Msg #24050 Advent Shepherds
What The Bible Says
Good Samaritan’s Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice
One can learn a lot from a shepherd. In the Bible a pastor and shepherd are the same word. Able was one, Cain killed him. In God’s economy pastors-shepherds are the heralds of truth. At Jesus’ birth, “there were shepherds abiding in the fields” (Luke 2). These heralds of truth were given insight, signs, and the time, curiosity, and initiative to pursue holy things. So is your pastor. “And when they (shepherds-pastors) had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.” So does your pastor. God wants you under a pastor-shepherd. “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, … that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd” (Num.27:16). There are bad shepherds destroying God’s vineyard (Jer.12:10), causing sheep to go astray (50:6), brutish, not seeking God (10:21). Just move away slowly, God will deal with them (Jer.23). In Ezekiel 34:2-6, through bad shepherds, God reveals seven things a good pastor will do;1) feed-flocks, 2) strengthen, 3) heal, 4) bind up broken, 5) bring-in driven-away, 6) seek the lost, 7) not-scatter sheep. Jeremiah 23:4-6 reveals that under a good pastor-shepherd sheep will be well fed, fear no evil, not be dismayed, and not be lacking. For the Christian, God is clear, “I will set up shepherds over them.” Certainly in Christ we have a Good Shepherd (Jhn.10:11, Psalm22), a Great Shepherd (Heb.13:20, Psalm23), and a soon coming Chief Shepherd (1Pet.5:4, Psalm24), but “the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation.” Not a woman, not a brute, not a charismatic miss-leader, you need a pastor-shepherd, and you need to pray for him. In this day of apostasy he is God’s herald of truth.
An Essay for week #50, Dec 15, 2024
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