The Reason for the Enterprise

"The LORD said to Abram: Go forth from your land, your relatives, and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.  I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the families of the earth will find blessing in you. Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran." (Genesis 12: 1-4)

This scripture sits on top of the Enterprise movement.  It is the reason for the journey.  Once it was heard, understood and believed, it became the launching engine and pad for the Enterprise.  The scripture has been revisited again and again at critical juncture in the Enterprise to draw inspiration and purpose and to keep the movement on purpose and strategy. 

The Enterprise is a journey of faith.  It had a clear beginning but its end is tightly shrouded in mystery.  I walk by faith and not by sight.

"So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5: 38-39)

Your Good Shepherd

"I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord GOD." (Ezekiel 34: 13 - 15)

As I reflect on the reason for including the above scripture as one of the PL scriptures, I recall Psalm 23:

"The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. In green pastures he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff comfort me. II 5 You set a table before me in front of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Indeed, goodness and mercy will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for endless days." (Psalm 23)

In both Ezekiel and Psalm 23, we see the strong role of the Shepherd.  Who is the Shepherd if not our Lord Jesus Christ?  He gathers His sheep; He heals them; He feeds them; He leads them to the place of rest.   Do you believe that Jesus Christ is your Good Shepherd?  Then rejoice in the certain knowledge that everything  promised in Ezekiel 34: 13 – 15 and Psalm 23 is yours.

The Family of God

"I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel." (Ezekiel 34: 13-14)

To whom does this lofty prophecy refer to?  To Israel or the new Israel?  Blessed John Paul II referring to the People of Israel applies Romans 11: 29 to them:

"In respect to the gospel, they are enemies on your account; but in respect to election, they are beloved because of the patriarchs.  For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable." (Romans 11: 28 - 29)

The family of God will be one when the old and new Israel unites through the power of God.  But even then, this prophecy waits for its fulfillment in the Second Coming of Christ.

The Good Shepherd and The Lost Sheep

"I will lead them out from among the peoples and gather them from the lands; I will bring them back to their own country and pasture them upon the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and every inhabited place in the land. In good pastures I will pasture them; on the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down on good grazing ground; in rich pastures they will be pastured on the mountains of Israel. I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest—oracle of the Lord GOD. The lost I will search out, the strays I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, and the sick I will heal; but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them in judgment" (Ezekiel 34: 13-16).

In the parable of the Lost Sheep, Jesus tells of how the Shepherd left 99 sheep and went in search of the Lost One.    I believe that Ezekiel 34: 13 – 16 extends this teaching.  Although the sheep was lost on account of its foolishness, the Good Shepherd spared nothing to find it and bring it back safely to the fold.  The Good Shepherd treats the Lost Sheep as the Father of the Prodigal Son treats his lost son.  God is deeply concerned with the lost and His deepest desire is the salvation of all.  O that we may have such sensitivity to the lost sheep.