Ray Family Update from September 2017

If I am not mistaken, it was Lester Roloff who said the best favor one could do for a young man desiring to enter the ministry was to talk him out of it. While that may seem appalling, the point is that a man truly called of God will be undeterred from such suggestions. The fact is, many men have entered the ministry for numerous reasons, often excluding God’s call. The problem—the ministry is not for the faint of heart and can only truly be accomplished through God’s power and grace. Sadly, even called men struggle! Of the things Paul feared in this life, he seemed to fear most that after preaching to others, he “should be a castaway.” Along these lines, I recently read that 1,700 pastors leave the ministry each month. While I know that includes pastors from any number of types of “churches,” the statistics are staggering.

The stated reasons for this epidemic are numerous and wide-ranging. Many ministers are overwhelmed with the workload (many working a full-time job and pastoring); others feel underappreciated; others can no longer witness the pressures placed upon their families; others feel as though they can do nothing pleasing to the people to which they minister. Yet, in the end, these are only symptoms of the true problem—taking our eyes off Jesus. In fact, my mentor once said, “When people get you down, stop looking at people!” Regardless of what others do, those who serve the Saviour must keep their eyes on the prize and the purpose for which we live and breathe—for the Lord’s pleasure (Revelation 4:11). This is not true of preachers only, but all who name the name of Christ as Saviour!

The truth is, the moment you and I got saved, the Lord gave us a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). At that moment, the Devil launches an all out assault on our minds. Nobody can breed conspiracies, paranoia, bitterness, envy, doubt, or any other sin of the mind quite like Satan. The help for this is found in Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” The more our minds stay on the Lord, the more we enjoy God’s perfect peace. When we get our minds on the government, people, problems, earthly pleasures, etc., we get tossed about and we lose God’s peace (Philippians 4:7). While many Christians have surrendered to the Devil’s mind control and fight amongst themselves (husband and wife, friend and friend, saint and saint), the Devil is rapidly moving forward with his ultimate agenda to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). What shall we do?

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in his wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

From pulpit to pew, we must refocus. We must take our eyes off of that which harms our spirits and destroys our Christian character and fasten our eyes upon the One who allowed Himself to be fastened to a cross in our stead. If our devotion, affections, aspirations, hopes, etc., are placed anywhere other than on the blessed Son of God, they are misplaced. This is the burden of my heart! This is the desire of my heart for my own life! Greater than that, this is God’s desire for my life! Will you pray that God would burn this desire deep into my heart? Will you pray that God will do the same for my family? Will you pray that God will do the same for Antioch Baptist Church? Will you pray that God will do the same for you?