Paths of Righteousness

Secrets Of Leadership From The Shepherd King

1st Service, Sunday, 29 June 2008

preached by Pastor Joseph Prince

22 June 2008 saw the largest attendance ever recorded – 20,000 plus

When you have increased capacity to give, you have increased capacity to receive.

Sometimes, you feel a struggle to give more than your routine giving, but you must break through and give at the next level, as God is also preparing you to receive at the next level.

The wine skin is enlarged and renewed so that when more and new wine is poured in, it will not break.

Coma

You can use the holy anointing oil even on those who are in coma or dead. God quickens the dead.  When in coma, the person has most likely seen the spirit realm (either heaven or hell). He can also hear you. Therefore preach the Gospel and ask him to say the sinner’s prayer and confess Jesus as saviour.

Jesus + nothing = EVERYTHING

Jesus + something of self = 0

God yearns for us

Most frequent metaphor of God and us in Bible is that of Shepherd and Sheep.

Jeremiah 23

Jer 23:1    Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

Jer 23:2    Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:3    And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Jer 23:4    And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:5    Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer 23:6    In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 23:7    Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Jer 23:8    But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Jer 23:4 tells us how to recognise a good church and leadership. The people shall “fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking“

Pastor Prince recounts the testimony of a man who was suffering from cancer and was told that he would find healing in Psalm 23. That man read and meditated on Psalm 23 as he toured Israel. He was healed and remains alive and free from cancer to this day!

Why the Gospel Revolution at this time?

This Gospel of Righteousness in Christ is being restored in this time as prophesied and pinpointed in Jer 23:6 and Jer 23:8 as this is time when in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, large numbers of Jews are finally free to migrate from Russia – the north country – and return to Israel. There was no other time in history when the Jews were free to migrate from the north country. Also when Jeremiah was written, there were no Jewish exiles in the north country. Only to the east – Babylon, persia and south – Egypt.

In the NT, God’s commands are his enablings

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure.”  Philippians 2:13.

In the NT, God’s commands are his enablings. It is like, He creates a hunger in you and then placing your favorite dish in front of you, and saying, Thou Shall Eat.

Shepherd Leaders

As the Lord states in Jer 23:3, He wants shepherd leaders. Not captain, general or boss type leaders. He does not want leaders who are there simply for the ego-trip. This principle should also apply to the secular world. Leaders who are shepherds should be appointed. This is the criteria for choosing good leadership. Choosing ego-trip type leaders well only mess up the lives of the people.

In the same vein, management meetings should not be called simply to surround the boss and give him an ego trip. Therefore, if an organisation has frequent and many meetings, WATCH OUT, as these meetings may not actually be neccessary on a practical level but simply to massage the ego of the CEO. In fact, the contrary should be practised, a secure CEO, who calls few but EFFECTIVE meetings.

Psalm 23:1 – No to consumerism, Yes to Jesus

Pslam 23:1    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The more you desire of and for Christ, the less dependant you are on things, and when the time comes to give to or for Jesus, you will be in a position to sow into the Kingdom. The simpler and uncluttered (with things) your lifestyle now, the more you have for Jesus.

When the LORD is your shepherd, your needs gets lesser, and you get richer.

You must come to the place where you really believe that the LORD is your shepherd and all that you need. The reason why people are not happy is because they don’t really believe this and trust in things to give them temporary happiness. Society keeps creating new wants.

May David’s prayer be ours as well.

Psalm 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but You?And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.

Pslam 27:4        One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

When GOD is all in all, our needs are few. In fact, GOD will give you things you did not seek for, and much more.

Reviewing the past, we realise that when we pursued things, those things fled! and we were more prosperous when our focus was Jesus.

The LORD will do things for you when HE knows things don’t have you.

The shepherds feed the – the LORD is our Righteousness – revelation to cause the people to not have any lack.

Martin Luther

The Lord used Martin Luther as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation in the Middle Ages.

Luther before he became a priest was going through a forest where there was lightning. Terrified, he cried out “Help! Saint Anna, I will become a monk!” He became a monk as he viewed his cry as a vow he could not break. Luther was so sincere that he kept running to a priest to make confession. The priest eventually told Luther than he was confessing the thoughts of the sin even before they were even committed in action! The priest angrily told Luther to commit the sins first before coming back to him to confess them!

Luther studied the book of Romans especially Romans 1:17 and realised that the “righteousness” found in that passage is not justice of God out to punish you but the righteousness of God out to save us. Both faith and righteousness is a free gift of God, said Luther.

Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17      For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

“It means rather than the justice or righteousness of the righteous is not their own BUT God’s. The righteousness of God is that which is given by those who live by Faith. It is given not because they are righteous, nor because they fulfill the demands of divine justice, but simply because God wishes to give it.” said Luther in expounding Rom 1:17.

Thus Luther’s doctrine of justification of faith is not that God demands of us is faith, as if this is something we have to do or achieve and something God rewards BUT rather both faith and justification is the work of God – a free gift to sinners!

Luther’s eyes became opened after he realised this, and the phrase – the righteousness or justice of God – no longer instilled fear and hatred in him but instead became sweet as it reminded him of God’s great love for him.

Reformation Day – 31 October 1517 – was when Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg protesting inter alia, the sale of indulgences. This sparked the Reformation of Christianity. Hallelujah!

Unfortunately, later, Halloween also came to be ‘celebrated’ by the devil and his crowd on this day to obscure the significance and importance of 31 October as Reformation Day.

Martin Luther Quotes

Some of Luther’s quotes as paraphrased by Pastor Prince:

(1)    When thy words are few, thy prayer is best     [Editors Note: Several sites on the internet have the quotation to be "The fewer the words, the better the prayer"]

(2)    God is pleased by your belly laugh

70 Weeks Prophecy

Dan 9:20    And whiles I [was] speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

Dan 9:21     Yea, whiles I [was] speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

Dan 9:22     And he informed [me], and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

Dan 9:23    At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew [thee]; for thou [art] greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Dan 9:23: God gives us revelation because we are “greatly beloved” by Him.

The 70 Weeks in Dan 9:24 refers to 70 weeks of years 70 x 7 = 490 This speaks of multiplied rest (as 7 speaks of “rest” and “completeness” and “perfection” – the work of Jesus). After 490 years, there will be an “end of sins”. That is why the Magi studying Daniel’s 70 weeks prophesy were able to determine when exactly Jesus would be born.

Precedent for interpreting week as week of years in Gen 29:27 when Laban said to Jacob: “Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.”

Therefore, we know that 490 is a very important biblical number, as God works in cycles.

Time Line

Abraham to Exodus                                                                …    490 years

Exodus to Solomon                                                                   …    490 years

Solomon’s Temple to Nehemiah’s Temple                                  …    490 years

Nehemiah’s Temple to Jesus                                                    …    490 years

Reformation Day (31 October 1517) to 31 October 2007            … 490 years

Welsh Revival (1904-5) led by Evan Roberts also broke out on 31 October.

Not mere coincidence!

Pastor Prince in and around 31 October 2007 – last year – preached: (a) Righteousness – The Key To Being An Heir Of The World, on 21 October 2007 and (b) How To Walk In The Blessings Of Abraham, on 7 October 2007. Both sermons were God-incidences (because at that time Pastor did not know about the Reformation Day anniversary) as they touched on how we can learn from Abraham to become an heir of the world i.e. in line with Daniel 9:24 and Reformation Day — Righteousness and Salvation by Faith! but go further than Luther because Pastor Prince has been commissioned by God to preach Righteousness to the Church so that the Church may inherit the world. No longer just simply wandering in the wilderness and following the Cloud but inheriting the Promised Land and entering into the riches of Solomon i.e. the wealth of the World. This is a prophetic time. God always progresses. Israel in Solomon’s time is far greater than Israel in wandering-wilderness experience. This is Benjamin Generation!

Song of Songs

Sgs 1:5   I am dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.

Sgs 1:6    Do not look upon me, because I am dark, because the sun has tanned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept.

Sgs 1:7    Tell me, O you whom I love, where you feed your flock, where you make it rest at noon. For why should I be as one who veils herself by the flocks of your companions?

Sgs 1:8 If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock, and feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents.

So far in Sgs 1:5-8, the bridegroom has not spoken.

The “sun” in Sgs 1:6 speaks of persecution. Our authority for this is Matt 13:6 where in the parable of the sower, the sun destroys the seed, ”And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”

Sgs 1:7: The bride’s eyes are veiled and cannot see the bridegroom / Christ.  Cf. 2 Cor 3:15 – the veil is the Law. When you are veiled, you cannot see revelation. The bride wants to go where flock is at noon time.

Sgs 1:5    The Hebrew word “Kedar” means dark or black. Therefore when the bride says she is “dark” she is referring to the “tents of Kedar” which is a typical bedouin tent which is black in colour. When the bride says she is “lovely”, she is referring to the beautiful “curtains of Solomon” in the Temple of Jerusalem.

Every Believer from his perspective should see himself as both dark and lovely. Don’t fight against or deny it.  Rom 7:18 “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but [how] to perform what is good I do not find.” Sinful inclination is still there in the flesh (the “flesh” in not the real you, it is your old nature) after we are saved in Christ. At the same time, the Believer (the “real” you and your new nature) is lovely in Christ. The faster you acknowledge this duality, the faster you come to rest in Jesus.

Sgs 1:6   The bride tries to justify herself and her sins by saying the sun has tanned her. She is actually saying, her flesh always manifests during the sun i.e. testing times.

James 5:16 “Confess [your] trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” You must acknowledge that you are a sinner before God can justify you. You must acknowledge that you are poor before God can be your financier. The mistake of the bride is that she dwells only in Kedar / darkness. Sin conscious focus even though she also said she is lovely.

Faces of 4 creatures depicted on Curtains of Solomon

The curtains depict the:

(1) Lion (Book of Matthew, colour: purple, Jesus as King),

(2) Ox (Book of Mark, colour: scarlet-red, Jesus as Suffering Servant),

(3) Man, (Book of Luke, colour: linen-white. Jesus as the Pefect Man);

(4) Eagle (Book of John, colour: blue. Jesus as God)

In book of Matthew, geneology of Jesus is traced to Abraham, because this is to whom, the promise of kingship was given. Purple is the colour of royalty.

In Mark, there is no genealogy as the pedigree of a servant is not asked. Instead we find many action words like “immediately”, “at once”, “straight away” etc as servants must perform their tasks quickly and without question.

From Matthew, Jesus as King (the colour of royalty is purple), we move to Mark, Jesus as Servant, where Jesus serves even to the point of shedding blood, hence the colour “red”.

In Luke, the phrase, “the Son of Man” appears most frequently. Jesus is typified here as the Perfect Man hence the colour white as Jesus is sinless. Genealogy here goes all the way to Adam to prove that Jesus came as a Man.

In John, there is no genealogy, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God …” In this Gospel, Jesus is depicted as Deity and come from Heaven hence the colour blue.

The Lion is the king of the beasts.

The Ox is an animal of labour / servitude.

The Eagle dwells in the heavens.

Some scholars say – white – is not seen – as all the all depictions are inscribed over it.

Jesus came from the Blue – Heaven and became Red – Adam -  THAT is Royalty, Purple (royal) colour.
We (red) partake of Blue (heavenly nature of Jesus) and became Purple, and have new royalty nature.

Application

Be:

(1)    King over the devil.

(2)    Servant to your fellow human beings.

(3)    Man to your wife and kids.

(4)    Eagle in worship.

All 4 aspects of Christ in you are necessary for this life on earth.

First time Bridegroom / Jesus speaks

Sgs 1:8 If you do not know, O fairest among women, follow in the footsteps of the flock, and feed your little goats beside the shepherds’ tents.

Jesus / bridegroom only sees the bride / us as “fairest among women”! That is the very first utterance of Jesus! Jesus is conscious only of our loveliness!

We might see the tent, but JESUS sees the curtains! Amen!

True holiness is to see as God sees!

When you see the glory of the LORD, you will be transformed.

“Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you,” says the Lord GOD. (Ezekiel 16:14). God speaking to Jerusalem / Israel. If you ever become famous, because you pursue Jesus, remember it is because, God, bestowed splendor on you.

Shepherd Leaders

Before God and His people, David submitted and gentle – he could have slew Saul but he did not. David was strong against Goliath.

Samson also was submitted before God and His people. Samson allowed his people to bind him although he could easily destroy them. In time, Samson was used by God to destroy the Philistines at his death.

Gentle/meek and servant-like before God’s people, but exercising power of Lion over enemies of God.

Be a shepherd-leader, give your people and family – VISION. Keep feeding and exhorting them and at the right time, there will be results.

Answer to bride’s question “where to feed” in Sgs 1:7

Exhort to them Sgs 1:8 and encourage them ”to feed at shepherds’ tents” ie. to feed at the Churches. This was bridegroom’s answer to bride who asked: where to feed?

Successful Marriage

Learn that your husband/wife will disappoint from time to time. Jesus is the only who is perfectly lovely and loves us perfectly. Learn this and accept this principle and you will have a successful marriage.

Paths of Righteousness

Psalm 23:3      He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths [hebrew ma' gal] of righteousness [hebrew tsedeq] for his name’s sake.

In Hebrew, these “paths of righteousness” refer to the small circular ‘whitish’ trails/ paths which wind around the hill and form the route upon which the sheep will travel and ascend the hill. Created by previous generations of flocks who went same way. It is not the most straight-forward ascent to the top of the hill but the most easy and secure way to the summit.

ma’gal - “a sort of track or entrenchment created by cattle being driven by a shepherd. Ma’gelei tzedek suggests that the Good Shepherd leads His sheep to tracks or pathways for His Name sake.”

[Editor: I have taken the above quote from  http://hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Ketuvim/Psalm_23/psalm_23.html]

Shepherds lead flock gently round and round the hill and not straight up to the top via the: paths of righteousness.

Eventually, the flock does reach the top! by following the shepherd and without stress. You hardly are exerting yourself, very pleasant, and you don’t even know you are going upwards to the top.This is teaching on righteousness.

In the natural – the pathways of righteousness – there are lots of grass beside the trails, and is not steep and gives sheep firm foothold, so the flock can always stop to rest and feed from time to time.

David was a Shepherd Leader

Psalm 78:70    He chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds:

Psalm 78:71    From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.

Psalm 78:72    So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.

GOD saw that David could fight for and protect his sheep and therefore, God saw that he could lead Israel.

God desires Shepherd Leaders like Jesus

Isa 40:11    He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry [them] in his bosom, [and] shall gently lead those that are with young.

Joseph, Moses, Amos, they were all shepherds!

The main thing that shepherds do is “feed” their sheep.

Is there place for discipline? Yes only in private, and gently. In public, the shepherd-leaders BLESS and PRAISE.

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Post Script:

Taken from: http://www.followtherabbi.com/Brix?pageID=1783

‘Sheep always travel in a straight line, which creates problems when a shepherd calls to sheep further up the hillside: The animals will not walk around hazardous obstacles, but plummet straight down, getting hurt in the process. To avoid this problem, shepherds guide their sheep using straight trails that slowy zig-zag down the hills.’

‘The Hebrew language uses the same word for “straight” and for “righteousness”. Thus the “straight paths” of the shepherd were the “paths of righteousness” mentioned in Psalm 23.3 The Israelites understood that the path of righteousness is the path that leads straight to the shepherd.’

©  6 July 2008  Yeo Choon Meng Terence