Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Morning Reflections - Thy Kingdom Come

John Wesley is quoted as saying, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth."

This may seem like it is going in a selfish direction, and I guess in one way it is.  I am a preacher.  I want my fear of everything in life but sin to diminish and I want my desire for God to abound more than any other desire I have.  I want to be so faithful that I am colaborer with Christ in the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.  I am, however, human and need God's grace, and mercy, and love, and power to accomplish these things.

I also have many, many friends and acquaintances that are preachers.  As a colleague, I recognize the ups and downs that go with the office of priest, pastor, elder, preacher, etc.  I know what we are called to hold in confidence.  I know the challenges of tough decisions.  I know the heartache of loss at the depths that they experience it.  I know the demands that our schedules place on us physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.  I know the sacrifices that are made.  I know that standing in the gap and being on the front lines of preaching the Gospel makes us into targets.

I know that each of us responds differently to all that is entailed in our ministerial call.  Some have or will become complacent.  Some have or will burn out.  Others will push through causing immense damage to their physical or relational health.  Some will even leave the church.  This simply does not have to be the case.

We can thrive in the Sonlight of the Spirit.  We can flourish and be fruitful in ministry.  We can take all that the church and the world throws at us and we can live to fight the good fight yet another day.  But we can't do any of this in our own power.  We need divine intervention.  We need our grounding in the faithfulness of God the Father.  We need the resurrection power of Christ in our lives.  We need the encouragement and boldness that comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So no matter what your tradition, whether your preacher be clergy or lay, will you pray for your pastor?  Will you pray for the pastors of your neighboring churches?  I am convinced that 100 preachers that can collectively shake the gates of Hell with the power of God working in them and through them, can lead countless thousands more to join them on the journey.  We are colaborers with Christ.  The Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, is already breaking in!  Let us pray!

Today's prayer - Holy God, today we pray for the preachers of our congregations and for the preachers of the congregations that neighbor us.  Lord we pray that you would give them the courage and boldness of Peter at Pentecost.  We pray that they would be unified in their communities for the sake of the Gospel.  We pray that they would lead countless others in using their gifts for the Kingdom's sake.  But God, we also pray for their rest, their rejuvenation, for all the gifts and graces they need for a lifetime of ministry.  Bless them in their communities.  Bless them in their families.  Bless them in their friendships.  Bless them in their churches; but not for their sake God, but for your honor and glory and that Thy Kingdom Come, both now and forever.  Amen.

No comments: