Test Everything and Everyone
Fallen Leaders
(#141 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
www.sufferwell.org
This is what Sovereign Yahweh says: “Behold, 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.” (Ezekiel 34:10) And this wake up call for the American “Christian church” needs to be understood. It was commanded to each individual to guard his own “life and doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:16), and yet, too many pastors have assumed the role of doing this for the people, believing that their shepherding means that everyone was intended to “see it their way,” or else be deemed “spiritually lacking,” or even “contentious.” The pastor himself is merely a part of the body; Yahshua Messiah being the head (chief) part (Ephesians 1:22).
Because their lives and doctrine are in error, many sheep are led astray in error. The key now is to teach the sheep how to stand firm, after having had their “man” headship removed and their “Messiah” headship restored.
These crucial elements will aid in this most precious of endeavors:
1. Everyone must die to “self” in order to fully understand and obey Yahweh, His son, and His Spirit; even the pastors.
2. When a pastor falls, he shall be redeemed as Yahweh will never forsake the one who truly served, and yet still had “ego” that needed to be revealed, and therefore, eventually removed.
3. If you judge the fallen one, Yahweh will be quick and faithful to remind you that “there be I but by His grace.” And how very close you are to falling in the very same areas of sin in which you judge.
4. A fallen pastor is not to be viewed as one whose former messages, and yes, that means all of them, cannot be taken seriously. If the messages had scriptural truth, truth that should have been affirmed by each individual who received the word anyhow (Acts 17:11), then the messages stand as anointed by the Spirit. Truth was always Yahweh’s, and if it meant that only the sinless could teach His word, we would have no teachers whatsoever.
5. Rejoice that Yahweh is always faithful to His word. The fallen one will rise again (Proverbs 24:16) and he will return with praise on his lips that Yahweh does not and will not let any man get away with anything that rejects Yahshua Messiah and His sinless sacrifice.
Everything will be shaken beloved, and those who are “exposed” and convicted of sin will learn to appreciate and be grateful for their humbling experience. These things the sheep must know when a mighty one falls. All is well. They need to know that all is well! For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked are overthrown by calamity. (Proverbs 24:16)