Enduring the Distance

Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry, the video edition. I guess if you're listening on iTunes or Spotify, it's the audio edition. But thanks for watching. My name is Mike Ebenroth, behind the scenes, Mario Escobar.

And today we've got a very interesting topic, but before we get into the message today, don't forget the website, nocompromiseradio .com. Also on Amazon, we have all kinds of no-co books, Sexual Fidelity, The Chosen about Unconditional Election, King about the Sovereignty of God, Discovering Colossians, Discovering Romans, all kinds of things, Law, Gospel, a Primer.

By the way, Law, Gospel's back in the news again. I'm thankful. I remember talking to Scott Clark about Law, Gospel, and he said, I just learned everything from Horton. Horton learned everything from Luther.

So it's fun to teach people. So when they say, well, thanks for teaching me, I just say, well, I just learned from Clark who learned from Horton, who learned from Luther, who learned from Paul. And so it's good to distinguish Law, Do, and Gospel, Done.

Some people think it's only Lutheran. Some people think it leads to antinomianism. Some people think it's some kind of system imposed. If you'd like to read a little more about it, Law, Gospel, a Primer.

My brother is also writing, I think it's called A Pocket Guide to Law, Gospel. Tom Hicks has written a book on Law, Gospel. You can get the John Cahoon book, Law, Gospel from Reformation Heritage. And it seems like it's just happening.

Enduring in Christian Life and Ministry

So, you know, deep down, I want to take credit for it, but I know I can't. I just learn things and I pass it on. So today we are going to talk about long-term ministry, long-term Christianity. For all of us, we get saved.

And if you remember those early days, those early hours, those early weeks and months, right after you became a Christian, I know Mario was born a Christian, but for the rest of us, we got saved in time.

God made us alive again, monergistically. But seriously, when God saved you, the thrill that you had, the thrill that I had, I couldn't believe that I was forgiven, that I had the hope of heaven, that I could eagerly await the Lord's soon return, His second coming.

I felt clean. I felt washed. I felt sanctified and justified. And I just felt because I was, right? 1 Corinthians 6, washed, sanctified, justified, WSJ. When you see Wall Street Journal, WSJ, that's what you think of, washed, sanctified, justified.

And remember those days you just thought, wow, this is amazing. Now, it didn't take very long, most likely, before trials and suffering and issues came up. And it's difficult to be a Christian. It's a narrow way.

It's a hard way. And we're not in heaven yet. We don't believe in Joe Osteen's crown before the cross. We don't believe that it's glory first. It's suffering, then glory. We're not theologians of glory.

It's difficult life. The hope we have of heaven, we're declared righteous. That's certainly true. The spirit of God dwells in us. That's another truth. But this is a long road ahead of us. And we sin, people sin against us.

This world is affected by sin. And so it's difficult with relationships, with cancer, with medical things, just rubbing each other the wrong way, the world system, Satan, unbelievers, persecution, martyrdom.

And so it's hard. So today I'd like to talk about how do you walk through and work through long-term haul of being a Christian. Some of you have been a Christian for 10 years or 20 years or 30 years or 40 years.

How do you do that? And what are some suggestions to keep doing that? It's especially in light of pastors who get burnt out. People who are Christians say, well, I'm burnt out of being a Christian and not as enthusiastic anymore.

I'm kind of coasting through, gliding through. I'm not really running the Christian life anymore. Remember Paul talked about running and fighting and all kinds of military and athletic metaphors. And so when you feel like you're going backward, you feel like I'm tired, you feel like what do I do?

Today is the show for you. And again, when I think about this, I often think about pastors and burnout. I was reading some statistics from Barna, the research company and focus on the family. They also do research.

Pastoral Burnout, Moral Failure, and Discouragement

1500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches. So if pastors do that, of course, pastors are around people in the flock. And so the flock also has all kinds of moral failure, spiritual burnout and contention in the churches they are.

So how do we live long-term? The study said 50 of pastors marriages will end in divorce. I mean, is that like mainline and not evangelicals? I don't know, but I do know evangelicals who have got divorced in the past trip.

80 of pastors and 84 of their spouses feel discouraged in their role as pastors and pastor's wives. Now see, I get that while the Lord has kept me faithful to my wife. And likewise, we have both had seasons of discouragement, deep discouragement, not only discouraged in our own abilities and our own lack of righteous living, but also other people.

And it's, you know, when Luke would come to me, he's a little guy and he'd say, daddy, why don't these people like you? You mean the ones that called me Stalin, Hitler or the Unabomber, which ones are you talking about?

The ones that say, you know, I'm not loving, the ones that say I'm too biblical. I mean, the list could go on and on and on. And certainly I've done things that were wrong, but you're just on the receiving end lots of times as a pastor.

Like, you know, I'm supposed to make everybody happy in ministry. And it's my job to do all those things. I have a job, but it's not necessarily to make people happy. 40 in this survey poll said they have had an extramarital affair since beginning their ministry.

I don't wanna believe that. Maybe it's true. And I'm not saying Barna's lying, but I'm just thinking what in the world? 70 said the only time they spend studying the word is when they're preparing sermons.

Pastors' wives, 80 of pastors' spouses feel their spouse, their husband, the pastor's overworked. 80 of the pastor's spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession. And the majority of pastors' wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day their husband entered ministry.

Wow. You know, you'll see presidents before and after they've served as presidents of the United States. And before, you know, their hair's all brown or blonde or whatever. And afterward, they either have no hair, it's all gray.

You just see people age because of the pressures of being a president. Certainly that's true in ministry. But today I want to try to use the backdrop of pastors' difficulty, burnout, moral failure. How do pastors make it?

How do you make it? Because what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Advice to the pastor would be good advice to those in the church. How do you thrive in ministry? How do you thrive as a Christian?

How do you keep going when things are very, very difficult? Maybe I could use this illustration. In the old days, I had ankle weights and I would put the ankle weights around my ankle and then I would walk and it would help my legs and the muscles.

Now I see people, Mario, maybe you've got one. They've got the weight vests, ankle weights, forget that. It's a weight vest. It's like weighing you down. It's like, how do you run the Christian life with a weight vest of sin and Satan and the world and other people sinning?

Guarding Against Pride and Self-Pity

It's like, how do you do this? So here's just a few exhortations today, a few reminders, a few friend to friend. The first one is know your major enemies. Know your major enemies. And what are those two major enemies?

Well, there's all kinds, Satan, the world, but the two I want to talk about today, pride and self-pity. Pride and self-pity. We as Christians, we as pastors can say, well, God is blessing my ministry.

God is blessing the local church. God is blessing the Awana ministry that I'm leading. God's blessing my Bible study. And if you're not careful, it turns into the ministry God has given you to my ministry, to your ministry.

And so we have to be careful, right? You think, oh, when I got here, there was 80 people and now there's 300. And when I got here, nobody could teach the Bible except me. Now there's all these people that know how to teach the Bible.

Whatever it might be, we have to guard ourselves against pride because we're simply stewards, are we not? Whether you're in the pastorate or not, behind the camera, in front of the camera, we are stewards.

And we have to be humble people. The Bible regularly talks about how the exalted will be humbled and the humbled will be exalted. And so when things are going well in ministry, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, we want to make sure that we realize everything we have has been a gift received from God.

God's the one that grants the growth. Jesus is building the church. He can use anybody, He can use us, and it's not because of us. We are not the cause of anything. We are a vehicle. I'm glad to be used.

I'm sure you're glad to be used. But one of the things we need to guard against is pride. On the negative side, when things are going poorly as a Christian or as a leader, pretty soon we start having this self-pity.

Nobody else understands. Nobody else has it as hard as I do. This is so difficult. Why can't people get it? Why don't people help? And so we have to watch out for that. So when things are going well, we can be tempted to pride.

Isn't that sad? It shows you how pervasive sin is. And when things are going poorly, then we turn it into a pity party. Instead of saying, Lord, I need sustaining grace, I need wisdom, the good news is the gospel, it re-centers us.

Jesus is building the church. We're not the cornerstone. We're just a tool in His hand. The Lord's gonna build His church with or without us, but He tends to use us very often. And so we don't have to have pride.

We don't have to have self-pity. So I could ask you the question now before I go to the next exhortation. What's your current state before the Lord? I don't mean justified, sanctified, and soon to be glorified.

How are you thinking about your life and the ministry that the Lord has given you? Are you encouraged? Do you think, you know what? The Lord is actually using me for His kingdom. He didn't have to. And in light of my sin in the past, He probably shouldn't have, but He loves to get glory by using people like me for His work.

And I have to be encouraged. Maybe no one knows that you do things. Maybe people don't encourage you. Maybe you're just setting up the chairs week in and week out and nobody says thank you, but you do it for the Lord and you do it for the Lord's kingdom.

And so let's remember when things are going well, let's fight pride and kill it. When things are going poorly in our eyes, let's make sure it doesn't turn into a pity party. I mean, this whole victimhood Christianity, we're victims and everything's bad and done to me and everything else, and I'm oppressed.

And no, no, there's just struggles. There's ups and downs. There's suffering. There are trials. This is a fallen world. And so Lord, help me be faithful today. And it almost reminds me of the Navy SEALs.

I think some of them would say when they were in buds and you could drop out anytime you wanted. You know what? I'll drop out after breakfast. And then after breakfast, they'd say, I'll drop out after supper.

It's that kind of thing. So we'll just get through today. Tomorrow's got enough for you as of its own. Lord, help me honor you in what I'm doing today. Thank you for using me. Number two, how do you go long-term in ministry?

Physical Stewardship for Long-Term Faithfulness

How do you go long-term as a Christian? Well, this is gonna be very practical. You probably say you could get this elsewhere, but just thinking in the realm of natural law, the answer is exercise, eating rightly, taking vitamins, getting enough sleep.

1 Timothy 4 .8, for while bodily training is of some value, Paul writes to Timothy, godliness is of value in every way as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. Obviously, spiritual training, godliness, is much more important than physical training, but the text says bodily training is of some value, is of some value.

So one of the things I want you to do is to regularly exercise, walking, swimming, bicycling, avoid pickleball at all cost if you like your ACLs. I mean, your Achilles, probably your ACLs too. I got here in 1997, here in this literal building in this town, and I had a secretary and her name was Judy, Scott Farah's mother-in-law, Cindy's mom.

And I would say around noontime, you know, I got in early, I'm gonna work a little late, I'm gonna go to the gym now. And I would make an excuse why I'm gonna go to the gym for an hour or why I'm going to go swim for an hour.

And she'd say, you need to exercise, stop making excuses, you don't need to tell me what you're doing, get to the gym and work out. Okay, thank you. I thought she was my secretary, she was acting like my boss.

When you pray, one of the things I like to do is walk, walk and pray. So you can do two things at once, in the sanctuary, in the auditorium, whatever you wanna call it, I just like to walk and do laps and pray and try to stay busy.

I remember once I met a guy after church and he said he wanted to talk to me, he was gonna confront me. And so I'm ready for about anything, right? Maybe he's an Arminian, maybe he's a charismatic, maybe secret sensitive, maybe he's the egalitarian, maybe he's a feminist.

I have no idea, maybe he's a flat earther. And he said, you know, there are a lot of fat people in this church. He actually wasn't that skinny. I'm like, excuse me? Yeah, there's a lot of fat people. I said, have you talked to them?

I mean, maybe they're on steroids, maybe they've got diabetes, maybe they're on chemo. Have you talked to them? No, there's just a lot of fat people. I said, I'd just like to be married to that guy. And so I said, well, I don't know really what you're talking about.

Obviously, gluttony is a sin, self-control is a fruit of the spirit. I get that, but people are struggling, people are weak. And do you see any leaders that are obese? I said, I don't think so. Do you have any wives of leaders that are obese?

I don't think so. So I never saw the guy. But I've actually been in this very room before where people have come to me and said, I have the whole world by the tail. Everything in my life is great. I just can't stop eating.

And I'm so sad. I'm so sorry, crying. I can't control what I eat. You know, do you think the Lord could forgive me? What about those kinds of people? But just as a reminder, I think exercise will help you.

I met with a young lady yesterday who's having some struggles in life. And one of the questions I asked, among many other things, we talked about the Bible and the sovereignty of God and the goodness of God, talked about my own failings, how I need the Lord in His grace.

But I said, do you exercise at all? Because there's just something about keeping our body exercised. I mean, in the old days, farmers and wives of farmers, I mean, you were busy till the sunset. And now we sit behind computers.

And, you know, if I'm not careful, the main workout I get per day is my thumb gets tired from hitting the space bar. It's like, what in the world? Stand up desks for pastors. You can't see it, but just right there is a life cycle.

And I regularly will ride the life cycle as I'm reading commentaries. My whole point is this. If you want to have ministry for the long haul, then you have a body that the Lord has given you, and you need to take care of that body.

Obviously, people worship working out, worship how they look. They want their wives to look like they did 30 years ago. All kinds of crazy thoughts that I'm not talking about today. I'm just trying to tell you, I think I can work harder and longer than the average pastor who's 66, because I try to stay in shape.

That's all. So when you think about long-term ministry, even as a Christian, take care of the body God has given you, and that will help. Number three. One of the things that I want to remind you of is your identity.

Identity in Christ Beyond Ministry Performance

Your identity. Who are you? Who do you think you are? I guess that could be a negative thing. Who do you think you are? No, but who do you think you are? And so for me, I'm a husband and a father before I'm a pastor.

And that helps me reset how I live. Maybe for you, you're a husband and a father before you're an engineer. You're a wife and a mother before you're a homemaker. Although that one kind of ties in a little closer, but you know what I'm saying.

Sometimes if we use the illustrations of pastor, they think their identity is just being a pastor. And then by the way, I'll deal with my wife when I can, I'll deal with my kids when I can. And I guarded the time when my children were at home.

I would regularly say, you know what? Thanks for the invite for that, but that just won't work out for us. That won't work out today because we've got something else going on. And what I meant was, no, tonight's the night where dad puts on an old movie, an old Robin Hood movie with Errol Flynn, an old movie with Sinbad, an old movie with, what's the one I'm trying to think of?

A Swiss family Robinson and dad serves not only the popcorn, but the ice cream. And we're just there together, not answering the phone, not answering emails. I'm a family dad first. When it comes to my ministry, when it comes to the ministry here at the church, when it comes to pastor's ministries, friends, non-pastors, Psalm 127, unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

And so I just want you to know your identity is not primarily your ministry because then when ministry goes well, back to pride, ministry goes bad, self-pity. No, no, your identity is elsewhere. And so I have a list that I found online of our identity and what is our identity.

And I think if you rehearse it, it's going to motivate you through the burnout times. Here we go. Who I am in Christ. I'm chosen by God, Ephesians 1. I'm predestined for adoption, Ephesians 1. I'm loved by God, Romans 5, Ephesians 2.

I'm called by God, Romans 8. I'm united to Christ, 1 Corinthians 12, Galatians 2. I'm in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5. I'm a new creation. I've been born again. I am forgiven. I am justified. I am no longer condemned.

I am reconciled to God. I have peace with God. I've been adopted as God's child. God is my father. I'm an heir of God. I'm a co-heir with Christ. I'm a citizen of heaven. I belong to Christ. I belong to God.

I've been bought with a price. I am redeemed. I am delivered from the domain of darkness. I have been transferred in the kingdom of Christ. I have died with Christ. I have been raised with Christ. My old self was crucified with Christ.

I'm no longer a slave to sin. I'm a slave of righteousness. I am dead to sin. I'm alive to God. I've been set free from sin's dominion. I'm being sanctified. I'm being transformed into Christ's likeness.

I am indwelt by the Holy Spirit. I have the Holy Spirit as God's seal. I am spiritually alive. I've been given faith. I have access to God. I can approach God with confidence. I am seated with God in the heavenly places.

I have every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I'm complete in Christ. I have Christ's righteousness. I am clothed with Christ. I'm a member of Christ's body. I am part of God's household. I am part of God's people.

I'm a chosen race. I am a royal priest. I'm a holy person. I'm God's treasured possession. I've been called out of darkness into light. I'm a worshiper of priesthood. I have a new identity, a new allegiance.

I am not my sin. I'm not condemned by my failures. I'm not defined by my past. I'm secure in Christ's love. I cannot be separated from Christ's love. I'm being kept by God's power. I'm being conformed to Christ.

I have a purpose to glorify God. I am God's workmanship. I was created for good works. I am Christ's servant. I am Christ's friend. I'm an ambassador for Christ. I'm a witness to Christ. I have a new family.

I have an eternal inheritance. I have eternal life. I will be glorified with Christ. I will see Christ and be like Him. I will reign with Christ. My citizenship and ultimate home are in heaven. My life is hidden with Christ and God.

Christ Himself is my life. I'm ready to work today. I'm ready to go. You know what? No matter what's happened in the past, no matter how many trials are in the future, I'm ready to work. See what that is?

When it comes to burnout, we don't just go back to the law. Keep going, try harder. Of course we should keep going. Of course we should try harder. Of course we should fight and strive and agonize and work and toil.

There's a Greek word, kapiao, with sweat. That's true. But the Lord, does He know and is He mindful that you're but dust? Does He know you're weak? Does He know your struggles? And thankfully, because of the incarnation, you have a high priest who can sympathize with your weaknesses.

Nobody understands. Oh yes, they do. Nobody gets it. Oh yes, He does. And so when it comes to long-term ministry, if it's just law, which is good, eat right, sleep right, don't take credit for the ministry that God has given you, but there's also gospel.

Who is Jesus? Who am I in light of Christ? That's going to really help you when it comes to burnout. Then I can say, do you know what? I can say no to things. I can say yes to other things. I can just be free.

When it comes to pastors, I think one of the things that you can do if you're not a pastor is to pray for your pastor. I think some churches and some pastors, and matter of fact, I thought this for a long time, I don't think it anymore, that I had to be a counselor, an administrator, somebody in IT, an event coordinator, a handyman, a janitor, a financial consultant, a youth worker, a marriage therapist, a crisis responder.

And I thought I had to do it all. Matter of fact, some people are way better at those things than I am. Could I apply God's word to their situation and give them hope and tell them who they are in Christ Jesus, what their identity is in Christ?

Actually, yes, I could, but I can't know all these things and I can send people, hey, go to the doctor and get your thyroid checked. Here, let's talk to this financial counselor to try to help you. Oh, when it comes to behavioral issues in your children, do you know what?

Here's someone that I recommend that you can go talk to. My name is Mike Ebenroth, this is No Compromise Radio Ministry. In my notes, it says you were a sheep before you're a shepherd. That's why I gave you a list of all those things.

Matter of fact, Mario, when I gave those lists, I was trying to do it so fast. I probably should have slowed down a little bit because that would have been a good place to end the show, but I tried to do it so fast that the people who like to listen at 1 .5 speed couldn't.

I usually listen to things 1 .5 speed. I watch Netflix at 1 .25. Do you watch Netflix at all? I didn't know you could change it. Yeah, you can go to 1 .25 or 1 .5. Only thing it really messes up is music, right?

So I don't mind if people talk quickly or rapidly, but then the music in the background, like spooky music, it's not so spooky at 1 .5. Okay, how about this when it comes to being burnt out and trying to do things long-term?

Naming Specific Causes of Burnout

I was reading online and it said, don't settle for I'm burnt out, be more specific. So in a similar way, when we ask God to forgive us, we're to confess our sins specifically. Yes, you can say generally, but then specifically is very, very helpful.

So when I was reading online, it said, don't settle for I'm burnt out. Ask things like this when it comes to long-term ministry. Am I physically exhausted? Am I discouraged because of criticism? Am I disappointed with the church?

Am I bored? Am I carrying someone else's problems? Have I neglected prayer and scripture? Have I neglected my wife? Is there a particular person or conflict bothering me? And that way, when you have a specific issue that's identified, then you can deal with that.

In other words, if you just say, I've been a Christian for 30 years and I'm sure burnt. Well, I don't really know what that means. I mean, generally I know, but if you can come to specifics, then you can kind of deal with things.

And I know this is not corporate America, but I think of that SMART acronym. How do you deal with things in corporate America and issues and problems? Let's see if I can remember. Be specific, SMART. Specific, I think this is for goal setting, but for identifying things, it works too.

Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. Why is that stuck in my head? That's like IBM selling school, Mario, back in the day. Summarize the situation, state the idea, explain how it works, reinforce key benefits, close.

Still got it. I guess they were pretty good IBM selling instructors in Bethel, Connecticut, 1983. That's where I learned that. I'd never been to the East Coast before, and I flew into Manhattan, and I think that was, matter of fact, yeah, that was in Manhattan.

John Lennon had been shot in 1980, but in 1983, early, I wanted to go see where he was shot. So I went to the Dakota Hotel. Is that where it was? Not exactly sure. What does this have to do with anything?

Resurrection Hope and Labor That Is Not in Vain

Well, let me read you a Bible verse that will rescue me and I will land the plane. 1 Corinthians 15, 58. Chapter 15 is all about the resurrection. So in light of the resurrection, knowing that Jesus is alive and gonna come back, knowing you're gonna get a new body one day, the hope of heaven, glorification, how do you live?

Knowing that truth, truth is practical. Therefore, in light of the resurrection, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. And so you know what, when it comes to ministry, pastoral ministry, behind the scenes, it's not about our performance.

It's not about how much we do. Do we do things with perfect intention? No, no, Jesus has been raised from the dead. Your labor's not in vain. Half-hearted obedience is better than no obedience. And a weak, frail obedience that's clinging on by its very fingernails shows you, does it not?

You're a Christian. The struggle is good. I said to a young lady yesterday, she said she's battling with something. I said, you know what, sweetheart, I'm glad you're battling because the battle shows the spirit of God working and the world and our flesh and our own sin and everything else is like, good.

There's a battle, reminds me of the young guy who was with a bunch of other boys in like a hay wagon. And the boys were like, hey, if Satan came here today, who would he go after, us or you? And he said, me, of course, the Christian boy said, because Satan's already got you.

So it's this struggle, the struggle's good. And so if you're tired, if you're burnt out, you say, Lord, I'm tired, I'm burnt out, but thank you for using me. Thank you that my labor's not in vain. Give me the power of the resurrection that Paul talked about.

Help me to sleep well tonight and have a better attitude tomorrow. That's probably what I would do. That's what I have to always do, regularly do when I have to go through these trials. When you're a brand new Christian, not many people are thinking, ah, you know, it's gonna be so hard.

You're thinking, this is great. So my name's Mike Habenroth, this is No Compromise Radio Ministry. You can write us, mikeatnocompromiseradio .com. If you want books at a discount rate, 10 or more, email me.

I just got an order of about a hundred books. So I was excited about that as we try to help and encourage you. Don't forget to like, subscribe, Patreon, and all that other stuff that Mario pretty much forces me to say.

Just kidding. See you next time.