HOMILETICS
LECTURE 45
THE PREACHER’S STRESSES
Inferiority complex
Ex 4:10-12 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
The Preacher can be his own worst enemy. Inferiority complex; focused on any and all imperfections; lack of confidence; just plain scared of what God has called him to do. Don’t you be an obstacle to yourself!...
Overworked
Ex 18:13-14 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people: and the people stood by Moses from the morning unto the evening. And when Moses' father in law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou doest to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning unto even?
Ex 18:17-18 And Moses' father in law said unto him, The thing that thou doest is not good. Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee: for this thing is too heavy for thee; thou art not able to perform it thyself alone.
Church planting is a very time consuming and stressful undertaking. One can get too busy to where ‘thou wilt surely wear away’, along with the church folk. Acts 6 and the appointment of Deacons is a possible solution to this. Or, just plain ‘delegate’ to those who are willing and somewhat qualified for the areas that help is needed in. Often times it is just the preacher and his family doing all the work. And some preachers that have recently planted a church are also busy with a secular job, sometimes 20 to 40 hours a week! Oh so busy…oh so stressful…
In over your head
1 Kings 3:7-9 And now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?
A new, inexperienced Pastor can quickly become overwhelmed with all that is required of him; they didn’t teach this in BibleCollege! Taking over a pastorate of a large church can give you unimaginable stresses; you could be in way over your head. It’s wise to ‘grow in to the pastorate’…slowly.
A wolf amongst the sheep
2 Tim 4:14-17 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works: Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words. At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
Wolves in sheep clothing; or even sheep that put on wolves clothing. Many times there will be just that one member that is against you…you can sense it…you can’t trust them…they are hypercritical…they withstand your words…you seem to be all alone, with no men coming to your aid…they end up eventually trying to do much evil to you. Oh how a preacher ages in his first 10 years of the pastorate! It only takes one coppersmith.
And you thought you had it bad…
2 Cor 11:23-30 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
If it isn’t one thing, it’s another! Compare your ‘many stresses’ with that of Paul’s. Just how many of these stresses have you encountered?.... none?! It’s all relative. The more you do for God, the more intense and unique the stressors will be.
It’s all part of the calling
1 Cor 4:9-13 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.
It’s a calling of ‘stress’……as it were, ‘death’! Even basic needs were deficient at times. They were ‘forced’ to get secular jobs to stay alive. Do what you’ve got to do, and keep preaching the truth. “We suffer it”… we put up with the stresses… it’s all part of the calling, my friend.
Vexed
2 Peter 2:7-8 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
How much more vexed is the preacher who sees the ‘church members’ involved in worldly, filthy, wicked practices?!.... You preach and preach and preach the truth, and yet the members seem to have deaf ears to it… oh how that will vex your righteous soul from day to day!
Money talks
1 Cor 9:11-12 If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
Money talks; and preachers are no different from anyone else…they listen to it. When there isn’t enough, they tend to start the ‘wanderlusting’ stage; the ‘grass is greener on the other side’ mindset. Probably the number one stressor that causes a preacher to seek greener pastures is ‘green’, that is, money. My firm advice is to ‘never let money figure into the equation of whether you ‘take a church or not’, or ‘whether you stay at a church or not’… it should have absolutely no bearing on it; for one is mammon (carnal), the other is spiritual.
When I am weak
2 Cor 12:7-10 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
Preachers are notorious for not being the most healthy examples of human life on this planet. They often or more than just a little overweight Some of this has to do with food being used as a stress reliever; some has to do with just basic poor self-control (there is always going to be the ‘sin which doth so easily beset you’); and some is due to being a ‘Baptist’…
The Lord may use health issues to keep you humbled so you will be a more effective preacher. You look at it as a curse, but God meant it for a blessing. A preacher gets some exercise while preaching (45 minutes, 3 times a week); and if he goes soulwinning once a week, that’s another hour or so of exercise. But, other than that, his job duties are basically sedentary. Multiply this by 20 years, and you may have a fairly unhealthy preacher: Diabetes, Hypertension, Arthritis, Obesity, Gastro-Intestinal ‘issues’, Migraines, Bipolar Disorder, Insomnia, and the list goes on. Well, whatever the reason for the poor health, ‘when I am weak, then am I strong’! Try to get healthy, but whatever ailments you do suffer from, let them drive you to your knees….
It’s enough to make a grown man cry
Heb 5:12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Acts 20:31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
You, the preacher, warn them, plead with them, week after week, year after year, yet many will not seem to move ahead; they still stay as little babies wanting their milk. It can bring you to tears…
Agonizing prayer
Matt 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Luke 22:44-45 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow,
Oh the behind the scenes pressures as a preacher; they are nothing like what Jesus Christ went through, but, nonetheless, they are, or can be, intense. Praying for a sermon topic; praying for the words for the sermon; praying that you will finish it in time; praying that it will speak powerfully to the hearers; praying that someone will have a changed life because of it! Praying for the flock that it will draw close to Jesus; praying for them to be united; praying that they will be strong through temptation; praying that they will not spiritually sleep and be easy prey for the Devil.
SPURGEON’S LECTURES TO MY STUDENTS
LECTURE XI
THE MINISTER'S FAINTING FITS
[Pastor Warner’s comments are in italics]
As it is recorded that David, in the heat of battle, waxed faint, so may it be written of all the servants of the Lord. Fits of depression come over the most of us. Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the joyous not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron, to whom wear and tear work no perceptible detriment, but surely the rust frets even these; and as for ordinary men, the Lord knows, and makes them to know, that they are but dust. Pastors are not superhumans; they have weaknesses and inconsistancies just like every other human; they typically are under more stress than the members; they will have ups and downs; don’t be shocked when you see your pastor have a ‘fainting fit’…
It is of need be that we are sometimes in heaviness. Good men are promised tribulation in this world, and ministers may expect a larger share than others, that they may learn sympathy with the Lord's suffering people, and so may be fitting shepherds of an ailing flock. It was good that I have been afflicted, that I might learn the statutes. One of the most beneficial things for a Pastor to be trained in is ‘experience’; that is, experiencing what others will be experiencing; to have known what they are going through. Jesus was in all points tempted, yet without sin.
Moreover, most of us are in some way or other unsound physically. Here and there we meet with an old man who could not remember that ever he was laid aside for a day; but the great mass of us labour under some form or other of infirmity, either in body or mind. Some Pastors are the sickliest folk I know; some just have been health habits, while others are stricken by God, or maybe by the Devil, or just plain by the stresses of the ministry.
Our work, when earnestly undertaken, lays us open to attacks in the direction of depression. Who can bear the weight of souls without sometimes sinking to the dust? Passionate longings after men's conversion, if not fully satisfied (and when are they?), consume the soul with anxiety and disappointment. To see the hopeful turn aside, the godly grow cold, professors abusing their privileges, and sinners waxing more bold in sin--are not these sights enough to crush us to the earth? All mental work tends to weary and to depress, for much study is a weariness of the flesh; but ours is more than mental work--it is heart work, the labour of our inmost soul. How often, on Lord's-day evenings, do we feel as if life were completely washed out of us! After pouring out our souls over our congregations, we feel like empty earthen pitchers which a child might break. We are not to be living specimens of men in fine preservation, but living sacrifices, whose lot is to be consumed; we are to spend and to be spent, not to lay ourselves up in lavender, and nurse our flesh. Such soul-travail as that of a faithful minister will bring on occasional seasons of exhaustion, when heart and flesh will fail. Moses' hands grew heavy in intercession, and Paul cried out, "Who is sufficient for these things?"
Doctors are always dealing with negative things…sick people. Well, preachers often have the same situation; they are dealing with spiritual sick folk; they are either lost and undone and headed for Hell, or they are a child of God that still suffers from sin and has a laundry list of problems from week to week. The Preacher attempts to prepare to teach and to preach to these ‘sick’ folk several times a week and undoubtedly ‘catches’ some of their ailments from time to time.
Our position in the church will also conduce to this. A minister fully equipped for his work will usually be a spirit by himself, above, beyond, and apart from others. The most loving of his people cannot enter into his peculiar thoughts, cares, and temptations. In the ranks, men walk shoulder to shoulder, with many comrades, but as the officer rises in rank, men of his standing are fewer in number. There are many soldiers, few captains, fewer colonels, but only one commander-in-chief. So, in our churches, the man whom the Lord raises as a leader becomes, in the same degree in which he is a superior man, a solitary man. The mountain-tops stand solemnly apart, and talk only with God as He visits their terrible solitudes. It’s lonely ‘at the top’; who does one confide in? who does one go to for counsel? who does one rest his weary head on? A weaker sheep?....his weaker vessel wife?.... There often is no-one…well no-one except the Comforter!