The Pastor.
It seems like today, the pastor is a role, a position, that is much loved (or maybe hated, depending on who you talk to).
It is one of what is called the Five Fold Ministry Gifts listed in Ephesians 4.
Today, many who are in the church system wholeheartedly believe that the 'ministry gifts' are still necessary for 'the church.'
I want to take a biblical look at this....
Indeed, God did talk of pastors in the bible. The word 'Pastor' means 'ra`ah' in Hebrew, which means 'to shepherd, teacher, to associate with, to be companions with.'
Below are the only scriptures I found with the word 'pastor' in them. I want you to note how God speaks of pastors, in the OT, in particular.
Jeremiah 2:8
The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 3:15
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 10:21
For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
Jeremiah 12:10
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
Jeremiah 22:22
The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
Jeremiah 23:1
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 23:2
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.
It seems to me that, for the most part, pastors were OFTEN rebuked by the Spirit of the Lord, for not feeding 'the sheep' properly, for not seeking the Lord, for becoming 'brutish.' Do you KNOW what brutish means???
Brutish means to become 'strongly and grossly SENSUAL; showing LITTLE intelligence and sensibility...the dictionary actually lists 'CARNAL and FLESHLY' as synonyms for the word brutish!!!!
I want to present to you that the reason - the biggest transgression - that these pastors committed in the eyes of God was that they got CARNAL.
THIS is how they destroyed the flock, and scattered the sheep!
You have to understand the nature of sheep.
According to Wikipedia, "sheep are flock animals and strongly gregarious (or sociable); much sheep behavior can be understood on the basis of these tendencies. The dominance hierarchy of sheep and their natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures were the pivotal factors in sheep being one of the first domesticated livestock species. (Sheep establish a dominance hiererachy through fighting, threats and competitiveness.) Furthermore, sheep do not defend territories although they do form home ranges. All sheep have a tendency to congregate close to other members of a flock, although this behavior varies with breed, and sheep can become stressed when separated from their flock members. During flocking, sheep have a strong tendency to follow and a leader may simply be the first individual to move. Their flocking behavior and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavor for the uninitiated. The strongest sense sheep have is their sense of HEARING..."
With this in mind, God knew that we would naturally want to flock together. We would look for leaders. We get stressed when we can't go to church, or when we don't have 'a covering.' Sheep HEAR VERY well. This is the NATURE of sheep.
The Word says HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR what the Spirit of the Lord is saying...
Again, this is the nature and characteristics of SHEEP.
But also because God knew that even the best of shepherds would become corrupted due to carnality and to submission to a man-made system of church. God knew that the enemy would set up pastors and leaders-false prophets-who can MIMIC and imitate the voice of God...sound just like God...act just like God.
Therefore, God had to come up with another plan to save His Sheep from being sheared by these false pastors.
GOD MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE for His sheep.
God sent Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who would become the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20, John 10:11-16)
Yes, the Word does speak of pastors in the NT....
Ephesians 4:11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
But if you read the entire chapter 4 of Ephesians, those 'five fold' gifts, if you will, were not meant to be a PERMANENT fixture in the lives of sheep...
If you read on, there is a REASON why these people are placed in the lives of believers.
And there is also a TIME LIMIT to how long these people are supposed to be in their lives!
REASON for pastors, prophets, apostles, etc.?
'...for the perfecting of the saints; for the edification of the (TRUE) Body of Christ..." (vs 12)
HOW LONG are they supposed to be in your life?
'...Til we all come into the unity of the faith....until we KNOW the Son of God...until we become 'a perfect man...a MATURE man...' (vs 13)
How do I know this?
Read on....
'...be NO MORE children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every doctrine....may grow up - UNTO HIM (NOT your pastor, bishop, apostle, etc!) unto ALL things, unto CHRIST...which IS the Head...' ( vs 14-15)
I don't see anywhere in Ephesians 4 where all of this is supposed to take place so you can go to ministry school and serve the pastor, and the church.
As a matter of fact, if you read Ephesians 5, you will see that Paul spoke of serving YOUR FAMILY...being followers of GOD, and NOT man.
A building, the five fold, is NOT spoken of here again in this context.
And PASTOR is not even mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28, when Paul describes the spiritual gifts or functionalities set in the church in that entire chapter.
Could it be that ALL of these offices so many in the organized church revere and aspire to are ALL TEMPORARY roles they should play in the lives of believers? That their role is only a TEMPORARY one, until the sheep can mature into the fullness of Christ?
Is it POSSIBLE that God would ordain an office, a position, a role...a divine one...and then remove the very necessity of that role?????
Oh, it is VERY possible! God wants His Glory...and does not share it with man.
He has before....in the case of the PRIEST.
The word PRIEST is mentioned 846 in total in the Bible.
689 times-OT
157 times NT
We are all aware of the role of the priest in the OT. Time and space prevents me from citing every scripture in the OT where a priest is mentioned. It is safe to say that, for the most part, the priest in the OT were the people ordained by God to offer up sacrifices for sin on behalf of the people.
Priest was a role ordained by God and would often be inherited by the sons of priests. Whole families would be in the priesthood.
But if you look at the scriptures above, God even had something against the priests....a holy office and position HE instituted and ordained!
In the New Testament, the term 'priest' was used mostly in the phrases 'high priest' and 'chief priest.' And up until the Book of Hebrews, always in the context of how high priests and chief priests were functional in the Judaistic (or OT) religious system.
After the Book of Hebrews, the bible speaks of Jesus Christ of Nazareth being THE CHIEF PRIEST who replaced ALL further need for priests.
As it pertains to offering a sacrifice for our sins....
In Revelations, Priest appears 3 times, and all three times, it is in reference to US being priests and kings in the Kingdom of God.
According to The Difference Between a High Priest and a Chief Priest
Brutish means to become 'strongly and grossly SENSUAL; showing LITTLE intelligence and sensibility...the dictionary actually lists 'CARNAL and FLESHLY' as synonyms for the word brutish!!!!
I want to present to you that the reason - the biggest transgression - that these pastors committed in the eyes of God was that they got CARNAL.
THIS is how they destroyed the flock, and scattered the sheep!
You have to understand the nature of sheep.
According to Wikipedia, "sheep are flock animals and strongly gregarious (or sociable); much sheep behavior can be understood on the basis of these tendencies. The dominance hierarchy of sheep and their natural inclination to follow a leader to new pastures were the pivotal factors in sheep being one of the first domesticated livestock species. (Sheep establish a dominance hiererachy through fighting, threats and competitiveness.) Furthermore, sheep do not defend territories although they do form home ranges. All sheep have a tendency to congregate close to other members of a flock, although this behavior varies with breed, and sheep can become stressed when separated from their flock members. During flocking, sheep have a strong tendency to follow and a leader may simply be the first individual to move. Their flocking behavior and quickness to flee and panic can make shepherding a difficult endeavor for the uninitiated. The strongest sense sheep have is their sense of HEARING..."
With this in mind, God knew that we would naturally want to flock together. We would look for leaders. We get stressed when we can't go to church, or when we don't have 'a covering.' Sheep HEAR VERY well. This is the NATURE of sheep.
The Word says HE THAT HATH AN EAR, LET HIM HEAR what the Spirit of the Lord is saying...
Again, this is the nature and characteristics of SHEEP.
But also because God knew that even the best of shepherds would become corrupted due to carnality and to submission to a man-made system of church. God knew that the enemy would set up pastors and leaders-false prophets-who can MIMIC and imitate the voice of God...sound just like God...act just like God.
Therefore, God had to come up with another plan to save His Sheep from being sheared by these false pastors.
GOD MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE for His sheep.
God sent Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who would become the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Heb. 13:20, John 10:11-16)
Yes, the Word does speak of pastors in the NT....
Ephesians 4:11
And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
But if you read the entire chapter 4 of Ephesians, those 'five fold' gifts, if you will, were not meant to be a PERMANENT fixture in the lives of sheep...
If you read on, there is a REASON why these people are placed in the lives of believers.
And there is also a TIME LIMIT to how long these people are supposed to be in their lives!
REASON for pastors, prophets, apostles, etc.?
'...for the perfecting of the saints; for the edification of the (TRUE) Body of Christ..." (vs 12)
HOW LONG are they supposed to be in your life?
'...Til we all come into the unity of the faith....until we KNOW the Son of God...until we become 'a perfect man...a MATURE man...' (vs 13)
How do I know this?
Read on....
'...be NO MORE children, tossed to and fro, carried about with every doctrine....may grow up - UNTO HIM (NOT your pastor, bishop, apostle, etc!) unto ALL things, unto CHRIST...which IS the Head...' ( vs 14-15)
I don't see anywhere in Ephesians 4 where all of this is supposed to take place so you can go to ministry school and serve the pastor, and the church.
As a matter of fact, if you read Ephesians 5, you will see that Paul spoke of serving YOUR FAMILY...being followers of GOD, and NOT man.
A building, the five fold, is NOT spoken of here again in this context.
And PASTOR is not even mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28, when Paul describes the spiritual gifts or functionalities set in the church in that entire chapter.
Could it be that ALL of these offices so many in the organized church revere and aspire to are ALL TEMPORARY roles they should play in the lives of believers? That their role is only a TEMPORARY one, until the sheep can mature into the fullness of Christ?
Is it POSSIBLE that God would ordain an office, a position, a role...a divine one...and then remove the very necessity of that role?????
Oh, it is VERY possible! God wants His Glory...and does not share it with man.
He has before....in the case of the PRIEST.
The word PRIEST is mentioned 846 in total in the Bible.
689 times-OT
157 times NT
We are all aware of the role of the priest in the OT. Time and space prevents me from citing every scripture in the OT where a priest is mentioned. It is safe to say that, for the most part, the priest in the OT were the people ordained by God to offer up sacrifices for sin on behalf of the people.
Priest was a role ordained by God and would often be inherited by the sons of priests. Whole families would be in the priesthood.
But if you look at the scriptures above, God even had something against the priests....a holy office and position HE instituted and ordained!
In the New Testament, the term 'priest' was used mostly in the phrases 'high priest' and 'chief priest.' And up until the Book of Hebrews, always in the context of how high priests and chief priests were functional in the Judaistic (or OT) religious system.
After the Book of Hebrews, the bible speaks of Jesus Christ of Nazareth being THE CHIEF PRIEST who replaced ALL further need for priests.
As it pertains to offering a sacrifice for our sins....
In Revelations, Priest appears 3 times, and all three times, it is in reference to US being priests and kings in the Kingdom of God.
According to The Difference Between a High Priest and a Chief Priest
 |
| High Priest |
"...It's a matter of hierarchy, like the Catholic Church has a high priest, the Pope, then under him the Cardinals who are chief priests, then other priests below them.
Ancient Jews had their High Priest position, usually father succeeded by son within one family with direct lineage to Aaron. If the High Priest had brothers, those filled in as alternates, often holding high office in the Sanhedrin supreme court, or were assigned among the Chief Priests to rule the Levite tribe...."
In other words, high priests and chief priest were terms instituted by the religious system to set up a hierarchy within the organized church. Why? Supposedly, to institute order and authority...but again I want to repeat what I said earlier...
When man tries to do what only GOD CAN, it will always fail!
When man starts to take 'the credit,' if you will, for what GOD wants to do in the life of a believer, the Spirit of God is GRIEVED!
God may have instituted and ordained priests in the OT, and the picture above is an example of a high priest, once Jesus Christ became the Shepherd of our souls, there was NO FURTHER NEED FOR PRIESTS!!!!!
So just as God eradicated the need for PRIESTS to be in our lives, so did He also eradicate the necessity for five fold, pastors and the such to be in our lives....at least, indefinitely anyways!
Yes, I can admit, there is a time where a pastor can be helpful in helping mature a new convert. But the role of that pastor is to help mature that believer to be LIKE CHRIST, and NOT LIKE THEM....
Then there comes a time when that pastor must recognize that their work is done and they must 'release' that sheep-for lack of a better word. And do so lovingly, willingly, without threatening the sheep or 'excommunicating' the sheep (WHERE is the word 'excommunicate' in the bible anyways???).
Without all the spiritual manipulation of 'if you leave my flock, you will be cursed, or you are in rebellion....
God truly does have a lot to say about pastors. But its NOT what YOU think.
God - for the most part - spent the majority of the time rebuking pastors for getting carnal, sensual and ministering to the sheep to fulfill THEIR desires...and NOT to do the WILL OF GOD.
This is a warning for all these pastors out here who are fleecing GOD'S sheep for your own selfish agendas....
"You do need to realize that GOD SEES WHAT YOU ARE DOING. AND THE REASON WHY ALL THESE CHURCHES ARE GOING BELLY UP IN SCANDAL, WHY THE COVERS ARE BEING REMOVED, IS BECAUSE FOR WAY TOO LONG, YOU HAVE BEEN MINISTERING OUT OF YOUR FLESH!
GOD LOVES HIS SHEEP...AND YOU NEED TO REALIZE THAT Y E S, YOUR 'JOB' IN MINISTRY HAS BECOME OBSOLETE. GOD C A N AND H A S FIRED YOU!
YOU ARE NO LONGER WORKING FOR GOD, BUT THE DEVIL. YOU HAVE SCATTERED THE SHEEP. THE DEVIL DIDN'T DO IT....YOU DID!
AND GOD HAS MADE YET ANOTHER WAY OF ESCAPE FOR HIS SHEEP.
AND HIS WAY OF ESCAPE IS OUT OF YOUR CHURCHES!!!!!!!!!
A MASS EXODUS IS TAKING PLACE. SHEEP RUN WHEN THEY ARE PANICKED...AND THEY ARE STARTING TO PANIC. WHY?
BECAUSE THE COVERS HAS BEEN REMOVED. THE SHEETS ARE SPOILED WITH YOUR SEMEN, YOUR SEMEN OF FALSE DOCTRINE, GREED, DECEPTION, MANIPULATION, WITCHCRAFT. AND THE SHEEP SEE IT...BUT MORE THAN THAT....THEY ARE HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD!
AND JUST LIKE SHEEP RUN WHEN THEY SEE WOLVES, THEY SEE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE...AND THEY ARE RUNNING....
DON'T DO LIKE PHARAOH AND RUN AFTER THE SHEEP.
THEY ARE NOT YOURS! ALL SOULS BELONG TO ME, SAITH THE LORD!!!!
GO BACK TO YOUR MAN-MADE KINGDOMS, SIT ON YOUR THRONES AND SULK.
IF YOU COME AFTER MY SHEEP, AFTER I HAVE MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE FOR THEM, YOU WILL BE DESTROYED.
REMEMBER THE RED SEA...."
Ancient Jews had their High Priest position, usually father succeeded by son within one family with direct lineage to Aaron. If the High Priest had brothers, those filled in as alternates, often holding high office in the Sanhedrin supreme court, or were assigned among the Chief Priests to rule the Levite tribe...."
In other words, high priests and chief priest were terms instituted by the religious system to set up a hierarchy within the organized church. Why? Supposedly, to institute order and authority...but again I want to repeat what I said earlier...
When man tries to do what only GOD CAN, it will always fail!
When man starts to take 'the credit,' if you will, for what GOD wants to do in the life of a believer, the Spirit of God is GRIEVED!
God may have instituted and ordained priests in the OT, and the picture above is an example of a high priest, once Jesus Christ became the Shepherd of our souls, there was NO FURTHER NEED FOR PRIESTS!!!!!
So just as God eradicated the need for PRIESTS to be in our lives, so did He also eradicate the necessity for five fold, pastors and the such to be in our lives....at least, indefinitely anyways!
Yes, I can admit, there is a time where a pastor can be helpful in helping mature a new convert. But the role of that pastor is to help mature that believer to be LIKE CHRIST, and NOT LIKE THEM....
Then there comes a time when that pastor must recognize that their work is done and they must 'release' that sheep-for lack of a better word. And do so lovingly, willingly, without threatening the sheep or 'excommunicating' the sheep (WHERE is the word 'excommunicate' in the bible anyways???).
Without all the spiritual manipulation of 'if you leave my flock, you will be cursed, or you are in rebellion....
God truly does have a lot to say about pastors. But its NOT what YOU think.
God - for the most part - spent the majority of the time rebuking pastors for getting carnal, sensual and ministering to the sheep to fulfill THEIR desires...and NOT to do the WILL OF GOD.
This is a warning for all these pastors out here who are fleecing GOD'S sheep for your own selfish agendas....
"You do need to realize that GOD SEES WHAT YOU ARE DOING. AND THE REASON WHY ALL THESE CHURCHES ARE GOING BELLY UP IN SCANDAL, WHY THE COVERS ARE BEING REMOVED, IS BECAUSE FOR WAY TOO LONG, YOU HAVE BEEN MINISTERING OUT OF YOUR FLESH!
GOD LOVES HIS SHEEP...AND YOU NEED TO REALIZE THAT Y E S, YOUR 'JOB' IN MINISTRY HAS BECOME OBSOLETE. GOD C A N AND H A S FIRED YOU!
YOU ARE NO LONGER WORKING FOR GOD, BUT THE DEVIL. YOU HAVE SCATTERED THE SHEEP. THE DEVIL DIDN'T DO IT....YOU DID!
AND GOD HAS MADE YET ANOTHER WAY OF ESCAPE FOR HIS SHEEP.
AND HIS WAY OF ESCAPE IS OUT OF YOUR CHURCHES!!!!!!!!!
A MASS EXODUS IS TAKING PLACE. SHEEP RUN WHEN THEY ARE PANICKED...AND THEY ARE STARTING TO PANIC. WHY?
BECAUSE THE COVERS HAS BEEN REMOVED. THE SHEETS ARE SPOILED WITH YOUR SEMEN, YOUR SEMEN OF FALSE DOCTRINE, GREED, DECEPTION, MANIPULATION, WITCHCRAFT. AND THE SHEEP SEE IT...BUT MORE THAN THAT....THEY ARE HEARING THE VOICE OF GOD!
AND JUST LIKE SHEEP RUN WHEN THEY SEE WOLVES, THEY SEE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE...AND THEY ARE RUNNING....
DON'T DO LIKE PHARAOH AND RUN AFTER THE SHEEP.
THEY ARE NOT YOURS! ALL SOULS BELONG TO ME, SAITH THE LORD!!!!
GO BACK TO YOUR MAN-MADE KINGDOMS, SIT ON YOUR THRONES AND SULK.
IF YOU COME AFTER MY SHEEP, AFTER I HAVE MADE A WAY OF ESCAPE FOR THEM, YOU WILL BE DESTROYED.
REMEMBER THE RED SEA...."
2 comments:
Sis, this is right on time and right on point! I admire your courage and boldness to write the things you do. I know it is not always popular but we have to do what the spirit of God leads us to. I pray many will read with their hearts open to the truth!
Keep Standing
Keep Standing!!!
Great article. I pray our leaders will read with their hearts receptive to the truth of God's word!!!
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