Foundational Traits For Successful Ministry

Dr. George Bannister

Woodville Baptist Church

Foundations For Successful Ministry • Sermon • Submitted 6 years ago

Acts 20

Ministry

Ministry in the Early Church

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“Foundational Traits For Successful Ministry”

Acts 20:1-38

INTRODUCTION:

TS: What are some foundational traits that can propel believers into powerful and successful ministry?

I- LOVE FOR FELLOW BELIEVERS (ACTS 20:1-6).

A- Love that is not ashamed to express itself.

(Acts 20:1)

Acts 20:1 NLT

When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the believers and encouraged them. Then he said good-bye and left for Macedonia.

1- Love that demonstrates itself in action.

(1 John 3:18)

1 John 3:18 NLT

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.

B- Love that involves itself in conscious encouragement (Acts 20:2-6).

Acts 20:2–6 NLT

While there, he encouraged the believers in all the towns he passed through. Then he traveled down to Greece, where he stayed for three months. He was preparing to sail back to Syria when he discovered a plot by some Jews against his life, so he decided to return through Macedonia. Several men were traveling with him. They were Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea; Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica; Gaius from Derbe; Timothy; and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. They went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. After the Passover ended, we boarded a ship at Philippi in Macedonia and five days later joined them in Troas, where we stayed a week.

1- Encouragement through words and example.

(Hebrews 10:25).

Hebrews 10:25 NLT

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.

II- BOUNDLESS EAGERNESS TO GROW (ACTS 20:7-12).

A- Eagerness that overcomes a time-conscious mindset. (Acts 20:7-10).

Acts 20:7–10 NLT

On the first day of the week, we gathered with the local believers to share in the Lord’s Supper. Paul was preaching to them, and since he was leaving the next day, he kept talking until midnight. The upstairs room where we met was lighted with many flickering lamps. As Paul spoke on and on, a young man named Eutychus, sitting on the windowsill, became very drowsy. Finally, he fell sound asleep and dropped three stories to his death below. Paul went down, bent over him, and took him into his arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, “he’s alive!”

1- Vance Havner - “We now have services that begin at eleven o’clock sharp and end at twelve o’clock dull.”

2- What happened to the days when we were more concerned with letting God speak, than beating others to the restaurant?

3- God does not work on our timetable.

(2 Peter 3:8)

2 Peter 3:8 NLT

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.

B- Eagerness that causes a hunger to fellowship with those who are growing and committed. (Acts 20:11-12).

Acts 20:11–12 NLT

Then they all went back upstairs, shared in the Lord’s Supper, and ate together. Paul continued talking to them until dawn, and then he left. Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved.

1- Fellowship with other committed believers was a key to the unity and power of the early church.

2- Fellowship with other committed and growing believers was a key to the power of the churches of yesteryear.

3- When we get to where we prefer the fellowship of other growing and committed blievers more than other forms of amusement, we will see greater power and a greater family-type unity when we meet to worship.

III- DETERMINATION TO KEEP SPIRITUAL COMMITMENTS (ACTS 20:13-16).

A- Determination to keep commitments to fellow believers (Acts 20:13-14).

Acts 20:13–14 NLT

Paul went by land to Assos, where he had arranged for us to join him, while we traveled by ship. He joined us there, and we sailed together to Mitylene.

1- Keeping Committments to believers is not a matter of convenience, but of spiritual survival.

a- When was the last time you gave someone else cause for disillusionment?

B- Keep commitments to God (Acts 20:15-16).

Acts 20:15–16 NLT

The next day we sailed past the island of Kios. The following day we crossed to the island of Samos, and a day later we arrived at Miletus. Paul had decided to sail on past Ephesus, for he didn’t want to spend any more time in the province of Asia. He was hurrying to get to Jerusalem, if possible, in time for the Festival of Pentecost.

1- Broken commitments to God are sin.

a- Commitments to spend time with Him.

b- Commitments to serve Him.

c- Commitments to be faithful in stewardship.

(1) Like the people in Malachi’s day. (Mal. 1:13-14)

Malachi 1:13–14 NLT

You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord. “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!

IV- COMMITTED TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR THE FELLOWSHIP OF BELIEVERS. (ACTS 20:17-38).

A- A commitment to live a consistent life. (Acts 20:17-19)

Acts 20:17–19 NLT

But when we landed at Miletus, he sent a message to the elders of the church at Ephesus, asking them to come and meet him. When they arrived he declared, “You know that from the day I set foot in the province of Asia until now I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews.

B- A commitment to do and say what is helpful for the growth of others. (Acts 20:20-21).

Acts 20:20–21 NLT

I never shrank back from telling you what you needed to hear, either publicly or in your homes. I have had one message for Jews and Greeks alike—the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God, and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.

C- A commitment to fulfill the ministry God has entrusted to you. (Acts 20:22-27).

Acts 20:22–27 NLT

“And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. “And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. I declare today that I have been faithful. If anyone suffers eternal death, it’s not my fault, for I didn’t shrink from declaring all that God wants you to know.

D- A commitment to guard the health of the body of Christ. (Acts 20:28-32).

Acts 20:28–32 NLT

“So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock—his church, purchased with his own blood—over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as leaders. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you. “And now I entrust you to God and the message of his grace that is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has set apart for himself.

E- A commitment to give a self-sacrificing love. (Acts 20:22-28).

Acts 20:22–28 NLT

CONCLUSION:

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