Word of the LORD, Feb. 27th 2008
To the Shepherd’s, I AM angry with you. MY sheep are not being prepared. They wonder around aimlessly. You shepherds were given a great responsibility, you were to prepare and strengthen MY sheep. Instead you have made them weak and lazy. They depend on you instead of looking to ME. You have not taught them to search ME out.
You tickle their ears and feed them with a false sense of hope. I dispatched you out to prepare MY bride, and you threw her into the dung pile. I will purify her and cleanse her, but I will require of you shepherds the blood of those that have suffered. You lead MY sheep into pastures I never told you to go. You take them to places and allow and encourage them to whore themselves to false gods. You sit back and watch, and even have partaken with them while they prostitute themselves to the lusts and desires of the world.
I told you that to be a friend to the world you make yourselves MY enemy. I will purify MY bride just as gold is purified, with fire. You will now watch as I burn the chaff from among MY harvest, but first I will thrash the wheat and separate those that are pure in heart. I loath and despise the luke warm, those that sit on the fence and try to fit into both worlds. You were to train MY children to go out and be ambassadors to this world, no to be partakers.
By GS Robison
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An Exciting Translation
In recent weeks I have again been reading and meditating on the Epistle to the Ephesians. This letter is a veritable mine of revelation which yields fresh treasure each time one comes to it with a heart open to hear what the Spirit may be saying. This time round it was a translation of chapter 4:15-16 which arrested me with a brilliant fresh illumination of the Church as God had shown it to His servant, Paul. I found it quoted by John Stott in his helpful commentary on the epistle. It is by Markus Barth, and here it is speaking of the Body of Christ:
“He (Christ) is at work fitting and joining the whole body together. He provides sustenance to it through every contact according to the needs of each single part. He enables the body to make its own growth so that it builds itself up in love.”
It is astounding to think that the practical truth of this Scripture is so little recognized in the organized churches of our day and indeed of many centuries past. To those who are honest it may have proven to be disturbing as John Stott himself confesses in these words, “The more we share Paul’s perspective, the deeper will be our discontent with the ecclesiastical status quo” Discontent there may be but, by and large, the status quo persists and is accepted. We continue to hold seminars and conferences to promote humanly devised schemes for church growth and church planting and I admit with some embarrassment that I used to eagerly attend such sessions but I do not remember this Scripture ever being quoted during discourses of the so called experts in the field.
Jesus left with His disciples no blueprint for growing the Church. Their responsibility would be to follow Him under the power and leading of the Holy Spirit and He Himself would go to work fitting and joining the body together, linking believer with believer in a living organism, and through each and every contact He would provide the sustenance needed by each individual according to his needs and so by its inherent life the body would grow.
Why don’t we trust Him to do what He says? Are we prepared to take the necessary steps of faith to let Him prove to us that it is true?
~by Jack Gray Auckland, NZ
Did Jesus Give "Authority" To Pastors?
The term "pastor" was never used in the vocabulary of Jesus Christ--NOT ONCE! In the King James New Testament the singular term "pastor" is not to be found--NOT ONCE! The plural term "pastors" is found in the King James New Testament--ONLY ONCE! Oddly, the King James translators used the term "pastors" (plural) at Ephesians 4:11, while in all other instances the same Greek word was translated as "shepherd." Strong's Exhaustive Concordance for "pastors" is number 4166, which is the same number used for "shepherd" elsewhere and is the same, identical number 4166.
Interestingly, Jesus referred to Himself as the Good Shepherd (John 10:11 and 10:14) and if you really wanted to use the term "Pastor", then Jesus is the "Good Pastor" and no one else is qualified to take the place of Jesus Christ. Jesus also said this: "And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and THERE SHALL BE ONE FOLD, and ONE SHEPHERD (John 10:16), and if you prefer to use the term "Pastor" instead of "Shepherd", then Jesus said of Himself, "THERE SHALL BE ONE PASTOR." And guess what folks, your local so called "pastor" is not the "ONE PASTOR."
Jesus Christ never once implied that anyone was the Good Shepherd, other than Himself. On the other hand what Jesus said is this--Matthew 9:37, "Then said He unto His disciples, the harvest truly is plenteous, but the LABORERS are few; (38) Pray you therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth LABORERS into His harvest." Even when Jesus said to Peter three times "feed my sheep", Jesus did not refer to Peter as "shepherd (or pastor)" (John 21:15-19). Jesus nowhere ever stated to pray that God would send "pastors" into the harvest, but rather laborers.
From my perspective, based upon every instance the word "shepherd" is used in the direct teachings of Jesus Christ, in the four Gospels, it is therefore odd that in the rest of the New Testament, we are led to believe that Christ established an ecclesiastical authority over the flock of God. Jesus, NOT ONCE ever referred to His personal disciples as "shepherds or pastors" as translated in the King James New Testament.
The ONLY AUTHORITY that Jesus Christ gave to His personal disciples was to heal the sick and cast out unclean spirits (Matthew 10:1). On another occasion, when the carnal disciples (they had not yet received the Holy Spirit) of Jesus Christ were arguing among themselves as to who would be the greatest (like I am the "senior pastor"), Jesus said this at Matthew 20:25, "But Jesus called them unto Him and said, You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them. (26) But IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister" (the term "minister" here is the same Greek word translated "servant" at Matthew 23:11).
The character of Jesus Christ is one of humility and meekness. When the Chief Shepherd washed the feet of His disciples, it was an incredible display of the heart of God. The very nature of titles, positions and offices of "authority over" others is contrary to both the teachings and the role model of Jesus Christ. I can only believe that some of Paul's writings have been tampered with by the "translators" and are not really "inspired" by God. There are functions and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but to believe that Jesus Christ appointed "spiritual generals" with so-called offices of authority over His people, is a grave contradiction to what Jesus taught in His personal teachings. Either Jesus Christ is Lord and Master (Matthew 23:8) or your local "pastor" is. Some people seem to believe that celebrity preachers who appear on television, or who have authored books that have sold millions of dollars in sales are "authority" figures over the church world.
I heard a well known celebrity and very famous "pastor" state on radio that God has given "authority" to the church leaders, and that Christians should not question their leaders. That is tantamount to being blind, deaf and dumb. That belief among the church "pastors" is not based upon what Jesus Christ taught in the four Gospels, but rather it is based upon what Paul supposedly taught. I personally prefer to believe Jesus Christ, who is the Chief Shepherd, role model and ONLY HEAD of the Body. Either Paul was off base in some of his teachings, or else the "translators" had ulterior motives in twisting Paul's teachings. I choose to not allow Paul's supposed teachings to overshadow the direct teachings of Jesus Christ, as do those who exercise the role of "pastors."
So then, did Jesus Christ give "authority" to "pastors"? If you believe Jesus Christ, then you have only ONE MASTER (Matthew 23:8) and that is Christ, no matter what is said elsewhere in the New Testament. If you believe Jesus Christ, He is the ONLY GOOD SHEPHERD (John 10:11,14) and He is the ONE SHEPHERD of the flock (John 10:16).
All those who labor for the harvest of souls are simply "brethren" (Matthew 23:8) according to the direct teaching of Jesus Christ. Therefore to imply that some have "offices, positions of power, control and authority" over others is a contradiction to Christ's teachings, and cannot possibly be the truth. So then, is the "Bible" infallible and inerrant? If you believe that, then you do so not based upon Jesus saying so, because Jesus Christ never vocalized "the Bible is infallible and inerrant." There was no New Testament Bible in existence at the time of Jesus Christ and the first Christians. Has someone tampered with the "New Testament" to make Christians believe in authoritarianism and hierarchy?
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