Effective Ministry Requires Commitment

February 27

(Acts 4:19-20 NIV) ““But Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. {20} For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.””

(Acts 14:1-7 NIV) "At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. {2} But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. {3} So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs and wonders. {4} The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. {5} There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. {6} But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, {7} where they continued to preach the good news."

(Luke 19:37-40 NIV) ""When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: {38} "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" {39} Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" {40} "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.""

At some point, our commitment to Jesus and His message will be tested. If our commitment to sharing the Gospel has never been tested, it is likely we are not faithfully communicating the heart of Jesus. When we are tested, we have a choice to make -- we can fold like a card table or we can stand strong. Peter and John stood strong. They told the authorities, “We cannot help ourselves.” They could not stop talking about what they had seen and heard with Jesus. When we come to the point where we “cannot help ourselves”, God will give us courage for every situation and we will be empowered to tell people about what we’ve seen and heard. Effective ministry requires commitment. It will also take the Holy Spirit’s power to stand against the public pressure to silence our witness. But if we stand strong, we can have an effective ministry, and souls can be saved. Stand strong! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Effective Ministry Generates Resistance

February 26

(Acts 4:17-18 NIV)  “But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn these men to speak no longer to anyone in this name." {18} Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.”

(Acts 4:21a NIV) “After further threats they let them go.”

Effective ministry will generate some resistance. When you insist on publicly giving glory to Jesus Christ, praising and proclaiming His name outside of the church walls, you will meet with resistance. The resistance can come in being shunned. People may avoid you at work. Old friends stop coming around. You don’t receive all the party invitations you used to receive. Or the resistance may take on a more hostile nature. You may be confronted and told in no uncertain terms to shut up about this Jesus stuff. You may even be threatened with bodily harm. This is what happened to Peter and John. But they remained faithful and continued to speak the truth in love. Every believer with an effective ministry will face resistance. Remain faithful! The resistance we face pales in comparison to being beaten beyond recognition and nailed to a cross. Remain faithful and some will be saved. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day   

Effective Ministry = Visible Fruit

February 25

(Acts 4:14-16 NIV) ““But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. {15} So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. {16} "What are we going to do with these men?" they asked. "Everybody living in Jerusalem knows they have done an outstanding miracle, and we cannot deny it.””

(Acts 4:21b NIV) “They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened.”

(Luke 3:4-6 NIV) ““As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. {5} Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. {6} And all mankind will see God's salvation.””

Effective ministry bears visible fruit that brings glory to God. People are saved. People are baptized. People are healed. People’s lives are visibly changed so that everyone can see what has happened. God doesn’t do these things so we can feel special or get puffed up -- God does it so we will give Him glory and people will look up. God doesn’t change our lives just so we can live better. God changes our lives so we can give Him glory and be His witnesses. When Peter healed the crippled beggar, everybody knew that God had done something really big. The religious leaders couldn’t ignore it because everyone was praising God for what they had seen. If our changed lives don’t cause people to praise God for what has happened, we have probably been hiding our miracle. Why would we want to do that? Effective ministry bears visible fruit that brings glory to God. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Unschooled and Ordinary

February 24

(Acts 4:13 NIV) "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”

(Acts 2:41-47 NIV)  "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. {42} They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. {43} Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. {44} All the believers were together and had everything in common. {45} Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. {46} Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, {47} praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

The apostles were not highly educated like the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin, but they had an effective ministry. They had no letters following their names, but they had been with Jesus and they had courage. With these godly credentials, they literally changed the world. Education is not the most important factor in effective ministry. Churches that value academic degrees over gifting and calling have forgotten Acts 4:13. Courageous, unschooled, ordinary men, who had been with Jesus, planted churches that grew in number daily. When you couple a close relationship with Christ to a courageous heart, you have a potent combination for effective ministry. Have you been with Jesus? Would anyone look at your life and take note that you have been with Jesus? Are you courageous in sharing your faith? This is how “unschooled, ordinary” Christians change the world. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day