Pleasing God or Man?

Galatians 1:10-11 "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. [11.] But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man."

Beloved this week we would like to draw your attention to an area so many today have failed in, they are seeking to please man rather than God. I often wonder why there are so many Preachers and Christians that have fallen away from the truth of God’s word. There has to be a reason why, doesn’t there? I believe the answer is simple, God’s word tells us; in fact God said it is not a matter of "if", but "when". 2 Timothy 4:3-4 "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4.] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." Paul said they "shall be turned unto fables." That is myths or fiction or non-existent teachings. Non-existent as in there is no truth in their teachings. They teach about a mythical salvation, a mythical church, a mythical Jesus, and etc. It is not that these teachings do not exist, oh no they all do, however not in the way they teach them. They teach mythical teachings because truth no longer appeals to the people they preach too. These men are simply teaching to please men rather then God. Paul has a very strong warning to the men teaching mythical doctrine "for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ." Vs. 10b Paul just said these men are not servants of Christ which means they are not being used by the Lord.
People tend to measure a Minister on his ability to collect hears and on his ability to collect money. I must admit both of these are wonderful but not a measuring stick in which to measure a servant of Christ. The true measuring stick to measure a servant of Christ is how much truth he teaches. 1 Timothy 5:17-18 "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. [18.] For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." The word honor means money, and the Lord said he is worth double money. This is fact my beloved brethren a man that teaches truth is a man that teaches to small assemblies and small assemblies have small bank accounts and that equals small pay checks. However with all that math being done it does not eliminate the churches responsibility to give their pastor all the support they can. If you have a Pastor that speaks truth after the Lord Jesus Christ then you are indeed a blessed church.
Paul goes on to say in Vs. 11b "that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man." Paul is saying, what I preach is not from man but from God. I do not seek to please man nor did my education come from man but rather the Holy Spirit. This is why Paul said "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn." Vs. 18 of 1 Tim. The ox is used here for his strength to tread down the corn and the reason they were not muzzled is so they could eat while they worked and they would work harder and longer. So Paul went on to say in Vs. 18 of 1 Tim. "The labourer is worthy of his reward." The powerful ox did such a wonderful job he was worth all that he can eat and it was never too much. Folks the man that preaches truth is worthy of all a church can afford to give him. In order for this man to be so strong in teaching truth countless hours goes into study time and as Paul compared him to an ox, please do not under feed you ox. Just as a Pastor must continually ask himself "am I pleasing God or man" a church must also ask themselves the same question when they pay their Pastor.