| VI. Minister to Others, Don't Try to Get Them
to Minister to You.
(See John 13 and 14:13)
So many people in ministry today, especially
those on radio and television, spend most of their time trying
to get the people to minister to them, rather than ministering
to the people. It may be an effort to get the people of God
to send them more money, or it may be a pastor angrily accusing
his board of not taking care of him, or it may be a subtle
manipulation so others will praise or encourage us. As ministers
it is not our responsibility to seek anything for ourselves.
God will take care of all that. He'll supply our financial
needs. He'll meet our emotional needs. It is our responsibility
to die to self, and care for others.
Near the end of his life, General William Booth, founder of
the Salvation Army, sent a message to his co-laborers that
contained nothing except the word "others". That was the essence
of his life. Live for others, not self. Seek the good of those
God has sent you. Seek to bless, not be blessed, to love,
not be loved, to care for, not be cared for, to minister to
others, not have them minister to you.
Feed the flock of God with the pure Word of Life. Serve them
in love. Give. Live for the sheep; if necessary, die for the
sheep. You are a shepherd, and that's what shepherds do.
If you're in the ministry to get your own needs met, either
repent, or quit. Jesus is looking for people with hearts for
the sheep. He sees the people scattered, bruised, bleeding,
dying, ravaged by the wolf, and His heart breaks for them.
He longs to enfold them in His love.
As pastors and ministers, that is our calling, to enfold the
sheep in the loving arms of Jesus. I have personally known
Chuck and Kay Smith for twenty years, and they have both always
led me past themselves and into the arms of Jesus.
Minister to others. Lead them into the arms of Christ, He
is the loving, great, and beautiful Shepherd.
VII. Sheep Beget Sheep
(see John 15:16)
The whole Calvary Chapel movement started
with Chuck Smith and Kay Smith sitting near the ocean at Huntington
Beach praying fervently for the lost young people that were
all around. [This was during the Hippie movement, era.] If
we are walking with the Lord, it is essential that we have
a heart for the lost, a deep burning, unquenchable desire
to see the lost evangelized and missions throughout the globe.
Our zeal for missions and evangelism should go deep. Our congregations
must catch the vision to reach the lost and be involved directly
in missionary work, and evangelism.
Beware, however, of mission and evangelism programs and gimmicks.
As pastors, our primary responsibility is to feed
His sheep--the Christians--in order that they might do the
work of the ministry (see Ephesians 4). If we are
feeding the flock the pure Word of God, verse by verse study
of the whole counsel of God, they will be healthy. And healthy
sheep will automatically and naturally reproduce without the
artificial aid of programs. Healthy sheep share their faith,
they have a burden for missions, they seek the lost. We do
not have to pump them up or push them, it flows naturally.
Feed the flock and it will reproduce.
Mission programs, outreaches of evangelistic nature, social
help and relief are all vital, but they are by-products, they
are the fruit of solid Bible teaching, not ends in themselves.
You'll never find peace by pursuing it, it is only found in
Jesus, find Him and you'll have peace as a by-product. Similarly,
you'll never build a missions program by seeking it directly
(at least not one that God's in). Feed His people, and missions
will be a part of the fruit.
And where does it start? With prayer. Get together to pray
for the lost. Seek God's face that He might give you souls
for your hire.
VIII. Be Submissive and Loyal
(see Titus 3)
The men God had raised up to help Moses
helped him best when they stood by his side and held up his
arms. That is our responsibility towards those God has placed
over us. Here at Calvary Chapel Bible College and Conference
Center, it is my calling, my responsibility, my duty to assist
my pastor. Chuck Smith is the director of this ministry, he
is the shepherd whom God has charged with overseeing this
ministry. My job is to ease his burden, to make his job lighter,
to hold up his arms, to help him in any way that needs doing.
My job is to pray for my pastor daily, to encourage him if
I can, to give him lots of data so he knows everything that's
going on, so that he's never surprised by anything, to give
him input and opinion, to support him and help him. Pastor
Chuck doesn't want or need a yes man who nods dumbly at everything.
But on the other hand, he doesn't need some independent cowboy
seeking to build his own kingdom.
God has placed somebody over you. Submit to him. Love him.
Pray for him. Help him. Above all, always be loyal. Never
betray those with whom you minister. Never ever backbite or
criticize publicly. Never gossip or be a talebearer.
If there's something you can't live with in a ministry, quietly
leave. Never try to build your own ministry on another man's
foundation. Touch not the Lord's anointed. If he's off the
wall, God will deal with him; who are we to criticize another
man's servant?
Never cause strife or division. Help, encourage, submit, lighten
the load, assist. Don't try and be a star. Serve God by serving
the man God has placed you under. If I'm doing my job right,
Pastor Chuck will never have to worry about this part of the
ministry because he'll know that it is running just exactly
as it would if he had the time to be here and do it all personally.
The only reason he hired me is because he doesn't have time
to do it all. If he did, he'd do it himself. It is his ministry,
I need to guide it just as he would.
I've heard people say that Pastor Chuck is hard to work for.
Let's go on record that that is simply not true. If you have
a heart for God's people, are a servant, and are willing to
put sincere effort into your service, you'll never have trouble
with Pastor Chuck.
|
