Unreasonable and wicked men – who are they? Men and women
who refuse to listen to God’s Word whether it comes from the Holy Spirit, the
Bible, or God’s chosen leader of the church. Don’t get me wrong. I am not
equating these three because the Spirit and the Word are infallible – human leaders
are not. However, God has made it clear that He gives to us those leaders we
need to guide us. Pastors are those New Testament leaders. Read 1 Timothy 3.
The New King James Version calls this man a bishop, and Paul gives us a
description of the qualifications to serve. If a man doesn’t meet those
qualifications, he shouldn’t serve, but if he does and he is called to pastor
the church, then he should be followed. Not blindly, but he should be followed as
the God-given leader of the church.
Unreasonable and wicked men/women in the church are those
who refuse to follow. They stand against the pastor. They refuse to follow his
leadership. That is the unreasonable part of all of this. No matter what the pastor
attempts to do, they reject it and they criticize. Oh, how they criticize. And
ridicule. Call it gossip or backbiting. It doesn’t matter. They work behind the
scenes and create turmoil, confusion, bitterness, and despair. And they hinder
the gospel. They quench the Spirit. They prevent lost people from being saved.
Wow! You say, “That is quite an accusation!” Yes, it is. You
see, as a church, the Spirit of God must be allowed to work freely. If this
atmosphere of turmoil is present, God’s Spirit is quenched. God is not going to
birth spiritual babies into a toxic atmosphere. He is only going to place them
in an incubator that will allow them to thrive.
I listened to a song on the radio the other morning as I
drove to the church: “On Fire” by Sanctus Real. The lyrics say this:
Remember when you
couldn't wait to show up early and find your place.
Cause you didn't want
to miss a thing.
And your heart was
open and ready for change.
Oh, those days.
You were never afraid
to sing, never afraid to lift your hands.
Didn't care what
people would think.
You were on fire, and
church was more than a place, and people were more than faces, and Jesus was
more than a name.
Remember when you
weren't ashamed. To tell your friends about your faith.
A time when you felt
the pain of just one lost soul that was slipping away.
Your heart was soft,
you had radiant eyes, but slowly the pressures and burdens of life pulled you
into the dark of the night.
But when did you lose
your sight?
Cause you were on
fire, and church was more than a place, and people were more than faces, and
Jesus was more than a name.
Oh you were on fire,
you let life put out the flame.
But he's still calling
out for you cause he wants to light your heart again. And set it on fire.
Set it on fire.
Turn your eyes, turn
your eyes and don't forget what it was like.
Set me on fire, set me
on fire.
I wanna hold God's
people close, wanna feel the power of Jesus' name.
Set me on fire. Set me
on fire.
When was the last time we were on fire like
this? As a church? As an individual?
Can I take just a moment to ask you to help
your pastor? Pray for him as Paul asked the Thessalonian Christians to pray.
But don’t stop there. When you hear unreasonable and wicked men/women doing
what they do, would you stand up to them? Do it lovingly. Do it with
compassion. Say, “I don’t want to talk about this with you, but if you will go
with me to the pastor, I will sit down with you while we talk this out.” It’s the
Christian thing to do, and it will promote unity in the church – and that is
the kind of atmosphere where God will work.
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