{"id":40,"date":"2003-10-05T20:01:52","date_gmt":"2003-10-06T00:01:52","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T04:00:00","slug":"wanted-shepherds-for-the-sheep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wanted-shepherds-for-the-sheep\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanted: Shepherds For The Sheep"},"content":{"rendered":"

Samuel Ridout<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\nWhere are the pastors today? <\/em>No time for visiting? Too busy? The
\nwolves are busy scattering the sheep; divisions and worldliness press on every hand.
\nCompromise, neglect of Christ?s interests, disregard of His honor ? all these
\nare present; where are the pastors today? <\/i>The Church has all the gifts; there are
\nbrilliant orators, scholarly teachers; good men and true. There are schools and colleges;
\neducation can be gained by any desiring it. Surely the Lord has not forgotten the need of
\nHis people, nor is He indifferent when He sees them scattered as sheep without a shepherd.
\nWhere are the pastors today?<\/i>

I. FEEDING THE SHEEP. Feed the flock of God which is among you,
\ntaking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but
\nof a ready mind; neither as being lords over God?s heritage, but being examples to
\nthe flock. And when the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory
\nthat fadeth not away” <\/i>(First Peter 5: 1?4). Take heed therefore unto
\nyourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers,
\nto feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood <\/i>(Acts 20:28).
\nWords fail to express the solemnity of such a trust. Those who cost the precious blood of
\nthe Son of God, are committed into the hands of men! What an honor, what responsibility to
\nbe in any way permitted to feed the lambs, to shepherd the sheep of Christ. And ministry
\n<\/i>it is, of the most delicate and important character. Nothing but companionship with
\nthe Good Shepherd, with a sense of the value, the need of the sheep, can qualify one to
\nwalk in His steps.<\/p>\n

The shepherd?s life is largely a quiet one. The flock cannot be
\nover-driven or frightened. The main duty of the shepherd is to love the sheep. The rest
\nwill follow. He will feed them, causing them to lie down in green pastures; he will lead
\nthem besides waters of quietness. Brutal harshness may pass for firmness, but the shepherd
\nnever mistakes force and cruelty for strength. Love is firmer than wrath; it can
\n“exhort, reprove, rebuke;” but it has previously gained the right to do this by
\nshowing patient love, and winning the confidence of the saints. There is an authority
\nwhich appeals to the conscience; a firmness which weeps as it smites.<\/p>\n

Let us hear the word of the Lord to His shepherds in a former
\ndispensation. Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; woe be to the shepherds of
\nIsrael that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat,
\nand ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The
\ndiseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither
\nhave ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was
\ndriven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty
\nhave ye ruled them. And they were scattered because there is no shepherd….<\/i>(Ezekiel
\n34:2-5).<\/p>\n

II. GUARDING THE SHEEP. He that is an hireling and not the shepherd,
\nwhose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and
\nthe wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep….I am the good Shepherd and know my
\nsheep and am known of mine” <\/i>(John 10:12,14). Obey them that have the rule over
\nyou, and submit yourselves; for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account,
\nthat they may do it with joy, and not with grief; for that is unprofitable for you (<\/i>Hebrews
\n13:17). Rule, if it be truly that, is shepherd care. The model shepherd was familiar with
\nthe sheep; indeed, his kingship was but an exalted shepherd care. He chose David also
\nhis servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes great with young he
\nbrought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he fed them according
\nto the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands <\/i>(Psalm
\n78:70-72). David looked on the people as a flock: These sheep, what have they done? <\/i>(2
\nSamuel 24:17).<\/p>\n

How beautiful it is to see a caretaker visiting in the homes of the
\nsaints. Danger threatens. The father has met one who has brought strange and deadly
\ndoctrines to his attention. He is interested; the specious teaching of the pamphlets
\nattracts him. But he has a friend in whose judgment he confides; he will lay the matter
\nbefore him, and the pastor is enabled to point out the error, to warn, even to admonish.
\nWhat a work, what a privilege! He loves the sheep, and does the work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Samuel Ridout Where are the pastors today? No time for visiting? Too busy? The wolves are busy scattering the sheep; divisions and worldliness press on every hand. Compromise, neglect of Christ?s interests, disregard of His honor ? all these are present; where are the pastors today? The Church has all the gifts; there are brilliant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church"],"yoast_head":"\nWanted: Shepherds For The Sheep - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/wanted-shepherds-for-the-sheep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wanted: Shepherds For The Sheep - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Samuel Ridout Where are the pastors today? No time for visiting? Too busy? The wolves are busy scattering the sheep; divisions and worldliness press on every hand. Compromise, neglect of Christ?s interests, disregard of His honor ? all these are present; where are the pastors today? 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