Sunday Sermon Outline: Jeremiah 23

Jeremiah 23
“Shepherds and Prophets”

I. Shepherds vs. 1-8 

     A. Bad Shepherds vs. 1-2
     ““Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD. [2] Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the LORD.”

     B. Good Shepherds vs. 3-4
     “[3] “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. [4] “I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.”

     C. The Great Shepherd vs. 5-8
     “[5] “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; and He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. [6] “In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, ‘The LORD our righteousness.’ [7] “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ [8] but, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.””


II. Prophets vs. 9-32

     A. Pollution vs. 9-15
     “[9] As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, all my bones tremble; I have become like a drunken man, even like a man overcome with wine, because of the LORD and because of His holy words. [10] For the land is full of adulterers; for the land mourns because of the curse. The pastures of the wilderness have dried up. Their course also is evil and their might is not right. [11] “For both prophet and priest are polluted; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD. [12] “Therefore their way will be like slippery paths to them, they will be driven away into the gloom and fall down in it; for I will bring calamity upon them, the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.”
     “[13] “Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: they prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. [14] “Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah. [15] “Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwood and make them drink poisonous water, for from the prophets of Jerusalem pollution has gone forth into all the land.’””

     B. Futility vs. 16-22
     “[16] Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are leading you into futility; they speak a vision of their own imagination, not from the mouth of the LORD. [17] “They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD has said, “You will have peace’”; and as for everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, they say, ‘Calamity will not come upon you.’ [18] “But who has stood in the council of the LORD, that he should see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and listened? [19] “Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone forth in wrath, even a whirling tempest; it will swirl down on the head of the wicked. [20] “The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has performed and carried out the purposes of His heart; in the last days you will clearly understand it. [21] “I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied. [22] “But if they had stood in My council, then they would have announced My words to My people, and would have turned them back from their evil way and from the evil of their deeds.”

     C. Deception vs. 23-32
     “[23] “Am I a God who is near,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far off? [24] “Can a man hide himself in hiding places so I do not see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD. [25] “I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, ‘I had a dream, I had a dream!’ [26] “How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, [27] who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? [28] “The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth. What does straw have in common with grain?” declares the LORD. [29] “Is not My word like fire?” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer which shatters a rock? [30] “Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who steal My words from each other. [31] “Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the LORD, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘ The Lord declares.’ [32] “Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the LORD, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the LORD.”

     D. Burden vs. 33-40
     “[33] “Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What burden?’ The LORD declares, ‘I will abandon you.’ [34] “Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The burden of the LORD,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. [35] “Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ [36] “For you will no longer remember the burden of the LORD, because every man's own word will become the burden, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. [37] “Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and, ‘What has the LORD spoken?’ [38] “For if you say, ‘The burden of the LORD!’ surely thus says the LORD, ‘Because you said this word, “The burden of the LORD!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The burden of the LORD!’ ’” [39] “Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. [40] “I will put an everlasting reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”” 


LISTEN TO AUDIO MESSAGE HERE

By this time you ought to be teachers

Hebrews 5:12, “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.”

Frankly, there is an appalling lack of knowledge in modern congregations.

There are ministers who cannot preach on a moment's notice. Most claim to need at least twenty hours to craft a good sermon. Yet even with such preparation, all that is usually proven is that they know how to do an internet search and how to copy and paste information. Very little modern preaching shows a command of the Scriptures. In order to "preach the word ... in season and out of season" (2 Timothy 4:2), one must know the word ... in season and out of season.

Then there are the abundance of shepherds who have a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible at best. Even though such men should be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2) … even though it is their task to equip the saints for the work of service (Ephesians 4:12) … even though they should be “able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict” (Titus 1:9) … most elders know very little of the Scriptures, and probably wouldn't be able to teach a Sunday School lesson without their teacher's quarterly.

Then there are the members of the congregation, many of whom have been Christians for years. How long exactly does it take for the Spirit to record “by this time you ought to be teachers”? One year? Five? Fifty? How long does it take to leave “the elementary teaching about the Christ” and “press on to maturity” (Hebrews 6:1)? How long does it take to be weaned from the milk and take in “solid food”?

As Christians, we should be “filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another” (Romans 15:14). Being well trained by our leaders, we should “all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13).

What excuse then will we offer before heaven for remaining willfully ignorant of God's word? “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.[2] For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, [3] how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Hebrews 2:1-3).

How indeed? How will we escape this tainted world with our soul intact if the word of the Lord is not “a lamp unto [our] feet and a light unto [our] path” (Psalm 119:105)? Do you not believe that the Lord is serious about His word? Jesus Himself said, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (John 12:48).

The apostle's position in Hebrews 5 is one of chastisement for an improper position before the Lord. There is no excuse for remaining in a state of ignorance, especially when the Lord has worked so diligently to reveal His will to us. Therefore, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The only ones who should still act like babies … are babies.

Five things that are killing the Restoration Movement: #1, Pastors

The ideal of the Restoration Movement is a grand one. Rather than reform the existing – and potentially incorrect – practices and traditions of a particular denomination or congregation, the goal is to lead men back to the Bible; to restore that which was originally created by Christ and His apostles.

Unfortunately, the principles established 200 years ago by men like Barton Stone and Alexander Campbell have been seriously undermined. I have heard motto after motto. “Where the Bible speaks, we speak. Where the Bible is silent, we are silent.” “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, love.” A motto though, is just that … a motto. It sounds great on paper, but rarely is actually applied. I can't begin to count the number of times through the years I have heard the phrase, “I know what the Bible says, but ...” If you know what the Bible says, then why would a “but” ever come next? If you know what the Bible says, then do it!

In today's religious climate, the Restoration Movement has shifted far from her original position. It is the stated goal of her contemporary leaders to retain sound doctrine, yet adapt her methodology to an ever-changing culture. With that said, I believe there are five current trends which are killing the Restoration Movement.

#1, Pastors

One popular trend is the title of “pastor” applied to ministers. We have senior pastors, youth pastors, worship pastors, etc. While denominational churches may freely use such a term, I would expect better from a movement whose supposed concern is “where the Bible speaks.”

In this case, the Bible has spoken clearly. Ephesians 4:11 says that God gave “some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers.” One doesn't have to be a Bible scholar to do a little basic research. God's kingdom requires those who make disciples (evangelists, preachers, ministers) and those who train the disciples (pastors and teachers, elders, shepherds).

Interestingly enough, the KJV, NASV and NIV each use the word “pastor” only once, in that Ephesians 4:11 passage. The Greek word, poimen, is translated as shepherd or shepherds in all other instances. The majority of those references refer to Jesus, our great Shepherd, but two of those passages in particular point to the function of the elder or overseer. In Acts 20:28, Paul says to the Ephesian elders, “Be on guard for yourselves and for 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.” And in 1 Peter 5:2, Peter – speaking to elders – says, “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.”

So how has this term “pastor” – very obviously used in the Scriptures to refer to elders or overseers – come to refer to the paid minister? The answer is: Laziness. Why do your job when you can pay someone else to do it? Over the last thirty years, I have heard elders declare a) they have full-time jobs and are too busy, b) “people expect to see the minister,” and c) “that's why we pay a preacher.”

By referring to the contemporary minister as “pastor,” Restoration Movement churches have spoken the truth, yet have also inadvertently admitted the failure of their leaders. Today's minister IS “the pastor.” He shepherds the flock … which Scripturally is not his responsibility, but that of the elders.

In effect, the Restoration Movement has redefined the eldership. The shepherds of the first century have become a twenty-first century ruling council. Borrowing from Wall Street, they have become a board of directors whose “life experiences” have become substitutes for Biblical knowledge and spiritual character.

One might believe me too strong in declaring that “pastors” are killing the Restoration Movement, but I believe the use of the term to be symptomatic of a greater problem within the leadership of Christ's kingdom. If one unbiblical practice is accepted, then why not two? Why not three? Where do we draw the line in the sand? We ought to know that if a tradition is left standing long enough, it becomes equal in authority with the Bible itself (i.e., the Catholic church).

I believe that within modern elderships, traditions have overtaken and subdued doctrine. Elders are usually elected by their congregations, despite the fact that Paul writes to the minister, Titus, directing him - not the congregation - “to appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5). Using the sheep metaphor abundantly supplied in Scripture, can you imagine a flock of sheep gathering to vote one of their own to be a shepherd? That's hardly a realistic picture. In truth, a shepherd is hired by the owner of the sheep, not elected by the sheep themselves. But if the truth of God's word isn't applied in one instance, why apply it in another? There is a serious problem when “that's the way we've always done it” becomes more important than that which the Holy Spirit inspired.

If ministers are “pastors,” then where is the evangelist? If the minister is shepherding and teaching, then what are the elders doing? Such dysfunction is why the Restoration Movement is failing. If they cannot restore such a simple, yet vital, thing as a Biblical pattern of leadership, then how am I to trust anything else?

“Where the Scriptures speak, we speak ...” “In essentials, unity ...” There is nothing more Scriptural or essential than leadership. Jeremiah's prophecy against Israel still delivers the sad truth today, “For the shepherds have become stupid and have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered” (Jeremiah 10:21).