I worked the best part of eighteen hours yesterday, answering emails, praying for people, sorting out expenses, sorting out copyright licences. I have just managed to get an hour at the gym today, and came back, and I probably have about ten hours work to go still. I am not saying this for sympathy, I love my job, I love my calling and I love what I do.
But I came home, and someone was complaining about something that was so silly and immature, then immediately I had an email from someone upset they were not allowed to minister in the church (trust me, I did you all a favour by not letting him), and then I heard someone tell me a horrible nasty rumour someone was trying to spread about me!
What a day! I said to my wife: why do we do this job?! It was just a throwaway comment, a joke but as I said it the Lord reminded me of a Scripture. It says this “Jesus began to show his disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and be killed…” (Matthew 16.21). A good shepherd – a good pastor – you will have to lay down your life for the sheep! That’s the truth.
I’m not saying you have to actually take a bullet – that wouldn’t help your church at all, but you have to die to your desires, your wants, your agenda, and pick up your cross and the serve the people God has entrusted you no matter what. There is not a moment where you get to serve yourself and your wants, and if you think otherwise, you will always be disappointed as a pastor!
You need to make sure you spend enough time with the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, that you embrace the same attitude He has, that you learn from Him and His humility and His kindness, and reflect Him to people too immature to see Him in the spirit. Jesus once said “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me” (John 4.24) and that is the place we need to reach as pastors. Your food cannot be a thank you – you may never get one, your food cannot be someone being loyal to you – they might stab you in the back, your food cannot be people understanding you – they won’t, your food cannot be people hearing the Word and growing, because often they won’t. Your only food can be: I did what Jesus told me to do. I did what He called me to do. I followed Jesus. When you reach this point, you catch fire for Jesus and nothing else matters and no one else matters and then you can truly serve people in the right way.
Now when I say die to yourself, I do not mean you exhaust yourself serving people, because then you cannot help anyone. You have to look after yourself. When I started the church, I would never take a day off, I would work non-stop for days, and then normally after about 25-30 days, I would wake up and be utterly unable to get out of bed. The Lord wouldn’t heal me because I wasn’t sick, I was exhausted and had to then take a forced Sabbath. Since then I have grown up and I now get my sabbath right. When its my day of rest, trust me I rest. Pastors, rest! Take your sabbath. Now remember sabbath is only 1 in 7, don’t become those pastors who are never working, I have met them and it’s insane. You know what I mean – you go on their Facebook and you think they have retired. They are always resting and always relaxing.
Listen, it’s not easy being a pastor and laying down your life for the sheep, but there is a grace for it. The calling gives you the grace and wisdom to lay down your life. Jesus Himself set you as a pastor, and He will train you and disciple you. He will put more senior pastors in your life to help you. And when it’s a big struggle, look at Jesus and say “thank you for making me a pastor, and thank you for the grace to deal with this”.
Selah.
Inspiring and Challenging Dreamers 