Message….PASTORS ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD !!!
Pastor Ken Burisek
The Ole’ Country Church
Medford, Wisconsin
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Sermon---Pastors are Accountable to God !!!
POWERPOINT…Scripture…James 3:1.… “ Dear brothers and sisters, not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged by God with greater strictness.”
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Today’s message will help me as a pastor to be a better pastor and will help everyone here as church folks be better church folks as well.
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Our brother Dan L over there is taking a course to become a pastor…it will be especially meaningful to him …
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Today the Lord put on my heart to share a little bit of what it means to be a Pastor of a Church.
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And when I say Pastor…that not only means the Pastor…but his entire family…it includes his wife and his children as well.
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Pastors and their families have a very unique job…God has entrusted to them the most precious assignment in the universe….the spiritual well-being of God’s family…the church.
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If a pastor becomes ineffective….the very souls of his or her church family are in great danger.
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It’s not a game…it’s not playing church…it’s not about being “nice-nice” to each other…we’re in a no holds barred war against Satan and the forces of darkness for the very hearts…minds…and souls of every human being on planet earth.
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Folks…a Pastors job is to Preach the truth of God’s word…preach it boldly…because people’s eternity is at stake.
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When a Pastor preaches from the word of God…and we don’t like what we are hearing…that doesn’t make it any less true.
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When something a Pastor preaches rubs us the wrong way…it might just mean that God is trying to get through to us…think about this…it might get us angry…it might get us upset…but think about it…our “BEEF” isn’t with the Pastor at all…our “BEEF” is against God’s word and maybe even against God Himself.
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Pastors and their families live under incredible pressures and Satan stands ready to leap on them at every opportunity.
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Pastors and their families lives are played out like they’re goldfish in a in a fishbowl…with the entire congregation and even the community watching their every move.
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Pastors are expected to have model families…to have “perfect“ kids…to be perfect people….to always be available day or night…24 hours a day…7 days a week…365 days a year…and to never be down and to have all the answers any time we need advice.
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Those are mind boggling things to put on anyone…yet we are disappointed if a pastor becomes overwhelmed…seems depressed…lets us down or maybe even totally burns out.
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POWERPOINT…That's why God has instructed us to recognize His servants.1 Timothy 5:17 says…. "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching"
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So how can we honor our Pastors and their families…a kind word…a thank you…a pat on the back…a hug…a handshake…a smile…or maybe a high five for a good message….or just a “well done” ….it’s the little kindnesses mean the most
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I have made a good friend of an African brother in Ghana Africa through the internet…I call him my African Angel he sends me encouraging words just when I need them the most…and what he tells me is always exactly what I needed to hear…Praise the Lord…
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As a body of believers we need to encourage not only the pastor…but each and every brother and sister in Christ.
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But even though the Lord tells us that our church leaders are to receive double-honor…a pastor is also responsible to always preach the truth…because they are also doubly accountable to God for everything they say and do as well.
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Today we see so many pastors preaching pathetic…powerless messages because they are preaching their pocketbooks and not their bibles.
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They’re afraid they might offend someone and they might leave the church taking their tithes and offerings with them.
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POWERPOINT…If it comes down to money or doing the right thing…we’re totally missing the mark because God’s word says in Matthew 6:24... “"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
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May God have mercy on those pastoral gutless “whimps”…
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POWERPOINT…as it says in 2 Timothy 4:3.… “for the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear”
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POWERPOINT…James 3:1 warns Pastors that they will be judged much more harshly than the people in a congregation…. “not many of you should presume to be teachers my brothers because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly”
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Lord have mercy on the many pastors who fail to preach the truth.
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God threatens to punish both prophets and pastors if they are not faithful to His word….a prophet and a pastor have no choice but to say what God says…..and that includes condemning people for their sin.
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POWERPOINT….So God says in Ezekiel 3:18.….“If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.”
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That’s a heavy responsibility and it applies to pastors as well as prophets and even to each of us as believers .
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We as believers…we as individuals…we as a church…need to do everything we can to reach out to our friends…our neighbors…our families…and our community…because if we fail to tell others about the Lord….the bible warns us that we are responsible if they die in their sins…that’s some heavy stuff folks….not only for pastors…but for each and every one of us as believers….
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In the days of the prophet Ezekiel, cities had walls around them to protect them from invading armies…..and on these walls were guards or watchmen to warn the city of an approaching enemy army.
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As you can imagine this involved serious responsibility and accountability….how could a city prepare to defend itself if it was not warned that an army was coming?
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How can a human being be protected from God’s wrath and damnation unless they know about their sin and God’s forgiveness? …..There is a judgment day coming for each and every one of us…believers and unbelievers alike !!!
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“Pastors Are Accountable to God for Their Ministry.”
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The position of the pastor is not simply a job….it is a calling from God….
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POWERPOINT…In 1 Timothy 3:1 it says…. “ if anyone sets his heart on being an overseer [pastor] he desires a noble task”
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Acts 20:28 says this about Pastors and Church Leaders… “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [pastors]”
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In other words…God has given me and our church leaders the responsibility to be the watchmen over The Ole’ Country Church .
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Like a watchman on a city wall…Pastors are to warn the people of the coming wrath and judgment of God if they don’t turn away from their sins.
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How can people repent of their sins if they don’t know what they are doing is wrong?….. How could they seek God’s forgiveness if they don’t know they need forgiveness ?
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As a Pastor I am responsible to condemn all sin and even the very appearance of evil…times may change…and society may change…but God‘s word NEVER changes….all things that are contrary to God’s word and God’s will is sin and it always will be SIN….Amen !!!
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POWERPOINT…**The job of the prophet and the pastor are the same….to bring God’s word to His people….not THEIR word, but GOD’S word….not the word of other human beings…but God’s word….not the word that people want to hear…but God’s word.**
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There’s a famous quote about Pastors….Pastors “afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.”
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Pastors will be judged by God by how faithful they were to his word….it is a dangerous thing to misrepresent God.
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Preaching the law of God with all of its demands of perfection and condemnation is not always popular…especially when hits someone personally….condemning sin not only makes people uncomfortable but it sometimes even makes them angry and defensive….
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When a pastor preaches on such things as giving and tithing… when a pastor preaches on such things such as avoiding the even the appearance of evil…when a pastor preaches on such things as gossip…or sexual immorality…or abortion…or abstaining from alcohol…or being hypocritical…our argument isn’t with the Pastor…our argument is with God Almighty Himself…the Pastor is only doing the job that God has entrusted him with…..
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And as a Pastor…my life must reflect everything that I preach… preaching God’s word isn’t a “do what I say…not what do kind of Gospel…when I preach tithing…my family must be an example in tithing…if I preach on avoiding the appearance of evil…my family must be an example of avoiding the appearance of evil….we must never…ever…do anything that gives the opportunity for someone to point the finger at us….
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When you get to heaven one day and stand before God…you will never be able to say to God…my Pastor never told me that it was wrong for me to move in with my girlfriend or boyfriend….my pastor never told me that tithing to God was important and would bring great blessings….my pastor never told me that walking into a tavern to get a Pepsi has the appearance of evil….my pastor never told me that homosexuality was an abomination to God… folks…my pastor never told me that buying PLAYBOY even just to read the articles is the sin of LUST…Folks…I’m here to share God’s truth because only the TRUTH will set you FREE…. Amen !!!
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Powerpoint…2 Timothy 4:2 says of pastors…“Preach the word of God. Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.”
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Preaching the law of God is necessary….the law of God shows us why our Lord Jesus had to die for us….even though the law can’t save us…it shows us our need for God’s forgiveness which we have in Jesus Christ.
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POWERPOINT…Each and every one of us as believers also have a responsibility to respect our church leaders as it says in Hebrews 13:17... “Obey your spiritual leaders and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they know they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this joyfully and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.”
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Every time I preach or teach or counsel someone I am reminded of the awesome responsibility that God has given me.
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God holds me responsible for what I say and one day I will give an account to God for all that I do…and even for what I may fail to do…
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When the word of God is preached and taught in its truth and purity the responsibility turns to the one who hears it…
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Each of us as God’s people have a responsibility to believe the word of God when it is preached and taught faithfully….God will hold us accountable if we hear His word and then do not obey it….
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POWERPOINT… Zephaniah 3:2 says this of the one who refuses to listen… “It proudly refuses to listen even to the voice of the LORD….no one can tell it anything….it refuses all correction….it does not trust in the LORD or draw near to its God.”
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Responsibility and accountability are the very foundation to all human relationships from the family to religion to government and everything else in between.
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And so it is with God and His servants….God gives His pastors the responsibility to care for His people with his word and to be faithful to that word….as a Pastor I have no choice but to tell you what God says in word…the truth…the whole truth…and nothing but the truth…so help me God….
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Closing Prayer…
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Departing Song________
