PASTORING AND TAKING THE SPIRITUAL OVERSIGHT 2

2 SHEPHERD THE FLOCK OF GOD WHICH IS AMONG YOU, SERVING AS OVERSEERS, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4 AND WHEN THE CHIEF SHEPHERD APPEARS, YOU WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF GLORY THAT DOES NOT FADE AWAY."
1 Peter 5:2–4 (NKJV)

• Feeding of the lambs.

• As a pastor you must have a system of growing your members, those who are babies, the new converts, from babyhood to maturity.
  Baby Christian
• This can be done through a systematic Teaching; Sunday School, or Sunday Bible study before the main service, House fellowship meetings, or a systematic Teaching on the Bible study Day.
• Note: The growth of the people is usually or mostly through the classroom setting teaching.
• You cannot grow the people with or through the pulpit preaching on Sundays.
• You should have a form of School system. You develop a curriculum for teaching. You put your messages in outlines, in the form of manuals, for the teaching of the people.
• Through this pattern, you would have your people developed spiritually and be equipped for the work of ministry.

• The truth is:

• To have committed members, you would have to grow the people with the Word of God.
• You humble those who are full of themselves with the Word of God. The people's egos are broken through the teaching of the Word of God.
• You have the assignment to feed your people with the Word of God, when you did, they would not wander away, and would not eat a contaminated food—poison. They would not be driven to and fro by every wind of doctrine (Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 13:9).
• Many have eaten poisons in the place of going About, and to save the souls given to you, you had to feed them properly with the Word of God.

• Feeding the sheep.

• As the people becoming consistent in coming, your would have to expose them to leadership training. You would need to raise more leaders, for you to have more and enough people whom the work can be delegated to.
• The more the people you were able to raise as leaders, the less burdensome the work becomes, for you.
• For you to be seen or qualified as a good leader, you must be able to raise the people who can continue the work in your abscence.
• When you are not around, your abscence should not be felt or known. That could only be, when you have succeeded in raising the people who know what you know, and could do whatever you do.
• Thus, you would have to develop a training programme for the would-be leaders.
• Note: about the training, It has to be, both the formal and informal.
  I. The formal training is about teaching in a classroom setting, where vital information about ministry and leadership are taught. The nitty-gritty of the work is made known to the participants.
  II. The informal training is, when the people, the participants, are exposed to the practical aspects of the ministry work and leadership. You assign them to put to work things they had been taught.
  You give them little assignment or responsibility, to test their ability and faithfulness. Whoever is faithful, you commend and promote, with a bigger assignment and more responsibilities.

• Things to observe or take notice of, in the lives of those to be drafted for the training.
I. Whoever is punctual; who comes regularly for services, who attends most of the meetings that is called in the church, should be a candidate to be considered.
II. Does the person has the ability to manage his home, family? (1 Timothy 3:5,12).
III. How good the person is, in following and the carrying out of the instructions given to him or her?
IV. When such a person is corrected, how does he or she respond? In other words, the attitude of the person to corrections.

• Some other cases which might be exceptional.

• As someone who is committed to the raising of leaders, or someone who believes he or she has the responsibility to raise other leaders; you had to be sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, following His leading, in order to raise other leaders.
• A would-be leader among others that you wanted to raise might have some weaknesses, or defects, which may be made known to you by the Holy Spirit, and asked you to bear with such until he or she was able to grow and mature enough to overcome it (Romans 15:1-3).
• In raising leaders, you would need a lot of patience. These people are coming from different backgrounds.
  a. You would see those who have manners and those who do not among them.
  b. Those who are well taught at home, those who were raised in a good home, and those who were not taught and raised in a good home.
• God will use some of them to teach you patience, that is, to grow the fruit of the Spirit in you. He would use them, those whom you are raising, to teach you, how to love the unlovables, and how to be patient with those who are difficult to control or lead:
  24 A SERVANT OF THE LORD MUST NOT QUARREL BUT MUST BE KIND TO EVERYONE, BE ABLE TO TEACH, AND BE PATIENT WITH DIFFICULT PEOPLE. 25 GENTLY INSTRUCT THOSE WHO OPPOSE THE TRUTH. PERHAPS GOD WILL CHANGE THOSE PEOPLE'S HEARTS, AND THEY WILL LEARN THE TRUTH. 26 THEN THEY WILL COME TO THEIR SENSES AND ESCAPE FROM THE DEVIL'S TRAP. FOR THEY HAVE BEEN HELD CAPTIVE BY HIM TO DO WHATEVER HE WANTS" (2 Timothy 2:24-26 NLT).

• You will not fail in Jesus' name.

• Should there be any ailment in your body, receive your healing now in Jesus' mighty name.
• Whatever is not planted in your body that is working against your health and wellness is cursed and completely rooted out in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
  Peace!
  TO BE CONTINUED

STEPS TO SALVATION
• Take notice of this:
IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).
a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).
b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).
c. As you took the steps A and B your name is written in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).

• If you took the steps As highlighted above, congratulations, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!