HOW TO FEED GOD’S SHEEP
As pastors and church leaders God expects us to know His Bible. It teaches us how to know Him better and grow spiritually. It shows us how He wants us to lead our people. It is very important for us to nourish our spirit.
The Bible is our tool. Men who work have tools. Farmers have tools, doctors have tools, carpenters have tools. The better a man can use his tools the better he can do his work. The better we know God’s Word, the better we can pastor. We learn the Bible to feed our spirit and we use it to feed our people
One of the most important things a shepherd does is to make sure the sheep have good food and water. If they don’t have these what happens to the sheep? They need to be fed to produce wool and more sheep. Making sure they are fed is a very important part of a shepherd’s job.
Are your people growing and reproducing other sheep? Are they spiritually healthy? God expects us to feed his sheep.
Jesus told Peter something 3 times while they talked after His resurrection; what did He tell Peter? “Feed my sheep.” Three times He said this because it was that important. If we want to hear God say “Well done good and faithful servant” we must feed His sheep.
Feeding the sheep means to teach them God’s Word. Some pastors are so busy during the week they don’t take time to prepare a sermon. They get up on Sunday and read a few Bible verses, then they close their Bible and talk to the people. They tell the people the same thing they have already told them before. The people only hear their words, not words from the Bible. Is that feeding the sheep?
Do you have a wife who is a good cook? Does she make food you like to eat? What if you came home hungry and wanted to eat, but she didn’t make any food? What if she tells you she has been busy and didn’t have time to make food? But here is some old food from yesterday, you can eat it. Then the next meal she does the same thing, and the meal after that. Would you like that? Why not? That’s not a good way to feed you, is it?
Is that the way you feed your people? You give them the same old thing without preparing something new? They won’t like that anymore than you do, and they won’t grow. You need to feed them like you want your wife to feed you.
Your wife plans ahead what she is going to make for you. She puts in a lot of work so it is fresh and nourishing. She makes it so it tastes good and gives you good health. That’s what you need to do when you feed your people.
When Paul preached, he would take a passage of scripture and explain it to the people. Then he would apply it to their needs. Ezra did the same thing.
You need to start early in the week to prepare your sermon. Pick a book you would like to teach the people and start studying it. Read the first verse and think about it. Pray and ask God to help you understand what it means. You can look up references in your Bible or use a commentary. Write down what He is teaching you. Then pray and ask God to show you how this applies to your life. Write that down as well. When you are done with one verse go on to the next verse and do the same thing
Then when Sunday comes you use your notes to teach the people what the first verse means. You tell them how it applies to them. You can use stories or examples from the Bible or life to explain it. Then you do the same with the next verse. Don’t do too many verses in a sermon. It is better to do a few verses well than try to do too many. The next Sunday you do the same thing with the next verses. In this way they will be learning God’s Word. You will be teaching God’s words, not just your words. The people will learn new things, not just the same thing over and over. It will give them something to think about and practice during the week. They will grow spiritually. When you do this you will be feeding your people. They will grow and become more like Jesus
1 Peter 2:2-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
John 21:17 Jesus said Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.”
Are the people you lead growing in their knowledge of the Bible? Are you feeding their spiritual needs? Are you a good steward of God’s Word or do you neglect it and not spend as much time learning it as you should?
(For a free copy of this book go to Https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/india/ and click on “Download Books.” To listen to an audio recording, watch a video recording or read the manuscript of the session click on “Conference Sessions.”) Our India web site has many examples of sermons as well (https://www.christiantrainingonline.org/our-ministries/india/sermons/). If you do any preaching or teaching, perhaps they can be of help to you.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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