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  FALSE SHEPHERDS
  by John Henry Jowett
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Summary: John Henry Jowett's sermon 'False Shepherds' warns against
self-serving leaders who neglect their flock and fail to show
compassion.

Topics: "False Leadership", "Compassionate Ministry"
Scripture References: Ezekiel 34:2-6, Luke 19:10, 1 John 3:16

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DESCRIPTION
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John Henry Jowett delivers a powerful sermon on Ezekiel 34:1-10,
exposing the characteristics of false shepherds who are self-seeking,
feeding themselves instead of the flock, driven by carnal ambition
rather than holy service. These shepherds lack sympathy, failing to
strengthen the diseased or heal the sick, as selfishness numbs their
ability to empathize. Without sympathy, there is no genuine quest to
seek the lost sheep, highlighting the importance of sacrificial love and
a heart that mirrors the compassionate pursuit of Jesus.

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CONTENT
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EZEKIEL xxxiv. 1-10.

This word of the Lord puts before me the unlovely lineaments of the
false

shepherds.

They are self-seeking. They "_feed themselves_," but they "_feed not

the flock_." They take up religion for what they can make out of it! It

is a carnal ambition, not a holy service. It is used for getting, not
for

giving, for self-glorification and not for self-sacrifice. It is

selfishness masquerading as holiness, the thief in the garb of the

shepherd.

And, therefore, the false shepherds are devoid of sympathy. "_The
diseased

have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick._"

Selfishness always tends to benumbment. Humaneness is fostered by

sacrifice. Our sympathetic chords are kept refined by chivalrous deeds.

Drop the deeds and all our refinements begin to coarsen, and we make no

response to our brother's cries of need and pain.

And because there is no sympathy there is no quest. "_My sheep wandered

... and none did seek after them._" How can we seek them if we have
never

missed them, if we have no sense that they are lost? Our Lord came in

travail of soul to "seek that which was lost." And I must share His

travail if I would share in the search.

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Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/john-henry-jowett/false-shepherds/
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