POWER FOR EFFECTIVE MINISTRY

Isaiah 10:15 ESV

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!

Where do we get the power for effectiveness in ministry?  Jesus knew.  You might remember when Jesus walked the dusty road from Galilee toward the Jordan intent upon being baptized by John.  The scripture reads, “John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented and when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:14-17 (ESV).  Now gang, John was not wrong about Jesus.  Jesus truly had all the right to be the baptizer, not the baptizee.  But even Jesus depended on someone didn’t he?  He looked to The Father.   He knew that apart from the Father his effectiveness would be squashed.  Perhaps this is the message God was trying to convey to the nation of Assyria when he prompts the prophet to ask, “Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood! You see, Assyria is a mere tool in the hand of God as are we.  Friends, God is always pleased with humility and dependence!  This is what Jesus himself was commended for!  So let me ask it again.  Where does the power for effectiveness in ministry come?  How about effectiveness as a husband, wife, friend, father or mother?  Jesus knows.  And so, for that reason, Jesus humbled himself not just before the Father but also before John.  He said, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting.” And he was baptized as a sign of dependence to Him who truly gives all the power for every good thing.  And God said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”   Amen.

Shane

SERVING

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)

Truer words have never been spoken.  Jesus reminded his followers of this when he said…

“Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

“Then those ’sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me-you did it to me.’

Matthew 25:34-40 (The Message)

As far back as the Old Testament and at the dawn of the New Testament Jesus equates the love that we share with those in need with the love we have for him in the most literal way.

For that reason, it’s an honor for me to announce a service project in which we get to love Jesus by loving and helping a Fresno church in their time of need.

New Light for New Life church in Southwest Fresno needs volunteers to help with an “Extreme Church Makeover.”  We need skilled and non-skilled help with drywall, plumbing, painting, electrical, and landscaping.  This project will begin Monday July 26 and continue all that week with “Big Saturday” work days on July 31 and August 1st.  Check out the insert in your bulletin for all the details!

Thank you for all you do to make NorthPointe Church a reflection of Jesus’ love!

Blessings,

Shane

OPPORTUNITY

Genesis 15:5-6 (ESV) - ⁵ And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” ⁶ And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Whenever I read about the call of Abram I get a sense of opportunity and vision. God’s saying to Abram, “I’m going to do more through you than you’ve dared imagine”! Of course, that’s nothing new to our Lord. God is always in the business of moving his people upward and onward, frontward and forward.   I was reminded once again of this through an e-mail that Pastor Steve sent to one of our prayer teams. It reads:

“Last weekend I was conscious of how the Holy Spirit can really impact people through our services. I noticed a big 30 something guy who appeared to be touched by the message. He was still lingering in his seat a good 10 minutes after the service was over and was obviously in deep thought/prayer. The moment I noticed him and started moving to finish up something I was doing so I could head over and talk to him, Rick Payne, who heads up our Lounge ministry went up to him and began speaking with him. A few moments later they headed off toward the Lounge for further talk and prayer.  I was proud of the sensitivity and good work Rick and his team are doing, but also sensitive to how the Lord can really impact people deeply in our worship.”

Rick, later sent an e-mail that sheds some more light on what happened. He wrote:

“It’s funny how God uses us, its not one person doing all the work, it’s the whole body of Christ working together.  I was in the Lounge just finishing up when Brad Gage came in to let me know there was a man still in his chair that looks like he needed someone to talk to. As I was going over to talk to him my brothers were going into the Lounge to pray for another brother going through a rough time. I walked over to the man and asked him if he was ok and he said no, then he started weeping, he said he was broken and at his end. I asked if he was a Christian he told me that he was raised in a Christian home and his dad was a Pastor. This allowed me to know how to connect with him and remind him of the promises of God that He has for His children. The man said he had just gotten out of the hospital due to a stroke and his wife was divorcing him. He was truly a broken man at his end!! I took him into the lounge and saw my brothers in prayer, Big D, bald headed Mike and Wilson. I talked and Prayed with him then I introduced him to the brothers so they could minister to him.  We actually got him to smile. We let him know he was not alone, we put our hands on him and each of us prayed for him, and as we were praying he collapsed to his knees sobbing. This was his first time to NorthPointe, he said he was in Kingsburg an hour and half ago just driving around. We exchanged phone #’s and invited him to the Men’s Truth Project group we are involved in. We also let him know that we would love to have him come back to church. He came to church the following Sunday and connected with the guys and got to talking about when we prayed over him and stated that he felt many more hands on him than were there. That’s how God works; He gives you nuggets to hold onto!!  The man told me that the songs Todd and the worship team sang deeply touched him and the Message was talking directly to him.”

It’s a powerful God working through a yielded person that makes lasting change.  Keep believing God for what he can do through you through your life!  For the Scripture readings, ^“And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness. ”

Have a blessed week!

Shane

ACTS (5/16/10)

John 13:34-35 (ESV)
³⁴ A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Acts 6:1-6 (ESV)
¹ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.  ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables.  ³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.  ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”  ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.  ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

Philippians 1:1 (ESV)
¹ Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons:

Romans 16:1 (GW)
¹ With this letter I’m introducing Phoebe to you. She is our sister in the Christian faith and a deacon of the church in the city of Cenchrea.

Ephesians 6:21 (GW)
²¹ I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother and a faithful deacon in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me so that you will know how I’m getting along.

1.  The “Deacon” is both Biblical and Valuable.

Acts 13:5 (KJV)
⁵ And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister.

2 Timothy 1:16 (ESV)
¹⁶ May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,

Acts 19:22 (KJV)
²² So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a season.

2. The Deacon is measured by Character over Competence.

1 Timothy 3:8-12 (ESV)

“Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11 Their wives likewise must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. 12 Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well.”

• Dignified, Not Double Tongued
• Not a Drunk
• A Devout Believer
• Not for Everyone Immediately
• Measured by their Personal life more than their Public life.

1 Timothy 3:13 (ESV)

“For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.”

Colossians 4:7 (GW)
^“I’m sending Tychicus to you. He is our dear brother, trustworthy deacon, and partner in the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening to me.”

3.  The Deacon Gains External and Internal Rewards.

1 Timothy 3:13 (ESV)
¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

God’s Sanctuary

1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (Montgomery NT)

Do you not know what you are, God’s sanctuary, and that the Spirit of God is dwelling within you?  If any one tears down God’s sanctuary, God will tear him down; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.

I have to admit something to you, I don’t think about it nearly enough.  How about you?  Ok then, do me a favor.  Read the scripture above once more.  But this time, let God have his way with you.  Quiet your heart and still your mind.  (Pause for Reading)

Well, did you do it? Ok, now, consider the implications.  First, you’re not alone.  Ever!  This is what Jesus was talking about when he said, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” God is always there with you, making his dwelling inside of you.  Now, that should hit to the heart of your loneliness.

Second, speaking to the church, this is not so much a statement about what you do, as it is an acknowledgment about who you are.  You are a house for the Holy Spirit.  You are his address, his property, his space.  He’s got the pink slip, the property agreement, and the owners manual.  So, with that said, how are you treating his property?  Could this be the heart of what the Apostle Paul was getting to when he wrote these words?  He goes on, speaking to the church, “If any one tear down God’s sanctuary, God will tear him down; for the sanctuary of God is holy, and that is what you are.” I think it’s safe to say that God is serious about how we handle what’s his.

Finally, you are holy.  Not, “you can be holy” or “you should be holy” but YOU ARE HOLY!  Why?  Because you’re His sanctuary; and “…the sanctuary of God is holy and that is what you are”.  What an encouragement!  He has made you holy.  Now, if I can be so bold, live as he has made you!  If you are holy, be holy.  In other words, live in sync with who he has made you to be.  Does your life ever feel out of sync?  Maybe this is a clue.  God has intended for you to be his holy habitation.  Anything else is just clutter.  That’s why this week I’d like to invite you to join me in a little house cleaning.   Is there an offense to forgive, a sin to confess, a habit to break, a direction to follow?  If so, do it today and live as you’re meant to.

God bless you.       

Shane

Quote from Jesus taken from, John 14:16-17 (ESV)