Satans attack on our weapons of defense, physically and spiritual. Part I. Pastor Michael Hoggard

God, Guns, and Liberty - Part 1 from Michael Hoggard on Vimeo.

Watchman Video Broadcast 12-23-12. Satans attack on our weapons of defense, physically and spiritual.

Hope from the Word

^{Abiding faith, hope and love   
Written and posted by Jean-Louis. 12/2012 http://thelightseed.blogspot.com}

1 John 2:24-29
Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
²⁵ And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
²⁶ These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
²⁹ If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

1 John 3:1-3
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
² Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
³ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

                          *******************************************************
This hope that he Bible talks about belongs only to those who have believed in Jesus-Christ as Lord and Savior. 
If you do not know the Lord Jesus, have not experienced his love, mercy and grace, I invite you, I plead with you now to make your peace with the God of the Bible, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and receive his Salvation through His Son Jesus-Christ. 

We all know what the conditions of the world have been in 2012. You know your personal situation. Money won´t save you, politicians won´t save you, guns won´t save you, running and hiding somewhere else thinking you are out of danger won´t save you, belief in any religion, in your own human goodness and performing good works wont´save you, belief in reincarnation and acquiring good karma won´t save you. I am talking about your soul.  

When we die and nobody knows the hour, we all have to give an account about our lives. The Bible says: It is given for man to die once and then comes the judgment. 
The ones that have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross to pay for the just punishment for their sins and put their trust in Jesus-Christ will live eternally in resurrected spiritual glorious bodies in the presence of God whom they love, worship and serve.

The others who have rejected the offer of salvation from a loving but just God available to all will be resurrected also but will suffer eternal separation from God and eternal conscious torment in hell in the presence of satan and his demons. They have brought upon themselves because of their own choice to rebel against their loving Creator who has demonstrated his love for his creation from the beginning of time.

From all we can see in the world today and from the Bible prophecies that have never failed concerning the near future, we can only expect the world in which we live to spin out of greater control if not for divine intervention. 

God has already intervened on your behalf 2000 years ago and provided the way to be reconciled with your Creator. 

If you feel hopeless in this dying world and want to know the way to be reconciled with God, this is what Jesus the Son of God said in the Gospel of John 3
  
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. ² He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

³ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.^[a]”
⁴ “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
⁵ Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. ⁶ Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit^[b] gives birth to spirit. ⁷ You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You^[c] must be born again.’ ⁸ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”^[d]
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
¹⁰ “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? ¹¹ Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. ¹² I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? ¹³ No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.^{[e] 14} Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,^{[f] 15} that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”^[g]

 John 3:16 reads:
¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

 ^{John 1-13}
 speaking about Jesus the Son of God, the Word of God, the Light of the world, the giver of life abundant and eternal,the Savior of mankind:

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.
³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
⁷ The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

John 14:6;  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

I am praying for you who read this and are overburdened and feeling condemned by the weight of your sins without any hope of finding a way out of your predicament, whatever it is, that you would seriously and sincerely consider the above Scriptures and humbly ask the LORD God to help you, to come to your rescue, to reveal to you the truth of his Word and to let him transform your heart, your mind and give you an abundant life that satisfies in the now and the hereafter. 

Isaiah 57:15 reads: For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

What does it mean to have a contrite and humble spirit that pleases God so much that he wants to dwell in the heart of such person? To find out click HERE

For a more thorough explanation of the Gospel "the good news" of the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life click HERE  and for how to be born again HERE      

The Descendants of Abraham: Do Church-Age Believers Become "Spiritual Jews?"

Saturday, December 29, 2012

By Dr. Christopher Cone 
Tyndale Theological Seminary



Based on Romans 2:28-29, some have concluded that being Jewish is a spiritual rather than ethnic matter, and that people become "spiritual Jews" when they become Christians. Romans 2:28-29 reads,

"For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God."

For understanding this passage the near context of the passage is very important. Chapter 2:1-16 explains that God is impartial and judges all, and 2:17-29 addresses Jews specifically, to show that God holds them accountable as well. The section begins with the phrase, "But if you bear the name Jew..." Paul is speaking here to ethnic Jews, reminding them that the focal point is not their ethnicity, but rather it is something internal or spiritual.

Do Christians become spiritual Jews, or is Paul talking about something else entirely? Paul’s clarity on the issue is unmistakable in Romans 4. Seven times in that chapter Paul refers to Abraham as a father:

• 4:1—"our forefather according to the flesh"
• 4:11—"father of all who believe without being circumcised"
• 4:12—"father...to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow the steps of faith..."
• 4:12—"of our father Abraham..."
• 4:16—"those who are of the faith of Abraham who is the father of us all."
• 4:17—"A father of many nations have I made you."
• 4:18—"that he might become a father of many nations..."

The first reference (4:1) addresses Abraham’s relationship to ethnic Jews; the second (4:11) to those who are not ethnic Jews yet have believed in the Lord as Abraham did; the third (4:12); to those who are ethnic Jews (of the circumcision) and have believed in the Lord as Abraham did; the fourth (4:12) also to ethnic Jews who are believers; the fifth (4:16) to all who have faith like Abraham; and the sixth (4:17) and seventh (4:18) both refer to the Genesis 17:5 prophecy that Abraham would father many nations—and that Abraham would be father to a number of different kinds of descendants. Considering these seven attributions of fatherhood to Abraham in Romans 4, we can identify three specific kinds of Abrahamic descendants:

1. Those who are physical descendants only (4:1)—unbelieving Jews (and even unbelievers from Ishmael, Esau, etc.),
2. Those who are spiritual descendants only (4:11)—believing Gentiles (including believers from any and every people besides the line of Jacob),
3. And those who are both physical and spiritual descendants (4:12)—believing Jews.

Gods covenant promises to Abraham regarding a specific mighty nation (Gen 12:2-3) would be fulfilled through Isaac, and Jacob—through the nation of Israel (Gen 17:19; 28:13-15; 35:9-12). But those who did not have faith like Abraham’s would not receive those covenant blessings. As Romans 9:6 tells us, "...they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel." This is why Paul reminds ethnic Jews in 2:28-29 that faith (or circumcision of the heart) is required: because those who are only physical descendants of Abraham, and who are not also spiritual descendants will not participate in the covenant blessings that are reserved for believing Jews.

Do the "physical only" descendants of Abraham receive the covenant blessings? No.
Do the "physical and spiritual" descendants of Abraham receive the covenant blessings? Yes! Every last one of them! As Romans 11:26 says, "...thus all Israel will be saved."

In Romans 2:28-29 Paul is warning ethnic Jews of the importance of faith—of being not just physical descendants of Abraham, but also spiritual ones. So what about those who are spiritual descendants only and are not physical descendants (4:11)? Those are Gentile believers—those who are not ethnic Jews, but have believed in the same way as Abraham. That includes Gentile believers in the church age. In this group God fulfills, at least in part, His promise to Abraham that "...in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen 12:3).

Gentile believers in the church do not become spiritual Jews, and they cannot lay claim to Israel’s covenant promises. Instead, they rejoice together with church age Jewish believers knowing that from the two groups God made one new man in the body of Christ (Eph 2:11-3:6). Jew and Gentile together in the church age enjoy the promise of eternal life (1 Jn 2:25) and every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ (Eph 1:3).

God keeps all His promises, and He keeps them just as He has promised. Israel will one day see the fulfillment of all of God’s covenants to Abraham, David, and to the nation itself. He will also bring blessing to all the families (or peoples) of the world. Just as God is, we must be precise in distinguishing between the three types of descendants of Abraham. If we are not careful to note the differences, we will expect from God things He has not promised, and we will misunderstand those things He has promised.

Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen (Rom 11:33-36).

Of Sheep and Goats.

A personal reflection on Sheep and Goats. Lessons from the farm.

Written and posted by Jean-Louis. 12/2012

You can also read a story from the farm in 2 parts  HERE

In 1972, I had the privilege and the blessing of living on my brother´s goat farm for 3 years. Being born and raised and having lived all of my life in cities, I hardly could tell the difference between a carrot top and a potato leaf.

The Lord had his reasons to let me take a detour at that point in my life which I was to understand years later. I had strayed away from the Lord the Bible and the church after graduating from college in the US and was about to experience the unpleasant and painful discipline of my loving Heavenly Father which as all of us former backsliders know is for our own good and in the end bring a harvest of righteousness.

Looking back at the hardships, it feels a little bit like the episode of Jacob working for his uncle Laban. The rewards were not material but the lessons learned, the perspectives and insights gained from the simple life of a shepherd, animal husband, gardener, cheese maker, and all the farm functions and activities taking place around the seasons prove to be invaluable help in my own and others´spiritual growth.

Having a melancholy nature prone to enjoying solitude and meditating, observing nature, animals and people have always been one of my favorite past time.

So the farm environment was ideal and conducive to my perpetuating the family tradition of farming and raising animals since my French ancestors on my father´s side were farmers and vintners in Southern France until they immigrated to Algeria.

When I came to the farm, we had a small herd of goats which grew to a good size of 40 after 2 years of selecting the best milk producers from the kids born on the farm. We did everything manually, my brother and me, from milking 20 goats each, morning and evening to making the cheeses in the specially air humidity and temperature controlled room whose environment requirements left very little tolerance for errors.

Since we had a lot of additional pasture land that could be rented out to other farmers, we had an agreement with the owner of the land to barter some of the grazing pastures for about his 20 ewes in exchange for some  lambs born the following years.

As it happened most of the births were female twins, so pretty soon we had a sheep herd of our own without any effort on our part since most of the time in the summer they stayed out at night during the good weather. We would bring them in the barn to provide shelter during a storm, examine them for injuries or disease or to fleece them.

I loved my goats. I know each of them by name since they had to be registered with their pedigree in the official registry. When I called them in the evening they would come in a single file and know which one of the 2 doors were theirs because the newborns needed to be separated from the mother to be fed separately.

No need to count them, their strong personality was so distinct that I would know which ones were straggling behind and I would go get them.

However there was one ugly all black (the other ones were alpine brown with a black stripe on their back). She was part of the original motley herd that my brother bought initially.

My brother and his wife kept her because they felt sorry for her and was using their emotions and didn´t want to see that if they kept her, she would ruin their struggling business that was sustaining 7 persons.

Let me explain how bad that goat was! She didn´t give any milk at all, completely dry and worthless as far as belonging to milk farm. She would eat the others fodder and then lie down on the top of the hay to prevent the other ones, even the small ones form eating. She was also soiling the hay.

But that´s just the beginning. My brother has kept her 2 years tolerating that kind of behavior because of his compassion for animals. Our goats were grazing within the perimeters of their fenced pasture. One of their favorite foods was tree leaves that they would reach resting their front hooves on the fence. But when they had eaten all the available leaves, then the nameless ugly goat would jump the fence first.  She was the leader of the pack. I don´t know what attracted the buck but he would follow her and since all the other goats followed him as the alpha male, soon the whole herd was across the fence in the neighbors tree nursery eating the saplings that were ready for sale.

So the neighbor would come and complain with a bill for damages in his hand.

So after a few convincing arguments, my brother finally gave in to my plea and let me kill the goat. Since we wanted to get something out of her after all that nuisance, I roasted her with spices to at least give her a chance to redeem herself in death.

To our great disappointment, her meat was hard and tasteless and ruined our dinner.

That´s how bad she was!

The other goats were a delight to take care of. They were bounding with energy, funny and mischievous, with an endearing personality especially the little ones who were so affectionate. One of them thought she was my dog or a sheep and kept hanging around with me when the other ones were spread out in the pasture eating.

When I came aboard, there were  few grazing fenced fields . Since we did everything by hand, it took a long time to complete one pasture. After 2 years, we had finally finished a good number of fences so we could rotate and give the grass time to grow till we allowed more animals in.

You might wonder where this is leading to and what it has to do with the spiritual life.

As I mentioned before goats are full of life and fun to be around, they know how to attract attention and bring a smile with their antics. They are very personable and charming. 

By contrast sheep are kind of dull, boring, with not a whole lot of striking personality. They rarely venture out on their own although some of them are known to stray due to some weakness or when their fleece get soggy and heavy or entangled in a fence or shrubbery.  They are for the most part docile and submissive animals in need of a shepherd and feel safe and secure in group sharing the grass and lying down while ruminating.  

In the morning when I lead the goats out to graze before they had their own pasture, I observed that the sheep were huddled together in one spot and that they didn´t move from that one spot before having eaten all the grass down to the ground closest ti them.

But the goats would start munching on one spot and then moving on, literally running to get there first, to another spot in any direction without any sense of a herd moving together. In the process they were soiling the grass for the sheep and complaining with loud bleating that they were ready to enjoy another pasture and if we were a little too slow they would jump the fence and go their own way. No respect for rules, limits or letting others enjoy their meals and no sense of gratitude but complaining and letting you know their impatience by their demanding tone of voice. 

By the way, goats bleat differently than sheep, they say something resembling a self centered meeee, meeee instead of a cry for help to our Father, Ba, Ba which would be  baby talk from the Hebrew Abba , Father as in English Dada for Dad or in Portuguese Papai for Pai.

 

O, the things you can learn on a farm.

A few years later when the Lord helped me to reintegrate the fold, I started observing people in church and some comparisons started emerging that reminded me of the behavior I had witnessed on my brother´s farm among the sheep and the goats.

I know that we are not to judge people lest we judged by the same standards we judge and that our salvation doesn´t depend on what we do but that we trust in the Lord Jesus finished work for us and that we are kept and sanctified by his grace through faith until the day of redemption of our bodies.

However the word tells us to be wise and prudent and observe and take actions when needed.

A lot is being said and written about wolves in sheep´s clothing, false teachers and false prophets, but little is mentioned about sheep and goats.

We know that a judgment will be held and sentence executed between sheep and goats after the tribulation. Matthew 25:31-46.

One thing struck me as evidenced by what I observed on the ground. The sheep in the judgment weren´t aware of the recipient of their good and benevolent actions. They did that because they had the heart of a sheep. They fed on the Word of God. They rested and meditated on it day and night (Psalm 1), they gave out of what had received by faith and putting their love in actions without expectation of return. What can one expect of a prisoner, or of a hungry man? They gave food and garment which is what the sheep does with its meat and wool.

This is one the mark of a sheep who is so connected with his Shepherd that he is most of the time unaware and consequently doesn´t take the credit and the glory that it is he, himself that is the origin of what he says and does because he acts naturally with the supernatural power of God working through him his will and his purpose. How many times have you said or done something to another person and have heard them asked: How did you know that´s what I needed to hear or the help that I needed? You didn´t know but the Holy Spirit knew and used you when you were obedient and abiding in Him.

On the other hand, the goats were oblivious of the good they withheld because it was not profitable to them.

I also noticed that the sheep huddled together and weren´t too preoccupied with the goats doing their antics. My brother and I were in charge and we had to find a solution as caretakers. That tells you a lot of a number of so called pastors nowadays who don´t know if they are tending sheep or goats. Pasture hopping is a game that happens when the goats gets bored or are not satisfied with the food and spoil it for everybody else, although you can train a sheep to jump a fence with enough practice and enticement.

We have to ask if the leader himself or to be more up to date herself is a goat in disguise. It is also possible that some goats whether they be leaders or followers don´t even know that they are goats because of satan´s deception.  

The sheep are thorough and careful in their eating and wait until the Shepherd gives them a command to go and lead to another pasture not knowing what to expect but trusting that He will take care of them.

A characteristic of false prophets and false teachers is that their teachings and revelations do not benefit anyone. Instead they seduce and blind their followers to the pernicious errors of their ways and lead them to abandon the way of truth and righteousness and follow after other gods and doctrines of demons.

Like that useless, tasteless, destructive goat they are following their master the goat head shaped hybrid god, named baphomet of the masons who likes to disguise himself as an angel of light to destroy as many as he can with his illusionist tricks and his snake oil charlatan salesmanship. 

We can learn how to recognize and identify bad shepherds, false prophets and false teachers because the Lord has given us ample instruction in his word concerning them.

Jeremiah 23 speaks of the Lord Jesus our Good Shepherd, the bad shepherds and the false prophets in Israel. Their characteristic features and the way they promote themselves and their agenda that can be applied to the church environment today.

Note the prominence of the word as opposed to the worthlessness of straw.    ²⁵ “I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ ²⁶ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? ²⁷ They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. ²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. ²⁹ “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

³⁰ “Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. ³¹ Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ ³² Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.

Just as there are tares among the wheat, and as a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit and you cannot gather grapes on a thorn bush, we can see that it is an exercise in futility to expect a goat to act like a sheep.
We can ask the question: Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Jeremiah 13:23

Then knowing the answer, what are we to do? Look it up in Paul´s epistles giving instructions on what to do with people who distort the word of God, who sow discord among the sheep, who act more like goats than sheep.

Don´t be naïve and credulous. Check everything in the word and see if it´is in line with what the Scriptures declares. Talk to somebody more knowledgeable that you trust, a bible teacher that believes in the inerrancy of the Scriptures and teaches from the whole counsel of God, prophecy included and belief in the soon return of Christ as prophesied by the OT prophets, Christ himself and the Apostles.

Keep your eyes and ears opened, feed yourself with the good grain instead of chaff and straw. Don´t spend a lot of money on conferences in the hope of receiving an impartation, a fresh anointing from somebody who tells you he has the latest authoritative revelation from a spirit who happens to be lying and unholy.

Follow the advice of Isaiah 55:1-3 

55 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.² Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.³ Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. (KJV)

Guard you heart for out of it flow the issues of life. Stay in close connection with the people you know you can trust who love the Lord and produce good fruit helping you grow in knowledge and wisdom and a closer communion with the Lord. Hang around, huddle and share with sheep! Remember, goats don´t like to hang around with sheep, they are too impatient, that seems to explain why some “sheep” are always looking for the latest dazzling firework and groovy (sorry, showing my age) worship and praise music that will give them warm fuzzies, hypnotize and anesthetize them against the demands of denying ourselves, carrying our cross, following Jesus our shepherd wherever he leads us his sheep. So usually they leave and go somewhere else. 

Conversely if you find yourself in a congregation whose majority appear to be goats, then you might have to move to a herd of sheep which is harder to find these days. If you are a sheep, you might get a check in your spirit that you are not in the right place and that if you stay there too long your soul will shrivel and your spirit will starve on this kind of diet of pop rock Christian musical entertainment and very little spiritual food from the lack of a steady expository preaching and teaching of the word. 

The only remedy for a goat is to be transformed into a sheep by the power of the Holy Spirit of God, convicting him /her to repent, and receive Christ, for forgiveness by his sufficient grace through faith, be born again of the spirit, believing that Christ died for their sins and was resurrected to give them the free gift of eternal life. 

I have been blessed to sit under the leadership and teaching of some pastor/teacher that had a heart of a shepherd and a love for their congregation. It was such a joy, and gave me a sense of family fellowship and working together serving the Lord and each other and functioning as a body fulfilling the purpose for which we were created anew in the new birth. I remember them with a heart full of love and gratitude for their dedication and abnegation in their service. I am thankful to the Lord that we met and we walk together part of the way. They helped me grow and by their life example modeled what it is to be a caring, impartial, patient, wise, authentic, hardworking, selfless, a conscientious   student of the world and a tireless, persistent, fervent prayer who inquires of the Lord and fearless person representing faithfully our Lord to the congregation entrusted to them and a testimony to the world around them.

If you have such a pastor, you are blessed with a shepherd after God´s own heart.    
Then this exhortation from Paul in Hebrews 13:17-20 is for us and together we can say “Amen” to the encouragement of the benediction. 

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. ¹⁸ Pray for us. We are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to live honorably in every way. ¹⁹ I particularly urge you to pray so that I may be restored to you soon.
²⁰ Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, ²¹ equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.