Sacrificial Ministry

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

God has put a treasure in the heart of every follower of Jesus Christ. He has put His Holy Spirit within us so that we can have communion with Him, be conformed into the image of His Son, and do kingdom work here on earth.

5 I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so [d]prove to be My disciples. John 15:5-8

How does this happen if Jesus is not here?

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [b]Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. John 14:16-17

Jesus has given every believer in Him the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift indwells us and guides us into truth. His Holy Spirit reveals the deep rooted truths in His word. His indwelling Spirit reveals sin in our hearts so that we can repent of our sin. His indwelling Spirit puts passions in our hearts to do His will.

When we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives as Jesus Desires then the greatness of the power of God will be manifested and He will receive glory.

12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you [f]must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery [g]leading to fear again, but you have received [h]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. Romans 8:12-17

Living in accordance to the Spirit builds relationship with the Father. We grow in intimacy with Him. Our intimacy is what ultimately what rings glory to God. What we do for God is not nearly important as our relationship with God.

His Spirit Sustains Us

1. We are afflicted in every way; but not crushed. Ministry often involves dealing with sensitive and personal matters. It can cause you disappointment, financial loss, personal injury, and have your reputation destroyed. But amid all of this the true minister is never crushed. The Holy Spirit always lifts you up.

2. Persecuted but not forsaken. Following Christ is not the popular thing to do. People will persecute you and friends will turn their backs on you when you make a stand for Jesus. Though we are forsaken by many Jesus will never forsake us.

3. Struck down but never destroyed. There will always be setbacks in ministry, but the ministry will never be destroyed. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matt. 16:18

4. Carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be manifested in the flesh. This is the sanctification process . Carrying around the death of Jesus means that we are in a constant state of dying to sin and self. This is a life- long process. Jesus says, “ And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. Luke 9:23 This means that through our surrender to Him we die to our natural fleshly passions and follow Him in the work He is doing.

Eternity Is What We Are Fighting For

God has called the church to fight for the cause of Christ.

The New International Version Chapter 4

13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” h Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak

We must refuse to be silent. We must be a people that proclaims the Truth of God’s Word to a lost misguided world. If you do not see that we are in a war, then you probably are not engaging in battle. There are people that are being misguided by media, government, friends and all other kinds of sources that tell blatant lies, half-truths, and manipulative agendas. Folks we must teach the word of God. Why? you might ask. Because people are dying and going to hell because the church refuses to get engaged in the war. Just think how many people will die today without a relationship with Jesus Christ. We must understand that we are their only hope. We must do what it takes to get the gospel to the people.

Paul was a man that was dedicated to this.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, [a]through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and [b]exposure. 28 Apart from such [c]external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak without my being weak? Who is [d]led into sin [e]without my intense concern?

30 If I have to boast, I will boast of what pertains to my weakness. 2 Cor. 11:25-30

Paul suffered for the Gospel because he knew that people needed to be saved. He did not quit he fought all the way to the end and did everything the Lord called Him to do.

7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. 2 Tim. 4:7-8

Folks we must fight the good fight. I often wonder though if we value our own convenience, safety, and preferences, rather than engaging in the battle. Share Tatum’s China story. We must be more concerned with the mission than we are ourselves.

Do Not Lose Heart

3 Ways You Can Remain Faithful To Christ

John MacArthur mentions three ways not to lose Heart.

1. You will endure when you value spiritual strength over physical. The Christian life is about strengthening your soul by surrendering to Jesus. Many of us go to great lengths to make sure our physical bodies are healthy and presentable. We exercise, spend tons of money on hygiene and beauty products, and acquire whatever is necessary to make our image look the best. It is all about self. Take your phone out, turn the camera on, snap a picture. Congratulations! You have just taken a “selfie”! What will you do with it? If you like it you will present it. If you don’t like it you will delete it.

Folks, what if you could take a selfie of your soul? What would you do with it? Would you present it to the Lord or try to delete it? When we are feeding our souls through intimacy with Jesus our souls will become more and more presentable. This is because we are doing away with the old garments of the flesh and putting on the new garments of Christ . This is what they look like!

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who [b]belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Gal. 5:22-24

Let’s care more for our souls than we do our bodies. This causes the right kind of passions necessary to fight the good fight!

2. You will endure when you value the future over the present. Are we willing to put in the work while we are here on earth so that we can reap the rewards in the future. Our lives are similar to spring training. We must put in the work early in order to have the victory in the future. It is called delayed gratification. The things that we do today will have consequences tomorrow. Dedicate yourself to the Lord, your family, and your church. Serve them and you will have reward later in life and in heaven. What a glorious day that will be when we see our loved ones that we led to the Lord in heaven!

3. You will endure when you value eternal realities over temporal; when eternity and what is eternal is more important to you than time and what is temporary. The Bible teaches to store up treasures in heaven not on earth. Let me ask you a question? What will you take to heaven with you? Will it be the things you acquire here on earth? Or will it be the lives that you touch with the gospel of Jesus Christ?

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matt. 6:19-21

I trust that you have a treasure waiting in heaven that is going to blow you away! I was talking to a pastor this week that I pray with every week and he said something to me that caused me to ponder and rejoice. He said, “You know David, I wonder sometime about the prayers we lift up every week. We may not see the result of them in this lifetime, but can you imagine when we get to Heaven and Jesus say, “I heard your prayer and let me show you what I did with it!”