Lesson on Gospel Preaching

Two weeks ago, after the prayer meeting of the church on Saturday afternoon, I decided to take a brother along with me to shepherd a brother who is very new in the Lord. I decided to use the gospel preaching time to shepherd a brother. And I had my preference of a brother to coordinate with. Though outwardly everything seemed to be fine, I did not follow the proper leading of the Lord through the leading of the spirit in the fellowship of the Body.

As we went to meet the new brother, first of all, we violated the proper practice of shepherding by being late to meet him. That itself killed the mood of shepherding. Secondly, we should have been preaching the gospel instead as the church has scheduled that time for gospel preaching. Thirdly, we did not exercise our spirit that we ended up speaking human words with human opinion. The result was obvious. There was no life supply and the new brother could not enjoy the shepherding, leave alone the enjoyment of the word. Everything seemed to turn upside down. I learned a very important spiritual lesson.

These mistakes from our side also exposed the true condition of the new ones we were shepherding. His faith itself was not very solid and stable. I could see his real condition in hi faith and I could also see what a shortage I have in my shepherding. His act definitely was condemnable as he compared and equalized Jesus Christ with other gods, and even questioned our authenticity. He has been at best misled or at worst poisoned by the right-wing philosophy concerning Christ. That was a big eye-opener for me. Oh, how much prayer I need to pray for him and his growth in life, and how much shepherding need to be rendered to him in a timely manner. What a lesson for me! 

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful spiritual lesson on shepherding and gospel preaching!