Summary: October is Clergy Appreciation month and this message is about why we should appreciate those serving in the gospel ministry.

Called To Serve

Good morning First Baptist Quindaro. Our focus Scripture this morning is found in Joshua 24:14-15 and I will be reading from the New King James Bible. It says, “(14) Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! (15) And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Per the theme of this day, the title of my message this morning is “Called to Serve.”

October is Clergy Appreciation Month. It is a time to pause to recognize the service that those in the gospel ministry provide to God’s children. In case you did not know it, most members of the clergy do a lot for their congregation and the community. So, I am blessed to have this opportunity to share in this time with you that you have aside to acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous gift that God has given you in the form of your faithful pastor and staff ministers. The clergy staff serves you in their preaching on Sundays and in the Bible studies midweek. These are the roles in which you see them each week. But you do not see the roles they execute every day, the unseen roles that provide this Church with its solid foundation. The men and women of God who serve in Churches around the world have answered the call from God to serve Him in a special capacity – ministering to the needs of His people. God is ministering and reaching out to you through the leaders you have in this Church. They are leaders who guide you in the Word, who lift you up before God in prayer and are with you through life’s mountaintop and valley experiences. So, have you, members of First Baptist, ever thought about the commitment to God your clergy members have made to serve you? Joshua gives us a hint when he called all the tribes of Israel together to challenge them.

When Joshua was approaching the end of his life, he calls all the tribes of Israel to gather in Shechem. He then speaks to all the leaders and officers and gives them a powerful challenge. He tells them they need to make a choice. Joshua’s words not only challenged Israel, but also each of us today, especially if you are in ministry. In verse fourteen, the first thing Joshua tells them is “Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!” When you see the word “therefore” you must reflect on what was said prior to verse fourteen because the “therefore” means an important foundation had been laid to justify the challenge being put before them.

In verses two through thirteen God gives them a brief history lesson. He starts with Abraham’s father and how He chose Abraham to leave his family and follow Him. He then speaks about how He brought their fathers out of Egypt. I want you to consider the importance of that statement. All their fathers died in the wilderness because they refused to enter the Promised Land. They were disobedient, fearful, and always complaining. Because of this, they did not enter the Promised Land but died in the wilderness. I want you hear how Hebrews 3:19 explains why they died in the wilderness, and I will be reading from the Classic Amplified Bible. “So we see that they were not able to enter [into His rest], because of their unwillingness to adhere to and trust in and rely on God [unbelief had shut them out].”

Finally, God tells them in verse thirteen, “I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.” (Joshua 24:13) After reminding them of God’s faithfulness from Abraham to the Exodus to the conquest of Canaan (the blessings they were currently experiencing), Joshua says “now therefore….” He told them to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. He also told them to put away the gods their fathers served in Egypt. Now it had been 80 years since the parting of the Red Sea and Israel’s deliverance from Egypt and yet they still did not fully trust the God who had delivered them. So, Joshua told them to fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth which applies to anyone who accepts Christ as their Lord and Savior. But this morning I want to focus on those who accept the call to enter the gospel ministry.

Answering God’s call to enter the gospel ministry is a commitment that requires fear, sincerity, and truth. Some of you might be wondering why a man or woman of God must fear the Lord. Well, the simple answer is one word: “You.” When a person serves in the gospel ministry people are not always happy with them, especially when they must address uncomfortable and ungodly situations that others would rather ignore. You see, members of the clergy answer to God. Period. You will not like us all the time and when that happens, we must still stand firm on the truth of God’s Word. So, please understand this. Your clergy members are not here to please you. They are not here to make you happy. They have one assignment: to please God and obey Him! The Apostle Paul says it this way in Galatians 1:10 – “For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bond servant of Christ.” Let me be a little more direct: I know people give more when they are happy. But if your happiness is placing you on a road to hell and the lake of fire, then your clergy, who answers to God, will keep you unhappy. We all know that if sinning did not make us happy then we would not be doing it. But because it does make us happy, we participate in it and expect the pastor(s) to ignore it.

But because your clergy are watchmen, they must address sin. This is what God has said about those who are watchmen and choose to ignore the sin. Ezekiel 33:1-7 records, “(1) Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, (2) ‘Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: 'When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman, (3) when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people, (4) then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. (6) But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand. (7) So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them for Me.”

The verses say the people, not God, choose their watchman. In other words, when the Church chooses a pastor, deacon, trustee, or anyone else for a leadership position, it is choosing its watchmen. Please understand, God calls the person into the gospel ministry but oftentimes a Church chooses a pastor based on what they “like” even if the person is not God’s choice. However, after the decision is made, that person is recognized by God as a watchman. First Baptist, God holds the watchman to the highest Biblical standard because of their positions. They answer to God and therefore they cannot ignore the things you do not want to talk about. Again, let me be blunt: a watchman is willing to make you mad, hurt your feelings, and even sacrifice your tithes and offerings to ensure you will spend an eternity with God and not in hell. This is why Jesus said the following in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Those who answer the call to enter the gospel ministry must fear God above all others.

The second thing Joshua calls out is sincerity – it cannot be superficial service when you have the time. It is not just when you are before people, it is a way of life. Please understand something, being in ministry is not about a title. It is a calling to serve God sincerely. I do not care if a man or woman of God wants to be called pastor, teacher, apostle, bishop, evangelist, doctor, brother, sister, whatever. It is not about the title; it is about the relationship with God and service to His people and Joshua said we should serve God with sincerity. Ministers of the gospel are supposed to model the behaviors of a child of God. Therefore, we do not serve out of convenience because sometimes you might need your pastors when it is not convenient for them.

Ministers of the gospel do not serve for the applause, well there are some that do but their eternal rewards will be a little different than those who serve with respect and reverence for the One who called them. First Baptist, I know your pastor. I might not know all the associate ministers, but I know your pastor, and he has standards. If the associates hold the same standards as your pastor, then I can say with some certainty that they are not serving for your applause, but with sincere hearts that long to see you prosper in the things of God. Can you appreciate the sacrifices they make for you because of their calling and their love for you? You might not recognize it, but they are probably up late at night studying the Word to prepare a sermon or a Bible study lesson. They are also spending time praying, visiting the sick and being available whenever you need them. This is their quiet sacrifices and steady faithfulness that comes with serving God with sincerity.

The last thing Joshua called for them to do is serve God in truth. Jesus said John 4:24, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” This is especially true for ministers of the gospel. Now I want you to hear me closely on this one. There are ministers who stand in the pulpit each week that God did not call. These are the ones that Jesus spoke of when He said, Matthew 7:15-16, “(15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (16) You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?” When you look at the fruits of the ministers of this house of worship, you will know God has called them and they are walking with Him and He is walking with them. That makes it a whole lot easier to appreciate them. But let me get to the main thing that Joshua told the people that is a requirement for all Christians, but even more so for those in ministry.

In verse fifteen Joshua commands the people to, “choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” Joshua gave the people a choice, he said if they thought it was evil to serve the Lord then they could choose for themselves what god they would serve, either the gods their fathers served or the gods of the Amorites in whose land they lived. Joshua wanted the people to make a choice, and he told them to make the decision that day! He did not say make the decision “someday” or a day when it was convenient for them. And he did not say it is something you need to think about. No, he said choose this day – not tomorrow – today! Choosing God is a daily decision and every morning we must choose to follow. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, “…. If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Everyone who follows Christ must make that daily decision to pick up their cross and carry it and this is especially true for those in the clergy.

Everyday members of your pastoral staff wake up and decide to pick up their cross again and follow Christ. They choose to follow Him every day of every week. When they do not get much sleep at night, they cannot call in on Sunday morning and say, “I won’t be preaching today as I need a nap.” I guess they could, but you would not tolerate it for long. When you need them, they must decide whether to be available. When your name and number show on their phones and the thought runs through their heads “not again, they can leave a message” and yet they push the thought aside and answer because they have made a choice – a commitment to God. Please understand that ministry is not easy. Pastors and associate ministers can get discouraged. We often face criticism, and we get tired, physically, and emotionally. But every day, we wake up and renew our commitment to serve and believe me some days are much harder than others. But we must choose, every day, faith over fear; obedience over compromise; and service over self-interest. This is how your clergy serves you day after day. And let me say this before I continue. The best thing you can do for the leaders of this congregation is to pray for them every day. Ask God to give them the wisdom they will need to fulfill their assignment that day. Ask God to anoint them with the strength that they will need that day. I pray that you will commit to doing this from this day forward.

Now I am back in Joshua. I love it when he put a stake in the ground when he said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” That should be the rallying cry for every Christian but especially ministers of the gospel. Ministers of the gospel accept a calling to serve the Lord and that means they serve the people. They are not the ones being served, they are doing the serving – they are called to serve. Some pastors get confused about this and think that they are the ones to be served. When God calls a person into ministry, they are called to serve, not to be served (or worshipped.) Jesus said, Matthew 20:27-28, “(27) And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave, (28) just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Ministers of the gospel are servants!

Lastly, when Joshua said “as for me and my house…” he included his family. First Baptist Quindaro, your clergy has a family – please respect and appreciate that. Their families are directly impacted by their ministry calling so take this into consideration when you call them at all hours of the day with your needs. Their family needs them just as you do. If you want to truly show your clergy you appreciate them, recognize and appreciate their families. Remember, their first responsibility beyond their service to God is their families and their families come first. Pastors must be available for their own families just as they are available to help you with yours. Appreciate this fact and be willing to offer them encouragement when you hear rumors of their family facing trying times.

As I said at the beginning, this is clergy appreciation month. Some of you might be wondering why you need to appreciate them since they are only doing what “God” called them to do. And, if they are a pastor, they are getting paid so what more do they need. If you are of this mindset, let me remind you of what the Scripture said. Paul told Timothy in First Timothy 5:17-18, “(17) Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. (18) For the Scripture says, "YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE AN OX WHILE IT TREADS OUT THE GRAIN," and "THE LABORER IS WORTHY OF HIS WAGES.” Your ministerial staff deserves your financial support.

As I close this morning, I want to you to know that a pastor carries immense responsibility within the church and the community. The roles pastor(s) fulfill are not just tasks – they are spiritual callings that require faithfulness, humility, and dependence on God. To help you understand why you should appreciate your clergy staff, let me give you the top twenty essential roles that pastor(s) function in while serving you. I have included these along with their Scriptural references in your handout. Your pastor(s) and associate ministers serve you as a:

1. Shepherd (see First Peter 5:2-3)

2. Teacher (see Second Timothy 4:2)

3. Counselor (see Proverbs 11:14)

4. Leader (see Ephesians 4:11-12)

5. Intercessor (see James 5:16)

6. Administrator (see First Corinthians 14:40)

7. Evangelist (see Matthew 28:19-20)

8. Servant Leader (see Mark 10:45)

9. Discipler (see Second Timothy 2:2)

10. Protector (see Acts 20:28-30)

11. Peacemaker (see Matthew 5:9)

12. Encourager (see First Thessalonians 5:11)

13. Model of Holiness (see First Timothy 4:12)

14. Comforter (See Second Corinthians 1:3-4)

15. Visionary (see Proverbs 29:18)

16. Trainer (see First Timothy 4:7)

17. Reconciler (see Second Corinthians 5:18)

18. Vision Bearer (see Ephesians 2:10)

19. Spiritual Warrior (see Ephesians 6:11)

20. Steward (see First Corinthians 4:2)

As you celebrate your clergy staff this month, remember that God called them to serve Him by serving you. Appreciate what it takes for them to fulfill their calling. May God bless and keep you.

Until next time, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalms 19:14)