Is your pastor preaching things that empower you, help you to mature spiritually and bring you to the place where your walk with God is more of a one on one level between you and God? Or is your pastor putting himself in your walk with God as a "go-between" between you and God and teaching you that you need YOUR PASTOR to be there to teach you and speak into your life so that you can have God's best?
A true pastor, a shepherd after God's own heart would have a purpose for you. That purpose would be to bring you to the level of spiritual maturity so that you didn't need him to guide you. He would encourage you to seek God on your own and hear from Him. He would desire above all things to bring you to the place that you could go out and minister to others. Even if you were not called into the full time ministry, his desire for you would be for you to be fully equipped to minister to anyone in any situation. A true pastor would not desire the place of authority in your life. He would actually want you to be independent of him and fully dependant on the Holy Spirit.If you felt in your heart that God wanted you to go somewhere else, even if it was another church, he would encourage you to follow God's leading. His desire would be for you to honor God, not honor him.
A self seeking pastor who is a shepherd after his own heart would have a totally different set of desires for you. His would set himself up as a gift of God to you. He would teach you that you need him for a covering in your life to keep the devil away from you and keep you safe. He would teach you that you need him to "speak into your life" the things that God would want you to know. He would teach that you should respect him the way you respect God and give him a place of honor in your life. He would teach you that you not only need to tithe but that you need to give and give and give so that you can be blessed. He would never want you to leave his church because then he would loose his control over you and most importantly he would loose your money.
Why would a true pastor want his sheep to be dependant? Examine your pastor and examine your life and your spiritual walk. Is your pastor feeding you truth that empowers you and enables you to become mature in the Lord. Or is he bringing you to the place where he is becoming a need in your life? Don't sit under a pastor who thinks more highly of himself than he should and claims a place in your life that he shouldn't. Find a pastor that wants you to be yourself and let God guide you. Not one that cripples you and makes you a spiritual invalid dependant on a man. Look for a pastor after GOD"S own heart not a pastor after his own heart.
A Reflector of His Bountifulness
10 years ago
2 comments:
I heard a pastor recently tell his congregation that they didn't need to listen to anyone else but him. How prideful is that! Don't people realize that all he is trying to do is have complete control in their lives?
I was one who was crippled. I thought I was being empowered, but my faith was really being hurt instead.
I thought I had to do it exactly like the "pastor" said or I would be blacklisted. I was doing it more for him than I was for God. I think that's where alot of people are and they don't even know it. I hope your blog will help people see the truth and leave before they are crippled too.
I really like the way you express things. Keep blogging!
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