[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n
Every day, a pastor somewhere despairs of ministry. Ministry has become complicated. Pressures multiply. Someone misunderstood your words or motives. A new ministry initiative is slow to take off. Sermon preparation comes around again every week. Technology keeps changing. A long-standing conflict that predates your coming has boiled over again.<\/p>\n
Your family needs you, too.<\/p>\n
You begin to wonder what you are accomplishing for all the effort and energy you expend.<\/p>\n
And maybe nobody knows it but you.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re at the end of your rope, and something has to give. Soon.<\/p>\n
(Just not the rope.)<\/p>\n
Even the Master Preacher understood the pressures of ministry. He rode into Jerusalem on a wave of popularity on Sunday, and He knew what awaited Him at the end of the week. He had endured resistance and rejection from His own people, and it would only grow worse. He felt the sentence of death<\/strong><\/em> keenly.<\/p>\n As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it, and <\/strong><\/em>said, \u201cIf you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The hardness of the people broke Jesus\u2019 heart. He wept over <\/em><\/strong>His people. They took out the frustration of their unmet expectations on Him.<\/p>\n The Master saw the potential of a people devoted to God. But they couldn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n He also knew the outcome of His suffering. He would rise again from the dead.\u00a0<\/p>\n You may despair of ministry today. The circumstances you face are happening that you might rely on God instead of relying on yourself. He still raises the dead.<\/em><\/strong> What seems hopeless on Friday afternoon may look entirely different in the light of Sunday morning.<\/p>\n The followers of Jesus in the first century experienced mocking, rejection, and even death, just like their Master. His disciples have undergone suffering, disappointment, and despair. The Apostle Paul wrote this to encourage believers:<\/p>\n We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under<\/em><\/strong> The situation may not need your \u201cfix\u201d today. It may be beyond a simple fix. It may seem far beyond<\/strong><\/em> your ability to endure.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Stay true to the message the Spirit lays on your heart, dear preacher.<\/p>\n “Preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance…when it is convenient and when it is not\u201d (2 Timothy 4.2 The Living Bible).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Take the opportunity to rely on God, who raises the dead. Rest in the comfort of the Savior who called you to proclaim His name. He walked the same path before you.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every day, a pastor somewhere despairs of ministry. Ministry has become complicated. Pressures multiply. Someone misunderstood your words or motives. A new ministry initiative is slow to take off. Sermon preparation comes around again every week. Technology keeps changing. A long-standing conflict that predates your coming has boiled over again. Your family needs you, too. You begin to wonder what you are accomplishing for all the effort and energy you expend. And maybe nobody knows it but you. You\u2019re at the end of your rope, and something has to give. Soon. (Just not the rope.) Even the Master Preacher understood the pressures of ministry. He rode into Jerusalem on a wave of popularity on Sunday, and He knew what awaited Him at the end of the week. He had endured resistance and rejection from His own people, and it would only grow worse. He felt the sentence of death keenly. As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it, and said, \u201cIf you, even you, had only known on this day what would bringyou peace\u2014but now it is hidden from your eyes\u201d (Luke 19.41-42).\u00a0 The hardness of the people broke Jesus\u2019 heart. He wept over His […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fyi-master-preacher"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=849"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":899,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/849\/revisions\/899"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barclaycollege.edu\/fpi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
you peace\u2014but now it is hidden from your eyes\u201d<\/strong> <\/em>(Luke 19.41-42).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n
great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But<\/em><\/strong>
this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead<\/em><\/strong>(2 Corinthians 1.5-9)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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