S1: Here's what he's saying. Here's how I serve. Realizing it
S1: was a privilege. Man, that sure brings everything together. When
S1: we understand to serve God is a privilege that God
S1: would use someone like me. What an awesome God.
S2: This is treasure truth with pastor and author James Ford,
S2: junior senior pastor of the Christ Bible Church in Chicago.
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us. As today we
S2: begin a message from acts chapter 20 called How to
S2: Have an Effective Ministry and pastor. Before we hear the
S2: message and dive in and look at maybe some other things,
S2: maybe having a right understanding of the fact that God
S2: uses sinful people like us to accomplish his purposes. To
S2: be involved in ministry would be a pretty good place
S2: to start.
S3: Oh yeah, and all you have to do is just
S3: if you read your Bible, what you're going to find
S3: is Ideas. All gods, heroes and sheroes have flaws and
S3: God is like my pastor. He came to our church
S3: one time and he gave. He's a concert pianist. He
S3: has a doctorate in rhetoric and he played. He takes
S3: five random notes and makes a song. Afterward he said
S3: to me, he said, Beauford, he calls me by my nickname, Beauford. Uh,
S3: get your piano tuned up and fixed. You have two
S3: dead keys. And I said, wait a minute. You were
S3: able to play like that with two dead keys? He
S3: said something I'll never forget. He said, well, you know,
S3: I am a trained classical pianist. I said, oh, you're
S3: a master. He said, well, if you want to say that.
S3: And I said, wow. I said, you're a master who's
S3: able to transpose the music Showing the flaws. I said,
S3: I'm going to preach that. He said, I knew you were. Yeah.
S3: That's it. And so broken keys. Yeah. Beautiful music. That's
S3: our God. That's it. He takes us with the broken
S3: keys of our lives, transposes his power over them and
S3: makes beautiful music so that everybody can see that the
S3: Lord is good.
S2: Yeah, well, that's one of the things that I still
S2: marvel at sometimes, that God would choose to use broken
S2: people like us when he doesn't need to. But what
S2: a privilege it is to be used by him.
S3: Amen.
S2: So we have a lot of broken people who may
S2: desire to be involved in ministry. God has done something
S2: incredible in their lives and they say, now I want
S2: to serve him. I want to have an effective ministry. Um,
S2: help us get an idea of what, uh, or how
S2: you're defining what is an effective ministry, because that's what
S2: today's message is all about.
S3: Well, here's how I'll define that, Steve. Eve. There's a
S3: word teleos, and it's translated perfect. Mature. When is a
S3: person teleos when they're fulfilling that for which they have
S3: been created? These mikes. Uh, they can be more aesthetically
S3: pleasing to the eye. Would you agree?
S2: Oh, sure.
S3: Could there be more expensive mikes, even though these are
S3: very expensive?
S2: Yes they are. And yes, there are many more expensive mikes.
S3: But they're perfect because they fulfill that for which they
S3: were created. They magnify my voice. Yeah. You have to
S3: ask yourself, am I doing what God called me to do?
S3: Am I using what we talked about in earlier broadcast?
S3: Am I using my gifts? Okay, I'm going to have, uh,
S3: issues as I'm utilizing it, but that's why I have
S3: first John one nine. If I confess my sins, he's
S3: faithful and just to forgive me and cleanse me from
S3: all unrighteousness, to reestablish me so that I can continue
S3: to serve him. Yeah. Nobody's going to be perfect, and
S3: no one's going to be sinless. Even though as we
S3: continue to walk with him, we sin less and less
S3: and less.
S2: Yeah. Well, this is kind of a unique broadcast, because
S2: this is not a message that you preach to your congregation.
S2: This was a special DVD you did for your leadership.
S3: That's right. So that we weren't going to have a meeting.
S3: And I wanted them to have instruction. And so this
S3: is the result.
S2: All right. So if you don't hear the normal whooping
S2: and holler and that that's why. But man the content
S2: is great. It's from acts 20. Open your Bible. Join
S2: us there as we begin this message. How to have
S2: an effective ministry. Here's Pastor Ford.
S3: Well, when I was a student at the Moody Bible Institute, uh,
S3: a pastor came and preached to us at pastor's conference,
S3: and he said, listen, if you're going to be a pastor, uh,
S3: you need at least three things to have an effective ministry.
S3: He said, you've got to have the mind of a scholar,
S3: that you've got to have the heart of a child.
S3: And he said, you have to have the hide of
S3: a rhinoceros. Well, I've been pastoring a long time, and
S3: I guarantee you that that man was right. You need
S3: all three of those to have an effective ministry. Now,
S3: everybody wants to have an effective ministry. Uh, because God
S3: has gifted us and given us, uh, the ability to
S3: be able to minister to other people, and I, I
S3: don't know if you found it out yet, but ministry
S3: is hard work. And so in this text, Paul calls
S3: the elders of Ephesus down to an island called Miletus.
S3: And he says to them, let me recount to you
S3: the effect of my ministry among you, and the timeless
S3: principles are there. Uh, five marks of an effective ministry.
S3: Let's look at them and clothe ourselves with this text.
S3: It's powerful, especially if you want to be able to
S3: hear our Lord and Savior say, well done, thou good
S3: and faithful servant. And so then notice the first mark
S3: of effective ministry. In verse 17 of acts chapter 20,
S3: Paul says this. And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus,
S3: and called the elders of the church. And when they
S3: were come to him, he said unto them, you know,
S3: from the first day that I came into Asia, after
S3: what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
S3: here's the first mark of an effective ministry. He says
S3: the first mark of an effective ministry is presence. Be
S3: with them. Uh, Paul, uh, this church, uh, is the
S3: longest running tenure of our famed apostle Paul. He pastored
S3: this church for three and a half years. You can
S3: go back to acts 18 to see, uh, where he
S3: founded it and where he he stayed there and pastor them.
S3: Now he's getting ready to go to Jerusalem. So he
S3: calls them to Miletus, which is approximately 28 miles south
S3: of Ephesus, southeast of Ephesus. And he begins to tell them, listen,
S3: I want you to know that the first mark of
S3: an effective ministry is presence. Be with them. Now, I remember, uh,
S3: one time, uh, a sister said to me, she said, pastor, uh,
S3: I won't be with you, uh, on Sunday, but I
S3: want you to know that I'll be with you in spirit.
S3: You know what I said to her? I said, sis,
S3: because you know I do. And I am facetious sometimes
S3: a little sarcastic every now and then. And I said
S3: to her, I said, sis, I sure appreciate the sentiment,
S3: but you know what? Uh, your spirit, uh, can't sing
S3: the songs of Zion. Your spirit can't smile and lift
S3: up a bow down head. Uh, your spirit can't reach
S3: into your pocketbook. Get your checkbook and write out a
S3: tithe checks to the church. So I appreciate the sentiment,
S3: but I would rather have your body there. Uh, than
S3: than your spirit. And of course, we laughed and chuckled
S3: about it. But that's what Paul says. He says, man,
S3: the the first mark of an effective ministry is you
S3: gotta show up. And so, I mean, when you begin
S3: to look at the church, uh, the, the empty pew, uh, is,
S3: is a a loud witness to the effect that many
S3: believers don't understand. Hebrews 1025 says, not forsaking the assembling
S3: of yourselves together, as the manner of some is, but
S3: exhorting one another so much the more as you see
S3: the day approaching. Acts chapter two, verse 41 and 42 says,
S3: they continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine the breaking of bread, fellowship,
S3: and prayer that they gather together every day. And so
S3: it's important that you show up in ministry. I mean,
S3: isn't that what God did? Think about it. Uh, because, uh,
S3: God sent Adam, but his innocence wasn't enough to deal
S3: with sin. Sin came into the world. And then God
S3: raised up the patriarchs, which means first father or first leader. And, uh,
S3: they couldn't lead sin away. And then God raised up
S3: the judges to judge, but they couldn't judge sin away.
S3: And so God raised up the prophets to preach, but
S3: they couldn't preach sin away. And God raised up the
S3: psalmist to sing, and they couldn't sing sin away. And
S3: God raised up kings to lead, and they couldn't lead
S3: sin away. And so God said, uh, like the old adage,
S3: if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself.
S3: So our God veiled deity in humanity stepped down, as
S3: the old preacher would say, through 42 different generations and hung,
S3: bled and died on Calvary for our sin. Man that's powerful.
S3: It was his presence, as a matter of fact. When.
S3: When after 400 years of silence, uh, the first word
S3: that we get in Matthew chapter one, verse 22 and
S3: call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is God with us.
S3: The first thing that God did to seal, uh, the
S3: truth to our hearts, to wipe away our sins, to
S3: minister to us, was to be with us, man. Now, now, look,
S3: because Paul qualifies, he says the first mark of an
S3: effective ministry is presence. Be with them. Notice, he says
S3: that it needs to be a constructive presence. Uh, now
S3: notice what he says. And, you know, after what manner? Uh,
S3: the NIV says how I lived among you. In other words,
S3: there are some people who are with us in body
S3: we wish were with us in spirit. Don't shout me down. Amen. Amen. Uh,
S3: I mean, you know, they look like they got something
S3: in their mouth, and it's real nasty. And they just
S3: hold it and they can't spit it out. You know,
S3: folk who act as if their spiritual gift is criticism. And, uh,
S3: they've had a charisma bypass. That's what I said. Charisma bypass.
S3: And so he says, no, no, no. He said I
S3: had a positive effect on you as I was there.
S3: And that's what we need. We need presence, but it
S3: needs to be constructive. Let me ask you a question.
S3: Are you someone who develops the body or destroys the body?
S3: Are you someone who builds it up, or are you
S3: someone who breaks it down? Paul says no, no, no, no.
S3: You know that I had a positive impact on you
S3: while I was there. And. And that's what we want
S3: to be. We want to be present and we want
S3: to have a constructive presence. But here's the second thing.
S3: Not just a constructive presence. But Paul says, I also
S3: had a committed presence. Notice what he says. He says,
S3: after what manner I have been with you at all seasons. Boy,
S3: I like that. Uh, because he says, listen, I was
S3: there and I had a committed. There's so many people
S3: who are like, what Doctor Warren Wiersbe calls nomads. You
S3: say no, they get mad and off they go. There
S3: are too many people who say to you, pastor, I'm
S3: behind you, but they don't tell you how far behind
S3: you they are. So many people, uh, when things don't
S3: go their way, uh, when someone says something or does
S3: something and then, boom, they're out of ministry, uh, they
S3: leave the church. I mean, it happens all the time,
S3: but Paul says not with me. At all seasons in
S3: the good times and in the bad times. Uh, in
S3: the in the times where things weren't going right at
S3: all when we were on a mountaintop in the Valley,
S3: he says, listen, I need you to know I was
S3: committed to you. Now, it's amazing to me, uh, because
S3: the word seasons here refers to, uh, chronos, uh, man's time. Now,
S3: what would be the difference if the word was kairos,
S3: which is the word? Generally, we say it's God's time.
S3: Perfect time. Uh, then it would be, uh, he's there
S3: because that commitment then is is rooted and grounded in
S3: him from God. But he uses chronos, which is people time.
S3: And I think there's some there's some truth to be
S3: had here. Uh, that. Yes, that the commitment was based
S3: on who he was.
S2: Now we're going to have to pause the message right there,
S2: but we'll continue to look at how to have an
S2: effective ministry. In just one moment. You're listening to Treasure
S2: Truth with Pastor Ford, and if you ever miss a broadcast,
S2: come to our website Treasure Truth radio.org. There you can
S2: simply listen to programs by streaming them through your computer
S2: or mobile device. You can download MP3's for free, or
S2: you can order copies of this broadcast on CD. That's
S2: at Treasure Truth Radio. Dot back to the message. Here
S2: is Pastor Ford.
S3: So that's the first Mark. How you doing? First mark
S3: of an effective ministry presence. Be with them. Here's the
S3: second second mark of an effective ministry. Verse 18. And
S3: when they were come to him, he said unto them,
S3: you know, from the first day that I came into Asia,
S3: after I read that already, you know, you know, verse 19,
S3: serving the Lord with all humility of mind and many
S3: tears and temptations which befell me by the lying in
S3: wait of the Jews. Second mark of an effective ministry
S3: is participation. Be a worker. Here it is. Presence. Be
S3: with them. Participation. Be a worker. Now Paul was saying, listen, uh,
S3: you know, uh, that not only was I there, I
S3: rolled up my sleeves and I got busy. I began
S3: to work for the Lord. See, a whole lot of
S3: people talk a good game, but they don't walk a
S3: good game. And it's amazing to me that we fail
S3: to realize that Ephesians chapter two, verse ten tells us
S3: we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
S3: that God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
S3: We have been saved to serve. And so Paul here
S3: is saying, listen, listen, I have served the Lord among you.
S3: I worked, I worked, you know, I was reading, uh,
S3: the etymological construct for the word deacon. It literally means
S3: double worker. It is an amazing. Now I know not
S3: at your church and the church that I pastor, but
S3: at a whole lot of churches you have deacons who
S3: should be double workers doing no work. That's oxymoronic. If
S3: I ever heard it and Paul says, yeah, if you
S3: want to evaluate my ministry. No, I was there. But
S3: then notice I was a worker. No. Not now. I
S3: love the way he prefaces this because he tells us
S3: several things about his work. Notice, first of all, the
S3: motivation of his participation serving the church. Is that what
S3: it says? Uh, serving my ministry, uh, utilizing my gift.
S3: Is that what it says? No. He says serving the Lord.
S3: The motivation of his participation was serving the Lord. One
S3: thing that characterizes my ministry at Christ Bible Church, formerly
S3: South Shore Baptist Church is the fact that I don't
S3: ask people to serve. And when someone comes to me
S3: and they say, um, we need this, we need that,
S3: I usually ask them, Is God leading you to do it? Uh, well. Well, no. Well,
S3: then why are you telling me? Well, we need to
S3: do it. Well, see, I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.
S3: And so if God is leading you to do it,
S3: then I will help you and equip you so that
S3: you can execute what God has called you. I can't
S3: put anything else on my plate. I'm already doing what
S3: God has told me to do so that every ministry
S3: we have, someone was led by God to start that ministry.
S3: Every ministry. The only thing that I've started is our
S3: multi sites and I did that for church planting. You say,
S3: what's the point, pastor? Why are you telling us all this?
S3: Because uh, the reason I've done that is if I
S3: ask them and they get mad at me, Then it's
S3: easy for them to step out of it because they
S3: did it for me, and now they're mad at me
S3: and they don't speak to me anymore. But you got
S3: to realize that if it was God who told them
S3: to do it, then even if they get mad at me,
S3: they shouldn't leave that ministry because I'm not the one
S3: that put them there. I'm not the one who told
S3: them to do it. God is the one who told them. And, uh,
S3: that's the way it ought to be. And so he says,
S3: that's my motivation. Uh, a missionary was sharing, uh, that
S3: she was working in a leprosarium. American company came over, uh,
S3: to look for a site to take our jobs. He
S3: saw her cleaning out the aperture of where a nose was.
S3: And he said to her, ooh, I wouldn't do that
S3: for $1 million without losing a beat. She said, It.
S3: Neither would I. I do it because I love Jesus.
S3: And this is what he's commissioned me to do, man.
S3: That's it. That's it. That's it. No amount of money
S3: in the world can get her to do that. But
S3: Jesus said, I want you to go to India, and
S3: I want you to work in a leprosarium, and I
S3: want you to help these people who can't help themselves. Wow.
S3: That's the now, now, now motivation answers the question, why?
S3: Why are you doing what you're doing? Because if it
S3: isn't for the Lord, isn't what the Bible says the
S3: Bible tells us whatsoever you do in word and deed,
S3: do some, do most. No, it says do all to
S3: the glory of God. Why are you doing what you're doing?
S3: Why are you serving like you're serving? Why are you
S3: preaching what you're preaching? Why are you doing what you're doing?
S3: Why are you singing in a choir? Why are you ministering, greeting, ushering,
S3: whatever you're doing? Why are you doing it? Teaching a
S3: Sunday school class. Preaching. Elder. Deacon. Ask yourself why? What's
S3: my motivation? And I trust that it is what Paul's
S3: is when he says I'm serving the Lord. But notice
S3: not just the motivation of his participation. Notice secondly, in
S3: this text, uh, in this in this point, notice secondly,
S3: the manner of his participation. Now motivation tells us why
S3: we serve. Manner tells us how. Listen to what Paul
S3: says with all humility of mind. Wow. All humility of
S3: mind and many tears. Here's what he's saying. Here's how
S3: I serve. Realizing it was a privilege. Man, that sure
S3: brings everything together. When we understand to serve God is
S3: a privilege that God would use someone like me. What
S3: an awesome God. So with all humility of mine, I
S3: heard a story of a young man getting ready to
S3: do his trial sermon, and he he just, uh, was
S3: was like, fired up. And he was going to get
S3: them straight. He had studied this message. He was going
S3: to get them straight. So when it came time to preach,
S3: he mounted up to the pulpit. He stormed up. Tum
S3: tum tum tum tum. He looked at him and glared
S3: at him. He's getting ready to preach. And then he
S3: forgot his message and he forgot his notes. And he
S3: walked down with his head down. He walked down. And
S3: when he was on his way down, one of the teenagers,
S3: one of the senior saints, met him. And this is
S3: what she said. She said, young man, if you would
S3: have went up like you came down, then you would
S3: have came down like you went up. Now you think
S3: about that. That's powerful. If you would have had humility
S3: that you had going down, coming up, then you could
S3: have stepped down in boldness that God had used you. And, uh, wow,
S3: that's a powerful truth.
S2: Biblical insights on how to have an effective ministry from
S2: Pastor Ford. You're listening to Treasure Truth, and you can
S2: find us online at Treasure Truth radio.org. Hey, thanks for
S2: remembering that this is a listener supported ministry. When you
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S2: but around the world. So give a donation today and
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S2: we're going to send you a book by Pastor Ford
S2: called Seven Reasons Why God Created Marriage. You know, marriage
S2: is a beautiful thing when we learn to do it right.
S2: In a Pastor Ford's book, he's walking you through the
S2: Bible to show God's purpose in the marriage covenant. As
S2: you read, you'll discover how to strengthen your marriage God's way.
S2: Give a donation and request your copy when you call
S2: 888 644 7660 or go online to Treasure Truth Radio.com. Well,
S2: I'm Steve Hiller. Our producer is Amy Rios. Join us
S2: again tomorrow for part two of this message, how to
S2: have an effective ministry that's here on Treasure. Truth. A
S2: production of Moody Radio, a ministry of Moody Bible Institute.