OPEN HEAVENS DAILY DEVOTIONAL
DATE: FRIDAY 22nd JUNE 2018
THEME: A Shepherd Or A Hunter
HYMN 12: TAKE MY LIFE, AND LET IT BE
- Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
Let them flow in endless praise,
Let them flow in endless praise. - Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee,
Swift and beautiful for Thee. - Take my voice and let me sing,
Always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee,
Filled with messages from Thee. - Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose,
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose. - Take my will and make it Thine,
It shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own,
It shall be Thy royal throne,
It shall be Thy royal throne. - Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee,
Ever, only, all for Thee.
Memorise
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 1 Peter 5:4
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5:1-4
- To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed:
2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve;
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
Message
It is disheartening to note that many hunters have crept into the Body of Christ, disguising themselves as shepherds. How do we distinguish a hunter from a shepherd? A hunter is an opportunist who feeds on the flesh of animals he did not rear. He kills his game indiscriminately without consideration for the well-being of the animals he kills.
A Shepherd, on the other hand, knows even the smallest details about the state of his or her flock. His disposition to the flock is captured beautifully in Psalms 23. Psalms 23:1-3 says,
“The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
All this occupying the office of Shepherd in the Body of Christ are instructed on God’s expectation of them in today’s Bible reading. They are expected to feed the flock of God and watch over them without any constraints or covetousness.
Unlike a hunter that goes after a kill, the shepherd must nurture, preserve and ensure the safety of the sheep. He pampers the lambs and leads the sheep towards green pastures. The shepherd defends the flock against the external aggression of wolves and other carnivores. Jesus Christ is our perfect example of a shepherd. In John 10:11, He said
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
God expects us to be good shepherds just as our Lord Jesus Christ is. In the Body of Christ today, it is unfortunate that we have unsuspecting sheep who are being led by hunters instead of shepherds. Paul wrote concerning them in Philippians 3:18-19 saying:
“For many walks, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.”
Beloved, you need to identify the shepherds and the hunters in the Body of Christ and ensure you are not being led by a hunter. Any pastor whose primary concern is what he or she can get out of you and not how you would be nurtured and built up in Christ is a hunter. I pray that God will open your eyes of understanding and enable you to discern if you are under a hunter or a shepherd
Prayer Point: Father, please rid your Church of hunters disguising in the coat of shepherds in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Kings 24-25, Acts 15:12-35
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE