No Microwaves
As you recall each of the principles that I have blogged over the past few days, let them be on the forefront of your minds and hearts so that each of these principles not just be another principle or set of principles that go by the wayside—unapplied, forgotten or dismissed—but that each of the five principles are interlinked to each other as fingers on a hand and critical to the healthy survival and function of you and your manhood; you as a man being able to stand in your place leading and guiding as God has purposed for you in the church and in your homes.
Paul says in Hebrews 6:1, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity…” Maturity is a process of growth. Maturity is defined as development; to complete or perfect. Maturity is a process of growth or development that happens to us naturally and in us spiritually. This process is never instant—but develops through time in stages; it is progressive. There is no microwave to maturity. Paul also writes in Ephesians 4:15, “but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ”. It should be the goal of every believer to mature, to grow.
As a Christian, it should be resolute in your mind and in your heart that your growth and the growth of those in your family are continually flourishing, or thriving—achieving success, prospering and reaching new levels of development and influence—not settling for mediocrity. Growth happens when there is an environment conducive to it. Psalm 92:12-14 says, “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,” Psalm 1:3 says, “He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper. Notice that in these verses that the flourishing and growth is predicated on where the planting is taking place.
Healthy Things Grow
We know that sick things die and healthy things grow. This is where the pastor principle comes in. The principle that we get from the pastor is creating an environment of health. Creating an environment where both the sick and the healthy can grow and mature. This principle is so needed in the church and in the homes today. As we look at our core scripture that identifies the fivefold ministry and function, see if you can identify a recurring theme.
Ephesians 4:11-16 “And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The recurring theme is growth and maturity.
As we move forward in understanding how a pastor creates this environment both in the church and how to apply this principle to our homes, we must be cognizant of our role versus the role of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God; in our lives and the lives of our families when it comes to health, growth and maturity. We want to model ourselves after Him, but not take His place. In other words, through the Holy Spirit we create the environment of health where growth can take place and health abound while the Holy Spirit then works in the life of the believer to grow them and mature them, “to the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ”.
As men, this is so important to understand for the sake of our spouses and especially our children. It is our role and function relying on the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to create the environment for our spouse and our children to grow and flourish. No one else bears that responsibility. It does not fall on the pastor, the spouse or even the children. This is the responsibility of the man. Just as the pastor bears the responsibility for God’s house—the family of God—so does the man bear the responsibility for his home. It should go without saying, but I will say this: this does not negate the working together with your spouse and neither does it transfer the accountability that is required of you.
The Shepard-Sheep Relationship
What does a healthy environment look like? If we are to take this pastor principle and apply it to our homes, we must first be able to understand what it looks like so that we can pattern ourselves after it.
The best way to understand how to create an environment of health and what that environment looks like is to look at the relationship of a Shepard to His sheep. This is the relationship that the Bible uses to describe the role of a pastor to the church. God Himself is referred to by David as Jehovah Raah, The Lord my Shepard (Psalm 23:1) and by Peter as the Chief Shepard (1 Peter 5:4). As the great and awesome Shepard, it is from these two passages that we will be looking to for the characteristics of a Shepard and learning to apply them to our homes.
As we look at the relationship of Shepard to sheep, let us first look at characteristics of sheep. I have categorized all the characteristics that sheep have into three different categories. They are:
- Sheep are valuable.
- Sheep are vulnerable.
- Sheep have no vision.
These characteristics will be expounded on as well as the characteristics of the Shepard as we look at five key ingredients, or components to a healthy environment.
The five key ingredients or components to a healthy environment are:
- Vision
- Protection
- Value
- Provision
- Security
Vision
Psalm 23:2 NLT “…He leads me beside peaceful streams.”
Psalm 23:3 NLT “…He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to His name”
Sheep themselves have no vision. They have to be lead to water, to the fold when lost, to pastures for grazing, and to rest. The Shepard is the one leading and guiding the sheep. In your home, you have to be the one that allows the Holy Spirit to be the guide and you have to be open to His guiding for you and your family. This is the same with the pastor and the church.
As men, it is imperative and necessary for growth that we allow the Holy Spirit to change the way that we see our spouses and our children. We must begin to see them as God sees them with value and vision for their lives. Our hearts as men and fathers should be that our spouse and children achieve all that God has for them helping them accomplish the destiny and call of God in and on their lives. As we begin to see them as God does, this is the beginning of understanding that leads to the creating of an environment of health.
Protection
Psalm 23:4NLT “…Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”
Sheep are very vulnerable and are susceptible to predators. The role of the Shepard is to protect the flock. Peter states in 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant: because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” We have a true adversary and it is the role of men to bring protection both naturally and spiritually to those who can’t protect themselves.
Out of the five components that we are discussing, this is the most serious though having equally devastating results as the other components, especially if this is not something that is done on a continual basis. It is without this key component that there can be no hope for the others. As men, it is your responsibility to protect those that you have authority over, not allowing them to be taken advantage of just as God protects you. This is true of a pastor to his flock and of a father to his household. You will protect what you see value in. If you are a pastor, do you see value in the people of the church? As a husband, do you see value in your spouse? As a father, do you see value in your children?
Peter says in 1 Peter 5:2 “Shepard the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly”. The fact is that Peter is giving us the attitude by which we are to serve those we protect. This is in direct opposition to those that will attempt to take advantage and the fact is that there are many people that are out for “dishonest gain” in and out of the body of Christ. Are you willing to serve and protect both willingly and eagerly?
Value
Psalm 23:6 NLT “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.”
As we look at Psalm 23, really the whole Psalm shows the value that the Lord as our Shepard has for us. Provision, Security, Vision and Protection all come from the heart of God as Shepard because we are valued in His eyes. God doesn’t see us as we have value, but that we are valued.
There is a difference and how we view this concept of having value or being valued. Our view will determine how we respond to that which is being considered. For example, my car has a certain value and that value is limited based on the condition of the car and what value others has placed on it. The value of that car could possibly increase but most likely will decrease over time based on dents, chips and cracks. Our view of the car would not extend past the value that we have placed on it and is only as useful as the value. However, when you see something as valued, there is no limit to it holding its value. There is no limit as to what the value is. You look past the value that others would put on it.
This concept has been demonstrated to us by Jesus on the cross. He looked past the limited value that others would place on you and me and human life. When others have limited our value, he looked past the dents, chips and cracks and sees us as valued. He gave all to show us that there was no price to high and that we were valued.
Do you see your spouse and your children as God does? Do you see them has having a value, something limited? Or do you see them as valued? It is so important to see our spouse and our children as God does. We should view them as valued. When we do, there will be no limit to what you would do for them. You will provide vision, protection, provision and security as God has provided not out of what you can get from them, but out of a heart that is willing and eager because we are following the pattern of the Chief Shepard.
Provision
Psalm 23:1 NLT “The LORD is my Shepard; I have all that I need.”
The word need means to lack, to be without, decrease, be lacking; to have a need. The Lord as Shepard provides for the needs of His sheep just as a Shepard does in the natural sense. The Shepard is responsible to make sure that the sheep are rested, they eat properly in the correct pasture, and makes sure that the sheep have water; all the necessities of life. As a husband and father, it is our responsibility to provide the necessities of life for our families. As men of God, we must understand that the source of our provision is God, and that God chooses most commonly to provide for us through the work of our hands.
Security
Psalm 23:4 NLT “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.”
Have you ever had to do as David and walk through situations and circumstances that you can call the darkest valley? Have you ever been in a situation or circumstance that there seems to be no hope? The absence of hope is darkness. If you have, what has gotten you through? If you are like David, the hope that got you through was the security that no matter what you were going through that God was there and that He was never going to leave or forsake you during your walk through the darkest valley.
In the family, you as the man are the picture and portray strength to your spouse and children. They need to feel secure. They need to feel that you are there no matter what they are going through and that you will not leave them. This is so vital to a healthy environment. Security brings stability.
Conclusion
God is calling men back to their rightful place. To stand in function and purpose as God created men to be and do. He is calling men to lead and guide their families as a reflection of His love following His example that He has laid out in His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit. Men, you are called to be the Shepard of your homes. You are called to apply this pastor principle: to create an environment of health that has vision, value, provision, protection and security for your spouse and your children under the guiding and direction of the Great Shepard. As you apply this principle in conjunction with the other principles, you will see an explosion of growth that is exponential. Remember, “The Lord is my Shepard; I have all that I need.”
