Lesson 2

The Burden of a Shepherd

Scripture Reading: John 21:15-17; 1 John 5:16; Exo. 21:5-6; Isa. 50:4-5; 1 John 1:5, 7, 9, Mark 10:45

I. We need to receive a burden to serve the Lord by caring for and ministering life to people—John 21:15-17; 1 John 5:16:

A. In order for us to minister life to others, we must do at least four things; first, we need an adequate contact with the Lord—Exo. 21:5-6; Isa. 50:4-5:

1. We must all purposely go to the Lord simply to spend time with Him; we need to be like the purchased slave in Exodus 21 who said, “I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free” (v. 5); we should tell the Lord, “I love You, I love the church, and I love the saints. I want to remain here to be Your bondslave.”

2. Exodus 21:6 says, “Then his master shall bring him to God and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever”:

a. In type, to have our ear bored through is to open our ear; to be a good serving one does not depend upon our feet, our hands, or our eyes but upon our open ear—v. 6.

b. To be a proper slave of the Lord, we must not be as instructors but as instructed, not as teachers but as learners—v. 6.

c. One who has life and the timely word from the Lord can speak the timely word to sustain and minister life to the weary and weak ones—Isa. 50:4-5.

3. We must all go to the Lord first to consecrate ourselves anew to serve Him in the church and to participate in the service—Hymns, 463.

B. Second, we must learn in the presence of the Lord to be dealt with by Him—1 John 1:3, 5, 7, 9; Hymns, 426:

1. We may say, “Lord, here I am. I know that I am not fitting and useful. Lord, I open myself to You, but I do not depend on my opening; I depend on Your exposing. Bring me into Your light. Shine over me, shine within me, and shine through me thoroughly in order that I may be fully exposed” —1 John 1:3, 5, 7, 9.

2. We all need such a prayer; we should spend adequate time in the presence of the Lord for this purpose, checking with Him again and again until we get through and until nothing further needs to be exposed—vv. 3, 5, 7, 9.

C. Third, after we reconsecrate ourselves and deal thoroughly with the Lord, we can pick up a burden before Him to care for people—John 21:15-17:

1. There is no need to pray particularly for a burden; whatever burden we pick up will be the Lord’s burden—vv. 15-17.

2. For this purpose, the Lord needs even the teenagers; even the older teenagers can pick up the burden to care for those in junior high school; after her reconsecration and dealing with the Lord, a young sister could say, “Lord, I pick up this burden. I give myself to take care of the junior-high girls. This is my service. I will pick them up, and I will bear them all the way to the New Jerusalem.”

3. If some teenagers will do this, they will have the Lord’s presence with them, and they will see the blessing; we cannot tell how far the Lord will go with these young ones; by this kind of service they will become useful in the Lord’s recovery in the coming years.

4. We do not need to pray in a begging way; we may simply say, “Lord, by Your grace I pick up the burden to care for the younger ones. Lord, You must go with me”; we can give the Lord such a command; the Lord truly will honor us and go with us—Matt. 21:21-22.

5. All the brothers and sisters need to pick up such a burden; the older sisters, for example, can pick up the burden to care for the older saints; no one can appoint us to this service; we all must go to the Lord, the Head of the Body, have a thorough dealing with Him, and pick up a burden—John 21:15-17.

D. Fourth, after we have a thorough dealing with the Lord and pick up a burden, we must learn to be interested in people—cf. Mark 10:45:

1. Because of the fall, many of us are not interested in others; we do not care whether others grow in life, and we feel that it is sufficient for us to care for our own spiritual welfare; however, the church service requires every one of us to be involved with others—cf. Ezek. 34:1-10; Phil. 2:21.

2. We should all pray, “Lord, burden me. I want to be fully interested in and involved with all Your dear saints, not in a natural way or social way but in the way of life. Lord, I am willing to pay any price, even at the cost of my life. I love these people, and I would die for them. I want to see them saved, grow in life, and become matured.”

3. Then we can pick up the burden for some specific persons; we should make a list of their names, always keep it in front of us, and pray for them one by one—John 21:15-17.

4. Many in the church need our shoulders to bear them and our breast to embrace them (Exo. 28:9-12, 15-21, 29); we must love them; when they fall, we should weep, and when they rise up, we should be joyful; we must bear them as our burden.

II. Having a burden to care for others requires us to have a change in our disposition—Matt. 4:19; John 21:15; S. S. 1:7-8:

A. According to our disposition, we like to contact people who match our taste; however, in order to invite people and care for them, we should not have a particular taste—Jer. 48:11; John 17:21-23.

B. We must receive the believers because the Lord has received them; this requires us to deal much with our natural disposition—Rom. 14:1-3.

C. In order for us to have a heart and burden to care for people, we desperately need our disposition to be changed—Rom. 12:2, Matt. 25:24-30:

1. The greatest hindrance to our usefulness is our disposition—vv. 24-30.

2. We need to let the Lord touch our disposition, and we need to deny it; practically speaking, to deny the self is simply to deny the disposition—16:24.

D. The law in the spiritual realm is that we must care for people—Gal. 6:14; 3:23-26:

1. If we do not care for people, our prayers for increase cannot be answered; if we pick up a heart to care for the unbelievers, the Lord will honor that care, and the increase will come; likewise, if we pick up a burden to care for the other saints, the Lord will honor this care also—Matt. 4:19; John 21:15-17; S. S. 1:7-8.

2. We all need to go to the Lord and ask Him to burden us; our usefulness is altogether in our care for people, not in doing things; the basic need in the church service is to care for people—John 3:16.

III. The essential, basic elements of proper shepherding are a love for people, an interest in them, a burden for them, and adequate prayer; no shepherding can be prevailing if we do not have these elements—1 Thes. 3:12; Mark 10:45; Col. 4:12.

Excerpts from the Ministry:

CONSECRATING OURSELVES ANEW TO THE LORD

FOR THE SERVICE AND TRAINING

In order for us to minister life to others, we must do at least four things. First, we need an adequate contact with the Lord. We must all purposely go to the Lord, not to pray for other things but simply to spend time with Him. We need to be like the purchased slave in Exodus 21. Verse 5 says, “If the servant plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free.” After six years of service the slave was free to leave, but if he loved his master, he would not go out. Moreover, while he was in his master’s house, he received a wife and had children. In type, the wife and children are the church with all the saints. We have not only the Master but also the church and all the saints as our family. We love our Lord, the church, and all the saints. We should tell the Lord, “Lord, I wish to stay. I can go out freely, but I will not. I love You. I love my wife, the church, and I love my children, the saints. I do not want to miss You, Lord, and neither do I want to miss Your church and all the saints. I want to remain here to be Your bondslave.”

Verse 6 says, “Then his master shall bring him to God and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.” In type, to have our ear bored through is to open our ear. To be a good serving one does not depend upon our feet, our hands, or our eyes. It depends upon our open ear. To be a proper slave, we need an open ear, not to speak, do, or walk but to listen. We must not be as instructors but as the instructed, not as teachers but as learners. We all need to pray this way: “Lord, I love You, I love Your church, and I love the saints. I will never go out. Therefore, bore my ear; open my ear that I may listen to You. I do not want to be a teacher. I am a listener and a learner.” Isaiah 50 is a prophetic word describing the Lord Jesus while He was on the earth. Verses 4 and 5 say, “The Lord Jehovah has given me / The tongue of the instructed, / That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. / He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one. / The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; / And I was not rebellious, / Nor did I turn back.” One who has life and the timely word from the Lord can speak the timely word to sustain the weary ones. This is to minister life to the weary and weak ones. We must all go to the Lord first to consecrate ourselves anew to serve Him in the church and to participate in the service and in the training.

Being Dealt with by the Lord under His Light

Second, we must learn in the presence of the Lord to be dealt with by Him. We may say, “Lord, here I am. I know that I am not fitting and useful. I am natural, wild, and raw; I have never been ‘cooked,’ processed, by You. I am even sinful, worldly, and fleshly. Lord, in order to use me as Your bondslave, You must deal with me. I need Your dealing. I need Your ‘cooking.’ Lord, I open myself to You, but I do not depend on my opening; I depend on Your exposing. Bring me into Your light. Shine over me, shine within me, and shine through me thoroughly in order that I may be fully exposed.” We all need such a prayer. It is better to pray in this way by ourselves. In doing other things we should not be individualistic, but in this kind of prayer it is better to do it individually. We should spend an hour or more in the presence of the Lord for this purpose, checking with Him again and again until we get through and until nothing further needs to be exposed.

Picking up a Burden to Care for People

After we reconsecrate ourselves and deal thoroughly with the Lord, we can pick up a burden before Him. There is no need to pray particularly for a burden. Whatever burden we pick up will be the Lord’s burden. We should not primarily care for business affairs. We may pick up a burden for ushering in the meetings, but the ushering itself is not our burden. Rather, our burden is to take care of people by ushering. Picking up a burden in this way will make a great difference. If we usher after having thoroughly dealt with the Lord, whenever we usher, we will minister life. There will be an outflow of life from us to others’ spirits. The Holy Spirit always honors this kind of serving.

For this purpose, the Lord needs even the teenagers. I hope that the older teenagers will pick up the burden to care for those in junior high school. According to my observation, we have many ten-year-old, eleven-year-old, and twelve-year-old sisters, but there are no teenage sisters taking care of them. Therefore, we need some young sisters to give themselves for this. After their reconsecration and dealing with the Lord, they should say, “Lord, I pick up this burden. I give myself to take care of the junior-high girls. This is my service. I will pick them up, and I will bear them all the way to the New Jerusalem.” If some teenagers will do this, they will have the Lord’s presence with them, and they will see the blessing. We cannot tell how far the Lord will go with these young ones. Perhaps by this kind of service they will become useful in the Lord’s recovery in the coming years. They will be not only “big sisters” but mothers of many young ones.

We cannot appoint anyone to this position. We cannot say, “Sister, come to take care of the young girls.” This will not work. Rather, each one must go to the Lord and say, “Lord, here I am. I love You. You are my Master. I love the church, and I love the saints. I especially love the young girls ten through fifteen years old. I simply love them, Lord, and I would not go out free. O Lord, deal with me.” A young sister may spend three nights to deal with the Lord in this way. After she is thoroughly dealt with by the Lord, she does not need to pray in a begging way, “Lord, have mercy upon me and give me a burden.” She may simply say, “Lord, by Your grace I pick up the burden to care for the young girls. Lord, You must go with me.” She can give the Lord such a command: “Lord, since I am picking up the burden, You must work with me.” The Lord truly will honor her and go with her.

Having a Thorough Dealing With Him

All the brothers and sisters need to pick up such a burden. The older sisters, for example, can pick up the burden to care for the older saints. No one can appoint us to this service. We must all go to the Lord, the Head of the Body, have a thorough dealing with Him, and pick up a burden. There are many categories of burdens. According to my observation, many needs are lying waste, and many useful persons are also lying waste. The useful persons must be matched to the needs. Neither I nor any leading brother can say, “Sister, you do this.” That never works. Instead, we must all go to the Lord, have a thorough dealing with Him, and open our spiritual eyes to see the need. Then, without any ambition but even at the sacrifice of our whole life, whatever burden we pick up will be the Lord’s will. It is worthwhile to pay the price even of our life. I was nineteen years old when I was saved. On that day I told the Lord, “Lord, even if You gave me the whole world, I would refuse it. I simply want to be poor for You.” If the young sisters do this, they will see the Lord’s blessing. We must all pick up a burden to care for people. There is no other way to carry out the Lord’s desire.

Learning to Be Interested in People

After we have a thorough dealing with the Lord and pick up a burden, we must learn to be interested in people. Because of the fall, many of us are not interested in others. We consider that whether others go to heaven or to hell is their own business. We do not care whether others grow in life, and we feel that it is sufficient for us to care for our own spiritual welfare. However, the church service requires every one of us to be involved with others. We need an interest in the Lord’s people. We may illustrate this interest by the taste for certain foods. Many Chinese people are interested in Chinese cooking and have the taste to go to Chinatown. We, however, need to be interested in the Lord’s people. Every day the Lord’s people must be our “food” (John 4:31-34). Some older teenage sisters should say, “All the young girls between ten and fifteen years old in the church life are my food. I am interested in the young people to this extent.”

However, we must not be interested in people in a natural way. Some people were born with the inclination to talk and even gossip. That is not what it means to be interested in people in a proper way. Many young ones like to talk about marriage, and many older ones like to ask concerning each other’s children, grandchildren, and in-laws. We must forget about this kind of gossip. This is the natural, social way. Rather, we must be interested in people in the way of life. We should not care to ask about people’s marriage, in-laws, or other matters. We are interested only in life. We should pray concerning this, and some may need to fast in prayer. We may pray, “Lord, by my birth I love to talk to people in a natural way,” but others may need to pray, “Lord, I was born in a way that I do not like to talk to people. I love the brothers, and I have been in the church for ten years, but until today I still do not like to open myself to anyone.” We should all pray, “Lord, burden me. I want to be fully interested in and involved with all Your dear saints, not in a natural or social way but in the way of life. Lord, I am willing to pay any price, even at the cost of my life. I love these people, and I would die for them. I want to see them saved, grow in life, and become matured.”

Loving People

Then we can pick up the burden for some specific persons. We should make a list of their names, always keep it in front of us, and pray for them one by one. A teenage sister may pray, “Lord, this one is still not saved. Lord, I will never be at peace until I see her saved. Lord, even for my sake You must save her.” We may be too spiritual and say, “Lord, this is not for my sake.” However, the Lord may say, “Because you have a genuine burden for this one, I will save her for your sake.” Eventually, the sister will see the little one be saved. After this she may say, “Lord, this little one is now saved, but she does not love You. I can never be satisfied with this. Do something in her so that she will love You, Lord, as I love You.” Again, the sister will see the Lord answer her prayer. Likewise, the older generation must be burdened and pray in the same way. We need to be interested in people and involved with people. Then we can pick up a burden. Many in the church need our shoulders to bear them and our breast to embrace them (Exo. 28:9-12, 15-21, 29). We must love them. When they fall, we should weep, and when they rise up, we should be joyful. We must bear them as our burden. Our service is not to arrange the chairs, do the cleaning, usher, or do clerical work. These are temporary matters as the means, instruments, and channels for us to take care of people. We must all go to the Lord, pray, and pick up this burden. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 1, pp. 527-531)

HAVING A CHANGE IN OUR DISPOSITION

TO CARE FOR THE YOUNGER ONES IN THE CHURCH LIFE

Having a burden to care for others requires us to have a change in our disposition. Too many of us still hold on to our natural disposition. We do not contact people and invite them to our homes because they are not the same as we are. Since we are the only ones who match our disposition, we only “invite” ourselves. However, all nursing mothers are forced by their children to change their ways. A certain proverb says, “No mother can change her children, but all the children can change the mother.” However, some mothers who can be changed by their children resist being changed by others in the church life. The first time the Lord met Peter and Andrew, He told them, “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). From that time on, their business was no longer fish; it was men. After the Lord was resurrected, He came back to Peter and said, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?…Feed My lambs” (John 21:15). The Lord made the disciples fishers of men and feeders of lambs. This is to bear a burden to care for people. In Song of Songs the Lord’s seeker asked Him, “Tell me, you whom my soul loves, Where do you pasture your flock? / Where do you make it lie down at noon?” The Lord answered, “If you yourself do not know, / You fairest among women, / Go forth on the footsteps of the flock, / And pasture your young goats / By the shepherds’ tents” (1:7-8). While we are seeking after the Lord, He will still remind us to follow the church and take care of the “young goats.” We should not be a seeker of the Lord without any “young goats.” Too many of us do not have younger ones under our care in the church life. This is a great shortcoming, and we must look to the Lord for the remedy.

No one should take the excuse that he is not gifted. Although no woman is gifted to be a mother, as a female she is qualified to be a mother. As long as we are Christians, we all have a talent. In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, the Lord said that there are three kinds of slaves—one with five talents, one with two, and one with one. The least number of talents is one. We have at least one talent, and we need to use it. Everyone can take care of three or four younger Christians. This word is not a rebuke; it is the speaking of the truth. Since you love the Lord and His recovery, I would beg you to bring this matter to the Lord and pray for the burden. All our other concepts and dissenting thoughts are of no value. We should let the elders bear their responsibility and take the lead, and we should simply follow. What we need to do is pick up the burden to care for the younger ones, to feed the lambs in the Lord’s recovery. The Lord’s recovery is not the recovery of the elders; it is the recovery of all the saints. If all the saints function in this way, we do not need to worry about how good and capable the elders are.

DENYING OUR DISPOSITION

AND CARING ONLY TO BEAR A BURDEN FOR PEOPLE

According to our disposition, we like to contact people who match our taste. However, in order to invite people and care for them, we should not have a particular taste. We must receive the believers because the Lord has received them (Rom. 14:1-3). This requires us to deal much with our natural disposition. Our disposition must be touched. This is not merely a change of our behavior; this kind of change is short-lived. Rather, we need the Lord to touch our disposition. Some of us are too quick, and some of us are too slow. Some are too strict, and some are too loose. If we mean business to love the Lord and be for His recovery, we must first have a heart for the unbelievers. We should pray, “Lord, if I cannot bring one sinner to You in one year, I simply cannot go on. Lord, I am desperate. You need to give me at least one sinner.” Second, we must care for the young ones, and if there are no young ones, we can still fellowship with the other saints for mutual care. In order to have this kind of heart and burden, we desperately need our disposition to be changed…

Brother Nee once told us that if we do not keep the proper spiritual principles, our prayers will not be answered. The law in the spiritual realm is that we must care for people. If we do not care for people, our prayers for increase cannot be answered. If we pick up a heart to care for the unbelievers, the Lord will honor that care, and the increase will come. Likewise, if we pick up a burden to care for the other saints, the Lord will honor this care also. We all need to go to the Lord and ask Him to burden us. We should not care about our age or any position in the church. We do not even like to use the word position with respect to the church life. We simply need to be useful, and this usefulness is altogether in our care for people, not in doing things. To do things successfully in the affairs of the church does not mean much. The basic need in the church service is to care for people. (CWWL, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” ch. 2, pp. 541-544)

References and Further Reading:

1. The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1973-1974, vol. 2, “The Normal Way of Fruit-bearing and Shepherding for the Building Up of the Church,” chs. 1-2.