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                         Weep For Your Shepherds!

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By David Wilkerson
February 9, 1987
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          It is time to weep and lament for the shepherds who are
          tending the Lord's sheep. Weep for the pastors, the
          evangelists, the prophets and teachers - because God is
          about to send fearful judgments upon those who have
          become evil, sensuous and blind. The godly shepherds
          are themselves weeping between the porch and the altar
          over the condition of the church, but the corrupted
          ones who are self-centered will be dealt with by the
          Lord Himself.

          Hear the awesome prophecy of Jeremiah: "Woe to the
          shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep
          of my pasture! Declares the Lord. Therefore thus says
          the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are
          tending my people. You have scattered my flock and have
          driven them away and have not attended to them; behold,
          I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,
          declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:1,2 NAS).

          Jeremiah's heart was broken because of the corruption
          he saw in those who were called to lead God's people.
          The blatant sin and self-centeredness among the
          ministers of his day so crushed him, he trembled like a
          man drunken with wine. He cried, "As for the prophets:
          My heart is broken within me - all my bones tremble - I
          have become like a drunken manovercome with wine for
          both prophet and priest are polluted; even in my house
          I have found their wickedness, declares the Lord"
          (Jeremiah 23:9,11 NAS).

          Then the prophet added these frightful words - "From
          the prophets of Jerusalem pollution has gone forth into
          all the land" (Jeremiah 23:15 NAS).

          A frightening curse had fallen upon the land; there was
          adultery on every side; God's people had set themselves
          on a wicked course and they were spiritually dry and
          depressed. But their own shepherds had no pity on them.
          Their shepherds were blind to the judgment of almighty
          God that loomed just ahead. While enemy armies were
          approaching their very gates, the blind shepherds were
          preaching a soothing message of peace and prosperity.
          They convinced the people that the good times would
          never end.

          Jeremiah knew why these self-centered shepherds,
          priests and prophets were not preaching against sin or
          warning the people. He knew why they were providing
          only superficial healing for God's people. It was
          because they themselves were bound by the same sins -
          they, too, were living a lie.

          Listen to Jeremiah's indictment against them: "Among
          the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing;
          the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood;
          and they strengthen the hands of evildoers - so that no
          one has turned back from his wickednessAll of them
          have become to me like Sodomlike Gomorrah" (Jeremiah
          23:14 NAS).

          The storm of the Lord had already gone forth, and God
          had warned His people through holy prophets that His
          anger would not be turned aside and that judgment was
          inevitable. But Jeremiah could hardly believe what they
          were preaching. These shepherds stood before a people
          who were walking in stubbornness, indulging in
          fornication and adultery, living under a curse, and
          soon to fall under devastating judgment - and they lied
          to God's people, preaching a message of false security.
          "They keep saying to those who despise me, The Lord has
          said, You will have peace - and as for everyone who
          walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say,
          Calamity will not come upon you" (Jeremiah 23:17 NAS).

          If they had been men of prayer, holy and separated unto
          God - having sought Him with all their hearts - they
          would have heard the distant thunder, they would have
          discerned that judgment was already determined, they
          would have been aroused and consumed with a desire to
          awaken God's people. God said, "I did not send these
          prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but
          they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council,
          then they would have announced my words to my people
          and would have turned them back from their evil way -
          and from the evil of their deeds" (Jeremiah 23:21,22
          NAS).

          Jeremiah thundered  "Don't listen to themthey are
          leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their
          own imagination - not from the mouth of the Lord"
          (Jeremiah 23:16 NAS). He added, "They borrow their
          messages from one another." Also, "The prophets are as
          wind, and the Word is not in them" (Jeremiah 5:13 NAS).

          These backslidden shepherds were so wrapped up in their
          own dreams, they substituted the deception of their own
          hearts for the fires and unction of the true Word.
          There are many such dreamers and schemers in our
          pulpits today - men of the cloth who go about saying,
          "I have a dream." God said, "I have heard what the
          prophets have said who prophesy falsely in my name
          saying, I had a dream, I had a dream The prophet who
          has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has
          my word speak my word in truth. What does straw have in
          common with grain? Declares the Lord. Is not my word
          like fireand like a hammer which shatters a rock?"
          (Jeremiah 23:25-29 NAS).

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                Self-centered Shepherds Cause Backsliding!

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          There was no question in Jeremiah's mind as to why
          God's people had fallen into such a backslidden state.
          The Word of the Lord came to him saying, "My people
          have become lost sheep; their shepherds have led them
          astray They have made them turn aside" (Jeremiah 50:6
          NAS).

          God's people were in a stupor, lost, wandering about
          with no direction. They did not even know how far they
          had strayed from the old paths. They had "forgotten
          their resting place" (Jeremiah 50:6 NAS). Jeremiah
          said, "All who come upon them have devoured them"
          (Jeremiah 50:7 NAS). This refers to the demonic powers
          of Satan. What a picture of present-day conditions in
          God's house. Multitudes of sheep are backsliding - they
          are lost and don't even know it. The powers of hell
          assail them, plundering their lives, messing up their
          children, bringing confusion and discord to their home
          and marriage. The old-fashioned altar calls where
          people wept with repentance are not even known by them.
          They have not heard the fiery messages from
          broken-hearted shepherds. They are not even acquainted
          with the old paths.

          The self-centered shepherds are blamed by God for the
          apostasy among Christians. "Their shepherds have led
          them astraythey have made them turn aside" It is
          absolutely impossible to sidestep this blistering
          accusation because it is God Himself speaking.

          Isaiah saw a horrible sight among God's people -
          demonic powers marauding the flock, wreaking havoc.
          There were no walls, no concerned shepherds, no one to
          say, "Enough!" Satan was having his own way. "All you
          beasts of the field, all you beasts of the forest, come
          to eat" (Isaiah 56:9 NAS). The prophet was simply
          describing a terrible situation among God's people.
          Throughout Scripture, the beasts refer to satanic
          powers. The devourer was unchallenged  going about
          seeking to destroy. Why? Because the shepherds had
          become blind! The watchmen were dreaming and chasing
          after their own greedy plans. Isaiah said, "His
          watchmen are blind, all of them know nothing. All of
          them are dumb dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down,
          who love to slumber; and the dogs are greedy, they are
          not satisfied. And they are shepherds who have no
          understanding; they have turned to their own way, each
          one to his unjust gain, to the last one" (Isaiah
          56:10,11 NAS).

          Isaiah was grieved because the Lord's people were being
          plundered and taken prisoner by the power of the enemy.
          "this is a people plundered and despoiled. All of them
          trapped in caves or are hidden away in prisons; they
          have become a prey with none to deliver them, and a
          spoil with none to say, Give them back" (Isaiah 42:22
          NAS).

          Where were the shepherds? Where were the servants of
          God when all this plundering was taking place? They
          were of no help whatsoever - stumbling about blind,
          deaf, insensitive. "Who is blind but my servant, or so
          deaf as my messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he
          that is at peace with me or so blind as the servant of
          the Lord?" (Isaiah 42:19 NAS)

          Jeremiah added, "These false dreamersreckless
          boastersdo not furnish this people the slightest
          benefit" (Jeremiah 23:32 NAS).

          Ezekiel confirmed the awful truth that greedy,
          self-serving shepherds were the cause of the confusion
          and helplessness among God's people. He said, "they
          were scattered for lack of a shepherd and they became
          food for every beast of the fieldMy flock wandered
          through all the mountains and on every high hillthere
          was no one to search or seek for them. Therefore, you
          shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: As I live,
          declares the Lord God, surely because my flock has
          become a prey, my flock has even become food for all
          the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and my
          shepherds did not search for my flock, but rather the
          shepherds fed themselves and did not feed my flock"
          (Ezekiel 34:5-8 NAS).

          So it is today! There is a lack of true and holy
          shepherds to lead God's people into holiness. The cry
          of the hungry is, "Where can I find a godly shepherd to
          feed my soul?" Those who do have a godly shepherd ought
          to be very thankful.

          God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy against the shepherds
          of Israel. What a stinging message he delivered to
          God's servants  "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have
          been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed
          the flock? You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with
          the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding
          the flock" (Ezekiel 34:2,3 NAS).

          Zechariah said the very same thing. Not only were the
          shepherds blind, occupied with their own dreams they
          weren't even there when needed. He declared, "the
          people wander like sheep, they are afflicted, because
          there is no shepherd" (Zechariah 10:2 NAS).

          This same prophet deplored the way the shepherds were
          making merchandise of God's people - becoming fat and
          prosperous by fleecing the sheep. "Thus says the Lord
          my God, Pasture the flock doomed to slaughter. Those
          who buy them slay them and go unpunished, and each of
          those who sell them say, Blessed be the Lord, for I
          have become rich! And their own shepherds have no pity
          on them" (Zechariah 11:4,5 NAS).

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                        A Day Of Judgment Is Coming
                         Upon The False Shepherds!

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          The prophets have predicted a day of sudden judgment
          upon the shepherds and ministries which have deceived
          God's people. There comes a time when God can no longer
          put up with the greed, the self-centeredness, the
          preaching of false peace, the arrogance of ministries
          which encourage the stubborn, carnal Christians in
          their stiff-necked ways. God breaks forth suddenly and
          He stirs up a great storm. "a great storm is being
          stirred up" said Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 25:32 NAS).

          According to the prophets, quick and fierce judgments
          will fall upon ministries and upon their works - and a
          wailing and a crying will be heard when it all starts
          crumbling. "Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow in
          ashes, you leaders of the flock; for the days of your
          slaughter and your dispersions have come, and you shall
          fall like a choice vesselHear the sound of the cry of
          the shepherds, and the wailing of the leaders of the
          flock! For the Lord is destroying their pasture"
          (Jeremiah 25:34-36 NAS).

          We have come to this same flash-point of divine
          judgment upon shepherds and ministries once again. It
          will not be the devil shutting down shallow, deceptive
          ministries - it will be God! God will shut off their
          supply of money; debts will mount up, trouble will beak
          out on all sides. From within and without there will be
          turmoil, persecution, terror and fear - all allowed by
          God to bring an end to those ministries and shepherds
          who cater to the flesh. God has had enough of carnival
          Christianity, show business gospel, and cheap,
          degrading money raising - all in the name of Jesus. God
          said, "You shall fall like a choice vessel" This
          speaks of the expensive, costly, prized ministries -
          recognized as choice vessels - but headed for a fall.

          Zechariah also prophesied of God's wrath against
          merchandising shepherds. God warned through him, "My
          anger is kindled against the shepherds" (Zechariah
          10:3 NAS).

          God has made it very clear that He will eventually take
          away the pulpits from shepherds and ministries who feed
          themselves while deceiving the sheep. "Thus says the
          Lord God, Behold I am against the shepherds and I will
          demand my sheep from them and make them cease from
          feeding my sheep. So the shepherds will not feed
          themselves anymore, but I shall deliver my flock from
          their mouth that they may not be food for them"
          (Ezekiel 34:10 NAS).

          God, by His holy prophets, declared a year of
          punishment upon the wicked shepherds. Jeremiah spoke of
          this appointed time of judgment - "For both prophet and
          priest are polluted; even in my house I have found
          their wickedness, declares the Lord. Therefore their
          way will be like slippery paths to them, they will be
          driven away into the gloom and fall down in it: for I
          shall bring calamity upon them. The year of their
          punishment, declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:11,12 NAS).

          Get ready! Christians will soon be bombarded, more than
          ever before, with very desperate and sad appeals for
          money from ministries about to fall. What dreadful
          appeals - what guilt and pressure will be forthcoming
          from all sides. It is the death rattle of dying
          ministries falling under divine judgment.

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               The Need For Shepherds After God's Own Heart

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          There is a desperate need for holy, God-fearing
          shepherds - because the people of the Lord are bent on
          back-sliding. Without anointed shepherds to awaken and
          arouse them, they will continually revert to the world
          and wickedness.

          It may cut us deeply, but the truth is: God's people
          have leaned toward the world and its idolatry from the
          very beginning. The Israel of Christ is just as
          stiffnecked as the Israel of Moses. God called Israel
          out of Egypt to be His own possession. He wanted a
          separated people who would love and serve Him out of a
          yielded heart. He said, "I bore you on eagles' wings,
          and brought you to myselfto be my possession among all
          the peoplesAnd you shall be to me a kingdom of priests
          and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:4-6 NAS).

          Moses knew the tendency of their hearts. He said to
          them, "You are a stubborn, stiffnecked peoplefrom the
          day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived
          at this place, you have been rebellious against the
          Lord. You have been rebellious against the Lord from
          the day I knew you" (Deuteronomy 9:6,7,24 NAS).

          Moses added, "For I know your rebellion and your
          stubbornness; behold, while I am still with you today,
          you have been rebellious against the Lord; how much
          more, then, after my death?" (Deuteronomy 32:27 NAS).
          Also, "For I know that after my death you will act
          corruptly and turn from the way which I have commanded
          you; and evil will befall you in the latter days, for
          you will do that which is evil in the sight of the
          Lord" (Deuteronomy 31:29 NAS).

          The people had for their shepherd the humblest, most
          dedicated man on the earth at that time. He spoke as
          the oracle of God and he walked in His glory. But even
          then Moses had to warn them, cajole them, judge and
          provoke them to go on with God. Even under such holy,
          godly teaching - they held on to their secret lust and
          idolatry. And Moses knew something about the nature of
          God's people - He knew that once the fear of God was
          lost, once the thundering against their sins ceased -
          they would backslide wholesale and return to their old
          stubborn ways. And it happened just as Moses
          prophesied.

          Hear what God says about the nature of His children.
          "Why then is this peopleslidden back by a perpetual
          backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to
          return" (Jeremiah 8:5 KJV). "My people are bent to
          backsliding from me" (Hosea 11:7 KJV). "I spoke to you
          in your prosperity; but you said, I will not listen!
          This has been your practice from your youth, that you
          have not obeyed my voice" (Jeremiah 22:21 NAS).

          Is this perpetual backsliding only an Old Testament
          phenomenon? Hardly! At the end of the church age, you
          find Christ pronouncing judgment on the Laodicean chuch
          - backslidden, blind and corrupt - without knowing it.
          A boastful, stubborn people who pride themselves in
          having so much - but who in reality make the Lord
          nauseous.

          Paul warned the New Testament church that merchandisers
          would come in among them, teachers whose god would be
          their belly - who would teach and preach for ungodly
          gain.

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                Idolatrous shepherds For idol-loving sheep

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          Those who refuse to forsake their idols and will not
          put aside their stumbling blocks will be led into
          deception by polluted ministers who will give them what
          they want.

          Some elders of Israel came to Ezekiel to inquire of the
          Lord. God told the prophet, "These men have set up
          idols in their hearts, and have put right before their
          eyes the stumbling block of their iniquity. Should I be
          consulted by them at all?" (Ezekiel 14:3 NAS).

          God said, in essence, "I will answer idolatrous,
          corrupt living with idolatrous, corrupt messages. They
          are so set on their idols, so addicted, so bound to
          their hidden sin, so determined to follow me while
          indulging their flesh, I will give them teachers to
          scratch their itching ears. I will send among them
          shepherds who will use and abuse them  they will
          minister to the idolatry in their hearts  confirming
          them in it." "Every manwho setteth up his idols in his
          heart, and putteth a stumbling block of iniquity before
          his face, and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will
          answer him that cometh according tohis idols If the
          prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the
          Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out
          my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst
          of my people The punishment of the prophet shall be
          even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him"
          (Ezekiel 14:4-10 KJV).

          We have the music of devils in God's house because the
          youth demanded it - the parents no longer cared - the
          pastors simply gave in and let the kids have what they
          wanted. A rich, over-fed church became addicted to
          luxury and now wallows in the idolatry of materialism -
          so God answers that idolatry with silver-tongued
          teachers who give them a theology to justify it.

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                    Shepherds According To God's Heart

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          While God is judging self-centered shepherds, He is at
          the same time raising up shepherds after His own heart.
          These same prophets who foretold the bringing down of
          greedy, corrupt shepherds and ministries also
          prophesied of the raising up of holy shepherds and
          godly pastors who will feed the flock in righteousness.
          God is going to have for Himself ministers who come
          forth out of Zion - God's holy hill. "Turn, O
          backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married
          unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of
          a family, and I will bring you to Zion: and I will give
          you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed
          you with knowledge and understanding" (Jeremiah 3:14,15
          KJV)

          It begins with the people in the congregation - one
          here, two there - a hungry, awakened remnant whom He is
          calling out. God said, "And I will give them a heart to
          know me, for I am the Lord; and they will be my people,
          and I will be their God, for they will return to me
          with their whole heart" (Jeremiah 24:7 NAS).

          When the people of God rid their lives and homes of all
          the idols, and when the Holy Spirit stirs them to
          holiness and purity - when their hearts become
          desperately hungry for truth and reality - God will
          give them a new heart. They will no longer be satisfied
          to sit under shepherds who are light and foolish. They
          will quickly discern which shepherds are true and
          false. They will be led into the sheepfold of a true
          shepherd who will feed their hungry souls. They will be
          reproved and love it - because it will produce in them
          a hatred for sin. Jeremiah prophesied, "In those days
          and at that time, declares the Lord, the sons of Israel
          will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well;
          they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be
          the Lord their God they will seek. They will ask for
          the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction;
          they will come that they may join themselves to the
          Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be
          forgotten" (Jeremiah 50:4,5 NAS).

          God said, "I shall also raise up shepherds over them
          and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid
          any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,
          declares the Lord" (Jeremiah 23:4 NAS).

          God has promised to raise up in the last days shepherds
          with the heart and characteristics of David.
          "Therefore, I will deliver my flock, and they will no
          longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep
          and another. Then I will set over them one shepherd, my
          servant David, and he will feed them; and he will feed
          them himself and be their shepherd" (Ezekiel 34:22,23
          NAS).

          This speaks of Christ, the one great Shepherd of all
          the chosen - but also of those shepherds whose hearts
          are like David's - repentant, God-fearing and jealous
          for His holiness.

          What glorious promises God has given to us about being
          fed and shepherded in these last days. "I will feed my
          flock and I will lead them to restI will seek the
          lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken, and
          strengthen the sick" (Ezekiel 34:15,16 NAS).

          "Like a shepherd he will tend his flock, in his arms he
          will gather the lambs, and carry them in his bosom; he
          will gently lead the nursing ewes" (Isaiah 40:11 NAS).

          "For the lamb in the center of the throne shall be
          their shepherd, and shall guide them to springs of the
          waters of life; and God shall wipe every tear from
          their eyes" (Revelation 7:17 NAS).

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                                Conclusion

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          Let no disgruntled, rebellious preacher-hater or
          despiser draw comfort from this message. What I have
          presented is the message of the prophets, but with deep
          and genuine love and compassion for all hurting,
          troubled ministers. It is with love this strong word is
          delivered, having been first pierced by it in my own
          heart. God will not permit grumbling, dissatisfied
          Christians to touch His anointed - especially while
          such are in the refining fires.

          God is so patient, so tender toward all His servants.
          The truth is, the shepherds who are truly anointed and
          touched by the glory and fire of God have come through
          much testing. Many were at one time misled, selfish,
          competitive, striving to be accepted or respected,
          driven by the hunger for success, caught up in earthly
          dreams. But God saw something in them that He loved - a
          repentant, hungry heart, a yearning for the deeper
          things of God. And those who were patient with them,
          those who prayed for them, loving them enough to wait
          until God had time to bring them back to Himself - they
          have, in turn, been so blessed because now they are
          being truly led by a shepherd who has come through the
          fires. They now have a man of God under whom they are
          growing in Christ; and they are now a part of the body
          that is wholly connected to the Head.

          Weep for your shepherds! Weep in love, in sorrow, yet
          in hope! God has His true shepherds today, though few
          in number and mostly unknown, who will not compromise
          and who will care enough about the flock to expose
          their sins and call them to repentance. Pray for your
          pastor - he is being tested as never before. Pray for
          all the evangelists and all ministries. You need not
          follow shepherds who have lost their anointing - but
          don't touch them. This is a matter God is going to deal
          with personally.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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