Oct 16
30
I have heard someone say that the age of the local church is past and
that there is no longer any use for God-ordained Pastors. It is easy for
a weed to speak this way, because it can thrive upon that which is
natural, without any tending, but the flower of God’s planting is not
so. It is what it is because of the continual attention and masterful
touch of the Husbandman.
The Master Gardener takes great care to continually water, prune,
protect, defend from parasites and walk among His garden. He uses the
same means He always has in order to accomplish this: Ephesians 4:11 And
he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and
some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: 13 Till we
all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of
God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness
of Christ.
Since God gave gifts unto men, and men as gifts in order to accomplish
these spiritual things, are we expected to believe that He no longer
desires to bring His people to maturity, unity and greater knowledge in
Christ, or that He has found a better way to do it that He has not
revealed in His Book? The language of the goat is absurd to the sheep.
The goat may wander and scrounge and eat whatever scrap lay in their
path, but the great Shepherd tenderly loves His sheep, and so He still
says to His men, in the timeless language of His glorious word, “If you
love Me, feed my sheep.” Chris Cunningham.