Effective Ministry is Dependent

February 28

(Acts 4:23-30 NIV) ““On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. {24} When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. {25} You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: "'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? {26} The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' {27} Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. {28} They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. {29} Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. {30} Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.””

Effective ministry is powered by a strong dependence upon God and His church. Peter and John gathered the church together, and went before the Lord in prayer. They were team players, not rugged individualists. They praised God for what He had done, and remembered His greatness. They asked for faith and strength to continue doing ministry. We don’t hear them asking for protection, or that God would spare them from the penalties of speaking the truth. They asked for the courage to fulfill their calling, regardless of what happened. They asked God to make them effective ministers, and to make them more visible, even though their lives had been threatened. They asked for boldness in preaching. This is the kind of prayer that can change a city, or even the world. And if we desire an effective ministry, this is the kind of prayer disciples should be praying today. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

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