saints in their homes. Oh Lord, may we have a house-to-house church life in which we learn to shepherd one another. May we be faithful to both visit the saints, serve them as slaves, and declare all of God’s interest to them.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by James Lee for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1989, vol. 4, “Talks concerning the Church Services,” ch. 2, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Propagating the Resurrected, Ascended, and All-inclusive Christ as the Development of the Kingdom of God (2018 fall ITERO), week 4, Shepherding the Flock of God according to God by Being Patterns of the Flock.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Lord Jesus Christ, we seek Thy face; / Within the veil we bow the knee; / Oh, let Thy glory fill the place, / And bless us while we wait on Thee. (Hymns #773)
# In God’s house and in Thy Body / Builded up I long to be, / That within this corporate vessel / All shall then Thy glory see. (Hymns #840)
# Be Thou supreme, O Jesus Christ, / My soul exults in Thee; / To be Thy slave, to do Thy will, / Is my felicity. (Hymns #367)
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