FROM DISCOURAGEMENT TO TRIUMPH (5 OF 17)
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 2:12-17
This content is part of a series.
From Discouragement to Triumph (5 of 17)
Series: 2 Corinthians
Robert Dawson
2 Corinthians 2.12-17
Pierce Harris in Leadership Magazine writes, ''The modern preacher is expected to make as many visits as a country doctor, shake as many hands as a politician, prepare as many briefs as a lawyer, and see as many people as a specialist (I'd say a therapist). He has to be as good an executive as the president of a university, as good a financier as a bank president; and in the midst of it all, he has to be so good a diplomat that he could umpire a baseball game between the Knights of Columbus (I would say Antifa) and the Ku Klux Klan (White Supremacists).'' (Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3.)
Expectations in ministry, whether the church's or your own, can be debilitating. Because of all that is required and expected of a pastor coupled with feelings of inadequacy, the weight of the call, (pastors know that eternity and the spiritual well-being of his people are in the balance and that he will be held accountable before God), along with the persistent spiritual warfare, all of which are his constant companions, make the perfect brew for discouragement.
John MacArthur said, ''The call to ministry is an invitation to unequaled privilege, unsurpassed blessing and also discouragement. What pastor has not seen his heart broken?'' That statement is so true. It's not just true about pastors but anyone who has poured their heart out in ministry.
Discouragement in ministry is real. Discouragement in life is real.
We all face discouragement. We all deal with disappointments.
No one escapes it. Not even the strongest of us. Even the great Apostle Paul, who we look at as a great hero of the Christian faith, faced discouragement and had to deal with disappointment in ministry.
In 2 Corinthians we really get an up-close and personal backstage look at the Apostle Paul. It is honest. It is raw and we'll get another cold blast from the winter of discouragement that ...
Series: 2 Corinthians
Robert Dawson
2 Corinthians 2.12-17
Pierce Harris in Leadership Magazine writes, ''The modern preacher is expected to make as many visits as a country doctor, shake as many hands as a politician, prepare as many briefs as a lawyer, and see as many people as a specialist (I'd say a therapist). He has to be as good an executive as the president of a university, as good a financier as a bank president; and in the midst of it all, he has to be so good a diplomat that he could umpire a baseball game between the Knights of Columbus (I would say Antifa) and the Ku Klux Klan (White Supremacists).'' (Leadership, Vol. 6, no. 3.)
Expectations in ministry, whether the church's or your own, can be debilitating. Because of all that is required and expected of a pastor coupled with feelings of inadequacy, the weight of the call, (pastors know that eternity and the spiritual well-being of his people are in the balance and that he will be held accountable before God), along with the persistent spiritual warfare, all of which are his constant companions, make the perfect brew for discouragement.
John MacArthur said, ''The call to ministry is an invitation to unequaled privilege, unsurpassed blessing and also discouragement. What pastor has not seen his heart broken?'' That statement is so true. It's not just true about pastors but anyone who has poured their heart out in ministry.
Discouragement in ministry is real. Discouragement in life is real.
We all face discouragement. We all deal with disappointments.
No one escapes it. Not even the strongest of us. Even the great Apostle Paul, who we look at as a great hero of the Christian faith, faced discouragement and had to deal with disappointment in ministry.
In 2 Corinthians we really get an up-close and personal backstage look at the Apostle Paul. It is honest. It is raw and we'll get another cold blast from the winter of discouragement that ...
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