"So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:7).

On Thursday evening, August 20^th, I had very good reason to repent before God (and repent, I did). I attended a pastor's fellowship held in Pulaski, Tennessee for the Sovereign Grace Baptist churches in the region (we have them about every other month), and I was telling a brother during our lunch break how God had ministered in our village of Scammon Bay, Alaska by my merely preaching Christ, and Him crucified. When I got home to Anniston that night after a three-hour drive, I wept before my God and Savior as I realized how full of myself I must have sounded; how full of filthy flesh I must have appeared to others, and especially before my Master; how pitifully prideful and haughty I must have been... to imply by my zeal and to suggest in my speech that God saved souls in bush Alaska because I had the wherewithal not to stoop to programs, methods, and gimmicks, but instead preached Christ, and Him crucified.

Now, we should preach Christ, and Him crucified. We should teach sound doctrine and make clear presentations rooted in good, God-glorifying Biblical truth. We should study carefully to plow straight furrows with the Word of God unto the hearing of all those souls that would receive the Lord's truth. Yet, it is a sin to think that because I did so, God is obligated to add to the church, grow the flock, or do any other "amazing" thing. That we have the privilege to preach His Son incarnate, crucified, risen, ascended, and coming again is an honor and privilege that none of us deserves, and yet, are allowed to do so by God's amazing grace. In fact, it is also by His incredible mercy that we have that privilege because we are merely pathetic beings after all, wretched beings made a little lower than the angels, and our handling of the glory of His infinite truth is weak and feeble at best, for "...not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1 Corinthians 1:26).

We should also pray. We should earnestly seek the blessed favor of our Lord so that we may be nourished by His presence, encouraged by His abounding grace, strengthened by His enduring mercy, and uplifted by His infinite love. Yet, it is sheer folly to think that because I prayed earnestly that He would bring revival because I prayed so diligently; that I worshipped Him so earnestly; that the sincerity of my supplications, the piety of my petitions, or the thoroughness of my thanksgivings placed our sovereign and almighty God under any kind of obligation to act or respond apart from the counsel of His own will and blessedness of His good pleasure.

We should endeavor to be obedient to God's Word and walk according to all the graces He lavishes upon us; yet, our zeal should not be without knowledge, and specifically, knowledge of just who it is we worship and serve.

We should ever keep in mind that it is all God's work; it is His church; it is His glory; and what a blessed privilege it is to submit to His eternal will, plans, and purposes.

It is not in how much we labor for the Lord or in what specific way we labor before Him that marks our Christianity; but it is in our trust in Him and our faithfulness to Him in whatever He calls us to do, according to truth of His Word.

Pastors: whether you minister to a small handful of souls on Sunday or several thousand souls throughout the week, you are responsible for the care, feeding, and nurture of every single one of them before God. What a tremendous responsibility for the care of just one soul! Lean upon Christ by the power of His Spirit and the Word of His truth. It requires the same spiritual power for few or many and we must trust the Lord implicitly for the results in either case. Faithfulness in the one instance is no different than faithfulness in the other.