An average person sees their pastor three times a week. Sunday morning, Sunday evening and
Wednesday Evening. They come into the church to hound us about not living right and make us feel horrible about ourselves and our lifestyle...etc.
No. That's conviction. Sent from God though the willingness and obedience of your pastor.
Pastors and preachers, that follow the voice and leadership of God through the Holy Spirit, preach what God has told them to preach...whether they want to preach it or not.
Growing up in a preacher's home, I never realized the struggle my Dad went through to follow God's will and voice when it came to sermons. I remember as a small child, watching my Dad get his bible and go somewhere private to study. Often times, he would pack his bible, notebooks, and any other things he need for his bible time, and leave the house to go up behind our house on the mountain. Where he had built his own rock altar, he would pray and find somewhere to study, away from any distractions. He would be gone for hours at times. I'd ask my Momma where Dad was and she would simply say, "He's studying."
As his daughter, and part time driver to places for him, I watched my Dad preach in a lot of places. Churches, street corners, nursing homes, schools, jails..etc. And with every single place he preached, the preparation time was the same. Gather his things, go somewhere private, pray, get close to God and listen for Him to tell him what to preach.
I knew what Dad was doing, but I didn't quite understand the struggle, as I said before. But now, being married to a preacher and seeing the struggle firsthand as a wife... I somewhat have an idea about the struggle.
The picture here was taken at our very first scheduled meeting as a married couple, hours from home. The night before this was taken, I had fallen and severely sprained my ankle, at 8:30PM. My husband had to deal with me as I was writhing in pain and blacking out on him, deal with being in the hospital for hours and getting me back to where we were staying for the night...and somehow study to know what God wanted him to preach the very next morning.
God is gracious and merciful, that Sunday mornings message went well. But he had to preach again that night... Exhausted from barely sleeping, taking care of me and battling everything mentally, he sat in that chair and waited on God to lead him for the service that night. And again, God is good! This is only one example of the times I have seen my husband, and my Dad, battle for what to preach. It really is a battle.
I've realized the great need to pray for the preachers in our lives.
Husband, Father, Brother, or Pastor, whoever they might be to us. Most of us see them only on Sundays and Wednesdays, and they give us the message and we go home. But they have studied, worked, prayed and mentally (and possibly physically) taken on a battle to bring us that message. They need our prayers, not just before each service, but all week long. They battle all week to give us what God wants us to hear...and we get upset at them because we get convicted?... Over what God told him to say?...
We don't understand what they go through before their sermon is shared. Some of us get to see part of it first hand and we need to step up into the battle and pray for our preachers!
2 Timothy 2:15 - "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
1 Corinthians 9:16-
For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
They are fulfilling a calling and command of God. Pray for the preachers!