Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The priests, who are Levites—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.
This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts. You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name always.
If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose, he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions. Deuteronomy 18:1-8
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As I look back on the spiritual road the Lord has had me on…the road of my Christian Walk…I clearly see how blessed I have been to have had some awesome spiritual leaders and mentors, all who have played an important role in making me the Christian leader that I am today.
I grew up in the very small Western Pennsylvania town of Brookville and during my youth, I attended the local Presbyterian church. The pastor there was Reverend Darr Briggs and he was someone I looked up to so much as a young man trying to learn how to spell Jesus. He never had a harsh word for me and always sought to encourage and edify. I loved going to church and us the gifts that God had blessed me with. At that time, it was playing the trumpet. So I played the trumpet with the choir, accompanying them on selected anthems. I also would serve as an acolyte and carry the light in and out of the service. To this day, my memories of church are more vivid than any others and I have so much thanks in my heart for my first pastor, Reverend Darr Briggs.
My next church involvement came after a nine year drought in my life. I had joined the Navy and left my beloved Brookville Presbyterian Church as well as Reverend Briggs. I ended up in Stockton CA at my first duty station and never sought a church home there. And my spiritual life became a dry wasteland. I stopped leading my family spiritually and, subsequently, my family fell apart. My marriage ended in 1989 and I struck rock bottom. I couldn’t believe all this was happening to me. After all, I was as good person. I didn’t drink. I didn’t do drugs. I was faithful to my wife and kids. I never went off and did my own thing at the expense of my family. But none of this was as important as leading my family spiritually. I allowed my relationship to die on the vine and paid the price for it. I was at the lowest point in my life. But it was there that God…our awesome, amazing loving God…came to rescue me. And He did it with “Amazing Grace”.
For one day as I was working as a volunteer at Norfolk elementary school, the Lord led me to an assistant principal named Grace. We would speak for a few minutes and then she would get called away but something at the time told me this was no chance encounter. There was a special push to get to know this woman more. Little did I know that it was the Holy Spirit leading and guiding me to transformation.
So I sent out flowers to Grace and asked if she would go to dinner with me. She accepted and as we were talking about things, she told me that we couldn’t have a relationship unless God was first in our lives. I quickly said that I was cool with that but inside I was a raging ball of anxiety. Thoughts started rushing through my head like “I haven’t been to church in years”…”How will God feel about that?”….”Will I remember the Old from the New Testament?”…and “Where is my bible anyways? I can’t remember the last time I used it.” As I would soon learn, God was just as anxious as I was…anxious to welcome me home, wrap His arms around me and show me just what I had been missing all those years I chose to walk without Him.
Grace and I would marry (having our 16th anniversary in December! Yeah!) and build our relationship on the sure solid foundation of Jesus Christ. We would begin attending Bayside Presbyterian Church in Virginia Beach VA and there I would be pastored and mentored by the Reverend Dick Keever. I would go on to learn so much from Dick over the next 14 years as he developed me spiritually. I began to teach youth Sunday School and then the adult classes. I was selected and ordained as a church elder and served three terms on session. I would lead church worship if either Dick or his associate pastor were away. The Lord truly blessed me with the Reverend Dick Keever and he played a key part in making me the Christian leader and man I am today.
Finally, the Lord called me to a new church a little more than a year ago. Grace and I felt called to move to a new place of worship and ended up at Bayside Baptist Church in Virginia Beach. We were drawn there by the Holy Spirit who was alive and speaking truth through Pastor Mark Pullen. His sermons were so true to the word and I loved how he was able to preach without prepared notes. All he needed was the Lord to give him the words to speak. I am back teaching again at the new church and have been involved with the music ministry, using my gift of singing both in the choir and in solos when asked to sing. All and all, the Lord has blessed Grace and I a great deal with our new church home and family.
So why do I go through all this? Because I feel we don’t give our spiritual leaders enough credit or attention…and they deserve better than that. Why? Because spiritual leadership was important to God and if it was important to Him, then it should be important to us. Let’s look at today’s scripture to validate this. There are three points of emphasis:
1. God chose His spiritual leaders. Scripture reads, “…the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name always “These spiritual leaders were hand selected. Not everyone was entitled to lead. Only those the Lord chose. This still happens today and as stated before, I’m so thankful for the men God chose to lead me: Reverends Darr Briggs, Dick Keever and Mark Pullen.
Given that the spiritual leaders were chosen, scripture further tell us that “The priests, who are Levites—indeed the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the Lord by fire, for that is their inheritance. They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the Lord is their inheritance, as he promised them.” In other words, the Levites were to be focused fully on carrying out the work God wanted them to do. They weren’t supposed to worry about what they had or what they might receive from the world. They were to rely on God for their provision. Today, pastors are paid from the church treasury which is funded by the offerings and tithes of the congregation. The spiritual leaders of today still rely on God’s provision through His people in order to have what they need to live. And this leads to point 2.
2. God expected the people to care for His chosen spiritual leaders. The people were given the following guidance from God:
“This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts. You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep, for the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord's name always.”
God’s chosen people were to ensure that His chosen leaders were taken care of. And notice that they weren’t supposed to just give the Levites their leftovers. No…the scriptures say they were to give their firstfruits…their very best. God gave and still gives His best to His people. He expects that we return our best to Him. So how well do we do that? How well do we give back to God what was first His? Do we give Him our firstfruits or do we reserve those for ourselves? Do we really give our best to the church so that God’s chosen spiritual leaders are provided for properly? Only you can answer those questions in your own life.
One final point…
3. God called His leaders to go and minister wherever He chose. Back to the scriptures…
The Word says, “If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose, he may minister in the name of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord.”
The Lord did and still does call on His spiritual leaders to move and continue their ministry work at the places He chooses. Speak with any pastor who has been doing it for awhile and they will tell you about all the places they have been and share testimonies about their ministry experiences at each place. You’ll see that there are very few who have stayed in the same place for their entire time of chosen spiritual leadership. We should always carry a great appreciation for this level of dedication to service. Our pastors are much like our military in the way they will serve in a variety of places throughout their career. Only they are waging spiritual warfare through their tenure.
So I pray you will take an extra moment to tell your pastor…God’s chosen spiritual leader for you and your family…how much you appreciate them and what they do in leading in the name of the Lord each and every day. Maybe a nice thank you card would be in order…with a gift card to a restaurant or Christian book store if you can swing it. Anything to let your pastor know they are appreciated. It was a priority for God. Let it be one for us as well. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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