TOUCH NOT MY ANOINTING

'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' (Acts 20:28).

My title must look strange. After all, we are used to seeing 'touch not my anointed', (even though some of us don't know where in the Bible the term is located, lol). And never mind that the 'anointed' in that sentence was originally referring to a nation of people, not a particular person, but that's a story for another day. Today this gist is about the anointed as one person or a group of people : our Pastors.

I have witnessed alot of Pastors boast about how someone who didn't 'respect their anointing' or stepped on their toes somehow, got hurt or got into some sort of trouble,sometimes after Oga Pastor has cursed them.

I once listened to a Pastor talk with pride about how he placed a curse on his elder sister that she will remain childless for not respecting his anointing.

The truth is, the joy with which this Pastors speak about those who got hurt, in their imagination because they 'lacked respect for their anointing' fills me with horror and disgust each time I listen to them gloat. It's satanic! I feel sad because it appears they don't know the meaning of their office 'Pastor'.

Well, we are about to find out.

The word,' Pastor' is from the Greek word 'Poimen' and it means 'Shepherd'. A shepherd takes care of sheep. From the little I have read about the work of a shepherd, I know it's a work of service. Service. And more service. A shepherd puts his sheep first before himself, even at the risk of his life. When lions or other wild animals attack the sheep, they don't run away and leave the sheep to fend for themselves. Ask King David. Shepherds don't eat their sheep.

Infact, the Pastor of pastors is Jesus Himself. He called himself in John 10,'the good shepherd'which in essence means 'the good pastor'.

I listen to preachers justify their vindictiveness by giving with glee Elijah's example, where he called fire from heaven and devoured some soldiers who were sent by Israel' s king to bring him.

Maybe I should remind you all that Moses, whom we associate with the law, interceeded for Israel time and time again, as difficult as they were to lead. He interceeded for Miriam when God struck her with leprosy for criticizing him (Moses).

And then the perfect example of Jesus, the Pastor of pastors. In Luke 9,when they were refused entry into a city, and two of his disciples asked him whether they should call down fire from heaven 'as Elijah did', Jesus sharply rebuked them. He said 'you know not what manner of spirit you are of'. And then 'the son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them'. So if you are still trying to copy Elijah, know you are losing your way. Look to Jesus, your Supreme model.


God has the interests of his church at heart. I said His church. Not YOUR church, because you do NOT own the church. He shed his blood for the church, which includes you, dear pastor. And yes, he paid that Supreme sacrifice for erring, stubborn members, the ones who don't say 'yes sir' to everything you say, as much as he paid for your favorite, good, obedient members.

So be very careful that you don't in sinful anger and vindictiveness, devour the flock you were PRIVILEGED to oversee, knowing that you will give an account to the Chief Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, of how you fared with His sheep. Be very careful.

In Ezekiel 34:1-10,God expressed his anger against the leaders, shepherds of Israel, who were devouring his flock. And then in Jeremiah 3:15 he promised to give Israel 'Pastors after his own heart'. God is still concerned about the way his flock is shepherded. Today's first text has made that clear.

You can be a Pastor after God's own heart. A person with a humble and loving heart. One whose dealings with the flock is not marred by a vindictive spirit. You can be like Moses, and Jesus, and pray for those who disrespect you, knowing it is what God expects from you. Just open your heart to God's Spirit to work on you.