MOMENT OF ENCOUNTER DEVOTIONAL
BY PROPHET DR. ABIODUN ADESIDA
🪓 WHEN THE SHEPHERD OPENS A BUTCHER'S SHOP
"The sheep came for pasture... but discovered they had entered an abattoir!"
TEXT:
Ezekiel 34:2–4
«"...Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?"»
OPENING THOUGHT
There was a time when church members feared lions.
Today, many are praying to survive their own shepherds!
The sheep escaped from wolves only to discover that the shepherd had opened "Heavenly Meat Processing Enterprise."
The church signboard still reads:
"The Good Shepherd International Ministry."
But inside...
The sheep are on installment payment.
The shepherd is on permanent enjoyment.
Every Sunday the sheep lose weight spiritually, financially, emotionally and sometimes even physically!
One old member joked,
«"Our pastor doesn't count sheep anymore. He weighs them!"»
Another replied,
«"No, he doesn't weigh them. He prices them!"»
May God have mercy!
🐑 THE MODERN SHEPHERD'S BUSINESS PLAN
Some churches have become strange supermarkets.
Admission Offering.
Entrance Offering.
Breakthrough Offering.
Connection Offering.
Maintenance Offering.
Prophetic Offering.
Emergency Offering.
"Offer because I coughed" Offering.
Before service closes, even your wallet begins speaking in tongues!
If Judas were alive today, he would attend the finance department to learn advanced betrayal.
📖 LESSON ONE
THE SHEPHERDS WHO WERE ALWAYS HUNGRY
Ezekiel 34
God looked down and asked,
"Who employed these people?"
They fed themselves.
Ignored broken people.
Ignored discouraged people.
Ignored sick people.
Ignored lost souls.
But they never ignored envelopes.
Their eyesight was miraculous.
They could identify a millionaire from forty seats away.
Yet they could not see the widow crying on the last bench.
God finally said,
"Move aside. I will shepherd My people Myself."
Imagine God relieving a pastor of duty!
That is divine dismissal.
LESSON TWO
JESUS NEVER SOLD MIRACLES
Blind Bartimaeus received healing.
No POS machine.
The woman with the issue of blood received healing.
No transfer alert.
Lazarus came out of the grave.
No resurrection seed.
Five thousand people ate.
No food registration fee.
Jesus kept performing miracles...
Yet Heaven never announced:
"Due to rising costs, miracles are temporarily suspended until offerings improve."
Grace remained free.
LESSON THREE
HOPHNI AND PHINEHAS
These boys treated God's altar like a five-star restaurant.
Whenever sacrifice arrived,
their appetite also arrived.
Their spoon was bigger than their spirituality.
Their stomach became more anointed than their hearts.
Eventually,
God attended their funeral before attending their next service.
Be careful.
God is patient.
But He is never careless.
IF JESUS ATTENDED SOME CHURCHES TODAY...
The ushers would ask,
"Sir, do You have a VIP card?"
Jesus would reply,
"I own the earth."
They would answer,
"Ownership is different from membership."
When He starts overturning tables again,
the protocol department would escort Him outside for disturbing church order.
WARNING SIGNS THAT THE SHEPHERD HAS BECOME A BUTCHER
When every prophecy has a price tag.
When every blessing has a payment plan.
When members know the pastor's birthday but not John's Gospel.
When the church building shines brighter than the members' lives.
When testimonies are increasing but disciples are decreasing.
When luxury has become ministry.
When correction disappears because rich members may become offended.
When the altar becomes a marketplace.
🐑 THE TRUE SHEPHERD
A true shepherd cries in secret.
Prays without announcement.
Gives without camera.
Serves without applause.
Corrects without hatred.
Leads people to Christ, not to himself.
The true shepherd is happier seeing members succeed than seeing himself trend on social media.
🪞TODAY'S QUESTION
If Jesus suddenly became a member of your church...
Would He stay...
Or would He make another whip?
🙏 PRAYER
Father, save Your Church from celebrity shepherds who have forgotten the Cross. Remove every spirit of greed, manipulation and pride from Your servants. Give us shepherds after Your own heart who love people more than popularity and holiness more than headlines. Let Your Church once again become a place where broken people are healed, not harvested. In Jesus' name. Amen.
🔥 PROPHETIC DECLARATION
I decree that your ministry shall never become a marketplace.
You shall feed the hungry, strengthen the weak, restore the broken and glorify Christ alone.
Every spirit of greed, exploitation and manipulation shall have no place in your life.
May the Chief Shepherd find you faithful on the day He appears.
In Jesus' mighty name. Amen.
FINAL WORD
Remember this:
A butcher looks at a sheep and asks, "How much meat?"
A shepherd looks at the same sheep and asks, "How can I keep it alive?"
The sheep may not know the difference immediately...
But the Chief Shepherd always does.
And one day...
Every shepherd will give account.
Your Brother,
Prophet Dr. Abiodun AdesidaAdesida