The Higher We Go In God
October is Clergy Appreciation Month. I want to give honor to all the men AND women who lead congregations all over the world. Most of them will never be a pundit on TV or have a program on TBN. Most of us will never be invited to the White House for a meeting with the President. Most of us will never have a parade held in our honor or a street or bridge named after us. But one day we will stand face to face with the one who called us, anointed us and ordained us to preach this everlasting Gospel! And to hear Him say well done good and faithful servant will be worth it all!!!!!!
No one who serves the Lord in ministry, whether full time or bi-vocational, wants to stand before Him and find out we missed the opportunity of a lifetime in our lifetime of opportunities! We not only want to be faithful, but also grow and develop into the full measure of the men and women of God He has called us to be!
With that in mind here's three thoughts to remember as we go higher up the ladder with God:
1. The higher we go in God, the more a target we become to the enemy. I can remember as a youth pastor, I would go into my pastor's office many times almost in tears, not understanding the reason I was being attacked; many times by the very parents whose kids I was trying to lead into right paths! He would always tell me, "…son, the closer you walk with the Lord the more a threat to the enemy you become!" In fact, the amount of pressure you feel right now, is the amount of potential you have in God! So if you are reading this and are under the gun, especially for no particular reason you can put your finger on, rejoice! You need to scream out POTENTIAL!!!!!! You are being made partaker of the sufferings of Christ! And the sufferings of this present evil world do not compare to the Glory that is going to be revealed in us!
2. Secondly, the higher we go in God, the tighter the grip we must have. I can remember climbing radio towers when I was in my 20's; I would do fine until I got to between 125-150 feet. Something happened when I would get to 150 feet; I realized I could not simply climb casually from there on; one careless slip up would send me falling to my death! I know Jesus will never leave us or forsake us! But the higher we go in Him, the tighter the grip we must have on our thoughts, our doctrine, our handling of the scripture! We must know why we believe what we believe, and make absolutely certain what we believe is based on the entirety of the Word of God and not something that will keep the crowds worked up and coming to our meetings!
3. Lastly, the higher we go in God, the more cautious we must be about decisions we make, places we go and the words we use! Death and life are in the power of the tongue! We are either going to speak life to people or speak death! If the President of the United States were to tell the corny jokes I tell sometimes, he would start a world war! If that is true for a president, what about us as men and women of God? While a greater anointing may bring us into greater places of ministry with larger crowds, a greater level of anointing also comes with a greater responsibility to walk out that anointing with humility and integrity!
May we never quit striving for that higher place in God! No matter the cost!