Living the Call...

"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ~ Acts 13:2

Kent Hughes gives us a fresh reminder of how great a privilege and opportunity it is to be called of God ... 

"LIVING THE CALL ... Every morning we ought to thank God for the privilege of being called and allowed to serve. It is as Phillips Brooks said in his famous Yale Lectures: 

'I always remember one special afternoon, years ago, when the light faded from the room where I was preaching, and the faces melted together into a unit as of one impressive pleading man, and I felt them listening when I could hardly see them; I remember this accidental day as one of the times when the sense of the privilege of having to do with people as their preacher came out almost overpoweringly.'

Oh, for more servants of God who are overcome by the power of the call! Oh, for more ministers of the Word who treasure the privilege of presenting the Truth to the pleading men and women of the WORLD!" ~ Kent Hughs, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." ~ Matthew 9:36

My pastor friend, may you be "overcome by the power of the call" and always love them like Jesus! 

Because He gave Shepherds and Teachers,

~ PJVS 

Great Expectations...

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 

~ Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV) 

The next time your great expectations fall by the wayside, maybe the following testimony of Steve Farrar will be of some encouragement for you...

"I remember years ago sitting on my front porch trying to absorb the biggest ministry setback of my life. I had put everything into this venture. I had given it all my effort, all my energy, and now it was utterly destroyed. I’m talking total annihilation. In one afternoon, the whole thing went down. As I sat on the porch that night, I was absolutely devastated. 

I was battling God and I was battling wrong thoughts about God. I was feeling utterly abandoned by God. And quite frankly, I was angry at Him, because ultimately, I knew He was the One who had allowed this great ministry plan of mine to come unraveled. But if I could have had a glimpse at that moment of what God had in store for me over the next ten years, I would have been on my knees thanking and praising Him for His goodness and lovingkindness in allowing my plan to die. God killed my dream because He had a better plan. He had something else for me to do. 

I must confess that I was not thinking largely about God that night. I was thinking cockeyed because I didn’t understand His ways. God is good even when our dreams and plans are nuked beyond recognition. But you must think largely and correctly to get a grip on your circumstances when your dreams and plans are going up in smoke." 

~ Steve Farrar, Tempered Steel

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" ~ Psalm 27:14

Because He opens the doors that can't be shut, 

~ PJVS

Dependable Parts...

“I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” 

~ 1 Timothy 2:8-15 (ESV)

Over the years I have played baseball, football and soccer. These are all team sports that require everyone to do their part. No matter how many MVPs or GOATS come and go, without quality working team members, winning scores will be few and never. In professional sports, winning games are often enthusiastically predicted, only to crash and burn, due to the failure of team cooperation. Off the field athletes may be distinct people, but on the field, they are expected to be dependable parts of the whole.

Anna was one of those “dependable parts of the whole” at my second church. She and her husband Mark attended services faithfully every week until Mark went to heaven. Eventually, Anna’s health slipped away and she was no longer able to come out to church. Yet, the church and I depended on Anna’s ministry. You see, she was a diligent, consistent, and ever up to date prayer warrior. She would pump me for all the current ministry needs during every visit I made. Anna was a vital team member who played a quiet, but significant part in the success of our ministry. 

Paul knew that position is never the issue in ministry. Faithfulness is the key and teamwork is the engine. Timothy needed to know that God uniquely places Godly men and women in his church to be “dependable parts of the whole”. We should treasure them and encourage them my pastor friend. Whether they serve in church leadership, Christian education or the home prayer closet, we need them. Every quarterback needs blockers to protect him and receivers to carry the ball. You may preach like Billy Graham did, but without a team, you're up the creek without a paddle. Even Jesus had a team of twelve. 

Because we are "one another",

~ PJVS

So Send I You...

As familiar as you may be with the hymn “So Send I You”, did you know that there is a second edition? 

“Over the years Margaret Clarkson realized that her 1936 hymn, ‘So Send I You’ was rather one-sided. She decided to “rewrite” the hymn in 1962, while on vacation at the Severn River. After creating the second version she believed that she created a more biblical hymn that reflected the trials, and the joys, of God’s call on the lives of his children. The new version began to replace the earlier one to Margaret’s pleasure.” – from: Archives of Wheaton College, Biography of Edith Margaret Clarkson 

“So Send I You — by grace made strong to triumph 

   O’er hosts of hell, o’er darkness, death and sin,

   My name to bear and in that name to conquer — 

   So send I you, My victory to win. 

So Send I You – to take to souls in bondage 

   The Word of Truth that sets the captive free

   To break the bonds of sin, to loose death’s fetters — 

   So send I you, to bring the lost to Me.

So Send I You — My strength to know in weakness, 

   My joy in grief, My perfect peace in pain,

   To prove My pow’r, My grace, My promised presence - 

   So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

So Send I You — to bear My cross with patience, 

   And then one day with joy to lay it down, 

   To hear My voice, “Well done, My faithful servant — 

   Come share My throne, My kingdom and My crown!”

May the trials of ministry always give birth to the treasures of present and eternal joys my pastor friend. 

Because He who called you is faithful, 

~ PJVS

Beleaguered?

"For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" 
~ 1 Corinthians 9:16

"But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them." 
~ Jeremiah 1:17

Let's take a moment to reflect on the following passage from "The Unnecessary Pastor"... 

"Contrary to popular opinion, pastors are not jacks of all trades. We have been bullied long enough by well-meaning but ignorant demands telling us what we must do, telling us why we are necessary to this or that program, this or that life. Everybody and his dog has a job description for the pastor. Everybody knows what a pastor must do to be a real pastor. That's a problem, but what complicates and compounds it is that it's nice to be so needed, nice to have culture and congregation alike interested in defining our work and giving us instructions on how to go about it. It's nice to be so much in demand ... until we find that none of the job descriptions seem to agree. It's even worse when we discover that virtually none of the people who write our job descriptions seem to have ever read or even heard of the text, the Holy Scripture, that orients our work, or to have been present at the ordinations that define our work. Necessity is laid upon the glorious but beleaguered life of pastor." 

~ Eugene H. Peterson, The Unnecessary Pastor

As one who has experienced all of the above and more, I encourage you to keep your eyes on the skies, "And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory." ~ 1 Peter 5:4. Beleaguered as you may be today, keep the call of God on the front burner!

 Because His grace is sufficient, 

~ PJVS

A Minister's Preaching

THE LORD'S DAY MORNING 

 A MINISTER'S PREACHING 

My Master God,

I am desired to preach today, but go weak and needy to my task; Yet I long that people might be edified with divine truth, that an honest testimony might be borne for thee; 

Give me assistance in preaching and prayer, with heart uplifted for grace and unction.

Present to my view things pertinent to my subject, with fullness of matter and clarity of thought, proper expressions, fluency, fervency, a feeling sense of the things I preach, and grace to apply them to men's consciences. 

Keep me conscious all the while of my defects, and let me not gloat in pride over my performance.

Help me offer a testimony for thyself, and to leave sinners inexcusable in neglecting thy mercy. 

Give me freedom to open the sorrows of thy people, and to set before them comforting considerations. Attend with power the truth preached, and awaken the attention of my slothful audience. 

May thy people be refreshed, melted, convicted, comforted, and help me use the strongest arguments drawn from Christ's incarnation and sufferings, that men might be made holy.

 I myself need thy support, comfort, strength, holiness, that I might be a pure channel of thy grace, and be able to do something for thee; 

Give me then refreshment among thy people, and help me not to treat excellent matter in a defective way, or bear a broken testimony to so worthy a Redeemer, or be harsh in treating of Christ's death, its design and end, from lack of warmth and fervency. 

And keep me in tune with thee as I do this work.

~ Puritan Prayers and Devotions,

by Various Puritans, 

Monergism Books

Keep Your Focus...

"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth." 

~ 1 Timothy 2:1-7 (ESV) 

The story is told about a coastal life-saving station that saved a great many lives every year. As time passed the station became famous and efforts were made to buy better equipment and build a bigger building. The volunteers continued to give much time and energy to improve the looks and quality of the station. It eventually became more beautiful than any other station with more volunteers than ever. With all the activity focused on the station itself, one thing ceased to happen; saving lives. They lost their focus.

I enjoyed the privilege of being the pastor of three churches in three states for over forty years. From the very beginning my heart yearned for lost souls to come to Jesus. In each church, various programs of evangelism were organized and people came to the Lord. But, evangelism always had an ever pressing competitor ... the church building. Money, volunteers, time, and constant effort would drain our resources. One project would be completed just in time for the next to begin. It eventually came down to a spiritual battle between reaching the unbeliever or restoring the old building. Sadly, we often lost our focus.

The story for most of us isn't about building a beautiful palatial worship center that will "wow" the crowds. We usually inherit grand old legendary buildings that were built by spiritual stalwarts of days gone by. Yes, we're grateful for places to worship, but we are so often haunted with the ongoing cry for building restoration. While such needs press upon us, may Paul's word of counsel always call us to arms... "First of all". Let us keep prayer, preaching, and the saving of people first and foremost. Pastors, never let buildings cause you to lose your focus.

 ~ PJVS