The ministry of a pastor is special to the
Church of Christ. He is first of all the Shepherd of the sheep and as such,
God's representative. The New Testament speaks of him as an Elder, a Bishop and
an Overseer of God's sheep. Many and varied are the duties of a pastor. The following Bible verses confirms it;
Colossians
1:28,29; Titus 21; 2 Timothy 4:1,2; Acts 20:20
His work involves a wide range of responsibilities and obligations. His duties include:
i. Feeding the flock ( Jeremiah 3:15).
ii. Edifying the flock ( John 10:11-13). He watches and protects the sheep from wolves by teaching them sound doctrine.
iii. Defending the sheep (2 Chronicles 10:3-6). Shepherding is a spiritual warfare. Pastors, through their preaching and prayer, deliver and quench the fiery darts of the enemy.
iv. The spiritual growth of the sheep is of utmost concern to him.
To fulfill this responsibility, every pastor must see the spiritual transformation of the sheep as a focal point of his ministry.
PREACHER'S PREPARATION FOR SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
Ordinary words of human knowledge from the pulpit will only entertain. Only words received from God can transform human lives (2 Corinthians 3:6; John 6:63). The preacher must learn to prepare to receive from the Lord and then give the word to his congregation. In addition, he must depend upon the Holy Spirit. He must pray and prepare adequately by giving time to the study of the Bible. Furthermore, he must search out for acceptable words and seek to solve problems through his messages. He must be practical and clear. A preacher must aim at making his message to be life transforming by making it practical and clear.
PREACHING FOR SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION
The goal of the preacher is not to entertain. He is not presenting an academic work that will draw applause of the people. His duty is to get the people renewed and revived. His focus is to bring his congregation into relationship with the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is willing not just to make people better church members but heaven-bound pilgrims who will contend for the faith till the end. In the light of this, his message must:
1. Be revealing- i.e. revealing the conditions of the heart - (Jeremiah 17:9)
2. Be convicting (Acts 2: 38)
3. Be pointed (John 3:3)
4. Be illustrative
5. Be scriptural (the letter killeth)
6. Be structured
7. Be clear i.e. unambiguous
8. Be rendered fervently (Acts 18:25,26)
9. Create life and faith
10. Be prayerfully prepared and presented
11. Lead hearers to decision
12. Be refreshing to the soul
POSITIVE RESULTS THROUGH THE PREACHER'S PREACHING
Since the preacher's focus is essentially to transform the recipiens, if he depends on the Spirit of God, pray and seek the word as the Spirit gives him utterance, then the end result will be life transforming and heart warming. Heaven will rejoice and people will glorify God. The expected results of preaching will be:
i. Genuine salvation is obtained
ii. Sonship will be granted
iii. Hunger and thirst after righteousness is created in the soul of the hearers
iv. There will be full restoration to wavering and wandering souls.
v. Elevation to high degree of faith in God
vi. Fruit bearing
vii. People walking in the truth (2 John 4; 3 John 3-7)
viii. Balanced spiritual life
ix. Victory over sin and the world
x. Sanctification experience for believers
Conclusion:
The church thrives on the commitment and consecration of dependable ministers. May God depend on you at all times as His Steward.
