But their life, their walk with God is foul. And we make excuses for it because they look the "part". Folks out here running around without the fear of God forgetting how the story of King Saul turned out; defeated, chased and at a witch's door step.
Have we learned nothing from when God called David? 1 Samuel 16
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
When Samuel went to Jesse’s house looking for the next king he made the same mistake that we church folks make now. We are looking at what a person has and looks like and not the Jesus that exists inside of them.
That is the reason that so many people missed Jesus, the Savior of the world. He didn't look the part.
I worked for a Christian nonprofit for many years and I have been in church in some capacity my whole life. I have met many different pastors, elders, bishops, reverends from across the tri-state and the country. I’ve seen them on the pulpit and not on the pulpit. The stories I could tell.
I say that to say that those experiences have allowed me to put the appropriate person on the pedestal of my heart. Not the preacher but Jesus himself.
We are all human and we make mistakes and can be selfish. We are born into a sinful world. It's in our nature to do the wrong thing. A accepting Christ and sitting in a pulpit doesn't change that.
So I go to church and listen to sermons not because of the man in the pulpit but because of who the man in the pulpit is talking about.
There are a few preachers that I personally don’t like however if they are a part of a conference I'm attending or have preached a good Word I'm listening. Because I know that God can speak through anyone. Do we forget Balaam and his donkey (Numbers 22:21-35) stopping him on the road to talk sense into him?
I measure that man in the pulpit by how what he says and does lines up to the Word of God. If his sermon is right I listen to that but if his life ain’t right I’m not following him blindly. That is foolish.
Often times we measure God by the man in the pulpit. We say God is good because the preacher is rich or well off. That’s false. God is good regardless of the preacher and his circumstances. God is good! Period. The preacher is blessed because God is good.
David killed Goliath not because he was a good shot but because he trusted in the power and accuracy of God guiding the stones.
How many leaders in our churches exist because they look good and talk good, not because they are good or filled with the Holy Spirit?
Let’s stop saying that everyone in the pulpit is appointed, chosen or anointed by God cuz that isn’t true either. King Saul was not appointed, chosen or anointed by God. God allowed the Israelites to have the leader they wanted just like He allows today.
Nowadays you can get a diploma in theology and not believe a word of the Bible. A relationship with God is not a pre-requisite course. You will know if a person preaching the Word of God is of God if what they say and do doesn’t contradict God’s Word. And the ONLY way to know that, is if you are reading the Word of God For. Your. Self.
If we stopped putting our faith and trust in a man and instead put it in God where it belongs we wouldn’t be so disappointed when preachers show themselves to be flawed human beings.
The Unlikely Missionary
DHW
