The Reward of Honoring Your Pastors - Pastor Eben Conner

it's a month in which the time is taken to honor and appreciate ministers for the work that they do not only in the local church but also in the community so I want you as a church to help me appreciate all of the pastoral staff that work here and support here at water-tube Family Church can you give all of our socio passes and executive passes a big hand clap I think we may have I don't know 10 passes on staff or so somewhere in there October is also the time that word of truth family church decides to honor my wife and I as founders of word of truth family church so it's a privilege for me as the senior pastor of this church to be able to share a message with you today that is normally preached by another pastor typically to talk about a subject that I'm gonna talk about today most pastors or churches will bring in a pastor or bring in a preacher and let them free about a principle that I'm going to be sharing but I believe so much in the principle and I exercise the principle so much that I figured why should I let somebody come up here and talk about something when I can do it myself amen so if you're taking notes the message title is the reward of honoring your pastor the reward of honoring your pastor it's sad to say but the world we live in tends to make light of how important it is to not have a pastor in your life they make it light you don't need a pastor in your life as a matter of fact what's interesting is that the world doesn't mind us giving honor to people like maybe movie stars or at the Leeds they don't mind us giving praise and honor to those individuals but here's the thing people like that we may not ever meet and nor will they ever make a spiritual deposit in our lives amen people spend hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars for season tickets to yell at people throwing a ball across the the field people who may entertain us but never help to transform us so today I'm gonna be briefly talking about what it takes on how to honor your pastor and the reward that comes with that so if you have your Bibles fine mark chapter six verse 34 mark six 34 and then Luke chapter two verse eight and then I think I may just read Jeremiah chapter 23 verses four that was Mark chapter six verse 34 Luke chapter two verse eight and Jeremiah chapter 23 verse four if you're visiting us for the very first or second time it is going to be a very different message it's a very different service because our church has set aside today to honor me and my wife as pastors and in traditional settings some people would call it the pastor's anniversary or the pastors appreciation well we call it value the visionary so I'm gonna be talking about counting myself but not in a selfish way I'm talking about myself from a biblical standpoint amen alright so in mark chapter 6 let's look and see what God's Word says about honoring a pastor or with the reward of honoring a pastor because I believe God's Word is clear that pastors are people that God has created to care for his sheep in mark 634 jesus said and when he came out he saw much people and was moved with compassion toward them because they were as sheep not having a shepherd and he began to teach them many things I want you to notice here Jesus got ready to preach to the people but he noticed and the Bible says he was moved with compassion because they were like sheep not having a shepherd which now lets us know that when God sees us he sees us as sheep look at your neighbor and say you look like a sheep go ahead and tell him now look at your other neighbor and tell him you smell like a sheep - I'm just playing I'm just playing God sees us as sheep and all sheep need a shepherd now in Luke chapter 2 verse 8 it says and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night if you notice in the New Testament when they mention shepherds the word Shepherds also is the same word as pasture in the New Testament and notice now that these shepherds were abiding in the field at night in other words a pastor's job is not from 9:00 to 5:00 I'm gonna say that again with one hand clap on the front row a pastor's job is not from 9:00 to 5:00 thank you pastors do not have a job pastors have a call if you noticed on the video I was out there at the construction site at 2:30 in the morning and I watched them and encouraged them as they poured cement I couldn't do it for him but I encouraged them okay and meant what you did not know is that I had to go right back home and be prepared because I had a mediation to be at at 10:30 so a pastor's job is not 9:00 to 5:00 because it's a call now I love Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 4 this is what it says and I God was talking I will set up Shepherds watch this over them which will feed them and she'll and they shall fear no more nor be dismayed neither shall they be lacking says the Lord now let's look at this verse because God is saying that he will set up Shepherds I want you to see the key word over them in other words God has designed a pastor or a shepherd to oversee your spiritual life the Bible says obey them that have rule over you and see this is why you have to stay under spiritual authority see sometimes the devil's fighting us because we we've drifted away from the flock the only the only sheep that adept that the devil can go after and successfully conquer are the ones that stray away from the flock if you notice some of these television shows on the WoW animals and stuff it went when when Lions go after certain prey what they do is look for the prey that jumps out of the fly and so when you are under the covering of a pasture notice he says that he has set up Shepherds over us and that's why I don't know you may have gone to Bible School you may have more degrees than a thermometer but that doesn't mean that you are more you are over your pastor listen the moment you equalize yourself spiritually with your pastor is the moment you will stop receiving from them see the anointing does not flow horizontally and once you put yourself equal with your pastor well I don't know what he knows yeah I know I've been this I went to same school he went to as a matter of fact I'm older than him so I know I'm old no morning it's not even about that it's listen when it comes to pastoring it's not knowledge its position amen so it says that he was set up Shepherds over them and notice what this Shepherd will do he will feed them and then as a result of me feeding you God's Word you will fear no more and then he says you won't be dismayed that means discouraged that's what the word does it encourages you and then he says something powerful he says as a result of a pastor being over you you will not be lacking oh my god in other words I'm telling you as a member of a church if you will connect and stay under the covering of a spiritual pastor or leader your life will be better than it was from when you started amen so the revelation of why you and I need a pastor is so that God will help us spiritually grow because you cannot spiritually grow by yourself you can write down the Fijians 411 because Jesus talked about he says you know there's prophets some evangelists some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints so God is using a pastor to perfect you and grow you spiritually and here's the problem some people will start coming to church they get involved they start growing and then they will slowly find themselves in a position and they will say things like I'm not being fed anymore well in most cases it's not that they're not being fed the fact is they've decided to not eat see if you eat too much junk food when it's time for real dinner you're not gonna eat the real thing and some of you are you eat junk food spiritually during the week so now when it's time to eat at were at church I'm not being fed no you're not opening your mouth to eat the food that's being served amen and some some people substitute the TV the CD or the internet for their pastor oh I'll skip Church I'll just watch it I'll just do I just watched a video I listened to past on the podcast the pastor cannot be replaced with a computer and our society is is the way it's setting up it's setting up for you to not have to interact with people that's why they have online dating I mean think about it you really go get to know somebody over computer or a tweet that's the problem you know why the divorce rate is so high because we're trying to watch this we're trying to have relationship through the internet the internet will never replace the man of God okay okay type in and type in in the internet type it in and say computer will you marry me we gonna see it's gonna come back what the series say that does not compute amen so we look at your neighbors say you need a pastor now Jeremiah 3 3:15 says this and I will give you pastors watch this according to my heart this is the Lord talking and they will feed you with knowledge and understanding here's what I love about God pastors are so important to God that he heart picked them he did not handpick them he heart picked them in other words God has chosen a pastor that was based on the conditions and requirements of the heart of God not just from the heart of a man amen here's the problem media call but few are chosen but I've also discovered that few are chosen but many called themselves that's why there's a church on every corner here in Texas that's why there's a guy that says I'm a pastor I've been doing it for 50 years and he's got 10 people no no maybe he was not supposed to be a senior pastor maybe he was supposed to help somebody else pastor everybody who's pastoring God didn't tell him to do it amen Psalm 78 see when God chooses you watch watch his criteria Psalm 78 looking verse 70 it says God or he chose David also his servant he took him from the sheepfold from following the ewes great with young and he brought David to feed Jacob his people and his inheritance so David fed them according to the integrity of his heart and David guided them by the skillfulness of his hands see when God picks somebody he don't pick them based on their education and he don't pick them based on how popular they are and he don't pick them based on how eloquent they are he picked them based on the criteria that he has in his heart and what's wonderful about this it says that God chose David you don't call yourself in the ministry it's something that God calls you to do amen and notice that David had some natural criteria God made sure that David had worked some things out in his life because he noticed he said that he led them or he fed them from the integrity of his heart that's why I pastored there should be some integrity in the life of a pastor a pastor's life ought to be different than a member even though we all live by the same book there's still watch this different requirements that God has on a man of God the Bible says all things are lawful unto me but all things are not expedient what that means is he says I can do whatever I want to do but because it's not profitable I choose not to I know listen drinking is not wrong but it is for me oh yeah I know y'all can drink y'all got your little bar set up at home with your friends up there you got Jack up there you got Henny up there and you know you got all your friends that's fine but listen listen pastor Evan chooses to not drink why because some can but I won't why because I want to set an example for you as a church I don't want to give you a reason to not receive from me God chose David and he fed them from the integrity of his heart and then David guided them by the skillfulness of his hands see God made sure that David could first leave some sheep and then fight a bear and then fight a lion before he could fight a Goliath you showed me a pastor who has not sat under a pastor and has not served in a church long enough and I'll show you a pastor who's not gonna make it long term see one of the criteria for working in the kingdom is it is God's got to have you you know they have these intern programs so you got to be an intern before you can be intern you got to be an intern before you can be before it could be your turn and a lot of time seeing I'm gonna give you three things that I that I believe will help you successfully not only be pastored but to succeed in your personal life now ezekiel chapter 34 verse 23 i'm just gonna read this real quickly because i'm running out of time he says and i will set up one shepherd over them you can't have five pastors i'm sorry he says i will set up what'd he say how many Karl class how many one shepherd what over them and that one shepherd is gonna do what feed them he shall feed them and he shall be their Shepherd I know people to pester me I said well what are you go to church well my home church is in Arkansas really so how long you been here in Texas ten years so your home churches in Arkansas but you live in Texas for ten years so where do you go to church well when I visit my mom I go to church in my home church but I still haven't found one here in Texas yet how many know there's a Jesus in the church somewhere in Texas it shouldn't take you ten years to find no church God has a church and he has a pastor designed just for you so I asked myself the question cuz I talked to myself I asked myself what would what would I like to know if I was a member of where the truth family church what would I like to know about what pastor Evan has done that has created success in his life on a spiritual level so I asked myself Evan what have you done that you could explain in principle and the people could practice on a natural level that will help them be a better believer and also connect to the vision at where chief enters and so there are three things so there are three things number one and these are things that I did before I was a pastor now let me just explain this to you pastor Evan was a sheep longer than he was a shepherd okay I've only been pastoring twelve years okay so that means if you subtract 12 from my life I started pastoring when I was 40 so that means from 40 all the way down is how long I was a sheep all right and I didn't get saved till I was 20 so let's just X out the other 20 years so from 20 to 40 I spent 40 years or 20 years as a sheep so I'm qualified to talk to you about what it's like to be a sheep amen and so one of the things that I did as a sheep is that I served my pastor and the vision that he had I served my pastor and the vision that he had and here's what's amazing if you will serve the pastor and the vision God's given him or them what you would discover is that it positions you to get the double portion of that person's spiritual call see that's what happened to Elijah and Elijah you can just write down second Kings chapter 2 it says when Elijah asked Elisha for a double portion this is what he says he says you have asked for a hard thing nevertheless if you see me when I'm taken away from you then you will have it when he said you see me he wasn't talking about physically seeing Elijah leave the word see means to perceive correctly he said if you will see me right you will get a double portion and see if y'all can just see me right if you can just get past a coffee story come on now if you can get past the Sprint situation amen if you can get you know past the DirecTV and 7-eleven convenience store and all the other issues that I have had if you can get past those Bears are true anointing on the inside of me and see I learned when I was serving my pastures cuz I've only served three in my lifetime what I learned is that they weren't perfect but they were perfect for me I was able to look past their flesh or watch this look past their preferences because sometimes it's not even about what the pasture is doing being a sin or not it's about my preference see sometimes yeah we get caught up with the wrong thing and if I was the devil I would do it to see the devil's Jesus is root me on the day I come on wait wait wait no no the devil got half of the body of Christ focused on the wrong thing you all bent out of shape on what kind of car the pastor drive that's justice that's preference that's not sinful and just because you didn't reference them to dry the same kind what difference does it make but you're all the devil's trying to do is mess your heart up he trying to mess you up and I served my pastor in Division see if you go and read in acts in fact why don't you turn your Bible quickly and I'm running out of time but uh but I'm working on it this morning go to go to Acts chapter 16 I want to show you something see some of y'all have no clue what your purpose is in life you don't understand when I begin to serve my pastor and got involved in the vision that God had given him or them what begin to happen is my purpose in life begin to flourish Acts chapter 16 watch verse 9 at 16:9 it says in a vision appeared to Paul in the night there stood of men of Macedonia they stood a man in Arlington Grand Prairie and said come over here and help us pass the heaven and after he Paul or pastor Evan had seen the vision and the vision is to know Christ in the making known immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia assuredly gathering that the Lord watch this now had called us not him the Lord had called us watch this to preach the gospel unto them in other words I want you to see that Paul saw the vision that he communicated the vision with the people the width division went from being Paul's or was it from Paul to all and if you notice here now it says in verse 10 after he had seen the vision immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia we endeavored to go into the Orleans and man's for Grand Prairie area are surely gathering that the Lord watch this now called us your calling will come out of the vision that that the man of God has given your pastor I'm gonna say that again notice it says here that they said I surely gathering that the Lord had called us you're looking for your calling get involved in the vision and man I got involved with the vision of every church that I've been a part of and as I did my calling got clearer and clearer and clearer to the point where I knew without a doubt what I was called to do so the first thing I did is I served my pastor the second thing I did on a consistent basis is that I submitted to my pastor I submitted to my pastor and and when I submitted I obeyed cuz see you can't submit without Oban but you can't obey without submitting see obedience is the action point submission is the invisible part if visible the the one that you know I when you if I say pick that cord up you can pick that up no problem we see that but see the attitude behind it or the spirit behind it or the heart behind it is the part we don't see that's the attitude where you'd be like well why'd you ask me to do it he could have picked it up himself he was standing right there well what's this problem oh he think he better than us oh I see what that is all he don't want to get his suit dirty see all that be happening when at the end of the day the devil just trying to miss your heart oh because he knows your calling is gonna come out of being involved in the vision and this is why this is why if I was the devil I would be he just throws a lot of y'all at the end of the day if the word is being preached praise and worship is halfway good I'm not talking out here I'm just talking out a teeny Church if they preaching the word and praising worship is halfway good that ought to be enough for you to stay at the church for life see we got these consumer Christians the seat has to have six inches of fluff I have to have a parking spot on the front row when I walk in they must all call my name good morning brother so-and-so good morning we got all these preferences when how the devil's trying to do is mess us up so so so basically I submitted it sir so I tell you the story and then I'm gonna move on cuz I got a lot in me right now you can tell I'm going every different direction but I'm gonna do it anyway cuz I want you to get this your heart attitude towards your pastor is so important and this is why I'm glad our church decided to make this month and this Sunday a time where you give to us to give to me I'm gonna tell you why because it's it's it's Jesus said where your treasure is is where your heart is and see some of y'all need to keep your heart right towards me and so that's wise you need to give see you know when you give to somebody your heart stays right towards and that's why you show me a marriage whose hearts are floating away from each other and I'll show you a marriage that ain't given to each other because where your treasure is is where your hearts gonna be and so as you sow into your pastor's life it keeps your heart right with him and I'll never forget years ago before I was married man I'm on them but you know I trust you to go to camp little bitty church I don't know maybe eighty eight eighty a hundred people on Easter and man I'm in a small church excellent Church great teaching and so we will go to campus so you know we were driving a 15 passenger van and some of y'all know the story but I would take the van and we would take the van and go to camp and so you know we had to take turns driving the van and so on the way there my friend Doug was driving the van and I noticed the pastor's wife was telling Doug how to drive can you get over in this Lane did he get over there and you know for a while can you get over in this night and she just I mean she is a backseat front seat side she's a every time a driver whatever you call it and I noticed that Doug took him well but I knew I wasn't gonna take it well I don't like back honey they don't like backseat driver I don't like him don't like him being don't like him now and so I knew that I was gonna have to drive the van on the way back the Lord knew I was gonna have to drive that van on the way back so while we were at camp that week God had a whole week to get me together the first night of the camp I have a dream I have a dream that one day I would wake up and go off on my pastors that was the dream in this dream I'd go off I don't know what happened I don't know what my pastors did or whatever but I went off on them in the dream I was cussing I was I mean I was just you know saying stuff like well who you think you up well why you didn't you know I mean I'm going off in the dream and everybody in the dream the rest of the church people could see at that time I was minister ebon what is wrong with Minister Eden why is he going off like that and I'm going off and then I wake up and thank God it's a dream cuz it was embarrassing I wake up I said Lord what was that all about he says if in your heart towards your pastor is getting off you need to check it so what do you mean check it he says your hard towards your pastor is getting off you need to check it and see some of you are God will use things to make sure you get checked well I didn't let him check me I didn't let the dream check me it's now time to drive home from the camp I didn't learn from the camp got filled with the spirit at the camp go got taught the Word of God at the camp and now we on our way and it's time to practice that word now and we driving down the street and I'm driving and the pastor's wife didn't even get on the wheel him get on the highway good even can you get over into the right-hand Lane and you know I had to fake it I pretended that I was okay with her instructions so I said praise the Lord and inside I'm going lord please don't let that lady ask me to do that one more time please don't do that we get down the road some more Evan can you get over into the right-hand lane no the left-hand lane and I'm thinking I was just over there you just told me to move so I move over now I'm not I'm not too happy it's kind of showing and then the straw that broke the camel's back minister Evan can you get over and slow down in the left-hand Lane oh my god before I do it I have pulled over the van do you want to drive I was in the right hairline did you told me to get in the left hand like make your mind up what you want to do you know what I ain't driving I mean I got I mean and everybody looking at me like what is wrong with Minister ever and the Lord says Evan your dream has been fulfilled I start letting my heart get off let me tell you hi give me give you some signs that your heart getting give your heart's getting off when when you start believing lies like that seven don't really care how they wanted your money oh he loved you but he he too busy here's the biggest lie that I get from how all y'all right here most y'all don't call him he too busy well how you know I'm too busy you haven't even get calling me to even give me a chance at it most of the time you know I'm amazed at people get get over at a public with me on the first try and they mean it maybe I passed that wasn't hard at all I said I know the process haven't changed I have one person say well pastor is it gonna change we'll be moving to the big church cuz we will be a big church now I said it the process ain't gon change you gonna call the same phone number if you come we talk to the same person who's gonna make the same appointments you've been making it all this time but see the devil he'll tell you we too busy so I served my pastor I submitted to my pastor here's the last one I sowed into my pastor and we still do this today I learned how to give see I got beyond whether they needed it or not because when you sow a seed the seed is never for the soil it's for the sower the seed is never for the soil you never see the soil go thank you thank you thank you no no it's the farmer who gets the harvest that saying thank you thank you so when you sow a seed it's never for the soil is for the sower and I learned how to sow into my pastures life and I started with little amounts because see there's a reward that comes when you sow the N one says the the favor that opens up when you saw to a man of God is different from just regular sullen amen and I had to learn how to soul at the levels where I was at because see I used to be like well Lord I want to give a million dollars one day well if the Lord is asking me to give 10 and I'm struggling with that I ain't giving 10 the Lord I don't think that's you so I'm gonna give 5 well you saw the devil until you get $10 when you're fleshing okay to give $10 so I just figured if it's 10 in this tent so I just started giving at the levels where I was and I begin to see God do some things that I have never seen him do before now now go to Philippians chapter 4 we're gonna close right here flip in chapter 4 Philippians chapter 4 I'm gonna show you the reward that comes when you learn how to honor your pastor when you sow into the life because let me just say this when you honor always follows increase or increase always follows honor when they said children obey your parents in the Lord and says honor your father and your mother this is the first commandment he said that it might go well with you and you live long in other words the result of honor and your parents is you living a long time and things go well proverbs 3:9 it says honor the Lord with your substance and the first fruit of all of your increase then your barns will be filled with plenty and your presses shall burst out with new wine in other words the result of honoring the Lord with your giving causes increase to come in your life well there is a there is a reward that comes when you learn how to honor and give to your pastor in Philippians chapter 4 let me just give you an example in verse 15 it says this was Pyle talking he says now you Philippians know that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia no church communicated with me as concerning giving and one receiving but you only he says for even in Thessalonica you sitting once and again everybody saying again see see I appreciate value division every day but you know what that's one day what about once and again see there are some of you are with who I am thankful for but because now we know how to produce reports I was shocked of how many where does your family church members give to pastor Evan on a regular basis give yourself a hand clap for that give yourselves a hand clap for that I didn't know I know I looked at the list and my parents are on the list every month my parents give to the man of God every my parents watch this he says no church communicated with me concerning giving or receiving but you only for even in Thessalonica you sent once and again to my necessity watch this here's pastor Evans heart not because I desire a gift but I desire fruit that may abound toward your account notice it says but I have all I'm full I've received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you watch this now an odor of a sweet smell a sacrifice acceptable well pleasing to God I want you to see that when you give to the man of God God sees it as a sacrifice a sweet smell and he sees it as well pleasing and so watch this when the Philippian church connected with Paul and they sit to him and they blessed him and they gave to him he said to them not only does god notices but then he gives them a prophetic promise he says in verse 19 but my God shall supply all what's this of your need now according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus that promise was there because they had made a decision to give and receive from Paul I'm gonna tell you something right now this path I'm just telling y'all I know yeah you know being transparent can hurt you or help you a lot of times my transparency it really is designed to help people but sometimes because people can't handle it it end up hurting but if your heart is good it should help you so I'm gonna tell you this because I'm only trying to help you I'm not asking nobody to do this but but I'm doing this because I'm teaching what I'm teaching because I do it so like for instance this past but two weeks ago word of truth family church we gave to our past of my pastor or our covering we gave to him right from the church but it ain't right if I don't give something and pastors are don't give something personally amen now we didn't start out here but my wife and I we're gonna give a minute like this it's time we gave on that setting cuz every time I see my there's just me now there's just me touch your neighbor and say hey talking to you just tell him he ain't talking to you I'm just telling you every time and yet my pastor will stand up here and verify every time I see my past I put some in his hand I know y'all can't handle that but that's one and I'm not listening I'm not asking you to do that at all I'm just telling you what I do so this past what two weeks ago we were we wrote him a personal check for a thousand dollars watch this if a thousand pastors gave my pastor a thousand dollars how much money is there I mean now let's guess how much we raise for the bishop that that that night we gave we raised over a million dollars cuz I gave my game I'm out my right what's my point my point is this it has my sewing into my pastor's life has leapfrogged me spiritually financially and physically over pastors who has been under his covering for years they even come and ask me like I got some kind of secret they were said pastor David hi how'd you how'd you do this you know they'd if they listened they said okay you've been passed in 12 years how many people you got on staff I said well we we got about 25 almost 30 people that are paid in some way or another what how you doing I'm just thinking they doing what the bishops telling them to do whether the bishops say the bishops they pay your tithe an offering at your church the bishop said learn how to sew into his life and the bishop said walk by faith and not by sight well that's what I've been doing is that how are you doing see they think they think somebody's behind the curtain writing these million dollar checks ain't nobody about Wiis behind the curtain we's behind the curtain how are we building notice I say we how are we building a seven million dollar construction project and nobody has funded us how are we doing that because if God is for us who can be against us listen and if God is using me to do something supernatural that's listen that's the transfer that will take place if you let it there's a grace on my life there's a grace of favor there's a grace of increase there's a bit of grace of blessing there's a grace of entrepreneurship that is on me that if you just connect you'll see God do some things that he will never do in your family outside of you so here's what we gonna do did y'all get something outta day

Channel: Word of Truth

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Length: 39min 11sec (2351 seconds)

Published: Wed Nov 08 2017