Give Food to Everyone

“Therefore thus says the Lord God to them: ‘Behold, I My­self will judge between the fat and the lean sheep. Because you have pushed with side and shoulder, butted all the weak ones with your horns, and scattered them abroad, therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.’” Ezek. 34:20-22. God is angry with those who do not value people who, humanly speaking, appear to be lean and weak sheep. Therefore, in his ministry a shepherd must do what is the very best for each individual and lead them as far along the way as possible. This is part of God’s love for His creation. Never disdain or despise the lowly or weak; otherwise you, as a shepherd, will be at odds with the Chief Shepherd, and you will experience the zeal God has against those who commit injustice.

A shepherd must lead his sheep to good pastures. There are also bad pastures with polluted grass—for example, un­clean conversation, backbiting, meddling in other people’s business, etc. Meddling in other people’s business is one of the main sources of unrest in the church. Then come words that defile. The shepherd sees dangers and leads the sheep away from them. He draws them in another direction through the nourishment he gives.

Therefore, it is absolutely essential that you have nourishment to give. The sheep need a wide variety of food; they cannot have strong, concentrated food all the time. You can speak from the same Word of God over and over so that it becomes nothing more than background noise. It is not so easy for the sheep to gather around a shepherd who several times a week says the same thing again and again without being renewed. For example, a person can constantly use the expression “the death of Christ,” and it can just be-come words. Perhaps the sheep need something quite different—for example, words about a living hope so that they long for it and, as a result, they enter into the death of Christ. It is a good idea to invite other brothers now and then who may say things in a little different way. That can be good for the sheep in your home church. Abundant food and a good variety of nourishment has a good effect. There are countless ways to reveal Christ manifested in the flesh, and love makes a person creative and inventive.

“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezek. 22:30. Prayer is extremely important in a shepherd’s work, and prayer gives power to the Word. Prayer is a hedge and protec­tion that encircles the pastures so that the sheep don’t end up on the outside. Some people’s attitude is that whatever hap­pens will happen. That is completely wrong. We must not sur­render things to God’s providence or to destiny in the sense that we just lean back and deny all responsibility with an indif­ferent attitude about what is happening. We must be God’s co-workers, and the prayers of the saints cause God’s hands to move throughout the entire earth. He is the Almighty God. A person lacks love if he doesn’t pray for people when they are in need. Our prayers will give them life. “If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.” 1 John 5:16. You can never accuse someone whom you are praying for. Prayer totally excludes the spirit of accusation and the destructive ministry of the schoolmasters.