Programme: United Kingdom Easter Retreat 2024 (Day 3 Morning)
Date: Sunday, 31st March, 2024
One of the things the Lord said to me while I was coming here was that He is pleased with our assembly, which is like an assembly of 'Davids'. This is because generations have come and gone without concern for His building, but He sees a generation that is solely concerned about being a resting place for God. This pleases the heart of God. People can be given to their career and families without the desire of building a house for God – His tabernacle in the hearts of men.
If we can be subject to God's leading, everything we need about life is present in it. Without God's leading in any area and at any height, things become intangible. This is the shepherding and bishopric nature of the Lord— to lead us as a flock. As such, one of the things that would be done to one at entrance into the faith is to bring such into a flock. If a man does not like 'flocking', he would miss out on a lot of things that God has to give. Many times, the Lord deals with several things in our lives just to bring us into a flock.
Psalm 68:6
”God setteth the solitary in families: He bringeth out those which are bound with chains: But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.“
Whenever a man likes to be alone in his personal space, he would be dwelling in a dry land. One of the ways of bringing a man into a life of fruitfulness in the spirit is to bring such a man into a flock that he must love. We do not choose our fold; rather, the Lord gathers various manners of people together for the purpose of shepherding them. There are different levels in shepherding. This means there are certain times when God cannot shepherd a man directly because such a one cannot receive His instructions or find the pasture provided. We sometimes, in the light of how we are receiving instructions, have questions about how our parents in the faith are able to subject themselves to dealings and instructions of the Lord.
Song of Solomon 1:8
“If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents.”
This scripture refers to people who have gone through a process and have become fair; certain things that can give praise to the Lord have been done in them. To become like these people, we are to follow the footsteps of the flock. One does not start from being a shepherd but by following the established flock. The times when we struggle to understand, we are to keep following meetings, our pastors, and other believers whom we have met on the path of the word of righteousness. We are to look at their instructions and try to do them.
Sometimes, following the instructions of other believers in this path can help one to come out of so many things. We need to follow all the examples God has set before us. This can be achieved by following the practical examples of how men (pastors and other believers alike) are following instructions of the Lord, until one can receive those instructions directly. Following the footsteps of the flock is the first step to shepherding.
John 21:15-17
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. [16] He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. [17] He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
There are different cadres of flock in the church. There is food for the lamb, just as there is the food for the goat kid. This means there are different levels of feeding; the goat kid, the lamb and the sheep. However, we must be able to graduate from one level of pasture to the other. This is only achievable through the instructions we obey. For each pasture, there is an instruction to follow which when obeyed, would graduate one to the next stage of feeding.
Satan attacks believers because he does not want us to feed on pastures that God has provided. This is because he is aware that our victory and deliverance out of his hand is only possible in our feeding. It is by feeding that we break away from habits and natures that hold us down.
Malachi 4:2-3
“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. [3] And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.”
As we feed on pastures that the Lord is bringing, we are able to tread wickedness, wrong natures and other infirmities that hold us down. Feeding is not just hearing, it is a complete cycle of hearing and doing what the Lord brings. As we hear and do, we see the change that takes place without us even realising it.
Isaiah 10:27 shows us that the yoke is broken by the anointing. The anointing is the fatness present in the calves. When the younger calves are used to plough a field, the yoke is placed on their necks giving them no option but to keep ploughing. This is also how Satan has put his yoke on the necks of believers, and this makes it seemingly difficult to break free from. These calves break away from the yoke when their necks expand by reason of growth. This growth makes them impossible to be used by the farmer to plough the field. As such, when we want to break away from corruption and things that make us fade away, we must keep feeding.
There is no price that is too much to pay for feeding. Some may have the excuse of not having enough money for a meeting as this, but would not hesitate to pay much more for a career building training. God is beginning to change our mindsets for us to see and know that there is no price that is too much to pay for our feeding, because our deliverance lies therein. We are encouraged to keep feeding. We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves (Heb. 10:25) or allow anything to stop us from feeding. This is because Satan knows how to bring offence into the midst of the flock in order to stop the process of feeding.
Prior to now, pastoring may have been done from a distance, but we are meant to flock together in this dispensation. As a result, Satan may bring things against us. But our test of love is in loving one another, even after being exposed to uncomely things about the other person. One of the indices to know if we are doing well is in our ability to love one another after seeing each other's weaknesses and strengths. Satan magnifies the weakness of leaders and breeds offence in our hearts, but we have to fight to feed.
1 John 4:20
“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
God will bring us to a place where we can see the weaknesses of others, yet love and appreciate the good works that God is doing in such a soul.
2 Corinthians 5:16
“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”
This is one of the armouries we should have in this company, otherwise we would be offended when we relate with people after the flesh, and as such, miss the way. We should appreciate the work that the Lord has done in our brethren, relating with them from such a standpoint of strength. Jesus, seeing that Peter would deny Him, still called him rock. We must apply this same attitude in relating with our brethren who would also become God's temple.
In relating with our natural siblings, we are exposed to their strengths and weaknesses, yet we never decide to stop being a member of that family as a result. In the same vein, we should not have misunderstandings with our brethren and choose to walk away knowing that is Satan. Satan would raise people to counsel one person against another, with the mind of stopping such a one from hearing or being built, because building is tied to hearing. We can only fight the devil when we continue to eat pastures (in the place of hearing and doing). We must continue to eat and encourage ourselves to do so because therein lies our victory. We should not be discouraged from eating.
One of the signs of the last times is that people will be unthankful (2 Tim. 3:2). People complain a lot about everything around them, but we must not allow such a nature to be formed in us. We should be thankful irrespective of the provisions and benefits that are present in a country that has certain social amenities. We must develop a counter-nature of thanksgiving to deal with unthankfulness. A believer must not have the nature of an unthankful person; rather, we must be full of thanksgiving. By doing so, one is walking contrary to the spirit that always makes one complain. Thanksgiving is apostolic; letters to the churches in the epistles reflect this always. We must arm ourselves with such a nature.
One of the ways of fighting depression is thanksgiving. Depression and suicide are prevalent in certain places because people are not grateful to God. When we wake up everyday, we should thank God for giving us the privilege to learn and become like Him. We should give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18). We should even give thanks for things that God has not done. We should acknowledge every little change we see and give thanks to the Lord.
Blessings!