SHEPHERDING THE FLOCK

EVERY PASTOR'S DUTY

SHEPHERDING THE FLOCK

I have been attempting to share the truth of God’s salvation ever since I experienced that miracle. I fervently believed that gospel I was familiar with as I grew up, for four decades. Nothing about my life was transformed as God’s word promised me it would be. It is so obvious that when one is born again one becomes a brand-new creature. At least that is what God promises us.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Cor. 5:17

Sure, I did my best to talk like a Christian and to act like one in the presence of my church peers. In fact, I did my level best to talk and act like one at all times. For a decade I ‘threw myself’ into church activities and ministry. I was well respected, and even admired as a man of God. I became a leader of some kind in every church we attended. We moved around a lot due to my business, and other circumstances beyond our control, so we were involved with many different churches and denominations. I preached sermons, pastored the youth groups, led worship with my guitar, led home groups and was elder in a church before I was forty. For all intents and purposes, I was the ideal spiritual person who was capable of counseling and discipling others. I was fully trained to be a priest with the Anglican Church in New Zealand, but at the end of that I still was not able to find anywhere in the bible where a baby could be baptised or christened, and become a ‘child of God.’ Due to that, they would not ordain me. 

However, during all this time I was totally mastered by Satan with a terrible sexual addiction. I sort help from elders and pastors for this, and got zero helpful advice or counsel. I fought this addiction with every fiber of my being, crying out to God to set me free. I told God I had repented so many times that it was not funny. I promised Him several times that I would never ‘do that again’ but broke my promise every time. I actually despised myself because I knew I could not confess to loving Him when I continued grieving Him and making Him angry with me. Yes, He does get angry with those who say they belong to Him and keep doing things that are clearly not right in His eyes. My ‘worship’ did not please Him in any way.

This is what the LORD says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?” declares the LORD.

“These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.

But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person, and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense is like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations; so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” Isaiah 66:1-4

I was alone in my fight against Satan. That was obvious to me. I tried reading ‘Christian’ books authored by renown authors. Not one of them offered me any hope for victory. So, I started seriously studying several versions of the bible, looking for freedom. After doing so from Genesis to Revelation in each version and making a topical bible on my PC, and highlighting passages with different colors for different topics/subjects, I was still a wretched sinner. I eventually had the thought that I had been doing all of this for my own benefit. That made it a selfish act. So, I started over again searching for God’s purpose for my life, and His truth regarding sin. That made all the difference. He revealed Himself to me as He promises to do for all who seek Him with all their hearts.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. Jer. 29::11-14.

This passage came alive for me. God had plans for me that were really great, and He wanted me to seek Him with all my heart in order to know Him, along with those plans, and to have Him hear me when I spoke to Him. It reminded me of 2 Chron 7:14 immediately.

if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

As I searched passionately over a period of twelve months or more, God revealed Himself to me, and I learned to fear Him. That enabled me to truly repent.

Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” Ex. 20:20

This was so incredibly miraculous to me, that it was just as Paul predicted it would be in Ephesians 3:17-21, and Isaiah in  40:31.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

My life was absolutely transformed from wretched sinner to saint, with a joy that was and still is beyond belief, and confidence, security and a very healthy self-esteem established in a meaningful and intimate relationship with Him. I had been taught by preachers and ‘Christian’ authors that I could not stop sinning. I was a human being with an ‘old nature’ that prevented me from living free from sin. Of course, that gospel assured me that all my sins had been ‘dealt with’ on the cross, so Jesus had ‘paid the penalty’ for them all instead of me doing so. All I had to do was ask God’s forgiveness for them and I was assured of an eternal destiny in heaven. During my years of serious study of God’s inerrant word, I had noticed over and over again, God’s response to sin. It is something that He hates, and cannot dwell with. There is no way God can cohabit with a sinner.

I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished [been aware of] sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.

Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me! Ps. 66:17-20

For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness; with you, evil people cannot dwell.

The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong; Ps. 5:4-5

In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. Ps. 36:2

Isn’t it interesting that many folks love to sing that song, ‘when the saints go marching in?’ But they will assure you that they are going to heaven because of what Jesus did on that cross, and yet they still sin. They know that a saint is called that simply due to the fact that he/she does not sin. All the letters in the New Testament were addressed to the saints at such and such a church. All of those contributors to God’s inerrant word taught very sincerely that believers must not sin. I could give you many such passages, but you really need to find them for yourself so that you will remember them. John actually left us with a very direct description of what a child of God’s life is like in his first letter chapter three, verses three through ten.

But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin.

 No one who lives in him sins. No one who sins has either seen him or known him.

 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.

No one who is born of God will sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot sin because they have been born of God.

This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

The KJV gives us this passage as it was written originally in Greek text, but all modern versions I have looked at have some words added by man that has allowed false teachers to twist this truth to a deliberate lie. I have given you the NIV version minus those added words, just as the KJV did in 16th century English. One simply cannot get around the truth God has given us all here. But we keep hearing preachers and church and ministry leaders assuring us all that “in spite of our sin we have all been ‘clothed with the righteousness of Jesus.’” That is not true. God teaches us clearly that it is only those who ‘do what is right’ that are accepted as righteous in His eyes. 

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? Rom. 6:16

"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right." Acts. 10:34-35

 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  Gen. 4:7

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.  Rom. 2:13

Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. Rom. 10:4 [remember what ‘believe’ means]

If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. 1 Jn. 2:29

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.  1 Jn 3:7

The word ‘believe’ in the New Testament comes from a Greek word that literally means: trust, have faith in, with the implication that actions based on that faith and trust will follow. It does not mean a mental assent as is taught in today’s false gospel. So, Paul was assuring us that our righteousness comes from what we do, rather than some metal assent of the existence of Jesus. Even the demons believe Jesus existed and they tremble. Js. 2:19

James also agreed with Paul when he wrote his letter.

Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. Js. 2:21-24

Very sadly, today’s preachers and bible scholars all take Paul’s words in Romans three through five literally as they have been translated into English. But Peter warned us of this in his letter.

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 2 Pet. 3:14-16

This being so disastrous for any who get fooled by Paul’s words, really behoves us all to know which words Peter was referring to, doesn’t it?

In saying all of the above, I want you to understand that a pastor or shepherd’s duty is to teach these truths to all those who they have the opportunity to communicate with. For some time now I have been sharing God’s truth on social media platforms. Very sadly, I find several other pew-warmers and even pastors posting stuff that has absolutely nothing to do with the truths I have shared with you above. They have never experienced the joy of God’s salvation or the victory that is theirs in Christ, so they try to ‘witness’ with isolated verses that have zero relevance to sinners who read them, or statements that are ridiculous and even quite insane. Some of them really believe they have the gift of prophecy, and come out with the most bazaar stuff that is completely untrue and quite impossible for sinners who read their stupid quotes. It is extremely sad to read these posts, and I really feel righteous anger at these folks who are clearly not even God’s children, posting utter nonsense, and even prayers that Jesus told them to do in secret, in their closets, rather than on social media [street corners].     

To summarize God’s message of salvation, one could put it like this:

Get to know God by searching for Him with all your heart. [With the right motive]

Learn to fear Him, which will happen when you really get to know Him. He really is a God of justice.

Repent, which will allow God to give you the Holy Spirit.

Experience the joy of His salvation and the victory that is yours in Christ where there is no sin and no darkness.

When you study God’s word you will find that fear of God is absolutely essential for eternal and abundant life. It is spoken of many times throughout God’s inerrant word, and yet, I have never heard a sermon on fearing God. When I mentioned it to a priest one day, he told me I was crazy to suggest that we ought to fear God. He got very passionate about it.

Please understand that the gospel that has been preached ever since the civil war has been false. Before that war the Holiness Movement was moving all across the nation, with pulpits aflame with righteousness. I can imagine the severe emotional, and spiritual battle that went on in the hearts or true believers when they were conscripted into that war and given a gun to kill other Americans who wore a different uniform than them, or be killed by them. I am sure glad I was not one of them. The USA is currently under a massive spiritual attack by Satan who seriously desires the total destruction of America. He has taken control of the minds and hearts of all those who fostered deep hatred for Donald Trump. That is why you see the Democrats and their allies in the lame-stream media, academia, Hollywood, and large corporations doing everything that will destroy America. It is incredibly scary, and Satan will win this war if the false gospel continues to be accepted and embraced. The message to come to Jesus, or have faith in Jesus, or to trust in Jesus or even to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior is all semantics at best and voodooism or hypnosis at worst.  There is zero substance in that message, and obviously cannot transform a life from sinners to saint. I can verify that because I tried harder than anyone to experience such a thing. Jesus actually assured us that if we sin, we are slaves to sin and cannot remain in His family. He said we must be set free. In fact, He came to take away our sins, rather than the consequence of them. It’s not rocket science, and Americans must wake up to the truth really quickly or watch their nation be totally destroyed.

I wrote a book about this very issue back in 2013, depicting the utter chaos and anarchy that has been going on for the last two years across the nation. Get ’A Nation Broken’ from Amazon or B & N today