SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Scripture: John 9:1-7

In John 9:1-7, we see Jesus pastoring. He is shepherding the blind man in an unpopular, not very politically correct way. We see Jesus spit on the ground to make clay with His saliva and He anoints the eyes of the blind man and tells him to go wash in the pool. Now I suspect that all observers who were watching this objected to or criticized the method. How weird can a pastor be to spit on the ground, make clay put it in your eyes and tell you to wash it off. Jesus was specific about where to wash! This encounter released God’s wisdom! The number one priority for the restoration of the Biblical shepherd is a willingness to follow the Holy Spirit and do what seems utterly ridiculous in the eyes of people. When our actions and origins are in the Spirit, the fruit proves it. A healed blind man proved Jesus’ actions were God originated. When Jesus is the author of what we preach, people grow. When we yield to culture we have a dumbed-down, seeker-sensitive priesthood more concerned about being successful than obeying God! But the true success is only eternal when the origins are in the Holy Spirit. One of the things that made Jesus so different from the other leaders of the day was His utter and total abandonment to the Spirit and the non-conformity in action that brought. The Holy Spirit is guaranteed to drive us into the teeth of religious tradition. From the whole issue of the Sabbath that Jesus excoriated to the money issues, we have got all of these things today in various and different forms. True success in ministry is not in how many people we attract. That should be obvious in observing Jesus. Some of the same people who liked Jesus early on shouted “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!” at the end. If we base success on the size of our mailing list or the size of the crowd, we have already forfeited dominion. Jesus learned obedience and we have to follow. The foundation of all shepherding is committing to protect the sheep and do whatever the Spirit says, regardless of personal danger.