FOR THE YOUNG MAN IN MINISTRY (OLD-TIMERS MIGHT PROFIT TOO)

 

Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus.  (Acts 18:24)

If an arrow is aimed in the right direction, it is more likely to hit its target.  A good beginning as a young man in ministry does not insure a great ending, but it surely helps.  Apollos was one who was aimed the right way, and what a difference it made in him and those he served.  There are a few brief helps drawn from his story in Acts 18 which can guide the young preacher.

Develop your communication skills.  Apollos was “an eloquent man.”  While it might be a few exceptional preachers that are worthy of the description, “eloquent,” we must aim at least at being effective!  Pronouncing words clearly, the cadence of the voice, eye contact, and such may not come naturally to us, but we can work at it and improve.  The best sermon poorly delivered will be a waste of your time in preparation and the congregation’s in attendance.

Immerse yourself in Scripture and expound it.  Apollos was “mighty in the Scripture…instructed in the way of the Lord… he spoke and taught accurately….”  Believe it and apply it every day.  Feed your soul or you will not be able to feed your sheep.  This is more than preparing a sermon; it is preparing the servant—being strong in Scripture in our own personal life, so we can speak with authority in the pulpit.  The mandate is to, “Preach the Word!”  (2 Tim.4:2)   We are not to impose our opinions on the text.  That is pastoral malpractice!  Impressive communication can never substitute for inspired content.

Preach passionately.  Apollos was, “fervent in spirit.”  Why should our audience be excited about the sermon if we are not?  This isn’t just about volume, but we are not giving a classroom lecture on Bible history or theology.  We are enthusiastically proclaiming the truth that will transport one from darkness into light, and transform sinners into saints!  That is something to get stirred up about!

Preach courageously.  Apollos spoke, “boldly,” because he spoke Biblically. The temptation these days is to skirt the tough issues and make the message palatable to the culture.  Open the Book and open your mouth, speaking with clarity and conviction.

Listen and learn all your life.  A godly old couple, Aquila and Priscilla “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”  Apollos knew a lot, but he did not know it all.  He was not an arrogant man, but a teachable preacher.  He knew how to talk, but he also knew how to listen.  You cannot teach someone who knows it all!  One thing a young preacher assuredly does not have is experience.  There are lessons learned in the laboratory of life that older, wiser lay people and elderly pastors can teach us.  Our peers are important, but our elders are indispensable.  The white-headed men in suits need to help the spikey-haired men in jeans!  The church needs both.

Exhort the saints and exalt the Savior.  Apollos “greatly helped those who had believed.”  Exhortation is giving people a pat on the back or a kick in the rear, depending on which is needed to move them along, with the discernment to know which is applicable.  Above all keep the focus on Jesus, “showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.”  Apollos set that standard for us to emulate.  The ministry is about Jesus and not about us!

 

 

 

THE SHEPHERD’S SUSTENANCE

Your words were found, and I ate them,

And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.  (Jeremiah 15:16)

The shepherd must be fed, if he is to feed the flock.  Leading the sheep into green pastures is demanding work.  It cannot be accomplished unless the shepherd is strong—and spiritually speaking, our sustenance is in the Scriptures.  Jeremiah consumed the Word of God and found it not only nourishing, but delightful.  He did not study in order to “get up a sermon,” but in order to get up with God!  If the man of God does not internalize the message, then he may be sure the congregation will not.  Should there be lack of passion in the pulpit, we may rest assured the sheep with have no delight in the message either.  Jeremiah was reminded in reading that he belonged to God—the God who revealed Himself as the Lord God of spiritual armies.  He would face many foes—the preacher of truth always does—but, the security of our relationship to the Almighty will strengthen God’s preacher to stand.  There are predators that would devour the flock.  Often wolves enter masquerading as sheep.  They are ferocious.  Yet, we are God’s and He will sustain us.  I pray that we have feasted on God’s Word this week, so that we will enter the pulpit with joy and send the sheep out full of truth and delight!  If we have failed, then let us repent and sin no more!

MOTIVES AND MINISTRY

“So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”  (Matthew 20:16)

Motives matter to God.  The right thing done for the wrong reason is still wrong.  Jesus warned that to give, pray, or fast to impress people would bring the reward of human approval (Matt.6:1-18), but negate heaven’s applause.  We might suppose that ministry activity would be seen by God as, “gold, silver, precious stones,” yet, should the motive be self-centered and not God-honoring, temporal in its end and not eternal in its goal, then such will prove to be, “wood, hay, straw,” to go up in smoke in the fire of Christ’s scrutiny (1 Cor.3:10-15).

That is the thrust of the parable Jesus presents in Matthew 20:1-16.  It is sandwiched between this point: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first. …” (19:30) and “So the last will be first, and the first last.  For many are called, but few chosen.” (20:16)  The context of the teaching is in response to Christ’s call to sacrificial service (19:23-29).  Peter has popped off—as he was prone to do—“See, we have left all and followed You.  Therefore what shall we have?”  (19:27). Jesus teaches that their labor and loss for His sake will be rewarded (19:18-29), but ministry will also be sifted by motive.

1)      GOD SEEKS SERVANTS (v.1).  God doesn’t need us, yet in His amazing grace and infinite knowledge, He has chosen to employ frail creatures of flesh to partner with Him in His work.  Many are called, but few chosen.  What an honor to be called to preach the Gospel!

2)      SOME WORK AS AN OBLIGATION (v.2).  These were contract laborers.  They were motivated by what they would receive.  There is no hint of grace or love, just “punching the clock,” to collect the pay.  If we are not careful, duty becomes drudgery—and God knows our motive.  If ministry is merely doing a job, then we get out of it what we want—some credit and cash on earth, but nothing in eternity.

3)      OTHERS WOULD WORK IF ASKED (v.3-6).  Some are idle because they are indolent.  These are idle because they were yet to be invited.  They respond eagerly to the offer.  How many people do we have in church life, ready to serve, if only asked?  Are we letting young men know that God still calls people?

4)      THERE IS A WORK OF FAITH (v.4-7).  No contract was negotiated—they simply trusted the Landowner to do the right thing.  Faith is crucial not only in salvation, but in service.  We should read Hebrews 11 and be reminded of the works accomplished by faith.  “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.   (Heb.11:6).

5)      GOD DISPENSES REWARDS ACCORDING TO HIS SOVEREIGNTY (v.8-16).  We will have no ground of complaint at the Judgment Seat.  We will know He does right.  Let us not complain now!  Just do the right thing with the right motive and God will reward someday.  Too many pastors have a wrongful spirit of comparison—leading to pride or envy.  What really matters is God’s evaluation of our ministry and not man’s.  Motives matter!

THE CALL

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

  Before you were born I sanctified you;

  I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”  (Jeremiah 1:5)

Being back in my hometown, I occasionally have run into someone who knew me, “back in the day.”  That was B.C. history—before Christ—when I was as lost as a goose in a snowstorm.  Of course, one of the first questions they ask is, “What are you doing these days?”  When I answer, “I pastor a Baptist Church,” it has often brought looks of shock. 

I will assure you none has been more surprised that God called someone like me to preach the Gospel than me!  So unworthy, and yet such a definite call from God, that I had no doubt it was His plan for my life.  I did not hear an audible voice—it was just as clear, however.  Through a sequence of events, the confirmation of others, and now through the grace of God upon my ministry, I have occasionally become discouraged and wanted to quit, but I never doubted that I needed to press on.

When I announced my call, my pastor—the late Raymond Shumpert—encouraged me, but he did not gloss over the challenges that would confront me.  Ministry is a glorious work, but it is that—work!  It involves labor.  The prophets often spoke of the burden of the Lord.  The inspiration must be matched with perspiration.  It is more than work—it is warfare.  The man of God is on the frontlines, leading the troops, charging the gates of hell—and is the most obvious target for the enemy.  At times, the gravest wounds come from so-called, “friendly fire.”

Jeremiah would face much pain in preaching.  His call had to be definite, because it would be too easy to abandon the battle in the heat of the conflict.  That poor fellow was warned by God that he would have much struggle, but he had to experience it to fully appreciate it.  Little did I know when I stepped out in faith and obedience what I was getting myself into!  I do not wish to imply that there are no blessings.  It is an honor to be called of God.  It is grace.  Grace is definitely needed, however, as the issues we deal with are enormous—beyond human ability.

Men, make sure you have a definite call.  It does not have to be dramatic, but it has to be definite.  That conviction will give you courage when you face the ferocity of the enemy’s fire.  As my late homiletics professor, Dr. Kenneth Ridings used to say, “If you can do something besides preach, then do it!”  As for me, once more this Lord’s Day, I will stand with a Bible in my hand and preach.  I do it because I must.  God has called me.  Has He called you?

SUFFERING FOR SPEAKING TO THE SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE

For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.  Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”  (Matthew 14:3-4)

I heard of an evangelist who began revival services at a small church near Las Vegas.  In the first sermon, he let loose on the evils of alcohol.  After the service, the pastor met with the evangelist and let him know that many of their members sold alcohol, and that if they were offended, then the church would lose a lot of people and the offerings would plummet.  So, in the next sermon, the evangelist unleashed a broadside on greed and gambling.  You might imagine how that went over!  He was warned that such preaching might work in the South, but it would not go over in the Southwest, since virtually every member made their living directly or indirectly from a connection to the casinos.  The frustrated evangelist said, “Well pastor, what sins can I preach against?”  The pastor responded, “Preach about the sins of the Paiute Indians!  We don’t have any Paiute Indians that attend here!”

In many churches today—contaminated by the corrupt culture—it makes people uncomfortable when the subject of sexuality and marriage is mentioned.  How are we to reach the young couples of this generation by demanding chastity, when so many are shacking up?  It is a judgmental turn-off to them to preach on such a topic we are told.  Lest we think this confined to a younger generation, we might be shocked to find the number of older couples doing likewise because of financial considerations.  How are we to preach on adultery and divorce, when so many of our members have gone through this?  Is it not sticking a Bible into a hornets’ nest?  It used to be you could at least preach against homosexuality, but now that the courts have legalized homosexual marriage and the media promotes it, church folk are listening to voices reinterpret Scripture with hermeneutical gymnastics.  Love wins!  How can you preach against love?

You will suffer if you speak to the sanctity of marriage.  That is a given.  Just ask John the Baptist.  He could have preached on a wide array of sins, and avoided this one.  One man had the power to take his life—Herod.  Why didn’t he just look the other way?  Surely, John was too judgmental! 

I suppose that he feared God more than man.  That is always the pivotal point in our preaching is it not?   Whose approval are we trying to gain?   I am not calling on us to be cruel or hateful.  We are to be compassionate and helpful.  If sinners cannot be forgiven, then this preacher will be the first one barred from the church.  Yet, a doctor who avoids diagnosing a disease and offers a placebo is guilty of malpractice.  We cannot cure the malignancy of sin by putting a band-aid over it.  The painful probing with pointed precepts, and the cutting with the scalpel of Scripture are needful, along with a bitter pill of repentance to swallow.  Let us rather die than to be guilty of ministerial malpractice that brings the death of the patient!

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW

Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”  (Matthew 13:52)

The wedding tradition for the bride says she is to wear:

Something old,
something new,
something borrowed,
something blue,
and a silver sixpence in her shoe.

This is supposed to bring the couple good fortune.

What Jesus says here is much the same, except He is not talking about tradition, but truth, and this is not about superstition, but Scripture.  It is not aimed at a bride at her wedding, but for the Bride of Christ in her worship.  The pastor, in this case, is responsible for bringing something old and something new to the celebration of love at 11 AM on Sunday.

He is to be a student, scholar, and teacher.  He is a “scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven.”  A scribe was one who had immersed himself in knowing the truth, and was skilled in communicating the truth.  You cannot tell what you do not know.  The preacher must not be like Old Mother Hubbard who went to her cupboard and found it was bare!  How many come to the house of God hungry for a Word from heaven and don’t even get a bone, much less meat!  Still, we may have the ingredients from our personal study, but unless we know how to prepare a suitable meal and present it in a digestible and appealing form, the “wedding reception,” may still leave the guests unsatisfied.

The preacher is also the manager of the household property.   The state of the house and the care of the family wealth is in his hands.  We are entrusted with leading the family of God as pastors of a local church.  The treasure of truth—the wealth of the Word—is in our hands.  It is our privilege and responsibility to open the Bible each week and from that treasure chest to bring out something new and something old.  That is, the source of our material is old—given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—never to be amended.  We do not give any new revelation, but we can make new application for our times and audience.  There is a perennial freshness to the old Story for it is eternal truth—the same yesterday, today, and forever.  We dare not present it in a stale manner.  Our desire is for people to catch a new vision of God’s glory encountered in the old story.  I have found it to be an inexhaustible treasure of incalculable worth, and we can lead our people to experience that also.  If we are not excited about it, then it is understandable if our audience responds with a yawn of boredom, rather than a yell of joy!  God forbid!