Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Anamnesis 2022 – Day 4 Evening Session
Date: Saturday, 10th December 2022
“And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34). One of the things we should remember about the Lord in this Anamnesis is His compassion. Jesus is the Great Shepherd and He has set our parents as shepherds over us. Compassion is neither pity nor sympathy, rather, it is an ability to discern the limitations of a person and be willing to deploy the resources that will shift such from where he is to where he should be.
We see that in Jesus any time He came across someone who was sick – He was always moved with compassion. This is because He was able to discern the person’s limitations, but He did not stop at sympathizing with them, rather, He did what was needed to move such persons from where they were to where they were meant to be.
It was compassion that moved Jesus to the cross of calvary because He saw that we were not where we ought to be. Love drove Jesus to deploy what was necessary to make us shift to where we ought to be. When He saw that the people were as sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36), He began to teach them. The people needed to be taught to move to where they were supposed to be.
Compassion is not just having pity on a person. A true shepherd should be filled with a lot of compassion. Compassion is an energy that is necessary to move people to where they are supposed to be. One of the greatest conflicts we have today in the body of Christ is the ability to discern true shepherds.
“And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jer. 3:15). Knowledge and understanding are the substances necessary to move us from where we are to where we ought to be. One of the attributes of a true shepherd is the ability to have compassion. Until someone has the ability to discern where you are and show you where you ought to be, he does not have the capacity to show you compassion. The conflict of this generation is that due to a lack of ability to discern where we are, we believe that we are where we ought to be.
The first thing a teaching should do is to show man that he has a limitation. If we do not know that we are in the wrong place, we will not know that we have missed the way. By virtue of having shepherds, we are guided to where we ought to be. We have assumed that one of our advantages is lack of speed in life or our financial misfortunes and we seek compassion from Jesus for these things. We should know that it takes the true shepherd to take us from where we are to where we ought to be. We will not arrive at where we should be if we are not able to discern and completely follow a shepherd.
“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). The rich young ruler was someone who had heard of Eternal Life. He was able to conquer the limitations of riches without the compassion of Jesus. When Jesus referred him to the commandments of Moses, he affirmed that he had done all of it in his youth; he was able to achieve a measure of success in a little time and had everything a young man should represent.
The rich young ruler is a figure of the present generation. In this generation, many attain massive success at a tender age. Being rich and young are not synonymous, as there was a time when wealth was mainly associated with the elderly. The rich young ruler achieved a lot and still had an insight into looking for Eternal Life. He was able to acknowledge Jesus as ‘Good Master’ because he must have known that Jesus is God and that it is only God that can give Eternal Life.
“Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.” (Mark 10:21). Jesus loved him and was moved to show him how to get to Eternal Life. Though we are seeking Jesus for Eternal Life, He is also checking our hearts and He knows where we are by compassion. This is why He has raised shepherds over us and He has filled their bowels with compassion. They can discern where we are and they can lead us to where we should be.
On earth, there are different dimensions in the world and this rich young man attained many of them, like influence, riches, but these things are still earthly. Thus, he knew he had to attain something that is above the earth. Until we have shepherds that know that we ought to move from the earthly realm to the heavenly realm, we would not make progress spiritually. Many shepherds shift men from earth to earth because they do not have the blueprint of moving men upward.
We need to stop being ‘O my flesh’ and become ‘O my soul’. Jesus knows that we are still flesh and it is His desire to move us out of flesh into the dimension of ‘O my soul’. A shepherd does not have capacity if he cannot move men out of being flesh. Jesus had compassion to move the heart of the rich young ruler from earthly treasures to heavenly treasures.
We must be willing to part with that which is earthly by following Jesus to gain heavenly treasures. Like the rich young ruler, we can run after Jesus and not follow Him; we can understand eternal things and yet not follow Him. We can only follow Him when our hearts are completely detached from earthly things. This is what makes a soul to be ‘O my soul’. Such a soul can follow Jesus through the waters to the throne. Until we have shepherds who can discern these things, we would think that we are where we ought to be.
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1). We are to follow our fathers in the house as they follow Jesus. Anyone who can follow those who are following Jesus is actually following Jesus.
“Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. [18] (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: [19] Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) [20] For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philipp. 3:17-20). There are examples we can follow after. The example is not in the teaching alone but in the demonstration of life. There are some shepherds who are following but are not capable of following the way that true shepherds follow. The true shepherd is a friend and a bearer of the cross. A shepherd does not teach alone but leads as an example.
There are those whose end is destruction when they follow shepherds who are not following Jesus well. They will end in destruction because of a lack of understanding of what the compassion of Jesus is. A true shepherd who knows the way minds heavenly things and not earthly things. Therefore, He can lead others to heaven. True shepherds lead with a heavenly conversation and are able to translate heavenly cultures into ways on the earth. Something must be heavenly about true shepherds. A shepherd who cannot understand heaven does not have the compassion to lead. We cannot move from flesh to where we ought to be if we cannot navigate through heavenly conversations.
“And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost: [7] So that ye were ensamples to all that believe in Macedonia and Achaia. [8] For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.” (1 Thess. 1:6-8). We will not be able to truly follow in conversation until we have received a word. This is the process through which the compassion of Jesus will become real to us. There is a word that can bring a kind of heavenly conversation that will make us heaven bound. When we follow, we will also become examples to others.
We are not treating the words that are coming to us with value because of the ease at which we receive them. We would find discernment to follow the true shepherds that the Lord has placed over us so that we can arrive at the destination which is God. We must follow through afflictions and discomfort so that we can get to the end.
Transcript Summary
1. Knowledge and understanding are the substances necessary needed to move us from where we are to where we ought to be. One of the attributes of a true shepherd is the ability to have compassion. Until someone has the ability to discern where you are and show you where you ought to be, he does not have the capacity to show you compassion. The conflict of this generation is that due to a lack of ability to discern where we are, we believe that we are where we ought to be.
2. We must be willing to part with that which is earthly by following Jesus to gain heavenly treasures. Like the rich young ruler, we can run after Jesus and not follow Him; we can understand eternal things and yet not follow Him. We can only follow Him when our hearts are completely detached from earthly things. This is what makes a soul to be ‘O my soul’. Such a soul can follow Jesus through the waters to the throne. Until we have shepherds who can discern these things, we would think that we are where we ought to be.
3. There are examples we can follow after. The example is not in the teaching alone but in the demonstration of life. There are some shepherds who are following but are not capable of following the way that true shepherds follow. The true shepherd is a friend and a bearer of the cross. A shepherd does not teach alone but leads as an example.
4. A true shepherd who knows the way minds heavenly things and not earthly things. Therefore, He can lead others to heaven. True shepherds lead with a heavenly conversation and are able to translate heavenly cultures into ways on the earth. Something must be heavenly about true shepherds. A shepherd who cannot understand heaven does not have the compassion to lead. We cannot move from the flesh to where we ought to be if we cannot navigate through heavenly conversations.
5. We will not be able to truly follow in conversation until we have received a word. This is the process through which the compassion of Jesus will become real to us. There is a word that can bring a kind of heavenly conversation that will make us heaven-bound. When we follow, we will also become examples to others.
Blessings!