ICS Daily Devotions
Communicating God’s Vision
Rom 12:3 (NKJV) For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.
It takes a pastor to humble himself to seek the face of God regarding what is the calling for the church that He has been placed in. The success of every church is dependent on moving and operating in the will of God. Once the vision and the strategy for outreach of the church is clarified then every member of the church should rally behind the vision by serving with their gifts and talents.
Rom 12:9-11,16 (NKJV) Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; …. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.
One of the greatest challenges of many people is the inflated ego because there are many corporate heads and high achievers in many churches. We are used to giving instructions instead of getting our hands dirty. We are used to being served than to serve. We have forgotten that church is servant leadership. Some cannot even function without a secretary or not even humble enough to take minutes in a committee meeting. We are very good at pointing out problems, criticizing and comparing how we could have done it better. We have to be careful and deal with our pride because God rejects the proud but give grace to the humble. The Apostle Paul advised us “not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think”. It is easy to be an authoritarian to give instruction and expect someone else to do the word.
Habakkuk 2:2 (NKJV) Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it.
The church operates very differently from the corporate world. We will seek the opinion of only one person, that is God, regarding the direction of the church and her strategy. There is one head which will be Jesus Christ and the entire church makes up the body. Just as Habakkuk took time to seek the Lord, it is the responsibilities of the pastor to humble himself to seek the face of God for the vision and strategy and communicate it to the congregation. Once the vision is communicated, then the whole body of believers should rally behind it as long as it doesn’t violate the law and contribute in fulfilling the vision with their gifts and talents.
The pastor is one part of the body with his unique calling and gifting. He is to spend time praying, preparing the word and receiving the direction for that particular church from God. God adds a pastor to help His people be all that He has purposed for them to be. He takes them from where they are to where God wants them to be. The pastor must be submissive to the Christ, the head of the church. The role of the pastor is to get everyone to follow Christ, live a consecrated life in accordance to the will of God and function well in the body. When the Christians support their local pastor in the vision that has been communicated by God, it will be a blessing for the congregation and the Holy Spirit will flow there mightily.
Sermon series: Our Church experiencing God Together (CG campaign 3)
