Ministry Looks Like You Pt.2

Ministry that looks like Jesus

Ministry is Spiritual

Luke 6:12 NLT

One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.

We must always be before God - spend time seeking God's face and embracing His thoughts and His plans for your life and the lives around you that you are called to impact. Remember we are here to serve others and not ourselves. This best reflects Christ, which ultimately reflects the love of God.

But in order to do that you must be willing to be before God on your face. We are to pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 NLT

17 Never stop praying.

We are to be lead by the Holy Spirit

As Ministers we are to bring everything before God, we are filled with the Holy Spirit and therefore must listen to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:11–12 NLT

11 No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. 12 And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

1 Corinthians 2:16 NLT

16 For, “Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

Listen we are not of this world but we are in it. We are here with a new mind, Once we turned our lives over to Christ we took on the mind of Christ!

Romans 12:2 NLT

2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

But how do we change the way we think? Through the Holy Spirit.

Use this illustration but shorten it to about 2-3 minutes

Tony Evans Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More Than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking Holy Spirit, Filling Of

WHEN you leave church on Sundays, you go to your car and make your way home or out to dinner. You will deplete the reserve of gas in the tank. You don’t have to be a bad person for your car to go from full to empty. You just have to use the car. If you drive, I can guarantee you, you will deplete gasoline.

Many times, when people leave church, they are spiritually full because of the time they spent singing praises to God and hearing His Word. However, within two hours of being filled, their spiritual tank will begin to dissipate. All a person has to do to lose their “filling” is to live life. Life has its way of draining out the reality of the Holy Spirit in you.

Just like a person who drives a car has to continue to make trips to the gas station to fill up and make the car run smoothly, Christians must continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Everyday we need to be filled up with the Holy Spirit as this what keeps us going. Like the gas in the car, keeps the car going, the Holy Spirit in us keeps us going.

Ministry is Relational

Hebrews 10:25 NLT

25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

We are to Engage, Encourage, and Evaluate

Engaging is what we do on Sunday Morning Worship, Bible Study and Small Groups. (Give an Illustration 1 minute)

Encouraging is what we do when we edify and speak words of love and compassion into each others lives or also how we act it out. (Give an Illustration 1 minute)

Evaluating is what we do when we discuss the Word of God, or go over the sermon or lesson. Typically in a small group setting, or even getting together with friends over a cup of coffee. Evaluating also is when we look at what we do when something is not lining up with the Word of God and we need clarity to address the proper approach to dealing with.

Romans 1:12–13 NLT

12 When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. 13 I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.

Romans 12:10 NLT

10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Hebrews 10:24 NLT

24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

Proverbs 27:17 NLT

17 As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Colossians 3:16 NLT

16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.

Galatians 6:2 NLT

2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Listen all these verses and plenty more talk about relational ministry.

Which brings me to my next thought,

People don’t want to hear anything about Jesus, if you don’t act like Jesus

We can talk about Jesus until we are blue in the face, but if we don’t act like Christ nobody is listening.

Pastor always says to me; Son we have to sale what we advertise. He is absolutely right!

1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Remember ministry serves others it is not self serving. To serve someone is is to show the Love of Christ and then people will listen to you.

Ministry is Missional

Mark 16:15 NLT

15 And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.

You are called to go forth and reflect Christ for everyone to see. The world is in disorder, but God is going to use you to help bring order to it. But start right where you are at.

Swindoll’s Ultimate Book of Illustrations & Quotes Missions

A missionary couple came home aboard a ship after many years of faithful service in Africa. It so happened that there was a very important diplomat also on the same ship who got special treatment and special attention. When the ship arrived, this couple stood back and watched from the deck as the band played and the people had gathered and there was great applause. As the diplomat walked down the gangplank and was whisked off in a lovely limousine to the sounds of music and applause, this dear fellow put his arm around his wife and he walked off with her and got into the streets of New York. “Honey,” he said, “it just doesn’t seem right after all of these years that we would have this kind of treatment and here this fellow gets that kind of special treatment.” And she put her arms around her husband and said to him, “But, honey, we’re not home yet.”

Listen like this couple who did what God called them to do it won’t go unrewarded. Listen like you my friend all that you do will be weighed in it’s price of gold.

We think that God doesn’t see what we do? But God sees everything we do. Your mission field is calling you and you need to go serve in it.

Mark 1:16–20 NLT

16 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 17 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 18 And they left their nets at once and followed him. 19 A little farther up the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired men.

Jesus will meet you right where you are at, to help you meet others He’s calling… Right where they are at.

Share the story of Ronnie - How Christ meet him right where he is at. Now he is meeting his circle right where they are at.

The mark of a great church is not it’s seating capacity, no it’s the sending capacity!

Be willing to go out on the limb and pick the ripe fruit that’s where all the good stuff is at. But if your not willing to get up and climb that tree then eventually that fruit will either fall to the ground and decay meaning it was wasted or either the worms will get to it. either way you’ll have to ask yourself did I do all that I was called to do by the master?

Matthew 9:35–38 NLT

35 Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. 38 So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.”

Let’s Pray..