BE A SHEPHERD NOT A HIRELING
(JOHN 14-16, AND THE PASTORAL EPISTLES)
Make your people the best fed, best loved sheep on earth. The greatest gift of all is love. At one point in his ministry, Pastor Chuck was praying for gifts of the Spirit, and the Lord spoke to him and told him that He had already given him the greatest gift of all - the gift of love.
The high priest bore on his breast the stones representing the 12 tribes of Israel. Paul carried the believers on his heart. Carry the people of God on your heart. Love them. Serve them. Have their best interest at heart in all things.
The shepherd gives his life for the flock. Sacrifice self. Die to fleshly ambition. Serve the saints of God with love. Serve. Give. Minister. Care for people. Love them. Love them. Love them. Feed them the pure Word of God.
The hireling seeks his own welfare. He's a man pleaser. He's in it for the prestige, or the position, or the money, or to get his own needs met. When the going gets tough, he runs, he quits, he gives up.
Don't quit. Don't give up. Of course it's hard sometimes. Chuck and Kay spent 17 years pastoring little tiny churches, they brushed their teeth in the backyard because they didn't have indoor plumbing. Chuck and his brother Paul slept in their car as they traveled about preaching and witnessing. Hang in there. Persevere. God has called you. Labor as unto Him.
Die to self and lovingly feed the flock verse by verse Bible studies. Love them, they're His sheep. Make them the best fed, best loved sheep on earth.
