Category Archives: Morning Thoughts

Morning Thoughts (Zechariah 11:17)

Morning Thoughts,

Zechariah 11:17, “Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.”

This morning, certain things – as the old saying goes – “get our goat” here in this world.  Since we all have buttons that can be pushed to letting our emotions get the best of us, we need to be aware of what our buttons are as well as learn to control those situations and never act contrary to Biblical mandates.  Biblically speaking, there is a difference between being righteously angry and letting anger rule our spirit. (Ephesians 4:26-27) Certain things should fill us with righteous indignation, for even our Lord Himself was angry with a cause at those that bought and sold in the temple. (John 2) If certain things do not bother us due to their inherent error, then we quickly find ourselves on the path of complacency.  So, may we learn to model our behaviour even closer to the Master in knowing what should arouse our anger but also model the pattern of not letting it rule our lives.

The subject from our study verse above is one that I freely confess fills me with anger faster than just about anything else in this world.  Our study verse shows the eventual end of an egotistical preacher that thinks too highly of himself.  When trying to comprehend that the gospel minister is supposed to be an ensample to the flock, there is nothing more foreign and alien to the discharge of his duty than such a proud and haughty behavioral pattern.   One particular word from our verse above really drives the point home about how we should view an egotistical preacher.  He is an “idol” shepherd.  Not to be confused with an “idle” shepherd, this man literally puts himself on the same plane with the One he should be heralding and extolling: Jesus Christ the Lord.

How does a man become an “idol shepherd?”  It is generally not nearly as stark and open as a man claiming to be God or promoting himself as God.  Rather, his conduct consistently shows a skewed and crumbling pattern that indicates that his thinking, mindset, and understanding of everything is right.  He can never be wrong.   Anyone that dares to disagree with him really does not know what they are talking about, and he scoffs at the very idea that either a. he could be wrong or b. someone else knows more than he does.  Oftentimes, this pattern develops gradually, and eventually the manifestation of it brings some rather harsh circumstances.

In the short course of my ministry, I have had the experience to visit two churches to fill their supply that had been devastated by such “idol shepherds.”   The scenes that I have witnessed are stirring to the point of indignation at what harm and detriment such men can be to innocent sheep and lambs.  They truly are undeserving of the painful condition that they find themselves in.  When observing those times, I many times wonder how such men could do such things.  Since the flock is to be the man’s chief care and concern, how does that man develop such a “god complex?”  Since we still carry around the corruption of sin in this old flesh and since the devil seeks to constantly entice us with his wiles, simply put: they succumbed to the temptation to set themselves higher than they should.

The manifestation of this mentality can be quite a difficult situation to observe.  Many times, the man that endangers his ministry in this fashion was at one time in the past not only a gifted man but also quite blessed with power from on high in his labors.  Since such gifted men can fall prey to such a condition, it behooves every minister of the gospel to earnestly pray that his charge always mean more to him than personal advancement.  We need wisdom to successfully repel all the wiles that attempt to deceive us into putting ourselves on the level of Divine prerogative.

Notice what the Lord promises as the outcome of such an idol shepherd.  After the man completely gives his mentality over to self-idolatry, God does some things to show forth not only His power but also His promise not to give or share His glory with another. (Isaiah 42:8) The man will have 3 things: 1. the sword will be upon his arm and eye, 2. his arm shall be dried up, and 3. his eye shall be darkened.  These three things show how utterly and completely the Lord removes the man’s “status” in the eyes of those he is around.

When the sword is upon the man’s arm and eye, he cannot see or dwell peacefully with anybody.  Not only can he not see peace – the sword is before his eye – but he cannot dwell at peace either – the sword is upon his arm.  Men who develop the “god complex” cannot be satisfied unless everyone else thinks as well of them as they think of themselves.  Since such is impossible, they are constantly at war and “wrought up” about anything and everything.  Since God’s people are compared to sheep, how do sheep respond to war, strife, and turmoil?  Nothing could be more alien to them as they desire still waters to drink and peaceful pastures to lie down in.

When his arm is clean dried up, his influence and “power” begins to dwindle to the point of completely going away.  Men, who at times in the past, were powerful preachers and able gifts to the Lord’s people only to develop this thinking soon lose their “pulpit presence” and ability to edify the Lord’s people.  Preaching that was once so powerful that it seemed to “ring the heavenly arches” now has the hollow echo of dry speaking.  Where once people sought their counsel as wise and sage undershepherds, they now are perceived as foolish and/or arrogant with none to desire their opinion about things.

When the eye is darkened, they no longer see or understand the things they were once blessed to see.  While our eternal life and standing will never be taken away, our light and understanding of rich, Biblical truths can stand in jeopardy for continued and willful disobedience.  If someone goes through this downward spiral, their once deep and rich preaching will deteriorate to “surface skimming” and/or unsubstantiated thoughts.  Where once people were given rich insights into gospel truths, now all they receive from such men is personal speculation or opinion, which the teachers pass off as the gospel itself.

Considering how thoroughly the Lord deals with such men, one easily sees how important the command against idolatry is for us.  Whether we worship someone else or ourselves, both are heinous in the sight of the Almighty.  For the minister that leads, it seems doubly so.   However, the real tragedy is not the loss of one man and his gift (though that circumstance is tragic).  The real tragedy is that when the spiral begins, it potentially can damage poor saints in the process.  Before the realization hits that they are not being fed what they once were, confusion begins to set in like a fog, and like a fog, it is not immediately exited.  May the importance of God’s place and the safeguard of the welfare of His people here on earth, stir us as ministers not to ever become “idol shepherds.”  May the purity of the Lord’s character stir all of us to keep Him fixed in our hearts and minds above anything of ourselves (including our own opinions).   Finally, may our indignation over seeing such things never take us down the path of uncontrolled rage, but rather, may we commit the matter to Him that judgeth faithfully and will deal thoroughly with the man’s case.

In Hope,

Bro Philip

Morning Thoughts (Luke 12:51-53)

Morning Thoughts,

Luke 12:51-53, "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth?  I tell you, Nay; but rather division:  For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.  The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."

This morning, too often the world and society rubs off on God's people.  When the winds of change blow through modern man's thinking, those things have a tendency to subtilly distort the mindset of the saints to be more accepting of things that they would not have at other times and seasons.  Consider as an example the modern perception of homosexuality vs. 30-50 years ago.  Little by little and bit by bit the general perception of society has been shifted in thought regarding this particular sin.  People that would not have entertained nearly as accepting a mindset toward it 50 years ago promote tolerance and open-mindedness today.  The problem with being too open-minded is that eventually your brains will spill out.  The gears of the mind should be firmly rooted in the tenets of Scripture, for they do not shift and change like the doctrines of men and their cunning craftiness do.

One of the problems that modern-day Christianity faces (regardless of denominational affiliation) is that many professing Christians allow current thinking of openness and tolerance to blind them from appreciating real and absolute truth.  The tenets of Scripture are non-negotiable.  The way of Christ is changeless.  Tolerance in the world’s modern sense basically equates to swallowing something that should rightly disgust us.  Now, we should follow after liberty and not seek to bind people as slaves to our way of thinking, but in turn, we should not be bound by the fetters of tolerance to have to accept theirs whether we like it or not.  The liberty must be bi-directional.

One of the great misconceptions about the way of Christ is that He simply promoted peace and goodwill.  This is the same misconception about God in general when people only see the God of love.  To see Christ properly, we have to indeed see Him as the Prince of Peace, but in order to appreciate the peace that He is for us, we have to be grounded in truth as the truth was vitally important to Him.  To see and appreciate the God of love and mercy, we have to also understand the justice and judgment of God as well.  One without the other makes for short-sighted and dangerous ground for God's people as they contemplate God and Jesus Christ.  Christ in our study verses plainly says that His way will bring division, even down to the midst of families.  This is not something we have to actively pursue (trying to make people mad), but the nature of following Christ will anger others.

Generally speaking, when people disagree about the right thing, correct thought, or proper course, argumentative techniques are employed.  Many of these techniques add nothing to the conversation but rather dodge the real and main issue of the discussion.  Have you ever talked with someone and been met with any of the following responses: 1.  Can't we all just get along?  2.  Don't make such a big fuss over this.  3.  That just can't be right.  4.  You must be foolish to think that.  Each of these avenues that so often rear their heads during a conversation fail to seek the truth of the discussion but rather seek to win by way of ill-designed techniques (sometimes called logical fallacies).

When having a discussion with someone that uses #1, they make the plea that different mindsets should just be able to find some common ground to agree on.  While there may be common ground between two people, that still does not change the fact that there is disagreement over the portion of ground currently under discussion.  When Christ walked and talked here, He could have simply avoided the disagreement with the Pharisees and scribes by using the common ground that they had.  They could have used Moses as their example, and Christ could have said that Moses was a good man and example.  Then everyone would have gone home happy.  They properly taught the tithing of various things, and Christ could have said that those were correct teachings.  However, Christ showed them that there was something important missing and being neglected in not only their teachings but also in their perspective of Moses.

If someone uses argument technique #2, they are trying to say that the discussion point is not essential.  We must take special care to ensure that we are earnestly contending for something essential (that cannot be compromised without damaging the teachings of the Bible)1, and if we are not, then we should follow their advice and leave it alone.  If however, the point is essential to our view of God and our behaviour in return, then we should not yield the ground.  Again, using Christ as an example, He could have yielded ground by simply saying it was not important enough to continue on.  However, when the questioning came and He responded to the silencing of His interrogators, He showed that certain ground should be contended for.

When #3 raises its ugly head, the person is simply resorting to base opinion without grounds.  The reason something is right or wrong is because God has said so.  It matters not what some man's opinion might be.  God's mind is what truly matters.  Recently, I read a rather foolish article in which the writer asserted that the Bible was full of glaring contradictions and was based on confused 1st century Christians that scrambled to assemble a religious structure after discovering that Christ was not imminently coming back.  Due to their foggy recollections of the Saviour's teachings, they could not assemble an error-free creed as their doctrine was made in their minds and hearts.  Truly, if any group of disciples had less fuzziness than anyone else, I would stake the argument that those in those early days did.  Not only did they have the Master, but they initially had His apostles and the very men that would be divinely inspired to pen His Book.  What was written must be right, regardless of what any man (including myself) might think about it.

Technique #4 is perhaps the basest of the fallacious techniques.  It seeks not to arrive at the truth but rather to make a personal assault on the other party.  Resorting to personal attack rather than conceptual discussion not only detracts from the conversation but it quickly kills it.  However, what I have always found interesting about those that employ this technique is that they always accuse the other side of doing what they do all too often.  When arguing a principle, the other party will play like they are being martyred unnecessarily, though they are some of the first to launch personal assaults rather than raising valid points and logical reasoning.

Regardless of what technique(s) we are posed with in discussion, the point is clear from the Saviour.  It happened to Him and because of Him, and we can expect that same kind of division today.  People resorted to name-calling against Him, and we can expect the same against us.  They dodged the issue(s) time and time again, and no less should be expected today.  However, what should never rear its head among us is the slow but silent poison that affects our minds away from the Bible.  Yes, the teachings contained therein are still just as relevant today as ever.  Morality and immorality are still just as pointed and valid now as ever.  Sins then are sins now.  Righteousness then is righteousness now.

One final thought that will hopefully bring some of this together is how the world has affected many Christian's view of Biblical doctrine.  They often today claim, "Doctrine divides, Christ unites."  Their message is transparent – don't stand for doctrine as that will run people off; let's just all follow Christ together.  However, the problem becomes manifest in our verses above.  Christ Himself divided people.  The doctrines of the Bible such as salvation, redemption, justification, glorification, the church, etc. will divide people.  However, they are worth contending for, even if that means standing in opposition to our own natural families.  Again, this is not something to necessarily go and seek out, but if we try to follow the way of Christ, rest assured dear friends that it will find us.  We will have to deal with the heartaches that come with division as a result of it.  However, all the heartaches we might experience when trying to follow the way of Christ all pale in comparison to one smile from the portals of glory.  As the hymn writer wrote, "And the smile of the Lord is the feast of the soul."

In Hope,

Bro Philip