Sermon: Celebrating a Faithful Shepherd!
Scripture: 1Thes 5:12-13 “Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. 13 Show them great respect and wholehearted love because of their work. And live peacefully with each other.”
Introduction: What is a Pastor? The word "pastor" derives from the Latin noun which means "shepherd" and the term is a verb which means "to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat". The term "pastor" also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament church and is synonymous with the biblical understanding of minister. A pastor is God’s faithful steward who managing of God's resources and Christ Jesus' flock. The pastor takes responsibility, but not ownership. Many of God’s people have a wrong concept toward the Pastor, giving him a title as an “Employee of the Church” “Team Manager” or even “CEO.” He is more than all of the above, who is the Pastor? Well, he wears lots of hats—father, husband, part-time electrician, part-time projectionist, part-time snow-remover, part-time custodian, administrator, chaplain, and even part-time plumber. But really, the Bible’s understanding of the role of the pastor comes down to one concept: Shepherd! As such, he is a God-called, anointed person who is charged with feeding, protecting, leading, and admonishing the sheep under his care. He is a gift from God. Jer 3:15 “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Sometimes the weighty responsibility makes pastors the loneliest people in the church. Often their hours are long, the pay minimal, and the criticism considerable. Feelings of disappointment, discouragement, and defeat may begin to plague the best of them. I know that you appreciate your pastor and that’s why you are having this special recognition. You may ask yourself, “What can I do for my pastor?” Well, here are some things every church and every believer can and should do for him.
1. Know Him. Be well acquainted with your minister and esteem him for the sake of his work and his Master. He has many trials, and his work is hard: endeavor to cheer his heart. Acknowledge the fact that he is unique. His style, personality, gifts, character traits, etc. are unique to him. Let him be who he is. Throw away the measuring stick. The best way to know a person is to sit across the table from him.
2. Esteem Him Very Highly. Christian ministers, who preach the whole truth, and labor in the word and doctrine, are entitled to more than respect; the apostle commands them to be esteemed, abundantly, and superabundantly; and this is to be done in love. The idea is just as men delight to serve those whom they love, delight to serve your pastor. That’s what Paul tells us to do in I Thess.5:13. Always speak honorably and respectfully of him. He deserves your highest and best opinion. He is the messenger of God to your soul. He is your shepherd and teacher. So, take care of them, provide for them, and see that they want neither the necessaries nor conveniences of life. Know them, esteem them, and remember them.
3. Remember Him. Remember him at the throne of grace. It has been said that after a pastor has been at a church for some time, the church takes on a bit of his style and personality. That may be true, but I believe that a church can, through its praying, make a lasting imprint on his soul. Pray for him that he will be anointed in his preaching—that he will be humble, patient, full of faith, joy, and peace. Pray that God will constantly renew his passion for Christ, his church, and the unsaved. Remember a pastor’s first priority is to his family! Like any other Christian man, he is first provider, protector, and priest to his wife and kids. Don’t let the church pull him away from his to the point that it leaves a bad taste in their mouth of his family and creates unnecessary friction at home.
4. Follow Him. Follow his commitment, doctrine, and dependability as he shows you the way of faith by word and example. A leader is not a leader if no one is following him. Follow him as he follows Christ! Follow him, giving support and assistance. Using your skills and gifts to bless Him and the work. No pastor can do the work all by himself. He needs your help. There are some things that you can do well that either he can’t or doesn’t have the time for. Follow him with joy and contentment. If you hear a negative comment, respond with a positive one. If misinformation is being spread, correct it with accurate information. Sometimes, silence or just walking away will speak volumes.
5. Praise Him. Express appreciation from time to time in writing so He can have a “praise box” He can dip into it on a gloomy day. Really, the preacher is no different than you. The more you praise him, the harder he’ll work! He might not be perfect but celebrate him. Like you, the pastor is another work of grace, a fellow witness to the truth, a flesh and blood testimony to the goodness of God. He may have soup stains on his tie, razor nicks on his chin, mud on his shoes, but he has a song on my lips, and the joy of Jesus in my heart. He maybe part fix-it man, part soldier, part teacher, and part defender. But we all live in the shadow of the cross; wanting to know Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection. Open your mouth and praise, bless him with your word and with your gifts.
Celebrate him because he is a source of hope, a merchant of mercy, an advocate of love, a follower of the faith, and a sharer of the Good News. Your pastor wants to be better than he is. He wants his members to be better than they are. He wants to be more Christlike, —and help others to do the same. He wants us to live beyond human limitations and to be empowered by the Spirit.
1Ti 5:17-18 “7 Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain.” And in another place, “Those who work deserve their pay!”
We have come today to celebrate the pastor because we know him personally, esteem him highly for his work, remember him for his faithfulness, follow him as he leads, praise him for his teaching and preaching and he is worthy. Yes, our office deserves respect, his sacrifice deserves appreciation, his work deserves pay, but we give him double honor because he does his work well! Let’s celebrate and cheer him on because the best is yet to come! When we bless the pastor, we bless ourselves! A well-fed ox can tread out more grain. When we bless the pastor, we bless ourselves. More than that, when we bless the pastor, we bless our God who sent him. Jesus said, inasmuch as you did this to one of the least ones, you have done it unto me. Celebrating God’s gift is a win-win situation. Let’s celebrate!
Jesus said in Matthew 10:40-42 “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me. 41 If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 42 And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”
Here in Matthew 10:40-42, our blessed Savior encourages his apostles to be faithful in their office, assuring them that God takes special of their activities. That He, himself would regard all the kindness they receive as done unto himself: and then He encourages the world to be kind to his disciples and ministers, assuring them that even a gift of a cup of cold water would be met with a liberal reward.
Jesus knew that some would be so cold hearted, they would deny a cup of cold water to a thirsty ministers or disciples of Christ! We are encouraged to celebrate His messenger because when we do, there is some special and eminent reward due to the faithful prophets of God above other men. When we help them along their way, entertain His prophet well, and do any good to them because of their office, for his office’s sake, we shall be partaker of the prophet’s reward. Jesus promises a liberal reward, a prophet’s reward and no one will be left out!
If we show love and respect to the least office, kindness and charity to any of the ministers or members of Jesus Christ for his sake, Christ accounts it as done unto himself, and it shall be rewarded by himself. Not even the smallest and cheapest gift to the least of God’s servants be forgotten; for whosoever, being able to do no more, shall give a cup of cold water only, to refresh him in the fatigue to which he is exposed in my service, if he shall give it to him in the name of a disciple, or with a real affection to him on account of his relation to the Lord, verily I say unto you, he shall by no means lose his reward, but shall find himself abundantly repaid both with present and future blessings. When we bless others, we bless ourselves!
