Ministry

[jiggyfly]

The Son can do nothing by Himself. (John 5:19 NLT)

That is the principle of the Cross. He accepted that position of being able to do nothing out from Himself. It must all come out from God. There is no way through otherwise.... There was a revolution in my life thirty years ago when that principle of the Cross came flat up against ministry - ministry that for years I had been producing - against all my study, reading and late nights, to get up the stuff for ministry, till the whole thing became an intolerable burden in myself. Others perhaps thought it to be pretty good, but the crisis when - listen to me, men and women who are in ministry, or contemplating it - the whole turn came upon the recognition of this principle, this principle of the Cross when, with the door closed, I said to the Lord ‘I am finished in all ministry, I am never going to preach again unless You do something now. I have been doing it all these years; I have been producing this, now I am finished. You have got to do it.’ But I saw that principle, you see, as the principle of the Cross and I meant it.

Forgive me speaking of myself, but I must bring this home in some way. The next week would have seen my resignation in with my church officers, and I would have gone out from ministry if the Lord had not done it. But the Lord was true to His own principle. It was an utter end of anything that I could produce for ministry, and I meant it to be like that, because I recognized that God meant that. That was the principle of the Cross - nothing out from ourselves. No fruit that labor and study of the mind and heart could produce has a way through in the work and service of God. God was true to His own principle - He always is. From that day to this, there has been no trouble about ministry. It is easy to let ministry go, and much more easy than to accept it. This clamoring for ministry - it is uncrucified flesh. Well, there has been an open heaven since then. Again I beg your forgiveness for making this personal reference, but this is a true thing. It is a principle which covers all the ground.

By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Cross and the Way of Life - Chapter 2

 

[David777]

Dear Jiggyfly,

Read it. Understand it.

There is an inseperable gulf between works of the flesh and works of the spirit.

I remember my pastor stressing out over the same unrepentant faces he saw when counselling. It eventually drove him out of the ministry.
He could not understand why people did not want to repent.

His vision for the church was huge, the reality was not.

He had a wonderful Christian walk, so gentle and spiritual.

Not built for the rough and tumble of real church life.

Love your posts Jiggyfly, thanks.

 

[farout]

We can do nothing without Jesus.

What a simple way to express such a basic principle. Many are those of us who have had become so busy for the Lord in ministry we trudged on in our own efforts. I for one learned this principle the very hard way. The Lord took me to the wood shed and tried to explain it to me. However I was too busy to grasp the meaning of "you can do nothing without Jesus.
Jesus has shown me without Him I die. With Him I die to self and depend on Him. AS the sheep need a Shepherd we all need to know without the Shepherd we die.
Ministry without Jesus in complete control, we just are spinning around in in bust things that amount to be little.
God has done good things in ministry when I stepped aside and let Jesus lead. The burden becomes so much lighter, and God accomplishes His will.

 

[Coconut]

This clamoring for ministry - it is uncrucified flesh

.

This is what the Spirit is speaking...tho I fear the words of men do not express it simply enough, for the children of God persist in lack of understanding of it...

It seems we have forgotten how to pray "not our will, but only yours Lord"


The Son can do nothing by Himself.

Son or Daughter, you can do nothing. When are we going to grasp the personal reality of this so powerfully that it quells completely the constant striving of self will.

I see it in almost every [well meaning] message I read...I want to go, I want to do, I want to serve, I want to preach, I want to...I want to ...I want to!

That is the very root of the issue of all your frustration my brothers and sisters, you have not died to self, and indeed by constant seeking for the fulfillment of your own desires, you refuse to. God frustrates all your plans, because He must...He must, because HIS will must be done, to serve His eternal purpose and glory...none of yours.

While I was reading the message above by Austin-Sparks, I saw an ocean...and a man adrift in it...he was shouting at the waves...and telling them where to carry him...and the waves paid no heed to him, as waves tend to do...

That is the Spirit of God...as an ocean, He is carrying your life...what an utter waste of breath to tell the Spirit which way you aught to be carried.

What is ministry, but servant-hood...and what is that serving but doing whatever your hand finds to do, and doing that thing to the best of your ability... (Ecc 9:10)

If you are a husband, be a husband, and be the best husband you can be...that IS ministry [to the Lord] If you are a wife, be the best wife you can be...that IS ministry [to the Lord] If you are never anything more than a nobody...touching no life at all...let it be enough...because you can be sure your willingness to be nothing, that He might be everything, touches the heart of God.

Apply that principle to every detail of your life...whether its scrubbing toilets or fishing a brook...simply grasp hold of the next piece of driftwood that passes in front of you...(whatever your hand finds) and let the ocean decide what you grasp hold of next...stop striving and struggling and resisting the Spirit!

There is an old quote that says; "if you love something set it free, if it comes back to you it is yours, if it does`nt, then it never was."

It is no different spiritually...let go and let God be God. Let His Spirit carry you...

Or to put it in Coconut language ...roll over and do the dead mans float...it will surely amaze you what complete surrender to the waves of His Spirit will take you. :`)

Blessings

 

[SpiritLedEd]

I remember my pastor stressing out over the same unrepentant faces he saw when counselling. It eventually drove him out of the ministry. He could not understand why people did not want to repent.

"The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them." (Mk 4:15 NIV).

We are to be seed-throwers, not spiritual sales persons. Too many people approach ministry as if Christianity is a marketable commodity that is to be sold to people. No wonder they grow weary and quit. If the soil isn't fertile (if the people aren't really interested in the Word) nothing will grow. The life is in the seed, not in the seed-thrower, and only when the ground is fertile does it produce a crop.

SLE