"To Certain Bad Shepherds " Sunday Morning, October 7, 2018 AM

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Sunday Morning, October 7, 2018 AM "To Certain Bad Shepherds " Jeremiah 23:1-8

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We come before you this morning and we Acknowledge our dependence upon you we father we're not here because We've got it figured out and then we
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We're really good at this worship thing We are dependent upon you to do your work by the power of your spirit through your word
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I Ask father that you would give us a clear view of your son
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Jesus Christ as we read your word We thank we're thankful to you as our creator.
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You know our frame. We are but dust you give us life
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You've given us your son Jesus Christ you've given us your
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Holy Spirit you've given us this Unfailing word in the scriptures
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You've given us to one another as the church So father we confess that you are a good
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God We confess that all you do is good We ask that you would bring us into agreement with yourself this morning and may
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You do your perfect work in our hearts through your perfect word We pray these things for the sake of Jesus Christ the one the only one with whom you are well pleased
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Amen, I'll invite you to To do reverence to Jesus Christ and stand with me as I read
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Jeremiah 23 verses 1 through 8 Herein is our
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Lord and Savior The King of Kings revealed woe to the shepherds who are destroying and Scattering the sheep of my pasture declares the
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Lord Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending my people you have scattered my flock and Driven them away and have not attended to them
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Behold I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds declares the Lord then
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I Myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture
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And they will be fruitful and multiply. I Will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them and they will not be afraid any longer nor be
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Terrified nor will any be missing declares the Lord Behold the days are coming declares the
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Lord when I will raise up for David a righteous branch And he will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land in his days
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Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell securely and This is his name
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By which he will be called the Lord our righteousness
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Therefore behold the days are coming declares the Lord when they will no longer say as the
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Lord lives You brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt but as the Lord lives Who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven?
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them Then they will live on their own soil And this is the word of the
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Lord may be seated title 10 section 892 article 92 of the
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US Uniform Code of Military Justice Addresses the offense titled
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Dereliction of duty dereliction of duty a service member who was derelict has willfully refused to perform his duties or follow a given order or he has
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Incapacitated himself in such a way that he cannot perform his duties and the statute covers criminal negligence as well examples given include falling asleep on guard duty shooting yourself in the foot, so you don't have to march anymore or Dropping your b -17s payload on Zurich Switzerland instead of Berlin, Germany Why are?
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military leaders so concerned about dereliction of duty The truth is that one soldiers dereliction easily leads to many soldiers
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Destruction our passage is not about soldiers this morning.
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It's about shepherds But God charges the shepherds of Judah with dereliction of duty
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That they have not followed his commands That they have incapacitated themselves with the folly of idolatry
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They are criminally negligent toward God's people and Anger at the shepherds dereliction is understandable after all derelict shepherds destroy their sheep and themselves
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And so first we have to consider in these First two verses here in Jeremiah 23 that just the woe to these shepherds the woe to the shepherds
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Let's talk about woe We live in a society has no idea what woe means
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It's not woah about the horse. It's woa Eee and it is it's a terrible word
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What does it mean when he says woe You ask who has woe
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Solomon answers the drunk has woe Proverbs 23 29 and it's actually a very good parable.
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It's actually good proverb. There's a connection. I think between Woe a man's woe and strong drink.
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It's a very fitting image The woe of a man woe of a woman
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Is a mixed drink. It is the stirred distillations of hollow loss and despair
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There's the body of bitterness and the foam of complaint Woe intoxicates a man it robs him of strength staggers him it puts him on his face
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Woe jerks the reins of sorrow tied to the cutting bit of loss such as man's woe and It does not attain to God's woe
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For a man may howl his woes till his sore throat fails his raw soul and Never come too close to the power found in the woe spoken by God For God is a righteous judge who has indignation every day
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Psalm 711 Woe uttered by the Most High woe spoken by the
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Almighty can we grasp the significance of that expression this interjection by the
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Almighty God when he says Woe What is it?
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There is a vast sea it is red in color it foams as it Swirls and is lifted high in a full wineglass to the light of God's righteous gaze in his iron grasp a mere flinch
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Will explode the wrath of God upon the rebellious sons of Adam and when
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God says whoa He's grabbing us by the face and making us look at what hangs above us
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Whoa is Merciful warning by spiritual whiplash
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And God says whoa in this passage and who does he say it to he says to the shepherds shepherds
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Who are the shepherds to put it simply shepherds are leaders within the image within the biblical within the scriptural image of The ancient
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Near East shepherd we have an entire biblical theology of leadership You may recall that Adam was a shepherd
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He named and organized all the animals Remember that his son Abel was a shepherd.
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He did not raise the sheep for meat He raised them to shear off their wool as a covering for shame and then offered them as sacrifices as a covering for sin
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Noah Shepherded all the animals in God's kingdom upon a boat a floating barn for over a year
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So long before we come to Abram We see that shepherding is tied to the hope of humanity
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So we look to the true descendant the true replacement for Adam and the faithful one
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Who fulfills the role of Adam and Noah and then we come to? Abram God called
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Abram out of earth to live as a nomadic shepherd in Canaan and all the patriarchs
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They lived as foreigners and sometimes as fugitives, but they were always shepherds and when
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Jacob's family fled famine in Canaan to Joseph's well -prepared
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Egypt They told Pharaoh they were shepherds so they would live distinct from the Egyptians in the land of Goshen 400 years later
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We find that these shepherds are more like sheep under a cruel butcher a new Pharaoh and when
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God moves to deliver his People to take them to better pasture land. Who does he send them to save them but a shepherd named
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Moses? Moses the most significant leader in the Old Testament who was both prophet and priest and when
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Moses asks God permission to nominate Select and ordain his replacement as leader
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This is how he prays in numbers 27 May the Lord the God of the spirits of all flesh appoint a man over the congregation
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Who will go out and come in before them and who will lead them out and bring them in? So that the congregation of the
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Lord will not be like sheep Who have no shepherd and so Joshua the son of Nun was made the new shepherd of Israel Past him came all the judges which are also called shepherds
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And so we have prophets and we have priests and we have wise men all called the shepherds of Israel and then came the
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Kings And when David finally sat on his throne in Jerusalem and reigned over a united kingdom
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The tribes came to him and told him that even when Saul was king You were the one who went out and came in before us.
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It is you whom God has chosen to shepherd Israel So when we come to Jeremiah we hear the term shepherds
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We have to recognize there's a great deal of significance behind this term It's not just historical reasons why prophets priests
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Kings and wise men were called shepherds It's also theological reasons that they're called shepherds
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The shepherd role was not the glamorous role He was often for the the foreigner who couldn't get any other work
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It was often for the fugitive who was running away from home think of Jacob think of Moses It was often for the poor the haggard they were seen as to borrow from across the pond the filthy stinking blighters
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They were cordoned off from power Who was the which son had to do the work of shepherding?
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It was the youngest son Got the short end of the stick
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The shepherd had no access to the palace The shepherd held no honor in the marketplace received no credence for his words and it was important for God's appointed leaders his appointed
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Mediators to associate themselves with this Humble model of leadership.
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They were not to be haughty They were not to be lifted up in their roles of influence, but remain lowly in their place
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So God calls them shepherds remember who you are your shepherds because by calling them shepherds It's humbles God's leaders and it reminds them that they're dependent on him
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You look in the Bible the shepherds who are actually in the field doing the work are usually herding somebody else's sheep
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You can think of Abraham's herdsmen and lots herdmen fighting each other.
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You don't have enough room for our sheep Jacob's sons abroad with his flock doing the work and the best leaders of God's people regularly acknowledge their dependence upon God as Their shepherd what did
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King David say the King and Prophet David? What did he say? The Lord is my shepherd
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I Shall not want Asaph the priest saying this way
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Psalm 80 verse 1. Oh give ear shepherd of Israel You who lead
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Joseph like a flock You who are enthroned above the cherubim shine forth Old wisened
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Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 12 11 the words of wise men are like goads Meaning they're not comfortable and Masters of these collections are like well -driven nails.
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They are given by a one shepherd capital S when it comes to leadership shepherds are leaders, but when it comes to God's design for leadership, it means
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Mediating God's goodness meaning it's about God's authority. It's about God's holiness. It's about God's truth.
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It's about God's wisdom That God's leaders are shepherds. They don't stand on their own two feet and do things their own way.
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It's about Mediating the goodness of God to those they are called to lead and thus called to serve
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Let's consider that in the responsibility of the shepherds and it's easy to see the responsibility from the text by looking at their failures
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What are they doing wrong? They're destroying and scattering the sheep They are not
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Attending to the flock they're driving them away. They're scattering them This is all the things that they're doing wrong.
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So it's easy to see what they should be doing They should be protecting rather than destroying they should be gathering rather than Scattering they should be they should be guiding rather than driving off.
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They should be Providing rather than ignoring And this is what the shepherds should be doing
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Timothy Linac wrote in his biblical theology of shepherd leadership that behind these basic responsibilities of protecting and providing and guiding and gathering that behind all of this is fundamentally a
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Fundamentally, the task of shepherds is determined daily by the changing needs of the flock under their care
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The pastors are to be generalists to be a good shepherd means to be accountable for the lives and well -being of their sheep and so God says woe
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Upon the derelict shepherds because they not only bring themselves under the judgment of God, but they are also
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Bringing their sheep their flock the people they lead the people they serve into destruction as well.
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So God says woe upon these derelict Shepherds, it's not that the shepherds only have to worry about how the sheep are doing that's part of it
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Shepherds are accountable in some sense to their sheep But more importantly they're accountable to God for God is the one who says this is my flock
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He says it's my flock You have scattered my flock. He says in verse 2 and he says these are the sheep of my pasture
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He says in verse 1 and so these shepherds are accountable to God for how they lead for how they shepherd
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This is important if shepherds are only responsible to the sheep then shepherds would just merely do whatever the sheep wanted and That would be to the sheep's own detriment
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Don't know if you don't know if you don't know much about sheep if you never spend time around them The truth is that sheep don't want to be sheared.
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They don't want to move to new pasture They don't want it and they do want to eat whatever they can reach no matter if it's poisonous or not
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They like to wander off Sheep are always trying to die in new creative ways
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And if the shepherd is only concerned for the sheep and what the sheep want to do the sheep are going to die The sheep the shepherd must labor for the good of the sheep as defined by the chief shepherd
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Jacob knew that most of his sons were pretty lazy and didn't care about the sheep
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And that's why he sent Joseph to go check on are my other sons shepherding my flocks in the way that I want them to shepherd
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Joseph's go check him out and In this case the shepherds of Judah are not shepherding the flock in the way that God has told them to Their iniquity is clear keeping with the
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Christmas theme of last week We three kings of wickedness are This week is to certain bad shepherds and field as they lie
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For it is the cardinal sin of the shepherd to deceive It is the cardinal sin of these mediators who are supposed to be the the kings and priests and prophets and wise men who
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Lead the people according to the Word of God. It's their cardinal sin to lie To deceive the people and to lead them astray
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They destroyed scattered and drove away the people from God's pasture because they they lied to them about what sin really was
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They lied to them about God. They lied to them about idols. They lied to them about God's Word When it comes near to the end of the book
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God sums it up this way Jeremiah 15 verse 6 He says my people have become lost sheep
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Their shepherds have led them astray They have made them turn aside on the mountains. They have gone along from mountain to hill
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Where all the high places are from mountain to hill Where they worship the idols and they've forgotten their resting place
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Which was in God and so the priests refused to perform their duties of holiness
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The wise men were negligent in their knowledge of God The kings refused to follow God's orders and the priests and the prophets incapacitated themselves by mixing idols
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With true worship of God shepherds are derelict in their duty.
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Here's the fuller sentiment Jeremiah 2 verses 5 through 8 Notice the first part is about how well
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God has shepherded his people and His questions as to why
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They have turned away thus says the Lord what injustice did did your fathers find in me
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That they went far from me and walked after emptiness and became empty They did not say
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Where is the Lord? Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt who led us through the wilderness through a land of deserts and pits through a
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Land of drought and deep darkness through a land that no one crossed and were no man dwelt I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and it's good things
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You hear what a wonderful shepherd God is but you came and defiled my land and my inheritance you made an abomination
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The priest did not say where is the Lord? And those who handle the law did not know me
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Their rulers also transgressed against me And the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that did not profit
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What are the shepherds doing? They're not saying where is God?
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They're not taking the people's attention and saying where is God remember his faithfulness. What does his word say?
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They're not doing that They're not doing that they're leading them leading the sheep after emptiness and God says whoa and he brings retribution because Derelict shepherds destroy their sheep and themselves
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God's retribution is seen there in verse 2 Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending my people
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You have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not attended to them be old. I am about to attend to you
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For the evil of your deeds declares the Lord This is a an application of the biblical principle of justice known as lex talionis
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Meaning I for I tooth for tooth and God says you don't attend to my flock.
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Well, I will attend to you I will attend to you It is the
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Hebrew word pakad to visit God himself will come visit the people visit the shepherds
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Bring judgment upon them. It will be driven away
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All is not lost. However, because God's promises are
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Verses 3 through 8 and they are very rich and full promises that we'll begin to look at next week
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God promises new shepherds serving under a new David a good shepherd who gathers all his sheep.
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That's really good news but the first two verses
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Are centered around this one word? Whoa, and that term is a wake -up call.
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That's to snap people's out of a stupor That's to wake them up from their sleep. And this these two verses are a wake -up call for shepherds and sheep
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The first wake -up call really is for shepherds, isn't it? I mean, that's the obvious focus I want you to know that this passage convicts
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Upbraids Challenges and Confronts me.
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I see a glint of light from heaven. God's sniper scope is on me
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In this passage, he's talking about me. The crosshairs are on my head
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So I confess my dereliction of duty as a husband And as a father
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As a disciple maker And as a pastor how often
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I fail To attend to the sheep of God's pasture. It's only by Christ's forgiveness and cleansing that I am freed into obedience
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Shepherds will you join me in confession and repentance heavenly father
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You have made us shepherds In the mold of Christ as husbands.
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We are to humbly lead our wives protecting them from harm physical emotional spiritual
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Guiding them into your authority holiness truth and wisdom
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Providing them with steady serving leadership Forgive us for our inattentiveness deliver us from laziness and passivity
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Heavenly father renew us into the image of Christ As parents of our children
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Lead us in grace and truth to pastor our children to counsel and guide grandchildren
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Help us in the mold of Christ to lay aside offense and privilege To sacrificially lead our children to you and let us not shirk our calling to speak truth
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And let us always season our speech with grace Heavenly father you tell us to make disciples of The nations and to begin with our neighbors
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Give us your wisdom and fill us with your truth mark us with your holiness lead us in your authority to shepherd others
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To shepherd others on to the Great Shepherd Jesus Christ Gracious father we the elders of Sunnyside Baptist Church Seek your favor through Christ Forgive us where we have failed to attend to your flock
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Where we have not provided protected gathered and guided your people
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Invigorate us to the work by your spirit and through your word Help us to shepherd your flock among us
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May our oversight Not be under compulsion freely offered with your will
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And we crave no Sorted gain, but eagerly lead We ask that you would keep us humble and use us as examples and that you would stay our eyes upon Jesus Christ the chief shepherd
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For he offers an unfading crown of glory. Amen the second part of this verses 1 & 2 do not
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Say anything To the sheep per se but it's important for sheep to hear the woe as well
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It matters who we follow It matters who we follow
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Derelict shepherds destroy themselves and their sheep. So it matters who we follow We live in a world where a million new
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Christian books are published every five years How many websites blog posts and videos get uploaded every day?
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Never before has it been so easy for sheep to find someone new to follow but we're responsible for who we follow and And David's or Jeremiah's day did not have all of our technology, but it had the same problems
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Jeremiah 5 verses 30 and 31 an appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land appalling horrible
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What is so appalling and so horrible in the land you may ask As the government failed as morality failed the prophets prophesy falsely and the priests rule by their own authority and Here's the appalling and horrible thing and my people love it.
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So but what will you do at the end of it? The early church also struggles with what we face now 2nd
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Timothy 4 3 & 4 for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine But wanting to have their ears tickled they will accumulate for themselves
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Who's doing this they who want to hear what they want to hear will accumulate for themselves
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Teachers and accordance with their own desires and will turn away their ears from the truth and aside to myths
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It's easy to find someone out there Somewhere who will take up the Bible use
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Christian catchphrases and tell you what you want to hear They're there
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Any podcaster blogger author teacher preacher who does not submit himself to the clear authority of the scriptures is not a person for you to follow
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Jesus has let them alone They are blind guides of the blind and of a blind man guides a blind man both will fall into the pit and it's from the pit
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Satan is the father of lies and his servants look like angels speaking deceptions of masterful subtlety
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Some of these are calculating liars many of them are deceived themselves and so they deceive others
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But they would make themselves your shepherd in some fashion But we were responsible for who we follow assess
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Shepherds assess leaders assess me assess the elders by the
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Bible by the scriptures Not based on what you like Based upon the scriptures
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Do not assess us by our passion not assess us by our experiences or our spiritual expressions or God put a word of my heart today or mystical powers or not by our
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Visions and not by our many years of service not by any other Standard than the scripture where the scripture interprets the scripture to reveal
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Christ and we can know what this means We can know what the Bible means it's not a fog
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God did not give us an unclear word He gave us his son Jesus Christ and he gave us a clear and true word so that we know what he wants us to know
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It is not up for grabs It has come down from heaven
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And we are to contend earnestly for the faith, which was once for all handed down to the
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Saints Jude says We need to apply that to all potential shepherds
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Whoever we might follow And we'll be protected from Satan's servants and schemes 2nd
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Corinthians 10 verses 3 through 5 For though we walk in the flesh. We do not war according to the flesh
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For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh But divinely powerful for the destruction of Fortresses, what are we destroying?
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What are we after? fortresses Which is what? Wrongheadedness We are destroying
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Speculations verse 5 says we are destroying Speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God that which is not in agreement with the
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Word of God That's what we're after and we're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ means of Christ that applies to pastors elders teachers
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It applies to husbands and wives children applies to grandparents applies to Every aspect of our lives no matter who we are we are called to this
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Taking every thought captive To the obedience of Christ there he goes the thought no
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No, it comes under the authority of Christ. What does Christ say about this? What does he think about it?
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They're good. Nope. Nope. Come back over here under the authority of Christ. What does he said? What is the clarity of the Word of God?
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That's what we're after why because he's the chief shepherd Christ is the chief shepherd.
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That's why this is here. Remind us Christ is the chief shepherd. It's about him shepherding us through his word
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His rod and his staff applied by the Spirit in the word learn more about the
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Good Shepherd next time Let's close in a word of prayer father. I thank you for the time. You've given us
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Father I pray that you would continue your work in our hearts through your word. You would not leave
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Unchanged help us to trust you it is difficult at times but remind us father of who you are and what you've done and help us to trust in the the authority of the goodness the clarity of your word