EFFECTIVE MINISTERS

EFFECTIVE MINISTERS

Study Text: Colossians 1:24-29

Introduction:

-           How can we become effective ministers of Christ? How can we become an effective church?

-           As far as ministry is concerned, Apostle Paul is one of the most effective Ministers to emulate.

-           In many ways, by the grace of God, Paul was able to reach not only Jews but also much of the Gentile world.

-           He became an approved scriptural role model in our living and our working for Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17

-           Paul is a model, and his ministry should be our constant study. In this lesson, we will discuss effective ministers by studying Paul’s ministry to the Colossian church, under three sub-headings.

1.         The Commissioning of Effective Ministers

2.         The Characteristics of Effective Ministers

3.         The Commitment of Effective Ministers

1.         The Commissioning of Effective Ministers

i.          A Call unto Salvation:

-           According to the Bible the Lord "calls" or summons people to do certain things. In a general sense God calls all men to receive the salvation and redemption that can be found only in His Son Jesus Christ [Rom. 8:30; 1Cor. 1:9; 1Thes. 2:12].

-           This calling is more than just an invitation, though, it is a command [Acts 17:30]. Thus God calls and commands all men everywhere to repent and receive Christ. Though this calling is for all men, it is a call to the individual.

-           God personally and individually invites and commands each individual to partake of the blessings of His redemption. This call is given outwardly by the gospel [2Thes. 2:14] and inwardly by the Holy Spirit [Rev. 22:17].

-           Those who refuse God's gracious call will be eternally held accountable for their refusal [John 12:48].

ii.         A Call unto Sanctification:

-           After one has answered the call to salvation and received Christ, God calls him to other callings which are affect a believer’s attitude and conduct. This is generally known as a call unto sanctification.

-           This call include a call to "fellowship with Christ" [1Cor. 1:9], to "holiness" [1Thes. 4:7], to "liberty" [Gal. 5:13], to "peace" [1Cor. 7:15], and to "virtue" [2Pet. 1:3].

-           Believers are to "walk worthy" of the calling they have received [Eph. 4:1].

iii.        A Call unto Service:

-           But there is still another calling that is even more personal than the moral callings. It is God's call to the individual believer for a specific ministry.

-           A call from God into a ministry is a high and heavenly calling [Phil. 3:14] which, unfortunately, is taken lightly by some ministers today [if they are truly called].

-           Paul was called to be an "apostle," "preacher," and "teacher" of the Gentiles [Rom. 1:1; 1Tim.], and he never lost sight of his calling. He actively engaged in his ministry until his death.

-           This call unto service is only meaningful and meant for those who had previously and effectively answered the call unto salvation and the call unto sanctification.

-           For many believers one of the most difficult and elusive things they ever encounter is determining the will of God for their life.

-           Others seem to know the path God would have them travel, but hesitate to follow it.

-           And a small minority of others quickly determine the will of God for them and immediately follow it.

-           Once God calls a person for a ministry he must enable him for service. When a brother surrenders to the call he is not instantly prepared for the ministry.

-           Before Paul was actually placed into a full ministry he spent three years in training and instruction [Gal. 1:18]. Once God found him faithful in this, He put him into the ministry.

-           Every minister must learn the Bible and God's ways before he can be fully effective in God's service.

-           Contrary to popular belief attending a Bible school does not guarantee one is ready for a ministry. For some a Bible school may be the best avenue to take.

-           For others it may be being under the tutelage of a more experienced minister. And some others may learn a considerable amount by reading and studying on their own.

2.         The Characteristics of Effective Ministers

i.          Effective Ministers Are Willing To Suffer For The Church

“Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church” (Col.1:24).

-           Christ said this to his disciples in John 15:20: “‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

-           Christians suffer the persecution that their master would if he was still on the earth. The more our life models his, the more we will receive the same animosity he did.

-           This should be the attitude of every minister. He knows he must drink a cup of suffering until the time of Christ’s return, and he drinks it willingly.

-           He doesn’t desire it or ask for it, but he submits to the will of the Father. Remember Christ’s words before he went to the cross: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

-           In speaking about suffering, Paul said to Timothy, “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 2:3). Each Christian, like a good soldier, has been called to suffer for Christ. In fact, Christ did not hide this truth when he called us to follow him. He said:

-           If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26–27).

ii.         Effective Ministers Are Servants Of The Church

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness” (Col. 1:25).

-           Paul said he had become the church’s servant by the commission of God. This is true of all ministers who are effective. In fact, the word minister means servant. This is what Jesus said about himself: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

-           Every effective minister must be a servant. This would seem to be fundamental to ministry; however, we should be aware that not all ministers are truly servants.

-           It is very possible for ministers to seek to be served in the church instead of serving. In fact, we see this with most people who attend church. When a person starts going to a church, typically the first thing on their mind is, “How can this church serve me? What can I get out of this church?”

-           Most Christians are consumer-minded. They are thinking about what they can get and not what they can give. This can also happen with those who are serving in ministry in the church. It is very easy for ministry to become about us.

-           Jesus said, even though the world’s model of leadership is about ruling and being served, it will not be that way with his disciples. The greatest among them should be like the youngest.

-           After learning this lesson from Christ, Peter told the elders to not lord over those God had given them. 1 Peter 5:2-3

-           In this passage, Peter actually gives three vices common to leadership. Leadership can commonly fall into the vice of being lazy instead of willingly serving.

-           They commonly fall into the vice of being greedy for money instead of eager to serve, and they commonly fall into the trap of lording over people instead of being examples to the flock.

-           Peter had learned his lesson, and so must each of us as ministers of Christ, if we are going to be effective. We must be servants of the church instead of seeking for the church to serve us.

iii.        Effective Ministers Are Faithful Stewards Of The Word Of God

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:25–27).

-           Paul declared in this text that he was a faithful steward of the Word of God. A steward is a servant placed over the house of a master. While the master was gone he would oversee everything in the house.

-           Paul declares himself and the other apostles as stewards of the Word of God “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:1–2).

-           Who will be the stewards who are approved? It is those who have done their best in studying and correctly handling the Word of God.

-           Are you being a faithful steward of God’s Word? This is a quality of effective ministers.

iv.        Effective Ministers Have the Goal Of Presenting Everyone Mature In Christ

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Col. 1:28).

-           We see here that Paul’s goal in ministering was to present everyone perfect in Christ. When Paul uses this word he is talking about being mature in Christ.

 We see this as the very ministry God calls pastors and teachers to do in the church. (Eph. 4:11–14).

Paul describes the church as infants tossed to and fro by every wind of teaching. Being an infant is not bad. Infants are beautiful and they are gifts to rejoice in. They symbolize life and the new birth, but they need to grow up unto maturity.

-           This is one of the jobs of a minister. The minister sees all the potential in a young Christian, no matter how long they have been saved. They see the calling that God has on their lives and the things God wants them to do through them.

-           And, they begin to invest in them so that they start to mature in the Word of God; they start to do the works of service they were called to do. This is what every minister of God should do: helping people to mature in Christ.

-           We must continually point people to Christ and his example. He is the example of how to handle persecutions. He is our example of how to pray. He is our example of how to live a life of faith and to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

-           If we are to help people mature, we must continually point them to the example and teachings of Christ.

v.         Effective Ministers Are Willing To Work Hard

“To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

-           Paul pressed or laboured “for others to reach perfection.” That was Christ’s call on his life.

-           Listen to how Paul described his ministry: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me” (1 Cor. 15:10).

-           Effective ministers work hard even as God works in them. Paul’s ministerial drive is a model for us all. We will never have an authentic, apostolic ministry unless we are willing to work to the point of exhaustion.

-           Paul worked hard at all things in order to honour Christ. Does how you perform your regular, daily tasks bring glory to God?

-           Even these things can bring glory to God and can be a testimony to those watching. In what way is God calling you to work hard to build yourself up and ultimately Christ’s body?

vi.        Effective Ministers Rely on God’s Power

“To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me” (Col. 1:29).

-           One of the characteristics of effective ministers is that they rely on the power of God. This would seem to be something that doesn’t need to be said; however, many ministers fail in this area.

-           It is very easy to be consumed with ministry and yet do it in our own power and many times for our own glory.

-           All true ministry and true power flows out of an intimate relationship with God. Like the story of Mary and Martha, it is very easy for the disciple to focus entirely on ministry and forget to stay at the Lord’s feet (Luke 10:38–42).

-           Many Christians are like that: they are doing many good things, but their many good things are keeping them from the best thing—sitting at Jesus’ feet.

-           All power comes from an intimate relationship with God, abiding in his Word and prayer.

-           Many Christians walk around every day in their own power, lacking the power and resources of God. This power comes through intimacy.

3.         The Commitment of Effective Ministers

i.          An Effective Minister is Always Seeking the Interests of Others Before his Own.

-           Listen to what Paul said: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4).

-           Our questions should not be, “What do I want or need?” and “How can I fulfill my needs?” but “What does the church need?” and “How can I help fulfill those needs?”

An Effective Minister Is Willing To Perform The Menial Or Despised Tasks.

-           Some people always seek to do great things but are never willing to do the little things.

-           God finds the shepherd doing his best to honour God in the menial task of taking care of sheep, and he exalts him to do the great task of shepherding his kingdom as seen in the story of David.

-           Look at what Christ will say to the servants who were faithful with their talents at his second coming: “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness’” (Matt. 25:23).

-           Those who are faithful with a few things, even in what seem like very small tasks, God will put in charge of many things.

-           Certainly, we have a great example of this in Christ. When there was no one to wash his disciples’ feet, he got down on his knees and did the chore of a slave as he washed the feet of his disciples (John 13).

iii.        An Effective Minister is willing to Serve in Secret without Applause.

“Jesus said this: ‘But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you’” (Matt. 6:3–4).

-           Christ called for his disciples to practice serving in secret. They should only care about the applause of heaven and not of men.

-           Are you commonly seeking the applause of others? Or, is the applause of God enough (1 Cor. 4:5)? This is a servant mentality—caring exclusively about the master.

-           Listen again to Christ’s instructions to the disciples: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10).

-           Many preachers too often preach to impress people more than to minister to people. Especially if there is a notable "preacher peer" in the room they wish to impress.

-           They appear more in love with the act of preaching than with the purpose of preaching.

-           The self-centered ego of man is not eradicated when he is called to preach. It is a powerful influence of the flesh that strives to get a preacher off track by satisfying a selfish desire or ambition—to be thought of as a gifted, clever, smart, powerful, brilliant, etc., preacher by his peers.

-           Preaching is not a "competitive sport," it is the means God has established to save those which are lost and edify those who are saved.

iv.        An Effective Ministers Knows and Uses his Gifts.

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen (1 Peter 4:10–11).

-           Each of us has at least one spiritual gift. We must know our gifts and employ them in service to Christ and his church.

-           Certainly, at times God will call us to serve outside of our gifts, and when he does, he provides grace. But we must know our specific gifts so that we can faithfully use them as we see the need. In what ways is God calling you to become more of a servant of Christ’s church?