Each Sunday morning, I take my prepared sermon to the pulpit, numerous pairs of eyes looking back at me. Some look with anticipation, Bibles open and pen in hand ready to capture truths from God’s Word. Others approach this time with a different “look,” more of a spectator: no Bible open, no pen in hand, and (from my vantage point) no interest in what is about to transpire. Still, others get a head start on a good, comfortable nap. 

How does a preacher of the Word approach these times? That’s the mystery. 

While some preachers take to the pulpit with a performance mentality, many preachers and pastors sense God’s call in a life-shaking and life-changing manner. I served as Worship and Youth Pastor at First Baptist Church of Clewiston, Florida when, in July 1999 on a missions trip to Mobile, Alabama with my student ministry, I sensed the overpowering call of God to preach. (It was so overwhelming, I could go back to the University of Mobile’s campus and take you to the spot. I was reading “The Servant Principle” by Rick Ferguson when God spoke in a way that was louder than words.)

Twenty-two years later, that call still resounds and has kept me through all the highs and lows ministry brings. That call was to preach the gospel as a pastor of a local church. When I prepare and preach, I preach as if I am serving the Most High and serving as an undershepherd. “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2).

While the preaching event on Sunday mornings is not all that happens with one’s pastoral call, I believe it is the most critical. Granted, many dispute this conviction. A few years ago, I received a mailer that said, “If you believe preaching is the most important part of your ministry, you’re doing it wrong.” The point was that more happens in a church than that hour on Sunday morning and that ministries should focus on Monday through Saturday, not just Sunday. 

While I believe no one disputes the necessity of helping Christians be, well, Christian Monday through Saturday as well, the preaching of the Word is a mysterious calling with a mysterious effect that doesn’t always fall into the formulas of success we contrive.  The Word, accompanied by prayer and moved along by the Spirit, is the method God uses for change–and God works in those ways even if the “look” of our congregations indicates otherwise.

Seeing a congregant with Bible open and pen in hand on the surface looks as if they are the most engaged for the preacher. Those who have their eyes closed (hopefully they are praying) are the least ideal because they look as if they are the least engaged. The spectator (watching, no Bible, no pen) is the interesting one for me. Martyn Lloyd-Jones always struggled when he saw someone taking notes while he preached. He felt that the time they disengaged from the sermon to write down what he said made it more difficult for them to re-engage with the sermon. He wanted “impressions” that he prayed the Spirit would use.

In a conversation with someone a few years ago who preferred audible engagement with the sermon and grew frustrated with others who didn’t share her penchant for praise, I assured her that some outwardly praise while others inwardly process, but they still engage.

The mystery of preaching is not a mystery–”Preach the Word,” “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17), etc. The mystery for the preacher is, How can they tell if their word is heard? We can’t–not always. We plant and /or water–God grows, and that harvest might not come for decades, but we trust. 

Boxes with microwaveable meals often say, “Cook on high for five minutes, let cool for one minute, then serve.” Sermons aren’t like that: “Cook on high for thirty minutes, let cool with a five-minute, six-verse invitation of Just As I Am, then save.” 

We pray, prepare, preach, pray some more, then love, serve, lead–all from the Word, all in the name of Jesus, all the while knowing that He is with us always, even to the end of the age. Go and make those disciples, folks!

Evangelical Christianity laments the direction of the culture, especially among the younger generations. They do so because this generation (and all generations) struggle with authority. The resistance exists in listening to the previous generations. They roll their eyes and want affirmation of how they already are and rebuff any suggestion for life adjustments and change. The only change many accept, they say, is that which benefits their self-interests.

Sadly, this is all hyperbole (obviously not everyone in those aforementioned generations is like this) but also reveals a blindspot.

Many churches have perfected this mindset long before this present culture took center stage.

I preached on Acts 16:11-15 yesterday. Before I go any further, let me put this passage before us:

So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days. And on the Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us (Acts 16:11-15 ESV).

Lydia was already a worshiper of God, meaning she was a Gentile worshiping in the Jewish manner and rite. Looking back, we can see that God prepared Lydia to receive the promises made in the Old Testament fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. She could have said, “I am already a worshiper of God, so do not ask me to change my affiliation.”

I talk to younger pastors frequently (some of them were in my youth group I led back in the mists of time) who go into churches who greet them with enthusiasm about the future. It is entirely understandable. Pastors come in with what is known on a resume and in interviews. They fill in the unknown gaps by the experiences and desires of the voting congregation.

So, when the proverbial honeymoon period is over, disappointments set in. The incoming pastors do not fulfill those personal (and unspoken) expectations. Unless a recognition on behalf of the incoming pastor and the congregation happens regarding these blindspots and unrealistic expectations, challenging times will arise. Trust erodes, frustrations mount, fractures expand, and relationships end. Pastors and churches move forward with hurt and experiences that fuel future encounters.

We all struggle with one perceived need: affirmation. We all want to be loved as we are without question. Everyone wants and needs friends who care for us unconditionally–something quite rare in this age. Yet, the level of this affirmation for the Christian does not stay on the level of, “You are great just the way you are. Be true to yourself and do not change for anyone or anything.” On the contrary, God affirms us as image-bearers of God and followers of Jesus who want to be more like Christ and are ready to deny self. In Mark 8:34-38, Jesus tells His disciples:

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

We must lose our life for the sake of Christ and the gospel if we want to keep our life. The world may affirm us, but Christ will reject us.

So here are some questions to think on:

• Do pastors pastor for affirmation from their congregation?
• Do congregants expect complete and total affirmation from their Bible reading, prayer time, or worship services?
• Can we handle being told that we do not measure up but that we need to grow into the measure of Christ (Eph 4:13)?
• Is the reason we want to please people is because we want people pleased with us?

We must realize that the only point where we arrive is when we arrive in glory. Our affirmation comes based on our identity, relationship, and rescue grounded in the person and work of Christ. Everything He works in your life is to build up. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, notice what His Word does:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Scripture teaches content, shows where we have strayed, shows how to repent (not just in emotional sorrow but in action), and what lessons we learned from these experiences so we may train others. A call for change in the believer’s hearts and minds is not a denial of God’s affirmation but an embracing of this. God loves you as you are, but He also loves you enough not to leave you the way you are.

Christ calls us to holiness, not merely good-enough-ed-ness. We no longer want self-affirmation or neighborly affirmation, but God’s affirmation.

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).

When you are under the employ of someone, yes, you work for them. Yet, Paul reminds us that we work ultimately for Christ. And as such, we work heartily because our ultimate Lord and Boss watches us, fuels us, and shows us that everything we do is for His glory and the good of those around us–even the most mundane of things. 

When we serve as chairs of our teams, that counts as well. These roles are not mere hobbies but must be on the front burner! If you put pencils in the pencil holders on the back of the pews, it counts! Do it to the glory of God! If you dust the furniture, dust to the glory of God! 

The more we understand that working for the Lord is not relegated to missions or pastoral work but to every piece of energy we put to something, we are serving Christ.

One of the roles and goals of discipleship is a two-headed training in ministry and marketplace. Yes, we train folks to minister in the church and vocationally, but we must (MUST) train people to be Christ and serve Christ in their jobs, in their personal hobbies, in their day-to-day lives. We need Christians who are visible in these areas. The kingdom of God is not a weekend hobby, but a lifestyle.

To relegate the Kingdom of God’s work to one day (or even one hour) per week is to miss the entire point of what God work in us. Whether we work or play, whether we go to our 40-hour-a-week job or go to church, we work and expend our physical, emotional, relational, mental, and spiritual energy intentionally to the glory of God.

Takeaways:

1. When we do anything, we do everything to God’s glory and not for man’s approval.
2. Christ shows us the eternal aspect of all we do.
3. Churches must raise up disciples for those in ministry and those in the marketplace, knowing that God has raised them to serve in both lanes.
4. We refuse to categorize our lives–all of our lives are lives lived unto Christ as His disciples.

As opposed to last week when Winn preached on a very long Psalm 22, we now turn to a short, familiar, and precious Psalm to many over the centuries: Psalm 23. The familiarity of this Psalm speaks much to the comfort it provides in all stages of life. Some of you learned this psalm as a child, which speaks to how picturesque and accessible this psalm is. Some of you have this on your wall. Many of us hear this read at funerals, either in person or, oddly enough, on TV and in movies.

Given that the Lord is our shepherd, this means that we are His sheep. Our good shepherd, Jesus Christ, tells us that the sheep are His while the goats are not (Matthew 25:31-46). He also warns us of wolves who come in pretending to be sheep, but who want to harm the fold. Elsewhere, in John 10, he warns us about the thieves and strangers who try to slip in.

The LORD is our shepherd. The eternal, transcendent God is our shepherd. When I was starting out in ministry, my pastor would have be help him with funerals—either pray or read Scripture. He coached me in reading Psalm 23 by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd—I shall not want! He makes me to lie down in green pastures,” etc.

Yet, this Psalm is not primarily about us, but it’s about God. Are we the beneficiaries having him as our Shepherd? Absolutely!