Today we are considering something very important and I want us to be focused on God who is able to meet us at the point of our needs. Most of the things that we discuss here at the Disciplers Convocation, they are not the things that babies require. They are the things that adults require and so, in case you are thinking that we have come again, yes, we have come again. It is your responsibility to receive us again so that you can grow unto maturity and begin to fulfill your own destiny. Today, we are looking at The Need for Missionaries in the Restoration of the Church of Christ.
By the time we are done today by the grace of God, we would understand, in a manner, who a missionary is. In case we have been asking: “am I a missionary, am I not?” If I am a missionary, what is my role in the church? Perhaps we are also wondering about why we should even become a missionary when we don’t even know how a missionary is supposed to come into the church. I also want us to note the word “Missionaries” and not “missionary.” So, the more, the merrier. I want us to go very quickly to the book of Jeremiah 23:1-5. If this matter we want to consider today does not exist, a missionary may not be needed.
The Bible says in Jeremiah 23:1-5: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” Now, many of us are familiar with the word, “shepherd”, we are also familiar with the word “sheep.” Somehow too, we have an idea of what a pasture means. Now, God is introducing us into what we want to look at today with our familiar words. I also want us to note the word “shepherds” and not shepherd, indicating that it is not one man, it is not one woman. God said: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!”
Now, if we want to even ask, of course, the word of God has shown us who the culprits are in this passage, the shepherds, and the victims are the sheep of His pasture. Another thing we could look at, which is somewhat rhetorical is: Who are the shepherds? Are they the career men and women out there? Are they the politicians? Who are the shepherds? You must understand that if you consider the phrase “my shepherd”, it shows a group of people that are God’s own people. God considers them His people. Now, when God instruct the children of Israel to go and destroy a people, you should understand that God is telling His people to destroy a people.
So, when He said “my pasture”, He is talking about His own people. The people that has been called out of darkness into the light, the people that are associated with Him, in our days, the people that call themselves followers of God, disciples of God, children of God. They are the pasture of God. Now, who are the shepherds? Anyone who positions himself or herself in a place or capacity to guide the people of God, the children of God into the resources that God has available for them, is a shepherd. So, you would understand that in our contemporary time, you are referring to men and women who are into the work of ministry. Men and women who teach, men and women who pray, men and women who preach.
But God is saying categorically to a group of them now. It says “woe to the shepherds”, it didn’t say woe to all shepherds and so we must note that. All shepherds are not responsible for the situation that the people of God found themselves, certain shepherds are responsible and God said “woe to those ones” because all they have done, irrespective of their title or responsibility; is to destroy the people of God and to scatter them. Now, a sister book that we will also read is the book of Isaiah 42:22, so that we will understand what we are talking about. It says: “but this is a people”, so when you are talking about God’s pasture, you are talking about a people. You are not talking about some living creatures that you call animals.
But this is a people robbed and plundered’ all of them are snared in holes.” All the people seem to be victims. “they are hidden in prison houses.” The question is: Were they born inside those prison houses? No! They had the beginning of their days in what we could refer to as “beautiful state” or beauty or glorious. But at this moment that God was referring to them, they were no longer in that glorious state, they have gone into bondage. They were not born into bondage; they have been brought up or brought into bondage. It then says further “they are for prey.” The intention of those who put them there is to prey on them, to extort them, to manipulate them, to maltreat them, to misdirect them, to put fear in them; “and no one delivers.”
A man who takes on a responsibility to deliver them is a man who is on a mission to deliver them. So, what do you call such a man? A missionary! A man, a woman on a mission to deliver them is a missionary in the context that God has said in His word. Another word says they are not just for prey, they are for plunder. Now, when a man’s house has been invaded by a couple of guys, and then they cart away with every item in the house, you say “that man has been plundered.” It means those things were originally there but they have been taken away so, the man is now plundered. He was not born in a plundered state, he was born and raised with articles; of gold and silver all around his life. Beauty was around him; he had a vision. In fact, he believed he would become great.
But suddenly, he has come to a state where he is void of vision, he does not know who he was or who he is, he does not have an idea of where he is going to. He is empty simply because he has been plundered by men and women. He was not born plundered; he was brought up in a plundered state. And it now says: “No one.” Every time God seem to be dealing with a matter that affects the people, God is always asking for one man, one woman. It says “no one says, restore!” That is why our goal is the restoration of the church. and if this restoration would ever take place, it means certain men and women must identify themselves as, number one, missionaries, who must pursue the restoration agenda of God.
God is not responsible for the plundering of His people. God is not responsible for the preying over of His people. What God wants to be responsible for is their restoration. And if that would happen, a man, a woman must identify himself or herself with God to make his life or her life, a platform that God could use to retore. So, we have seen the situation, but let us go back to that Jeremiah 23 from verse one that we started with. It says: “Woe to the shepherds”, anyone who destroys and scatters the sheep of God’s pasture. This is not the word of Jeremiah lest we discard it, this was not a statement that was said by Jeremiah emotionally, God said it and he simply echoed it and that settles it.
So, this matter is not a matter that we can cover up, it is not a matter that we can take lightly. This is simply the judgment of God that has been pronounced on a people who have a mission of destroying and scattering God’s people. If that is your mission in life, God has a responsibility to command “woe” on such. Verse 2 of Jeremiah 23 says: “Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people” The word of the Lord came directly to the shepherds. It says further: “You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings,” says the Lord. 3 “But I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.”
Now, if God had done that, you could ask: Since God is the one that has the intention and the desire of restoring His people, it says from all the countries that I have driven them to, I will bring them back. Is that not restoration? But you could be tempted to think that that is all there is to be done. This thing has nothing to do with me, this is God doing His thing. But see verse 4 and see where you and I come into the picture: “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.” It is like it is the shepherd that destroy them, by shepherd they have been brought into bondage, by shepherds, they shall be fully restored.
The men and women that were responsible for their downfall were called by a certain name. The men and women that will be responsible for their growth and development will be called by the same name. Recently in Nigeria, the Federal Government placed a ban on the activities of SARS (Special Anti-robbery Squad of the Police force) on the streets and highways. The government said it seem as if certain bad eggs in the force had made all the eggs bad. Because why is it that certain policemen don’t wear uniforms and they carry guns? How do you identify correct policemen and highway robbers since both carry guns but not both belong to the government? So, those who are robbing the people are called shepherds, those that God has sent to restore them are also called shepherds. So, the question is: How do we identify God’s people?
Everybody is a pastor, but who is really pastoring? That is where the responsibilities could be shared even by the people of God. There is a point we would see where a people of God would take on the responsibility to recognize who is worthy of being their pastor because you can be destroyed by a pastor and you can also be built by a pastor. An evangelist can help you; another evangelist can hurt you. So, you have to be careful So, let us go to verse 4 again. It says: “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, nor shall they be lacking,” says the Lord.”
It seems as if God has shown us three things that will take place when the right shepherds are set over a people of God. So, when you see a people who are in fear, understand that their shepherds have not been sent by God. A people who are dismayed. Verse 4 of Jeremiah 23 in Good News Translation says: “I will appoint rulers to take care of them. My people will no longer be afraid or terrified, and I will not punish them again. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
God says He will set up responsible rulers over His people and once they come in, His people will no longer be afraid, they will not be terrified. When you go into certain churches, people are terrorized into paying tithes, paying offering and even praying. A pastor does not inspire you to pray, he is making you to be fearful enough to pray. Now, there was a point where Jesus made a distinction between a shepherd and a hireling. Now the difference this: Both called themselves shepherds, but it is God that does not see the both of them as shepherds. What separates a hireling from a shepherd is the attitude of the two: One wants to extort; one does not think he owns or share anything with the sheep. He only wants to enjoy the glory of being the leader of the sheep, but does not want to be hurt or endangered himself because of anything that happens to the sheep.
So, when he sees a problem coming, he runs away. But when he sees opportunity to collect money or something beneficial to him, he will accept it. But when it is time for him to stand in the gap for the people, he is not there. Now, we have a situation in the church today where it is easy for a people to identify themselves as leaders of God’s people yet, their primary goal is not to fight for the people, to build the people but to use the people. The Bible says “God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and sound mind”, yet, to get men and women to move from point A to B in the body of Christ, it is through fear. And so, God is showing us that I am no longer continue to give a people that manipulates my people, that terrifies them, that scared them.
The shepherds have a responsibility to push you into that realm where you fear no more. Perfect love casts out fear, so, you can’t be in fear and flourish in the kingdom of God. The only one to fear is God, fear nothing. Fear no man! But in the church, we now use the fear to keep, to lead and to do everything. You will hear some pastors say “if you go to any where they have not commanded you to go, they will curse you.” So, the person would sit down, not because the Spirit is sitting down but because he does not want to be cursed. If you read the Bible, you would notice that certain people conformed to the Jewish religion not because they wanted to, but because they do not want to be chased out of the Synagogue.
So, God has seen His people destroyed and scattered. There was a point God said that the shepherds have driven away His people. At another point he says He drove them away, somebody could be confused, so, let us think together about it. If you are the father, just as God is, and your children who are with a people are being driven away; and then you know that your children have been sent out of class, would you allow them to wander off? Are you the one that sent them out? But if you now say my son, let me guide you into a place that you can be preserved; till the day I get you another person so that I will send you to another person.
That is what happened, it wasn’t God that now took the initiative himself to send them out. God only guided their movement and preserved them when they went. So, it was the Shepherd that chased them away, it says “you have destroyed, you have scattered them” But God did not allow them to be injured and destroyed, and completely extinguished or sent into extinction, God preserved them. And God said “All the countries that I have driven them away to, I will bring them back, I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries I have driven them and bring them back to their folds.” God said folds, so they have folds, different houses and different families.
If you even read the epistle of apostle Paul, you will hear “the church in the household of Chloe” and the likes. There were different folds. “I will bring them back to their folds and they shall be fruitful, and increase” and the reason this will happen is that in those folds that I’m bringing them back to, among them I will set up Shepherds over them. Among those who have returned, among those same people. God will not bring a Shepherd from outside to come and Shepherd them. It’s one from among them. That’s why a missionary is needed, a man, a woman who arises to responsibilities. God said in that version that we read “I will give them responsible Shepherds” men and women who will have the sense of responsibility. That as our generation has returned under the influence of God, into this season that we are in, I rise up in my generation as a shepherd over the people.
Anyone that God has given me influence over, I rise up as a shepherd over them, I will feed them. It says “I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them”, in other words, I the Lord God will feed them. If you think it is easy to feed people, I am here to tell you that it is not. You have to be fed to feed. So, if God wants to feed the people through you, then you must take up the responsibility to sit down to be fed. When Jesus was going and He was giving instruction to Peter, He said “do you love me more than this” and Peter said “yes”, and Jesus said “feed my sheep” and in another place He said “tend my lamb.” Everything has to do with tending my sheep and also tending my lamb.
But it is about feeding them, feed those who are young and feed the elders, they are my people; feed them. That is the responsibility of a Missionary on CentreNDL”>Missionary, a man on a mission to feed and you can’t do that if you have not been fed. Jesus fed them, to a point He now says “do you love me more than all these things” feed others around you. Take on the responsibility to be responsible for the welfare of others. When you do that you are a man with a sense of mission and you are a missionary. In the book of Acts 1:6-8, the Bible shows us something that we must not miss. The Bible says:
“Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8 But you.”
Do you remember what we said, that until you are fed, you cannot feed another, until you receive you cannot give. They were asking about the state of God’s people. Are we not looking at the restoration of the church? Jesus then answer, “it is not for you to know all those things, God has kept that in His power.” However, you who has a role to play in that kingdom, you will receive power, because until you are empowered as a person, you cannot empower another. Until God empowers you, God cannot use you to empower others. What you don’t have you cannot share.
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”, and you! The emphasis is on you. You cannot dodge since it has come to you, you receive it. If you must experience the life of the Kingdom, you must receive power of the King of that Kingdom. When the power comes into you, you have a responsibility to now witness to the King. Be the witness to the King. Testify about the King, talk about the King, identify and be identified with the king. Wherever you go to, let people see you as a representative, as an Ambassador of the King. For instance, when you see a Democrat in the United States, a member of the Democratic Party, who shows up on a CNN Channel, what he is expected to do is to speak for, not against the Democratic Party.
When you see a member of a political Party in Nigeria, say APC or PDP showing up on a BBC Channel or any Channel he or she speaks as a representative, even though the person could be a mere carrying member. As a member, you are authorized by the virtue of your membership to speak for your party, you speak about your party, you help people to know the agenda of your party; that is what you do as a missionary. You are identified with the King, you speak for the King, you share the policies, you share the agenda of the King of kings with His people. There are people in the church that have no idea, that have no clue about what God has made available for them. You have a clue because you have received power. You’ve been so empowered to the point that you know what to do to fix your own life problem and so you help them to understand what they must do in other to fix their own problems.
Who are you when you are doing that? A Missionary on CentreNDL”>Missionary! And so, people have now belittled it to the point that a missionary is someone that comes to a village, set up a school, now, the school he is setting up, he is doing it because he is an educated man or woman who now wants to educate. If he is setting up a hospital, it is because he is healthy and he wants to help others to work in health. If he set up a church in a village, it is because he is first a disciple of Jesus and wants to raise up more disciples. Those things are microscopic or minute component of being a missionary. A missionary is a man or woman that is identified with Christ. If you come in the name of Christ to a people or a generation you are a missionary in that generation. Why? Because you are a man that has a mission.
Jesus said “you will be a witness to me”, don’t be a witness to people, for a politician or political parties. When you do that you are a member of that party. If you are a member of Christ, go to places, go to platforms and talk about Him and His Kingdom. Jesus was clear, he said “you will be witnesses to me from the place you are in to the ends of the earth.” Let us go to Ephesians 4, we would read verse 1 and verse 7 downwards.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, (another word for that prisoner of the Lord is “a missionary of the Lord”) beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” What is your calling? He was sending a message to a whole church, the message wasn’t just for the Pastors of the Church, it was sent to all the members of the church. So, it means all were called. Called What? It means at no point in time should any of them assume that it was only Apostle Paul that could be the only prisoner of the Lord. Anyone one of them could be a prisoner of the Lord. Anyone of them could be identified as anything for the Lord: I am a worshipper of the Lord, I am a servant of the Lord, I am a Medical Doctor of the Lord, I am a farmer of the Lord, I am a teacher of the Lord. I am not teaching the Lord; I am a husband of the Lord. “Of” talks about my origin, where I sourced myself from.
If you are a Politician, you could also say you are a politician of the Lord. I am who I am by the grace of the Lord and I am there for the purpose of the Lord. I am a missionary; you are also a missionary of whatever you are of the Lord. We are called of the Lord. You know, when you say “the musician of the Lord”, you are calling the person, you identify the person out of the crowd. So, we have all been called of the Lord. There was a point where apostle Paul said “we have all received the ministry of reconciliation” even as he was bold in declaring that, if you are a member of Christ, I’m not talking about you just being a Christian, if you share in the body of Christ, the power of Christ has come upon you. You are a Prisoner, a Pastor or a pope, whatever you call yourself of the Lord. And for God you must live, for God you must die.
For His purpose you must live, so when you are setting up businesses it is for the Lord. You are starting an organization; it is of the Lord and for the Lord. If you want to start something (a new business) and you ask yourself “will God be glorified in this new business or will devil be glorified?” Once you identify that God will not be glorified, stop it. You cannot be a missionary of God and you have started a beer company; you are producing beer; you cannot be a beer producer of the Lord. You cannot be destroying God’s people and scattering them in the name of the Lord. You ask yourself: this thing that I have started, this thing that I am about to start, will it keep people in bondage or will it liberate them? Will God be glorified, or will Satan be glorified?
If God will not be glorified, you stop it, if you indeed realize you are a missionary, you are a personality of the Lord. There was a place where Bibles says “do all things has unto the Lord”, any man who fit in to that is a missionary of the Lord. Another form we could put it is you are a witness; you are witnessing unto him. You are showing the world who He is and what He can do. Let us go to Ephesians 4:7 now. It says: “But to each one of us.” If the Bible use the word “each”, it means it is everyone of us. If there are ten people in a place and the Bible says “each one of them”, it means it included everyone of them and none excluded.
It says: “but to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” There is a gift of Christ upon us that determines the grace of God within us and we are expected to live our lives in agreement, in conformity with the grace that is given to us. Apostle Paul says “I labor more than them all, yet not I but the grace that was given to me.” The grace of God must not be received in vain. If God has engraced you, you must engage it. The grace of God must be used to do the will of God. When you have the capacity to do something from the Lord, you must use it that men may glorify the Lord. When people saw Jesus do different things the Bibles says “they glorified God who has given such power to men.”
Anything you have, anything you can do, you must use it for the glory of God. When you do that you are a missionary of the Lord. Now let us continue from verse 8 downwards: “Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)11 And He Himself.” You remember that place in Jeremiah 23:4 where it said “I will set up shepherds over them.” If you are familiar with Daniel 2:44 where it says “And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom.”
Whenever God says “I will do something”, He will do it Himself. So, the responsibility of putting men over men, putting women over women, it is God’s. You can’t wake up one day and say you want to become you want to become the leader over God’s people if God doesn’t make you. You have to walk with God that you may emerge under Him. He says: “He Himself gave gifts unto men.” So, you can’t wish it, it must be given. When we say men, it does not mean only boys [it means both male and female]. “He gave gifts unto men some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. For the equipping of the saints.” The saints are the pastures of God. “For the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the Body of Christ; till we all come.”
Note the phrase “all of us.” At a point God mentioned how a people were destroyed and scattered, and then He says those remnants of the people, He will bring them back. Now, not everybody is destroyed or scattered. But God’s intention is to use anyone who is awoken to this responsibility. Anyone who makes himself or herself available to be a missionary to be used by God, and when such a man/woman is found, faithful by God; we all (including those who are afflicted, robbed and plundered) will now come to the place of unity in our faith. No longer shall one man, one woman believes God and everybody does not. Imagine when everyone come to this point of unity.
It says “till everyone comes to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.” It is no more “Pastor knows Christ and the members do not know”, everybody knows Christ, “to a perfect man to a measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” So, if you know Christ you are not carried about the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plottings. This is to show us the tendency of certain Shepherds to manipulate a people to extort them because it is truth that sets free. Because when people don’t know the truth they are in bondage and then they become easy preys of those that they have voluntary and innocently submitted, believing they will help them become better but the same people are the ones preying on them. I pray that God will help us in Jesus’ name.
Now let us conclude with a verse so that we see what Jesus said about this matter. John 10:7-18. But let us quickly go to verse 11. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring.” Do you still remember what God said in Jeremiah? He said “I will bring them from all the nations, all the countries that I have scattered them, that I have driven them to.” Do you remember that? God said “I must bring them.”
Now, when Christ has a work of bringing them, if you are a responsible servant of Christ, should you fold your hands when Jesus is going about bringing them? No! You must become responsible. When you awake yourself to such a responsibility, you are awaking yourself to your responsibility as a missionary. The mission is the work of Christ you are just making yourself a part of it. Anyone who is expected to be a member, a part of the fold of Christ, not a member of a denomination. If you are destined by God to be a member of the Church and you are not in Christ, you have a responsibility to bring such under Christ and into Christ.
“And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.” This is the agenda of God. There was a point Jesus said “that they may be one as we are one.” The intention of Christ is not in our division. Christ wants us united. And there are many people who are expected to experience the life of God who are not in God yet. You have a responsibility; I have a responsibility to bring them. When you are doing that, you are a co-worker with Christ Jesus, because that is the work of Christ. That is why the Bible says: “how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good, healing all.”
When Jesus comes to a place, He heals and He delivers. You are a bearer of Christ, you bear Christ, you are in Christ, Christ is in you. Wherever you go to, you must do the same thing. Let people not say “I will rather die than become a Christian.” Let this never become your testimony because in such situations, heaven will be weeping over such life. That is a wasted resource. You must arise in your generation as a missionary. Anywhere you see anything that is not working well, you have a work to do there. Once things are not working well, you have a work to do so that things will start working well and Christ will be glorified in your life.
I pray that God will help us to awake to our responsibilities in Jesus’ name. Amen!
