GOD EXPECTS PASTORS TO USE THE GIFTS HE GAVE THEM
(This blog is a word-for-word transcript of the first session in all my pastors’ conferences in India. This is the first of 4 blogs in this series.)
I’m very glad to be here with you today. I’m a pastor in America. I bring you greetings from the Christians in America. They are praying for you. We hear about your faithfulness to Jesus. You are a good testimony to us. I have been a pastor 50 years. It is a great privilege to be a pastor. But it isn’t always easy . When I stand before God I want to hear Him say: “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23). Do you want to hear Him say that as well?
For Him to say that I must be a pastor who has been faithful to Him. I must do what He expects me to do as a pastor. There are many things pastors can do with their time. Our people have expectations of us. But what is important is what God expects of us. I want to make sure that when I stand before God He says “Well done.” I have been doing a lot of praying and reading the Bible to see what God expects of us as pastors. I want to share with you 4 things God expects. If you have paper and pencil please write these down.
- USE THE GIFTS HE GIVES YOU. God expects us to use the gifts He gives us. When we become a Christian His Holy Spirit comes and lives inside us. He puts the desire in our heart to be a pastor. He gives us the gifts we will need to be able to serve Him. He gives each of us different gifts.
When I was a young pastor I knew a man who had been a pastor for a long time. I watched him to see what a pastor should do. This man was very good at going up to people he didn’t know and talking to them about Jesus. He loved doing that and was very good at it. It was very hard for me to talk to people I didn’t know & I wasn’t good at it. So, I thought maybe I shouldn’t be a pastor. Then God showed me He had different gifts for me. I didn’t have to be like another pastor, I had to use the gifts He gave me. God has given each of us different gifts. Some pastors are good at evangelism but others are better at teaching new believers. Some can do well at starting new churches others are better at pastoring churches that have already started. Others do better with counseling, others can spend long times in prayer and some are better at worship. Each pastor is different. No pastor has all these gifts. He doesn’t want us to compare ourselves with other pastors. He just expects you to use the gifts He has given you. He gives each CHURCH different gifts as well. You must lead your church to be the kind of church God wants it to be.
I have been at the church I pastor for 35 years. When I first came it was a small church and I wanted it to grow to be a big church. There was a big church near me and they had lots of programs so I wanted to like them. I did everything I could make my church be a big church. But nothing worked. Three new people would come, but then 4 would stop coming. So, I thought something was wrong with me. I wasn’t able to make my church be a big church – maybe I shouldn’t be their pastor. Then God showed me He didn’t want my church to be a big church. There is nothing wrong with big churches, they can do great things for God. But He wanted my church to stay small so we could spend more time with the people who came. My church is like a hospital for people who are hurting spiritually. God has given the people in my church spiritual gifts to do this. They are good at counseling, teaching and helping others grow. When I lead my church now, this is the direction I must lead them.
Just as pastors are different, so churches are different as well. Some are good at evangelism, others at helping the poor and needy. Some have wonderful worship; others do a good job of teaching the Bible. God expects you to lead your church where He wants them to go. He has a plan for your church that is different than other churches. So don’t try to make your church like some other church. Use your gifts and the churches gifts to do what God wants you to do. (Continued in the next blog).
1 Corinthians 12:4–6 4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men.
What gifts has God given you to minister?
Are you using them or trying to be like someone else?
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling)
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