![...Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. John 21:15 - article on Ministering Life by Shepherding others according to God (Cherishing and Nourishing)](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Jesus-said-to-Simon-Peter-Simon-son-of-John-do-you-love-Me-more-than-these.jpg?resize=800%2C450&ssl=1 "...Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. John 21:15 - article on Ministering Life by Shepherding others according to God (Cherishing and Nourishing)")
To live by faith, following in the steps of Abraham’s faith, we need to fight for the brother by interceding for them and ministering life to them; we minister life to others by shepherding others according to God, by cherishing and nourishing them.
We need to realize that we are sons of Abraham, his descendants according to faith; we are his spiritual descendants likened to the stars of heaven.
As such ones, we need to walk by faith as our father Abraham did, seeking to have the Lord’s appearing so that we may be infused with Him as our faith and walk by that faith.
Also, we need to live the life of the altar and the tent. The issue of the Lord’s appearing to us is that we erect an altar and live the life of a tent.
Our contact with God issues in our consecration, and everything we are is put on the altar. What the Lord allows to remain after the altar burns we can use in the tent.
There are many things we need for our human existence and for living the Christian life today, but all these things need to pass through the altar and be used in the tent.
We are not here on earth for our benefit or for our career; we are not here for our interest or for our family.
We were created, redeemed, regenerated, and renewed so that we may live a life for the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose, and only such a life can satisfy us.
This means that we live by faith and walk by faith.
And such a living and walking by faith is not individual; we live and walk in the Body and for the Body, together with the other members of the Body.
And when we see a brother falling in sin or being deceived by the enemy, we pray for them.
As Abraham did, we intercede for the brother and we fight for the brother who has fallen in sin. We do not accuse or condemn the saints – we pray for them, we intercede for them, and we rise up and fight for them.
Our desire is not only for us to walk by faith but also for our brothers and sisters to advance with the Lord.
He is praying for us; He always lives to intercede, for He is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
May we learn to cooperate with His heavenly ministry to fight for the brother and minister Christ to them, shepherding them according to God.
The Lord in His heavenly ministry is the High Priest interceding for us and the great Shepherd cherishing us in His humanity and nourishing us in His divinity.
And we are learning to cooperate with Him by interceding for the saints according to God and by ministering the processed God into the saints for their overcoming supply and enjoyment.
Fight for the Brother by Interceding for the Saints and Shepherding them according to God
![Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. John 12:15-17](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Then-when-they-had-eaten-breakfast-Jesus-said-to-Simon-Peter-Simon-son-of-John-do-you-love-Me-more-than-these-He-said-to.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. He said to him the third time, Simon, [son] of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep. John 12:15-17")
John 21, a chapter which seems to be an appendix to the Gospel of John, ends with the Lord’s commission to Peter to shepherd His sheep.
Peter just had a great failure: he denied the Lord three times, and now he led the brothers to go fishing, that is, he went back to his occupation after the Lord’s resurrection.
The Lord Jesus, however, did not condemn him nor did he expose his failure; He simply made the brothers breakfast and recovered Peter’s love for the Lord.
The Lord incorporated the apostolic ministry with His heavenly ministry; He is shepherding His sheep in resurrection, and now He commissioned the apostles to do the same.
The apostolic ministry in cooperation with Christ’s heavenly ministry fights for the brother by interceding for the saints according to God and His economy.
Also, we fight for the brother by ministering the processed God into the saints for their overcoming supply and enjoyment (Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-17; Acts 6:4; Rev. 1:12-13; cf. Exo. 28:9-12, 15-21, 29-30).
Like the Lord Jesus, we need to be those who shepherd others according to God.
Peter must have been so impressed with the Lord’s commission to shepherd the sheep that he charged the elders to shepherd the sheep according to God (1 Pet. 5:1-2).
To shepherd others according to God is to shepherd them according to what God is in His attributes, such as love, light, holiness, and righteousness.
How do we shepherd others? It is by cooperating with the Lord’s shepherding; He is the great Shepherd of the sheep, and He put us among the sheep under His care.
We are all learning from Him and we cooperate with His heavenly ministry to shepherd others according to God.
The way we fight for the brother is by interceding for him according to God and by shepherding him according to God.
It is not according to us that we should pray for the brother or care for him; it is according to God.
God is the interceding One; He is the shepherding One; we simply cooperate with God.
The Lord shepherds us today, even throughout the days of our life; we learn from Him to shepherd others.
When we come to the Lord, He doesn’t condemn us, criticize us, or point out our failures; He simply welcomes us, cherishes us, and makes us happy.
God wants us to enjoy Him, and He provided everything necessary for us to enjoy Him. Similarly, we shepherd others according to God by making them happy in the Lord and by ministering Christ as life and life-supply to them.
May we learn to fight for the brother by cooperating with Christ’s heavenly ministry to intercede for them and minister Christ to them.
May we learn from the Lord Jesus and shepherd others according to God so that they would be made happy in the Lord and receive the life supply to enable them to return to God and enjoy God as their portion.
To shepherd others according to God, we first need to have God on hand; we need to enjoy God, experience God, and partake of His riches so that, when we meet others, we have something to overflow to them.
We may have God in our understanding and in our theology, but do we have God as our enjoyment and experience?
We may have God in our mentality and we may call ourselves Christians, but do we live God, do we express God, and do we allow Him to live in us?
May we learn to shepherd others according to God by first interceding for them, then by enjoying Christ and learning to minister Christ to them according to their need, according to God.
Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with Your heavenly ministry to fight for the brother by interceding for the saints according to God and by ministering Christ to them! Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You to enjoy You, partake of Your riches, and experience You. Fill us with Yourself. Be our enjoyment and experience today. Keep us enjoying Your shepherding, Your cherishing and nourishing. We want to learn from You, dear Lord Jesus, to shepherd others according to God. May God be our enjoyment and experience so that we may express Him and minister Him to others for their life and life supply. Amen, Lord, fill us. Saturate us. Overflow from us. Recover those who have backslidden. Make us those who fight for the brother in oneness with You in Your heavenly ministry!
Shepherd others According to God by Cherishing and Nourishing to Minister Christ to them
It is truly the Lord’s mercy that we are still here in the church life, enjoying Christ with the saints, and seeking the Lord with those who love Him.
It is nothing of ourselves, our seeking, or our zeal; it is all of the Lord.
Therefore, we have nothing to boast about; rather, we depend on God’s mercy and we remain under His constant shepherding.
When we see a brother that is backslidden, a brother that does not meet anymore and does not enjoy the Lord and has no desire to meet with the saints, we can intercede for them and bring them before the Lord.
Actually, it is the Lord who intercedes for this one, and we join in His intercession.
Then, the Lord within us may want us to visit this one.
![And as He was reclining [at table] in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and reclined together with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw [it,] they said to His disciples, Why does your Teacher eat with the tax collectors and sinners? Now when He heard [this,] He said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill. Matt. 9:10-12](https://i0.wp.com/www.agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/And-as-He-was-reclining-at-table-in-the-house-behold-many-tax-collectors-and-sinners-came-and-reclined-together-with-Jesus.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And as He was reclining [at table] in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and reclined together with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw [it,] they said to His disciples, Why does your Teacher eat with the tax collectors and sinners? Now when He heard [this,] He said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill. Matt. 9:10-12")
When we visit others, we need to learn to cover their sins and not take account of their evils; we do not go to “shine a light” on what they have done but rather, we go to be with them and learn to shepherd them.
The elders need to realize that in their shepherding they have to cover others’ sins and not take account of their evils.
If someone uncovers the defects, shortcomings, and sins of the ones under their care, they are not qualified to shepherd them.
Actually, if we love only the “good ones” in the church life and do not focus our attention on the seemingly “bad ones”, eventually we may have nothing to do, for there are very few good ones, and many of the new ones or saints may seem to be “bad ones”.
May we be saved from classifying the saints and the new ones; may we realize that the Lord Jesus came as a Physician for the sick ones, and those healthy have no need of Him but all of us, the sick ones, need Him desperately (Matt. 9:13; John 8:7-11; Matt. 27:38; Luke 23:42-43; 15:1; Matt. 9:10; 19:13-15).
When He was on earth, the Lord Jesus seemed to hang out with “the bad ones”, the tax collectors and the sinners, while “the good ones”, the Pharisees and Jewish religionists, did not like the Lord nor did they remain with Him.
May we follow the footsteps of the processed Triune God in seeking and gaining the fallen people (Luke 15:2-10, 17-18, 20).
For example, when we visit others, we need to first make ourselves happy in the Lord, having His presence and enjoying Him in a fresh way.
When we have the Lord’s presence, our very being with the ones we visit is a charming factor, for the Lord’s presence is with us.
For us to have the Lord’s presence when we visit others, we need to be crucified persons in resurrection.
If we go through death and resurrection, the presence of the Triune God goes with us wherever we go, and people will be attracted to the Lord.
How do we shepherd people? Shepherding has two main components: first, we need to cherish others, and then we need to nourish them.
First, we need to cherish people, that is, make them happy, make them feel pleasant, and help them be comfortable.
This means that we don’t talk about their failures or backsliding; rather, we cherish others in the humanity of Jesus as the Son of Man.
We must have a pleasant countenance when we contact people, not a cheerless countenance (Psa. 42:5, 11); the shining of His face, the salvation of His face, makes us happy.
Before we visit others, we need to spend adequate time with the Lord to just enjoy Him, so that He may shine forth through us.
We should not just go to “hang out” with others; we should first enjoy Christ, be filled with Christ, and partake of the riches of Christ.
Then, when we meet others, the Lord’s presence will be with us, and His presence is the cherishing and charming factor which makes others happy and comfortable.
When others are happy and comfortable, we can feed them with the all-inclusive Christ in His full ministry of three stages – incarnation, inclusion, and intensification (John 1:14; 1 Cor. 15:45; Rev. 4:5; 5:6).
In order to nourish people with Christ, first have to seek Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ, and participate in Christ (Phil. 3:8-14).
If we enjoy Christ and gain Christ before we visit others, we will have Him on hand, and we can minister Him.
We should not just recite verses to others; rather, we need to “cook” the all-inclusive Christ and give them something of what we prepared.
Our all-inclusive Christ is so rich, extensive, and vast, and we can enjoy Him, partake of Him, and experience Him; then, when we meet others, we can minister something of Christ.
What a rich Christ we have! What a wonderful, all-inclusive Christ we have as our portion for our enjoyment and for the enjoyment of all the saints!
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your mercy toward us. Thank You for bringing us and keeping us in the church life. Thank You for constantly infusing Yourself into us as our faith. We are grateful to You, dear Lord, for shepherding us. Make us those who learn to shepherd others according to God by cherishing them and nourishing them. Amen, Lord, we come to You to enjoy You, partake of You, and be filled with You. Make us happy in You and cause our countenance to be so happy when we meet others. May Your presence go with us. Make us those who shepherd others according to God by cherishing them in Your humanity and nourishing them with Your divinity. Amen, Lord, grant us Your heart for man. May we love and care for all men, no matter whether they are weak or backsliding. Make us persons on the cross and in resurrection to have Your cherishing presence as we visit others.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, The Vital Groups, chs. 6-8, 10-11 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, God’s Economy in Faith (2022 spring ITERO), week 8, entitled, Walking in the Steps of that Faith of Our Father Abraham.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Jesus, Great Shepherd of the Church, / How faithful is Your care— / Inclusive, gentle, rich, and strong, / Both present and fore’er. / Grant us a shepherd’s heart, like Yours, / With tenderest concern; / To feed Your sheep, to nurse Your lambs, / Of You we all will learn. / May we be carers of men’s souls, / With You, Chief Shepherd dear; / A crown of glory we’ll receive, / The hour when You appear. (Song on, The Shepherd of Our Souls)
– O Lord, do cherish us, as on Thyself we feed; / Warm us so tenderly and meet our every need. / Our hardness soften, Lord, till we are Yours indeed; / Oh, cherish us, dear Lord, we pray. / O Lord, do cherish us today, / Until our coldness flees away. / Oh, hold us close to Thee / And cherish tenderly; / O Lord, do cherish us today. (Hymns #1135)
– Brought us right out of the fold / Into His pasture so plenteous, / Into His riches untold. / Glorious church life, / Feasting from such a rich store! / Here where we’re dwelling in oneness / God commands life evermore. (Hymns #1221)
About aGodMan
The first way of the members of the vital group to contact people is by cherishing them. Because we live by our natural life, our visitation is fruitless. To cherish people is to make them happy, to comfort them, to make them feel that you are pleasant to them, easy to be contacted in everything and in every way. Our contact with people must be so genuine. Genuineness can be produced only by the cross plus resurrection. Only a crossed-out, resurrected person can be genuine in everything. In Ephesians 5 Paul speaks about Christ’s care for the church by these two things: cherishing and nourishing (v. 29). Cherishing without nourishing is in vain… After cherishing [a naughty] child, the mother nourishes him with food. This is the way that Christ as the Head takes care of His Body, the church. He nourishes us after cherishing us. Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1994-1997, vol. 5, “The Vital Groups,” pp. 145-146
The Lord in His heavenly ministry is shepherding us by cherishing us as the Son of Man to make us happy, and He is nourishing us as the Son of God to minister life to us.
As we live by faith, we need to cooperate with His heavenly ministry to cherish and nourish others, not blaming of criticising them, so that we may minister Christ to them and recover them from any backsliding.
Dear brother, shepherding includes both cherishing and nourishing.
First we need to make people feel happy and comfortable, then we need to nourish them, feeding them with the cooked Christ.
In order to nourish people with Christ, we first have to seek Christ, experience Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ, and participate in Christ.
We need to become great cooks, living cooks of Christ so that as we cook, we eat Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ and participate in Christ.
This produces a pleasant countenance in us that causes others to be attracted to the Christ in us.
This would enable us to nourish and cherish the saints rather than exposing their sins.
Like the Lord Jesus as the all inclusive Shepherd, may we be produced as shepherds through death and resurrection.
May we be those who seek Christ, experience Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ, and participate in Him.
May we minister God’s presence to people, cherishing and nourishing them for the producing, constitution, and building up of the church as the flock of God.
brother, the responsibility of the elders is to shepherd the saints – especially the young ones, the weak ones, the backsliding ones – according to God .
This means we need to be those who live God with His attributes of love, light, holiness and righteousness as crucified and resurrected persons.
Then when we visit and contact the saints we will cherish and nourish the saints with God’s presence and Christ as the charming factor.
We will cover their defects, shortcomings and sins and supply them with overcoming life.
Amen Lord cause to be the vital group which contacts people firstly by cherishing them. Go e us the burden to be such ones. We love you Lors and want to feed your lambs and your sheep.
amen Brother may be those who are Shepherd others by first cherishing them and then nourishing them with Christ
O Lord fill us saturate us overflow from us
Amen ! Cherishing is spending adequate time ! What a vision ! To cherish is to give your whole self to other. A father spends adequate time with his little daughter – loving – hugging- playing.
When we give our whole being to the Lord , the lord shepherds us according to His experience in us, this enables us to cherish the brothers ! And adequately nourish in Christ.
Oh may we continually open up to Him and keep enjoying him that we may grow in his word ! To become infused with Christ that we too may give ourselves fully unto Him and enable Him to sherperd others through us.!
Amen. Thank You Lord for taking care of us, cherishing and nourishing us with the rich supply of the resurrection life so that we could have something for our experience and enjoyment that t we would be able to take care of others too. Thank You for taking us to the cross and in resurrection. Praise the Lord for the newness of life and the freshness of the Spirit the realm of Christ shepherding. Amen.
not condemning others but make them happy in the Lord.
I’m not just hanging out with people but being happy of the Lord and make people I meet happy attracted to the Lord