“What Would Jesus Undo: I Am The Good Shepherd”
We can all say we’ve experienced it…at times we’ve even been it! We’ve all had a time where we had someone use us more for their benefit and it lead to our detriment. Often these are the closest of friends to us & then something changes—an event, an argument, a next step and POOF their gone. Only in the aftermath can we see the destruction it not only caused us but to those around us. That’s exactly what God saw in humanity…so He made a way through Jesus! If you’ve ever read John 10:1-17 you will see that when Jesus says “I AM the Good Shepherd” it is in direct response to Ezekiel 34. So how do we see the difference in the Good Shepherd and the Bad Shepherd.
- Bad Shepherds FEED THEMSELVES
- Here we see that the leaders of Israel eat first instead of eating last. They make sure their needs are provided for before they ever measure the condition of those they lead.
- If we look at today’s world it’s often easy to see where we make sure our needs are provided for before we take action on behalf of others…but as Christians that’s where faith comes in! Faith knows Who provides > my present circumstance and isn’t selfish about the idea of service to others for the Gospel sake.
- Bad Shepherds STEAL FROM THE CHURCH
- Israel is in this time where the Priests and the Levites are taking advantage of them (remember Jesus flipping tables in the Temple). Instead of honoring the sacrifices and offerings they are consuming them…so they are stealing not just from God but from God’s people!
- Many times we think of this in the Church as someone stealing money from the Church in some way, shape or form; however, robbing God’s people of His blessing can come through sitting on the sidelines at Church each week & not sharing the gifts God has given you with others. Stealing from the Church doesn’t just have to be with money…it can be from time, effort and willingness to reach the ends of the earth with the Gospel.
- Bad Shepherds SCATTER
- Israel is in captivity when Ezekiel writes this warning! They are scattered throughout the provinces as slaves of the Babylon for 70 years! Ezekiel is reminding Israel of the Hope of returning to the Promised Land and shares God’s Word to them!
- This is what is the biggest growing pain of the Church today is that it gets scattered but not planted! Many follow a man over Christ and when they do they are marching back into captivity instead of the freedom Christ died for them to walk in! This is where we can see where the Bad Shepherd shows up the most…and hurts the most!
- The Good Shepherd PROTECTS, CORRECTS and DIRECTS
- As we see at the end of Ezekiel 34 we see exactly who Jesus is as the Shepherd and how God will send Him to protect the flock from the wild animals, correct the flock when is goes astray and direct the flock into abundant life instead of certain death!
Take Away
How have you experienced the challenges of being like a sheep?
How do you know when God is guiding you?
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Tyler West 