The Pastor's Burden

God Wants His People To Know Him

Ever since the garden of eden, we have been separated from God. Not only are we separated from Him, we have an enemy trying to keep us from knowing Him. It’s time for the Church to really stand up and know that there is an evil force that wants to make you weak, wants to make you look bad, corrupt your name, steal your finances, tempt you into making emotional decisions that lead toward sin. If the devil can’t get you, he will use someone close to you in order to get to you.

These are things we all know, I’m not saying anything that is foreign to us. But this where it counts, we are standing and sitting on Holy Ground, we come to Church to follow the man of God. Not only to know God, but to win our battles in life.

As we now have a sin nature are alienated from God, He sends us people, not perfect people, but people that have an appetite to follow Him, that have a love for Him and above all else want to be where he is.

I would like to direct you to the first verse of our text this morning 1 Timothy 5:17:

King James Version Chapter 5

17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.

Let me focus on the word rule here. In the Greek the word used was: προΐστημι proı̈́stēmi Which has a twofold meaning: 1. to exercise a position of leadership, rule, direct, be at the head of. 2. to have an interest in, show concern for, care for, give aid

A Pastor that can not only tell people what do; but, actually has a genuine love and interest in the well being of people is priceless. A Pastor that shows concern for you, where you are in life is even better and a Pastor that cares for the people that can’t take care of themselves and gives aid to those without is yet even better.

Looking at the word in greater detail Pro (before and over) and Histemi (to cause to stand before, to set over), we should not forget that God is over His Church and causes people to walk this life of ministry for His glory.

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 870). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

This is how God communicates with us, yes we all have the Holy Spirit; however, there some heavy messages he will only communicate to the one rightly attuned to hear it. Someone that has a manner about him or herself to communicate it to the people God intends to save.

Zodhiates, S. (2000). The complete word study dictionary: New Testament (electronic ed.). Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers.)

Looking at the word counted in Greek ( ἀξιόω axióō; contracted axiṓ, fut. axiṓsō), not only does it mean to count one as being worthy; it also means to make worthy. We can’t undervalue that it is God that calls and make His Pastors worthy to be listened to and followed. Now let me put to brakes on this… so long as that Pastor is studying in his word.

A man can’t do this work if he doesn’t know what he is talking about, I would venture to say a man that doesn’t know what is talking is prone to lead you places where you never intended to go.

When the man of God is studying in his word, properly prepared and teaching and preaching - then he is counted worthy of double honor. You’ve got to know it in order to tell it. The Doctrine of the Bible, the glorious Bible are too important to the success of God’s people to come anyway but loose.

Thinking about pro-histemi… there was a Mighty man of God that stood many years ago. I’d like to invite you to turn with me to :

King James Version Chapter 17

8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

12 But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.

15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi:

When you think about Church members, we really are like the children of Isreal in the sense of we all will have something or someone to fight. I don’t know what it is you are fighting today, it might be financial, heath, boss on the job, mortgage overdue. We all have a battle to fight in one way or another. We come to Church, as we should to find help from God to fight these battles, to carry our burdens. But to have to lift up God and fully support His Prophet/Pastor/Teachers/Leaders while they are literally praying for our success. There is an order to being a successful follower:

1) Follow the directives given to us by leadership.... we can’t chide/self promote/become disgruntled. (Touch on verse 9)

2) Trust in God (We come to this place because we are asking God to act, we are depending upon Him and are in need. God is not passive or remote from His creation, He is dynamically involved in all that He has made).

3) Trust that God has called the man that stands before you in leadership. (Be careful… don’t fall in to unbelief and doubt; even Jesus couldn’t preform miracles due to the unbelief of the people in his hometown).

4) Look past the weakness of the man and support him. You’re victory depends on his strength. (Touch on verses 11 and 12)

5) Remember God (not you) has brought the victory. He controls all things (even you). We are brought with a price and we are not our own. (Touch on verse 14).

When we do this, we become a Jehovah-Nissi church… one where God fights our battles and we get the benefit of winning.

Ease Your Pastor’s Burden

I’d like to now draw your attention to , and then verse 7-12.

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King James Version Chapter 20

20:1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

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As we are serving God, things will not be easy. We need to remember not chide about the man of God. We don’t want to place our leaders where they operate outside of the will of God. We don’t want to be the reason good men and women don’t receive their promise land blessings here on earth by not being in line with God.

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As we are serving God, things will not be easy. We need to remember not chide about the man of God. We don’t want to place our leaders where they operate outside of the will of God. We don’t want to be the reason good men and women don’t receive their promise land blessings here on earth by not being in line with God.

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As we are separated from God, no matter what the circumstances are, He depends on His word to come forth in the manner He intended. He expects leaders to sacrifice in order to the deliver the message, to act in a manner He needs in order to help people see that he loves us. His wants all His children up in heaven with him:

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