April 26, 2013
0800
If you’re going to preach anything,
you must live out those words. Words are
meaningless unless you bring them to life, and the only way to do that is
through your own actions. It is not
enough to expect people to simply believe what comes out of your mouth. Live it
out. As a pastor — as a leader — you are dutifully responsible
for living out what you preach. This
brings about a hardship — the highest of expectations. A good pastor knows what the Word of God says
and recognises that he or she is incapable of living out God’s statutes and
commands 100% of the time, no matter where they’re at, what they’re doing, and
what their situational circumstances causes them to feel. A good pastor knows what God’s Word says,
accepts it, accepts their inevitable failures, and comes to the repentance and
renouncing of their sins. We preach, and
the congregations expect us to live accordingly to that to the fullest, and
when we fail like any other human being they have a choice — to believe that
the pastor is a hypocrite or that he is simply human like the rest of us and
falls every now and then. Discerning the
difference betwixt the two is wisdom. If
a pastor has a consistent pattern of falling into sin, then it’s obvious that
they’re a hypocrite. There are good
shepherds, then there are false shepherds.
Again, discerning the two is wisdom.
I’m writing to the average Christian
now. My brethren, it is acceptable for a
pastor to be human. His calling does not
make him any more human than you are and it does not transform him into some heavenly
being inside the flesh of a human. No,
he is no more human than you are.
Neither does his calling bring him any more closer to God than you are,
physically. Yes, his faith may be
stronger or even equal to yours, but faith is not a destination in which we
consummate while on this earth. Faith is
an ever growing process and only becomes complete the moment Christ comes to
take us Home. Ergo, do not be
disheartened; it is very possible for you to grow in your faith ever so
strongly. Do not use a pastor’s faith,
or any other person’s faith, as a discouragement to not grow in your
faith. Rather, use it as an inspiration
to aspire towards. Do not think to
yourself, “Their faith is so strong.
Mine can never be like that.”
That is Satan manipulating you and it is a LIE! Faith is eternal growth, not a stage by stage
process.
A pastor, or a devout Christian, is not superior
to the newly born again Christian. As
brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in unity. The Word speaks of this in Ephesians 4:1-6. Humility, gentleness, patience, and
acceptance of one another — these inspire unity in the Spirit. Humble yourselves before one another. No talent is greater than another, no lifestyle
more preëminent than the next. Speak and
act with gentleness, kindness, and compassion of sincerity. Be patient with one another, coming to one
another with understanding, not preconceived judgements and accusations. And accept one another — each lifestyle, each
hardship and tribulation that we come from.
We all come from different places.
Out of all places and types of people, Jesus Christ calls the poor, the
meek, the humble, the disgraced, the persecuted — all those whom we would
choose to judge and ignore. Choosing to
ignore and not bring up in the love of Christ those we consider to be of a
lower social status than us is forgetting the love of Christ, and when we
forget His love He is not in us.
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