1 00:00:00,569 --> 00:00:03,050 What are some of the most subtle pitfalls 2 00:00:03,050 --> 00:00:04,901 and attacks from the devil 3 00:00:04,901 --> 00:00:07,211 that you can warn others about? 4 00:00:07,211 --> 00:00:08,739 You know, Paul said we shouldn't 5 00:00:08,739 --> 00:00:11,181 be ignorant of the schemes of the devil. 6 00:00:11,181 --> 00:00:14,474 Jesse: It seems to me there's a summary 7 00:00:14,474 --> 00:00:17,020 that Satan is continually working on. 8 00:00:17,020 --> 00:00:19,332 Now, the means he will go about; 9 00:00:19,332 --> 00:00:21,215 the schemes he will go about 10 00:00:21,215 --> 00:00:24,504 to bring us to this place are innumerable. 11 00:00:24,504 --> 00:00:26,084 But it seems to me it keeps 12 00:00:26,084 --> 00:00:28,387 getting to one point, and that is this: 13 00:00:28,387 --> 00:00:31,477 to get your eyes off of Jesus Christ 14 00:00:31,477 --> 00:00:34,112 and onto yourself. 15 00:00:34,112 --> 00:00:35,856 And so there are many different ways 16 00:00:35,856 --> 00:00:36,869 he goes about this, 17 00:00:36,869 --> 00:00:39,200 whether it's through different relationships, 18 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,387 whether it's spiritual pride, whether it's in sin, temptations, 19 00:00:42,390 --> 00:00:44,647 but inevitably, as I talk with people 20 00:00:44,647 --> 00:00:46,729 or look at my own life, 21 00:00:46,729 --> 00:00:48,468 we come to find out 22 00:00:48,468 --> 00:00:50,167 there's been a shift 23 00:00:50,167 --> 00:00:52,196 and I'm no longer looking to abiding 24 00:00:52,196 --> 00:00:54,191 in Jesus Christ. 25 00:00:54,191 --> 00:00:55,983 And if he can get you to stop 26 00:00:55,983 --> 00:00:57,362 abiding in Jesus Christ, 27 00:00:57,362 --> 00:00:58,973 and get your eyes off of Him 28 00:00:58,973 --> 00:01:00,452 and onto yourself, 29 00:01:00,452 --> 00:01:03,537 then what John 15 says is true - 30 00:01:03,537 --> 00:01:05,933 without Him you can do nothing. 31 00:01:05,933 --> 00:01:08,347 It will just unravel very quickly. 32 00:01:08,347 --> 00:01:10,089 So the subtlety of Satan 33 00:01:10,089 --> 00:01:11,803 in so many different ways 34 00:01:11,803 --> 00:01:13,793 to just slowly get your eyes 35 00:01:13,793 --> 00:01:15,957 off of Jesus Christ. 36 00:01:15,957 --> 00:01:18,616 I confess last year in the conference, 37 00:01:18,616 --> 00:01:22,425 he did it with me in the area of ministry, 38 00:01:22,425 --> 00:01:25,341 where I was finding identity in ministry 39 00:01:25,341 --> 00:01:30,162 rather than the identity of a resurrected Savior in Jesus Christ. 40 00:01:30,162 --> 00:01:32,326 And things began to unravel. 41 00:01:32,326 --> 00:01:33,943 And as I would look at my life, 42 00:01:33,943 --> 00:01:35,477 I would say what's wrong? 43 00:01:35,477 --> 00:01:37,704 I'm reading. I'm studying. I'm preaching. 44 00:01:37,704 --> 00:01:39,231 I'm evangelizing. I'm praying. 45 00:01:39,231 --> 00:01:40,711 What's going on here? 46 00:01:40,711 --> 00:01:42,877 Well, what had subtly happened is 47 00:01:42,877 --> 00:01:45,093 is I no longer found my identity 48 00:01:45,093 --> 00:01:47,515 as a person under Jesus Christ 49 00:01:47,515 --> 00:01:48,585 or in Christ. 50 00:01:48,585 --> 00:01:51,278 It was: I'm a pastor. 51 00:01:51,278 --> 00:01:53,677 So it's very subtle, but usually, 52 00:01:53,677 --> 00:01:56,297 you'll find that, oh, I've taken my eyes off of Christ. 53 00:01:56,297 --> 00:01:57,699 Question: As you look back, 54 00:01:57,699 --> 00:01:59,698 how did that subtly happen to you? 55 00:01:59,698 --> 00:02:01,978 Jesse: Well, I began to see that I was 56 00:02:01,978 --> 00:02:06,538 asking of pastoral ministry 57 00:02:06,538 --> 00:02:08,342 what it could never give me. 58 00:02:08,342 --> 00:02:11,700 I was asking it to be my functional savior. 59 00:02:11,700 --> 00:02:14,352 And so you begin to put demands on things. 60 00:02:14,352 --> 00:02:16,454 And you can do this with your marriage. 61 00:02:16,454 --> 00:02:18,470 You can do it with friends, your job, 62 00:02:18,470 --> 00:02:19,478 your workplace. 63 00:02:19,478 --> 00:02:22,799 The moment you ask something to be 64 00:02:22,799 --> 00:02:25,888 what only Christ can be for you, 65 00:02:25,888 --> 00:02:28,732 then you put demands upon that thing. 66 00:02:28,732 --> 00:02:31,055 And it will eventually begin to expose 67 00:02:31,055 --> 00:02:34,353 and show, hey, you've done something wrong here. 68 00:02:34,353 --> 00:02:38,585 And so, I was asking of ministry to be my joy. 69 00:02:38,585 --> 00:02:42,058 I was asking of ministry to be my identity. 70 00:02:42,058 --> 00:02:45,168 And I was so looking for it in ministry, 71 00:02:45,168 --> 00:02:47,325 that I was willing to begin to neglect 72 00:02:47,325 --> 00:02:49,779 other areas of my life that God's called me to, 73 00:02:49,779 --> 00:02:53,121 namely, my marriage, my children. 74 00:02:53,121 --> 00:02:55,426 Because I'm so wanting to find joy 75 00:02:55,426 --> 00:02:57,598 and identity in ministry, 76 00:02:57,598 --> 00:03:00,494 not in Jesus Christ. 77 00:03:00,494 --> 00:03:04,591 Paul Washer - this has been 14 years ago. 78 00:03:04,591 --> 00:03:07,479 Probably the first time I met him or second time. 79 00:03:07,479 --> 00:03:09,038 He looked me in the eye 80 00:03:09,038 --> 00:03:13,602 and he said, "Jesse, the will of God for your life is perfect." 81 00:03:13,602 --> 00:03:15,477 I said, "What do you mean by that?" 82 00:03:15,477 --> 00:03:18,561 He said, "God will never ask you 83 00:03:18,561 --> 00:03:22,001 to forsake one area of stewardship 84 00:03:22,001 --> 00:03:25,146 to fulfill another." 85 00:03:25,146 --> 00:03:28,333 And you apply that to where I was at last year. 86 00:03:28,333 --> 00:03:30,041 I don't have to forsake my wife 87 00:03:30,041 --> 00:03:32,780 to fulfill my call in ministry. 88 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:35,765 There are always going to be strains. 89 00:03:35,765 --> 00:03:38,018 There's always a constant reforming - 90 00:03:38,018 --> 00:03:40,726 semper reformanda - we're always reforming. 91 00:03:40,726 --> 00:03:42,731 We're always looking and examining. 92 00:03:42,731 --> 00:03:44,729 But you never have to forsake the one 93 00:03:44,729 --> 00:03:47,455 to fulfill the other. 94 00:03:47,455 --> 00:03:49,906 And that's a sign that we're off. 95 00:03:49,906 --> 00:03:51,890 Question: And I guess this kind of deals 96 00:03:51,890 --> 00:03:53,316 with the one question. 97 00:03:53,316 --> 00:03:56,031 Have you ever struggled with being burned out 98 00:03:56,031 --> 00:03:57,934 as a pastor? If so, why? 99 00:03:57,934 --> 00:04:00,238 And what helped you to get out of that season? 100 00:04:00,238 --> 00:04:01,903 And what did you learn? 101 00:04:01,903 --> 00:04:05,110 Jesse: In 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul says, 102 00:04:05,110 --> 00:04:07,114 we ask you, brothers, to respect those 103 00:04:07,114 --> 00:04:10,680 who toil, who labor among you. 104 00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:12,605 And he asks them to respect them 105 00:04:12,605 --> 00:04:15,344 because of the work that they do. 106 00:04:15,344 --> 00:04:16,646 And so I take from that 107 00:04:16,646 --> 00:04:18,284 that the role of the pastor 108 00:04:18,284 --> 00:04:20,903 is going to be one that is a toiling 109 00:04:20,903 --> 00:04:23,742 and an exhausting role. 110 00:04:23,742 --> 00:04:26,321 And that's different though 111 00:04:26,321 --> 00:04:28,739 than being burned out. 112 00:04:28,739 --> 00:04:31,600 So when we're fulfilling our role pastorally, 113 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:34,203 we should be exhausted. 114 00:04:34,203 --> 00:04:35,594 And that's not wrong. 115 00:04:35,594 --> 00:04:37,781 The difference is being burned out. 116 00:04:37,781 --> 00:04:39,272 And what I came to see is 117 00:04:39,272 --> 00:04:42,315 I was beginning to be burned out 118 00:04:42,315 --> 00:04:46,407 because I was relying on my own strength, 119 00:04:46,407 --> 00:04:47,801 my own power, 120 00:04:47,801 --> 00:04:50,740 and again, I was looking to ministry 121 00:04:50,740 --> 00:04:53,900 to be my functional savior. 122 00:04:53,900 --> 00:04:56,194 And it's a very subtle change. 123 00:04:56,194 --> 00:04:58,582 It happens gradually over time. 124 00:04:58,582 --> 00:05:00,136 You know, one of the evidences 125 00:05:00,136 --> 00:05:01,547 you can see in this is 126 00:05:01,547 --> 00:05:04,939 you'll fill your schedule with so much busyness, 127 00:05:04,939 --> 00:05:07,607 that one of the things that will begin to slip away 128 00:05:07,607 --> 00:05:09,348 is prayer. 129 00:05:09,348 --> 00:05:13,797 And prayer always reveals pride. 130 00:05:13,797 --> 00:05:15,762 In other words, the more I'm praying, 131 00:05:15,762 --> 00:05:17,372 probably the less proud I am 132 00:05:17,372 --> 00:05:20,062 and the less I'm praying, the more proud I am. 133 00:05:20,062 --> 00:05:24,037 So, your prayer life is revealing your pride life. 134 00:05:24,037 --> 00:05:26,383 Your dependency upon Jesus is seen 135 00:05:26,383 --> 00:05:28,344 in your prayer life. 136 00:05:28,344 --> 00:05:30,457 And so as I began to see 137 00:05:30,457 --> 00:05:33,850 prayer begin to take a back seat, 138 00:05:33,850 --> 00:05:35,870 and as I began to look to ministry 139 00:05:35,870 --> 00:05:37,156 what it could never be 140 00:05:37,156 --> 00:05:40,077 and ask of ministry to be what it never should be, 141 00:05:40,077 --> 00:05:42,108 which is my functional savior. 142 00:05:42,108 --> 00:05:46,537 And I began to be willing to give up things 143 00:05:46,537 --> 00:05:49,131 to get from ministry what I was looking for 144 00:05:49,131 --> 00:05:51,323 which can only be found in Christ. 145 00:05:51,323 --> 00:05:55,411 And so, pastoral ministry in the true sense 146 00:05:55,411 --> 00:05:57,532 has always been energizing 147 00:05:57,532 --> 00:05:59,414 and exciting for me. 148 00:05:59,414 --> 00:06:01,181 But when you see yourself beginning 149 00:06:01,181 --> 00:06:03,021 to be burned out, 150 00:06:03,021 --> 00:06:07,080 then you are looking to ministry for what it shouldn't be, 151 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:09,625 you're relying upon your own strength 152 00:06:09,625 --> 00:06:13,241 instead of the power of the Holy Spirit. 153 00:06:13,241 --> 00:06:16,936 Or, you've given ministry the priority 154 00:06:16,936 --> 00:06:18,622 it should not have in your life. 155 00:06:18,622 --> 00:06:21,995 Meaning, you're willing to neglect other things, 156 00:06:21,995 --> 00:06:23,889 like your wife and your children. 157 00:06:23,889 --> 00:06:26,044 And when you do any of those things, 158 00:06:26,044 --> 00:06:27,464 you're going to burn out. 159 00:06:27,464 --> 00:06:29,087 Because now you're in it alone. 160 00:06:29,087 --> 00:06:32,391 And praise God that He brings you to that place. 161 00:06:32,391 --> 00:06:35,166 Our church was very gracious with me. 162 00:06:35,166 --> 00:06:37,920 My co-pastor who pastors me and I pastor him 163 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:38,979 came to me and said, 164 00:06:38,979 --> 00:06:41,170 brother, you just need to take some time. 165 00:06:41,170 --> 00:06:43,098 And so I stepped away. 166 00:06:43,098 --> 00:06:45,137 I went and got with the Lord. 167 00:06:45,137 --> 00:06:46,405 Question: How long? 168 00:06:46,405 --> 00:06:49,949 Jesse: It ended up being three months. 169 00:06:49,949 --> 00:06:55,577 That was the best and the hardest time of my life. 170 00:06:55,577 --> 00:06:58,238 Because I woke up every morning, James, 171 00:06:58,238 --> 00:07:00,746 with nothing to put before the Lord 172 00:07:00,746 --> 00:07:02,794 for His approval - 173 00:07:02,794 --> 00:07:05,630 in the sense of ministry. 174 00:07:05,630 --> 00:07:07,425 Like, look at the sermon I preached. 175 00:07:07,425 --> 00:07:09,626 Look at these people. Look at the counseling. 176 00:07:09,626 --> 00:07:10,778 Look at the souls. 177 00:07:10,778 --> 00:07:12,151 I had nothing. 178 00:07:12,151 --> 00:07:14,667 I woke up in desperate need 179 00:07:14,667 --> 00:07:16,565 of a resurrected Savior every day, 180 00:07:16,565 --> 00:07:18,737 and found my identity and acceptance 181 00:07:18,737 --> 00:07:21,062 before God in Christ alone. 182 00:07:21,062 --> 00:07:22,374 And it was healing. 183 00:07:22,374 --> 00:07:24,344 I repented to my wife. 184 00:07:24,344 --> 00:07:27,357 Repented to my kids. Repented to the church. 185 00:07:27,357 --> 00:07:31,922 And God has graciously restored me in that. 186 00:07:31,922 --> 00:07:35,222 And the church was so gracious and kind with me. 187 00:07:35,222 --> 00:07:37,319 And I think one of the great challenges 188 00:07:37,319 --> 00:07:39,497 with pastoral ministry 189 00:07:39,497 --> 00:07:41,542 is that when you begin to give it 190 00:07:41,542 --> 00:07:44,014 a wrong priority - meaning, you neglect things 191 00:07:44,014 --> 00:07:46,277 in your life that you shouldn't - 192 00:07:46,277 --> 00:07:48,847 and I'm not accusing anyone in our church of this - 193 00:07:48,847 --> 00:07:51,833 but it's almost accepted, 194 00:07:51,833 --> 00:07:55,109 because you're doing kingdom work. 195 00:07:55,109 --> 00:07:58,000 Where if someone was giving up their wife 196 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,204 for the stock market, 197 00:08:00,204 --> 00:08:02,425 we would say, oh, look how impure this man is. 198 00:08:02,425 --> 00:08:05,600 Look how ill-motive and wrongly prioritized he is. 199 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,194 But a man can do it in ministry 200 00:08:08,194 --> 00:08:11,238 and people will almost applaud him. 201 00:08:11,238 --> 00:08:13,316 And brother, it's wrong. 202 00:08:13,316 --> 00:08:15,013 It's wrong. 203 00:08:15,013 --> 00:08:19,273 So, yeah, by God's grace - three months. 204 00:08:19,273 --> 00:08:21,575 And we stepped away from the church. 205 00:08:21,575 --> 00:08:23,505 Because I knew if I was in the church, 206 00:08:23,505 --> 00:08:25,007 I would pastor. 207 00:08:25,007 --> 00:08:26,950 So we went to Mack's church quite often. 208 00:08:26,950 --> 00:08:28,962 We went to a few other brother's churches. 209 00:08:28,962 --> 00:08:30,242 We traveled some. 210 00:08:30,242 --> 00:08:34,204 And it was a very restoring time 211 00:08:34,204 --> 00:08:35,235 for the church 212 00:08:35,235 --> 00:08:37,180 and a very restoring time for me. 213 00:08:37,180 --> 00:08:39,345 So, praise the Lord.