THE LAMB COMPANY

THE LAMB COMPANY

Preached by:  Pastor Carolyn Sissom

Sunday, March 17, 2013, the Year of Our Lord

Revelation 14:4

“These are they that follow the Lamb wherever he goes”

“For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (shepherd) them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

As we approach the Cross  remembering the days which led up to Gethsemane, we are to be reminded that Jesus Christ is the Passover Lamb that took away our sins on the Cross of Calvary.   Jesus Christ is the Passover Feast. 

“For over two thousand years, Jesus has been our Heavenly Shepherd and our Advocate, seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven…not only to represent the Father in His just and holy will for His people, but also to bear upon His shoulders, like the High Priest of the Old Covenant, the responsibility for his people, and to present our cause before the throne of Grace…”

“Jesus came forth from the heart of God to gather unto Himself the sheep whom God had given Him, and to take them back into the very heart of God, where there would be ONE fold and ONE Shepherd.  It seemed almost impossible…for even in that day there were sects and divisions among God’s people.  There were scribes,  Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, and Zealots.  All wanted to be heard and all called for a following, but the true sheep did not hear them.”  We might say every one wanted a platform to see and be seen.

Jesus also told the sheep whom He had gathered that He had many other sheep that did not belong to their fold…but that He would bring them also, so that there would be ONE fold and ONE Shepherd.  It was distressing to them when this actually happened, but for the present, at least, it did not seem to disturb them.  They really did not understand…it did not occur to them that one day they would mingle freely with Samaritans, Egyptians, Edomites and Greeks…in a common bond of fellowship…and that there would be no distinction between them…washed in the same blood, renewed and filled with the same Holy Spirit; and shepherded by the same Lord.

In the meantime there was but the “little flock.”  And because they were “little” they needed encouragement.  “Fear not little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom”   This promise they continued to embrace.  They were sure He was the King, and they were anxiously awaiting this wonderful Kingdom that prophets and seers had talked about, and which Jesus had assured them would be their very own.

Then one day there was sudden tragedy…the Good Shepherd was crucified and the sheep were scattered.  It was calamity to the utmost.  But it was, nevertheless, in accord with Scripture; for it was written, “Smite the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.”   Their Shepherd-King had been crucified!  With His crucifixion their fluctuation expectations vanished away.  They had yet to learn that it was in the smiting of the Shepherd that the sheep would be redeemed.  They had yet to learn that it was in the raising of the Shepherd from the dead, that the gathering of the sheep into one fold would actually be accomplished.

It took a long time, but little by little there came to them the understanding of what actually took place.  The shepherd had to die as the Lamb.  The Shepherd must rise again as the King-Shepherd.  God’s purpose was to take on still greater enlargement, which brought them into still greater perplexity.  The Shepherd must ascend into the heavenly Zion in order that He might gather in the “other sheep” that continued to wander far off from the fold.

But how would He accomplish all this from His throne in the heavens?  Surely if He were to remain in the earth it would be much better? But no!  God had a different plan.  He would send forth His Holy Spirit from the throne-room, and the Spirit of God in the earth would continue to lead the sheep into pastures of Truth, and refresh them in waters from the throne.  The work which Jesus began on earth would not be stunted, or neglected, or hampered in any way because of His departure.  Rather, it would be His departure into the heavens that would bring about in the earth a greater fulfillment of the purposes of God than might have been possible had He remained in their midst.

The Spirit of God would not be just a gracious influence from heaven, to encourage them and to inspire them in the ways of the Lord; rather, he would be the very Spirit of Truth in the earth. He would be the very same Jesus walking with them, but in Spirit form.  When Jesus was here on earth the Truth was with them in the flesh, but now He would be in them, in the Spirit.  Jesus told them plainly, that the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within them would be better for them, and more glorifying to God than if He Himself  were to remain in the earth in bodily form. 

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you” (John 16:7).  Can we grasp the significance of what Jesus said?  “I tell you the truth…” as if to impress upon our hearts the importance of what He said, so clearly, and so definitely.

I speak the Truth; it is for your benefit that I am going away; it is for your sakes…it is for your own good…it is for your profit…  You will lack nothing by reason of My departure, because the Holy Spirit abiding within you, will be to you everything that I was when I walked by your side.

When God declares Truth, let us have faith and grace to embrace it whether we see the fruits of it or not; for it is in embracing the Truth that it shall become the Seed of Truth in our hearts, that will bring forth reality in the fulfillment of God’s plan and purpose.”

One of the measures of one who stands in the Office of Prophet is the Holy Spirit of Truth that will flow through his/her spoken words.  Let us hope delivered with the fruit of mercy and kindness as apples of gold in pitchers of silver.  However, it is only truth that will set us free.

Roger Teale is such a prophet.  My respect for the ministry given to him by the Holy Spirit and his obedience to that calling is well deserved.  More than once he has hit me between the eyes with “truth”.   Though painful to receive, I did embrace the Truth, moved on the Truth, and had my life change dramatically forever.  It was not that I was in willful sin, but denial.

  Denial is a wall that blocks the Holy Spirit of Truth from setting is free.  “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”

Brother Teale will be ministering at Eastgate on Wednesday, March 27, 2013, the Year of Our Lord at special services, 7:00 pm.  If you are serious about following the Lamb into all truth, be at that service. 

“The purpose of all ministry that proceeds from the exalted Christ is to so minister the Truth that the sheep of God’s pasture might come into direct, unhindered personal union with the Lord.  Ministers of the New Covenant are not to be “mediators” as Moses was, or as Jesus is.  They are rather “servants” (Greek, “doulos” or “bond-slave”).  Slaves have no right to call anything their own…not even the ministry that God gave them.  In another analogy they are “stewards” of God’s household (1 cor. 4:1).  They are particularly responsible to reveal God’s “mysteries” –or God’s secrets to the members of God’s household.  It is simply a trust that has been given into their care.  They make disciples for Christ, but they must have none of their own.

Having fellowship is something else; for in fellowship there is communion, sharing, giving and receiving.  The true minister will discover that unless he receives spiritual nourishment from the people, he cannot minister spiritual nourishment to them.”

Our Tuesday Morning Bible Study group is presently being taught by the members who attend the Study.  Last week Les Barner delivered a message on the “Fear of God” that blessed all of us.  I cherish these times when the saints are taking turns teaching the Bible Study.  I am blessed to be able to fellowship with them in their spiritual journey.  Each one is at a difference place in their walk from Jericho to New Jerusalem.

The true shepherds over God’s heritage are sheep before they become shepherds, and after they become shepherds they are still sheep.  David was anointed to be the shepherd of Israel, but first he had to learn the way of a sheep.  He had to undergo some hard discipline, in order that he might qualify as a shepherd of God’s flock.  He had to learn to take on the heart of sheep.  He must learn patience.  He must know what it is like to come under the wrath of an angry king, and be chased as a lamb running way from a ravenous wolf.  “Yea for your sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter” (Ps. 44:22).

This is all part of the process that God’s chosen ones have to go through in order to bring forth the Lamb nature that God desires them to have.  It is the Lamb that reigns with Christ on the throne, and therefore a shepherd has no preeminence above a sheep.  If we are “shepherds” in this life, we are still the sheep of the “Chief Shepherd.”  Our place in God will be determined as to how well we have been “examples of the flock” If, on the other hand, we are “sheep” in this life, then as those qualities of meekness, forbearance, patience and gentleness have been developed…so do we become heirs of the kingdom of God; “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

A degree in “obedience” is not required by hirelings, but it is required of the shepherds.  Without it there may be a great deal of success in this life, but without it there will be no reigning with Christ in His throne.  Let us remember that our Lord does not sit enthroned in the heavens, as ruler of the Universe, because he was Divine in His birth, and Messianic in His office…but because he was a Lamb in character and chosen by God to die for the sins of all mankind who will receive Him as their Lord and Savior.

John on Patmos wept bitterly when no one was found worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof.  But the angel comforted him with the words, “Weep not John…Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah has overcome, and He will open the book…” then as John dried his eyes to catch a glimpse of the conquering Lion, what did he see?  “a Lamb as it had been slain…”  And it was the Lamb who came and took the book out of hands of Him that sat upon the throne.  A bleeding Lamb became the conquering, triumphant Lion of the tribe of Judah.  But even as He assumed that character, He was still the Lamb that was slain…and the overcomers that we find coming forth in the Book of Revelation are those who “follow the Lamb”…not those who follow the Lion.

God is preparing for Himself a people who will walk in total union with Himself; a people who will speak only His words, do only His works, and walk only in His ways.  Falling short of this we fall short of God’s desire for His people…regardless how great our calling may be, or how mighty the gift or the Word that we may minister.  Nor must we shrink back because of the greatness of His calling…  He is able to bring us in and fulfill every desire of His heart within us, as we believe Him for it, and embrace the truth that He implants within our hearts.

As we hear the voice of the Chief Shepherd in the land declaring God’s purpose for His people and the certainty of its fulfillment in the earth…let us cast from our minds any thought of unbelief which may plague us because of the frailty of our human nature, and our proneness to failure and disobedience…let us be assured once and for all that what God has declared and what God is doing in the earth is something that He is doing for His own Name’s sake, and because of Him who reigns at His right hand, with all power and authority to do whatever God has commissioned Him to do.

Invariably, in the history of God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture have grown weary in pursuing this call unto fellowship with Him; and as the vision begins to dim they become impatient in spirit, and are willing to conform to patterns of life and conduct that they observe in others round about them.

Even now as Christ sits enthroned on the right hand of the Father, he reigns in virtue of the fact that He is a Lamb.  He reigns as a Lamb-Shepherd, because God is rising up lamb-shepherds in the earth, and it is the office work of the Holy Spirit in the earth to establish in the body of Christ the nature, and the character, as well as the authority…of Him who sits on the throne.  “He shall glorify me; for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you” (John 16:14).

It is the work of the Holy Spirit not only to impart unto His people the power of God, but “all things” that pertain to the exalted Christ…his very nature, character and life.  The Great Shepherd of the sheep is in no way hampered in His office of tending the sheep, by reason of His enthronement in the heavens. 

“The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed (or shepherd) them. (Revelation 7:17)

Preached by Pastor Carolyn Sissom

Scripture from K.J.V.  I entered into the labors of George Warnock, “Feed My Sheep” Order from:  George Warnock, Box 652, Cranbrook, B.C., Canada V1C4J2

Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of the honorable and worthy George Warnock.

We wish to extend our condolences and love to the family of Mark Williamson as he went to be with Jesus today.  Mark was a great American patriot and great Kingdom of God warrior writing and confronting our government leaders with the morals and standards of the Kingdom.