The Heavy Responsibility of Sheep-Feeding - A.W.Tozer

God’s Word says that a faithful and wise steward gives the people their meat in due season. Some people preach the Bible all right, and you cannot deny that. But they go to the Bible as you would to a medical book to find out what you should prescribe. But instead of prescribing to suit each patient, they just prescribe for everybody at one time. When a preacher is not preaching to a given situation, it is like givng medicine to people indiscriminately. That approach is not particularly fitted for teaching the Word of God. Even though it may be faithful and true, without any regard to the current situation, it is like teaching the multiplication table. The New Testament epistles were written to specific conditions, as were the seven letters of Revelation. Particular situations developed, and then the man of God wrote to these particular people. The seven letters found in Revelation were to particular churches, having regard to the needs of those churches. It was the same with the prophets of the Old Testament. No prophet went into an ivory tower, settled down to relax, read deeply awhile, took out a pen and said, “Now, I’m going to write a book of prophecy.” They did not do it that way. They wrote to the need, to the situation. They aimed their arrows at a target. When God is speaking to a particular situation the power of the Holy Spirit is present and active. When David sinned, Nathan the prophet came to him and told a little parable. When David gave his judgment of what to do with the sinful man, Nathan pointed his finger at the king and said, “You are the man” (2 Samuel 12:7a). Immediately David threw off his crown and his robe, dropped his scepter, fell on his knees and repented before God. That was a particular situation. When we are talking to a specific situation the sheep are separated from the goats, the veil is removed and the judgment begins.

A.W.Tozer