Download PDF version:Woe to the Shepherds!

Let’s begin with scripture:

 Ezekiel 34:2, 4, 10-16(NASB95)

2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

4 “Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.” ’ ”

11 For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

12 “As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

13 “I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.

14 “I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.

15 “I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God.

16 “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.

 

Jeremiah 23:1–2 (NASB95)

1 “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.

Matthew 23:13 (NASB95)

13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

 Matthew 23:15 (NASB95)

15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

The local, regional, national and global leaders of the Church that have chosen not to allow the Holy Spirit to shepherd His flock but have chosen rebellion and grieved the Holy Spirit will be judged.  Judgment is here.  Judgment is now.

These are the days when the Lord by His Spirit will remove the bars that leaders have designed to keep the Holy Spirit out.  Their bars of control will be removed in an instant and the shepherds that installed them will face the ferocity of the Lord as He frees His people from spiritual drought and bondage.

The shepherds have arrayed themselves in a battle line that is clearly defined.  They have aligned themselves with the wicked one, preaching the doctrine of men and demons.  The spirit of control, manipulation, rebellion and deception runs up and down the line of those who stand against the Lord and against His Christ!  But He will break the line in an instant.  They will be chaff in His hand that He will blow away.  Who can stand against the Holy One of Israel, the Lord of Hosts?!  He will lead His flock out of the burned-out pasture that the so-called shepherds of the Church have kept them in by saying, “This is good!”

Many called to be pastors have become nothing but hirelings that refuse to protect the flock!  When they see members of the congregations ministered to by the Spirit, they plant suspicion and confusion in their minds, calling it “discernment”.  They discern nothing.  Proudly proclaiming that they are ministers of the Gospel, they work with all of their energy to keep control of the flock and build their own empire, rather than feed them with the Bread that only the Spirit has.  They preach sawdust from books rather than from the Word of God by the Spirit.  They tell stories and share anecdotes and believe this to be ministry, leaving their congregations desolate.  They are the blind leading the blind!

They tout their gift of administration, promoting themselves as apostles.  The gift of administration is but one of the gifts of the Spirit that the Lord has given to His Church and it is not the greatest!  Who are they that they should keep the Spirit of the Lord from His own flock?  Who are they to fleece the flock in order to build edifices that flowed from a heart of envy?  Will they not be judged?  Won’t the Lord strip them of the authority and responsibility that He gave them and give it to another?  He will!

I proclaim that the Lord who delivered Israel from Pharaoh of Egypt and called His Church out from the structure of the synagogue is well able to deliver His disciples from the current structure that man has built that keeps them from His Holy Spirit.  They are His!

So-called leaders look for those that are hungry and thirsty for Jesus and make them disciples of their own, not of the Lord.  Under the auspices of creating servants, they create drones that blindly follow, deceiving them into bondage and slavery.  They proclaim that, “this is the example of the Lord”, but they lead them into death.  Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty; but they have led the flock into captivity.

Repent and come back to the Lord!  The time has come that He will judge His leaders and many will be found wanting.  He will be gracious if you turn back to Him and confess your sin.  He will abundantly pardon.  But if you will not and struggle to hold on to what you think you have, you will lose everything.  Woe to you if you do not repent!

To the flock of Jesus Christ I say that your redemption draws near!  Look up and breathe the Breath of God!  Smell the freedom and the River of Life that flows from His throne.  Come into your inheritance and freely follow the Lord of Hosts!  He will give you green pasture.  He will give you fresh water and restore your soul.  Come out from behind the walls of control and manipulation!  Come into everything the Lord your God has given you through Christ!  Come and follow The One who died for you and allow Him to break off the yoke of oppression that you have allowed others to place upon you.  Allow Him to clothe you with His authority and His power and send you forth to do His will.

Come into abundant life!  Drink freely from the River of Life!  Move in the power and the gifts that He has given freely to you!  Allow Him to pour the new wine into you.  He whom the Son sets free is free indeed!  He will not reject you.  He will receive you gladly.  You surrendered yourself to men that care nothing for you, but rather desired to use you for their own ends.  Come and let the Holy Spirit flow into you as He extends His kingdom through you!  Come to the Water!  Come and be free!

The walls that keep you in are nothing but deception.  You have allowed man’s structures, programs, plans and schemes to hem you in.  Why will you die inside the walls of bondage when fresh bread and water is just outside the gate?!  Walk through the walls.  They are nothing but a mirage!  They will crumble before you.  They will be as nothing.  When you do, you will look back and realize the deception that has kept you in bondage!  Be free and follow the promptings and leadings of the Holy Spirit.  Know Him, the Spirit whom Jesus sent!  He is the only one that can lead you into the abundant life that Jesus promised.  The Spirit of the Lord will lead you into truth.

To those leaders trapped by the design and the system of current Church structures I say this, “Come out from among them!”  The structure is cracked from top to bottom, side to side.  Nothing can save it.  In a moment it will break apart.  Cry out to the Lord of Lords and ask Him for wisdom and His path of deliverance.  He will give you wisdom and revelation.  He is the Lord who called you; He is your Master.  Do not submit to the plans, wishes and devices of men who have forsaken the Lord and His path of peace and understanding long ago.  They follow the wisdom of this world, embracing its systems that bring death.  Do not follow them any longer.

As a leader you ask, “How can the Lord deliver me?”  Didn’t the Lord send an angel to Peter in prison while he was chained to guards on either side of him?  Didn’t the angel of the Lord cause the chains to fall from his wrists and lead him out of the prison past two sets of guards and then through the iron gate (Acts 12:5-11)?  By the Spirit of the Lord I tell you to wake up and arise!  Clothe yourself with your true calling in Christ!  Follow your King, the Lord Jesus, who called you!  Why do you fear men?  The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted (Proverbs 29:25 NASB95).  Trust in the Lord, for He is promoting those that will allow Him to do what He needs to do in them so that He can do what He needs to do through them.

The self-proclaimed “coaches” do not have the answers you seek.  In place of the Spirit they preach systems, formulas and an endless treadmill of bondage and death.  Always reading they never come to the knowledge of the truth.  The “knowledge” they bring is of the world.  If you will not follow the true coach, the Spirit of God, then you will walk in the curse destined for those who walk in disobedience.

Forsake your own strength and understand that apart from Jesus you can do nothing, but with Him you will bear much fruit (John 15:5).  For it is not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord (Zech 4:6b NASB95).  If you are withering, you are out of alignment with His Spirit.

Look and see the army that the Lord is calling.  His warriors are being called forward that are filled with the Holy Spirit.  Their hearts are on fire!  They walk past others that are nothing but statues that no longer hear, see or speak, having taken on the attributes of the idols they worship.  The Great Shepherd is raising an army filled with power that will release His Kingdom upon the Earth.  He has declared war and will take back that which belongs to Him!  He is starting with those that pretend to shepherd His flock but refuse His leadership.  He will also judge between the sheep.

The Spirit of the Lord is crying out a warning, “Change or perish!”

Mark Biteler