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Friday, August 12, 2011

Shepherds...


"Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, 'May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregations of the LORD will not be like sheep which have no shepherd."--Numbers 27:15-17.  Moses, going to the Lord in prayer to inquire of Him who is to be Moses' replacement for when the time comes to enter the Promised Land.  We find in Numbers 20:8-13 that Moses' one act of disobedience cost him his own entrance into the Promised Land.  Therefore, someone else would need to lead the people when it came time so that the people would not be like sheep without a shepherd. 

Shepherds.  Israel at this point is still quite some time away from making their entrance into the Promised Land.  However, Moses knows the time is coming quickly and someone is going to need to lead them in. They will need a shepherd.  

Shepherds.  Given the fact that the people will need a shepherd, the first thing Moses does is go to God in prayer. Joshua, one of the most faithful men among all the people is the one that is chosen.  

Shepherds.  So let me ask you this, what if all of a sudden you found out your preacher or some other leader of your congregation was not going to be able to fulfill his responsibility for whatever reason and you knew soon there would need to be a replacement?  The people at your particular congregation would need a shepherd.  

Shepherds.  Now as we look at the New Testament, the shepherds of the Lord's church are in fact the elders and the qualifications of said elders can be found in Titus 1:5-9 and also 1 Timothy 3:1-7.  These men are also known as overseers, pastors (preachers of churches are NOT pastors), or bishops.  1 Timothy 4:14 also describes them as the presbytery.  But again what would you do if all of a sudden one of these men needed to be replaced? Sheep cannot be left without a shepherd. 

Shepherds.  Right now, my congregation, the Bear Valley church of Christ is in the process of installing new elders.  This process is no doubt not being done without prayer.  Returning to the passage in Numbers, the first thing Moses did upon realizing the need for a new shepherd was go to God in prayer.  

Shepherds.  Whether its a preacher or an elder that will soon need to be replaced, our first step is going to God in prayer.  Let the Lord guide our direction as we seek out a replacement for any given leader in the church.  This is crucial because selecting a bad shepherd (See Ezekiel 34:1-10 as contrasted with John 10:1-18) is just as bad, if not worse than sheep having no shepherd.  

Shepherds.  So my encouragement to you is this.  Men, study out the qualifications given in the passages that I mentioned above.  Encourage the young men of your particular congregation to strive after these qualities. Women, you aren't off the hook on this one.  Encourage these qualities in the men in your congregation and likewise with the younger men.  The church is in constant need of shepherds but the process of selecting said shepherds must always begin with prayer. 

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS! 

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