Pray for your pastor(No retirement plan)
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.
What ministry was Paul talking about? He was talking about the New Testament ministry. God’s New Covenant through the work of Jesus Christ’s shedding of his sinless blood to atone for our sins. The Old Covenant was the Law, or the Ten Commandments, which pointed to our need for a Savior. Jesus came and fulfilled what the the law could not accomplish. Paul was bound by his love for Christ in preaching the Gospel to those that he had once persecuted unto death. Paul knew he was going to suffer for Christ; Acts 9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” The Lord had appeared to Ananias in a dream, and sent him to fulfill a vision that He had given Saul (Paul), of healing his eyes, restoring his sight. Paul’s ministry had began with suffering for Christ; he had been struck blind by Christ on that Damascus road.
Intensely personal, I have never been where I find myself today. I am in a place of honor and the greatest humbleness I have ever experienced. The complexity of these two emotions is hard to articulate. My testimony was one of pride, yet now I feel withdrawn from the honor; I do not want to be elevated. Yet the burden on my heart for preaching the Gospel tugs me to climb on the mountaintops and preach. Matthew 10:27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. The intensely spiritual warfare in my mind and those that are close to me is very real; elevated to a place that is painful at times for me and those that endure. Physical pains have increased, this is tangible evidence of this warfare. In all of these Satan seeks to draw my attention away from Christ; in all of these my attention seeks to draw closer to Him; all of these point to the evidence of my NEED for Him.
I humbly write this to any of you that read this: Pray for your pastors. It has taken on an entire new light in my life the pleas I have heard from them through the years. What they battle for your sake, and primarily for the spreading of the Gospel for which they have been entrusted, is a very tough ministry. They share with Christ his sufferings in many ways; yet they hopefully as Paul do not loose heart and preach the only Gospel that saves eternally until their end of days. There should be no retirement plan in ministry.
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