More Than Preaching
Today’s Passages – 2 Thessalonians 1 – 1 Timothy 3 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – click here to view the text from the Blue Letter Bible website)
(Second Milers also read – Psalms 71 – 75; Proverbs 15)
Listen to this morning’s Scripture Song – Psalm 119:105
Read the “1215 Evening and Morning“ devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;” (1 Timothy 1:12)
I have always been very fond of this verse. Paul knew that he had been given an awesome privilege when God called Him into the ministry, and I am very conscious of the fact that my calling is just as special and important as Paul’s. I notice also from this verse that Paul didn’t say that God called him because of his qualifications except for the one thing that God found in him, which was faithfulness. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called and He will call those who are faithful.
What does it mean to be in the ministry? What does a minister do? Is it just getting up in front of people and yelling for 45 minutes on Sunday morning? My friend, it is so much more than that. Let me share with you some thoughts regarding what the ministry entails:
1 The Ministry Is About People – People have all kinds of problems and needs. A true minister of God does not see people as a means to fulfill his desires or goals; rather a minister recognizes that he is called of God to serve the people and to give them what they need in order to have the very best of God’s blessings upon their life. A minister does not try to be God to the people, but rather tries to bring the people closer to God.
2 The Ministry is About Prayer – I must confess right now that this area is the weakest part of my ministry for the Lord, and it is number one on the list of things that I would like to improve in the new year. Actually, as of now, it is the only thing on the list. According to Acts 6, the apostles felt that their primary duties were “to give [themselves] continually unto prayer, and the ministry of the word.” That would be a pretty good starting point for preachers today. We need to pray for our people, our churches, our communities, and our country.
3 The Ministry Is About Perspiration – There is work to be done. The Bible says that the office of a Bishop is a good “work.” Many full-time servants of God are lazy. They get up late, eat too much, and go home early. It will take a lot of work to be effective as a minister. There is soulwinning, visitation, hospital visits, administrative work, counseling, cleaning, planning, building, etc. Preachers ought to be up early and on the job before the world get’s up. Satan never stops working to advance his agenda.
4 The Ministry Is About Preparation – The pastor should spend hours in the study, preparing to feed the flock that God has entrusted them with. His people deserve fresh bread from Heaven that came directly out of time spent with God in study and in prayer. Sometimes, it is easy to get lazy in preparation. We can quickly throw some “fast food” together to serve our people but God expects more out of His ministers. Work, pray, and study so that God’s people will be fed gourmet meals from the pulpit each week.
I hope that you can see now that the ministry consists of so much more than is visible on the surface. What a privilege it is to serve such an awesome, wonderful, omnipotent, and merciful God. What has God called you to do? If you have been called to a ministry, it is because He found you to be faithful; but are you still faithfully fulfilling what God has called you to do?
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Timothy by Phil Erickson with 3 comments.
So Much More Than Just Preaching
Today’s Passages – 2 Thessalonians 1 – 1 Timothy 3; Proverbs 15
(Second Milers also read – Psalm 71 – 75; Memorize – Micah 5:2)
Listen to today’s Scripture song – Psalm 121
Read “More Than My Two Front Teeth” by Pastor Paul Chappell
“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;” (1 Timothy 1:12)
So Much More Than Just Preaching
I have always been very fond of this verse. Paul knew that he had been given an awesome privilege when God called Him into the ministry; and I am very conscious of the fact that my calling is just as special and important as Paul’s. I notice also from this verse that Paul didn’t say that God called him because of his qualifications, except for the one thing that God found in him, which was faithfulness. God does not call the qualified; He qualifies the called, and He will call those who are faithful.
What does it mean to be in the ministry? What does a minister do? Is it just getting up in front of people and yelling for 45 minutes on Sunday morning? My friend, it is so much more that that. Let me share with you some thoughts regarding what the ministry entails:
1 The Ministry Is About People – People have all kinds of problems and needs. A true minister of God does not see people as a means to fulfill his desires or goals; rather a minister recognizes that he is called of God to serve the people; to give the people what they need in order to have the very best of God’s blessings upon their life. A minister does not try to be God to the people, but rather tries to bring the people closer to God.
2 The Ministry is About Prayer – I must confess right now that this area is the weakest part of my ministry for the Lord; and it is number one on the list of things that I would like to improve in the new year. Actually, as of now, it is the only thing on the list. According to Acts 6, the apostles felt that their primary duties were “to give [themselves] continually unto prayer. and the ministry of the word.” That would be a pretty good starting point for preachers today. We need to pray for our people, our churches, our communities, and our country.
3 The Ministry Is About Perspiration – There is work to be done. The Bible says that the office of a Bishop is a good “work”. Many full-time servants of God are lazy. They get up late, eat too much, and go home early. It will take a lot of work to be effective as a minister. There is soulwinning, visitation, hospital visits, administrative work, counseling, cleaning, planning, building, etc. Preachers ought to be up early and on the job before the world get’s up. Satan never stops working to advance his agenda.
4 The Ministry Is About Preparation – The pastor should spend hours in the study, preparing to feed the flock that God has entrusted them with. His people deserve fresh bread from Heaven that came directly out of time spent with God in study and in prayer. Sometimes, it is easy to get lazy in preparation. We can quickly throw some “fast food” together to serve our people; but God expects more out of His ministers. Work, pray, and study so that God’s people will be fed gourmet meals from the pulpit each week.
I hope that you can see now that the ministry consists of so much more than is visible on the surface. What a privilege it is to serve such an awesome, wonderful, omnipotent, and merciful God. What has God called you to do? If you have been called to a ministry, it is because He found you to be faithful; but are you still faithfully fulfilling what God has called you to do?
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Timothy by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Where Would Our Church Be Without the Young People
Today’s Passage – 1 Timothy. 4-6; 2 Timothy. 1, 2
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)
I thank the Lord for our young people. If it were not for the young people at Jersey Shore Baptist Church, we would not be able to do a tenth of what we are able to do today. We would have to shut down our bus ministry, our Kid’s Club, all of our children’s Sunday School classes, our Saturday prayer meeting, and most of our soul winning efforts, if it were not for the young people. By young people, I am referring to teenagers, and college-age. They bring a zeal and excitement to the work of the Lord. They are willing to tackle any project, and they have the energy to make it happen. And they are very generous: they have not learned yet how to be disobedient in giving. They have a simple trust in the Lord that enables God to use them in great ways.
However, they also have some problems that tend to be associated with their age. Paul admonishes young Timothy in our passage to “be an example… in word (what you say), in conversation (behavior – what you do), in spirit (that’s excitement, passion, zeal – no problem there), in faith (that’s what you believe which will affect what you do and say), and finally purity. This last area is a problem for all of us, but it seems to be a particular area of difficulty for young people. I would like to take this time to admonish you young folks that are reading this to be very careful in the area of purity. Be careful about what you allow to be put into your mind; be careful about who you hang around. Try to surround yourselves with other young people who also want to stay pure, and are committed to doing whatever it takes to maintain their purity. Put some fences and boundaries up in your life that will help you stay inside of God’s perfect will. Paul later admonished young Timothy to “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It is certainly tragic when young people lose their purity. They lose that sparkle of innocence that they had when they were children; and though they can certainly recover, they never seem to recover completely from their fall into impurity. Watch out! The devil wants to sift you young folks like he did Peter. Wake up! Stay pure!
I am very excited about the future of our church, and it is mostly because of what I see that God is doing in the lives of our youth. I thank God also for our servants that are no longer in their youth, which includes me by the way. I know that this ministry needs the wisdom that only can come from spiritual maturity; but we need to get behind the young people, and cheer them on. Don’t try to quench their zeal. Pray for them; they are at a critical point in their lives. They will either continue down the straight and narrow path that leads to God’s blessing and fruitfulness; or they will get sidetracked down a wider path that will cause them many sorrows.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Timothy by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.