Following the Shepherd

When we were in Israel a few years ago I experienced a Biblical principle in a real-life experience.

A shepherd had a flock of sheep and goats. I wanted to pet them, but when I called them they ignored me completely. The shepherd saw that I was trying to call them over to me and said something in Hebrew, they all rushed to him who was beside me. They did not recognize my words but they did not hesitate when he called to them.

Believers ought to be excited about hearing from the Holy Spirit.

When the shepherd was ready to leave he began walking away and the sheep and goats ran to be close to him, they were so close to him that he had to walk straight ahead as they clamored to be next to him. It was clear they really loved that shepherd.

God gave me a real-life experience that day to demonstrate the principles in His Word.

John 10:11-15 "11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, 15 just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep"

We have a lot of hirelings in the pulpits today who are more concerned about the stability of their jobs than they are about the spiritual well-being of those they serve.

Many if not all of these shepherds wouldn't serve if they were not paid. They would not be interested in being one elder among other elders who are not paid, and yet this is the model of the first-century church gathering.

When popularity and salary are a goal there cannot be honest and strive to remain entirely Biblical. Many preachers I used to like are getting off into strange teachings and entertainment to draw people. They know, and rightly so, that if they do not follow the Christian culture their church flock will dwindle down so much that they will not have enough money to pay their salary.

Also, often these hirelings are not chosen from among the people they serve, they have been living somewhere else not knowing the people who hired them. They are hired based on their words and the testimonies of others from far away, not on their demonstration of a Christlike life.

When we do not do things God's way the efforts deteriorate the church's resolve to obey the Word of God. Soon "methods" and "tactics" are employed to keep the people in the pews.

There is another problem, the hirelings compromise so much so that the gatherings are barely recognizable to Christianity as described in the Bible. There is far more of God's word that is disobeyed than is obeyed. Everything is deemed not important if it is not the gospel message. To ignore any of the Words of Christ, is to deny Jesus Christ. He is the very essence of His Own Words.

Obedience to the Word of God is an essential part of the born-again believer, not that anyone is saved by obedience but that obedience is an outcome of the salvation experience. We are commanded to obey, why then do so many think they can ignore and even twist what is in the Word? Here is why!

2 Timothy 4:2-4 "…2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction. 3 For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires. 4 So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.…"