I once heard someone say that pastors were some of the most insecure people in the world. Perhaps this is related to the many pressures they experience. They are exposed to lots of disappointment, bear heavy burdens for their people, experience betrayal, slander, and misrepresentation. Longtime friends may brush them aside in a moment. Plus, people are looking for them to perform. They want to be pleased and inspired and as a result, pastors can easily become man fearers, but when we fear God, the success syndrome and the impulse to please people dies. We are set free. We need pastors like this today – men, who neither fear man or pain, but God alone. For more information about the 2016 Fear of God conference, visit: https://ncfic.org/fearofgod

Every pastor struggles with issues of finances. Maybe some don't, but the majority of the pastors struggle with that. Every pastor struggles with issues of numbers, defining our ministries by the numbers that we have in our church or come to our conferences. That's a great temptation for every pastor and I struggle with that too. But I would say that one of the things that really would serve us from that again is the fear of God.

When we fear God and love God, that's something that will save us from the love for our own self, and at the same time to live for people so we can please people, or to put up an image that people would love and praise us. The fear of God saves us from that. So I would say that one of the dangers that every pastor or just every Christian needs to look out is the, to live for people. Pastors need to watch against that, living for people. It's the most impossible task.

You can't live for people. No man can live for others. The most possible task is the fear of God, to love God through our Lord Jesus Christ. People are looking for us to perform, and we are looking for people to perform on our behalf. God is not looking for us to perform.

His Son, Jesus Christ, has already performed. You