HOW TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL

MINISTRYDr. Ronald C. Hill, Sr. June 6, 2012 @ 7:30pm June 9, 2012 @ 9:00am

I. HOW TO HAVE A

SUCCESSFUL MINISTRY

A. The first and most important step is for the Child of God to accept the fact that they are called to the Ministry.

By believing the Gospel, we have become new creatures (we are born again) and we have been given the task of promoting the Gospel of Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-20

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

B. As Christians, we must have a sense of how important lost-souls are to God.

According to the scripture, the soul of a man holds more value than the entire wealth of the world.

We should pause and think of how much significance and high regard God has placed on the souls of men.

Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

C. The focus of God’s love and the motivation for the giving of His Son Jesus to die on the cross was for the purpose of saving lost

souls.

John 3:16-17

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16-17

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

1. The very purpose of Christ’s coming to the world is also revealed in St. Luke 19:10.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

D. If a child of God were to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, he will be taught how to reach out to others with the Gospel of Christ.

Matthew 4:18-2018 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

Matthew 4:18-20

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20 And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

E. To teach a man how to witness for God is not wrong, in and of its self. You can learn techniques as to how to share your faith;

but one will receive a hot passion to win souls by walking in

the footsteps of Jesus.

F. It is impossible to obey the word of God without

receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It is impossible

to walk in the Holy Spirit without sharing the Gospel

with sinners.

Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the

uttermost part of the earth.

G. We have been called to be a witness, which is to

say we have been called to die to our old lives and to

live only as unto the Lord.

In the Greek text, the word witness is Martus and it has several applications. First, it is one who remembers, one who has information or knowledge of anything. One who can give information.

Also, Martus is used as a designation of those who have suffered death as a consequence of confessing Christ. We must be willing to sacrifice our very lives to be a witness for Christ. We all must give up the self-life.

Romans 12:1-21 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Romans 12:1-22 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will

come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

H. We must also be willing to give up our physical life if called upon, as did Stephen.

Acts 7:54-60

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

Acts 7:54-60

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

Acts 7:54-60

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

Acts 7:54-60

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

Acts 7:54-60

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.

Acts 7:54-60

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Acts 7:54-60

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

1. The Child of God is called to represent the interests of God, our

Father. If we miss that fact, we miss everything.

II OBEYING THE WORD OF GOD WITH THE RIGHT MOTIVE

Why are we here?

Why are we doing what we are doing?

What do we expect to achieve from our actions?

I. One of the sad facts in the American Church is

that many have been motivated to be a

Christian for the wrong reasons.

We have been inundated with preaching and teaching that would lead one to come to the conclusion

that Christianity is about your wealth and happiness in this life.

Many are being taught to walk with God so He can bless them.

Many believe that what you possess and the

position you hold in this world and in the Church gives you value and/or

importance.

Little wonder we have so few people in the Church who have a deep desire to

win souls to Christ.

1. According to the Word of God, what is the right motive for obeying

the Word of God?

J. We should, first of all, obey the word of God because we love

God.

John 14:15

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

K. The Commandments of the Lord are the

instructions He has given us in the Gospels, as well

as the rest of the New Testament.

L. We are also to love God because He has commanded us to do so.

Matthew 22:36-38

36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

38 This is the first and great commandment.

M. God knew that love for Him, not a

desire to be blessed by Him, would be a

lifelong motivation

If we seek God because we want to receive

something from Him, in most cases is a set-up to

become passive.

If we pray and pray until we receive what we are asking for,

oftentimes we will lose the motivation to continue to seek

God with the same level of intensity, and thereby lose

ground.

If we pray and pray for something that we never

receive, this could cause us to become bitter and disgruntled, which would also result in a loss of intensity and focus.

N. On the other hand, if we are seeking God

simply because we love Him, that motivation on

will last a lifetime.

O. The second reason we should obey God’s Word is because we love people.

Matthew 22:37-4037 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.38 This is the first and great commandment.

Matthew 22:37-4039 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

P. One of the most blessed ways to express our love for our families, friends and people at large is to obey the Word of God.

As we obey the Word of God our lives will bring glory to God and put us in a place where we can be used by God to win others to Christ and also be a blessing to the Body of Christ.

1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Q. The Apostle Paul was driven by a deep desire to bring others to Christ.

Romans 10:1

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God

for Israel is, that they might be saved.

Romans 9:1-3

1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,

Romans 9:1-3

2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.

Romans 9:1-3

3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh

R. Paul had the highest form of love for the Jews who didn’t know God.

S. By faith, God will give to all who will receive it, a deep desire to love and obey Him. We are going to live completely for God because we love Him and we love People.

We are going to sell-out to God because we want Him to use us and make us a blessing to others.

T. How are we going to sell-out?

1. We will read, study, and memorize the Word of God

2. We will have a life of prayer and

fasting

3. We will be faithful to the Church

4. We will live a life of Love and

Holiness toward God and man

5. We will share the Gospel with others, especially with our families

6. We will give our money, time and talent to God

7. We will give our lives if called upon

8. We are going to live our lives in this fashion because we love God and we love people

9. We are going to become a blessing to God and to people and we will also be blessed. We will have the best life man can have.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the

kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all

these things shall be added unto you.

We are going to have a very Successful Ministry here on

earth. We will then go to heaven and receive our

reward for allowing God to use us in this life.