Sermon Central
-
Are You A Good Minister?
Contributed by Akinsanya Adubi on Oct 29, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: God expects Paators, minsters and believers to know that He is the owner of the flock and that we are just custodians, He wants us to take care of His sheep very well or else He may replace us.
ARE YOU A GOOD MINISTER OF GOD?
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
3And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
4And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
While this passage actually mentioned Pastors, I want us to know that it is actually referring to the leaders of the church generally; this passage is actually referring to the pastors, ministers, Heads of Departments, believers and workers. If we look at some other translations, New Living Translation for example, it says “what sorrows awaits the LEADERS of my people” while Message says “Doom to shepherd-LEADERS who butcher and scatter my sheep” So we should realize that as ministers, the passage is actually talking to us. In fact workers, Heads of Department are included.
II Corinthians 3:2 says “2Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: So when people say “and you call yourself a Christian” or you claim, that is we do not except this from you. Then woe is gradually coming unto you.
The first thing we need to realize from this passage is that the flock belongs to God, in verse 1, the Bible says “…..thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock” the flock or the members of the church belongs to God, we are just custodians, laborers or servants that are just in charge for a little time until he will come and ask us to give accounts. The ministry of a pastor or a minister who is called by God is a dangerous one. Someone said that “Doctors bury their mistakes, but the mistakes of the pastors bury them” God is constantly weighing on our action as ministers to see whether we care or we are doing what we are doing just for personal gain.
Also in this short passage, “thus saith the Lord” was used four times, we all know that God is not a talkative; he says something only one time and it is done; “let there be light” and the Bible says that there was light, that is God, he speaks once, but twice we have heard Him. The repetition shows how important the issue of care of His flock is to the Almighty God.
God is a very good God, merciful, loving and kind, but He is also a consuming fire, when he wants to acts He can acts as a merciful, loving and kind Father and he can also show up as a Fire consuming God.
Also, this shows that God has two kinds of Divine Visitations, the good one. For example in Genesis 21:1&2; the Lord visited Sarah, the Bible says “1And the LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did unto Sarah as he had spoken. 2For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him. This is God as a faithful, loving and kind Father.
However there is also the bad visitation, for example in Exodus 12:12, the Lord visited the land of Egypt and they lost their first sons. 12For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” We can see God here as a fire consuming God.
The same way when God wants to reward people on earth, he will do in two ways; He can either bless them or curse them. When He wants to bless, he will use the words like bless, for example in Psalms 1:1-3, “ 1Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
