These last few posts have focused upon several of the O.T. prophets that were sent by God. What happens when God does not send a prophet (minister)? We can see part of the answer in Ezekiel 13:1-8. In this passage God sends Ezekiel to the “Prophets of Israel” that were preaching a message that God did not send. Ezekiel called them “foxes in the desert.” They were “spoiling the fruit” by bringing a false message to the people.
We have a similar problem in this present day. Many pastors go to “Bible” colleges to get degrees and come out with knowledge and a process that is not blessed by God. These “Bible” produce pastors with degrees but God has not chosen them or sent them to lead churches. They become like “foxes in the desert” that do nothing but “spoil the fruit.” They teach the Bible but without the covering of the Holy Spirit because they are manmade and not God sent ministers who are devoid of the Holy Spirit. This makes a problem for modern churches who have paid pastors and staffs who have knowledge but lack the guiding of the Holy Spirit. These churches water down what the Bible teaches so that those who hear will come back because their ears have been tickled but have no real knowledge of scriptural truth. Those congregations will always tend to go for pastors that soothe them but never make them face the truth of the Gospel. The end result is that such pastoral leaders tend to direct churches into apostasy.
In this next section, we will look at the N.T., Jesus teachings and how the apostles taught and lead the early churches. They set some basic principles for what a church should be like and what the church should accomplish. Their focus was on teaching the Good News and witnessing to the lost. They were also aware that false teachers would always be a problem and how to deal with their unscriptural message. The N.T. churches relied upon the guiding of the Holy Spirit. We will learn more about how they did this.
