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Preacher, I cannot help you if you got into trouble being a jerk, chasing whores or little boys, violating the law of the land, peeking at porn, teaching error, or bashing sheep. If you have fallen into sin, you simply need to repent and confess it to those who know about it. But, if you have been faithful and served the Great Shepherd, feeding his sheep, teaching the King James Bible without adding Greek lessons and snob wisdom, visiting the sick and shut in, and generally living an open godly life, stick around. I know what your problem is. Paul told you it was comin':
Did you think the sheep would all love you? Surprise, surprise!! Some sheep are rebels and will run the opposite direction of your voice every time. There are Judas sheep. There are wolves in sheep's clothing. You thought you really knew how to catch a wolf in sheep's clothing didn't you? Well, these wolves are clever, and they sometimes sneak up on preachers. Did you sin by not catching them right away? No. Even Jesus did nothing about Judas until the very end, and Jesus KNEW what was in Judas' heart. You will NOT catch these wolves and hireling preacher friends right away. They are masters at fooling the best of men for a season. It is clear from the Gospels that all of the disciples had full confidence in Judas until he betrayed Jesus. So, stop dissecting yourself. If you are in God's will, keep on at the work he has given you. If you are voted out, go start a fellowship and learn a lesson-- democracy is Laodicean, "rule of the people." Don't waste time defending yourself. DO defend sheep who are being unjustly attacked. DO defend widows and orphans. Above all else, WATCH. Satan is a destroyer of faith. He attacked Eve's faith in the Word of God. He did the same with Job and Jesus. Even Paul was allowed to have a thorn in the flesh from Satan by God's permission.
Satan will attack your faith. He wants you to STOP believing you are saved. Satan wants you to STOP believing you are given to the Lord's Church as a pastor and teacher. You are NOT "called to preach." Check it out. That expression has no basis in the King James Bible. You are called to be a servant and faithful-- nothing else matters. Satan wants you to STOP believing your are called to serve God where you are RIGHT NOW. Paul accepted the thorn because he knew that God wanted to humble him. He knew things from the third heaven that made him a flaming expert on things no one on earth had ever seen. But God then told Paul he could not tell anyone what he had seen in heaven. God wanted Paul to stay humble. Maybe you are a lot more special than you imagined, and God just wants your present thorn in the flesh to be there so you will stay broken and useful. What a blessing to be hurt under the close loving supervision of the God you love.
Don't give me any pious baloney about how strong your faith is. Examine your armor daily. Is the shield shining from use? Are there any burn marks from those fiery darts of Satan? There better be. Is every other piece of armor in place? When it is, wade into the battle. You cannot lose.
Wicked men and Satan KNOW they can defeat you. They BELIEVE in themselves. But, when your faith is strong, they always turn out to be wrong. You always win when you are walking in your God-given armor. Preacher, we are surrounded. On all sides are the forces of Satan. They are supported by evil men who hate you-- Freemasons, Catholic priests, Mormons, sloppy Charismatic pigs, TBN, godless law enforcement, politicians, lawyers, Pharisees, backslidden Fundamentalists, and neighborhood criminals. Preacher, we have them right where we want them. Don't let one of them get away.
One last word of caution-- CHARITY. In your zeal, remember why you fight these battles-- You are called of Jesus Christ to feed and heal sheep. Do not fall into this tough guy image with these ones Jesus loves. We have far too much of this sheep bashing in the Lord's Church. Now, back to the battle. "Someone is sinking today...."
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