06-17-2018, 01:01 PM
A biblical shepherd's dominion is voluntary. It's voluntary for the shepherd and for the sheep.
When God sticks you into a shepherd's role, you have a grant of dominion from Him. However, that dominion depends on Him working through human nature to make people act a little more like sheep. Your bottom line of authority is the power to exclude, not to include. You can remove your covering from someone, but unless you are dealing with your own children, you have virtually no power to extend your covering over the unwilling.
So if someone under your ostensible care decides to move outside your boundaries, they are outside your care. You exclude them and keep them from interfering in the care of those who stay inside the boundaries. What isn't readily apparent to human eyes is just how avidly people will flock to your shepherd's care. If you have exercised godly shepherding any length of time, you realize that people will come clinging to that divine Presence you manifest. It's just how people are. If you are confident in His power and calling, they come running. So it becomes important to learn how to exclude those who really shouldn't be there.
When God sticks you into a shepherd's role, you have a grant of dominion from Him. However, that dominion depends on Him working through human nature to make people act a little more like sheep. Your bottom line of authority is the power to exclude, not to include. You can remove your covering from someone, but unless you are dealing with your own children, you have virtually no power to extend your covering over the unwilling.
So if someone under your ostensible care decides to move outside your boundaries, they are outside your care. You exclude them and keep them from interfering in the care of those who stay inside the boundaries. What isn't readily apparent to human eyes is just how avidly people will flock to your shepherd's care. If you have exercised godly shepherding any length of time, you realize that people will come clinging to that divine Presence you manifest. It's just how people are. If you are confident in His power and calling, they come running. So it becomes important to learn how to exclude those who really shouldn't be there.