Author: TFL

Prayer is essential to the Christian life. Some of us take a more systematic approach, writing down requests and scheduling time for focused communion with the Lord. Others of us are more spontaneous, bringing our requests to God as they come to mind and throughout the day.

No matter our approach, we would do well to add a vital but often neglected prompt to our routines: praying for our pastors. There might be specific needs our pastors have for which we can pray. But even if we don’t know the particulars, we can pray generally for them, using Paul’s final charge to Timothy as a guide: “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Tim. 4:5).

This brief exhortation outlines four ways you can pray for your pastors.

1) Pray He Would Be Sober-Minded

Paul instructs Timothy to “always be sober-minded” in his ministry—or, as the NIV has it, “Keep your head in all situations.” Pastors need their people to pray that they would remain grounded no matter the task at hand.

Pastors always face two great challenges. On the one hand is the danger of becoming puffed up with pride because of undue praise; on the other is that of becoming discouraged because of unhelpful criticism. An anonymously written piece about “the perfect pastor” gives a sense of just how hard daily ministry can be for ministers:

Results of a computerized survey indicate that the perfect pastor preaches exactly fifteen minutes. He condemns sin but never embarrasses anyone. He works from 8:00 a.m. until midnight and is also the janitor. He makes sixty dollars a week, wears good clothes, drives a new car, and gives fifty dollars a week to the poor. He is twenty-eight years old, has been preaching for twenty-five years, is wonderfully gentle and handsome, loves to work with teenagers, and spends countless hours with senior citizens. He makes fifteen calls daily on parish families, shut-ins, and hospital patients and is always in his office when needed.

If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this letter to six other parishes that are tired of their pastors too. Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list. In one week, you will receive 1,643 pastors, and one of them should be perfect.

While this bit of writing is meant to be humorous, its description isn’t too far removed from the reality of unrealistic, inconsistent expectations people often have for pastors. Only one man can meet every congregant’s expectations—and it isn’t the pastor. It’s Jesus.

We must pray for our pastors to keep their heads in all situations.

2) Pray He Would Endure Suffering

Next, Paul addresses the issue of suffering in ministry. No doubt, pastors in the first century faced serious hardship, from threats of Roman persecution outside the church to dangerous false teaching within. No matter the specific trial, it’s crucial that pastors in every generation neither court suffering nor complain about it but that they learn to endure it.

Pastors always face two great challenges: pride because of undue praise and discouragement because of unhelpful criticism.

Consider the work of preaching, for example. We may not think of sermon preparation and delivery as suffering per se, but there is a degree of hardship associated with the task. Paul has already established the seriousness of preaching in 2 Tim. 4:1–2: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

What a task! Even if we’re unaware of the particular conflicts our pastors face week to week, the ordinary demands of ministry are taxing. We should therefore pray that they keep on.

3) Pray He Would Do the Work of an Evangelist

Paul continues, urging Timothy to engage in the task of evangelism, or sharing the good news of Jesus. This work is perhaps among the most neglected of all in pastoral circles. Tied up in the demands of pastoral care and preaching, many pastors push evangelism to the side.

Uniquely, ministers must do the work of evangelism within the context of pastoring. They aren’t in the marketplace working secular jobs, so to speak. But rather than excuse him, Paul doubles down, saying to Timothy, “No matter your pastoral privileges and duties, see to it that you are also engaging the lost with the Gospel.”

We should pray for God to burden our pastors for the lost—that our leaders would be pastoral evangelists, committed with Paul to winning as many men and women as possible to Christ (1 Cor. 9:19).

4) Pray He Would Fulfill His Ministry

Finally, Timothy is to fulfill his ministry. The phrase essentially means, “Don’t quit, but see it through to the end.” Paul envisions a long-term ministry for Timothy and for pastors after him. He wants for Timothy to be able to say at the end of his life what he said at the end of his own: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7).

Our pastors won’t necessarily be able to reflect on their ministries and say, “I’ve been brilliant,” or “I’ve been tremendously successful.” But that isn’t what we are to pray for them. Brilliance and success aren’t the goal. A faithful walk with Christ till the end is. We should pray that our pastors remain committed to Christ and His Word, discharging all the duties of their task.

We should pray for our pastors to be evangelists, winning men and women to Christ.

Using 2 Timothy 4:5 as a starting point, would you commit to diligently, systematically, and faithfully pray for your pastor? You don’t need to know all the details of his life. Rather, irrespective of his circumstances, pray for him to be sober-minded, endure suffering, evangelize the lost, and fulfill his ministry.

This article was adapted from the sermon “A Prayer for Pastors” by Alistair Begg.

 

In Mark 4, Jesus tells a parable in which a farmer sows seed in his field. As he scatters, the seed falls on four kinds of soils: on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and then on good soil (vv. 3–8). The sower in the story, as verse 14 makes clear, is the one who declares God’s Word, beginning with Jesus and extending to faithful Bible teachers in every age. Jesus’ parable teaches that whenever God’s Word is faithfully proclaimed, it is met with different kinds of responses.

As we consider each of the four soils and how they’re instructive for us, we should remember God’s promise through the prophet Isaiah. The material in Isaiah 55:10–11 almost certainly informed Jesus’ parable in Mark 4:

  As the rain and the snow come down from heaven
 and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
 giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
 it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
 and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

In short, no matter the response people have to the Word when they hear it, God always accomplishes His purposes through it. His Word never returns empty.

The Parable Explained

In Mark 4:13–20, Jesus explains to the Twelve how the Word works from the vantage point of the sower and then in terms of the soils.

The Sower

In the immediate context, “the word” refers to the teaching of Jesus in Galilee. In particular, it is His proclamation of the Gospel—the good news—as in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.”

The people at the time were thrilled in anticipation of the coming kingdom. They expected something dramatic. And in the course of Mark’s opening chapters, as Jesus was demonstrating the powerful coming of the kingdom, people had responded in numerous ways—some believing, others opposing. The parable of the seed and the soils summarizes these responses. As the Gospel is sown, Jesus reminds us, the kingdom inches closer to its fulfillment.

Whenever the Bible is faithfully proclaimed, it is met with different kinds of responses.

We can learn a lot from how Jesus taught the truths of the kingdom. Commenting on Jesus’ distinctive approach, Archibald G. Brown says, “Jesus pitied sinners, pleaded with them, sighed over them, warned them, and wept over them; but never sought to amuse them.”¹

The application for Christians, and especially those who preach and teach on various levels, is clear: Our job is not to entertain but to do the hard work of a farmer, faithfully scattering the seed of the Gospel.

The Soils

The soils in the parable represent the various responses people have to the Word.

First, Jesus describes the response of those seeds sown along the hard, beaten path of a person’s heart (Mark 4:15). This group hears the Gospel and shows fleeting, superficial interest, but they ultimately prove impervious to it, Jesus’ words bouncing off of their hearts like rain on a tin roof.

Indeed, whenever the Word of God is sown, the activity of the Evil One is present. It’s Satan who—sometimes directly, usually indirectly—snatches the seed before it can ever take root in some people’s hearts. And his work is usually subtle. It may be a voice in someone’s head saying, “You don’t need this,” or “This would change too much and be too hard.” Being taken away, there’s no hope for the seed’s growth.

The second kind of soil is the “rocky ground,” where there is no depth (vv. 5, 16–17). Although the seed springs up quickly, it has no roots, eventually withering in the heat. This is the person who receives the Word with an apparently immediate, joyful heart. It may even be followed by a quick baptism and ministry involvement. But something happens along the way. Trouble comes. Persecution comes, by way of the Word, and they fall away—instant bloom, instant fade.

Third, there’s the thorny soil in verses 18–19. In this instance, internal pressures and divided loyalties frustrate the Word’s growth in a person, bearing no fruit. Jesus lists three factors that choke out the Word: the worries of life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and desires for other things. Importantly, it’s not only things that are inherently bad that may keep us from receiving the Gospel. It may be good things—a love of sports, concern for our family’s well-being, and so on—that steal our affections that belong to God and lead us away from zeal for Christ. These lesser goods, if managed foolishly, can become thorns, imperceptibly and inevitably choking the life out of us.

Finally, there is the heart represented by the “good soil” (Mark 4:20). This group hears the Gospel, accepts it, and bears fruit. They are those Jesus speaks of in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

Make no mistake: The hearing of God’s Word in and of itself will do nothing until He enables us to accept it, bow down under it, and believe it. But when God’s Word is received in humility, it makes a lasting impact. This person prospers in trial, holds up in storms, and endures to the end.

The Parable Applied

When we reflect on the different kinds of soils Jesus describes in the parable, we can probably think of individuals we know who would fit into each group. Some hear the Word and prove disinterested; others seem to embrace the Gospel but eventually reject it on account of hardship; and still others show initial zeal for Christ that is later choked out by the thorns of life. Discouraged by these responses, we may wonder, “Why all this waste?”

Hearing God’s Word in and of itself does nothing until we accept it, bow under it, and believe it.

But at the heart of Jesus’ parable is a lesson we can’t afford to miss: God has pledged Himself to fulfill all the purposes for His Word (Isa. 55:11). We may not see it immediately or even in our lifetimes, but the promises He’s made concerning the Gospel and His kingdom will come to pass. God has watched over His Word throughout history, seeing His people through the Dark Ages, the Cultural Revolution in China, the Covenanting times in Scotland, and so on. We can be confident that the same God who accomplished His purposes then is accomplishing them today.

While we sow Gospel seed, we must also pay attention to the condition of our own hearts. God’s people are simultaneously sowers and soil, sharing and hearing God’s Word. If we do not humbly accept the Word of God planted in us, it will not help us. It will harden us. To sit under God’s Word preached week after week without responding in faith and obedience is a dangerous prospect. We’ll eventually lose interest, drifting away and bearing no fruit.

And so we heed the exhortations of Scripture: “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you,” (Mark 4:24) and “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Ps. 95:7–8; Heb. 3:7–8; 3:15; 4:7–8).

This article was adapted from the sermon “The Seed and the Soils” by Alistair Begg.

1. Archibald G. Brown, The Devil’s Mission of Amusement: A Protest (1889). ↩︎

In medicine, certain vital signs—breath in the lungs, a pulse felt on the wrist, movement in the eyes—show that a person is alive. The same is true in the church, spiritually speaking: If a local body is truly alive, a few indicators will make it easy to tell. Where these vital signs are present in a congregation, they prove that Jesus Christ is in fact the head of that body.

Peter, writing to the churches scattered throughout the Roman Empire, lists four vital signs against which the believers are to measure themselves (1 Peter 4:8–11). Lively churches—in the first century and throughout all ages—are those that possess love, hospitality, service, and praise.

Love Above All

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)

The apostle is concerned in this verse to stress love’s priority and sincerity. Using language that assumes Christian love is already present in the churches, Peter instructs believers to “keep loving one another.” Of course, his command isn’t anything new. It’s built on the very words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples: “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34).

Peter doesn’t want us to view this love as some form of drudgery. He wants love to be undeniably present in the churches, which ought to be defined by people loving each other “earnestly.” The Greek word (ektenē) carries the sense of strenuous activity, like how an Olympic runner springs from the blocks at the outset of a race. In other words, the love described here isn’t some kind of mushy expression grounded in emotion. It’s eager love, sincere love, quality love.

We can’t evade this challenge, especially in light of Jesus’ teaching: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). As we think about our own church bodies, we ask, “Would curious onlookers know that we love Jesus based on how we love one another?” That’s the implication of Peter’s instruction.

A great reason for this love comes in the second half of the verse: We love because “love covers a multitude of sins.” This doesn’t mean that love sweeps sin under the carpet, nor that love avoids confrontation. It instead means that love is ready to forgive and forgive again. Love finds a way to return a silent answer in the face of fury unleashed against us. “Love,” Paul writes in the great chapter on the subject, “is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast” (1 Cor. 13:4).

Sincere Hospitality

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:9)

The second vital sign for the body of Christ is hospitality, which is itself an expression of love. Hospitality is love in action. We know we possess genuine Christian love when we reach out to others, sharing what we’ve received.

Certainly, our churches need to be gymnasiums, training people for the rigor of spiritual warfare; they should be schools, instructing members in Christian doctrine and living. But here, Peter reminds us that churches are also hospitals, providing spiritual care in a society overwhelmed with fear, emptiness, and suffering. Love expresses itself in hospitality­—in churches whose members open both their hearts and their homes for the hurting. Peter essentially tells the churches, “Be prepared to disrupt your daily routines in order to show hospitality. You’re always on call. You are to stand ready to embrace the traveler.”

A simple expression of hospitality has the power to change lives.

And just as our love is to be earnest, so our hospitality is to be sincere, done “without grumbling.” This goes against our natural tendencies, no doubt. We grumble when we’re inconvenienced. The only way we’ll view hospitality as a Christian privilege is to recall the words of Christ as He reminds His followers that even the most basic forms of hospitality are directed ultimately toward God, not toward man (Matt. 25:31–40).

A simple expression of hospitality has the power to change lives. Almost any Christian can make a home the kind of place that has one extra seat at the table for the lonely student, the recent widow, or the young professional. And who knows but that those who sit at our tables today may one day end up sitting around the table in God’s great kingdom?

Service for Others

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength God supplies. (1 Peter 4:10–11)

Practical Christian service emerges from two facts, according to verse 10.

First, Peter emphasizes that we all have received spiritual gifts. No one is without gifts in the body of Christ. We may not have tons of gifts or even possess the gifts we think we ought to have. But the principle stands: We are empowered with spiritual gifts, apportioned to us by God Himself.

Peter describes the gifts given to Christians as the result of “God’s varied grace.” God’s gifts, in other words, are multicolored, like what we find in a rainbow or in a flower garden—various hues intermingling with one another to create a cohesive whole. The church is a lot like that, with God putting all kinds of graces side by side. In the church, the whole is greater than the individual parts. 

No one is without gifts in the body of Christ.

Second, the apostle reminds us that we serve as those who are gifted for the sake of others and not ourselves. The gifts of God’s Spirit aren’t toys to be played with; they are tools used for the sake of encouraging others and glorifying God.

Continuing in verse 11, Peter divides the gifts into two groups: there are those who speak and those who serve. Of course, speaking is a form of serving. But the point in Peter’s classification is to distinguish between gifts that primarily use words and those that primarily use deeds—between relevant instruction and practical kindness. The church needs both to be healthy.

Those who speak, we’re told, are to do so as stewards of God’s very words. That is, preachers and teachers shouldn’t draw attention to themselves. They aren’t primarily storytellers but heralds of divine truth. And for those gifted for service, Peter reminds them of the source of their strength: It isn’t found in themselves but in the power Christ provides.

Praise

… in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:11)

It’s fitting that the final vital sign Peter lists is praise, for the church exists for the praise of God’s glorious grace (Eph. 1:6).

There is a logical flow of thought from verse 10 to verse 11: When we serve in God’s strength for the purpose He intends, it produces the praise He deserves. Viewing the church’s activity within the framework of praise affects how we go about our living. If we exist for God’s glory, then our service will be both modest and strenuous, recognizing the weakness of “me” and the strength of “He.”

While it’s true that we may add to the list of vital signs for a church body, we can’t take away from those Peter lists here and expect our fellowships to be lively. Love, hospitality, service, and praise are practical evidences of a church’s union to the living God.

If we want these signs to be present in our congregations, we won’t be able to muster them ourselves. We need “grace and peace … multiplied” to us (1 Peter 1:3). And thankfully, in Christ, we have the privilege of being able to take that prayer of Peter’s and make it our own!

This article was adapted from the sermon “Vital Signs” by Alistair Begg.