A
Visit from the Wolf;
A
Word for the Pastors
Bill
Somers
The test of the true
shepherd is how he reacts when the wolf comes.
During a recent worship service,
one of our songs was This Joy That I Have. The lyric includes the lines,
"The world didn’t give it to me and the world can’t take it away."
As we worshipped with this
song, the Lord gave me a word for Pastors.
First I imagined that Jesus
was singing the song. This is fitting since He endured the Cross because
of the Joy He saw ahead. Then the lyric changed to This Church that I have,
the world didn’t give it to me, and the world can’t take it away.
This brought to mind a passage
from scripture:
My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me:
And I give unto them
eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck
them out of my hand.
My Father, which gave
them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my
Father's hand. John 10:27-29 (KJV)
Now the sheep are the church,
and they are given to Jesus by the Father and no one can pluck them out
of His hand. So He can say the world didn’t give it and the world can’t
take it away!
Next thing is to apply this
to each pastor in the church. His flock is given to him by the Lord, not
the world, not his own efforts. And the world can’t take them away. They
may leave on their own, but if they are hearing the voice of Great Shepherd
through their pastor, they will follow.
The test of the true shepherd
is how he reacts when the wolf comes.
But he that is an hireling,
and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming,
and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth
the sheep.
The hireling fleeth,
because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. John 10:12-13
(KJV)
The hireling flees while the
true shepherd remains faithful.
What else does the bible
have to say about hirelings?
And if thy brother that
dwelleth by thee be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel
him to serve as a bondservant:
But as an
hired servant, and as a sojourner, he shall be with thee, and shall
serve thee unto the year of jubilee:
And then shall he depart
from thee, both he and his children with him, and shall return unto his
own family, and unto the possession of his fathers shall he return. Leviticus
25:39-41
This tells us that a hired servant
shall serve until the year of jubilee, and then he shall depart. In other
words the hireling will depart during the year of jubilee.
And I will give you
pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and
understanding. Jer 3:15 (KJV)
Now jubilee is a time of great
rejoicing and celebrating. It speaks of End Time Revival and Harvest. But
as we read in the passage from John above, The Hireling only flees when
he sees the Wolf coming.
In other words The Hireling
doesn’t
flee till he sees the Wolf coming.!
Now put two and two together
and you will see that in the jubilee {Revival] you can expect a visit
from the wolf [Judgment].
This idea of joy in the midst
of judgment is expressed in many various ways in scripture. For instance.
But many of the priests
and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen
the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their
eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
So that the people could
not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping
of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise
was heard afar off. Ezra 3:12-13 (KJV)
And
He that goeth forth
and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing,
bringing his sheaves with him. Ps 126:6 (KJV)
This last verse is a picture
of the true and faithful pastor.
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