Want to become more effective in your ministry efforts?

Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him.  Mark 3:7 NLT

How do you become effective in your ministry for Jesus?  There is a little or maybe big principle hidden with this verse.  I have been memorizing sections of Mark for the last six months.  It has been wonderful to catch some “manna” from even a simple verse like this.

To me this was just a connecting verse that gets repeated several times.  Jesus goes into the Synagogue and out to the sea of Galilee at just about every event.  So I use this verse as a marker for the timeline of his ministry and what is about to take place next in the story.  I did not feel much inspiration from this verse.

Then God began talking to me.  How did Jesus grow in his ministry? My answer was his miracles. In fact the next verse says that the news about his miracles had spread far and wide and vast number of people came to see him.  So one principle for growth is the movement of God in your ministry.  Not just busyness, but doing God’s business.  Others will begin talking about how God is moving within your ministry.  Pray for salvations to occur…people love talking about “new babies being born”.  This is also not limited to miracles of healing…although pray often for them to occur.  People will talk about any event that is God inspired, you just need to vocalize ALL the credit to Him.

BUT the main principle is even more primitive than Jesus doing miracles.  As I woke up this morning I felt God ask me, “Why did large crowds follow Jesus?”  I replied to Him, “the miracles”?  “No!  It was because Jesus was following my lead to the next place I wanted Him to be.”  If Jesus had gone to the mountains, the crowd would not have been able to follow...but he went to the lake.  This was exactly where God needed him to be in order for the large crowd's to find him.  God’s provision, your next big event, sermon, service opportunity, participation in church, and even going to work or school every day has the opportunity for impact when you are following His lead. 

Jesus said my sheep hear my voice and they follow me.  He leads them in and out to pasture.  God will bring that which is necessary in your life…as you follow Him.  We are more important than the birds of the air, the flowers in the field and He will take care of us.  Trust that your activities are in agreement with following Him, and he will bring the crowds, provision, wisdom, growth, effectiveness, or whatever is needed or lacking for Him to fulfill that which is pleasing in His sight in your life. 

We should focus on “being” where God wants us next, then let Him bring the crowds.  Trust that He will bring people.  In the story of Ruth, she returned home to Bethlehem, because she heard that there was bread again.  May God allow His “manna” to be at the core of all you do.  There are hungry people looking for the bread of life and many thirsty people looking for the true living water which is Jesus.  Let’s always offer the real thing.

How then shall we live....while we are waiting

How then shall we live…while we are waiting?

So now, come back to your God. Act with love and justice, and always depend on him. Hosea 12:6 NLT

When I was growing up there was something unique that happened while shopping in Kmart stores- the Blue Light Special.  “Shoppers, shoppers we have a blue light special in homewares for the next 5 minutes.”  When you arrived in homewares there would be a line of people waiting to get the discounted items before the time ran out. 

How should you act while you were waiting?  Some complained that they were too slow in getting to the line.  Some were evaluating the worth of waiting for the valued item.  Some complained that there should be a different way to distribute the items. Some were trying to figure out where the next blue light special was going to take place.  But all had to wait some length of time in order to receive the merchandise.

Hosea provides a straight forward instruction for us to follow while we are waiting on God.  First, our lives have to turn or return to God as the provider of all things.  In this passage, Hosea has been figuratively referring to Jacob and Ephraim as depending on their own strength and looking for idols to meet their needs.  Repentance means that we acknowledge we have been living life in our own strength, but now we look to God. Where there is no turning – there is no repentance. We are just continuing to walk in our old path of living with new ways of thinking.  Good thoughts are not repentance. Turning requires first a broken and contrite heart that we violated God’s path for our lives and then lifestyle actions reflecting our decision to turn.

Second, and probably the most instructive about what to do while we are waiting (living daily life), we are to keep covenant and justice.  The phrase “act with love“ is the Hebrew word “hesed” which is the most intimate term of covenantal relationship that we share with God.  Hosea is saying that above all guard, watch, keep, preserve, maintain, have actions in your life that nurture this love relationship with God as the primary activity in your life.  Going to church each week is just showing up to the game. We need to daily worship, pray, read his word, talk with God, obey his voice, let Him be involved in EVERY arena of your life.  When you do this, you are beginning to keep hesed. This is a rich word in the OT and worth more study.

Hosea also says that we should guard or act with justice.  Intimacy with God (hesed) leads to following his ways of living (doing justice).  He has provided his judgments that help us know how to conduct our affairs of living personally but more importantly with others.  God wants us to interact with people that reveal that we are living by a higher standard of conduct(God’s).  This just means that we should be involved in our work, neighborhood, communities and city in such a way that invites God’s kingdom life upon us.  We spread blessing in our words and actions. Jesus walked and lived among us and revealed much of the hypocrisy that was hidden to us in the way we treat people.  God wants us to be involved with his justice while we are waiting.

Finally, Hosea tells us that we need to wait or depend on the Lord.  What in your life are you waiting on God to fulfill? Family salvation, financial breakthrough, vocational opportunities, physical healing, or direction for your life are struggles that we all face while waiting on God to act.  While you are waiting….act in love and justice.