Title: The Evil Shepherd / Zechariah 11:15-17
“Woe to you, you wretched shepherd who has forsaken the flock, for the sword will come upon his arm and on his right eye, and his arm will be very dry, and his right eye will be very dark” (Zechariah 11:17).
How wonderful it would be if only truth existed in this world. But in the world we live in, truth and evil are more prosperous than that.
The more graceful the church, the greater Satan's work, and the more people who try to get closer to God, the more Satan is trying to overthrow him.
God loves all churches, so when they step into the church and all the saints are immersed in grace, Satan is happy to see it and does not applaud it.
At that time, Satan does everything he can to knock down the saints through close family members, brothers in the church, or those who need to be supported the most.
The saddest thing among them is that there are false leaders among the leaders.
Those who should lead the saints closest to God appear as false leaders.
1. False Shepherd
“Behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land” (Zechariah 11:16).
The prophet Zechariah receives a second symbolic command from God in the text.
In Zechariah 11:7-14, there is a prophecy that Jesus, the true shepherd, will come to this world, followed by verses 15-16, which prophesies that when the Messiah comes, false shepherds will appear everywhere.
However, if you look at the text, there are parts where the false leaders appear negatively, and there are scenes where they are active and active.
1).Indifference
“He has no regard for those who are lost” (Zechariah 11:16a).
The one shepherd in verse 16 refers to the evil shepherd.
The wicked shepherd is indifferent to the lost, the scattered, the wounded, and those in need of help.
It's something I don't like. This is negligence.
I don't think I'm responsible for anything.
There are scattered and bruised flocks before them, and there are lost flocks, and the false shepherd ignores them.
Also, the false shepherd does not feed the strong.
Who is the strong one? Those who enter the church must eat the bread of life and drink living water to nourish them, to have the power of prayer, and to increase their faith. The false shepherd does not feed them either.
This is characteristic of false shepherds and is also a negative part.
2).Active evil deeds
“I would rather eat the flesh of the fat ones, and tear their hooves” (Zechariah 11:16b).
What are the characteristics of a false shepherd? This statement can be summarized in two ways.
First, greed.
Driven by greed and self-interest, they eat the flesh of fat people and fill their stomachs.
If only you are healthy and you are good, that is the end of it.
Second, it's a surname.
How cruel it is to eat a fat thing and tear it up to its hooves. It cuts hard, but there is nothing to keep cool.
The saints shed tears and wander here and there with nowhere to go, but they chase people like you out saying it's okay to go to hell.
We must not have such a person among our clergy today.
We are all leaders.
It is to be a leader in your children, your family, in the district, in the church, in the national society.
We have a lot of people looking at us.
Even though some of those who have entered our church have disappeared, the faces of those who have come before God are not seen, and our family members, relatives, and those who should serve God in our territory are far away, there are no wounds in our hearts and we have no responsibility. If we only think about our own salvation while telling us to go if we have to go without feeling it, we become false shepherds.
We need to think about how negligent we are toward those who look at us, how much we worry about them because our prayers are narrow, and how greedy our hearts are.
When people are greedy, they become cruel.
To satisfy your own greed is to be cruel.
Cain, who became mankind's first murderer, was not evil from the beginning.
He became a murderer out of jealousy over God's acceptance of only sacrifices from his brother Abel.
Why was Cain jealous? because he loved himself.
After all, sin comes from loving oneself.
They love themselves more than God, are led by their lusts, and fall into sin.
The appearance of the wicked is lazy and negligent.
Jesus also called 'the wicked and lazy servant'.
But there is no such thing as bad people and lazy people.
Those who bury their talents in the ground are evil and lazy.
Such a person cannot go to heaven.
You don't know how terrifying it is to fail to fulfill your responsibilities.
God's purpose in saving Israel was not to save Israel because it was precious, but to become a light to the Gentiles.
God saved us so that through me, my family can be saved, my relatives can be saved, and my neighbors can be saved.
These are very precious words.
Therefore, even in the difficult and difficult environment given to us today, we must live a life that is moved by God's love and grace and brings joy and glory to God.
In the midst of this, the gospel spreads, joy comes to the heart, hymns in the family, and grace overflows in the church.
We must get ourselves out of our indolence.
You must be free from negligence and free from greed.
Also, you need to stop greed quickly.
We must love God more and more.
Humans have to love something.
But if you love yourself, you will be greedy.
We must love God, love the kingdom of God, and long for the work of the Lord.
In the meantime, his desires are diminished.
Pray for the church and worry for the church.
We pray for the kingdom of God and for the scattered missionaries.
Let us not be driven by our own desires in the sight of God, but rather wide-eyed for God's work.
We must not be cruel.
Don't be harsh on others.
Also, we must not be too lawful or lawless.
If you follow the law too much, you will fall into that snare.
Those who believe in Jesus are not those who live for the law, not those who live by the law, but those who live by grace.
Do not seek only your own justification, but solve everything in grace.
Jesus guided us that way, loved us so much, and treated us in grace.
If Jesus treated us as the law, who among us can come before him? As God's commandments measure us, all of us must run away from this place now.
God has called a sinner like me with grace, wrapped him in love, and made him stand where he is now. I hope that you and I can live a life full of grace in grace. - Grace Ministry Information - 97.11 ☞Sermon/Park Seong-gyu-mok