Self-Serving Leadership

Isaiah 56:9-12
Israel’s Irresponsible Leaders
9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour,
All you beasts in the forest.
10 His watchmen are blind,
They are all ignorant;
They are all dumb dogs,
They cannot bark;
Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
11 Yes, they are greedy dogs
Which never have enough.
And they are shepherds
Who cannot understand;
They all look to their own way,
Every one for his own gain,
From his own territory.
12 “Come,” one says, “I will bring wine,
And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink;
Tomorrow will be as today,
And much more abundant.”

The first part of Isaiah 56 was very encouraging. God desired His house to be called a house of prayer for all nations as He gathered the outcasts of Israel, and also opened the door of salvation for the Gentiles and the eunuchs. He longed for these outsiders to come inside, and become members of the same household of faith!

Isaiah 56:7-8
7 Even them I will bring to My holy mountain,
And make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
Will be accepted on My altar;
For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
8 The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says,
“Yet I will gather to him
Others besides those who are gathered to him.”

But the same chapter had an abrupt change of direction and tone. A word of warning and condemnation was written against those who watched over the nation! Yes, they were the civil rulers and religious rulers of Israel. Instead of carrying their duties as watchmen and gatekeepers, they had chosen to believe in their false prophets and teachers, allowing false teachings and false prophetic insights to flood their city and nation. They had not believed and done what God had told them to do. In doing so, the people of Israel went astray with their leaders!

These leaders were given the awesome responsibility to protect and feed the flock of God. But they did otherwise. They subjected their own people to become dangerously vulnerable to attacks and deceits. Instead of serving others, they served themselves. Instead of protecting the flock, they were more interested in protecting and advancing their own power, prestige and possessions.

Besides abusing their position and authority, they became complacent and failed to sound the alarms about the coming dangers and threats. Having no understanding and discernment, they failed miserably. They were totally irresponsible in the sight of God!

The spiritual leaders of Israel had turned the house of prayer for all nations into a religious place to carry out their own agendas, activities and actions, to make money for themselves and to have pleasures themselves! They had no concern for the poor and needy! Thus the First Temple was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

When Jesus came, He described the Second Temple of God as a den of thieves! Buying and selling were abounding. All kinds of trades and transactions were happening in the house of God! After Jesus drove them away, He healed the blind and the lame - the outcasts of Israel! But the religious leaders never repented or changed their ways. Thus the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Matthew 21:12-14
Jesus Cleanses the Temple
12 Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.
13 And He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”
14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

That's why God sent the wild animals! The LORD said, "Come, wild animals of the field. Come, tear apart the sheep. Come, wild animals of the forest, devour My people. For the leaders of My people—the LORD’s watchmen, His shepherds—are all blind to every danger. They are ignorant and give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie there. They love to sleep, and dream. And they are as greedy as dogs, never satisfied. They are foolish shepherds who only look after their own interests, each trying to get as much as he can for himself from every possible source. 'Come,' they say. 'We’ll get some wine and have a party; let’s all get drunk. This is really living with blessings and more blessings; let it go on and on, and tomorrow will be even better!'”

As it occurred in ancient Israel, it is also happening today. Many church leaders have turned their ministry into an opportunity for building their own kingdoms, promoting super prosperity and self-indulgence. If we trace the flow of money, we will unveil the luxurious and pleasure-seeking lifestyles of many such leaders! They are definitely not following the footprints of Jesus and His disciples.

As their love for money is great, their belly cannot be satisfied. No matter how much they swallow, they will find no satisfaction. No matter how much they drink, they will always be thirsty as theirs are broken cisterns! There is no gratification for their unquenchable desires.

Philippians 3:18-19
18 For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:
19 whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame—who set their mind on earthly things.

As these teachers and preachers are corrupting the Word of God for the love of money, their messages are specially planned and designed to take full advantage of their own people. Instead of shepherding the flock, they are steering the sheep to hand over their money and possessions to them, and to do whatever they command them to do.

Many of their sheep have a false sense of security. They will never have enough! Because they never have gotten the true spiritual food and drink from the Bible. What they eat and drink are adulterated and mal-nutritional. Worst, some of the teachings are evil and poisonous! Their followers love to dream and envision, and have more dreams and more visions for their own life! Always seeking endlessly for personal enrichment and supernatural empowerment! They are always attending meetings after meetings, seminars after seminars, conferences after conferences etc. but they are never satisfied!

When Jesus met the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, her thirst was quenched and she was able to share the Good News with her people! She had a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. And she thirsted no more!

John 4:13-15
13 Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,
14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
15 The woman said to Him, “Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw.”

The apostle Paul exhorted the church leaders to feed and shepherd God’s flock. As the church of Christ was purchased with His own blood, the Holy Spirit was holding them responsible as overseers. Paul knew that after he left them, false teachers, like vicious wolves, would appear among them, not sparing the flock. But Paul also knew that many of the leaders would distort the truth in order to draw more people for themselves, and to carry out their own interests.

Acts 20:28-30
28 Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.
29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.
30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.

May we be true shepherds of the sheep that God has entrusted us to care and share. May we be vigilant to watch over them against dangers, false teachers, prophets and apostles! May we seek His kingdom and His righteousness, and not our own! May we guard our hearts daily, and check our own track records regularly! May we, His sheep, hear and know the voice of our Shepherd! May we discern what is His, and what is not!

Written on: 5 March 2019