Jesus gives pastors as a loving gift to His church, calling us to honor, support, and pray for them as they shepherd and serve us.
Some of the greatest gifts Jesus gives to His church have names and faces, coffee-stained sermon notes, calloused knees, and tender hearts. They stand at hospital bedsides, whisper prayers in empty sanctuaries, answer phone calls after midnight, and show up again on Sunday with a smile that says, “Jesus is enough.” Pastors. Shepherds. Teachers. Friends. They are a steady presence in an unsteady world, and the Lord Himself placed them among us with purpose and with love.
E.M. Bounds once wrote, “The church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.” (E.M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer) In a world that is enchanted with trends and techniques, God quietly points to people—humble servants who carry His Word, His heart, and His hope. The Lord appoints shepherds, and through them He supplies encouragement for the weary, nourishment for the hungry, and direction for the wandering. Their calling is both a comfort and a commissioning, and the whole body benefits.
Have you ever considered the countless unseen moments that fill a pastor’s week? The morning drives made sacred by intercession. The sermon birthed in prayer and Scripture and tears. The counseling session where silence is a sanctuary and patience is a balm. There are burdens they shoulder and blessings they share. There are sorrows they carry and songs they lead. God meets them in the study, in the living room, in the hospital corridor, and in the pulpit, and He uses them to weave grace through the fabric of our lives.
And there’s something else. The calling of a pastor is a cord that holds fast through wind and weather. When criticism stings and schedules stretch, when family needs attention and souls need care, the Lord’s assignment gives strength for the long haul. Calling gives clarity. Calling grants courage. Calling keeps a shepherd steady when seasons change and storms roll through. It is mercy that sustains, and the Good Shepherd watches over His under-shepherds with care.
What, then, is the part of the church? We pray for our pastors. We cheer them on. We stand with them. We listen to the Word they proclaim and let it do its healing work in us. We honor those who labor among us, not with applause that fades, but with love that lasts and with partnership that bears fruit. The church flourishes when its shepherds are upheld in prayer and celebrated in grace.
Listen to how Scripture frames this gift so simply and so powerfully:
Ephesians 4:11 (KJV) “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;”
The language is clear. “He gave.” Jesus is the Giver. Pastors and teachers are His provision for His people. Through them, Christ equips the saints, strengthens the saints, and sends the saints. Through them, He builds unity, maturity, and stability. Through them, He pours out truth with tenderness and guidance with gentleness. This is His design for a healthy, hopeful, helpful church.
So today, let’s receive this gift with grateful hearts. Let’s thank God for the men and women who stand in our pulpits and sit at our tables, who prepare our hearts for heaven while walking with us on earth. Let’s ask the Lord to refresh them, to refill them, and to remind them that their labor in the Lord is never in vain. Pastors plead, pray, and preach, and as they do, God plants peace in His people.
Before we go further, let’s bow our heads together.
Opening Prayer: Father, we thank You for Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, who loves Your church and leads us with perfect wisdom. Thank You for giving pastors and teachers to Your people. We praise You for their faith, their faithfulness, and their tender care. Today we ask that You would strengthen their hands, steady their hearts, and sweeten their spirits with fresh joy from Your presence. Fill them with courage to proclaim Your Word with clarity and compassion. Guard their families with Your peace. Give them friends who listen, mentors who guide, and a congregation that prays without ceasing. As we hear Your Word, make us humble and hungry. Help us to receive correction, rejoice in truth, and respond with obedience. Knit our church together in love, and let the fragrance of Christ fill our worship and our work. Holy Spirit, speak through Your servant today. Open our ears to hear, our minds to understand, and our hearts to embrace what You are saying. May Jesus be honored, His church be strengthened, and Your mission advance in our city and beyond. In the name of our Savior and Shepherd, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Paul says that this role comes from Jesus. The wording matters. The giving comes from the Lord Himself. He chooses. He supplies. He places people in this work because He cares for His people. That means the church receives a gift every time it receives a faithful shepherd. It is grace from start to finish. Grace in the call. Grace in the strength to serve. Grace in the fruit that follows. When a congregation welcomes this grace, life spreads. People are helped. Wounds heal. Direction clears. Hope rises.
This also says something about authority. It is received, not grabbed. A pastor stands before a people with a trust from Christ. The task is to carry that trust with humility and with care. To speak what the Scriptures say. To keep the eyes of the church on the Lord. To lead with a clean conscience. To repent quickly. To live among the flock with open hands. Appointment from Christ brings weight, and also brings comfort. The work belongs to Him first, so the worker can serve without fear. He gives what He commands.
The passage goes on to speak about what this grace does in a church. It tells us that pastors and teachers are given so that the saints are made ready for service. Equipping is the word. Think of a craftsman stocking a tool bag. The tools are truth, prayer, wisdom, and skill. Week by week the Word is taught with care. Sins are named. Promises are held out. People learn how to read the Bible, how to pray, how to speak the gospel, how to walk in love. The goal is not to create fans, but to form servants. Every member finds a part to play. Mercy work rises. Homes change. Workplaces change. The city feels it. Christ builds His people through the steady work of teaching and training.
Equipping also means repair. The same term was used for mending nets. Many come into the church torn by life. A pastor uses Scripture to stitch what has frayed. He binds up souls with sound doctrine. He helps set what is out of joint. He shows how grace meets shame. He shows how obedience frees the heart. Over time the tears close and the fabric grows strong. Then those once torn become helpers of others. This is how the body builds itself up in love. Teaching fuels it. Prayer waters it. Patience guards it.
Paul describes the aim of this work with big words like unity and maturity. Unity here is unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God. That means people think together and love together around the truth about Jesus. A pastor keeps pointing the church to the same center. Christ is the measure. Christ is the message. Christ is the goal. As that focus holds, the church grows up. People become steady. They are less swayed by trends or by loud voices. They gain a holy balance. They can tell the difference between a passing idea and the Word that endures. They learn to speak truth with love in every setting. The fruit is a shared life that looks like Christ.
Stability matters because lies are real. Paul names winds and waves of teaching. A pastor serves as a guard at the gate. He teaches sound doctrine so that false words lose their pull. He names errors with gentleness and with clarity. He trains the church to test everything by Scripture. He models how to disagree without hate. He models how to hold firm without pride. Over time a culture forms where truth feels like home. New believers learn how to stay the course. Long-time saints keep soft hearts. The church becomes a safe place for weary people to land.
The text also pairs pastors with teachers. This hints at team work. Christ fills His church with many gifts, and He means for them to work together. One may be strong in counsel. Another may be strong in public teaching. Another may be strong in shaping plans. Together they care for the flock. No single person carries everything. The church is healthiest when gifts are shared and when leaders listen to each other. This mirrors the body picture Paul loves to use. Many parts. One body. Each part serving the other for the good of all.
This pairing also highlights the role of the Word. Pastors serve by teaching. Teaching brings Christ to the center and keeps Him there. Teaching sets the pace for worship, for mission, for care, for discipline, for all of church life. Teaching forms consciences. Teaching forms habits. Teaching forms hope. So the steward must keep close to the Scriptures. Read them. Pray them. Live them. Speak them in season and out of season. The Spirit uses this steady stream to feed the flock and to guide the work of the church.
Scripture shows the pattern of recognition as well. The Lord calls. The Spirit fits a person for the task. The church sees the fruit and sets that person apart with prayer. You can hear this in the language used with elders and overseers. The Spirit makes them overseers. The people affirm and support. This protects the church. It keeps the work from becoming a show. It keeps character in view. The lists in the letters to Timothy and Titus matter here. A pastor must be above reproach, self-controlled, gentle, hospitable, able to teach. The home life matters. The habits matter. The inner life matters. Gifting without character harms. Gifting with godliness helps.
When this pattern holds, the body flourishes. Leaders serve. People are equipped. Truth spreads. Love grows. The mission moves forward with peace and with order. Christ gets the glory because the whole design points back to Him. He is the source of the gift. He is the aim of the work. He is the life of the church.
From Christ’s placement of shepherds comes a call that holds fast when the wind rises ... View this full PRO sermon free with PRO
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