This is one of the sermon I shared in Cambodia. You’ll be surprised to know that I actually changed it a lot on the actual day. But here is what I typed down as requested by some of my readers. I hope you’ll enjoy it!

Mat 25:14 – 46 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Introduction

Now by secular dictionary definition, ministry is the job in certain parts of the church. When asked what our occupation is as a pastor or any part of full time church work. We are often given the title minister. In fact if all goes well, I will be given the title ministerial worker. Now what does that really mean? That ministry is an occupation and job? What does the bible say about ministry?

I’m dealing with this topic because this is an important area of Christian living. More so, you are now dealing with the 16 fundamental truths of the Assemblies of God. This is the part where we reach truth number….ministry.

I have grown up in church, but honestly I don’t remember ever being taught about ministry but we all know that ministry is very important. Why?

But I will not go into the deep analysis of the theology of what ministry is, instead I want to help you, brothers and sisters come to a deep desire to be part of this huge thing called ‘ministry’ and realise that ministry is not just a calling, a function but also something natural.

We are all created to do ministry

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do

First thing first. The word ministry comes from the greek word diakonía (διακονία). Now what most people don’t realize is that this word in the bible refers to not just the famous 5 fold ministry of Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Evangelist and Teachers. It is used in many instances in the bible and it is not restricted to the use in church alone. For example, discipleship is known as ministry, serving with the ‘gifts’ God has given us, preaching of the Word, feeding the poor and many more.

The easiest way to look back to the very beginning of time to why were we created? For God’s pleasure isn’t it? So aren’t we then automatically created to minister to God? Then ask the next question. God commanded us to take care of the world. Is that ministry also? When God created Eve, weren’t they created to minister to each other? Ministry was not something we weren’t created for. Every cell in our body is created for ministry.

In the 16 fundamental truths the purpose of ministry is for these 3 things

(1) evangelization of the world (Mark 16:15-20),

(2) worship of God (John 4:23,24), and

(3) building a Body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son (Ephesians 4:11,16).

Ministry is a privilege

Matthew 20:25-28 ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ²⁷ and whoever wants to be first must be your slave– ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.“

Now if Jesus counted is as a privilege to serve us humans how can we then perceive ministry as a job/burden?

Have you ever wondered what Jesus was doing for the first 30 years of his life? Was he busy preparing to be a superstar? Day dreaming about being rich?

No! He was humbly working in his father’s workshop serving the people just like you and me. Probably smiling at each customer. Making sure that every piece of furniture he makes will be the best that he can do. He was being a good son to his parents. That was his service wasn’t it? He spent 1000 percent more time on serving his family, because he counted it a chore? A job?

Dr. Ironside, when a boy, helped his widowed mother by working during vacations, Saturdays, and out-of-school for a Scottish shoeworker who was a Christian. He posted Bible verses all over the shop so that everywhere one looked, he would see the Word of God. No package went out to a customer without a tract or a word of testimony, and many came back for salvation.

Dr. Ironside’s job was to pound leather for shoe soles. A piece of cowhide was cut to size, soaked in water, and pounded until it was hard and dry. After endless poundings, he was weary. One day, he noticed that another godless cobbler was not pounding, but was nailing the soles while still wet. “So they come back quicker,” was the reply.” The Christian owner explained to Ironside: “I do not cobble just for 50¢ or 75¢ from customers. I do it for the glory of God. In heaven, I expect every shoe returned to me in a pile, and I do not want the Lord to say, “Dan, that was a poor job. You did not do your best.”

Willing to do Little Things

A good many are kept out of the service of Christ, deprived of the luxury of working for God, because they are trying to do some great thing. Let us be willing to do little things. And let us remember that nothing is small in which God is the source.

D. L. Moody, quoted in The Berean Call, Bend, Oregon, March, 1997

We all have a role to play/How to do ministry?

Let me suggest two things

JUST DO IT!

Reformation’s Two Martins

At the beginning of the Reformation, Martin of Basle came to a knowledge of the truth, but, afraid to make a public confession, he wrote on a leaf of parchment: “O most merciful Christ, I know that I can be saved only by the merit of thy blood. Holy Jesus, I acknowledge thy sufferings for me. I love thee! I love thee!” Then he removed a stone from the wall of his chamber and hid it there. It was not discovered for more than a hundred years.

About the same time Martin Luther found the truth as it is in Christ. He said: “My Lord has confessed me before men; I will not shrink from confessing Him before kings.” The world knows what followed, and today it reveres the memory of Luther; but as for Martin of Basle, who cares for him?

How to reach the masses?

Years ago a convention met in Indianapolis to discuss “How to Reach the Masses.” One day during that convention a young man stood on a box on a corner and began to preach. A crowd gathered, mostly workingmen going home to their suppers. They were electrified by the sermon. They forgot that they were tired. They forgot that they were hungry.

The crowd became so dense that it had to move. The preacher announced that he would preach again at the Academy of Music. They followed him down the street, singing as they went, and they filled the main floor of the building, sitting with their dinner buckets, while he preached again with such power that they were moved to tears.

But he had only a few minutes to preach because the convention on “How to Reach the Masses” was gathering in the same auditorium. While the convention was discussing how to reach the masses, D. L. Moody was doing it! He was preaching the kingdom of God and every man was pressing violently into it!

It is apparent to many that ministry is a difficult thing. Many run from the responsibility not knowing that they are only running away from the very thing they were created for.

Therefore I am not saying what I’m going to suggest here is the only way to do ministry but I really believe that this is something we all can do and start from. I got the idea from the design of my own family.

If we fail to serve each other in the home, we also fail then in our service in church. That is something my father always reminded me since I was young.

I always believe God put each member of our family together for a reason. It doesn’t take me great faith to say that my family made me who I am today.

In fact there are so many things that are learnt at home. Discipline, respect for authority, love, compassion (share about how my father feeds the poor) and so many more. Now each person in my family had to play their role in the family to make it a home

My dad’s role was to be the head. He was the one who has the final say and he bears responsibility for the family. He had to improve the most as a person so that He always made the best decisions. Still His legacy is that he also is the cook of the home. Yes my father is the one who cooks. After one of my father’s sermons where he cooked in church, a sister in the church went home to her husband and told ask him why he never cooks? Pastor cooks also….the result was the husband was so angry and didn’t talk to her for more than a week! From him I learnt what it was to be a Man and more than that, a man of my word

My mother’s responsibility was to be the care giver and manager of the home. She would be in charge of the money, the house condition and all the details of the groceries and so on so forth. She was also the greatest example of the word submission in the house. She was the one who showed what love is and tenderness. Remembering all my classes, my birthday and so much more. Her legacy was that she would fetch me about 50km to music class each week because she believed in my gift of music. She nagged me to practice. I owe all to her in my music career. From her I learnt what it was to be humble and love people just as who they are

My younger brother’s responsibility was to be the youngest. To respect the older people in the family. To respect and honor the older ones. To do the best he can, not to give trouble to the parents. He showed me what it was to love unconditionally though I mistreated him so many times. He showed me what it was to be contented with little and be happy with what God gives because all he got were things that were handed down from me to him. He would take care of my dog. His legacy was to be the most special member in the family that moulded us to see that God can use anyone for His glory. His hardworking nature is something I admire

My responsibility was to be the older son which carries the burden of being the example. Being a pastor’s son and the eldest, the other kids and parents will look at me when they in a way judge my family. I had to be the example to everyone as much as I could. I had to be as good as I can be so that people will see what is true. My legacy is that I wash the dishes and the toilets. In fact I think I still enjoy it today. It taught me what it meant to be humble. No matter how high I can be or how talented I can be I must never be too proud to get down on my knees and scrub the toilet floors.

This to me is the model of ministry. Everyone has a role in the church. Big or small. You see whether five fold or whatever it is not the big things that make the impact. Its the little things. Start with your family. When you see any need in the church, offer your help. When you see a piece of rubbish pick it up. When the chairs are crooked make it look straight. If God gave you a beautiful smile, usher. You can sing in tune, sing! Remember this, if you don’t use your gifts, be careful. I nearly lost my gift of singing because I refused to sing.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude by sharing a testimony about the greatest servant/ministry example in my life. And what a better example today than my mom on mother’s day. When I was born my mom told me she knew I was going to be used by God and so she dedicated me to God. She gave up her career and ministry for many years to take care of me and my brother in our younger years. She had a calling to children’s ministry but she put that aside and focused on us. She did jobs that were totally unrelated to her passion just to make sure that we had food on the table and to be able to spend a lot of time with us. As we grew up, she noticed my talent in music (I don’t know how) and spent all her money to get me a keyboard because we couldn’t afford anything more expensive. She would them bring me along as she teaches in various places to play music for her even though I would scold her when she sang out of tune or went in the wrong timing. She would fetch me miles and miles away to a music teacher I preferred, to make sure I get the best. She never complained though I know I hurt her so many times. I’m sure she felt like giving up on me each time. But she realised I’m God’s gift to her and she needed to give me back to God. So she would always pray for me and my brother.

In the end now she has given both her sons to full time ministry. She still pays for our education. She still helps us when were in need. Do you give everything to God for service? Your talents, your riches, your anger, your joys and even your gifts, that may be your children to God?

This is what ministry is about. In this way she fulfilled all three of the purposes in the fundamental truths.

(1) evangelization - of the world for she continues to reach the lost and now have me working side by side reaching the people God loves

(2) worship of God – By separating herself and me as Holy and living sacrifices for God

(3) building a Body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son - Together as a family we become closer to showing the different characters of God and continually build each other up

If you read the passage in the beginning, you will see that ministry may be something natural and the consequence of not doing what is natural is clearly stated there. This is a challenge to you and I to see that the time is urgent and the time is now. Every one is called into ministry, serve God in your own way but the time is now.

Tags: ministry, Sermon