Take Advantage of Your Pastor

Take Advantage of Your Pastor I. Your pastor is a gift from God to your church (Eph 4:8,11). 1. God gave you a pastor after His own heart to feed you (Jer 3:15). 2. Your pastor is God's ambassador that He sent to you with a message (2Co 5:20). A. In Biblical times God delivered His word through His prophets (Heb 1:1; 2Pe 1:21). B. Today God manifests His word through preaching (Tit 1:3). 3. You should receive your pastor as an angel of God (a messenger from God) (Gal 4:14). 4. Your pastor is a "man of God" (2Ti 3:17). 5. Your pastor is a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2Ti 2:3). II. Your relationship with your pastor should be one of give and take. 1. You should give to your pastor the following: A. Your love i. You should esteem your pastor very highly in love (1Th 5:13). ii. Sometimes the more your pastor loves you, the less you will love him (2Co 12:15). iii. Don't become his enemy when he tells you the truth (Gal 4:16). B. Your respect i. You should hold him in reputation because of his work (Php 2:29-30). ii. You should esteem him very highly in love for his work's sake (1Th 5:12-13). iii. Address him respectfully; entreat him as a father; never rebuke him (1Ti 5:1). C. Your obedience i. You should obey your pastor whom God has given the rule over you (Heb 13:17). ii. You should obey what he teaches you not only when he's watching, but also when he is not (Php 2:12). D. Your attention i. Be swift to hear what he has to say (Jam 1:19). ii. Consider what he says (2Ti 2:7). iii. When you go to church, be ready to listen (Ecc 5:1). E. Your prayers i. Your pastor needs your prayers (1Th 5:25). ii. Your prayers can be his salvation (Php 1:19). F. Your encouragement and support i. Encourage your pastor by telling him that you are praying for him. ii. Tell him what you learned from him and how you are making changes in your life based on it. iii. Support him when he makes a decision or a judgment call in the church. iv. Tell him that you're behind him. G. Your time i. Present your body a living sacrifice in God's house (Rom 12:1). ii. Where you spend your time will tell your pastor a lot about you. H. Your money i. Your pastor should be able to support himself and his family from your financial support (1Co 9:13-14). ii. He rules well and labors in the word and doctrine and therefore is worthy of double honor (1Ti 5:17). iii. Don't muzzle your ox (1Ti 5:18). 2. You should take from your pastor the following: A. His teaching and instruction i. Your pastor is a teacher (Act 15:35). ii. God has given him that aptitude (2Ti 2:24-25). iii. Teach - II. To show by way of information or instruction. 5. to teach a thing: To impart or convey the knowledge of; to give instruction or lessons in (a subject); †to make known, deliver (a message). iv. His teaching is a gift to you from God (Eph 4:11). B. His rebuke, reproof, and admonition i. It's your pastor's job to rebuke and reprove you (2Ti 4:2). ii. If you're wise, you'll love him for it; if you're a fool, you'll hate him for it (Pro 9:8-9). C. His counsel and advice i. If you're wise, you will seek your pastor's counsel (Pro 1:5). ii. Fools don't go to their pastor for counsel when making important decisions (Pro 12:15). iii. Your purposes will be disappointed if you don't get counsel (Pro 15:22). iv. There is safety in seeking counsel from your pastor (Pro 11:14). v. I frequently seek your pastor's counsel and advice. D. His wisdom i. Your pastor is a wise man. ii. He has a lot of experience that you can learn from. iii. Take advantage of having a wise, experienced pastor to learn from. E. His example i. Your pastor is your example of what a Christian should be (1Ti 4:12). ii. He is your pattern (Tit 2:7). iii. Follow his faith (Heb 13:7). III. Your pastor's primary job is to feed and protect you spiritually. 1. Pastor - 1. A herdsman or shepherd. 2. A shepherd of souls; one who has the spiritual oversight over a company or body of Christians, as bishop, priest, minister, etc.; spec. the minister in charge of a church or congregation, with particular reference to the spiritual care of his ‘flock’. 2. He feeds the sheep as well as the lambs (Joh 21:15-17). 3. He gives strong meat to the mature and milk to the babes (Heb 5:12-14). 4. Take advantage of all of the teaching your pastor has to offer. A. Go to church i. This is where he focuses his energy preaching the word. ii. Try to be there as much as possible. iii. Go ready to learn. a. Get enough sleep on Saturday night. b. Get up early enough to get to church early without rushing. c. Print the outline ahead of time if it's available. d. Use the outline to make quick notes during the sermon that you can go back to later. e. Circle verses and draw a line between them to remind yourself to write the cross references in your Bible later. f. Review the outline during your Bible reading in the coming days and write the cross reference verses in the margin of your Bible. iv. Focus on what's being taught. v. Don't let your mind wander (Pro 17:24). vi. Try to commit what you hear to memory. vii. After the sermon, give your pastor feedback on what you learned, and ask questions on anything you didn't understand. viii. Talk with your spouse on the way home about the sermon. ix. Quiz your children on the way home to find out what they learned. B. Go to Bible study. i. Your pastor teaches in both public (church) and private (Bible study) settings (Act 20:20). ii. By going to the Bible studies you are taking advantage of all of the teaching of your pastor. a. If you were a shepherd, what would you think if your sheep only showed up to every other feeding? b. Might you be concerned that they are sick because of their lack of appetite? iii. Ask your pastor questions after Bible study if you have any. iv. Make him work for his money! C. Read his blogs. i. When your pastor writes a blog, make time to read it. ii. His thoughts can be conveyed differently in writing than in speech, so his writing will provide you with additional insights. iii. If you learn better by reading, then reading what your pastor writes is a great opportunity to learn more of God's truth. iv. Give him feedback on his blogs to encourage him. 5. Receive your pastor's teaching and do what he preaches from the scripture. A. Be doers of the word and not hearers only (Jam 1:22). B. If you do the doctrine of Christ, your life will be built on a sure foundation (Mat 7:24-27). C. If you don't do what your pastor preaches, God may take him away from you (Eze 33:31-33). D. The Jews didn't receive the preaching of Jesus Christ and His apostles (Joh 1:11; Mat 23:34). E. As a result, they lost their church, and it was given to the Gentiles (Mat 21:42-43; Rom 11:11). F. If it happened to them, it can happen to you; be not highminded but fear (Rom 11:20-21).