John 21:16 - 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.
Feeding His Sheep
Now
that February is upon us, chances are good that resolutions set a few weeks ago
got left in the polar vortex. It's funny how those things seem so
important on January 2 are all but forgotten come January. My theory is
that we focus so intently on what's wrong that we lose sight of the benefits of
what's right about our plans to make changes.
Even
when we train pets, we focus on positive rewards rather than punishing the
negative behavior. Oh, there's a time for correction, but to get
consistency in behavior, every descent trainer will tell you to use rewards,
not punishment. But, when we set out to lose weight or break a habit in
our own lives, as soon as we come us short, we punish ourselves. We start
that inner conversation about how we'll never get there or never stop doing
'that'. We feed the wrong and not the right.
When
Jesus was talking to Peter about how he could show his love for the Master,
Jesus told him to 'Feed my sheep.' Beloved, we can get so caught up in
the outside work that we can lose sight that WE are also His sheep and need to
be fed too.
There's
a simple principle about survival; what's fed lives. When we come to
Christ and focus our discipleship efforts on fixing what's wrong, we're
actually feeding the wrong. I offer this challenge to feed the Spirit and
not the carnal man. When we hone in on the goodness of Christ, on the
privilege and benefit of following Him and walking in obedience, the empty
rewards and hollowness of that 'stuff' we do that's against God will show up in
such amazing contrast that, in time, we won't even be able to tolerate it, let
alone entertain it.
Jesus
showed us an example of this in the parable about the tares and the wheat.
When the enemy sowed tares in the good crop of wheat, it was tempting to
spend the time and the energy pulling out the tares. But the master
farmer knew that you might destroy the wheat by doing that. He said, let
the tares grow with the wheat and when the harvest comes, we'll separate them
then.
So,
after focusing on dedication, now lets focus on growing the wheat; growing the
good things of Christ. The 'whatsoever is true, honest, just, pure,
lovely, of good report, has virtue or any praise - these are the things we
should think on, grow, feed (Philippians 4:8). Don't let the tares have
more attention than they deserve. Because, when it comes time to harvest,
they will be consumed.
Love
Him? Feed His sheep. Don't know Him? Come to Fellowship and
we'll introduce you.
Matthew 13:24-30
24 Another parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which
sowed good seed in his field:
25 But while men slept, his
enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26 But when the blade was
sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27 So the servants of the
householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy
field? from whence then hath it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy
hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and
gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest
while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather
ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather
the wheat into my barn.
Lifeline is produced from the Evangelistic Ministry of Fellowship
Church in
Jonesboro, GA. You are encouraged to share this message.
The Fellowship Church website (www.fcchosengeneration.com) includes a link to the Lifeline
Blog (www.lifelineatfellowship.blogspot.com) where you can find previous
messages.
Evangelist Robinson also posts her entries on Facebook and
Twitter. To subscribe to the mailing, or for questions and comments, tweet
(@evangeliststeff) or send an email to fellowship_lifeline@yahoo.com.
Fellowship Church
Where Passions Become Reality
Because You Are a Chosen Generation
455 Hwy 138 W. Suite C
Jonesboro, GA 30238
Between GA Hwy 85
and US 19/41
Across from EJ Swint
Elementary School
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