Apostles, shepherds, sheep and the Great Commission
One of the great deceptions foisted upon modern Christendom is the teaching that we are all: apostles, shepherds, and sheep, commanded eep]. That command was given specifically to 12 men whom Jesus carefully selected and intensively trained for three years. In all His teachings to thousands during His ministry and even after His resurrection, you will not find that command given to anyone. Likewise, Paul spent three years in training under the Holy Spirit in Arabia after Jesus called him before He was sent out. Coincidence?
On the Day of Pentecost just the disciples, along with around 130 others gathered with them who had also walked with Jesus, had the tongues of fire descend upon them and went out fulfilling the Great Commission. Over 3,000 heard and received the Holy Spirit that day, but when they asked Paul what to do with that, he did not burden them with the Great Commission, rather after being filled with the Spirit they “devoted themselves to the Apostles teaching, to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer.” These were the sheep and their power was to be found in community!
So, do sheep not fulfill the Great Commission? Yes, but in a totally different way. The best example of this is found in 1st Thessalonians 1, where Paul commends the sheep for their “work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness” in the body. Then he says, “You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you…in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything!” The Word of God “echoed forth,” not from any preaching [for Paul says the ones charged with preaching the Gospel didn’t need to preach], but wholly from their example in and as a body! Notice there is no mention of the Thessalonians leaving the body, which means the word spread by others seeing what they were doing and then reporting it in their own towns. Sheep can be the most powerful force of all for fulfilling the Great Commission because they can reach so many more people than a single voice! Look at it this way: Apostles pursue an outward calling, invading the space of others with their preaching. The sheep pursue an inward focus, responding to those who see their example and question.
I am convinced the most effective attack Satan has perpetrated on the church has been twofold, both aimed at removing the sheep from the equation:
- Burdening sheep with the Great Commission, which inevitably leads to failure because they were neither equipped nor called by God to it. Upon failing they retreat to the shadows of church buildings, preferring the professionals handle everything, and are relegated to those “lost sheep in their Father’s House.”
- Removing their platform of authentic community in favor of church buildings where they never learn what true fellowship is. Sheep cannot be “a light on a hill in the city” hiding out for a couple of hours in their churches once a week where no one who needs their witness will see them.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still Apostles but far, far fewer than our number of pastors behind pulpits would lead us to believe. Who are you? This is a critical question when it comes to your greatest identity, which is your place in the body of Christ. Have you spent three years in intensive training via prayer, listening, and study under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit to find out? If you have and are truly called, then by all means the Great Commission is for you. But if not, the most important thing that can happen for both shepherds [pastors, deacons, and elders charged with “making disciples”] and sheep is the reestablishment of authentic community! That is your platform. Your power lays in devoting yourselves to the Word, breaking bread together in fellowship, and prayer and the enemy has stolen the environment God created for you! Let me stand right now to release you from the burden of the Great Commission you were never meant to fulfill in the Apostle’s role. How about seeking to start a house church, which is how the Holy Spirit established community? Perhaps you are a shepherd, which is really nothing more than a more mature sheep. Whatever God has called you to find your lane, get in it, and fulfill the Great Commission from there.
The Apostolic Congregation
After discussing many issues regarding the body of Christ in 1st Corinthians [the definitive Epistle on the subject] Paul establishes the apostolic model of congregational meetings in 14:26-32. He begins by saying, “What is the outcome then, brethren? Whenever you assemble…” He is saying, “This is the summary of all I’ve said to this point. This is to be the model whenever the body comes together,” and it is far cry from what we witness in our modern-day temples where the few up on stage do all the sharing while the sheep in the pews practice spiritual distancing from their personal responsibilities to mature. Paul commands that each person is to bring a testimony of what God is doing in their lives, and to contribute to the dialogue. Every member is to be present and engaged, either to teach or to pass judgment [discern, comment, etc.] on the teaching. There was never any mention of occupying a seat simply listening. Why? “So that all may learn, and all may be exhorted.”
Though the word, “Pastor,” is used only one time in all Scripture, they have become the czars of modern Christendom. The apostolic church was never to be led by one individual, but rather overseen by elders [a term used over 30 times]. Shepherds [Elders, deacons, and pastors] were present to oversee the fellowship, and churches were in the intimate setting of people’s homes.
All “Bible studies” at the Lighthouse Communities will be encouraged to follow this apostolic model, because in community it is about building up and maturing the flock so they “might all become teachers,” rather than remaining “babes” (Heb. 5) which is where our current model leaves them. Paul said, “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are” (1 Cor.1). He, and we, will be seeking those golden nuggets now hidden by a religious system that accomplishes exactly the opposite. It’s time for every believer to grow up into the fulness the Spirit has for them, and for the days of spectator Christianity to be over!
Our Community Prayer [Based upon Jesus’ prayer in John 17]
Father, the time has come that Your kingdom arises, and Your will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven. Glorify those who are Yours, that they may also glorify You. Through the power You gave Your Son over all creation, grant us now authority over the principalities and powers of darkness arising against us. Let us share the good news of Your coming to as many as You give to us, that they may know You, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. And let us run this race with endurance, accomplishing all You have given us to do. O God, establish Your chosen ones in Your abiding presence for the glory which You predestined them for even before the world was.
Lord Jesus, let us now manifest Your name to others whom You have brought out of the world and into Your kingdom. They are Yours and You bring us together in fellowship through the bond of the Spirit, as together we seek to keep Your Word. Now we know and believe all things which You have given us are from You. You gave us the Word, revealed it to us and we have received it, and know surely You came forth from the Father.
I pray, through us, You would gather the lost children of Your house, O God. I do not pray for the world, but for revealing of Your blessed Ekkleesia. We are Yours, all that is Yours You have given to us, and we are glorified together in Your holy name. Now, through Your Son’s sacrifice and Your Spirit’s presence, we are no longer of the world though we are in the world. Holy Father, I pray you keep me, along with all You have drawn to Yourself, in Your name that we may be one even as You and Your Son are one. Guard our hearts and minds, keeping us in holy community that all may be edified, and none lost except those sent by the enemy to deceive and divide.
I come to You that the things You reveal to us will give us joy, for the world will hate us because we are not of its realm, just as Your Son was not of its realm. I do not pray that You should take us out of the world, but that You will keep us from the evil one. Sanctify us by Your truth, yes, Your Word is truth. As You sent Your Son into the world, so also send us out to bring the lost within Your house back into Your kingdom.
I do not pray for my brothers and me alone, but also for those who will believe in You through our witness and words. Make us all one as You, Father, are in Your Son and He is in You, so we all may be one in You, and this so the world may believe You sent Him. And the glory which You gave Christ Jesus on earth give also to us. Bring us in to perfect unity in Your Spirit, that the world may know we are His disciples and You sent Him to us.
O righteous Father, I desire all of us You gave to Your Son may abide with Him, and He in us, that we may continually behold His glory. The world has not known You, but the Son knew You and we know, and have come to believe, You sent Him. He has declared to us Your name, therefore let us continue to declare it to all through the blessing of the love of His community gathered together. I pray this in the holy and matchless name of the Lord of the Ekkleesia, Your Son Jesus Christ.
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