Unveiling Wolves
"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy
Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,
which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave,
savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock."
(Acts 20:28-30)
Paul has stopped for a brief visit to the church of Ephesus on his
way to Jerusalem, and he knows he shall never return: "Now I know
that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom
will ever see me again." (Acts 20:25). All of the Ephesian church is
gathered together in honor of the occasion. Can you imagine what
this meeting must have been like? The frazzled emotions of knowing
Paul will never return, the awesome responsibility of continuing on
without him? If I had been there, I would have been hanging on his
every word, vowing in my mind to follow his advice to the tee! And
just what advice does Paul choose to pass along to these people he
loves so much? "Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of
which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers." (Acts 20:28). And
just to emphasize the importance of this statement, Paul repeats
it! "So be on your guard!" (Acts 20:31) Paul's last words of advice
are for the church to be watchmen! Why? Because he knew that after
his departure, " . . . savage wolves will come in among [them] and
will not spare the flock." (Acts 20:30).
Now if I really had been at Paul's farewell address, I believe I
would have taken these words very seriously. But there is something
that would have bothered me immensely. In fact, it might have even
kept me up at night, praying to God for revelation! Just how would I
recognize the wolves? How would I know the true sheppards so that I
wouldn't be drawn away?
I believe Paul's next few words give us the answer to the problem:
". . . I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. You
yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs
and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you
that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering
the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give
than to receive.'" (Acts 20:33-35)
Paul's life was a living example of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even
though a missionary who traveled from place to place and who had no
place of his own to even lay his head, Paul never "leached" money
from fellow believers. He worked hard to supply his own needs and
the needs of those who traveled with him. Yet, though he had very
little for himself and had to work hard for what he did have, Paul
always gave freely to the poor. He was a living example of "What
Would Jesus Do"! He practiced what Jesus preached, and he personally
knew that "it is more blessed to give than to receive"!
I would like to suggest that the example of Paul's life can give us
the guidance we need to know the true sheppards from the wolves!
Sheppards do not take advantage of people. They work hard to provide
for their own needs and the needs of others, and even when there
isn't much for themselves, they share freely with the poor. True
sheppards practice Jesus' principle that "it is more blessed to give
than to receive"!
Lord God, give me the wisdom to put each and every Sheppard that
comes across my path to this simple test, that I may not be led
astray by wolves in sheep clothing! Open my eyes that I may
recognize true Sheppards from wolves. Give me the discernment to
keep my eyes open, that I may truly keep watch and be on my guard
against the "savage wolves" of my time. And Lord, may I, myself, be
a true Sheppard to the sheep you have placed in my care! May I
practice the principle that "it is more blessed to give than to
receive" in every aspect of my life!
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,