If by doing some work which the undiscerning consider “not spiritual work” I can best help others, and I inwardly rebel, thinking it is the spiritual for which I crave, when in truth it is the interesting and the exciting, then I know nothing of Calvary love.
If you have no opposition in the place you serve, you’re serving in the wrong place.
The way I see it, there are two primary errors for the professing Christian called to be a minister for Christ. One is we do absolutely nothing. We’re lazy. We feel inadequate. We’re too busy with other things. The other error is we start serving and then quit. We’re discouraged. We’re unappreciated. We’re persecuted. We’re unsatisfied with the results. Either way we are not ministering and either way, regardless of the means, Satan has proved successful to decommission us from our Lord’s service. The first error is having no heart. The second error is losing heart.
Sermon, A Successful Gospel-Centered Ministry – Part 1, 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, April 13, 2014.
If you serve in Gospel ministry there will be loads of opposition. Even Jesus Christ faced it! And since staying disengaged is not an option, it’s wise to ready yourself right now to be prepared for the pitfalls toward discouragement and armed with reasons to persevere with a resolute heart.
Sermon, A Successful Gospel-Centered Ministry – Part 1, 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, April 13, 2014.
If we serve, if we are genuinely New Covenant servants that get engaged in the lives of real human beings, there will always be the temptation to lose heart. So how do we overcome it? Just within this section of Scripture (of 2 Corinthians) I draw this following conclusion: Almighty God has fulfilled all His promises in the New Covenant. This is the most worthy cause to be fighting for. He has poured out His Spirit to give me all the assistance I need. As I gaze upon the glory of the Lord, I am aware of noticeable transformation in my life. This is evidence of His presence. He is with me and He wants to use me to transform others. What an honor to serve the living God regardless of the visible results. All that I have in salvation and ministry is a result of His mercy. I must show that same mercy I have received to others. This ministry is not mine, it is His. I’ll give all the problem people to Him. It’s not easy, but God will allow me to persevere if I keep my eyes on Him through the heartaches of service. He is using me as He wills, and while I serve others He is in making me more like Himself in my own Christlike transformation. Therefore, how can I lose heart (2 Cor. 4:1)?
Sermon, A Successful Gospel-Centered Ministry – Part 1, 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, April 13, 2014.
When you determined in your heart to serve the Lord, be prepared for temptation from the evil one.
Stick with your work. Do not flinch because the lion roars; do not stop to stone the devil’s dogs; do not fool away your time chasing the devil’s rabbits. Do your work. Let liars lie, let sectarians quarrel, let critics malign, let enemies accuse, let the devil do his worst; but see to it nothing hinders you from fulfilling with joy the work God has given you. He has not commanded you to be admired or esteemed. He has never bidden you defend your character. He has not set you at work to contradict falsehood (about yourself) which Satan’s or God’s servants may start to peddle, or to track down every rumor that threatens your reputation. If you do these things, you will do nothing else; you will be at work for yourself and not for the Lord. Keep at your work. Let your aim be as steady as a star. You may be assaulted, wronged, insulted, slandered, wounded and rejected, misunderstood, or assigned impure motives; you may be abused by foes, forsaken by friends, and despised and rejected of men. But see to it with steadfast determination, with unfaltering zeal, that you pursue the great purpose of your life and object of your being until at last you can say, “I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do.”
It is better to be occupied with Jesus than to be occupied for Jesus.
