Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

What is ministry?

ministry = diakonos = “to serve”

Ministry = Jesus + People and the work of Jesus through his followers to bring the two together.

Who does ministry?

All followers of Jesus!

1 Corinthians 5:18

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

There is a difference between vocational ministry and non-vocational ministry, but all followers of Jesus are involved in ministry.

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

We’re talking about Fully Devoted not Partially Involved.

*If this is the definition of ministry, then how many of you have participated in ministry at some point?

Acts 5:12-16

12 Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.

And they were all together in Solomon’s Portico.

13 None of the rest dared join them, but the people held them in high esteem.

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, that as Peter came by at least his shadow might fall on some of them.

16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

This is reminiscent of beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Luke.

This unique ministry explosion helps to authenticate a new move of God.

While the extent and frequency may be unique, there are principles which can apply today.

Ministry meets people’s needs in order to bring them to Jesus.

The Ministry (12-16)

Ministry = Jesus + People and the work of Jesus through his followers to bring the two together.

Who does ministry?

All followers of Jesus!

There is a difference between vocational ministry and non-vocational ministry, but all followers of Jesus are involved in ministry.

1 Corinthians 5:18

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself,

There is a difference between vocational ministry and non-vocational ministry, but all followers of Jesus are involved in ministry.

Ephesians 4:11-12

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

We’re talking about Fully Devoted not Partially Involved.

*If this is the definition of ministry, then how many of you have participated in ministry at some point?

Ministry here is unique - not that God cannot or does not work in miraculous ways today, but frequency and extent seems greater than now.

This is reminiscent of beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Luke.

This unique ministry explosion helps to authenticate a new move of God.

While the extent and frequency may be unique, there are principles which can apply today.

Ministry meets people’s needs in order to bring them to Jesus.

What does ministry look like?

The unloved are loved.

This is reminiscent of beginning of Jesus’ ministry in Luke.

This unique ministry explosion helps to authenticate a new move of God.

While the extent and frequency may be unique, there are principles which can apply today.

Ministry meets people’s needs in order to bring them to Jesus.

The unloved are loved.

People are being loved

16 The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

People are being healed

A physical healing with no explanation is actually a spiritual explanation of things not physically seen.

People are being freed

those afflicted with unclean spirits,

People are being saved.

14 And more than ever believers were added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women,

Why do we not have miracles today?

Because we aren’t sharing the gospel.

Salvation is the greatest miracle of all.

ILLUST - what if I told you you could say certain set of words and you could see people healed, freed, completely changed?

Don’t neglect to see that the greatest of all the miracles listed here is that those who are spiritually dead with no chance of helping themselves are brought to life through the gospel.

Why do we not have miracles today?

Because we aren’t sharing the gospel.

Salvation is the greatest miracle of all.

ILLUST - what if I told you you could say certain set of words and you could see people healed, freed, completely changed?

- You can - it’s called the gospel.

Acts 5:17-26

17 But

But as we all know, ministry doesn’t always go as we expect.

the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), and filled with jealousy

Interesting that the religious leaders were jealous that God was at work through the apostles.

These were undeniable signs that God was at work.

So why were they jealous?

Because it didn’t come through THEIR work.

At this point, the apostles were persecuted not because of their belief in Jesus but because they were successful in ministry.

If you become jealous that you don’t get the credit for how God is working, then perhaps you are not really interested in bringing people to Jesus but rather bringing people to yourself.

In the end, it doesn’t bring people to Jesus at all.

18 they arrested the apostles and put them in the public prison.

19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, 20 “Go and stand in the temple and speak to the people all the words of this Life.”

21 And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

“This is the thanks I get for doing ministry?”

God called them right back to what got them into trouble.

Freed during the night, they didn’t even return to their beds for deserved rest but went immediately and began to teach at dawn, likely just a couple hours after being released.

Now when the high priest came, and those who were with him, they called together the council, all the senate of the people of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

22 But when the officers came, they did not find them in the prison, so they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely locked and the guards standing at the doors, but when we opened them we found no one inside.”

24 Now when the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these words, they were greatly perplexed about them, wondering what this would come to.

Council = Sanhedrin

Group of 71 religious leaders were once the ruling body

They were ‘wondering what this would come to’

perhaps they were worried they had a spy or someone working on the inside.

25 And someone came and told them, “Look!

The men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.”

26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

No physical boundaries can contain the spread of the ministry.

(17-26)

- Notice the twists:

But the high priest rose up,

But as we all know, ministry doesn’t always go as we expect.

19 But during the night

the high priest rose up,

And when they heard this