SERVANT LEADERSHIP - The Blue Letter Bible Institute

Servant Leadership – Lesson 29 9
What Mattered to our Master by Jon Courson
always making sure the gospel is being preached so that the people hear the Good News; and
manna, that specific prophetic word. These are important.
We have all sat through sermons that made us think, “Well, that is a fine presentation, but it did
not touch the heart.” Why? It is because the manna is not there. When is manna found? When did
the manna appear? It appeared in the morning. By the time the sun rose and the temperatures
went up, it would melt away. That is such a key.
The first thing is to feel the full force of the Word. I think that is wise. Get the manna first. “Lord,
what are You saying to me and to the folks that will be gathering in this retreat, this study, or at
that church meeting? What do You want to say to them?” Get the manna first and then go to the
commentaries, the tapes, or whatever. And then always make sure there is milk so that people
who are not sure of the Good News might have the opportunity to hear.
“I have glorified Thee. I have finished the work. I have manifested Thy name. I have given the
word”—both the logos and the rhema. Number five is found in verse 12: “I have kept the flock—
those that Thou gavest Me I have kept. I have kept the flock” (cf. John 17:12). That is what
mattered to our Master, keeping the flock.
How about you? How about me? We too, ought to say that we are going to keep the flock. Now
they might leave. They might not be at my study or they might not be in your church, but you can
still keep them. How? We are told in the book of Exodus that the high priest was to wear over his
heart a breastplate. There were twelve stones representing what? They represent the twelve tribes,
the people. Also, those stones were on shoulders too. In other words, the people were to be on his
heart. They were to be on the shoulders as well.
Here is what I am finding at this point, after twenty-five years of ministry in the same place,
people come and go, and they will come and go from your fellowship too. It does not mean that
you have to lose them. Oh, they might be mad at you, disappointed in you, ticked off at your
youth pastor, or what have you. They can still truly be on your heart. You can pray for them. I can
bear their burdens. I keep the lists of all of our church directories in my study at home, from the
earliest days until now. I still pray through the whole kit and caboodle. Some folks have long
since gone. Some folks are mad at me. I have not lost them. I keep them. I get to keep them in
prayer and I do. I keep praying. And here is the cool thing—I no longer view myself as the pastor
of Applegate Fellowship. I view myself as a pastor in the Rouge Valley, which means wherever
the sheep are they are the Lord’s. I get to serve them whether they are sitting in the pews at
Applegate or not. It has freed me up.
I have found myself over the years saying, “Well, if this guy goes to our church I will take time
for him. I will answer questions. I will pray. But if he is going to the new fellowship down the
road, he should go see his own pastor.” What happens in my heart is not healthy when those
things occur. I am set free to say, “No matter where you are going to church, it does not matter. I
am here in this valley.” I am now the oldest pastor, in terms of longevity, in our valley. I cannot
believe that. I still think I am the new kid, but I am not. I am now the old guy and this is the
opportunity for me to be a pastor over the whole flock in that valley.
Let me ask you a question. Have you kept those that the Lord has given to you or have you let
them go because they are not in your church anymore? How do you know? How do you respond
at K-Mart or at McDonald’s when somebody who used to go to your church but does not go there
anymore, comes over and says, “Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?” What is your reaction? “I