Just how much respect should you show the man of God?
Acts 14:7-18
· Some show virtually no respect to a pastor—he is worse than a regular man
· Some treat men of God as though they were special people that descended from God and almost God like
· Some pastors think that they should have the last word in the life and decisions of the members and the members allow that to happen
· Some preachers believe their own press releases so much that they no longer feel accountable to regular people
I. Due to God’s great blessings on men it was becoming more and more difficult not to show undue respect to them
a. Peter preaches and 3000 get saved and baptized
b. The 120 speak in tongues and everyone understands them
c. Peter and John going to the temple heal a man in the name of Jesus Christ 3:7-8
d. Joses gives a tremendous offering and is honored by the people and the apostles with a new name 4:36
e. Ananias, Sapphria lie to the Holy Ghost and are killed at Peter’s word 6:4, 9
f. Peter’s shadow seemed to cause people to be healed 6:15
g. Dorcas is raised to life at the hand of Peter 9:36-40
h. Peter is freed from the jail by an angel 12:5-19
i. While preaching an impotent man is healed 14:7-10
II. The people react to seeing the great power of God on the lives of these men
a. They thought that Paul and Barnabas were actually gods that had descended to be among them 14:11
b. They gave them names of their false gods 14:12
i. Barnabas they called Jupiter
ii. Paul they called Mercurius because he was the speaker
c. The people and even their priests and religious people wanted to offer sacrifices 14:13
III. God’s men react strongly and quickly to this wrong worship
a. They ripped their clothes and ran into the crowd yelling 14:14
b. They cried out that they were but men like them 14:15
c. They explained that they had a message for them from the true, living God 14:15
d. The true God is a creator God 14:15
e. He has allowed men in the past to walk in their own ways 14:16
f. He is a God that controls nature 14:17
g. They should turn from vanities or worthless empty religion to the one true and Holy God and be converted 14:15
IV. Other Bible teachings about respecting the pastor
a. God’s men ought not to be worried about titles Matthew 23:7-10
b. Peter told Cornelius to stand up before him because he was but a man Acts 10:26
c. God killed Herod for not giving the honor and the glory to God Acts 12:22-23
d. We should see them as our fellow servants Revelation 19:10
e. There is a wicked doctrine of the Nicolaitans which God hates Revelation 2:15
i. Possibly a rebellious deacon that taught that we have a license to sin
ii. Possibility those who taught that the laymen were less than clergymen
f. Pastors were to be obeyed but that because the believers wanted to follow his example and teaching Hebrews 13:7, 17 I Peter 5:1-4
g. Men of God were to be cared for financially if they preached I Corinthians 9:14, I Timothy 5:17
h. They should get the same respect that all men are due—honor to whom honor Romans 13:7
V. Take away lessons
a. Preachers nor anyone else should ever try to take God’s honor and glory
b. You should respect a man of God like you do any other man—nothing more and nothing less
c. We should never bow before men of God or in any way think that they did the great things that God did through them
d. We should never use the excuse that we are not one of the special people and so do not have to be used of God
e. Pastors should never demand obedience and you should never obey without thinking first and seeking God through His word
f. We should all count ourselves honored and unworthy that He would use us
g. We should respect the pastor for fulfilling God’s plan for his life just like we should respect every other Christian who obeys God’s will for their life
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