MESSAGE IN 1PETER – NUMBER 8 – WOE TO YOU LAZY MINISTERS AND PASTORS WHO FEED YOURSELVES AND NOT THE ONES IN YOUR CHARGE - 1Peter 5:1-3 - PART 2
THE ROLES OF SHEPHERDS/PASTORS IN THE LORD’S SERVICE
[A]. THE INTRODUCTION
This message is PART 2 of the previous message all about shepherds/ministers/pastors in appointed offices in old Israel and in churches. This time we deal with qualifications and motivation and accountability. These concepts are serious.
The following passage is one of the key sections in the Old Testament for the neglect of the flock by false shepherds, which we also know as false pastors. These men were to pasture the flock of the Lord but failed utterly.
The flock in the Old Testament is Israel; specifically as Jeremiah uses it, the people of Judah among which, with Haggai, he ministered as a prophet. Underneath this next bible passage, I want to explain the application to Judea just a little, and then make applications from it for us in our Church age along with Psalm 23. Later on we will deal more with this Jeremiah passage.
{{Jeremiah 23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 23:3 “Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply.
Jeremiah 23:4 I shall also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.}}
Verse 1 begins with a woe, and when a verse contains a woe in the Old Testament, it expresses the great displeasure and judgement of God. This woe applies selectively to those shepherds who are wicked in their behaviour and character. Because of them the sheep of God’s pasture are being destroyed and scattered. Jeremiah bears this out in other verses, as does Ezekiel. The problem continued right through Israel's history and was severely attacked by the prophets.
The failure of the shepherds stemmed from their godless behaviour. A thorough examination of Psalm 23 analysing the points in that Psalm, is a good start for what a shepherd ought to be doing. David learned his craft on the Judean hills in the solitude between him and his sheep. That was derived from the flow on relationship between David and his Lord.
[B]. A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT PSALM 23
Let us look at the summary in Psalm 23 –
((1)). A true shepherd works to ensure none of the sheep is wanting. Of course we must understand what the word “want” means in context, but it certainly does not mean deliberate neglect. The sheep will NOT want for care and attention; for sustenance, and for protection. It might mean inconvenience for the shepherd but that is part and parcel for the shepherd’s role in supporting his sheep. (From verse 1).
((2)). A true shepherd gently leads his sheep beside quiet waters to the best pasture. Water in the bible is often a type of the word of God, and the best pasture is the feeding of the flock. One of the primary ministries of a pastor is to feed the flock with the very best nourishment from the bible (in the time of Jeremiah and David, from the Law). The bible is the spiritual food God delivers for His people. Woe to any shepherd, minister, pastor who is careless about the bible. (From verse 2).
((3)). A true shepherd will restore a tired out sheep, one fainting, or distressed, or finding the journey too hard. Many sheep feel the roughness of the road and the dryness of the journey. The true shepherd tenderly cares for those sheep. Ministering to Christians must be gentle, careful and with a full shepherd’s heart. Not to do so is to fail in responsibility given by God. One verse tells us to esteem others more than ourselves. This is proper service. Serving the sheep is NOT feeding ON the sheep for one’s own advantage, materially or financially. (From verse 3).
((4)). A true shepherd will guide in the best way for the welfare and safety of the sheep. He takes the well-travelled paths. A pastoral ministry must lead the sheep in the paths of righteousness for the Lord’s sake. A man can not lift another higher than what he has attained himself. A shepherd must NOT be driven by the world’s agenda or ideology. Righteous paths today are more difficult than in the recent past with all the liberal theology (satanic denial), WOKE, and Marxism pervading society and the church. The pastor must be skilled to lead the sheep in the correct way. If he can not do that, he must leave; the sooner the better. (From verse 3).
((5)). A true shepherd will comfort the sheep (with rod and staff where applicable, and that means setting boundaries, and correction, guidance and instruction, nurturing through danger). This makes the sheep feel safer. What about a church over which a pastor has control? Are the sheep corrected when necessary? Do they feel safe in their church from wolves? Is the pastor comforting the down-spirited ones and the hurting ones? Are the true aspects of shepherding being neglected because a shepherd, minister, pastor, elder is more concerned about his own popularity? (From verse 4).
((6)). A true pastor will prepare a table of spiritual blessing before his fellow believers. He will build them up in knowledge of the word, in prayer, in fellowship, and in being equipped to go out into the world, a hostile world these days for Christians. There is another aspect here. A faithful shepherd not only prepares a table for the ones in his charge, but will teach them how to prepare their own tables. We touched on that in the last message. (From verse 5).
((7)). A true shepherd knows goodness and mercy from God. Those blessings he will impart to his own flock. God’s true sheep will follow a true shepherd. A true shepherd follows the true Shepherd of the sheep. In churches where ministers and shepherds are sold out to the Lord and are genuine, people will grow in knowledge of the goodness and compassion and kindness of God. (From verse 6).
[C]. THE SHEEP ARE BEING SCATTERED BY FALSE SHEPHERDS/PASTORS
In Israel many of the shepherds of the people failed to do that and brought condemnation on themselves. Ungodly men can not lead a flock for the Lord. An unconverted man standing in a church is an abomination as he can not be a pastor in any way. A double-minded man is not able to perform pastoral duties. Lazy ministers and pastors are a disgrace, and are a pretence to the cause of Christ. Some denominations are ruled by unconverted men and they are found in the churches.
In Israel this same abuse was happening. Look again at verse 2 – {{Jeremiah 23:2 Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; BEHOLD, I AM ABOUT TO ATTEND TO YOU for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.}}
These men did not unify the flock but scattered them. The false shepherds left them unattended and at the mercy of wild animals. The false shepherds of today have left their flocks at the mercy of wild animals (Satan’s workers) and all the evil “isms” of society, along with the tares.
Just as bad as that is that the false shepherds DROVE AWAY THE FLOCK. How? They did it by harshness, greed, scandal, violence, and by so much that was false. The sheep left but were unable to find a home because there were so many of these false ones. It is sad to report today that the sheep in many of the big denominational churches are fleeing the churches trying to find little clusters of similar sheep. I saw it personally happening in England when I was ministering there and denominations were promoting the worst of liberalism. These churches that are full of liberalism, denial of the bible, and all these modern gender and sexuality corruptions that they are embracing, are far away from God. The Uniting Church in Australia does not accept the bible as God’s word (contains the words of God, but is NOT the word of God); promotes homosexuality and the wicked gay mardi gras, and is placing such people in the pulpits; and is promoting aboriginal spiritism and activism, the spiritism religion of Satan as part of its socialism/Marxism. John Wesley would be horrified.
There is a dire warning for the false shepherds in Jeremiah 23 verse 2, and this is it – “BEHOLD, I AM ABOUT TO ATTEND TO YOU.” Be it now or at the judgement, ALL these false shepherds of Israel and the Church period will be severely judged for leading astray and scattering God’s sheep to Satan. Be warned, you false shepherds. Repent, get converted and do the Lord’s will. You will be cast in the deepest hell for the damage to God’s people! Beware you careless and lazy pastors, God is not slack regarding His promises.
Looking back at Jeremiah 23:3, the Lord Himself will gather all the scattered sheep of Israel in a coming day and bring them into His flock. That will happen when the Second Coming occurs and the Lord will gather the saved Jews from all over the world (saved during the Tribulation). You might like to look at my messages on the Restoration of Israel found in the “Eschatology and Prophecy” series on SermonCentral under my name. That will be a wonderful time when the Lord will be the Chief Shepherd of the sheep and will care for His redeemed, restored people of Israel.
[D]. NOW WE WILL CONSIDER SOME OTHER ASPECTS OF FALSE SHEPHERDS
In Jeremiah 10:21 it says the shepherds are stupid and have scattered the flock.
In Jeremiah 12:10 we are told many shepherds have ruined God’s vineyard and have trampled down His field and made it a desolate wilderness. Ministers, Pastors, Priests, Elders, Shepherds, examine yourselves in the light of the following passage -
{{Jeremiah 50:6-7 “My people have become lost sheep. THEIR SHEPHERDS HAVE LED THEM ASTRAY. They have made them turn aside on the mountains. They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place. All who came upon them have devoured them, and their adversaries have said, ‘WE ARE NOT GUILTY, inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the habitation of righteousness, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’”}}
[E]. LET EZEKIEL HAVE HIS SAY
The prophet Ezekiel is most scathing of the false shepherds. God does not tolerate those over His people who are lazy and think only about themselves, using the sheep or their ministry merely to earn a living or to satisfy their desires. Some pastors live in luxury and have much materialism. What did Jesus have? – not a place to lay His head. What did Paul have? He was persecuted, went hungry and suffered privations. Some modern church leaders, pastors, ministers, etc. are so materialistic especially those of the evil prosperity doctrine. How God hates that! Great will be the judgement! They fed themselves on the sheep.
Listen to what Ezekiel says – {{Ezekiel 34:1-3 “Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “WOE, shepherds of Israel who have been FEEDING THEMSELVES! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool. YOU SLAUGHTER THE FAT SHEEP WITHOUT FEEDING THE FLOCK.”}}
{{Ezekiel 34:4-6 “Those who are SICKLY you have not strengthened, the DISEASED you have not healed, the BROKEN you have not bound up, the SCATTERED you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the LOST, but with force and with severity you have DOMINATED them. They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill, and MY FLOCK WAS SCATTERED over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them.”’”}}
{{Ezekiel 34:7-10 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: “As I live,” declares the Lord GOD, “surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather THE SHEPHERDS FED THEMSELVES AND DID NOT FEED MY FLOCK - therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I AM AGAINST THE SHEPHERDS, and I shall demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep so the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I shall deliver My flock from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.”’”}}
Where are the teachers of the word of God? Where are the ministers and pastors who are infused and saturated with the word? Where are they who wait on the Lord for His direct, “Thus says the Lord?” Where are these men who cry over the sheep? Where are they who labour for the welfare of the sheep in time, effort and love? Or are some of them too engrossed in their materialism and pleasure and worldly pursuits? As the shepherds of Israel fed themselves on the flock so do some today serve themselves at the sheep’s expense. God hates it. He will call for account and He will be exacting.
[F]. GOD REQUIRES ACCOUNTABILITY
The Lord despises those who abuse, neglect, and use the flock of God for their own benefit. Listen again to Jeremiah and fear the justice of God you who are uncommitted to each member of the flock in your hand. God will not overlook false shepherds and pastors, ever for eternity.
{{Jeremiah 25:34 “WAIL, YOU SHEPHERDS, AND CRY; and WALLOW IN ASHES, you masters of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come, and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
Jeremiah 25:35 “FLIGHT SHALL PERISH FROM THE SHEPHERDS, AND ESCAPE FROM THE MASTERS OF THE FLOCK.
Jeremiah 25:36 “Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds, and THE WAILING OF THE MASTERS OF THE FLOCK! for the LORD is destroying their pasture,”}}
There is a higher scale of accountability for those entrusted with the care of God’s people. Of course in this message we have been seeing where men and women have taken control of churches and Christian organisations when they are not even Christians. These are the wolves in sheep’s clothing. They are false and are judged as such.
However where a man is a Christian and believes the bible he must be very careful that he is not inflated by the position and begins to think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Pride and self-importance have been the downfall of too many in responsible positions. Very frequent accounting must be made of one’s life and conduct to see if there be any seed of wrong or of pride starting to take root, for left unchecked, it will rapidly grow into some monstrous weed that turns from God, and God can not use that person any longer.
[G]. THE INTERCHANGEABLE NAMES OF THE CHURCH OFFICE BEARER
Very briefly I would like to consider what the differences may be between the names given to the shepherding ministry in the bible. All the following words mean much the same for the office, but the words look at the small differences in the special work of that office.
(1). ELDER
The word suggests a tried and older man with experience in the Christian life and grounded in God’s word. We know this most clearly from Israel’s history. It does not mean “an ancient man” but a man well experienced and tried in the things of God. Israel’s elders were leaders among their people. Now it comes to be understood as a man well grounded with a long/er walk with God. These men are proven in leadership and grounded in God. They guided the church.
(2). OVERSEER
Clearly from its definition, “one who watches over for welfare and decency.” The reason is to keep the flock safe and to protect them and to foresee the problems that may come their way. It implies a care and wisdom for the church with internal and external problems and the ability to deal with those problems. He is a man charged with the duty of seeing that things to be done by others are done rightly, any curator, guardian or superintendent. In the New Testament, a guardian of souls; one who watches over their welfare. The Greek is “episkopos” (the AV used “bishop sometimes – forced by King James)
(3). SHEPHERD
We have done a lot on this already but here is more. Each sheep is taught to follow NOT the shepherd but the Lord, for He is the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd and the Chief Shepherd. Too many “shepherds” these days want a personal following. The individual is more important than the whole, some think! One absent or lost sheep demands attention and inconvenience is of no account when seeking the restoration and growth and welfare of that sheep (parable of the 100 sheep). However the whole is made up of individuals. It is a sacrificial role, a fact that many modern day “pastors” don’t realise or practise, or honour. The mind set is “prepared to lay down his life for the sheep”.
(4). PASTOR
In all ways this is very similar to shepherd, possibly slightly more embracing. For the Greek word in the original, the breakup in translation is
AV — shepherd 17, pastor 1. The shepherd and pastor are interchangeable words for the same office/position. The NASB uses “pastor” once in the translation, as does the NIV also.
The 4 words we looked at all apply to the same overseering office in each church; the work of these men. The words just give more explanation in qualifying that office. Any church without rule (in the spiritually discerned sense) or proper management (in the accountability sense) or developing growth (in the ministering, feeding sense) is a poor church. So too is one where the men in the office are failing in the Elder/Shepherd/Pastor/Overseer ministry.
[H]. ONE LAST THING
We looked at Israel's failure in regard to spiritual shepherds. One day God will provide for His people Israel, proper shepherds, and these are some verses -
{{Jeremiah 3:15 “Then I WILL GIVE YOU SHEPHERDS AFTER MY OWN HEART, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.”}}
{{Jeremiah 23:3 “Then I Myself shall gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and shall bring them back to their pasture; and they will be fruitful and multiply. Jeremiah 23:4 “I SHALL ALSO RAISE UP SHEPHERDS OVER THEM AND THEY WILL TEND THEM, and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.“}}
Ezekiel takes it one step further to say that over all Israel – people and raised-up shepherds – there will be one SHEPHERD, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the “Servant David”.
{{Ezekiel 34:23-24 “Then I will set over them ONE SHEPHERD, MY SERVANT DAVID, and He will feed them. He will feed them himself and be their Shepherd, and I, the LORD, will be their God, and My Servant David will be prince among them. I, the LORD, have spoken.”}}
God bless you all
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
