Preachers in america

I cannot fathom what it would be like to be a preacher in a church in america right now, what if there was no word of the Lord to be spoken on each Sunday at 10:00 am? God has been quiet before, and He will be quiet again:

And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel? But he answered him not that day.   1 Sam 14:37

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:   Amos 8:11

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.    Rev 8:1

A pastor that didn’t hear from the Lord by 10 am on Sunday, might be desperate to come up with something himself. What if a pastor was to go up to the pulpit and say, let us pray and ask Jesus what He wants us to do, and then it got quiet and nobody heard anything but silence. I could picture several things that might happen:

A body of church members that don’t care about following Jesus but like the righteousness they feel because they go to church regularly, might say that he was incompetent and fire him at the next session of staff.

A church that was heavily into works might call the praise team to sing louder, take the pastor aside and say, ah come on brother joe we already know the will of the Lord, the word is nigh you, in your mouth and heart… tell em to repent, tell them to claim the scriptures, they like it when your all fired up!

A church might start rebuking the devil that has bound the word and claim liberty in Jesus name. There is lots of noise when that happens. Some people get almost hysterical with the fever of rebuking. ( Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.   2 Tim 2:9)

If the church was live on tv there might be aghast people running everywhere saying, no dead air time! we’re on the air! They might run up and pull that pastor and put up one with lots of words to say about lots of interesting things. They might cut to a commercial and say to the pastor, remember what you spoke on two weeks ago, just speak on that again.

I would not want the pressure of being the man that the people had hired to give them the word of the Lord every Sunday at 10:00 am.

Often in the US there is a false sense of what a pastor is supposed to be. He is expected to have the word of the Lord at service times, he is supposed to comfort any member of the congregation that is going through difficulty, he is to comfort the mourners when they suffer loss of family, he is to provide marriage counseling, he is often asked to lead bible studies also, he is who you can call at 3:00 am when you are distraught, he is the one that baptizes, he visits you in the hospital or jail, he performs the weddings, probably is responsible for the financial things of the church, organizing and appointing the youth pastors and there is much more we put on a pastor.

It’s like we want a prophet in our back pocket. When they get burned out or can’t hear from the Lord an exciting sermon for us each service, we fire them and get another. It is almost as if the people have done what the children of Israel did when they said:

” ..now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.  But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.”   1 Sam 8:5-7

And the way that the children of Israel said that they wanted to hear through Moses instead of the Lord:

And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.  And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.    Ex 20:18-19

We have Jesus as our Shepherd:

For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,  And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: Heb 12:18-19

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,  To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,  And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.    Heb 12:22-24

If the people really had a heart to follow and hear the Lord, there could be silence and it might feel awkward for a moment but it would be ok.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth among fools.      Eccl 9:17

The word of the Lord might then come forth, as a still small voice in the hearts of the pastor and the members,

And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.    1 Kings 19:11-12

Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. Isaiah 42:1-2

And one might have a word, one a prophecy, one might feel led to pray for healing for his brother, and in Godly order each member might begin to function as they were intended, as a body.

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.  For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;  the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:  But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. 1 Cor 12:7-11

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many.  If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?  If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?  But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.  And if they were all one member, where were the body?  But now are they many members, yet but one body.  And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.  Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:  And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.  For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:  That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.  And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.     1 Cor 12:12-26

Oh pastors, I pray you would dare to seek and do the will of the Living Jesus no matter the reaction of your church. If you will get fired for obeying Jesus, then you have to make a decision whether to follow Jesus or keep a job of compromise. Is it a job or a calling? Will you keep the job and financial stability or follow Jesus? I have seen often that the pastor that chooses the job ends up jobless anyway. People that want a pastor that will only preach the things they want to hear are as fickle as high school friends can be, you’re in with the cool kids this week, not so much next week.

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.   Luke 9:23-24

And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Romans 13:11-12

Some years ago I heard a story of a man that was preacher of a church that had recently installed new carpet. The church wasn’t wealthy, the carpet was hard fought to obtain. The sanctuary was beautiful, the congregation happy.

As the preacher was at the pulpit one Sunday a man walked in and sat in the front row of that church. He lit a cigarette and listened to the preacher. The elders were in a panic and whispered to the pastor, we will throw him out immediately.

The pastor heard Jesus in his heart say, “just keep preaching, leave him alone..” So pastor told the elders to stay where they were and he kept preaching the gospel of salvation.

The man sat listening and then dropped the cigarette and crushed it out into the brand new carpet. “Just keep preaching”, the Lord told the pastor. He did and when he finished his sermon he gave the alter call.

That man in the front row got up with tears in his eyes, he laid a revolver on the alter and said, please pray for me, this was my last stop before going to my house and killing my wife and kids, please ask Jesus to have mercy on me.