Men
in Ministry we need to keep our priorities in order. “My ministry is doing great.” There may be a problem in the
thought process that gets us to that statement. The ministry is not mine it is God’s ministry. We are simply
serving God our pastor and or an accountability board.
The
purpose of ministry is to serve God and the people to whom God has directed us.
Keep the servant heart. It is
hard. Every day, we are to be more like Christ. Pray each day that God will strip the worldly desires and
the worldly measurements to make me a humble and obedient servant as Jesus was
the humble and obedient servant. In Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man did not
come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Recently
we had a speaker in to talk with the leadership of Glad Tidings; Dr. Charles
Crabtree. He is the President of
Zion Bible College, former superintendent of the Assemblies of God and the
Pastor of a number of churches. His latest church he and his wife grew into an uncommonly large congregation. The
success defines a humble man. One of his quotes, which I should wear: “A
servant never can be demoted.”
A
few years ago Pastor gave us Spiritual Warfare Prayers. The first prayer is a
repentance prayer. Humility begins with admitting my sins, then confessing my
sins, and finally praying to the Holy Spirit to help me turn from my wicked
ways. Confess and recognize that I
need help turning from my wickedness.
In
the warfare prayers, are the verses from Phil 2:1-10
Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ if any comfort from his love if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.
5
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to
be used to his own advantage;
7
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness.
8
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to death—even death on a cross!
9
Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is
above every name,
10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth,
Why
in the warfare prayers are these verses with the call for us to be humble as
Christ was humble? Could it be that to be victorious we need to be humble?
Is
the boasting ministry leader who boasts with his bravado or with his calling it
my ministry a leader we would want to serve? Not me, the humble leader, the leader like Christ will draw
the workers and the converts.
This
is totally opposite to the worldview. In the Kingdom of God and the workplace,
strong, humble leaders are the ones who prosper.
Finally,
combining humility with passion for the ministry will produce the long term
Godly success.
Only
daily prayer and Bible Study will get us to this wonderful place.
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