Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
Jeremiah 23:1
23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
There are professedly pious men who screen the sinner by their own transgression. They disregard the commandments of God, choosing the traditions of men, making void the law of God, and promoting apostasy. The excuses they make are feeble and weak and will bring destruction to their own souls and the souls of others….
Upon those who have taken upon them the work of shepherds of the flock, will be visited the heaviest judgments, because they have presented to the people fables instead of truth. Children will rise up and curse their parents. Church members, who have seen the light and been convicted, but who have trusted the salvation of their souls to the minister, will learn in the day of God that no other soul can pay the ransom for their transgression. A terrible cry will be raised, “I am lost, eternally lost.” Men will feel as though they could rend in pieces the ministers who have preached falsehoods and condemned the truth. The pure truth for this time requires a reformation in the life, but they separate themselves from the love of the truth, and of them it can be said, “O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.” The Lord sends a message to the people, “Set a trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law” (Letter 30, 1900). {4BC 1157.2}
God’s words, through Jeremiah the prophet of heart religion, are a call to repentance from the Most High. God warns the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep through their own traditions and apostasy. They lead God’s children to perdition with their false teachings. Jeremiah’s messages were a call away from the external and superficial to that which was inward and real. Jeremiah taught that corruption comes from a wicked heart, and without a new heart and spirit, man is not capable of goodness. However, his efforts and call to repentance were ignored. Today, there are pastors who claim to be independent of the church. They collect tithes yet do not return it to God’s church, rather, use the money for their own purposes. These pastors preach to the youth that they should not marry, have children, or have jobs outside of the “church.” They bring destruction to their own souls and the souls of others. God will visit these “pastors” with the heaviest judgements. Woe unto the pastors that scatter the sheep.
Our heavenly Father,
We pray for all Your children, that none would be lost from the fold, left to perish on their own. We pray that if any are to wonder off, that we may go out and find them to bring them back to Your pasture. Some have gone astray, and have become dependent on external sources. We pray that Your spirit convicts them to change their wicked hearts so that You can give them a new heart and spirit. We pray for self-professed pastors, who bring destruction to their own souls and the souls of others, to repent of their ways and not lead others away from Your church, of which You are the head. Forgive them, for they know not what they do. In Christ Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
