Good Pasture

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear in any form. It emphasizes the importance of faith and trust in God's word. The transcription discusses the role of shepherds in guiding and teaching the church, the significance of the Word of God, and the benefits of good teaching. It encourages testing everything against the Word, seeking revelation through study and prayer, and living in obedience to God. It also emphasizes the importance of having a passionate devotion to God's Word and recognizing God's love for us. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of his word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to his perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Jeremiah 23.4 I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. They will no longer be afraid or dismayed. Neither will any be lacking, says Yahweh. A time of severe travail for the Israelites. They had not been following the Lord. They had rejected Him, betrayed Him in their hearts, and sacrificed with about as much reverence as they did to the wooden images on hills. On top of that, the leadership of the country had not helped. They were unrighteous kings that had led the people astray. Judgment was coming, and the people were going to be scattered. But Yahweh wasn't going to leave it there. He corrects us. He disciplines us. But He does not leave us. He does not abandon us. He promised that He would gather His people from where they were scattered. He would set up shepherds over them to feed them properly. As with much of scripture, it came to pass then, it came to pass later, and it still is coming to pass today. After Jesus was resurrected from the dead, He gathered His disciples in Galilee. He met them on the beach and shared a meal. Taking Peter aside, Jesus spoke to him and requested that Peter, and by extension, all the leaders of the church, feed His lambs, John 21, 15, tend His sheep, John 21, 16, and feed His sheep, John 21, 17. So feed them when they're young, tend them so that they grow up properly, and then feed them when they are full grown. To watch over all the sheep from the beginning to the ending. To disciple them, but to disciple them properly. Peter touches on this in 1 Peter 5, 1-3, when he's talking about how a leader of the church should be. Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed, shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly, not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. Shepherds are to guide their sheep. To keep them safe, to lead them to healthy food, to refreshing water, and places of rest and security. The primary way they do that is to stay attuned to the Word. Jesus asked His disciples who they said He was. Who did they think He was, and who were they willing to declare He was? Simon, son of Jonah, answered, saying, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus responded with, Blessed are you, Simon bar Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. Matthew 16, 15-19 Now Peter, or Petros in Greek, means a specific rock, a single thing, like a pebble or a handheld rock. But rock, or petra in Greek, means a mass or a bedrock, a firm and quite large foundation. So Peter was a rock, a solid thing, but on the bedrock of the truth of who Jesus was, the church would be built. Peter was a chip off the old bedrock. He would be true to his assignment, and he would stick to the teachings because he was made of the same stuff inside. Now there's the new covenant in a nutshell. Us in Jesus, and Jesus in us. Good shepherds will be word-based. They will love the Lord and seek to put Him before themselves. They will have a love of teaching, a joy in discipling their flock, helping them grow into the deeper things of the Lord. Ephesians 1, 15-23 They are out there. Sometimes it can seem that they are an endangered species, but they are not. Remember that the Lord doesn't lie. Numbers 23-19 And His word doesn't return to Him void. Isaiah 55-11 The Lord said that He would send shepherds, and shepherds He has sent. They are there. They have a heart for the word, and they are teaching it to the church. Now that puts some responsibility on us. If they have been provided, we should be sitting under them. In the modern world, we have a plethora of ways to make sure we do that. We have vehicles to get to churches further than we can walk. We have the internet to get to churches anywhere around the globe. Now they can be a standby, but they are never a replacement for going to a church in person. Now how do we know we are sitting under a good shepherd, under good teaching? Well, there is only one way. Since the good teaching will be word-based, then it can be tested by the word. And it is our responsibility to test everything that we read, see, and hear. Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you. Don't quench the Spirit. Don't despise prophecies. Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good. Abstain from every form of evil. May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 5, 16-23 We should test everything. Hold everything up to the Word to see how well it reflects. How can we do this effectively? By getting the Word into us. Jesus prayed to His Father about us in Matthew 17, 17 saying, Sanctify them in your truth. Your Word is truth. He was praying Scripture. Psalm 119, verse 142 and the idea continues through verse 144. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth. Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight. Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding that I may live. When we put the Word in us with intent, reading to learn, reading to see Jesus revealed, and reading to submit to the moral structure we find there, then it renews our spirit, our minds, and it's stored in our hearts. Romans 12, 1-2 Psalm 100, 19-11 and Ephesians 4, 22-24 The more Word we get into us, the more we are aligned with the heart and will of the Father. That is what the Word is. It is the heart and the will of the Father. John 1, 14 Jesus was the Word and the Word is Jesus. John 1, 1 and 1, 14 Jesus and the Father are one. John 10, 30 Since Jesus and the Father are one, the Word is Jesus, and Jesus could say nothing that the Father didn't give Him to say, John 12, 49 then everything in the Word is from the Father. This is who the Christ is and what the Word is. God doing everything for us so that we can be saved and restored to obedient relationship with Him if we believe and submit. It is the foundation on which everything else rests. It is important. Whoever transgresses and doesn't remain in the teaching of Christ doesn't have God. He who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and doesn't bring this teaching, don't receive him into your house and don't welcome him for he who welcomes him participates in his evil deeds. 2 John 1, 9-11 The Old Testament was the shadow of the New. Everything we needed to understand who Jesus was and why He came. Everything we need to understand that we need God because we cannot do it on our own. The Gospels are Jesus teaching that He is who was prophesied. That He was here to pay for sin. To save us. To give us a New Testament. A better covenant. A heart's Torah that deals with us not in the flesh like the Old but in and through His Spirit. The rest of the New Testament are the good shepherds teaching us and explaining to us everything that Jesus taught. Genesis introduces every major idea in the Word and Revelation sews up every major idea. It is a remarkable book that although written down by men was written by the Lord God Himself. The Word given by the Father inspired by the Holy Spirit into the minds and pens of humanity. Get it in you and it will change who you are in the best ways possible. In fact, the more that you get in your heart and dwell on what is there the more you will change your mind about the things you hear see and read. You see, it will rub against your spirit if it is not of the Lord. And it will affirm your spirit if it is of the Lord. Like echoes to like and unlike greats against unlike. Where there is light, no darkness can be. 2 Corinthians 6, 14-18 As the Lord sanctifies us we will be sanctified in Him. We won't like what we used to. We won't enjoy it. It will make us sick possibly physically. We will know that it isn't of the Lord. We will feel it. And we will not be comfortable again until it is out of our presence. I have left the room and abandoned shows other people were watching. I've stopped reading books. I've deleted music. It has nothing to do with whether it was well done creative, interesting or good by most standards. For whatever reason sometimes obvious to me and sometimes I have to seek Him about it later it just isn't for me because it isn't righteous. It isn't holy. It does not jive with the moral structure of the Lord. In the same way we can identify teaching that is not of the Lord. Now we can hear things we don't agree with. We can hear things that because of our upbringing biases or religious teaching rubs us wrong. So go to the Word. Check out the verses that were quoted or taught. Read them. Read commentary about them. Listen to commentary. A second opinion or a third opinion. And pray, pray, pray. Ask the Lord about it. Read the verse and ask for revelation. Every day until it happens if you need to. Get a notebook and write down the verses you don't understand. Write down exactly why you don't understand it. Pray and ask the Lord to show it to you. Reveal their meaning. This is what the Holy Spirit is for. John 14, 26. To teach us all things. To reveal the mysteries of Jesus. When you get revelation on it through study, hearing another teaching on it, something in your spirit that you can walk out in the Word, or something you come across, write it down in the notebook under the first entry. Try it. It'll change your life. It really will. It is an excellent way for us to test the things we hear as teaching. If it is good teaching, apply it. If it is bad teaching, reject it. Don't judge the teacher. Just don't absorb that teaching. Now if it happens again and again, find a different shepherd. Leave on good terms as led by the Holy Spirit. Don't sow bitterness or grief. Don't poison anyone else. Just go get into a better pasture. Now why is this so important? I mean beyond getting good doctrine into you, and not getting false doctrine or blasphemies into your heart. It is important because if we do not have the true Word in us, how can we hope to benefit from it? They will no longer be afraid or dismayed. Neither will any be lacking. That's what today's verse says. These are a direct benefit of good teaching. How do we combat fear? Perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 How do we get perfect love? Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love. And he who remains in love remains in God. And God remains in him. In this, love has been made perfect among us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as he is, even so are we in this world. 1 John 4.15-17 The Word develops perfect love into us. We choose whether or not to be dismayed. John 14.27 But it isn't as flippant as saying, Oh, you won't be that. Because dismay or anxiety are real things that we do feel. Don't be afraid for I am with you. Don't be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41.10 The Lord enables us to not choose dismay and anxiety because we can rely on his strength, not our own. By abiding in him we are strengthened with his righteousness. Paul tells us in Philippians 4.13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Just like Jesus said in John 15 it is him in us that accomplishes the things. Without him, we are nothing. And what was the last thing? Lack. We will not be lacking. Oh, fear Yahweh, you his saints, for there is no lack with those who fear him. The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children. Listen to me. I will teach you the fear of Yahweh. Psalm 34.9-11 Listen to him and we will be taught to revere the Lord God Almighty. If we revere him, we will be putting him first. He will be foremost in our lives. And we all know what happens when we put the Lord first. Jesus told us that if we seek him first, all the rest, all the things that are not the seeking of the Lord, will follow. Matthew 6.33 Our Father in heaven is righteous, and we need to submit to him in all humbleness and obedience. He is also a good Father and knows all that we need. Matthew 6.8 The Lord is our provider and sustainer. Philippians 4.19 Genesis 22.8 Isaiah 46.4 Good teaching illuminates the path that we are to walk. Psalm 119.105 It perfects our love, driving out fear. It sets our hearts to seek the Lord first, providing all our needs. It strengthens us so that we can confidently, in Jesus, choose not to be dismayed, troubled, or anxious. It is the building blocks of our lives. Proverbs 3.5-8 tells us to trust in Yahweh with all your heart. Don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight. Don't be wise in your own eyes. Fear Yahweh and depart from evil. It will be health to your body and nourishment to your bones. God has sent us shepherds to help us. God has given the word for us to store in our hearts. God has given the Holy Spirit to teach us, correct us, and to bring to our minds everything that the word has said to us. Use these tools that have been gifted to us. Use these guides that help us to live in Jesus effectively. Life in Jesus is abundant life, free of worry, free of fear, free of unrighteousness, because Jesus is our confidence. Jesus is the source of our faith through grace. Jesus is our righteousness. He is our all in all. Don't shirk your responsibility. Get under one of the good shepherds that God has provided and test everything they teach. Keep the good, pray about the rest, and watch as the word makes a change in you in all the best ways. Every day, making you more like Jesus, a beloved and obedient child of the living God. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Song of Songs 7, 10-12. There are many reasons we are given to each other. We're a model for the Trinity, man, woman, God. We are perfect partners, prepared and paired for success. We are a bond which is hard to break, able to assist each other. We are a powerful agreement, Matthew 18-20. I was listening to a lecture this week by Rabbi Mendel Weinbach on the passion for Torah, or God's Word. It really brought home to me that one of the reasons that God separated us into male and female is to show us what it is to have passion for His Word. We meet someone we are attracted to. We get to know them. We fall for them. We start thinking of them all the time. Everything reminds us of them. We can't get them out of our minds. We aren't happy unless we're with them. And in fact, often do not stop until we get them into our lives on a permanent basis. This attraction, devotion, pursuit, and joining together is what the Lord is referring to in Matthew 19-4-6. This is what the Song of Songs is all about. This was a shadow and a type of the passionate devotion we should have for the Word of God, for the face of God. This is seeking Him first. We seek Him in prayer. We seek Him in the Word. Those who love the Word, who is Jesus, love the Father. Psalm 5-3 says, in the morning we will call to God. First thing, we open our eyes and we're thinking of Him. We lie in bed at night, fading to sleep, and He is on our mind. We desire Him. We desire His Word. Better than riches. Better than entertainment. Better than anything. We are our Beloved. His desire is toward us. Let's go early together. Us and the Lord. Us and the Word. Devoted in our pursuit of the passion we have for Him. We are the bride of Christ. Revelation 21, 9-11. We should start acting like it. We're in love. No reason to be embarrassed. Great reason to rejoice in Him and His ways. Every day. Every chance we get. Satisfied, but never satiated. We should never be able to get enough of the Word. Enough of the Lord. Enough of Jesus. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I... Now you fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us that God has sent His only-born Son into the world that we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.