Sermon Tone Analysis

! *Ministry 101*

!! *Mark 7:31-37*

!!! */by/**/ J. David Hoke/*

 

/"And again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.

And they brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they entreated Him to lay His hand upon him.

And He took him aside from the multitude by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva; and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, 'Ephphatha!' that is, 'Be opened!'

And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.

And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.

And they were utterly astonished, saying, 'He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.' (Mark 7:31-37)/

There are some concepts in the Church today which are totally erroneous.

For instance, some believe the Church is a building.

They refer to "the church at the corner of Fifth and Main."

Insofar as they are referring to the church building, they are right.

But the church building is not the Church.

The Church is people.

The Church is the body of believers which meets in that building.

This is one of the more popular erroneous concepts in contemporary culture.

Another equally erroneous concept is that ministry is something that only ordained clergy do.

When we refer to a "minister," we usually mean an ordained, professional minister, such as a pastor or evangelist.

While it is true that God has called some into the ministry as a profession, neither ministry nor the term minister is exclusively theirs.

The New Testament teaches that all of us are called to ministry.

In fact, all of us are ministers for Jesus Christ.

While not all of us are called into the ministry as a profession, all of us are ministers full-time.

You may be an engineer, but God has called you to be His minister - at work, at home, as well as at church.

Whatever your job, you are a minister of Christ and are called to do ministry by reaching out to others.

Ministry means that we seek to impact the lives of others with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ministry means we care for others and share with others and seek to touch others with the transforming power of God's love.

If more in the Church would begin to see themselves as called to ministry, perhaps more in the world would be changed by the power of God.

But how are we to engage in this ministry?

Is there a model for ministry found in the Scriptures?

It would certainly help us if we had some pattern to follow.

And we do.

In our text today, we see a model for ministry outlined in the encounter of Jesus with the deaf man.

As we see Jesus relating to this man and touching him with the power of God, we see what should characterize all Christian ministry.

In this case, it was physical healing which was imparted.

But whether it is physical healing or spiritual healing, the principles are the same.

We will find, if we follow the example of Jesus, that our ministry to others can be both effective and fruitful.

In this encounter, Jesus was very purposeful in what He did.

Mark records, in detail, each action individually.

It is as if we are being shown a pattern for dealing with others.

Perhaps you could call this a blueprint for successful ministry.

In the encounter, Christ looked toward Heaven, sighed within Himself, touched the man, and spoke a word to him.

!! *Communion: An Upward Look*

Notice the upward look of Christ.

This is symbolic of the communion He had with God.

As Christ began to minister to this man who was deaf, He deliberately fixed His gaze toward Heaven.

It was as if to say to the man, "The source of My power is from God." Jesus' look toward Heaven speaks volumes concerning the importance of prayer and communion with God.

Prayer is the foundation for all true Christian ministry.

Jesus Himself modeled the importance of prayer in His earthly ministry.

He was always stealing away to pray.

Before every major decision, He would spend hours, sometimes all night, in prayer.

He was certainly in constant communion with God moment by moment, but also found it necessary to engage in regular, daily seasons of prayer as well.

If Jesus had to pray, how much more is it necessary for us to pray?

By this upward look, Jesus indicated that the source of His ministry was from God.

For us as believers, prayer puts us into contact with God.

Through prayer, we are able to draw close to God, to discern His will, to receive instruction from Him, and to be filled with His power.

These are all essential elements to ministry.

We can do much after we pray, but we can do nothing before we pray.

John Wesley said, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth.

God does nothing but in answer to prayer."

If there is a clear word in Jesus' upward look, it is that we must pray if we are to be used of God in ministry.

Prayer lets us know our own need for God and equips us to be used by Him to minister to the lives of others.

Leonard Ravenhill said, "The church has many organizers, but few agonizers; many who pay, but few who pray; many resters, but few wrestlers; many who are enterprising, but few who are interceding.

People who are not praying and praying.

The secret of praying is praying in secret.

A worldly Christian will stop praying and a praying Christian will stop worldliness.

Tithes may build a church, but tears will give it life.

That is the difference between the modern church and the early church.

In the matter of effective praying, never have so many left so much to so few.

Brethren, let us pray."

Let me ask you: How is your communion with God? Do you pray?

Do you pray daily, consistently?

Do you pray not only for yourself, but for others?

Do you spend enough time in prayer to allow God to speak to you as well?

Martin Luther said that he had so much to do each day that he must spend the first three hours in prayer if he would accomplish the work.

If we would see the power of God unleashed in our lives and in our Church, we must pray.

!! *Compassion: An Inward Caring*

In this encounter, Christ not only looked toward Heaven, but He gave a deep sigh.

What did this sigh indicate?

It indicated an inward caring.

Jesus was filled with compassion for this deaf man.

Jesus cared.

That is what the sigh means.

Over and over in the New Testament, we hear how Christ was moved with compassion as He looked on the lost and hurting multitudes.

Christ's heart was broken as He encountered hurting people.

He ministered to people because He cared about their needs.

And so should we, for that very same reason.

If the sigh could preach to us, it would say that we must care.

It may sound strange to say it this way, but Christians need to care enough to care.

It troubles me that I find myself at times apathetic and indifferent.

We all get caught up in our busy lives, sometimes to the point where it's easy to pass others by.

Just the other day, my wife and I were returning from a football game our son had played in.

The traffic was heavy.

And as we approached a busy intersection, there was a man standing at the entrance to a shopping center.

He held in front of him a placard which read, "Will work for food."

As I drove by in a hurry to get home, I saw written in the corner in smaller letters, "God's child."

I must admit to you that I felt a stirring in my heart which I tried to resist.

After all, I was in a hurry.

Surely someone would stop and help him.

In fact, as I passed by, I saw him talking to someone in another car.