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James: If you could go back in time
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to the first day of your ministry
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and speak to a young Clint Leiter,
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what would you tell him
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and most stress to him?
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Clint: I would say be
certain of your calling.
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If you're going to last in the ministry,
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you've got to know that you are
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in the will of God being there.
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The Apostle Paul did that.
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I think I've counted six of his letters,
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he opened to different churches,
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"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ
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by the will of God."
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He keeps saying "by the will of God."
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And he might be saying that surely
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for the benefit of the Corinthians
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or the Colossians
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or whichever church that he's addressing,
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but surely he's reiterating
that in his own mind.
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There is that confirmation
in the mind of a pastor
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that is vitally important,
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and that is a calling.
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If you don't have that,
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you won't weather the storm -
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if you're not convinced.
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There's a stick-to-it-ness about a man
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when he knows that it's because of God
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that he's there.
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There have been numerous times,
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countless times when I've been able
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to pray to God and say
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in the midst of difficulties,
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"Lord, this was Your idea.
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I'm not here because I forced my way
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into this situation.
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You brought me here
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and it was confirmed by Your men
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all along the way.
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I'm here because You brought me here."
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That's helpful. That's necessary.
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So I would tell any young man that.
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You've got to be convinced of that.
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There's any number of other motivations
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that would cause someone to seek
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a pastoral ministry.
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I would counsel against it
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until that one right
there has been settled,
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and that is, God wants you there.
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Someone has a romantic notion
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of what it is to stand in a pulpit
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and speak these words
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and have people fawning over your sermon,
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or maybe they're a very
compassionate person
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and they just want to help people,
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or any number of things.
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Sooner or later, they're
going to run head on
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into some opposition.
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The devil will see to it
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because every pastor is
like a squirrel on a fence post.
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The devil is there to
take a pot shot at it.
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And they won't last.
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You won't last in that office
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unless you're convinced of that one thing,
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that God called you
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and you're there for that reason.
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It was very comforting to me
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when Bob was in the process of dying,
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Conrad Murrell came and stayed in our home
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and we were sitting there talking
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and I was pouring out my heart
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and my fears to him.
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And he had a very prophetic, helpful,
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insightful word that was profound.
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He said, "Clint, you've got to remember
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you are God's responsibility."
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And that was very helpful.
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God is very much concerned
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about my longevity.
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He takes me seriously and my position.
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And I'm His responsibility.
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That's very helpful to remember.
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It's helpful to remember the temple of God
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which is the church
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according to the Corinthian letter.
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The temple of God -
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God takes very seriously - the church.
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If anyone destroys the church -
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the temple of God -
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him will God destroy.
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And so you can't cause problems that way
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without incurring the consequences
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of the wrath of God.
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So there is this whole
idea, this whole notion,
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God has called a man.
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He's put him here with this local body.
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There might be situations
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where a man finds himself
in places of ministry
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where he's put there from
a pragmatic viewpoint.
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Here's a guy who's got qualifications.
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Here's a guy who's willing.
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Here's a need and a place
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and so we'll put him there
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and he'll serve there.
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And it might last for awhile.
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There might be a season
where that's useful
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in a man's life building him
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for future usefulness in
some other capacity.
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But that's over and against a man
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who knows God has
called me to the ministry
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and He's put me in this church.
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And it's rather narrow maybe,
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but God has done that
for me in some regard.
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I have as my focus this
little church right here.
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And whatever else God might choose
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to use me in whatever capacity,
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it's not my calling.
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You know, David went in the Old Testament
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to the battlefront to take
supplies to his brothers.
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The army was stationed
over and against the Philistines.
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It was that occasion when
Goliath was coming out
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and taunting the armies of Israel.
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And David's brother said to David,
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"who is back watching that little flock?"
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And those words have stuck in my mind
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ever since I read them.
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In other words, you need
to be singular in your focus.
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God has called you to
that church right there.
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Focus on that.
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Do that to the best of your ability
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and don't leave your post.
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There's a suffering that
is very military-istic
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in the life of a pastor.
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Paul said to Timothy,
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"Suffer hardship with me
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as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
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Soldiers, when they're trained,
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the special forces -
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they put them through hardship.
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There might be some that
might be more courageous.
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There might be some that are better shots.
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But what they want is someone
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who's going to stick it out in the midst
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of the worst - absolute worst conditions.
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Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier
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of Jesus Christ.
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And so when we find ourselves
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in those situations,
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whether or not we leave our post
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is going to largely be dependent
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upon our conviction that
God has put us there
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in that spot, in that place,
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for those people.
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And when we're certain about that,
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then we can stand our ground so to speak.
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