What Made David a Man After God’s Own Heart

This morning as I read through my devotions, I came to the conclusion that God’s classification of David’s spiritual greatness is more complex than I originally thought.  Consider the negatives of David and then his reactions afterward:

1. He committed adultery and murder in the situation with Uriah and Bathsheba.  Yet he repented immediately upon confrontation by the prophet of God, when an illustration was given regarding the lamb being taken from the poor shepherd.  2 Samuel 12
2. He numbered the people (2 Samuel 18:1) in direct opposition to the Lord’s command but then David’s heart was completely crushed when he realized what he had done (2 Samuel 24:10).
3. He struggles to deal with the situation of Amnon’s sin toward Tamar in 2 Samuel 13.  Then when Absalom gets revenge by killing Amnon, David struggles to deal with that correctly too.  He allows Absalom to come back into Jerusalem due to Job using a woman of Tekoah to teach David a lesson in 2 Samuel 14, but in so doing David refuses to see Absalom and thus causes a great bitterness to grow in Absalom’s heart, which leads to Absalom turning Israel’s heart against David in 2 Samuel 15.  David then is so broken by the entire situation that he cries out at Absalom’s death, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!” (2 Samuel 18:33)

David was a man of discernment but naivety.  He loved the Lord but was weak in his flesh.  He was willing to do the hard thing for God at times yet failed to do the obvious simple right things at times.  He would fight with all he had for holiness but then would let the littlest sin cause him to stumble.  Simple put - DAVID WAS JUST LIKE US!

Paul said it best under inspiration in Romans 7:14 to 25:

“For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

We are sinners that live a body of flesh that will fail us every time we trust in it.  Yet as saved people, our spirit longs to live for God as Jesus points out in Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

What made David great in God’s formula was/is the following:

1. David clearly was not sinlessness but he always had a repentant heart.  He never made excuses for his sin, but took full responsibility for his actions and even begged God to punish him instead of the others his sin impacted.
2. David was humble enough to make no excuses for his sin.  He would ALWAYS return to God when he failed God.
3. He would always seek wise counsel from others when he was walking in the right and seldom trusted his own thoughts of what was right, though he was seen as speaking as the voice of God by others (1 Samuel 29:9).
4. He often lived in the moment but always walked long term for eternity.  He did foolish things due to momentary lapses of judgement, but not based upon continuing rebellion against God.  His flesh overtook him from time to time, but his heart was always given to God.
5. He seldom made the same mistake twice because he learned to adjust his walk with God and others.  In other words, he learned form his mistakes.
6. He almost always gave people the benefit of the doubt.  Case in point, his son Absalom, whom was trying to destroy David’s kingdom and take the throne, yet David was grieved at his death and blamed himself.  As a matter of fact, David was so grieved by his actions toward Absalom that Joab had to chide David in 2 Samuel 19:4-8.
7. David NEVER got angry with God - NEVER!  This may be the greatest action that lead to God’s classification of David as the “man after His own heart.”  Whenever David was in the midst of turmoil or strife, he would write a song of praise to God and, to the best of my knowledge, NEVER once questioned or blamed God for anything.  Oh that I could say the same thing - David ALWAYS saw God as good!!!!

Living in Flesh but Not IN the Flesh

One of the most difficult aspects of living the Christian life is living in flesh without living through the flesh.  We must live in the flesh as that is life itself, and even the Lord Jesus Christ lived IN flesh.  But we are admonished again and again in the Scriptures never to live through/by the power of the flesh.  Before ANYONE makes it sound simple and rebuffs my words here, let me remind them that even the Apostle Paul had a serious battle with this as he states in Romans 7:22-24:

“For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

Clearly Paul sees that this is the greatest battle of our personal lives and not just some outside force or doctrinal error taught by another, though those things are grievous for sure.  So herein is the real paradox, the flesh is never our friend when it comes to living for God but it is only through our life in flesh that we get to serve the Lord here on earth.

When I stand before a group of people to teach or preach, I must do so living in a body of flesh while not allowing that flesh to overcome my actions and words.  I must preach truths that impact the flesh without my flesh driving the preaching itself and that is not always easy because the flesh is my vessel of life and service here on earth.  I live in flesh and nothing I do can change that.

For instance, I have preached messages and sought to make an important point about some issue which the Bible clearly teaches about, such as selfishness.  Now mind you, I have liberty to preach that truth, but, only within the bounds of Scripture.  However, my flesh can rise up in anger and frustration at the lack of response of people toward that truth and thus my preaching on that issue has now become fleshly in its reaction, which is not right in God’s sight.  My flesh will then seek to justify it’s control over my preaching by trying to convince me that Jesus got angry at sin and thus its control over my preaching is simply “righteous anger” when it was fleshly control.  In other words, my flesh will say I was angry “at the sin” and that is justifiable because of Jesus’ example.  Yet the truth is that my flesh, for a moment of time, got the better of my preaching and I said things out of angry because people were clearly not heeding what I was saying and that is fleshly not spiritual for sure.

On the flip side, people can hear my preaching on the subject of selfishness and easily react in their flesh by rejecting the truth of the message as well.  They may do this either because they do not like the method of my delivery and thus justify that my message was fleshly and reject-able or because they are angered by the truth and justify their rejection just as my flesh tried to justify my delivery mentioned above.  Either way they reject the message because of the messenger.

Let me remind each one of us that once again Paul struggled with this in Romans 7 as he states in verse 15 “…for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.”  I do not think that Paul was struggling with some ministry ending sin such as fornication or drunkenness as he would have been forced to step aside of the ministry.  I am convinced that Paul, given the entire context of Romans chapters 5 to 10, was struggling to separate between ministering in flesh and ministering through the flesh, as Paul constantly spoke of this struggle in various terms such as 1 Corinthians 15:31 where he says he has to …”die daily.”  Paul was human and not a super hero, folks.

This article is not to give us license to sin or to simply write this issue off as a anomaly of the flesh, but to give us pause for ourselves and others in these areas:

1. The power of hell wants us to be defeated either by our current unconfessed sin or by the guilt of our past sin.  If we have failed in some area of your lives, Satan will gladly remind us of it so that we might be defeated by the guilt, whether real or imagined.  He will also seek to defeat us by the unconfessed sin itself.  If he can keep us in sin’s control we are defeated either by that sin or the guilt that cripples us afterwards.  We must recognize that our confessed sin is under the blood of Christ and that accord to 1 John 1:9, our confessed sin is GONE and FORGIVEN!
2. We must be patient with one another, including your pastor.  We all live in flesh and sometimes that flesh takes unwitting control for a short period of time.  I have said many things that were right to say but said them in a manner than could easily be seen as fleshly.  If the truth is there, accept the truth for what it is, and do not just ignore the truth because the vessel of that truth erred by letting the flesh control the method of delivery for a moment.  Truth is truth no matter it’s method of delivery.  On the other hand, pastors need to be patient with their people when they do not immediately respond to the preaching as the people are also flesh and struggle with it just as their pastor does.
3. We must learn to die to self and live unto God.  This is not a “one and done” situation but a daily struggle as Paul attested to in the verse I mentioned from Romans 7 and 1 Corinthians 15.  We cannot make excuses for our sin, but we also cannot live defeated our entire lives because of our past confessed sin which is now under the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7).

We must live in flesh and we must seek to live through the Spirit’s control each day, even when we fail and sin against a holy God.  Live in His victory not your defeat!

How Do Pastors Encourage Themselves in the Lord

What does a pastor do when he gets discouraged and maybe even a bit depressed?  In most cases he is not able to go to his church members and often it is difficult to find a faithful biblical counselor to listen and help.  So many times the pastor’s first and best option is to seek to encourage himself in the Lord, but how does he do that?

David has always been known as the man after God’s own heart.  Though David was not perfect by any means, he became this kind of man, in my opinion, because when he was confronted with his sin, he immediately sought to make it right with no excuses given.  Yet even David in all his greatness still had moments where he was depressed and discouraged and had no other human being to lift him up.  Such is the case in 1 Samuel 30.

The land of Israel had never been fully conquered as God had commanded to be done and as a result there were pagan groups which were still occupying the rightful possession of the God’s people.  Because of this David had chosen to lead a band of his people in driving out these groups.  This group followed him seemingly being very content with this action even though he was not the king as of that point in 1 Samuel 30.   They willingly let him lead them into battle time and time again and were rejoicing in the results.  During this, David also knew that battle was not a good place for families and so he encouraged the men to leave their families in the seemingly safe place of Ziklag while the “army” went to battle, which must have also endeared him to the people as it showed his concern for their wives and children.  Also in context of 1 Samuel 30, David was very confident that Achish, the king of the Philistines, would be a good friend and aid to him and his people, as David had supported Achish on numerous occasions and David believed he could count on that friendship to aid at any time.

But the events of 1 Samuel 29 & 30 show a very different situation which required David to find comfort in God alone.  First, David’s “friend” Acish decides to listen to the Philistine people who hatred David and the Acish refuses to help David and even sends him away empty handed in 1 Samuel 29.  Then, in 1 Samuel 30, when the people return to Ziklag, they find that their wives and children have been taken captive by the Amalekites while they have been away at battle.  Now mind you, this also includes David’s own family and even the city which had been a haven was burned to the ground leaving no safe haven for all the people.  

At this point David is truly in a dark place as his friend has turned against him and his family has been taken from him, but the story doesn’t end there.  The people are so grieved that they only could think of doing one thing - killing David.  So in other words, in the midst of David’s great sorrow, the people who he has been leading can think only of their own feelings and turn on David completely.

How many times do people seemingly turn on those who are trying to ministry to them?  To be honest, if you are a pastor/missionary for any length of time then you know what it means to have someone whom you have poured your heart and life into then turn around and blame you for their state, or, at the very least, get angry that you did not fix their mess.  That is the case we find in 1 Samuel 30.  David had sought to lead these people rightly and now they blame him for the failure and they seem to forget he is suffering as well.  At that moment of their grief, his grief means nothing.

So what did David do?  Look at 1 Samuel 30:6 - “…David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.”  David had no person who he could turn to at that time but he needed to be encouraged.  He could not turn to his friend Jonathan because Saul was still seeking to kill David and anyone who helped him was also sought.  He could not turn to his own family because they had been taken captive.  He could not turn to his friend King Acish for support as he had kicked David out of his country.  He could not turn to the people whom he was leading because they were blaming him for their grief.  So David did the one thing that every pastor must do from time to time - encourage himself in the Lord alone.

So what did he do in this encouragement?

1. He got alone with God.  In 1 Samuel 30:7 & 8, David got the linen ephod, the symbol of dedication and separation to God.  David then went alone into the Lord’s presence.  David sought the Lord before he did anything else.  I pray that is our first step when we are discouraged or lonely - GET ALONE WITH YOUR GOD! 
2. He did not allow himself to feel sorry for himself.  No where do you find David whining or crying about his condition.  I am convinced that this is also part of what made him “the man after God’s own heart.”  He does not pout or isolate himself from God or the people. 
3. He planned a future.  In verse 8, David asks God about going after the captives and their capturers.  He does not ask God to intervene with the people but whether he should intervene and what the outcome will be.  He clearly does not want to lead the people into another defeat but he also does not plan to just sit down and wait.  He knows there is a future no matter what happens regarding his family or the people following him.
4. He does not blame the people for the situation and their reaction to it.  This is the one that amazes me - NO WHERE does he get angry or disillusioned at the people.  It seems that he clearly understands that they are hurt, that their reactions are being driven by that hurt, and he seeks to help them and himself by moving forward.
5. He leads the people into battle.  David recognized that the people needed victory and he lead them in that.  He did not feel sorry for himself and his situation.  Instead he put his armor on and went and rescued the captives.  He also seems to realize that the victory of retaking the captives requires him working with the very people who were thinking about killing him.  Does call a pastor to work with people who always agree with him or to work with people who have needs and he is called to help them with those needs?

To be honest, this study has truly hit home to me today.  So often, I will desire to just sit and lick my wounds, so to speak, whenever there is a negative situation in the ministry.  My flesh feels that I have a right to simply feel sorry for myself and do nothing more…..but that is not being encouraged in the Lord, is it?

The Pastor’s First Ministry

As I read again this week in God’s Word about every pastor’s responsibilities I found something that I felt needed addressed today for just a few moments - the pastor’s FIRST ministry.

Now I could discuss the importance of the pulpit ministry or even soul winning but I am not convinced that those are the pastor’s FIRST ministry.  I also know that visiting the needy and seeking to build up new converts via discipleship are also important, but, again, I believe that these must fall as secondary in nature to the utmost FIRST ministry in a pastor’s life.  Many churches have struggled because of the lack of vision and planning by their pastor, but EVERY church will struggle if the pastor fails in his FIRST ministry.   

Now mind you this FIRST ministry is never directly stated in Scripture as a qualification at all, but it is clearly implied throughout Scripture, and not just for pastors.  As a matter of fact this FIRST ministry is given only five words in the qualifications of 1 Timothy 3, and even then, these five words do not state it to be his FIRST ministry.  But I am convinced that if this FIRST ministry is not what it should be, then a pastor should immediately resign or at the very least step aside for whatever time is necessary to resolve any failings in this area of FIRST ministry.

Some might immediately look to the issue of preacher’s kids as that FIRST ministry because it is stated in 1 Timothy 3:4-5.  Though it is true that I have known many pastors whose children struggled spiritually or personally and some of these men felt it necessary to remove themselves from ministry, and, yes, a pastor must “rule his house well,” but that is not the FIRST ministry either.  Let me add on a side note that parents truly do impact their children and pastor’s children should have seen a steadfast example in the home, but unless you are a dyed in the wool Calvinist, you must accept that every child has a free will and can choose to not serve the Lord as well.  I love my children and should be willing to step out of the ministry to save them from waywardness if that is what is what it took to spend the necessary time and energy with them, but even they are not my FIRST ministry.

I can only assume that by now you have assumed this FIRST ministry is the pastor’s wife and you would be right!  Every pastor’s FIRST ministry is his wife, if married of course.  (As another side note, some would argue that being married is a requirement for being a pastor, but what do you do with the Apostle Paul who never married or a pastor whose wife has died leaving him a widow?  This is a discussion for another post.)  So for this day, let us just simply state that the pastor’s FIRST ministry must be his wife.

Too often a pastor will unwittingly fail in his FIRST ministry in various ways which can cause his wife great harm and can, in some cases, even foster bitterness within her heart which destroyed his FIRST ministry.  Here are just a few examples we must safeguard our FIRST ministry through:

1. The pastor’s wife is often expected to fill in whenever others in the church fall short.  As an example, if a nursery worker does not show up, the pastor’s wife is often the assumed fill in. But my question is doesn’t a pastor’s wife need spiritually fed by preaching too?  Which would be better, a crying baby in service or a pastor’s wife not being fed spiritually?  A pastor should never sacrifice his wife’s spiritual needs for the convenience of the church.
2. The pastor is expected to always sacrifice himself for the people of his church, yet his wife is often overlooked.  As an example a pastor will usually immediately drop whatever he is doing for a church member in need, but if he does this for his wife, he can be seen by even church members as allowing his wife’s need to run his ministry.  Too often the ministry of others overtake the needs of the pastor’s wife.   Every pastor must be sure that his wife has all the time and resources she needs - including the resource of the pastor himself.  Why should pastors sacrifice so much for their church people but fail to sacrifice for their wife as their FIRST ministry?
3. Why do pastor’s wife get the leftovers of their husband’s time and energy while the church gets the “anytime” you need me?  As an example of this have you ever heard a pastor ever say to his church, “I don’t have time to talk to you?”  But unfortunately Too many pastors seldom take time to sit down and just listen to their own wives when they would listen to every hurt and heartache of another member.  Pastors, we must give our wives our FIRST ministry.

I could easily go on with more examples, but I think the point is made here.  Church ministry is important but the pastor’s FIRST ministry is essential!   When a pastor’s marriage is struggling, his entire ministry is struggling - no matter how successful the church work is going.  The FIRST ministry must remain the FIRST ministry as the commitment of marriage is to transcend our entire lives in and out of ministry.  How’s your FIRST ministry, pastor?

The FIRST Qualification of a Pastor

Way too often we see men of God fail in the ministry.  Just this past week while my family was traveling on vacation, the church we planned to attend for mid-week service had their pastor sent to prison for a grievous act which had plagued him for several years.  When we returned home, I read of another pastor who had to be removed from his church because of immoral activity.  In each incident the families of these men surely suffered greatly, the churches they were pastoring had to face the consequences of these failures, and worst of all, the cause of Christ is smeared and the Holy Spirit grieved.  Now it is true that sometimes these failures are because of some specific personal sin, but, more often than not the failure is actually because these men have been disqualified for some time by the first listed qualification for being a pastor not being met.  This first qualification is often the least talked about qualification, but in God’s list and formula it is the first thing a pastor MUST have to serve.

Before I actually deal with this primary qualification let me start by saying that there is a difference between a burden and a calling into a ministry.  Over the years, I have seen dozens of missionary presentations and almost without fail I have gotten a burden for the lost of the location in the presentation, but clearly I cannot be personally called to go to every field.  I can, however, support those who go, either with prayer, finances, or both.  When Jesus gave the church’s missionary commission is Acts 1:8, He stated “BOTH” meaning that the local church was to support missions both locally and internationally at the same time.  Thus I can have a burden without an exact call for every place I see a need by the same principle.

But the one thing I, as a pastor, must have is an exact location with which to serve.  There are many places where there are needs, but only ONE PLACE that I can physically be called to minister myself.  But with so many needy places and so many places that I am burdened for, how can I know where that location is?  By the first pastoral qualification which often goes unnoticed and undiscussed.  1 Timothy 3:1 says, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.”  There it is….the DESIRE of a bishop or pastor overseer.

My fear is that many men are in pulpits today not because they want to be there but for some other reason, such as a misplaced burden or simple necessity.  Now mind you, a burden and the needs can be great, but, they are not “desire” necessarily.  It is interesting to note that though there is only one English word in two forms in 1 Timothy 3:1, desire and desireth, they are actually two very different Greek words.  In the Strong’s Concordance the word desire (oregomai) used in 1 Timothy 3:1 means “to stretch one's self out in order to touch or to grasp something, to reach after or desire something.”  This is not a simple word describing duty or necessity but a word which clearly declares that it comes from the heart and a desire by one which will cause that person to reach out or strain to obtain.  Then we find desireth (epithymeō) which Strongs says it means the action “to serve because the heart is set upon.”  In my understanding this means that the office of a bishop (pastor) will come from the heart which leads to action to reach out for service in an exact location.

As a pastor, each man MUST have a desire to be in the ministry in general, but, I am convinced, that we must also have a desire to minster in a specific place as well.  If a pastor does not have a heart for a place and the people of that place, then, he MUST either beg God for that desire or for the sake of that location’s need move himself to where his heart longs for.  I am convinced that too many men stay in a location out of duty, necessity, or burden, yet they have no desire for that location and the ministry of that church suffers because of it.  The cause of Christ is too important for pastors to stay when they are no longer burdened and the people need a pastor who has a heart for them. 

Here are some possible signs that a pastor has lost his heart (desire) for a location:

1. When a pastor is angry at the people of “his” church all the time, he has probably lost his desire.  How can you be constantly angry with people you have a heart for?  It is true that there were times Jesus got angry, but, He never lost his burden for these people as He cried when He saw they had a need (Matthew 9:36).  A pastor will from time to time get upset at people in his place of service, just as they will be get angry at him from time to time, but that anger should not remain long term.
2. When a pastor struggles continually to get relevant needful messages for the church he pastors, he has either lost his understanding of this church’s needs, he has lost his heart for their needs, or both.  Either way, that pastor needs to seriously question his desire to “pastor” that church.
3. When a pastor isolates himself from the people because they annoy him, then he definitely has a serious issue with either his own spiritual needs or the desire to ministry to that church has been lost.  Either way, a serious look at the calling to a location is required.
4. When the desire to be somewhere else overshadows everything in the current location then there maybe a serious need to look at the desire to serve in that current location.  How can a man pastor a church if he is always thinking about being some place else?  He will constantly be comparing, unfairly I might add, and expecting things that are unrealistic in his current ministry because of that comparison.  Someone said it this way “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” but, that should never be the heart of the ministry in which we serve.

Let me simply say from my personal point of view, that God has called me to upstate New York and I know that call is real because I DESIRE to be here.  There are challenges and there are “down days” but I cannot see myself anywhere else, working with anyone else, and I have no “desire” to be anywhere else at this time.  There lays the first qualification of the pastor - THE DESIRE.

Should Pastors Take Sabbaticals?

My family and I just returned from a wonderful vacation which was much enjoyed and thoroughly encouraging.  It was a time which our church gave to us from a heart of love and we truly are grateful for this time away.  But during this time away we met up with some friends for lunch and during our conversation they stated that their Baptist church now requires each staff member to take a three month paid sabbatical every seven years.   

The idea of a sabbatical is not a new one to us, but one that I have been reticent to address publicly.  You see, I have known many IFB pastors who have burned out themselves and their families thinking that it was spiritual to sacrifice themselves for the cause of Christ.   But is that a right way to think?  Should pastors “burn out for Christ,” should they step away for extended sabbaticals, or should we find an alternative? 

To add to this discussion my wife recently told me of a blog being written by a fairly young pastor’s wife who was writing about her husband’s year long sabbatical from the ministry and how that it was the greatest time of refreshing she had ever experienced.  This pastor was an IFB pastor for less than ten years and I remember thinking that this must be an isolated idea as I had never heard of such a thing.  However, as mentioned above it is not as isolated as I thought and upon further study I found that over the past thirty or so years pastoral sabbaticals have become a normal practice in many places and mandatory in some groups not named “independent fundamental Baptist.”  I even found articles written about tax breaks for pastors during their sabbatical time away from ministry.  So this got me thinking….should pastors take sabbaticals or not?  

The idea of taking a sabbatical seems to have started in the academic world as teachers would often take a sabbatical to learn new material and do research.  But the term and length of the “sabbatical” actually appears to come from Scripture where in Leviticus 25 God commanded that the land be given rest every seven years and He also commanded the priests to take turns in the Temple.

After almost thirty years of ministry the idea of stepping away from the ministry just to recharge, sounds at first mention - to be honest - carnal in nature.  I mean if God has called me to minister should I not minister?  Should I not seek God’s strength each day and not allow the burdens of ministry to wear at me?  But then it also hit me - how can I minister if I am worn out emotionally, spiritually, and physically?  My flesh likes the idea of taking a few months away but is it only my flesh that desires it?

When I did my research, I found that those who advocated for pastoral sabbaticals said things like “Sabbaticals prove the love and concern of a church for their pastor’s well being” and “Pastoral vacations seldom go uninterrupted, thus simple vacations are not restful for pastors.”  So the idea of a sabbatical, at least to some, appears to be genuinely founded in concern and not necessarily carnal laziness.

But are pastoral sabbaticals biblical?  Really this should be the basis for the discussion.  So let’s go to God’s Word not a pseudo-biblical blog or book.

1. Sabbaticals seem to isolate the pastor from their people.

Jesus clearly encouraged His disciples to take time away.  In Mark 6:31 it was said that Jesus and the disciples were so busy “they had no leisure so much as to eat” and so Jesus said, “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while…”  Clearly Jesus knows that those who minister need time away to “recharge.”  However if you read further in that passage in Mark 6, you will find that the people followed Jesus and the disciples into the desert and according to verse 34, “…Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.”  Thus He ended His “vacation” to minister to the needs of the people.  I am reminded of the times where my family was one vacation and we either ended vacation early because of some tragedy in our church family.  During our just ended vacation we fielded at least six or seven calls about church issues and answered numerous texts and emails from people who were back home dealing with ministry issues.  I our minds that’s the privilege of being in ministry.

I guess I am concerned that this idea of sabbatical completely removes a pastor from his church and I cannot find that in Scripture.  But to be honest this is not just a “sabbatical" concept as many pastors give instructions to their church to never call them on their “day off” or to call the church office instead of the parsonage when they need to make an appointment.  Is this really what Jesus had in mind in Mark 6?

2. Sabbaticals place a great burden financially on the church.

Most IFB churches run on a very tight budget.  Some even require their pastors to earn outside income because the church is either small or financially not able to support a full time pastor.  So how can a church like this support a sabbatical time anyway?  Many pastors who are bi-vocational cannot afford a vacation let alone a sabbatical.  Is a church more spiritual or caring if they can afford a sabbatical?

Now I understand that if a church is large enough and financially strong enough to support a sabbatical then I guess that is their call, but is it really a biblical use of God’s resources?  I firmly believe that God has called churches and pastor to be stewards of His resources and that if a man is going to take extended time away from his ministry then it should be his responsibility to support that time away not the church’s.  I know that’s an opinion but it seems to me that the Apostle Paul never one time asked his supporting churches to give so he could have an extended sabbatical.  Instead he made tents to supplement his support in Acts 18:1-2.  I fear that we have secularized our view of ministry vacations and too many are looking for positions and benefits not ministries or callings.

3. Pastors may need time away, but sabbaticals may be harmful to his ministry.

My wife and I celebrate our birthdays within two weeks of each other and so this past year (2016) our church family gave us a vacation to ride roller coasters.  I know to some that would not be a vacation, but to our family it was the best gift a church family could give, as we love the idea of being turned upside down and spun in circles together.  This was the vacation we just returned from and we are ready to “get back to work” here in New York.  You see, the time away was not about being away from our church or leaving behind our people but about being together as a family and ministering to each other.  My first ministry is my family and the healthier my family is spiritually, the healthier we can be in serving our church.  Pastors MUST take some time away, but not to stop ministering, just to focus on who they are ministering to.

In my opinion, if a pastor needs a sabbatical away from ministering then he probably is in the wrong “line of work.”  In 1 Timothy 3, the first qualification for a pastor (bishop) is the desire to be a minister and thus it should be a desire not a burden.  Jesus NEVER got away from ministering to people as even on the cross He sought to care for His mother (John 19:26).

I know that this post is just a brief view of the issue of a sabbatical and that some will disagree with its conclusion, but I feel we need to have an open discussion about the idea of pastoral vacations/sabbaticals and I hope this article starts that for some.

Put a Filter on Your Tongue

How often have you said something or heard someone say something that was mildly inappropriate or just simply out of place?  Now mind you, what I am talking about is usually not a filthy word or sexual innuendo, just something mindlessly said but often easily misunderstood.  As an example, my wife and I were recently discussing someone we know that loves the Lord Jesus dearly, but they seem to have NO FILTER on their tongue.  If this person thinks it…it quickly comes out of their mouth, no matter how it sounds.  They have made comments that could easily be seen as an attack of their church family and even, at times, have said things that one could easily construe as an assault on me as their pastor.  But their actions are clearly very different as they are faithful in serving and have never once actually done anything that undermines my authority as their pastor.  They just have NO FILTER on their tongue.

So how important are filtering our words?

1. Psalm 19:14 says “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”  Notice that both the thoughts and words matter to the Psalmist.  But more importantly notice the order in which these thoughts are given.  In scripture the order of listings are crucial and in Psalm 19:14 the spoken words come first in the list.  This means that the words are actually MORE important than the meditation of the heart.  Why?  Because people will not judge what we are thinking before they hear what we say.  As a matter of fact the meditation of our heart cannot be known by men until we utter them in words.  People are going to first judge our hearts and motivations not by what we do, but by what we say.  Thus we MUST FILTER our words BEFORE we say them.  Now mind you, we can at times say things we supposedly don’t mean, but said in Matthew 12:34, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” So truthfully, we did mean to say them at that moment and thus we need a FILETR.
2. In Deuteronomy 18:18, God prophetically told that He would send a Prophet Whom He “will put my words in his mouth…”  To clarify this was a foretelling of Prophet Jesus, the Son of God - thus the capital “P.”  But even in that prophecy God said He would put the words there in Jesus’ mouth.  Thus showing the importance of the words being under God’s control, even in His Son’s mouth.  Jesus never one time said anything that was contrary to the will of His Father nor against the Word of God.  Can we honestly say the same?  James 1:26 says, “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.”  Again notice it’s the WORDS of the tongue not just the intent of the heart.
3. Paul wrote something that I really need to work on, and maybe someone else can glean from it too right here.  In Ephesians 5:4, God inspired Paul to write a list of three types of speech that can cause major problems and thus we should NEVER use them.  These three types of speech are filthiness, foolish talking, and jesting.   Here is where it becomes personal for me as I like to be funny and make people laugh, but sometimes I will tease or “make fun” of something in a way that can easily be misunderstood and I am truly trying to STOP that kind of thing completely.  Why?  Because it is WRONG! This hopefully past “teasing” is best described as “foolish talking” and I want no part of it any more.  I have asked the Lord to put a filter on my tongue for foolish talking.  Of course I want no part of filthiness which is is obvious, and, jesting which is an interesting word used only here in Ephesians.  Jesting can best be illustrated when a politician calls a political opponent, “My distinguished friend.”  He does not mean it and really, if truth were known, he cannot tolerant the person or their views, yet they call them a “friend.”  In other words, “jesting” is sarcasm wrapped in platitudes.  Again we need a FILTER on our tongue!

So what should we do to filter our tongue?

Much could be said here, but let me keep it simple - Taste your words first.  If they are bitter swallow them so that no one else has to taste them.  If they are sweet and uplifting then let cross your lips to be shared with others. 

Bitterness Destroys

One of the most powerful poisons in the world is bitterness, because bitterness destroys the vessel in which it is held more than anyone who receives the brunt of the venom.  Bitterness is shown throughout the Bible as the destroyer of men, nations, and even keeps some from coming to Christ in salvation.  The author of Hebrews 12:15 says under inspiration, “Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”   In other words bitterness does damage to everyone around those who have it within them.

There are numerous examples of Bible characters that struggle with bitterness, such as Jonah, but the most clear example in all Scripture of the high cost of bitterness is a man by the name of Ahithophel.  Now many may know Ahithophel’s name but let’s take a look at his life in light of this subject of bitterness.

Ahithophel at first was known as a godly counselor to kings as he was described as this in 1 Chronicles 27:33.  As a matter of fact his advise was so sound that in 2 Samuel 16:23 we are told that his counsel was as if the king was hearing from God Himself.  Ahithophel’s advise was listened to by David and was clearly listened to because it was spiritual insightful.  Seeking and following biblical advise is always godly as even the wisest man to ever live, Solomon, tells us this in Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, and 24:6.

Ahithophel was the kind of counsellor that a leader could ask aything, such as, “What should I do here?” and know that they would receive sound advise that was stately and Bible based.  As a comparison, we can see the counsellors that our current president has now, but, then imagine if he had counsellors like Ahithophel.  Would American be a better nation?  I believe so!

But something happens to Ahithophel between 2 Samuel 16 and the end of 2 Samuel 17 as he went from being the trusted godly advisor of the king to taking his own life because his counsel was being ignored.  As a matter of fact, Ahithophel’s advise becomes so wicked that even backslidden Absalom ignores it.

To understand this downward spiral we need to grasp who Ahithophel is beyond his counsellor position and what events impacted this change of his life and heart.  So let’s start there.

1. Ahithophel has a son by the name of Eliam according to 2 Samuel 23:34.
2. Eliam has a daughter in 2 Samuel 11:3 by the name of Bathsheba.  This is the same Bathsheba with whom David commits adultery.
3. As THE advisor to David, Ahithophel obviously found out about the adultery between David and his granddaughter and he probably found out about the intentional death of Uriah, his grand daughter’s husband, and so obviously from that moment on he is seemingly filled with bitterness toward David as he turns against him.

We find that after the murder of Uriah, Ahithophel begins to seek ways to destroy David. and beginning in 2 Samuel 16:20 Ahithophel actually begins to advise Absalom how to destroy the king and take the throne from him.  The advise gets so wicked and pervere that Ahithophel even tells Absalom to go and commit adultery with the king’s women in 2 Samuel 16:21.  Now, some might even see this as Ahithophel’s way of getting even, and, though the words are not there the idea of “you reap what you sow” seems very fitting.

Ahithophel literally turns against the man whom he has helped for so many years and his counsel turns very dark and wicked and can no longer be seen as godly.

Why?  Why would a man who has the king’s ear turn so sharply against him in such a short period of time.   Bitterness!

Thomas Fuller said it this way, “Malice has a strong memory.”  Ahithophel obviously knew what David had done to his granddaughter and he was going to get even at all costs.  He allowed bitterness to destroy him and ultimately his advise against David helped to sow hatred in Absalom’s heart and that, in turn, helped to divide the nation in two.

Then finally in 2 Samuel 17:1-2, we find Ahithophel asking Absalom for twelve thousand troops to pursue after and kill David.  Ahithophel had gone from trying to get Absalom to exact his revenge to seeking to have the revenge himself.  But Absalom rejects this suggestion.  Imagine the wicked Absalom being so repulsed by Ahithophel’s suggestion that he rejects it and thus leaves Ahithophel as no longer being trusted.   Because of this we find Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 17:23 deciding to take his own life because he is no longer the advisor to the king.  

And all because of bitterness.

I know there are those who will try to justify and explain away hard feelings but there is NO BIBLE EXCUSE FOR BITTERNESS.  Let me end this post with the words of a preacher whom I recently read, but cannot find his name to give him proper credit:

I wish I could tell you that others will never hurt you.  I wish I could tell you that others will never disappoint you.  That I cannot promise.  But I can promise you that when hurt, if you do not deal with it, it will consume you and dominate your life.  Bitterness can so dominate our life that we become consumed with revenge, getting even, making the one who hurt us pay.  When bitterness fills the heart, it drives out our feelings of joy and fills us with a desire for judgment.  We lose all sense of what is right in the eyes of God and we are consumed with doing what is right in our own eyes.  A heart dominated by bitterness can turn a sweet, godly Christian into an evil and vengeful person.  

When Pastors Have Rainy Days

This morning I awoke to sound of rain on our roof.  Its not the hard driving rain and wind of  thunderstorm, but the soft gentle steady rain of a Spring shower.  You know, the kind of rain that doesn’t wake you up but the kind that lulls you to sleep.  Its soft pitter patter on the roof that is steady constant and almost memorizing.  As I awoke with that sound, I began to think about the rainy days of my life serving as a pastor, how that rain is often compared to challenges and hardships and have decided to write a few thoughts down.

There are the days of intermittent showers.  These are the days that you don’t get enough rain to really soak the ground but enough rain to keep you from doing anything of value outside.  It was like that this past Sunday as we ended our afternoon service.  It rained and then quit, rained and then quit, and so on throughout the afternoon.  I had some things I wanted to accomplish outside but every time I went outside to accomplish them, the rain would softly send me back inside to stay dry.

As a pastor there are times that we want to move our ministry forward for Christ.  We want to challenge our people to soul win better, to seek more missionaries to support, and to generally accomplish more for the cause of the Kingdom of God.  So we pause to pray and plan how to present this to our church and just then the phone intermittently rings.  These calls are not a major catastrophe type of situation such as a death or accident, just simple calls of folks needing some encouragement or direction.  So we rightfully stop the planning and make the visit…and I add that we gladly make it and gladly serve in that capacity.  This is really why we are in the ministry in the first place - to help those who want our help.   We immediately drop what we are doing and go.  We spent sweet time talking and praying and then return home to restart our forward planning.  But after the visit is done our wife shows us a Facebook post from a member who has another issue that they felt was important enough to say publicly but not important enough to call directly.  It’s urgent but not life threatening.  Its the kind of situation that we clearly need to follow up.  So once again the planning stops and off we go to communicate with this precious family.  And so on it goes.  One after another.  There is nothing major in these situations that stop our ministry in its tracks, just intermittent needs that we need to help, but, enough to stop the forward progress we were hoping for.

Then there are the steady rain days.  These are the steady soaking rains like we are experiencing as I write this post.  These kind of rains start one day and don’t end for two or three days.  They are not filled with lightning, thunder, and wind, but just constant moment by moment rain.  These are the Spring rains that when they come, we know that we will not be mowing the grass or working in the garden at all until they stop and thing dry out some.

These are the ministry days where a pastor in the flesh doesn’t want to answer the phone because they just know that it’s going to be another situation that require immediate attention.  It’s the time where you leave one hospital visit to go to another hospital and while you are at the second hospital a message is left on your phone to go back to the church because the well pump has stopped working and the church has no water just before a youth activity.  You head over the church, diagnose the water issue just in time for your wife to say someone has just called the house looking for you for some unannounced reason, and so you dutifully call them and you discover that they need to talk to you about a situation with their neighbor.  And so you go, day after day.  Once again these kind of situations are not ministry halting or church wide, and they really are situations we would call the ministry itself.  But these things are what a pastor seemingly sometimes moves from one situation to another without any break.  However, the danger with these kind of “rainy days” is that we can easily get indifferent to the fact that these are real needs and these are the people we are trying to ministry to in those needs.  The problems come so fast that we move from one to the next to the next without thinking which ones are life changing crucial and which ones are casual in scope.  The needs fall constantly like a steady rain and we can easily forget that there are people’s lives at stake.

Then finally there are the thunder storm ministry days.  These are the huge rain clouds filled with thunder and lightening and wind and hail and...well you get the idea.  NOTHING else gets done when these kind of days hit.  We sit in our houses just waiting for the storm to pass, hoping that we do not lose our power.

These are the ministry days that you don’t know whether you or the church will survive.  The problems are HUGE and the answers sometimes seem so distant.  These kind of “rains” are completely unsettling and usually are so overwhelming that we cannot think about anything else as they consume every waking, and even sleeping, moment.  They impact EVERYONE on the church and in my years of pastoring there are have been only two or three of these kind of events, such as when our current church was destroyed by Hurricane Irene or when our previous church was almost split in two due to an intern’s behavior with a woman in the church.  These storms hit and hit hard.  They swamp the ministry so that everyone in the church family is directly impacted and as a pastor you simply have to ride the storm out while trying to save everyone you can.

Now I want to be clear that I love serving the Lord.  I love being a pastor, but sometimes the rainy days can be a challenge to your life.  As a human being I want sun and I want nice easy days, but God always allows rain, because ministries without rain are deserts.