According to 1 Timothy, one of the instruction manuals for the pastor, preaching in the local church is the process of teaching and applying the word of God. But, it says it is more than that. Preaching is also the pastor of a particular flock of sheep going to God to get the particular text and application of the particular text that a particular flock needs at that particular moment in the life of the local church and delivering that to the people on that particular Sunday. Each sermon time is a holy moment that can never be duplicated. It is exactly what God wants that particular body to hear at that moment in time.
So, for the brother in Georgia, if God has called him to belong to his particular local church, what his pastor preaches on Sunday morning is a word from God to that particular body at that moment in time, which includes that brother. When that brother listens to my sermon, he is listening to a sermon on a passage of Scripture through which the Lord can speak to him, to be sure. However, when he listens to his pastor preach, he is listening to a particular message God has for him at that particular moment of his life. That sermon is what God wants to talk to him about that day/week. My sermon is secondary and at best supplementary to the teaching he gets from his pastor.
It doesn't matter that he likes my style of preaching better or my personality better than his own pastor. We don't pick our pastor, God picks our pastor because He knows what is best for us. God knows better than we do what bible teaching we need. When God tells you what particular church to join, He has called you to sit under that pastor's preaching ministry. God wants you to pay careful attention to what your pastor is preaching week in and week out. What your pastor preaches is what God wants to talk to you about.
This has nothing to do with who your pastor is as a person and everything to do with God's call on his life and the role God has given him in the life of the local church. Your pastor is neither perfect nor the pope, and is a brother in Christ, but for reasons unknown to anyone, including your pastor, God sovereignly called and gifted your pastor to be the preacher at your particular local church.
With the plethora of sermons available online, tv, and radio, we must all be careful that we do not lose sight of this understanding of our relationship with our pastor and his preaching. By all means listen to other sermons, but don't become confused: your pastor's preaching is the primary preaching ministry God has for your life.
Here are some implications of this matter to think about:
1. If your pastor's sermons are truly messages from God to you, do you get the audio and listen to it when you miss a sermon?
2. When your pastor gets up to preach in the worship service, do you recognize that God is fixing to speak to you and listen accordingly?
3. If a pastor's sermons are truly messages from God to the particular people of that church, how heavily should the pastor's preaching count in the selection of a local church for your family?
4. How much time do you spend reflecting on and digesting your pastor's sermon after Sunday morning?
Take a moment to thank the Lord for the pastor of your church. Pray for your pastor's sermon preparation and delivery. Support his need to have lots of time to study and pray during the week so that he can get God's word for the flock for Sunday morning. Your pastor's sermon preparation and delivery is the most important thing he does for the church body.
To my brother in Georgia, I love you, but I reject any notion that I'm your primary bible teacher. That calling, joy, and responsibility lies with the pastor of your local church.
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