Sermon #1231
Title: “I WANT TO BE A
PREACHER”
Text: I Timothy 3:1
Reading: Off: Rex Bartley Aud: Lindsay Campbell
Subject: The Call to and Work of the Gospel Ministry
Date: Tuesday Evening - April 30, 1996
Tape # S-49
Introduction:
1 Timothy 3:1 "This is a true saying, If a man desire the
office of a bishop, he desireth a good work."
Last week I received a letter from a
young man that I met while I was in California back in January. After a few
personal comments, his letter began with this statement - “I want to be a
preacher of the gospel.” Then he proceeded to ask me about training for the
work of the ministry. I held his letter for a week, trying to get some
direction from God the Holy Spirit as to how to answer it. I believe the Lord
gave me that direction. So I answered the letter this morning. As I was
answering it, I felt strongly impressed to incorporate my response to this
young man’s letter into my message to you tonight.
I realize that I am preaching to local
church, not to a group of preachers; but I am convinced that you need
occasional instruction concerning the call to and the work of the gospel
ministry. I have three reasons for bringing this message to you.
1.
It is my
prayer that God may be pleased to call some of you to the work of the gospel
ministry.
2.
The time will
come when you will have to seek another pastor. When that time comes, you will
need to know what to look for in a pastor, what to expect from a pastor, and
what to do for a pastor.
3.
I want you to
understand as much as you can about the work of the ministry, so that you will
know how to pray for and assist me and other gospel preachers in the work of
the ministry which the Lord God has graciously entrusted to our hands for the
glory of Christ.
·
II
Thessalonians 3:12-13
I do not pretend to have the answers
to all the questions and problems facing those men who desire the work of the
ministry. In fact, the first thing I said in my letter to this young man this
morning was this: No man can or should
tell another man what the will of God is for him. Only God the Holy Spirit
can direct you in his will. I have a tough time knowing what the will of God is
for me. I am not about to tell you what God’s will is for you! But I am not a novice. I have been at
this business of preaching the gospel for twenty-eight years. I do know a
little something about it.
Proposition: The work of
the gospel ministry is not a career a man chooses, but a gift God bestows; it
is not an occupation of life, but a way of life.
Divisions: I want to
show you four things about the call to and the work of the ministry. I
hope you will listen carefully. May God the Holy Spirit make this message
profitable to your souls for Christ’s sake.
1.
The work of
the ministry is the work of the whole church.
2.
The pastoral
office is a good work and an office to be desired.
3.
Only God can
make a preacher and put a man into the ministry.
4.
The work of
the gospel ministry is an all-consuming work.
I. THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY IS
THE WORK OF THE WHOLE CHURCH.
This is perhaps the first and most important thing for us to
understand. The work of the ministry is not a one man show. One man is, by
God’s ordination, the pastor. One man is responsible for the sailing of the
ship. One man is responsible to direct the course of the ministry and keep the
local church true to the Word of God and doing the work of God. But the work of
the ministry is not one man’s work. The local church is like a battleship in a
time of war. The captain (pastor) is responsible for the ship. He is in charge
and everyone knows it; but the captain cannot do the work of the crew.
Even so, the ministry of the gospel is
the work of the entire body of Christ. Every believer is a missionary. It is as
much your responsibility to publish the gospel as it is mine. You are Jehovah’s
witnesses in this world.
·
Isaiah
43:10-12
·
Isaiah 44:8
·
John 20:21-22
·
Acts 1:8
It really should not matter to us who
does the preaching. We are here as God’s servants. Our business and
responsibility is to serve him according to his will, in the place where he has
put us, with the gifts he has given us, for the glory of Christ.
I hope you are asking, “Pastor, what can I do?” Do what you
can. Do what God gives you the ability and opportunity to do for Christ and his
people. Here are some things you can do.
1.
As God gives
you opportunity, you can tell sinners what God has done for you.
2.
You can bring
people to hear the gospel.
3.
You can
distribute tracts.
4.
You can
distribute tapes.
5.
You can
support the ministry of the Word.
6.
You can pray
for God’s servants, his people, and his blessings upon the gospel.
7.
You can
minister to one another. (Direct conversation to profitable, spiritual things.)
8.
You can take
care of God’s house.
9.
There are lots
of things you can do, if you are interested doing something for Christ.
Illustration: The Rest Home Services
The Rest Home Visits
Do
what you can (Mark 14:1-9.
The work of the gospel ministry is the
work of the whole church. Yet...
II. THE PASTORAL OFFICE IS A GOOD
WORK AND AN OFFICE TO BE DESIRED.
This what Paul tells us in our text. "This
is a true saying, If a man desire the
office of a bishop, he desireth a good work."
There is not a higher, nobler,
greater, more satisfying, or more demanding work to be found in this world. I
would caution every man, do not thrust
yourself into the work of the ministry. If a man runs without being sent,
he will be running to trouble. Yet, I would say to every believing man, this is a work to be desired.
A. First and foremost, the
pastor’s work is the work of preaching the gospel.
God’s servants are men who labor in
the Word of God. They seek to understand its’ doctrine. They seek to find God’s
message for his people. And they try, in every way possible, to carry the
gospel to the generation in which they live.
·
Preaching
·
Writing
·
Correspondence
God’s servants are not lazy men. They are men with a
purpose, with an agenda, men on a mission with a mandate from God himself.
Their mission, their mandate is the preaching of the gospel.
·
I Timothy
4:12-16
·
II Timothy
4:1-4
·
I Corinthians
2:
·
Galatians 6:14
The office of a bishop is an work to
be desired because it is the work of preaching the gospel. And next, it is a
work to be desired because...
B. The work of the bishop is a
pastoral work.
I am fully aware of the fact that in
these days of religious nonsense pastoral work is looked upon as business
management, social work, psychotherapy, denominational promotion, and
entertainment. But God’s servants are pastors, tenders of sheep.
·
I Peter 5:1-4
What a great
privilege! What a high honor! What an awesome responsibility! The Lord God has
called me and trusted to my hands the care of his sheep, the guardianship of
his family! It is my responsibility as a
pastor to...
·
Feed His
Sheep.
·
Protect His
Sheep.
·
Guide His
Sheep in the Footsteps of the Flock.
·
Lead His Sheep
by Example.
Are you beginning to see why this is a
work to be desired? It is the work of preaching the gospel; but it is much more
than that. It is the work of caring for the Lord’s sheep. And this is a work to
be desired because...
C. It is every pastor’s
responsibility to do the work of an evangelist (II Tim. 4:5).
Without neglecting the care of God’s
sheep trusted to him, he goes out to proclaim the gospel wherever and however
God opens the door, seeking the Lord’s sheep, establishing local churches,
folds for the Lord’s flocks, and helping other shepherds.
Very few churches have or want a
pastor. Most of them hire a preacher, tell him what his office hours will be,
how many visits he will make each month, how long to preach, how many meetings
he can hold a year, when he can take a vacation, and what social committees and
functions he is expected to attend. God’s servants are not hirelings; and they
are not junebug preachers. They are prophets from God almighty with a message
to deliver. They will not allow anything or anyone to stand in their way!
The work of the ministry is the work
of the whole church. And the pastoral office is a good work and an office to be
desired. Now thirdly let me show you
that...
III. ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A PREACHER
AND PUT A MAN INTO THE MINISTRY.
I know that it is customary for preachers to try to get
other men, especially young converts, to make a commitment to what they call full-time Christian service (I guess
they think all others are part time Christians!);
but I always caution men not to announce a call to preach. I said to this young
man this morning that no man should ever
presume that he has been called of God to the blessed work of the gospel
ministry until God has put him in the work. No man is called of God to
preach the gospel except those men who are doing it. An urge to preach is not a call to
preach. If God calls a man to the work of the gospel ministry, he will not have
to announce it. God’s people will know it. And he will not have to advertise
himself, promote himself, or send out resumes applying for a job. God knows
exactly where his Moses is. The back
side of the desert in the land of Median is not beyond God’s view!
Let me show you three things about this
matter of the making of a preacher.
A. Any man who is called of God
to preach the gospel is gifted of God with both a comprehensive understanding
of the Scriptures and an ability to teach the Scriptures to others.
I do not mean that a preacher must
understand everything in the Bible. No man does. But he must understand the
whole Bible. He must see and clearly understand the message of Holy Scripture
which is Jesus Christ and him crucified.
·
Luke 24:27,
44-47
·
Acts 20:27
·
I Corinthians
2:2
Not only does God give his servants
understanding in the Word, he makes them “apt
to teach.” In other words, if God calls a man to preach, he can preach.
·
I Timothy 3:2
·
Titus 1:9
Any man who
does not understand the message of Scripture or does not have the God-given
ability to teach the gospel to others has not been called of God to the work of
the ministry.
B. If God
calls a man to the work of the ministry, if God calls a man to be a pastor,
elder, missionary, or evangelist God also gives him the qualifications
necessary to lead his people in the worship and service of Christ.
·
I Timothy
3:1-7
·
Titus 1:6-9
Do not stretch these texts of
Scripture beyond their legitimate meaning. They do not mean that a pastor must
be a perfect man. But they do mean that he is to be a man, a man in every sense
of the word, providing for the spiritual and physical well-being of his family
with uprightness, honesty, sobriety, and diligence.
C. The place of training for a
preacher is within the local church.
I do not discourage training. A pastor
must be a diligent student, not for three or four years, but all his life. But
the absolute last thing for a man to do who desires to preach the gospel is go
to a Bible college or theological seminary. I tell young men this all the time.
Colleges and seminaries are real good at teaching men how to be professional
preachers; but you learn to serve God in his church.
This is what I recommend to every man
who thinks he wants to be a preacher. Find a gospel preacher and local church
of proven faithfulness to the gospel of Christ; move to where that church is;
get a job; and serve God in that local church. I am convinced that no man
should be given the responsibility of pastoring a church who knows nothing
about serving God in a church.
Any pastor who is worth his salt as a
preacher will, in his regular sermons, give the best theological training
available in this world. A faithful pastor is always well prepared for the
pulpit. He does not entertain the sheep with silly games. He feeds the sheep.
He instructs people in the Word of God. What a man learns here is what I call shoe leather theology, the kind that
helps you walk down the road of life. The theology a man learns in Bible
colleges and seminaries is idealistic
theology, the kind you debate in coffee houses without regard to the souls
of men or the glory of God.
The work of the ministry is the work
of the whole church. It is a good work, a work to be desired. Only God himself
can make a preacher. And fourthly, I
want you to see that...
IV. THE WORK OF THE GOSPEL
MINISTRY IS AN ALL-CONSUMING WORK.
Rolfe Barnard used to say, “One of
these days, I’m going to enter the ministry.” I cannot tell you how often I
have heard Bro. Mahan say the same thing. That may seem strange, coming from
men who have spent nearly every waking hour of their adult lives studying,
preaching, or traveling somewhere to preach. But the statement is not strange
at all, when we consider the facts.
There are multitudes of pastors,
evangelists, and missionaries who have never really entered the ministry. I am
not talking about professional preachers. I am not talking about glory-seekers.
I am not talking about men who serve God for gain. We know that those men are
not the servants of Christ and never can be.
I am talking about and my concern is
for men who do know the Lord, men who do faithfully preach the gospel of God’s
grace and glory in Christ. men who have to some degree left home and friends,
men who have endured some trial and persecution for the gospel. I am not
talking about our enemies, but our friends, men who have contended for the
gospel in organized churches here and there, and some even on foreign soil as
missionaries. Many who preach the gospel
have not yet entered the ministry.
The
ministry of the gospel is an all-consuming thing! It cannot be a sideline. It cannot be something a man does
when it is convenient. It is not a career. It is and must be the all-consuming
passion of a man’s life! When Elisha picked up Elijah’s mantle, he had to lay
down all other interests and concerns. And that man who truly enters the
ministry must leave every other occupation and project.
2 Timothy 2:4 "No man that
warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a
soldier."
The
man who enlists in the army and goes to war leaves his home, business, hobbies,
and all his other affairs in the world. The business of the army has become his
business. The war he is engaged in is not something he reads about in the
morning paper. It is the all-consuming issue of his life.
The Olympic athlete who runs in a race
does so with such determination and commitment that he seems to spend all his
time on the track. He appears to have no thought but running. He is consumed
with the race.
That man who enters the ministry, who
really enters the ministry has just that kind of determination and commitment.
1 Corinthians 7:29-31 "But this I
say, brethren, the time is short: it
remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none; (30) And they that weep, as though they
wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that
buy, as though they possessed not; (31) And
they that use this world, as not abusing it:
for the fashion of this world passeth away."
I cannot recommend any man to go to
any seminary in the world. I know this will offend some who hear it, but
frankly, I do not know of a Bible college or seminary anywhere in the world
that is committed to the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace. But I will
tell you five places to which every man who enters the ministry must go.
A. The man who enters the
ministry must go Calvary.
Go to Calvary! There be filled with the glory of God, the
beauty of Christ, the majesty of grace, and overwhelmed with the love of God in
Christ. If a man ever learns the gospel of God’s sovereignty, substitution,
satisfaction, and success, he will preach it! No other message will interest
him. Not other subject will appeal to him. No other theme will occupy his mind.
That man who has seen the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ will talk
about it until he dies!
B. He who would enter the
ministry must go to the cemetery.
A man cannot enter the ministry until he has buried mother,
father, wife, children, and his own life also. Christ becomes all these things
to his servants. So that where the calling, service, truth, and glory of Christ
are concerned, his servant has no natural ties.
C. That man who enters the
ministry must go to the garbage dump.
There he disposes of his heritage, his learning, his natural
wisdom, his self-righteousness, his self-worth, and his fleshly zeal. At the
garbage dump, he throws everything away as useless dung, that he may win Christ
and be found in him.
· Philippians 3:4-14
D. That man who enters the
ministry must open an account at the bank of faith and live upon it.
He must give up his fishing boat, throw away his nets, and
look to Christ alone to supply all his needs. Those who preach the gospel must
live by the gospel. Soldiers in the army of King Jesus do not have to pay their
own way. Christ takes care of his servants. I have a checking account in the
bank of faith. It was opened for me by Christ himself, and opened in his name.
Thus far, I have never found the account empty.
1.
It is the
responsibility of every local church to take care of those who preach the
gospel (Her Own Pastor - Missionaries - Other Pastors).
2.
It is the
responsibility of every gospel preacher to cut himself free from the
entanglements of this world.
E. That man who enters the
ministry must go to his study.
God’s servants are preeminently men of
study and prayer. They addict themselves to the study of the Word. In the
eighteenth century, there was a saying that was common in the streets of
London. John Gill was so well known for his devotion to study that men would
say, “As surely as John Gill is in his study,” such and such will happen.
No man can preach who does not study.
Any man who is not content to spend most of his time in his study has no place
in the pulpit of any church. The reason deacons exist is so that God’s servants
can study and pray (Acts 6:1-4).
The preacher must forsake business,
politics, community affairs, family enjoyments, and many other worthwhile
projects. He who enters the ministry can be nothing but a preacher. If he tries
to be anything else he will be an embarrassment to himself and to others. But
what a preacher that man will be.
1.
His name will
be known in hell.
2.
His name will
be known in heaven.
3.
It is of no
concern to him if his name is forgotten everywhere else.
Application:
A dying preacher was heard praying,
“God, if you let me live, I will lay down every interest, every activity, and
every occupation. I will live only to preach the gospel of your dear Son.” It
was too late for him, but not for me and not for you. Yet, the only way anyone
will ever truly enter the ministry is on his deathbed, as he dies to the world
and the world dies to him!
Mark 8:35 "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save
it."
1.
There is no
discharge from this work and warfare (Luke 9:62).
2.
I
ask you to pray for me and for God’s servants around the world, that we may
daily enter the ministry.
William
Grimshaw once made this statement - “When I die I shall then have my
greatest grief and my greatest joy - my greatest grief that have done so little
for Jesus, and my greatest joy that Jesus has done so much for me!”
Ephesians 3:8 "Unto me, who
am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."