Preacher to Preacher

Preacher to Preacher – Advice to Pastors Dr. Franklin L. Kirksey (one of the authors for PastorLife – whose bio can be read in the authors section at www.pastorlife.com) sent me some additional information regarding the life of the late Dr. Jess Hendley, whose family agreed early on to allow me to place some of his material on www.pastorlife.com. Preacher Jess was a well loved and well-known evangelist and pastor in Georgia and in the Southern Baptist Convention. He also pastored the Liberty Baptist Church, Lilburn, Georgia, which was later renamed First Baptist Church, Lilburn, Georgia. I pastored that church when it was First Baptist Church from 1990 till 2002. That caused me to feel a connection with the late Jess Hendley. (Dr. J. Mike Minnix, Editor, PastorLife) In the information that Dr. Kirksey sent me, included a story of something Jess Hendley said when asked by an interviewer about advising preachers. Here is the question asked, and the answer given. This is great advice for any man of God. "Dr. Hendley, knowing your love for preachers, and knowing you have a great host of them as personal friends, if you knew you were experiencing the right now, in the phrase you are so well known for, ‘Let's go right now,’ and God would let you make a final address to all these men of God, what would you say to them?" Dr. Hendley's reply was as follows 1. Master salvation by grace through faith for yourself and those who hear you, and preach it constantly. In Galatians 1:8-9, Paul pronounces a curse, an anathema, upon any preacher that preaches any other gospel than that which he preached; which is the Gospel by grace through faith and which he got directly from the lips of Jesus right after his conversion. This Gospel is in Ephesians 2:8-9 where it says, "for by grace are ye saved through faith, that not of yourself, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." Five things there that if I were back in the ministry, I would drill home to everybody, particularly my soul winners. A. Salvation is not of ourselves We must look away totally from ourselves and find it. B. It is not of works It does not originate with us. There is nothing we can do about it. C. It is a gift from God All you can do with a gift is receive, thank the giver and enjoy it. D. It is by grace It comes from God's smile, instead of His frown, and that's what the cross did. The cross made it possible for God to smile on a guilty sinner and forgive him, or hither to, he would have a frown upon judgment. E. It is by Faith Faith is confidence in God and the Bible. And especially the truth that Christ on the cross wiped out my sins with His blood and destroyed them forever 2. Study the Bible daily Study the bible daily, each book word by word, especially the New Testament and especially the Gospel of John and the Epistles of Paul. For in them, the truths of the Gospel and the church are made clearer than any other books in the Bible. 3. Live with the consciousness of God in Mind I would suggest that we live constantly with the consciousness of the presence of God in our mind; that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit indwell us. All three of these divine beings live in our minds. "Ye in Me, and I in you." Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, Christ lives in me." George Mueller said, "There came a moment where Mueller died and Christ began to live. We carry deity with us always. Cultivate fellowship with these three Beings. 4. Watch your mind and thoughts In Ezekiel 8:12, God showed Ezekiel the twenty-five elders of Israel who dug in the wall and built chambers of imagery. Literally in Hebrew, rooms for pictures, and filled them with abominable things. Idols, animals, for which God was made angry. Our minds are a picture gallery, and we hang pictures on the walls. Today, pornographic sights on television, literature, magazines and all, people dwell on it. What they are doing is hanging it in their minds, pictures that are evil. Yet God the Father, Son and Spirit are dwelling there. Seeing those same things that were an abomination unto them. God sits in our minds watching every thought. No wonder He says, “be ye holy for I am holy.” And also, in Him, is no darkness at all. I may preach the truth outwardly and publicly be correct, and yet let my mind dwell on things God hates and are full of sin. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” If a man purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and fit for the Master's use. 5. Make your family life your first priority Make your family life, not the church, a first priority. God says, "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it". God says, "Husbands, Fathers, bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Many a preacher has lost his church, and his physical well being by neglecting his wife. Many a preacher has lost his children by neglecting to take time to teach them. A man who loves and makes his wife happy, and keeps her happy, will have a base of operations that cannot be destroyed. And a man who loves and teaches his children, takes time to be with them, and teaches them the things of God, will have them in later days come and express their great gratitude for their teaching. 6. Live in the light of the judgment seat of Christ Soon we will meet Him. He has loved us, died for us, saved us, lived with us, and used us. After the rapture, He will go over our lives. We will be in Heaven and in our glorified bodies so it is not a matter of salvation. It is a matter of rewards, or loss of rewards. It is very serious, because, “The day shall declare deeds we did in our bodies." It will be revealed in fire. The fire will test every man’s work as to its quality. That which was preached and done for the glory of Christ, He will reward. That which has been done for the glory of self or any other motive, will be burned and he shall suffer eternal loss. Soul saved, but life lost. How serious then is life? How important to live and serve with Christ. 7. Flesh versus Faith The flesh is defined as everything outside the will of God. All that matters in our lives is to do His will. Don't worry about the other fellow. Only as our hearts are right with God will our ministries be what God wants them to be. In conclusion, as I look back over sixty-six years of ministry I realize, as never before, I didn't do it, He did. When I think of the great meetings with thousands of people and souls streaming forward to receive Christ, I was only an instrument. How wonderful is this statement. "It is God who worketh in you, both the willing and the doing of His good pleasure."