Does the preacher you listen to know what he's doing?

Hi, Well, first of all lets first see what Jesus himself says about it, since his words carry precedence. 8"But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. 9And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.[b] 11The greatest among you will be your servant. 12For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Rabbi meaning teacher, but in any case a minister and teacher are two different things; to be a minister means to humble oneself, to minister to others. It is clear that Jesus intends his followers to live as brothers and sisters not in a hierarchy. Indeed the curtain of the temple has been torn, so that none need stand between man and God. Of course all parts of the body of Christ have different gifts and functions, that is of course true. But none may stand in a position of authority as is done in the Roman Church. Perhaps, our views are not so different but just about the use of the word 'minister?' all the best urban

I'm delighted to see that you somehow got my point that not all are ministers in the church and you also cited a verse when you supported your answer. I was just a bit alarmed when I read in the first sentence the part, "... all are ministers, in accordance with scripture", since the church members are given diverse gifts. It's good to consider this verse: 2 Peter 2:1 [1] But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. There is a danger in letting just any member without the gift of ministry to just evangelize his fellow members in the church because they could inject perverted doctrines out of ignorance of the scriptures for they may not have enough understanding but all they desire is to become teachers just like in many churches now that are divided into many factions. And it all starts with what they thought an honest intention of just sharing their own understanding on some verses of the scriptures but they unwittingly lead themselves and others astray because they have become teachers in their own accord. Eventually, divisions happen when the true church is always careful not to have divisions among themselves following this principle: Ephesians 4: [5] One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Hi urbandekay. Being genuinely concern, I would like to express my belief, being guided by the same scripture you are referring to that I presume to be the Christian Bible. The Bible states otherwise. Not all members of the true church can become ministers because of this proof: 1 Corinthians 12: 28-30 (King James Version) [28] And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues. [29] Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? [30] Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret? There will be danger if all members are ministers: Proof: James 3:1-2 (New International Version) 1Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

I could have written that myself.

Hi, WileyCoyote. I am delighted with your second, third, and fourth sentences. "The preachers I enjoy are the ones who have a sincere love for the people they are pastoring. They know how to properly teach the Word and will stand up for the truth regardless of how much criticism they receive for it. I like to listen to a pastor I can aspire to be like." I'm relieved that you exactly know what you want when you listen to. Check this blog. You might find what you're looking for. esoriano.wordpress.com

Okay. I think you appreciate gentle preachers more. I agree it's not pleasant to look at preachers shouting every single time. It really looks odd. But there are also times that a good preacher may shout just to emphasize a point since the scriptures has this to say: Isaiah 58: [1] Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Don't you think more people nowadays sleep spiritually? A meaningful delivery with emphasis by a sincere preacher while citing scriptural basis could awaken sleepy heads. I understand what you mean because I grew up as a Catholic and most of my immediate family [before my marriage] are also Catholic and I used to have this old belief that holy people don't know how to get angry or shout but when you check the Bible, apostles like Paul and the Lord Jesus himself shouted in order to rebuke people who do evil things. The best preacher, no less than our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated different ways to preach according to the audience, and the message.

Hello kun2349. I would explain to you in a manner that I would suppose only for this ocassion that you are a believer of Christ. Initially it is not bad to listen to different pastors you just have to make sure that you apply the process of elimination. Once you have proven each time a preacher abuses the Bible to teach his own doctrines, or his way of life does not conform with the provisions of God in the scripture, stop listening to him and listen to another until you can establish a solid comparison. Many of these self-appointed preachers [whom God did not call for but only desired to teach for profit or any lust and do not know the scriptures] are dreaming awake. They have to be revealed also in light of the scriptures. As 1 John 4: 1 states: 1John.4 [1] Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. It's not fair for yourself to not just listen to preaching because you're fed up. We are instructed by God to test the spirits they propagate and the only way to do that is to listen and study what they are saying. Then abandon any of them who is proven a liar. And please don't readily think that all who refer to Jesus Christ as his Lord is a Christian. The world is heavily populated by fake Christians practicing their futile religion in their fake congregations that in the first place called by any name besides Church of God. You can no longer tell most of the time whether they are really Christians whenever they go out of their house of worship. Commonly, you can conclude by the manner they dress up, with the way they speak, with the way they spend their money, with the way they deal with other people and how they manifest anger. Some of them even kill while God condemns murderers. But having said that, there are genuine Christians in the world. Don't worry. I hope this helps.

That's good because we acquire faith by listening. Proof: Romans 10:17 "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." But along with listening, we are commanded to study based on the Holy Scriptures if what each preacher we listen to conforms with the teaching of the Lord. Proof: 1 John 4:1 "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." A true Christian will not just take any doctrine from any preacher. He has to seek preacher approved by God because there are many preachers who teach on their own accord, leading people astray. They either refer to the Bible but only partially then the majority of their teachings are based on traditions and human philosophy. There are also some who don't even look at the Bible they just teach doctrines that are directly contradicting it. In turn, they multiply false religion, and they produce hypocrites, reprobates, and people who don't fear nor recognize the true God.