Seeking Not Ease Nor Applause Of Men

Gal 1:21-24

21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;

22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

24And they glorified God in me. (KJV)

If you are going to submit to His leadership and serve him humbly there will be no place too small or remote! (Vs. 21) When Jed Clampett struck it rich in oil, the kinfolk said, "Californy is the place you oughta be." Why? Because a wealthy man was out of place in such a small and backwoods place as his mountain home. Paul was a highly educated man and he should have stayed in Jerusalem and hung out with the Apostles. He could have reached more people and maybe had a nice place to stay. Instead, he literally headed for the hills. Syria and Cilicia were north of Jerusalem in a mountain region. Tarsus was between the two areas, so he went home to tell the Gospel and that is always the hardest place. A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country. (Matt 13:57)

I have sent resumes to towns that I know few people have heard of in America and maybe even in that state. I have candidated at some very small churches. The people loved me in many of those places, but I have had a time with deacon boards and pulpit committees, fer sure. There are times when they have other interests than what the people need or want and at times, even what God wants. Thank God for good ones, but I have met some humdingers and been through some grills that might even rival the Inquisition. The point is that I never let the size of the church or its being out in the boonies be an issue. In fact, the older that I get the more I’d like a church in Podunk. Where’s that? It is somewhere between Boon and Dock. I t’ain’t a big city boy.

Brother preachers, if only big churches in the right area appeal to you then you need to be ’umbled a bit. You need to follow His leadership and serve humbly by not caring if the "right" people do not know you! (Vs. 22-24)

Gal 1:22-24

22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:

23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed.

24 And they glorified God in me. (KJV)

I do not do head games well and I am by no means a politician. I do not go out of my way to tick people off, but I am not much of a boot kisser, either. I have been to many pastoral meetings where everybody is spouting off how many they have in Sunday School or give the "weekly" attendance to try to impress some people. What I have seen happen is that if the same 40 people show up for two Sunday services and a Wednesday night service the pastor reports at these meetings that he had a 120 in attendance that week. Please, give me a break. No wonder God was angry with David for numbering the people.

The worse one that I was invited to attend gave me an opportunity to pay $10 to pose with a well-known TV preacher. Am I supposed to hang that in my office and let people think he and I are best friends or that he calls me for advice? Sometimes when I speak to a church, they ask me whose camp am I in, or who is my favorite preacher. This is to get an idea of my style or convictions. Sadly, for them, I do not fit into anyone’s camp perfectly. There are men that I admire, but I make none of them my Pope. I would rather quote Scripture than the writings of some other preacher. I tell my bible study group to go home and study the Word rather than just quote Chairman Ron. The last that I heard all Christians are human and the ground is level at the Cross. We are here to exalt Christ not a peer or ourselves.