Why You Should Quit Listening to Your Pastor by Ben Reed

Why You Should Quit Listening to Your Pastor

by Ben Reed

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Stop listening and start doing something.

I’m done listening to my pastor.
D.O.N.E. Done.

All this talk on believing the Gospel. Trusting God through pain. Loving my kids with all of my heart. Believing God’s way is better than my way. I’m done.

Will you join me?

Quit listening to your pastor talk about how much he loves you. About how God has a plan for your life. About how you need to link arms with other people and join a small group.
Quit listening to him when he says that it’s good for your heart to give generously.
Quit listening when he talks about turning your back on your sin. About trusting the God who loves you. About your need to repent.
And when he prays for you … stop listening then, too. Don’t listen when he encourages you to step up and serve others. Or to spend a week this summer at student camp. Or going overseas to share the love and hope of the Gospel.
Stop listening. Please.
Stop listening and start doing something.
Take what your pastor says and start living it. Let it resonate so deeply in your soul that it pushes you to action.
Listening alone is worthless. When the act of hearing Truth doesn’t end in some form of action, it’s not done you any good. As James puts it,
"But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." — James 1:22
If we listen and don’t do, we’re fools. James goes on to compare us to the person who looks in the mirror to make sure everything’s straight … and as soon as they look away, they forget what they looked like. That’s dumb.
So let’s quit wasting our pastor’s time by listening. It’s not doing either of us any good. A storm’s brewing, and we’ve got to be ready. The question is not whether we will have enough knowledge or not. The question will be whether we can do anything about it.
"But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." — Jesus, Luke 6:49
Stop listening to your pastor. And start doing.