What To Do When The Leaders Sins Series

Introduction:

A On my lamp in my office I have written a post-it two things:

1 Why am I so easy on myself and so hard on others.

2 My job is not to prepare sermons; my job is to prepare people.

3 Today, I’m going to give a third leg to our four leg chair.

a Issues are not the issues.

b Three Spirits (Korah, Absalom, Jezebel)

c Today, When the leader falls into serious sin.

B Pray

I Main Body of Sermon

A There are few things more devastating, trust-destroying than when someone in authority betrays our trust & chooses sin.

1 I remember what it felt like to learn that then President Bill Clinton, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, Charlie Kretzer had fallen into sexual sin (hurt, crushing loss).

a Sometimes church conflict/division/mistrust stems from the sins of a pastor/church leadership.

aa Not talking parking tickets, speeding tickets..

bb Serious sins of sexual nature or breaking the law that leads to incarceration.

b Zech. 13.7, “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; and I will turn My hand against the little ones.”

aa The text refers to Jesus, but the effect is the same in the local church.

bb Satan knows that when the shepherd of the flock is struck, “little ones” scatter.

bb Therefore, there will always be more spiritual warfare launched on the leader than that which typically released on the church in general.

c Knowing this, I encourage you to intercede for you leaders/pastors.

aa God never intended for the sheep NOT to protect, inspire, and care for his well-being.

bb Paul asked for prayer, Jesus asked for prayer,

d Unprayed-for pastors are vulneralbe to the battle in unique ways.

aa If you have not stood in prayer for your church leaders, in a small way, you could may have been a contributor to their stumbling.

bb If your pastor/church leadership are excelling, operating in the Spirit, they are answers to your prayers!

cc Let Pastor be in your presence, operate powerfully, anointing, authority . . . Answered Prayer and you and the church are blessed!

2 Look at two examples: David & The Prophets of Old

a 1 Chron. 21.3 “Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guild on Israel?”

aa King David wanted to have census (trust in numbers) and brough plague on Israel (killing thousands)

bb The leader covered the people w/ blessing or curses.

b Lam. 4.12-13

aa Jeremiah proclaimed that the sins of the prophets/priests were the reason the Babylonians were going to dismantle Jerusalem.

bb The leader covered the people w/ blessing or curses.

3 We don’t talk much about pastoral covering because we don’t talk much about pastoral authority.

a The truth is that a true spiritual leader creates a living shelter for the people they serve.

aa When the shelter/covering is gone it is as if we’ve turned off the alarm system & like leaving the front door open . . . giving the enemy access to the church that he would not have otherwise had.

bb Prove it, preach.

b Lev. 4.3

aa The people we’re not guilty of sin but they were effected by their shepherd’s sin & positioned them in a state where they couldn’t receive God’s blessing.

bb There was shame, fear, heartache, confusion, & anger that befell upon the people..

c When a leader is struck, sin exposed, entrapped in serious sin it has a devastating effect on the church.

aa Lots of people get entrapped in serious sin, but if the pastor does then people will leave in masse. (Drugs, alcohol, affairs, etc.)

bb This divide is not caused by the ambition/pride of those leaving but instead by the sin of the leader.

cc For those that leave and those that remain a cleansing is necessary in order to get back into blessedness, His presence.

B If a pastor has wounded the church by falling into sin, it is imperative that the church treat the wounds.

1 Without treatment a spirit of mistrust, cynicism and fear can become a normal part of that church’s thought-life.

a Worse still, if these wounds are not treated they become a beehive of demonic exploitation that leave the church vulnerable to manipulation from the enemy.

b Prov 9.18, AMP “The shades of the dead are there [specters haunting the scene of past transgressions]”.

aa The text is talking about sin that is unresolved.

bb The application is that the sins of the leader can provide the means for demons to “haunt” the church body if we do not find a way to redeem the failure in Christ; to move into a blessed future, we must be cleansed of the unredeemed past.

2 Years ago, near Niagra Falls (NY), several companies were authorized to bury toxic waste in “air tight” containers deep under ground.