We need laborers, not loiterers!
(You will
find it helpful to LISTEN
to the Audio, as you READ
the text below.)
Matthew 9:37, "The harvest is plentiful, but
the laborers are few!"
The minister who does not work hard in his
ministry, will find it very hard work to answer for his idleness at the day
of judgment. A gentleman who wants an easy life should never think of
occupying the Christian ministry, for he is out of place there; and when he
gets there, the only advice I can give him is to get out of it as soon as
possible!
And if he will not leave the position
voluntarily, I call to mind the language of Jehu concerning Jezebel, "Fling
her down!" This same advice applicable to a lazy minister. A mere
idler has no right in the pulpit. He is an instrument of Satan in damning
the souls of men.
The ministry demands brain labor; the preacher
must throw his thought into his teaching, and read and study to keep his
mind in good trim. He must not weary the people by telling them the truth in
a stale, unprofitable manner, with nothing fresh from his own soul to give
force to it.
Above all, he must put heart-work into
his preaching. He must feel what he preaches. It must never be an
easy thing with him to deliver a sermon. There must be soul-work in
it; the entire man must be stirred up to effort, and the whole nature that
God has endowed him with, must be concentrated with all its vigor upon the
work in hand.
Such are the kind of ministers we need. To
stand and drone out a sermon in a kind of articulate snoring to a
people who are somewhere between awake and asleep--must be wretched work
indeed. I wonder what kind of excuse will be given by some men at last, for
having habitually done this. To never to deal with men's consciences, never
to upbraid them for their sins, never to tell them of their danger, never to
invite them to the Savior with tears and entreaties--what a foolish work is
this!
What will become of such preachers? God have mercy upon them!
We need laborers, not loiterers! We need
men on fire!
"Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who
work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish
you." 1 Thessalonians 5:12
"When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man,
you will surely die!' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his
ways--that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you
accountable for his blood!" Ezekiel 33:8
We ministers are burdened by remarkable responsibilities. Oh, unhappy
men, if we are unfaithful! We are the worst of criminals, and murderers
of immortal souls. We, if we are not true to God, are the choice
servants of Satan! Judas himself was not more the son of perdition, than
the man who calls himself a minister of Christ, and yet dares to be
unfaithful to the souls of men.
"Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers,
because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly!" James
3:1