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1Timothy 3:1 says
“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.”
If there is any work you should desire to do, it should be the work of a pastor. There is no work nobler and more beautiful than the work of a pastor. If at all there is no blessing or any benefit attached to it, the simple fact that a pastor hears from God and declares what he/she hears to God’s people is a blessing great enough. God, speaking to Ezekiel His servant whom He has set to proclaim His Word to His people in Ezekiel 3:17 says
“Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.”
What a sacred thing to hear from God! What a great privilege to declare God’s counsel to His people! The Bible calls it a “fine work.”
There are many beautiful and important reasons you should become a pastor, or at least be close to your pastor and work with him/her. Among these reasons, I have listed seven below:
You are working directly for God.
There is no better master than God. If there is anybody you should work for, then it should be God. As He is not an austere master but merciful in His relationship with us. Both in the books of Ephesians and Colossians, the Lord shows us how masters should relate with those working under them. Let us take a look at these portions.
Ephesians 6:9
“And masters, do the same things to them, and give up threatening, knowing that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.”
Colossians 4:1
“Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”
From the first passage, the Lord instructs every master to forbear threatening and in the second passage, He warns them to be just and fair. If the Lord could give such instructions to earthly masters, He would not do less but exceedingly more as your heavenly Master. An earthly master may be unjust and unfair, but the Lord cannot. You will not be threatened or be cheated if you work for God as a pastor or stay close to your pastor to work with him/her.
You become a steward of the grace of God
God is doing a special work in this new creation. Because of the nature of this work, He has adopted a particular way of accomplishing the task which will definitely be a blessing to whoever has chosen to work for Him. The way he adopted is committing a stewardship of His grace to anyone who is willing to work for Him. So the person can now dispense the grace of God to the church for her building.
Ephesians 3:2
“If indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;”
Because of the stewardship given to him, Paul became God’s steward. A steward is a person who manages the property or affairs for another entity. We can say that a steward of God is someone who manages the grace of God for the accomplishing of His work. Paul was such a great steward and we can see how in his letters he was dispensing the grace of God to the church. There is practically nothing that God wants to give His children that will not be through you if you work for Him, because you are in custody of His grace and riches. What a marvelous thing to be a steward and custodian of God’s grace!
You become the first partake of God’s blessing
This is a principle that can be easily noticed in the Bible. The one through whom a blessing comes should be the first partaker of the blessing. In the case of the Jews, Jesus came through them and therefore must first bless them before any other nation. The Greek woman besought Jesus for the healing of her daughter but He told her He was at that time only sent to the lost sheep of Israel (Mark 7:26,27; Matthew 15:24). Also when He was first sending out His disciples, He sent them only to the lost ship of Israel (Matthew 10:5,6). Although Jesus had come to die as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), He did not reach out to the world until the children of Israel proved themselves to be unworthy and rejected Him. And just as the water that passes through a channel touches the channel first before reaching out to others, so you enjoy first the blessing of God if you are working for Him. The apostle clearly says in 2 Timothy 2:6
“The hard-working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops.”
You will walk in great power
Acts 4:33
“And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.”
To completely and successfully accomplish the work you have undertaken, you will need not only to walk in power but in great power. Almost all the apostles were ordinary fishermen before they gave themselves to the Lord, but later walked in great power. There were other disciples who walked in power but to the twelve were great grace given because of their special work. If they were not given to the preaching of the word of God, they would not have walked in such great power. But the word of God which they preached needed to be confirmed with signs and wonders.
The lives of Elijah and Elisha are also good examples. We can see in the Bible how many great wonders Elijah wrought to ensure the LORD was served as the only God and then how Elisha who had been working with him also walked in greater power after the translation of his master. It is even written that the dead bones of Elisha raised a dead man (2 Kings 13:21)!
You will know the ways of God
Psalms 103:7
“He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.”
It is a glorious thing to know not just the acts and works of God but the ways in which He does them. An ordinary Christian may only be familiar with the works of God but a pastor will be shown how the Spirit of God operates. Jesus says in John 5:20
“For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will marvel.”
The Father shows Jesus everything He does. It should also be noted that aside being a rare privilege in itself, knowing the ways of God according to Jesus, is also a sign that you are intimately loved by the Father.
Your life is secured
As far as you are working for God, you cannot die untimely. The work itself preserves your life from untimely death. Strength and agility is guaranteed. There are many examples of this in the Bible. Moses, at the time he was dying at the age of 120 was still strong and his natural force had not abated (Deuteronomy 34:7), John the apostle was persecuted so much and was finally exiled in the isle of Patmos that he might die but he instead received the prophecies of what will happen from his time till Christ’s return (Revelation 1:9). Paul, who many times was beaten and stoned but could not also be killed until he finished his course (2 Timothy 4:7). If you work for God, it will be impossible for you to die without fulfilling destiny.
A great reward awaits you.
Hebrews 6:10 says
“For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.”
Men may forget to reward you after serving them but God will not because He cannot be unjust. He will not even delay your reward (James 5:4). Towards the end of his days on earth, apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 4:8
“In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” You can see it is obviously profitable to serve the Lord because aside the blessing you will receive here on earth, a reward also awaits you in the next world.
Desire to work for God or at least work with your pastor. For in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. In Colossians 4:9-11, apostle Paul listed the names of those who have worked with him and said they were his fellow workers and they were entering the kingdom of God together. Working for God secures your life here on earth and also in the next age.
This is highly inspiring
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