This post "steals" a term much used in church circles of today. We deal with the PURPOSE of one who serves as pastor. We have already dealt with the fact the we, who serve as pastors, have been called by the Soverign LORD to the highest calling as a pastor. That fact must always be before us.
As one called to this high calling, we must also note that it is God who gifts us to the task He has called us to do as pastors. The same Soverign LORD that calls us to this task equips and gifts us to accomplish the task he has placed before us. We have to always keep that focus as well.
Sometimes when sharing my testimony or sharing what I "do," I use the terminoology "my ministry." Col. 4: 17 details that we receive our ministry from the LORD, therefore there is really no such truth as "my ministry." In "my ministry" I work diligently for the applause of man. In the "ministry I received from the Lord" I strive to be obedient to His calling upon my life. My prayer is that I will receive His ministry and always forsake that whoich I consider "mine."
O. S. Hawkins wrote, "The pastor's calling is to "serve God's pupose" and glorify His name in the process." That fact should be what drives those of us who seek to serve as Pastors.
Hawkins goes on to relate how we can know with certainty that God has called us for a certain purpoose or to a certain place. Listed below are several things that he posted:
1. God Implants A Desire In Your Heart: Ps. 37: 4 reads "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." I don't believe God calls us to a task we do not want to do. We could probably debate the way I word this, but I am trying to say that when God called you to preach, you have a genuine desire to preach.
2. God Presents The Opportunity For You To Accomplish What He Has Called You to Do: In seeking God's will, desire is not enough. We must have the opportunity. God presents the opportunity for us to be faithful to the call He sets before us.
3. With the Implanted Desire and The God-given Opportunity, Keep On Walking in Obedience To God and Trust Him To Open The Doors: Acts 16 provides an example of this to us. Paul had the desire to go to Asia but the opportunity was not afforded him. He kept walking in obedience. His opportunity to fulfill the desire of his heart was afforded him in the Macedonian Call. There God used him to accomplish his purpose.
Once we have sensed the call of God to preach; have found the place of service; then it is essential for us to understand our role as a God-called pastor. 1st. Peter 5 lays out the role of a God-called pastor:
1. The Spiritual Leader: 1 Peter 1: 1 - one that is spiritually mature (nothing to do with age)
2. A SERVANT Leader: 1 Peter 5: 2 - one that is to lead, feed, and protect God's flock that is under his care
3. Senior Leader/Overseer: 1 Peter 5: 2 - implies that there are indeed administrative responsibilities to the role of pastor
When we operate from a sense of God's calling upon out lives, there is a huge difference. The church should not view or treat the pastor as a "hireling." The pastor should never see the church he serves as a "stepping stone" or anything less than God's flock that is currently his place of service for the Living Lord Jesus Christ.
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