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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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