The message is the call of Christ to
the ministry.
And it's really part two of last week's
message that I didn't get through, because of
just me talking up here too much.
So, my daughter's in here, I see, and
she says I'm boring every time.
So, don't say that tonight, okay?
Daddy's not going to be boring.
But I know, little kids have a different
view.
Anyway, the power of Christ, we left off
last week, the power of Christ over the
demonic realm, the power of Christ over Satan,
the power of Christ pretty much over everything
in our lives.
How does Christ exhibit that power in our
lives to conquer certain areas?
So, if you didn't see that message, go
view it, it's on our website.
Now, where I left off, and I don't
want to just kind of throw these notes
away, I want to talk to you about
where we left off in looking at a
genuine work of the Holy Spirit.
A genuine work of the Holy Spirit cannot
go outside the bounds of God's character.
So, anytime you wonder, okay, is the Holy
Spirit in that?
The Holy Spirit cannot go outside the bounds
of God's character, and also, as we see
written in His revealed Word.
So, what does that look like?
If you see something happening with worship or
demonic realm, that cannot go outside the bounds
of God's character.
I didn't say it can't go outside the
bounds of preference, because it will.
Many people prefer different things, and we have
to be careful in this area of preference,
because sometimes we use it as a gauge
on which to measure spirituality in other people.
Well, I prefer this, or I prefer that.
So, preferences, we have to distinguish preferences from
truth when it comes to this area.
I like what Martin Lloyd-Jones said, we
should never, never interpret Scripture in the light
of our experience, but rather interpret our experiences
in the penetrating light of Scripture.
And really, what I'm doing now is I'm
talking about last week's message.
We talked about the demonic realm, and we
talked about bizarre things happening, and sometimes people
say, I just felt a certain way, or
just pray for this feeling, or I get
this feeling, or even those in the New
Age movement have feelings of euphoria, and this
state of ecstasy.
So, that's why we have to be very
careful.
And again, we should never interpret Scripture in
the light of our experiences, but interpret our
experiences in the light of Scripture.
In other words, if somebody has an experience,
we don't interpret the Bible based on that
experience.
Well, we need to change this, we need
to take out this, it doesn't say this,
they're acting weird, I know they're acting weird,
Shane, don't quench and grieve the Spirit of
God.
You know, let's use this experience to interpret
Scripture, where Scripture says the opposite.
This is our gauge by which we interpret
our experiences.
And emotions, our emotions are primarily a vehicle
for expression.
They're not a gauge for truth.
So, think about that.
Our emotions are a vehicle for expressing.
When your first baby was born, or your
second, or your third, or your fourth, when
you're at the hospital, there's a little bit
of emotions there, right?
I hope, or on your wedding day, or
when your favorite team wins.
I mean, there's emotions there.
So, emotions are a vehicle for expressing ourselves.
And people sometimes say, oh, it's just emotional,
and sometimes I want to jump up and
down and say, good, good, we need some
emotions in the church sometimes.
Why is everybody excited when their favorite team
wins, or we're excited about this, but in
church we have to come, oh, we can't
get emotional, we can't get to, we can't
just, we've got to, you know, just do
this, and don't get emotional.
God-given emotions are good.
He gave us those emotions.
I thank God we're not puppets.
Don't feel anything, don't care.
I mean, that's why when you feel something
emotional, it's a good thing.
Or it can be, as long as we
gauge it by Scripture.
Now, also, just feeling emotional doesn't necessarily mean
it's a good thing.
You can feel emotional when they sing the
Pledge of Allegiance, right?
Or Star Spangled Banner.
I get emotional, but we don't drape the
cross with the flag.
You know, so emotions, emotions are not a
gauge for truth.
In other words, many people are, especially you're
going to see this in our culture, Dale,
these hot-button issues that you see in
the paper.
You know, I won't mention all of them
right now.
But people get real emotional about that, and
they use that as a gauge for truth
sometimes.
Well, I feel this way.
Or I was born this way.
Or why don't we just do this, and
I feel.
And that begins to gauge everything.
And then what comes on the scene is
relativism, right?
Everything is relative based on how I feel.
What's the old logo or the old motto?
If it feels good, do it.
Yeah, if it feels good, do it.
The Bible says if it feels good, check
yourself at the door.
Look in Scripture.
Does it line up with Scripture?
Because if it feels good, do it, it's
not necessarily something that's biblical.
So again, that's where I left off last
week.
I didn't want to spend too much time
on that.
But I like what Jonathan Edwards said.
And as some of you know, he was
one of the primary theologians during the Great
Awakening in our country in the 1700s.
And I like to read all about the
revivals and the awakenings and the work of
the Holy Spirit and all these things empowering
the church.
And the church is just thriving and growing,
and bars are closing down, and everything, jails
are empty.
And why is this?
Because when the Spirit of God moves, lives
are radically changed.
And after studying revival, he noted five things
that I think are important.
Number one, when there's an experience, God awakening
His people, it elevates the truth.
The truth is elevated, not minimized.
The truth is looked to, not avoided.
And a lot of times in these experience
-oriented movements, and these points I'm bringing out
are more tied in with last week, but
I didn't want to just throw them in
the trash.
Because any time the Holy Spirit is moving,
truth will be elevated, not put to the
side, not trampled on.
And when we say, let's bring out the
truth, and people say, oh no, let's put
that aside.
We don't need that.
You bunch of Bible thumpers.
We've got to be open to new things.
Be careful there.
Number two, Christ is exalted.
Not the person, not the ministry, not this,
not that.
Christ is exalted.
Satan is opposed.
Number four, points people to the Scriptures, and
it results in a love for God and
others.
That's a true work of the Holy Spirit.
So a lot of times you'll see maybe
some bizarre thing happen in some churches, just
bizarre.
It's like, wow, that's just weird.
Of course, they say, well, you're just quenching
and grieving the Spirit of God.
Just got to be open.
If it's God, it's God.
Anything goes, right?
Well, not necessarily.
If the people leaving there don't experience God,
the truth isn't elevated, Christ isn't magnified, Satan
is opposed, they don't have a true or
genuine love for God and His Word, then
it was just a circus environment.
It was just entertainment.
So we have to gauge our emotions off
of truth.
Why?
Because Jeremiah said the heart is deceitful and
desperately wicked.
Who can know it?
For I, the Lord, I judge the heart,
I judge the mind, and I give every
man according to his ways, according to his
doings.
And that's interesting.
I thought about that Scripture.
Scripture's right on.
I mean, the heart is deceitful and desperately
wicked.
We have something inside of us that is
hell-bent on leaving God, that is desperately
wicked.
If it was given full reign, oh man,
wow.
If it was given full reign, that's why
we have to put restraints on it.
Guard our heart for it's the wellspring of
life.
Guard your mind, your affections.
You have to guard these things as a
soldier doing battle because the heart left to
itself is desperately wicked.
So the Word of God pulls it back.
Prayer pulls it back.
Worship pulls it back.
So that's why I encourage people all the
time, pray and worship.
Well, I don't like to do that.
I just want to sit there and wait
for your message.
No, no, no.
You don't get it.
That's why nothing's changing.
It's in that prayer and worship that the
heart is guarded, that the heart is protected
because you're putting it in submission to Christ.
It's very healthy.
So then we left off right here.
Chapter 9 of Matthew, verse 35.
Chapter 9, verse 35.
The compassion of Jesus.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and
villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel
of the kingdom and healing every sickness and
every disease among the people.
But when He saw the multitudes, He was
moved with compassion for them because they were
weary and scattered like sheep having no shepherd.
You know, I want to remind everybody tonight
that Jesus is still in the business of
compassion.
I believe that He has still moved with
compassion for His people.
You're not following some shepherd who's given up
on his flock and has moved to a
different city.
This is a shepherd who we bow to,
who we trust, who we worship that has
compassion on His people.
Remember what I quote a few weeks ago,
God had compassion on His people.
That's why He sent His messengers.
That's why He sends His messengers.
That's why He sends difficult messages to His
people because He has compassion on them and
on His dwelling place.
But they mocked His messengers, despised His word,
and scoffed at His prophets until the anger
of the Lord arose against His own people.
But let's not forget what started that, because
He had compassion on His people.
So we serve a Jesus who still has
compassion on His people.
And it's interesting, I pulled three things from
this part of the text, even though it's
real brief here.
Jesus went along teaching and preaching and healing.
And I believe that's three aspects of ministry
you'll always see.
Because we have to teach us how to
live.
That's vitally important.
Teach us how to live.
But then you have to preach so people
wake up from their spiritual slumber.
You have to teach and you have to
preach.
And you don't want to have an unhealthy
balance there because what will happen?
They'll either gravitate all towards preaching and emotionalism
or they'll gravitate just towards teaching.
They'll become modern-day Pharisees and nothing changes.
And then we see the third aspect here
is healing.
Jesus went along healing.
And how does that apply to us?
Well, in many ways, this is a helps
ministry, I believe.
There are people in this church, even in
this valley, all over, that are in desperate
need of help in all these areas.
Mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
So as Christians, that's what we should go
around doing.
Teaching and preaching, sometimes awakening.
Not like what I do necessarily, but you
can awaken people and say, Listen, you're on
a collision course to disaster.
You need to wake up.
Here's what the Bible says.
And then we come alongside and we help
them.
We minister to them.
That's what ministry is.
Sometimes I think we hear the word ministry
and we think, Oh, I'll just go and
do that.
But ministry encompasses many different items, and that's
what I want to talk about tonight.
On this area of teaching and healing, the
funny thing is preaching.
We often don't see Jesus as a preacher,
do we?
Oh, no, no.
We don't see Him as that.
But He said, I came to preach the
Gospel.
Jesus said, for this very reason, I have
come to preach.
Jesus came to awaken His people.
And He hates the sin He sees in
us.
Have you ever lost anybody to cancer?
You hate that cancer.
Right?
That's why we hate the sin that we
see in people.
A lot of times the little cliché, love
the sinner, hate the sin.
Love the sinner, hate the sin.
It can become a cliché, I know, but
it's powerful truth.
We're to love the sinner.
But we're to hate the sin that's destroying
families.
It's destroying our nation.
It's destroying the church.
It's destroying the truth.
That's why we get a lot of negative
feedback, right, when we preach the truth.
Because they don't like to hear that part
of it.
And Jesus is a preacher.
He's really preaching, and the word here is
to proclaim.
He's proclaiming the good news.
I've come to set the captive free to
proclaim.
And when you proclaim, it's not just sitting
there going through your Bible.
Sometimes it's awakening people, and it's getting emotional
and stirring and convicting.
I just had this happen to me this
week.
I was taking my little dog on a
walk in the desert, and I let him
off the leash.
And the next thing I hear, he's right,
he's about ten...
Oh, Toby, that's a rattlesnake!
Oh, get over here!
Am I just going to...
Well, I'll just wait, you know.
Is that what I'm going to do?
Why?
Because there's danger.
There's danger.
Come, get over here!
Get over here!
I'm not coming to you.
There's a rattlesnake right between us.
I can see it.
I can see it coiled up.
Someone, come over here.
Get over here now.
Stop playing with the snake.
Get over here.
Get over here now.
Shane, that's me.
That's loud.
Right.
I have to gauge it because of the
danger between us.
That's all preaching is.
It's emotional because they see the danger between
the pulpit and the pew.
Don't go there.
That leads to abyss.
That leads to hell.
That leads to destruction.
That leads to divorce.
That leads to addiction.
That leads to jail.
That leads...
And you fill in the blank.
So Christ was a wonderful preacher, calling the
people back to Him.
He would preach and then He would sit
and teach.
And He would heal.
That's powerful ministry.
Sometimes we get caught up on just one
of those and then what happens?
We begin to judge.
Right?
Well, why don't they do this?
And why don't they do this?
And that judgmentalism comes in.
I like what Robert McShaney said.
He died at 29.
But he's one of Scotland's most anointed preachers,
a preacher hundreds of years ago.
He spent a lot of time in the
prayer closet and fasting.
He died at an early age.
But different biographies and things record that people
would begin weeping when he even stepped to
the pulpit.
Just that powerful anointing, spending time with God.
And people would just break under His presence.
And Scotland experienced a powerful move of God.
He said, most of God's people are content
to be saved from the hell that is
without.
They are not so anxious to be saved
from the hell that is within.
And I ponder that because that is true.
We're content.
I'm not going to hell.
I've got my out of hell free card
right here.
Monopoly.
I'm good now.
But the hell within needs to be dealt
with.
And that's one aspect where preaching comes in.
When Christ preached, when I preached, we deal
with the hell that's within.
Because it doesn't want to give up its
stronghold easily.
It's got to be awakened as well.
You've got to go right to the heart.
That's one thing teaching does not do.
As much as I love teaching, I listen
to Chuck Smith's teaching on the Bible, all
700 tapes.
It took me a year and a half.
I love teaching.
I've got MacArthur's teaching.
I've got David Jeremiah's teaching.
I've got Alistair Begg's teaching.
I love teaching.
But there comes a time when you need
to preach.
When teaching just isn't going to cut it.
When you've got to waken the church up.
That's where preaching comes in.
It's like God brings in a different...
We've been so taught it's pathetic.
We've got Bible apps all over our phones.
We've got commentaries.
The underground churches in China and Egypt and
Afghanistan, they don't even own a Bible.
And we're full of teaching.
We're so full of teaching, we like to
argue about every little nuance of this.
The rapture and this and women in ministry
and the gifts of the Spirit.
And we want to just argue about worship.
Oh Lord, don't get me started on the
worship wars.
The old hymns and new hymns.
Why are they standing?
Why are they sitting?
Why are they raising their hands?
Why aren't they raising their hands?
Why are your services so charismatic?
Why aren't they so charismatic?
Just worship.
I don't like those songs.
I don't know those songs.
It just goes on and on and on.
We should just thank God that we're able
to worship Him.
Thank God.
Now don't get me wrong, I love deep
theological songs in the old hymns.
But I also love In Love in the
Oceans by Hillsong.
I mean, that's powerful.
Songs that we're worshiping God.
So just be very careful in this area
that we can be so well taught that
we become a Pharisee.
I'll just call it like it is because
the Pharisees were the most religious people of
their day.
And I see it all the time.
Do you want to know why?
Because I can drift on the Pharisee side
real easy.
It's not too hard for me to drift
on the Pharisee side.
Real easy.
Just yesterday we were at a party for
my mom's 70th anniversary.
And friends were from into town.
And they said, Oh Shane, I've got to
give you two people you've got to listen
to on the TV.
And they gave me their names.
I won't give you their names.
And they're not heretical, but they're not, well,
we'll leave it at that, right?
What I would be watching and listening to.
So in my mind, oh, let me tell
you about it.
I'm already having an argument to just put
down everything that they just were so excited
about.
So instead, oh, thank you.
I'll check, thank you.
I'm not talking about dangerous teachers and warning
people, but just preference.
And I just, you know, certain people that
I don't care to endorse and different things.
But in my mind, I'm already going to
that Pharisee mode.
It's already getting ready.
Boom.
Because it can happen very easily.
So we have to be careful.
Because we have so much truth.
Our nation has so much Bible that we're
forgetting the Bible that we've been reading.
And actually, I know a lot of you
will agree with this.
The church as a whole is drifting from
the Bible.
We're drifting from the Bible.
I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about true Bible-believing Christians.
We're so fat on the Word of God
that now we need to start doing some
exercise.
We need to start using what's inside of
us.
That's all calories are.
You know that, right?
Calories are just energy I haven't expended yet,
I haven't used yet.
And if they're not used, where do they
go?
Everywhere.
Same thing with the Word of God.
I've got all this energy, all this knowledge,
but I'm not going to do anything with
it.
Well, that turns into pride.
And that turns into arrogance.
And that turns into thinking we're super spiritual
and we don't need to help people and
God needs me really bad.
God doesn't need us really bad.
He chooses to use us for His glory.
Also, I think I'm going to, every week
or two, do a recommended resource of a
book I'm reading on a certain topic that
will help.
And this is a great one on this
area of serving God.
It's called On Being a Servant of God
by Warren Wiersbe.
On Being a Servant of God, I just
went through it again this week, and a
lot of great things about it.
He's had 45 years in ministry.
So I would encourage you to get that
book.
You can get it online, I think, everywhere
pretty much.
It's available everywhere.
But Robert Murray McChaney also said this, a
man who loves you the most is the
man who tells you the most truth about
yourself.
The person who loves you the most is
the person who's going to tell you the
most truth about yourself.
So it falls into this preaching again.
Jesus would tell us the truth.
He didn't candy coat or sugar coat anything,
did he?
He told people the truth.
You whitewash tombs.
You're full of dead men's bones inside.
And other people would say, listen, you've got
sin in your life you need to turn
from.
And he would tell people the truth because
of his love for them.
So somehow the culture and the media and
everybody gets this around where if you say
anything hurtful, now you're being negative and unloving.
No, it's actually loving people want to warn
and encourage people to get back on the
right road.
That's loving people.
Parents want to do that, right?
But we can't do it to the society.
Then it's hate speech.
It's hate speech when we're trying to love.
It doesn't make any sense.
Verse 37, the call of Jesus.
Then he said to his disciples, the harvest
truly is plentiful, but the labors are few.
Let's all say that again.
The harvest truly is plentiful, but the labors
are few.
Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to
send out labors into the harvest.
Did you catch that?
The harvest is plentiful.
It's everywhere, but the labors are few.
Now, there's a lot of Christians, but this
word isn't dealing necessarily with Christians.
It's dealing with a laborer.
Do you know what a laborer is?
Picture the hot sun.
You've got a shovel in one hand, digging
bar in the other.
You're laboring.
You're picking up, you know, going through the
farms, and you're picking up the fruit, the
vegetables.
You're laboring.
You're doing something.
You're building a house and constructing.
All these things, you're laboring.
So he says, listen, look at this bountiful
harvest, but there's no labors.
A lot of Christians, there's a lot of
Christians, but not a lot of labors.
It's really what's rewarding is the laboring.
As rewarding it is to read your Bible
and to study and to worship, do you
know that the most rewarding aspect of it
is when you serve others?
That's why it's the hardest thing to do.
It's the hardest thing to do because flesh
comes in, the feelings, I don't feel like
it.
I've got stuff to do.
I just want to come to church, and
then I'll go home, and I won't get
upset.
I won't have to do anything.
But God calls us to do things, and
I believe that's where a lot of joy
and peace is tied to.
I think that's why a lot of Christians
are moody and frustrated and irritated because they're
not serving.
We're never designed to take it all in
and not do anything with it.
But what comes up?
I'm too busy.
Right?
I've got lots going on.
I'm too busy.
And we just quit.
How about if I just said, you know
what?
I think tonight's my last Saturday.
I'm going to go back and make some
real money.
Not dealing with all these problems and issues.
It's too hard.
This is too hard.
I'll see you guys.
I'll see you guys around.
This is too hard.
It's too hard.
I don't like doing it.
I'm busy.
I'm a busy guy.
I've got four little kids and a wife.
I'm writing books.
I'm writing articles.
I'm speaking.
I'm a busy guy.
I don't need this.
Why am I here?
I'm just going to quit.
Why does that seem right?
I can't.
That's true.
Committed.
Yeah, I know.
But see, also, we're supposed to be committed
Christians.
When we commit to something, you can't back
out two months later or three.
It's too hard now.
Now, granted, I understand things come up, illness,
injury, family.
I'm very understanding.
But for the most part, the Christian church
is not available.
We're not available.
And the reason is it's hard.
It's not too hard to come and sit
in an air-conditioned room on soft chairs
and hear something and go eat a nice
dinner.
That's not too hard.
What's really hard is the laboring.
So I just encourage you that God is
a rewarder of those who diligently labor in
His work.
Yes, when it gets tough.
Actually, that's the best time to do it.
When you're about ready to bell out, that's
the time to strengthen yourself and continue.
Test the heart.
I truly believe that somebody should never give
up on Christian work just on emotions alone.
I don't feel like it's getting difficult.
There's never a good reason.
If God's calling you, hey, I need to
take a season, I've prayed about it, I
feel peace, okay, that's good.
But just because it's getting hard and difficult,
yeah, that's usually probably when God's getting ready
to work in your life, open some doors,
fill you with the Spirit, a new dimension
of ministry, but then we just bell out
too soon.
I don't want to do that.
It's difficult.
So we are all laborers to some extent.
The world is a mission field.
Think about that.
Sometimes we think of just the church.
But do you work anywhere?
Do you have neighbors?
Do you have friends?
Do you run into people?
The mission field's everywhere.
We should be on high alert.
We're on the mission field for God.
It's not just a missionary in a foreign
land.
This is us in the church.
The Christian is a person who makes it
easy for others to believe in God.
Wow.
The Christian is a person who makes it
easy for others to believe in God.
Do you make it easy for people to
believe in God?
Or do you turn them away by your
attitude?
I've not perfected this area.
What about our kids?
Think about that.
The Christian is a person who makes it
easy, makes our kids easy to believe in
God.
That involves ministry and being in their lives.
Let me just talk in this area of
ministry real quick.
Desire meets gifting.
Okay, so God gives you a desire, right?
Like, I want to do that.
I want to help in that area.
And you're gifted for that.
He opens a door.
But then it's not all roses.
It's not a bed of roses.
You don't feel like going every single time.
And this is just wonderful.
Every single time.
It's laboring.
It's like doing what you don't want to
do.
You're telling your flesh.
Now, we've talked about this lots of times.
You're telling your flesh what to do.
We're going to go serve tonight.
Yes, we are.
I know you want to kick your feet
up on the couch and eat some bonbons.
But we're going to go serve tonight.
I know you want to text or email
and get out of it.
But we're going to go serve tonight.
I know you don't like doing this.
And that's exactly why we're going to do
it.
Why is the church always in need of
helpers?
We don't need a lot of helpers.
Just some helpers.
No, this isn't here only.
It's everywhere.
You talk to most churches.
Most churches will say, number one area that's
the most difficult.
Nursery and children's ministry.
Yep.
And it's interesting.
If I told somebody, can you be in
charge?
I don't think they'd ever quit.
Can you be in charge?
Oh, absolutely.
We'd see them for years.
This is the honest sermon tonight.
Can you be in charge?
Oh, absolutely.
They'd be like drill sergeants here.
They'd be on time.
They'd be committed.
But when we say, can you help in
this area?
Oh, grr.
Why is that?
Because we want to be in charge.
Isn't it interesting?
We have a surplus of speakers.
I mean, you want to come speak at
the pulpit?
Oh, oh, oh, oh, yes, yes, yes.
I'll be there.
We have a surplus of worship.
I've got people emailing me applications for worship.
So, no, we're good.
We're good.
Every month it goes by.
Do you need a worship leader?
I'm from this area.
We have people from, you know, there's big
churches in San Diego.
You know, they're moving this area.
I could be a, no, no, we're good.
Plethora, plethora of leadership, plethora of speakers, plethora
of worship.
But when it comes to the serving aspect,
what happens?
Think about that.
If I told both services, hey, I'm gone
next Saturday, I need somebody to speak, any
volunteers, there would be a line up to
here.
I'll do it.
Then we have to determine, are you called?
Are you gifted?
Because you've got to bless the body.
But then, hey, we need children's ministry helpers.
Guess how many people we'll see tonight.
Why is that?
Think about it.
This is just self-examination.
Why is that?
Well, in a nutshell, one puts us on
a pedestal.
One puts us where we're not seen.
We're not glorified.
We're not magnified.
We're not recognized.
We're not applauded for our efforts.
It's hard.
But let me remind you, that was the
job of your Savior.
Made himself of no reputation.
Took on the form of a man, sinful
man.
And he humbled himself to the point of
death.
Even death on a cross.
That's all we're doing is doing what Christ
did.
And Oswald Chambers said in his great work,
My Utmost First Highest, that God will bury
his men and women in the midst of
paltry things.
No monuments are erected for them.
No songs are sung for them.
They're in a place where they cannot be
seen.
Because that's where they do the most work
for God.
Think about that.
I mean, people idolize the pulping.
I mean, oh, he's changed here.
I'm a servant leader.
I've got guidelines in 1 Timothy 3 about
10 things that I have to have in
my character.
I have to come and I have to
serve and I have to lead.
I have to lead by example.
You guys get to email people back mean
emails and hang up on them or cuss
at them.
I can't do any of that.
I just got to take it and suck
it up and just, oh, work on my,
because I'm leading by example.
It's difficult.
This isn't a glorified position.
And that's why I talk to a lot
of young guys and they'll say, oh, I
just want to, oh, man, you better be
called to do it because it will kill
you.
Think about it.
Less pay for more work, for more headaches.
New levels bring more devils.
Dealing with all the stuff, it's hurting.
A lot of times you're hurting.
There's great mountaintop experiences, but there's tremendous valleys.
You're always trying to please, always trying to
this.
You've got to be on high alert.
How are you going to beat last week's
sermon?
I have no idea.
And then how are you going to beat
next week?
I have no idea.
And then these expectations.
Now people are calling, emailing the website saying
we're coming in from North Dakota or Hawaii
or we want to be there.
Are you going to be there to speak?
I'm like, oh, wow, this is a lot
to hold.
I say, I don't know.
I might be sick, but I'm planning on
it.
Give God the glory.
He's the one doing it.
We're just empty vessels.
And he wants to work, I believe, in
many lives in here, just empty.
Say, Lord, what do you want me to
do?
What do you want me?
We should have a children's ministry sign up
waiting list.
We should have a waiting list for ushering
and a waiting list for sound and a
waiting list for all the things we need.
And trust me, I didn't plan to be
this, oh, let me go get them sermon.
Because guess who used to sit in that
pew four years ago?
And every time they asked, oh, I'm just
not gifted for that.
That's not my calling.
That's not my gifting.
I know, I know, I've been there.
And I know, I ran from that.
I ran from this for a year.
I said, no, no, no, no.
Because it's comfortable, right?
And there's nothing wrong with being comfortable sometimes.
Enjoying entertainment, relaxing.
God's given us those things.
But there comes a time when the person
has to labor.
Labor for God.
It's very healthy.
Here's a few reasons why people send themselves
into the ministry.
To prove I'm spiritual or important.
I know, I know, probably a half dozen
men that came to me in the past
couple years that wanted to be a pastor.
None of them are, and I don't know
if they're going to be.
But I think some of these reasons are
why they want it.
Look, I've arrived.
Look, Dad, I've arrived.
Look, you said I was a nobody.
I arrived.
I'm important.
Look at me.
I'm important.
And Charles Spurgeon said in his famous book,
Lectures to My Students, he said if you
can do anything else, do it.
Because if you can, then you were not
called by God.
See, a true calling of God, you cannot
run from it very long.
Jonah, Paul rode to Damascus.
God will just knock you off your horse.
Here's what you're doing now.
You can't run from it.
So that's a good way of self-examining
our hearts.
Never get into ministry or missions to prove
anything.
A lot of times we do that.
I am on the mission field.
Look what I'm doing.
I'm serving.
I'm going to Africa.
Look what I'm doing.
Aren't I so special?
And we toot our horn, right?
Look, look, look.
God says no.
That's not true ministry.
Also for validation, we have low self-esteem.
So if we can say, look, look what
I'm doing, it raises self-esteem.
This is a funny one for me.
Many people get into this, or what I'm
doing is a source of income and an
easy job.
Wow.
So what happens is when it's not easy,
and when they're not feeling important, they bail
out.
See, if you go into things with the
right motive, saying I'm going to serve in,
actually I'm speaking at Donahue Nursery, I think
in our nursery, Matt will verify this, we've
had the same helpers for two years since
we started.
Since we started almost.
Or within a year or so.
Same committed people.
We can count on them.
But in all other areas.
We just give up too easy.
Step out and serve.
Apply spiritual disciplines and allow God to open
your door.
So many people out there are saying, okay,
Lord, do you want me to do anything?
Lord, do you want me to serve in
this capacity?
Lord, show me.
Number one, an open door.
And I'm presenting many open doors tonight.
This isn't by design.
I'm just kind of working this in as
I'm feeling led, knowing that we need some
help in some areas.
So this is an open door.
The church needs helpers.
But we want to make sure you've been
here a while, six month policies, what we'd
like to try to do to get to
know people.
Because not everybody's good and sincere and honest.
I don't know if you knew that.
Even in the church.
I actually avoid people now with the sign
of the fish on their business card.
Sometimes you just put that, and then they're
terrible business people.
So you have to be very careful.
So we need people serving and helping in
all these areas.
And here's what you do.
You step out and you serve.
And you apply spiritual disciplines and allow God
to open the door.
I've seen many people have no idea.
Lord, what do you want me to do
with my life?
I'm getting retirement age or I'm getting out
of college.
What do you want me to do with
my life?
I have no idea.
They go on weeks and weeks and months
and months.
No idea.
And then they step out and serve.
And God begins to direct them.
Oh, now I can direct you because now
you're a moving vessel.
See, I can direct a moving vessel.
He just tilts it this way.
But back at home with your feet up
on the couch and bonbons, you can't move
that.
That's why people sit there week after week
and month after month and never do anything
for God.
It is very difficult, but it's the most
rewarding thing you've ever done.
When you go home and you know you've
invested in the children, or when you go
home and you know you've gotten help with
ushering or the sound, you help the ministry,
you go home lifted up, not beat up.
Sometimes it is.
It's tiring.
It's hard.
But you go home.
That's where the joy comes from.
See, we either experience the pain of discipline
or the pain of regret.
The old folks used to teach a pain
of discipline.
Then the reward comes.
See, you work hard, then you get paid.
Now we want to get paid and we
might work.
I can get political, but I'm not going
to.
Think about that.
We get paid, right?
We work hard, a labor, and then you
get paid.
Same thing in Christian ministry.
You seek God with all your heart.
I don't feel like it.
You'll get paid when the filling of the
Spirit comes and joy comes and peace comes.
Peace has been elusive for years.
When that comes, you receive the baptism of
His love and His power.
Oh, that's life changing.
But I had to go through a difficult
season of pain to receive the reward.
Same thing in ministry.
Yeah, this hurts.
Scheduling is hard.
There's conflict.
There's attitude adjustments.
Now I've got to get here an hour
before the service.
Now I've got to stay after.
Yeah, it's difficult.
It's hard.
But the reward comes later.
You see how that works?
So you've got to fight your feelings because
your feelings will always lead you to the
course of least resistance.
Remember, we'll eat too much, we'll drink too
much, we'll sleep too much.
We won't even go to work.
We won't even go to church.
If our feelings had complete control, we'd probably
just sit in an air-conditioned house all
day long just watching TV until we fell
asleep.
And then we just want to sleep in
a lot longer because the feelings can take
control and they lead us in this area
as well.
So be careful there.
Real ministry goes into the enemy's camp.
A lot of times we pick and we
choose who we'll minister to, right?
I think this is the time the children's
ministry helpers have to make it over to
their area.
But many times in ministry we'll pick who
we want to minister to.
I want the easy ministry that's not going
to take a lot of time and I
can say I did something.
I'm not going to minister to those people.
And it's usually those exact people who God
calls us to.
Because we pick the course of least resistance
even in the area of ministry.
So keep that in mind.
It's not going to be comfortable.
It might be smelly.
It might be difficult.
But that's what God calls us to do.
The flesh is never satisfied so it will
fight you every single chance it gets on
this.
Closing.
Let me close real quick.
The power.
We talked about the power of Christ, the
compassion of Christ, and the call of Christ.
And everything culminates here.
You know how I like to end on
a note about salvation.
Because I can't just assume that everybody is
in good standing with God.
They've been hearing about Jesus a lot or
they've been coming a few weeks.
But the power of Christ to save.
That's probably the most important.
That's why He came.
Born to die.
He said for this very reason I have
come to save you.
So we can talk about the power of
Christ and the passion of Christ and the
compassion of Christ and the call of Christ
on our life.
But there's nothing more important than the power
of Christ to save.
That's why the Bible says whosoever.
Whosoever believes.
Whosoever calls.
Whosoever returns to me.
There's some of you tonight.
I know you might not be here again
next Saturday.
I might not ever see you again.
This isn't by chance.
Church is not by chance.
A Spirit filled Bible believing church.
There's nothing by chance.
God draws people here to hear His Word
being preached and proclaimed.
And the truth is we are in desperate
need of a Savior because we're sinners.
And that's how a lot of times when
you align yourself with the ministry.
Is once you're saved you want to serve
others.
You want to help others.
And the power of Christ.
I could talk about this for another half
hour.
Peter on the cross wouldn't do it.
You know that?
A lot of times we look at the
cross and we love the cross.
It means a lot to us.
But the cross in and of itself was
just a bunch of wood.
Peter on the cross wouldn't do it.
Paul on the cross.
James on the cross.
Nobody.
It had to be Jesus Christ.
The cross without Christ is pointless.
Ministry without Christ is pointless.
Marriage without Christ is pointless.
And life without Christ is pointless.
In a nutshell everything without Christ is pointless.
So if you're in ministry without Christ as
the center.
Wrong direction.
Get back to the center.
Return to your first love.
That's what Jesus told the church.
Return to your first love.
If Christ is not the center of your
marriage.
Guess what's going to happen to your marriage.
Bye bye.
Divorce court.
Here we go.
Rips apart because the world comes in.
Christ has to be the center of everything.
Ministry.
There's a lot of people in ministry where
Christ is not the center.
There's selfish ambitions.
The flesh is there.
Some people aren't even saved in ministry.
So Christ has to be the center of
everything.
The power of Christ to save.
The power of Christ to redeem.
The power of Christ to heal.
That's why I love that song.
Break every chain.
Do you believe that?
There's power in his name.
There's power in the name.
Wow.
It hasn't happened to me yet.
Really.
Have you ever figured.
Wonder might be the issue of the heart.
The problem is never with Christ.
And some things don't happen instantaneously.
I don't preach that.
Oh, you just call every sometimes healings or
deliverance or strongholds or fight.
It's a warfare.
Paul talks about the warfare, waging warfare, the
war against our soul.
Finally, brethren, it is warfare.
But calling on the name of Christ, I
know, makes darkness tremble.
It makes demons tremble.
It makes everything come in order when we
call upon the only name that saves.
So do that during worship tonight.
Even if you want to stay for the
second service of worship, do that.
So I call upon whatever it is right
now in your marriage or your finances, addictions.
You feel hopeless.
You feel lost.
You feel hurt.
Whatever it is, you call in the name
of Christ.
He's not just sitting up there going, oh,
you'll never reach me.
He's saying, come, come and call upon the
only name that saves, the only name that
heals, the only name that delivers, the only
name that sets free, the only name that's
going to cause the demonic realm to tremble
in your presence.
It's not you.
It's Christ in us that does that.