Keys of Effective Ministry

Introduction

Proposition: Christians should be founded on Christ and allow that to propel them forward so that their lives will be marked by faithfulness.

Purpose,

Introduction

The famous and very successful football coach Bear Bryant often told reporters, "I’d croak in a month if I quit coaching." After twenty-five years as the head coach at his alma mater, Bryant announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. On December 29, 1982, he coached his Alabama football team for the last time in the Liberty Bowl against Illinois. On January 26, 1983, he died of a massive heart attack.

Every one of us needs a reason to live—a compelling cause and purpose that keeps us going when we would rather quit. We all face obstacles that hinder us and make life difficult. Some people allow those obstacles to stop them. Others overcome. The difference is not in the obstacles, but in the determination and drive of the person who faces the obstacles.

Body

1. The Example of Effective Ministry

Unfaithful ministry

Phygelus and Hermogenes

Only time these two names are in Scripture

If you were only mentioned in Scripture one time, what would your verse say?

Onesiphorus

(v. 16) Faithful Ministry came often

(v. 16) Faithful Ministry is not easily afraid

(v. 17) Faithful Ministry goes to great lengths

(v. 18) Ministry always leaves a mark

(v. 18) Faithful Ministry does not go unrewarded

(v. 18) Faithful Ministry always leaves a mark

A young preacher once approached Dr. F. B. Meyer and asked how he could one day become as influential and well-known as Dr. Meyer. Dr. Meyer responded, “Don’t waste your time waiting and longing for large opportunities which may never come. But faithfully handle the little things that are always claiming your attention.”

TS: Not only does Paul give Timothy this great example of effective ministry, Paul also gives three qualities of effective ministry.

TS: Not only does Paul give Timothy this great example of effective ministry, Paul also gives three qualities of effective ministry.

2. The Qualities of Effective Ministry

1. The Soldier (2:3-4)

Suffering hardship

Not lured away by the things of this world

Doing everything to please their Commander and Chief

2. The Athlete (2:5)

Competing according to the rules

Not cutting corners

3. The Farmer(2:6)

Hard work

“The main thought is that labor, discipline, and striving are the portion of him who would succeed in any enterprise, be he a soldier or an athlete, or a farmer.” - Bernard, NAC, 205.

TS: Not only does Paul give Timothy examples and qualities of faithful ministry, but he also displays the truths that effective ministry is founded on.

3. The Truths that will Produce Effective Ministry

1. Jesus Christ is still on the Throne (v. 8)

2. The Word of God advances unhindered (vv. 9-10)

3. The reward for service is certain (vv. 11-13)

Conclusion

Maria Dyer was born in 1837 on the mission field in China where her parents were pioneer missionaries. Both her parents died when Maria was a little girl, and she was sent back to England to be raised by an uncle. The loss of her parents, however, did not deter her young heart from the importance of sharing the gospel. At age sixteen she, along with her sister, returned to China to work in a girl’s school as a missionary herself. Five years later, she married Hudson Taylor, a man well-known today for his life of ministry, faith, and sacrifice.

Hudson and Maria’s work was often criticized—even by other Christians. At one point Maria wrote, “As to the harsh judgings of the world, or the more painful misunderstandings of Christian brethren, I generally feel that the best plan is to go on with our work and leave God to vindicate our cause.” Of their nine children, only four survived to adulthood. Maria herself died of cholera when she was just forty-three. But she believed the cause was worthy of the sacrifice. On her grave marker these words were inscribed: “For her to live was Christ, and to die was gain.”

In a day when many are self-absorbed and care more about what they can get rather than what they can give, we need a renewal of sacrificial love. It was God’s love for us that sent Jesus into the world to die for our sins, and it is that kind of giving love that our world needs so greatly today. When we love God as we should, our interests fade as we magnify Him.