“I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.” Isaiah 42:8
For years, I quoted my pastor incessantly. Every opportunity I had, I would tell people what my pastor said. My pastor said this. My pastor said that. Oh, how excited I was to tell people what my wonderful pastor said! Then the Lord woke me up. And led me to repentance.
Five things I did back then bear warnings for us all.
- I quoted and referred to my pastor more than the Lord Jesus Christ.
- I exalted my pastor and made him and looked to him like a god.
- I turned to my pastor to be my primary teacher rather than the Holy Spirit whom God promises to teach followers of Christ.
- I neglected to study the Bible enough on my own to discern that some things my pastor taught were probably wrong as none of us is perfect in understanding God’s Word and some are even false teachers.
- I misled others by pointing them to my pastor instead of to the Lord and His Word.
Pastors called by God have a place in our lives but never on the throne of God. If we are listening to pastors more than we are spending time personally, intimately, intentionally, continually, daily, on our own with God and His Word sitting at the Lord Jesus Christ’s feet and learning of Him and seeking God’s presence and hearing Him and growing by His Spirit via His Word, and quoting and looking to and pointing people to humans in ministry more than magnifying our Father in heaven, God almighty, via the Lord Jesus Christ, we have a mighty big change to make.
We need to repent and turn to the Lord. And exalt and magnify and adore and worship and humble ourselves and bow down before and glorify Him as Lord whether we are alone or in the presence of others. For the Lord is God forevermore!
The Lord says in His Word…
“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26
“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” Eph. 4:11-13