Skip to content The Shepherd's Calling: Leading the Flock with Integrity - Ezekiel 34 Apr 15 · 17 min ...more
The Shepherd's Calling: Leading the Flock with Integrity - Ezekiel 34
April 15, 2025 · 17 min
Unpack the importance of steadfast, godly leadership in our homes, churches, and society, as taught by Ezekiel.
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The Importance of Godly Leadership 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Today, Today, we're looking at Ezekiel chapter 34. The message is leadership matters. Verse 31, and you are my sheep, human sheep of my0:21 pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God. Now the message in this chapter along with the following 5 chapters, they're not dated as we've seen in some of the other most of the other prophetic words given by0:33 Ezekiel. So we don't know the exact time, but it's, most likely that these came after the destruction of Jerusalem because it speaks to why the people were scattered. Then it gives the people hope for0:45 the future, that there will be a leader, a shepherd, who will actually take care of them. Poor leadership, alright, is not an excuse for individual disobedience, but it is a reason. Leadership0:57 matters, whether in the home, whether in the church, whether in the marketplace or government. Rarely do people rise above low the low level of leadership, and when they do, it's1:09 usually because of either revolution or revival. Now in this chapter, Ezekiel is given a word for the leadership that enriched themselves at the expense of the people that and these are1:20 people they were given the the the privilege of leading. Let's look first at the gorging shepherds. Verse 1, chapter 34. The word of the Lord came to me, son of man, prophesy against the1:32 shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, even to the shepherds, thus says the Lord God, ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves, should not shepherds feed the sheep?1:45 They were feeding on the sheep rather than feeding the sheep. You eat the fat, you clothe yourself with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak, you have not strengthened. The sick,1:56 you have not healed. The injured, you have not bound up. The strayed, you have not brought back. The lost, you have not sought, and with force and harshness, you have ruled over them.2:09 The leaders saw the people as being there to exploit for their own benefit, not as needing to be watched over and cared for and led along the safe path2:21 of obedience to God. Verse 5, so they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered. They were vulnerable.2:34 Now it's interesting that this is almost the identical description that Jesus used in Matthew chapter 9 verse 36 when he said this. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for2:46 them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a shepherd. Verse 6, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were2:57 scattered over all the face of the earth with none to search or seek from them. Now this reference to the mountains and the high hills that they wandered over them, this is where the idolatry was taking place3:09 because they didn't have strong leadership holding them accountable to the word of God. And the the people engaged in this, idolatry and immorality because they lacked3:21 godly leadership. Godly leadership is essential. Now I I struggled with this a lot because,3:33 my orientation is leadership since since I've been a kid. And so I just kinda felt like everybody wanted to lead. Most people do not, and and that's not a that's just the nature of people.3:45 That's just the nature of who people are. More than 200 times in the Bible, people are referred to as sheep. And and that's for a reason, not because they're cuddly and cute as depicted in cartoons, but because they are4:00 vulnerable creatures in need of constant guidance. That's who we are. We need we we all need. Children need this from their parents. Alright? They they they need4:12 direction. They need guidance because they're vulnerable and and and can easily be exploited. And and it's not what we're talking about here, but parents, I just say this. I've said it4:24 before, but your call is not to be a friend to your children. It is to be a parent guiding them and directing them, and that's not always going to be4:37 something they want. They applaud. Now you do that when they're young. When they're older, they will be your friend. But we're called to guide, to provide leadership, and shepherd the hearts of our children. Pastors are4:49 to shepherd the hearts of their people. Government leaders government leaders are are ministers of God, as Romans 13 says, and they should be shepherding the people. Verse 7.5:01 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord, as I live, declares the Lord God, surely because my sheep have become prey and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts since there was no shepherd, and5:12 because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves and have not fed my sheep. Therefore, you shepherds hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the lord god, behold, I am against the5:24 shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths. It's almost like,5:36 you know, a shepherd was to take a sheep, you know, from the mouth of the of the wolves. And and here, the lord says, I'm gonna take them out of your mouth that they may not be food for them. Now this charge5:48 against the shepherds alright. We talk about shepherds. This is both, the civil and the spiritual religious leaders. Okay? So this is the6:00 political and the religious leaders. While responsibilities differ between the, the the church leaders and the government the civil government leaders in terms6:12 of their responsibility, God sets the standards for both. Alright? The ecclesiastical leaders, they have a certain standard, and the the civil government leaders have a standard as well,6:24 but it's all set by God. David, before becoming king, he was a shepherd, which became, illustrative of the the role of civic leaders6:36 to care for the people, to protect the people, and as as they're often referred to in in scripture as sheep. Now we're to leaders are to shepherd, as I said earlier. Leaders both6:48 civil and ecclesiastical are charged with the care of the people, but here the only thing they cared about was enriching themselves and making themselves prosperous. They7:00 took no care of the people who were entrusted to their leadership, but as we see here, God holds them accountable. Now when we, we hear the,7:12 the worn out phrase, separation of church and state from the left, I I I almost wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard that over my career, my 30 plus years. I could7:23 retire comfortably. Look. They're not talk when you hear that, they're not talking about the original meaning of that phrase, which meant the prohibition of a state church7:35 with the government sticking its its its hand into the church and directing the business of the church, which the Bible speaks to and almost every Christian7:53 accompanied by the state like we see in England, becomes an agent of the state. Alright? And it leads to the corruption of both institutions, because there there's a check and balance. It's like8:04 our separation of powers in our government. What the left is howling about is a separation. When they say separation of church and state, they're not talking about a a a church that or a state8:16 that's separated from the church. What they're talking about is separation of God from government. And we cannot, under any circumstance, accept what they want because a8:28 government untethered to the truth of God becomes tyrannical. Now this passage here should shake every leader. Those in authority might deny the authority of God8:40 for a short time, but God will eventually exercise his authority and hold leaders accountable for eternity. God sets the standards for everyone,8:52 and we will be held accountable to those standards. Alright. So we have the the the shepherds that gorge. Now we have the greedy sheep. Verse 17. As for you, my flock, says9:04 the lord god, behold, I judge between sheep and sheep. Right? Now we're dealing with sheep and sheep and between rams and male goats. Therefore, thus says the lord god to them, behold, I, I myself, will judge9:15 between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Alright. I'm not gonna ask you to identify with 1 of those, but I'm I'm gonna explain it here. Because you9:27 pushed push with side and shoulder and thrust all the week with your horns till you have scattered them abroad. I will rescue my9:39 flock. They shall no longer be a prey, and I will judge between sheep and sheep. So what is this? Well, this should come as no surprise. In the absence of godly leadership,9:51 the people acted ungodly, taking advantage of the poor and enriching themselves just as the leaders have done had done. You know, we have a responsibility. Alright? Let me let me letThe Role of the Good Shepherd 10:03 me be very clear here. Okay? In fact, in the God in Government course I teach, and it's online now, right now, at the, we're coming up on episode 9 this week.10:15 We deal with, the issue of, of of poverty. We deal with the economy. We deal with poverty, and we look at it from a biblical perspective. We we, that is in the10:27 family, the natural family, as well as the church family, have a responsibility to protect and care for the truly vulnerable and needy, and I really unpack that in the God of Government10:39 course. You know, in James chapter 1 verse 27, it says, pure and undefiled religion before God and the father is just to visit the orphans and widows in their trouble and keep oneself unspotted10:51 from the world. Alright. So we have an obligation, but we need to know truly what the who who is impoverished, who cannot help themselves. It's not what the government is doing today, I can assure you.11:03 Alright. Let's move to the third and final, aspect of this chapter, the savior. The good the great and the good shepherd, the hope for the future. We're gonna see11:15 this becomes really the focus of their this final, section of Ezekiel is looking to the future into the millennial reign of Christ. Verse 23, and I will set up11:27 over them 1 shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. Now this is not talking about, like, the resurrection of David. It is talking from the line of11:38 David, the authority of David, as Revelation 3 says, the 1 who holds the key of David, that is Jesus, there will be 1 shepherd, the good shepherd, the Messiah. And11:50 this is what Jesus, I believe, was talking about in John chapter verse 14 when he said, I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.12:02 He he's making reference back to what we're reading here in Ezekiel, the prophetic words about him that he is the good shepherd. Alright. Back to Ezekiel, verse 24. And I, the12:13 Lord, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the Lord I have spoken. I will make with them a covenant of peace and banish wild beasts from the land so that they may dwell12:25 securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places all around them my hill a blessing. And I will send down the showers in their season. They12:37 they're they shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And the earth shall yield its increase. And they shall be secure in their land, and they shall12:49 know that I am the lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and deliver them from the hand of those who enslave them. And you are my sheep, human13:01 sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Lord God. This looks, as I said, to the coming of of the reign of13:13 Jesus Christ, who is the beloved of God, which the name David means. David means beloved of God. David was a type of shepherd king pointing to13:24 Jesus who would ultimately sit on the throne of David and rule as the perfect shepherd king. That day is coming. It hasn't come yet, but it is coming. Matthew Henry writes this. He13:36 said the under shepherds may prove careless, but the chief shepherd neither slumbers nor sleeps. They may be false, but god abides faithful.13:49 While this speaks, again to the nation of Israel in the millennial, when the physical kingdom of god will be established with the reign of Jesus Christ. So14:00 we've talked about this before. It's good to be reminded. The Old Testament is the physical, New Testament spiritual. But in the millennial, they become 1. We see the the the the physical manifestation of the14:12 spiritual. And the so this this this is speaking to what will happen when Jesus reigns and that physical kingdom of god is established, but it also14:25 speaks to the spiritual kingdom of god now. We, if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our savior and lord, we are in his pasture and under his care, and he will not14:36 let the wolves in sheep's clothing remain. I mean, we can trust the good shepherd, and I believe that's sometimes we see this shaking. It was happening right14:48 now, the shaking in the church and and and certain individuals are being removed or exposed. It is look. God loves his people, and he loves15:00 them too much to let them be exploited or to let those who are his but are out of line to exploit. God will bring all things15:12 into the light. Father, we thank you for your word, and and, lord, we are so grateful for this promise of the good shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd. And and, lord,15:24 we can walk under the protection of the shepherd even now in the kingdom in your kingdom. We know a day is coming. And, lord, I believe it's very soon. I don't know that for15:36 certain. No 1 knows, only you. But I believe, lord, as we look at the signs of what is happening, the signs of the time that we are getting close. And I pray, lord, we would live each day with15:48 intentionality and with purpose. Lord, strengthened by the hope that the good shepherd is coming. And even now, we can watch we can walk under his watch care.16:00 And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. Until next time, keep standing on the word.16:10 Today's study comes from the stand on the word bible reading plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you16:22 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Importance of Godly Leadership10:01 The Role of the Good Shepherd
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