There is an ugly, ungodly, unfortunate and unbiblical pattern of rejection, persecution, and judgement within the Body of Christ, which has been in existence for a very long time, but appears to be becoming more prevalent, and "unchallenged" as time passes. I don't think many can trace it's origin, or justify it's practice, because it thoroughly contradicts most of what the Church should represent, and what Christ taught, and commanded. I am referring to the practice of covertly "disfellowshipping, and cursing those of the flock who decide to further their walk with God, sit under new leaders, or expand their process of being "made", in new Churches or ministries, and leave their former ones. This is one of those "sacred cows", and "elephants sitting square center of the dining room table" that no one dares to talk about or address, but LET'S! There're not many who've been saved for a minute, who haven't witnessed or been the victim of this type of erroneous mistreatment, and for those who haven't, count your blessings of being "one of milions", or just "stay saved" for a little bit longer! The way that it usually works, is that an individual will feel led or receive instruction, from the Lord, to leave their present Church, for whatever reason, be it right or even wrong, and they immediately become, outcasts, pirhannas, and "heathen, and they are "disfellowshipped", written off, and frequently "cursed", for following their own path in life, so much so, to where the rest of the flock, is subliminally "counselled" or warned, if not forbidden, to have any contact with their"brother or sister" in the faith. Even the children of those wo move on, in these circumstances, are somtimes sadly, affected, and rejected as well! This thing exists to the magnitude, that the individual who has moved on, is no longer spoken to or acknowledged as a living breathing, creature formed, by the hands of God, if they are run into or encountered at the local Walmart, or Sunday "all you can eat, after shouting real good" buffet. They are handled as if they have committed some great offense, or criminal act, when in fact, they're guilty of nothing more than obeying and hearing God for themselves as they go on working out their own soul salvation,, and even if they are in error,or perceived to be in rebellion, THEY ARE STILL SAVED, AREN'T THEY? They still deserve the same courtesy, forebearance, AGAPE/UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, respect, and Christian charity, as any other believer, and that you (hopefully, or maybe) showed them when they were still counted amognst your flock! How fair is it and what sort of testimony is it to God and those who are watching your life, for these pople of God to be so coldheartedly dismissed, forgotten, viciously maligned and crucified, after they've served faithfully, and often, been your biggest supporters, because they have to follow their own destinies just like you did to get to where you are now? God's house and His flock was never supposed to become "Egypt", and we were never supposed to conduct ourselves and fulfill our charges as "Pharoahs" and nor was it supposed to become a glorified plantation, ruled over by the iron will of "man", according to man's "good pleasure", lording it over the flock and distributing curses according to our good pleasure!The usual progression of this scenario is that the individual becomes the subject of the preached "text" for a few weeks, and this may be done either by the usual method of obvious "throw-offs" and sometimes, the person's actual name is spoken, and their personal business is publicly disclosed from the sacred desk"! It is not uncommon to hear these paricular "shepherds" openly and boldly "curse" the lives of these people, even though, just a few Sunday's ago, they openly prophesied over their lives with a "thus saith the Lord", that these same people were "Blessed coming in and blessed going out", which is frightening because the Bible is quite clear in warning no man to "curse" what God has "blessed", and God is not schizophrenic or double-minded in His blessings or His posture towards us!! There is a name for these curses and this behaviour, and a precise judgement from God attached to it. Yes, it is a "curse" you're speaking upon someone, everytime you decree and declare what will "never happen" in their lives, such as "They'll neve have a successful ministry", or "God will never bless anything they do", or even more profoundly sad, "that's why their son/daughter is going to "die in the streets", their husband will "never get saved", and they will never prosper the way God wants them to, because they "shouldn't have left this church" , this "covering", or this ministry! Well, they didn't LEAVE GOD, and that's the only way to incur a curse. If the only way one can be blessed, prosper, and be in health is to be up under or associasted with a particular, single ministry,then God just stopped being Omnipresent, Omnipotent,sovereign, and with us wherever we may go! If our personal egoes, need to own or possess people,or we need to control, their lives to the point it drives us to become that tyrranical as leaders, we need a sabbatical and a V-8, because that is not how God or the Holy SpirIt shepherds, governs, or oversees the lives of His flock! If you've faithfully and diligently tended the flock of Christ, fed them Manna and the unadulterated Word, and equipped them for the next phase of their walk with God, you should be able to rejoice when they move on, because they're expanding who YOU are and what you represent as they carry your teaching and instruction from faith to faith, and go from "glory to glory", but THEY ARE STILL SAVED, AREN'T THEY? DID they automatically backslide or revert to heathenism,because they passed on to another step in their process? Do you really believe and embrace the doctrine you teach'/preach, regarding "ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, AND ONE BAPTISM? Have not we all been, mercifully and graciously "engrafted in", and made the rightousness of God, ONLY through Christ Jesus? Did we not all come unto salvation by the lovingkindness of God, and were we not all purged by no less than the "blood that flowed from Immanuel's veins? We don't throw our natural children away (most of us don't anyway) when they mature and progeressively change seasons in their lives, which change the dynamics of our presence in their lives, and we should handle the flock of God the same way, because we claim that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there's liberty!" Bondage, and control is oppositional to liberty, so obviously, "another" spirit is ruling and in control,and it's not the Spirit of the Lord! Yes, for the most part, these souls are still saved,and usable by God, if we would stop traumatizing,them and messing up their spirits with our personal agendas, dogma, and issues!We understand that eveyone doesn't "leave right", and some leave in the midst of confusion and discord, but you should throw a parade that they're no longer your problem, but you still have no right to "curse" or mistreat them, because they are still "firebrands" in need of being plucked from the fire! We should be able to release the people of God with the same zeal that we welcome them in, because THEY ARE STILL SAVED, and precious in the sight of God! We tend to get the scrpiture twisted that says "Touch not mine ANOINTED, AND DO MY PROPHETS NO HARM!" This scripture is not exclusively referring to titled leadership, but to every beleiver who's been purchased with blood! They all deserve the same respect,reverence, acceptance, and service as thise who rank high amongst the ecclesiastia. When we reject any believer we reject the Christ in them, as well, and many shall be astonished when they stand before the Lord, and find out why they were disqualified from eternal life! We are admonished to not rule the flock by constraint, nor to abuse the given authority which should keep them, safe, as we lead by example, whether they're fellowshipping and worshipping with us, or the household of faith next door, across the alley, or up on the hill, they are still saved, and counted worthy unto God. If they are in error, they still have a soul, and we have a charge as intercessors, to remember them when we go before the Lord. When thy falter, or undergo tragedy, in stead of "crowing" and preaching an "I told y'all they were gonna suffer" message, and claim the credit for their misfortune, we should mourn with them, and offer encouragement, and when they surpass their greatest prophecies, in spite of every doomed curse spoken, we should genuinely rejoice and celebrate with them, because if they're regressed sinners, for making a move the felt they needed to make, then so are we, because we didn't start and finish where we are now,and there'll be other moves down the road!Tags:Share< Previous Post1 Comment
There is a chapter in Ezekiel that deals with this. It actually set some minimum standards for a shepherd and warns against departure from them:
Ezekiel 34
Shepherds and Sheep
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 " 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
17 " 'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.
25 " 'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. [a] I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. 31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "
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Ezekiel 34
Shepherds and Sheep
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3 You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4 You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. 5 So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals. 6 My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered over the whole earth, and no one searched or looked for them.
7 " 'Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 8 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, 9 therefore, O shepherds, hear the word of the LORD : 10 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.
11 " 'For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
17 " 'As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18 Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Must my flock feed on what you have trampled and drink what you have muddied with your feet?
20 " 'Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak sheep with your horns until you have driven them away, 22 I will save my flock, and they will no longer be plundered. I will judge between one sheep and another. 23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the LORD have spoken.
25 " 'I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of wild beasts so that they may live in the desert and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. [a] I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the LORD, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and that they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. 31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "