The spirit of the antichrist is the spirit of the Nicolaitans, which means (in the Greek language) “ruler over people.” We must get this spirit out of us. I am not talking about those people out there, I am talking about us, who have been hearing the word of the Kingdom of God for years. The reason is very simple: many of us have the Nicolaitan spirit in us. We may call ourselves elders, not pastors, yet we have a pastor’s mentality. Let me tell you what happened to me once in California, because it is pretty humorous.
I went to God feeling really good. I said to Him, “God, we have finally achieved. I always used to say, ‘I’ve never seen the church function,’ but at last I am seeing it now. We have eight elders who are working together like clockwork.” I really felt very good about it. It was the most successful group we had. There were eight hundred people in the church in San Fernando Valley. Eight elders, who were overseeing the flock, were working together like clockwork. They would call a meeting, everybody would agree on the subject, and they would go forward and accomplish what needed to be accomplished. Do you know what God replied to me? He said, “What you have is eight pastors who are working together well, because they recognize the head pastor.” God didn’t mean that I was the head pastor. He was one of the eight. I was so shocked and saddened. Yet, it was true. I soon got a confirmation to the word. When the time came to turn, their pastor turned, and everybody followed him away from following the apostolic vision.
A man can call himself an elder functioning in the body of Christ and yet be nothing but a pastor. Do you know the difference between an elder and a pastor? An elder is an older brother, spiritually speaking, who is an example to the flock. Then, among the elders, you have the five-fold ministry: the apostle, the prophet, the evangelist, the shepherd, and the teacher (see Ephesians 4:11). It does not mean that every church has an apostle, but every church will follow the apostolic vision. The apostolic vision is different from following the apostle. The apostolic vision comes from God. The church then gets the vision, the elders grasp hold of it, and they follow. The pastor, on the other hand, is the boss. He is a Nicolaitanist ruling the church because he feels that God put him there to rule it. And you have to do what the pastor tells you to do. If someone comes to the church and wants to join it but the pastor does not like that person’s actions or his spirit, he can tell him to leave and get him out of there.
It says in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
It is very simple. Anytime you get the attention on yourself, having the attitude, “Look at me, I am your pastor,” you have usurped the position of Jesus Christ in the congregation. Jesus Christ in the congregation is the head of the congregation. What does it mean in reality? Let me give you an example: We all gather together and all of us are looking to Jesus for the song service. Jesus will anoint somebody to lead the songs; He will anoint somebody to play the piano; he will anoint somebody else to play another instrument. And we all will be blessed. But it is Jesus who did it. It was not somebody anointed and appointed by man. It was Jesus who came and did the job. When you, therefore, get together, you must recognize Jesus as the head. The moment you come to the door of your meeting place, you say, “Jesus, we recognize you as the head, please lead us and show us what to do.” Then, if a child comes in, gives the word, and you hear the voice of Jesus, you are blessed. You do not hear the child, you hear Jesus. So Jesus is the head, the focal point, the center of your gathering together.
But when a pastor is there, Jesus is out, for the pastor is the head. Try to go to a strange congregation anywhere you want and wait for Jesus to tell you to get up and lead a song service. The moment you say, “Let us sing…” they will oppose you, “Where did you come from? Get out of here!” and shovel you out. They don’t recognize Jesus, they only recognize their pastor.
This, then, is the difference. The word pastor comes from a Latin word ‘pastor,’ which means ‘herdsman.’ A herdsman is somebody who keeps sheep, cows, or goats. A shepherd, on the other hand, can only keep sheep. That is why God put the word ‘shepherd’ in the Bible. And that is why Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd,” because He is the sheep keeper and sheep keeper only.
Sonlight Devotional 