Pastors

 I often feel like an Old Testament prophet with nothing but doom and gloom in my message.  It would be nice to give an uplifting, joyful, touchy-feely message. Still, the seriousness of the time, the evil that is growing daily, and the apostasy overtaking the Church does not allow such a message.

 National Clergy Month is observed each October, so I will talk about pastors. The world has transformed the pastor's mentality and theology instead of the pastors challenging society's morality. Today, many pastors are so ignorant or compromising God's word; they teach a false gospel of grace, condoning rebellion, and every form of sin. They also teach a heretical message of faith, focusing on gluttonous prosperity that does not teach Jesus Christ. Jesus taught self-denial, sacrifice, and giving one's income for the right reasons, not to gain wealth.

The American people and the Christians attending churches are in serious trouble because the gatekeepers, most of the Church's pastors and leaders, have become in love with the world more than they are with Jesus Christ.  Does your pastor fear God, or does he fear the government?  Who speaks for Christians? Who speaks for the citizens of a nation that is under judgment by God for their reprehensible sins?

Consequently, they have been led astray by their lusts, imaginations, television, movies, liberal news, public schools and universities, and even much of Christian television and books. They follow and incorporate these ideologies, philosophies, and religious theories into their mentality and, finally, their personal beliefs.

Since 1900 the American Church has been in a downward spiral.  The Church has continued to deteriorate as it adapts to more of the cultural norms.  Much of the responsibility for the decline and lukewarmness is due to the pastor behind the pulpit.  Many pastors have opted for entertainment and compromise with tickling the ear messages rather than proper worship and spending time in the Word of God.  Sadly, pastors have become motivational speakers giving positive thinking messages designed to make people feel comfortable in their sins while attending Church.

We are living in a backslidden generation where Jesus Himself asked the question in Luke 18:8, "…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth".

The American Church is in the same place Israel was found in Ezekiel 34.  Let me paraphrase the message.

What the LORD told Ezekiel would be this message today.

The word of the Lord came to me. He said, "Son of man, speak against the pastors of America for me. Speak to them for me. Tell them that this is what the Lord God says: 'You pastors of America have only been feeding yourselves by enjoying the benefits of the ministry. It won't be good for you! Why don't you pastors feed the flock?  You eat fat sheep and use their wool to make clothes for yourselves. You enjoy the profits of your ministry. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock.  You have not made the weak strong. You have not cared for the sick sheep that lack the healing power of the Word of God. You have not put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. Some of the sheep wandered away into false teachings, and you did not get them and bring them back. You did not go to look for the lost sheep. No, you were cruel and severe—that is the way you tried to lead the sheep!

"'And now the sheep are leaving the Church because no pastor was giving them the WORD. They were spiritually weak and became food for every wild animal, so they were scattered. My flock wandered from Church to Church with the hope of finding the truth. My flock was scattered over all the face of the earth. There was no one to search or to look for them.'"

 So, you pastors, listen to the word of the Lord. The Lord God says, "I swear that the wild animals of false teaching will catch my sheep, and my people will become food for all those animals because they did not have any real pastors. My pastors did not look out for my flock. They did not feed my flock. No, they only killed the sheep and fed themselves!"

So, you pastors, listen to the word of the Lord!  The Lord God says, "I am against the pastors. I will demand my sheep from them. I will fire them. They will not be my pastors anymore. Then the pastors will not be able to feed themselves, and I will save my flock from their mouths. Then my sheep will not be food for them."  Your fine homes will be gone; your jets, yachts, and high incomes will all vanish.

The Lord God says, "I will be their Pastor. I will search for my sheep and take care of them.  If a pastor is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. In the same way, I will search for my sheep. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered on that dark and cloudy day.  I will bring them back from false teachings. I will gather them from those backslidden churches and bring them back to sound doctrine. I will feed them on the mountains, by the streams, and in all the places where people worship.  I will lead them to grassy fields. They will go to the place high on the mountains and lie down on the good ground and eat the grass. They will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of victory. Yes, I will feed my flock, and I will lead them to a place of rest." This is what the Lord God said.

"I will search for the lost sheep. I will bring back the sheep that were scattered and put bandages on the sheep that were hurt. I will make the weak sheep strong, but I will destroy the fat and powerful pastors. I will feed them the punishment they deserve."

This is what the Lord God says: "And you, my flock, I will judge between one sheep and another. I will judge between the true sheep and the goats. You can eat the grass growing on the good land. So why do you also crush the grass that other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water of salvation. Why do you also stir the water that other sheep want to drink, confusing the message of salvation? My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet, making the message of the Gospel distasteful."

So, the Lord God says to them: "I will judge between the fat sheep and the thin sheep!  You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away so that I will save my flock. They will not be caught by wild animals anymore. I will judge between one sheep and another. Then I will put one Pastor over them, my servant David. He will feed them and be their Pastor. Then I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be the ruler living among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.

 "And I will make a peace agreement with my sheep. I will take harmful animals away from the land. Then the sheep can be safe in the desert and sleep in the woods.  I will bless the sheep and the places around my hill. I will cause the rains to fall at the right time and will shower them with blessings.  And the trees growing in the field will produce their fruit. The earth will give its harvest so that the sheep will be safe on their land. I will break the yokes on them and save them from the power of the people who made them slaves. Then they will know that I am the Lord.  They will not be caught like an animal by the nations anymore. Those animals will not eat them anymore. No, they will live safely. No one will make them afraid.  I will give them some land that will make a good garden. Then they will not suffer from hunger in that land or suffer the insults from the nations anymore.  Then they will know that I am the Lord their God. The Christians will know that I am with them and that they are my people." This is what the Lord God said!

"You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. You are only human beings, and I am your God." This is what the Lord God said.

The Church has become a fellowship center where musical entertainment and drama have replaced messages from an anointed pastor that warns the congregation of the consequences of sin and God's future eternal judgment for all those who continue in their sins while attending Church.

Where are the faithful ministers whose main burden from the Lord is to deal with sin and avoid judgment if there is repentance? Not the touchy-feely constantly condoning and pampering your sins.

Even though they have the title, they are not called, and they do not function in the ministry's office. Half of the Church does not recognize that the Holy Spirit must anoint the message.  This makes the sermon ineffective to represent Jesus Christ on earth because they can only tell stories. There is no reality backing their message. These uncalled ministers are nothing but sounding brass and a tinkling symbol because they cannot operate and lead the Church with power and authority. God will allow persecution to continue to come against His Church until people repent and draw close to God.

Pray for your pastor; he has a great responsibility to you and the LORD.