Taking Action: Passionately Pursue Ministry

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We are given the command from Jesus to make disciples, that means ministry. If we are pursuing ministry in our own strength, we are wasting time. We must have the very passion of God to effectively minister to the world.

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The Honor of Serving God

We have been given the awesome privilege and honor to be called to ministry by the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Not only has He called us, but He has equipped us and empowered us to do what we could not otherwise do. If we were to take the time to really consider the depth of what God has done by entrusting us with His precious Word we would never come to the end of amazing wonder.
Yes there are some within the Body of Christ that have no intention at the moment to find their calling. They’re just here for the free coffee and donuts and a get out of Hell free card. Unfortunately for those that think that they are exempt from serving the Lord the way He calls and directs, they are in for a rude awakening.
God has birthed a hunger for revival in the heart of every Christian. Some can remember a time when the Church was so filed with the fire and presence of God that they could hardly wait to get back to God’s house to see what God would do next! Our Bible tells us that God NEVER changes and that Jesus the Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!!!! Praise God

Humble Yourself

In the book “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire” by Pastor Jim Cymbala, he says he became aware of what he called an “Astonishing truth”; God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him.
Many believers live their lives without giving much thought to their weaknesses as they simply added Jesus to what they were already doing in life. This simply will not do! When we become wonderfully saved by the righteousness of Christ the Bible is explicit in telling us how things are to be!
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
This effectively means that if you are genuinely born again you cannot possibly just go back to life as normal! This mindset seems radical to modern Christianity but this is the biblical standard that is given.
Matthew 16:24–26 ESV
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
Deny Yourself
Do you have any idea how hard that is for most people to do? Of course you do, you’re people....
Most of us would love to say we are good at fasting, or good at any activity that would humble and abase our own desires in favor of God’s heart, desires, and presence. But a cursory scan of the Church that claims to represent Christ and the Kingdom of God today would show even the least discerning among us that we are in desperate need of revival ourselves in most cases.
Jesus spoke to the church in Sardis in Revelation chapter 3.
Revelation 3:1–3 ESV
“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you.

Repentance

This morning I have come to tell you that not only is God calling this church to wake up, realize our great need, and humbly repent before an Almighty and Righteous God, but God is calling for the Assemblies of God as an organization to return to being a people filled with His Spirit and to stop working in their own strength!
Ministry cannot be accomplished with our strength, with our ingenuity. Not Godly ministry, not a ministry that draws us closer to Jesus. There is too much ministry of the flesh that happens in the name of Jesus, but it must be born of God’s Spirit.
When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus and was describing that people must be born again to enter into the kingdom of God he states:
John 3:5–6 ESV
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
We absolutely cannot glorify God with the works of the flesh!!! We fail when we scheme in our own imaginations as to how to most effectively “do the work” of the ministry.
Isaiah 64:6–8 ESV
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.
Aren’t you so very glad this morning that Isaiah didn’t stop at verse number 7?
2 Timothy 2:19–21 ESV
But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:22 ESV
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Position Yourself To Be Filled With God’s Passion and Purpose

God can use even you — even me. God wants to use those who look away from their self-sufficiency to his all-sufficiency. God uses all those who humble themselves before the cross, boasting only in him — his strength, his wisdom, his righteousness, his accomplishment.
In the coming weeks we will dissect what it means to position yourself; for today, let’s focus on starting with humbling ourselves and seeking His face. We will accomplish nothing if we try to do this on our own. You cannot expect that others will just intercede for you if you are perfectly capable of praying for yourself.
God We Need You
Lord Forgive Our Faults and Apathy
Fill Us With Your Thoughts and Your Desires
Empower Us To Pursue Your Way
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