(Section 3) Pastor's Appreciation- Pastor Conard Profitt Series

PASTOR'S APPRECIATION- Pastor Conard Profitt

Introduction

MINISTER'S ULCERS

Nearly every businessman complains of at least one ulcer. Think how many ulcers the poor businessman would have if he worked under the same circumstances as the average minister!

"Just suppose, Mr. Businessman, that you were the overseer of 100 workers. Suppose only about 50 percent of them showed up for work at a given time, and only 25 percent could be relied upon. Suppose that every time a simple flash of lightning appeared in the sky, large numbers of young workers pulled the covers over their heads and failed to report for duty.

"Suppose your workers only worked when they felt like it and yet you must be very sweet and never fire one of them. To get them back to work you must beg them, plead with them, pat them on the back, and use every means under the sun to persuade them without offending them. And suppose you were in competition with a notorious rascal, the devil, who had no scruples and is far more clever than you are and uses such attractive things as fishing rods, guns, soft pillows, televisions and a thousand other things to attract your customers.

"How many ulcers would you have?"

A Treasure of Bible Illustrations pg 245

Don't get too nervous this week as the Pastor is lifted up and shown so much

appreciation. It is only for a week. He will return to the reality described above

next week.

Pastoring is like a sport such as racing. Everyone watches as you run as fast as you can. Everyone watches as you win or lose. When you or yours hit the wall so to speak, everyone is watching. You can lose everything in the flash of a crash. You compete

with several others and get bumped around. And, you need a crew to help you stay in

the race.

I. Theme Scripture:

KJV Ephesians 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

Amplified Version Ephesians 4:11

And His gifts were [varied; He Himself appointed and gave men to us,] some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the Gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of

His flock) and teachers.

A. Some pastors volunteer:

1. For the right reasons. They have ability/desire to do good. Some of them may make good pastors. Others may fall and be destroyed not having been called to pastor.

2. For the wrong reasons. They like the attention, money, power, etc. Family

Members are preachers and pastors. It's a family tradition. Mother or father

want their son to pastor. These individuals do harm to many members of the body of Christ to fulfill their own lusts. They like to speak and be heard.

People have a curious power of recognizing when a man is speaking because it is his duty, and when he speaks because he cannot help it, because his heart is

aflame. And once they suspect a man is preaching as a matter of business he may be ever so eloquent, but his effect upon them is nil.

J. D. Jones The Greatest of These pg 25

B. Some pastors are called: "He gave some, pastors" Amp Version "He gave men to us"

God personally choose these individuals to do a work as a pastor.

Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Eph. 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

II. YOU CANNOT TELL

You cannot tell if a pastor is called by:

the size of the building, the number of members, the number of conversions, the church finances, by his education or upbringing or speaking ability

Romans 12:5-8 differing gifts

I Peter 4:11 ability from God

III. SIMPLE SIGNS FOR SOME

The tasks of a Near Eastern shepherd were:

A. To watch for enemies trying to attack the sheep: lions, wolves, panthers, and bears.

Heb 13:17

B. To defend the sheep from attackers. Robbers would slip in to steal sheep.

John 10:12-13

C. To heal the wounded and sick sheep.

Ezek 34:16

D. To find and save lost or trapped sheep.

Luke 15:4-6

E. To love them, sharing in their lives and so earning their trust.

You can tell that "he gave some pastors" when you see men doing these things.

IV. DURING WW II

During World War II, a shepherd was a pilot who guided another pilot whose plane was partially disabled back to the base or carrier by flying alongside him to maintain visual contact.

Bro. Conard Profitt flew alongside me when:

--- He was preaching when I got saved.