We, Christians, often thought that we will get what we want when we walk in obedience to God. Which isn't always true. Let us remember that two thousand years ago the religious teachers thought so! When Jesus first began his ministry, he went to Galilee and then to Nazareth where he was rejected due to their wrong mind-set. For he directly told them that God has not sent him to them. Likewise, God has sent Elijah to none of them, but to Zarephath the widow and He sent Elisha to none but Naaman. After hearing this, they threw him out in wrath! They didn't want that Jesus. The package was unfitting for them.
John Bevere stated that he once had a youth who had a wrong image of who a youth pastor should be. He was a youth pastor for nearly four months when Tim approached him:
He asked sincerely, "Pastor John, will you be my buddy? My last youth pastor was my buddy."His question was not to be taken lightly, and I looked inside to hear how I should respond. The answer quickly came in the form of a question: "Tim, Jesus said, 'He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward' (Matt 10:41). Well, this applies to a youth pastor as well. If you receive a pastor in the name of a pastor, you'll receive a pastor's reward."I continued, "Tim, you have a lot of buddies, don't you?"He responded, "Yes, sir.""But you have only one youth pastor, right?"He responded, "Yes, sir."I asked, "What do you want: a buddy's reward, or a youth pastor's reward? Because the way you receive me is what you get from God."It was as though a light went on inside him. I saw his eyes register the revelation, and he quickly answered, "I want a youth pastor's reward. I see what you are saying." He flourished from that point forward. He moved a few years later, but he still sought me out whenever I came through his city.
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