Pastor’s Heart
CCCAG, March 16th 2023
Scripture: Colossians 2:1-3
Introduction:
As we have finished the first chapter of Colossians we learned a lot about Jesus, what He means for you and I, and how He can help us live victorious lives that bring the light of the Gospel to everyone around us. The first chapter also identified the enemy we are facing, and how to defeat it through submission to God and His ways.
As we start into the second chapter of Colossians, Paul suddenly takes a different direction.
It’s almost as if he thought- wow, I was pretty heavy in the first chapter, so maybe I need to take a step back and talk a little about how much I care for these people and cherish them, and want them to experience God in all of His fullness in their lives.
Remember- the most of the Colossians have never met Paul. They are one of the church’s that Paul pastored from afar along with Laodicea. So he takes a pause here in his teaching to remind them all that although his teaching might be a little hard to swallow at time, he is doing it out of a place of deep caring for them.
As He does so in the first few verses of chapter 2, Paul gives us a glimpse into the heart of a pastor.
That’s what we are going to look into today as we read and study God’s word together.
Let’s read what he wrote to them this morning-
Colossians 2:1-4
I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally.
2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Prayer
Preposition-
There are many facets of being a spiritual leader, especially a member of what is known as the five-fold ministry of Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
Paul is giving both the church’s he is writing to, and us today a glimpse into what should be the heart of a person who is called to be a pastor or a shepherd of Christ’s church.
The first thing you see is that you are to contend for your people.
I. Contending-
According to Webster’s, to contend means to struggle against something. In the case of a pastor, it means to struggle against many things.
The first is themselves and their own sinful nature. Unfortunately, this is where many spiritual leaders fall short. I’ve watched many pastors ruin thriving ministries because of their pride.
About 25 years ago, there was a church here in Wisconsin that was experiencing incredible growth and had a strong revival spirit within it. The pastor was charismatic, a great preacher, and a strong leader. However, he didn’t have a lot of time for people in his church that didn’t have the vision that he said God gave him, so slowly but surely he replaced the board with people he could control, leading to more growth, but also more pride on his part.
Without a restraining influence, his ego got out of control and he fell into sin, was found out, and the church collapsed when it was exposed.
That’s why spiritual leaders need your prayer. That’s also why any healthy leader should want someone close to them that has permission to stick a finger in their face and say, “You’re wrong”.
That’s true in ministry, and also true in all of our lives.
There is an interesting take on Matthew 5:44 that I heard. Jesus is giving the sermon on the mount when he said
Matt 5:44-45
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
I heard is said that this isn’t Jesus just saying to be nice to those who don’t like you, but pray that God does give you an enemy on earth so that you don’t bury and hide your dark side- that sinful nature that clings to us even after we follow Jesus.
If you hide that sinful nature, it’s like leaving leather lay around for a long period of time, it stiffens and loses it’s malleability. It needs to be worn or used so it stays flexible.
Your heart is kind of the same way when it comes to your enemies. Your enemies touch those areas of your heart that you hide from everyone else.
None of us like to be reminded that there are parts of you that can get really ugly really fast if you are poke in the right way.
They may be God’s tool to keep you humble and dependent upon HIM, and especially if you are in a leadership role here in church, or in your workplace, or in your family.
I brought up the pastor contending with him or herself first, because next they have to contend with the those they are called to pastor, and even the community they live in.
In Acts chapter 20, Paul is making his final rounds through Asia Minor, knowing through the Holy Spirit that he will be arrested soon. He stops in Ephesus and meets with the elders of the church there, and he says goodbye, and that goodbye is recorded for us in Acts 20.
Acts 20:27-31
For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. 28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. 29 I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. 31 So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.
NIV
I love this verse- I used to have a snippet of it on business cards because it totally encapsulates the primary job of a spiritual leaders.
He tells them to be shepherds of the church of God
That means as shepherd and pastors, they have the following responsibilities-
They are to keep watch- making sure the people they are called to minister to are safe, fed, and healthy.
They are to teach them the truth, even when it ruffles feathers.
They are to protect them against spiritual and sometimes even physical predators. Even more so, teach them God’s word so they will become mature in the faith so they can learn to fight for themselves.
It’s why I take stands and expose what the bible has to say about issues in the news so you know how to give an answer for the hope that you have.
Which brings us to the next thing that should be on the heart of a pastor-
II. En-Couraging (hyphenated In- Courage)
In modern English, we often think that the word encourage means to give support to a person or group. What the word really mean in the bible is to take the source of your courage, and share it and infuse it into someone else.
One of the most famous examples of God encouraging someone is found in the beginning of Joshua.
To set the stage, Moses has led the people for over 40 years, and has now died, leaving Joshua as the leader of over 6 million people with a mission to lead them into the promised land. Understandably, Joshua was probably a bit overwhelmed with the thought of taking on all of the warrior tribes in Palestine during that time.
However, Joshua observed and served Moses directly as his servant the entire time they were in the desert, so he got a firsthand look at how Moses dealt with times of stress and uncertainty.
Joshua did what Moses would have done- He got alone with God, and prayed.
God gave Joshua a personal meeting, and told him this in Joshua 1-
Josh 1:6-9
"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Does anyone need that kind of encouragement from God this morning?
God calls us to be courageous.
Please listen to what I’m about to say very carefully because this may ruffle a few feathers-
I’m speaking to believers in Jesus Christ right now- people who have been born again and consider themselves Christians.
Here is the big truth- God despises cowards. Why do I think that?
Check this out- at the end of this age, and the beginning of the new heavens and earth Jesus says the following in Revelation 21 when he lists the kinds of people who will not be there. Look what is first.
Rev 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars — their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
Now don’t shut me out yet- let me explain where I’m going with this.
Notice the order of character traits here in verse 21- he starts off with cowardly, and then says unbelievers, and then lists a bunch of sins that unbelievers do.
It’s my believe that the cowardly he is referring to here are people who say they are Christians, but give into fear so they will not stand for Christ.
They wear the jersey, hidden under a coat. If the fans or members of the opposing team are nearby, they will change their allegiance for a minute and cheer for the other side.
Sunday morning Christians (quote), twice a year Christians (quote) all fall into this category.
Now, I’m not talking about being simply being afraid. Fear is a healthy response to danger.
Courage is understanding that some things are more important than your fear, and choosing to act despite of your fear.
Godly courage comes from faith that what God told Joshua still applies to us today.
Be strong and very courageous. (He says it twice)
Be strong and very courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
The reason God can’t stand cowards in the church is because of these promises right here!
God the Father is right there with you. What do you have to be afraid of?
“Well, what if they harm me or kill me?”
Are you expecting to live forever? Do you really want to live forever in your current body? The older I get the more I look forward to my resurrected body.
Listen- no one gets out of life alive. Not even Jesus got out of life alive.
Unless we are the blessed who see the rapture, Life has a 100% mortality rate.
Don’t fear death. Embrace it. Look at it as a finish line of a life well lived for Jesus, and the cross over it into His arms.
As the bible says,
Matthew 10:28
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Jesus is just focusing your attention to where it should be. You have the all powerful creator standing with you.
If every army ever assembled, ever animal who has ever lived, every insect that has ever crawled or flown around came at you all at once.
The least powerful thought from God would blink them into non-existence.
This is why it’s my job to tell you these things- so you can be encouraged…not because of me or my strength, but because I’m pointing you to the God of ultimate strength.
The next thing that should be the heart of a pastor is to help the church
III. Being United in Agape Love
In Psalm, 133 the bible says this-
Ps 133
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard, down upon the collar of his robes.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.
What is being referred to here is the anointing of the high priest in the Old Testament. When they chose a high priest to serve in the tabernacle and later the temple, one of the final acts they did was to pour oil over the head of the new high priest symbolizing the anointing of God upon that person.
In the Old Testament- that word anointing means to be set apart to receive the favor, power, and presence of God
In the New Testament, that anointing is the birthright of every believer in Jesus- you are sons and daughters of the King of Kings, and with that comes favor, presence, and power.
But there is a condition to the use of those priveleges- unity.
First, you need to be unified with God- living in close and intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus.
Second, you need to be connected to the rest of God’s family here on earth.
God doesn’t want Lone Rangers anymore. You need to be connected to a fellowship of believers, because really all of that favor, power, and presence is meant to enrich the body of Christ, not you.
That’s why being united in agape love is so important. Most of you know that word Agape is a Greek word meaning a selfless, sacrificial love- God’s kind of love.
A pastor’s heart should be to model this and teach this to the people they are called to minister to.
The fourth and final way we see how the scripture describes the pastor’s heart is to teach us how to –
IV. Treasuring true riches- Knowing God (our reward in heaven)
A. The “mystery of God” is Christ Jesus our LORD.
In other words, the Gospel.
As Pastor/Apostle Paul told the church in Corinth
2 Cor 4:7
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We all just lived through an epidemic. I want you to do a thought experiment for a moment. Pretend it’s April 2020.
COVID wreaking havoc on our world. Shut downs, mass layoffs, mask mandates, people hoarding toilet paper.
It was crazy, wasn’t it? The fear everyone was under was incredible.
Now pretend we now find out- they always had the cure for it. They developed it the moment it hit our shores but kept it hidden from us.
What would your reaction be?
Torches and pitchforks and marching on Washington, right?
As bad as COVID was, there is still a far deadlier disease out there- one that has killed countless billions of people, and still effects our lives today.
This disease has a name- it’s called sin. Sin is a terminal illness- if you catch it, it has a 100% mortality rate, and is extremely contagious.
But what if you found out your neighbor next door had the cure for sin- enough to save the entire city, but never shared it with you.
Torches and pitchforks right?
This is why a pastor contends.
This is why a pastor en-courages you
This is why they try to keep unity in the church so that God’s anointing is flowing.
So that we are sharing the cure for sin- The Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Finally, this isn’t just the heart of a person who stands and preaches every Sunday- this is supposed to be the heart of the believer in Christ. He has called us all to pastor those in our lives.
That’s right- we are all priests in God’s Kingdom, so let his anointing fill you today to stand in that high place he has called all of us to occupy in this time and place.
All Stand
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