SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/2/2023 8:41 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-3 “False
Leaders lack Sympathy”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
Matthew 23:4
Message of the verse: “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.”
It seems that the truth is that these false leaders did
not want any of God’s grace for themselves, and thus they did not want it
preached to others, and this is very sad.
The reason they did not want grace preached to others was because that
was the liberating truth that undercut the entire system of
works-righteousness, by which they kept the people in subjection to their own
human authority. Perhaps this sounds familiar
to what a well known religion does in our world today, perhaps more than one.
John MacArthur writes “Certain false leaders in the early
church forbad marriage and the eating of particular foods, which Paul declared “God
has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth”
(1 Tim. 4:3). Under the name of Christ,
Roman Catholicism still forbids marriage of their clergy and teaches abstinence
from certain foods on certain days and other legalistic and unscriptural
doctrines.”
Peter said this in 2 Peter 2:3 “and in their greed they will
exploit you with false words; their judgment
from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” MacArthur adds “Those under the care of such
a fleshly, ungodly leader are no more than merchandise to be exploited to feed
his ego and his wallet.”
In a moment we will look at Ezekiel
34:1-6, and this helps us understand that for centuries Israel had been stumbling
and falling under the burden of unscrupulous, hardened religious leaders who,
although they claimed to minister in God’s name, had love neither for God nor
for God’s people.
1 Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to
those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who
have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3 “You
eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fat sheep
without feeding the flock. 4 "Those who are sickly you have not
strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound
up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost;
but with force and with severity you have dominated them. 5 “They were
scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the
field and were scattered. 6 “My flock wandered through all the mountains and on
every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and
there was no one to search or seek for them."’"
I
will conclude with what MacArthur writes about in the last three paragraphs of
this section of “False Leaders Lack Sympathy.”
“False religious leaders today are still building empires and amassing
fortunes by fleecing those they pretend to serve. It would be impossible to determine the
millions of believers and unbelievers alike who are misled spiritually, abused
emotionally, and bilked financially in the name of Christ. Like the false shepherds of ancient Israel,
they feed on their own sheep.
“Earlier in His ministry, as He looked out over the multitudes who had so long been exposed by the corrupt religious leaders of Israel, Jesus “felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). It must have been gloriously refreshing for those people to hear Jesus say, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give your rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
“Following the spirit and example of His Master, the apostle Paul always ministered to those under his care like the gentlest of shepherds, even like the most carrying of mothers. ‘We proved to be gentle among you,’ he reminded the Thessalonians, ‘as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. Having thus a fond affection for you, we were well-pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you have become very dear to us. For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed the gospel of God’ (1 Thess. 2:7-9).”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I can’t say
that I have ever been under a Pastor that went totally against what I am
learning as I study this section, but I have been one who was certainly not a
loving man, and I have been under Pastors who were very loving to their flock.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust in the Lord that through His Spirit that I
will never give wrong biblical information in the Spiritual Diaries that I
write each day, that the Lord will continue to bless this “ministry” that He
has given to me to do, and that it will always bring glory to the Lord Jesus
Christ.
10/2/2023 9:16 AM
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