History has revealed many common patterns over time. Often men and women are easily influenced. This is why the Bible equates humans with sheep and preachers with shepherds. For some unknown reason, humans are easily misled. Men and women who desire power often gather weak sheep into their folds and take advantage of them.
While the Bible makes it clear that strong leaders must be biblical, Satan knows the weakness of humans and provides apostate deceivers. Often, pastors, teachers, and evangelists are clever manipulators and use the Scriptures to trick the sheep into thinking they are sound when they are actually dangerous.
As the old adage by the poet Robert Burns states: “The best laid schemes of Mice and Men oft go awry and leave us nothing but grief and pain.” Simply speaking, following men will nearly always lead to a catastrophic end. Knowing this in advance and knowing the Bible is true, it would be best to ignore following men and be led instead by the Holy Spirit rather than driven by deceived men. A true shepherd will continually guide his flock with the Word of God and point them to the only Good Shepherd who is able to seek and to save. Like John the Baptist, he is willing to decrease that the Lord may increase. But too many shepherds want ownership of the flock, not realizing the awesome responsibility of the sacred trust they have been given.
Perhaps few have counted the cost of the disastrous results of following false shepherds. These are men who are really wolves in sheep’s clothing. Many have done untold damage as they have ravaged flocks of sheep that were once in folds. They are now scattered and forlorn. Comparatively speaking, they are like ships without a rudder and sailboats without a sail. They bob up and down on the waves of the ocean, wandering souls seeking help and counsel.
Many sheep have been scattered, shattered, and battered. Sheep without a shepherd are in the balance, and there are those who are willing to battle for the truth. The truth is the Word of God (John 17:17) states the Bible. Thy Word!
The Gathering
In these last days of time as we know it, is it possible that God will raise up a standard? Will the stones from the rubble and the burned gates be reconstructed so that the Gospel will go forward? Or is all hopeless, and the remnant will be snuffed out?
The biblical answer to these questions is simple. God has not forgotten His people! He never has. He is the Creator of the universe, the God who knows all things and who is omnipresent. He will raise up the standard, and He will continue to warn until the Day of Judgment. He is the God of Salvation. He is the God who loves us. Yes, apostasy is on the rise, just as the Bible predicts; but as the darkness gets darker, the light will shine brighter. Now He is calling: “Arise, let us go hence” (John 14:31).
Roger Oakland has been a Lighthouse Trails author for nearly 20 years and is the author of numerous Lighthouse Trails books, booklets, and lecture DVDs. His writings and lectures have helped to exhort, edify and equip the church to follow the Good Shepherd and not false shepherds.
(photo from bigstockphoto.com; used with permission)
Years ago Monasteries owned large amounts of land surrounding them. Priests then could marry. They would be allocated a portion of adjacent land for a home. As its peace of the pie grew smaller and smaller they invented the celebacy rules.
Mega churches have adopted the same approach. Rather than replicating via church planting they spend fortunes on huge building so they can hoard all the tithes for themselves.
Contrast this with Amish churches. No pastor/sheperd can intimately know and minister to more than 200 members.
Therefore they build a new small church to better serve the flock with a new pastor just for them.
Bluntly put if your pastor doesnt know the names of every man woman and child, they dont realy serveand love the flock The flock belong Jesus not to themselves.
Very instructive and timely message for all Christians. We should follow the example of those in Berea as recorded in Acts 17:11. Searching the scriptures daily to see if these things are so, while always relying on the Holy Spirit as he will always teach us and testify of Jesus as stated in John 14:26 and 15:26. Thank you for this important message.