MAXIMIZING EFFECTIVENESS IN MINISTRY

“MAXIMIZING EFFECTIVENESS IN MINISTRY”
SERVICE OF ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION OF OFFICERS
1 Timothy 4:11-16
Rev. Grady Davidson / 012912


On the occasion of ordaining and installing officers in the church, it’s always appropriate to give a charge from God’s Word to those who are taking on the mantle of ordained service. So this message in a special way is for the six who have been installed into the offices of Ruling Elder and Deacon this morning. But the message certainly isn’t for these 6 only. It’s for every single person among us who takes seriously your calling to follow Jesus Christ.
The subject in our text is “maximizing effectiveness in ministry.” In this epistle, the Apostle Paul is writing to Pastor Timothy in Ephesus, giving some words of instruction and encouragement about his service in the Ephesian church. This morning I want to take these same words, inspired by the Holy Spirit and speak them as encouraging words to the congregation concerning maximizing your effectiveness in your ministry, whatever shape or form that ministry may take.
Outline of the message…
v. 11-12: Be confident
v. 13-14 : Be focused
v. 15: Be diligent
v. 16: Be attentive
1. BE CONFIDENT (review vv. 11-12)
Not just here, but in several places in the epistle of 1st Timothy, the issue of age is mentioned. Over in chapter 5, the subject of how Timothy should relate to older men and older women in the church comes up. There were apparently a significant number of widows in the congregation as well. The picture we get is that Timothy was a relatively young man in a congregation with many older people. Just maybe, Timothy was dealing with a little verbal abuse or emotional bullying from the older crowd; because the Apostle says, “Don’t let ‘em do it! Don’t let them define you in terms of your age. You are God’s appointed pastor in that place. Do your ministry; don’t be intimidated; be confident!”
I’m reminded of a story that S. Brown tells; I can’t recall for sure, but I think it was in regard to the Miami Dolphins some years ago. A rookie player fresh out of college was bumped up to the NFL, and discovered as many athletes do that it’s a whole new game at that level. On the line, one of his opponents would always reach over and pull his helmet down over his eyes. The rookie went back to his coach whining: “That guy keeps face-masking me! Coach, help me!” The coach looked him in the eye and responded with 5 words: “Don’t let him do it!”
Our Lord Jesus went through the same thing. We read in Mark chapter 6,
2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
It always happens. As you seek to fulfill your calling, somebody’s going to look down on you for one reason or another. You can’t let it stop you. This congregation has called you to office. Hang onto that calling; and ask the Lord to give you the heart of a child, but the hide of a rhinoceros! Be confident – not “self-confident,” mind you – but confident that you have been called, nominated, ordained and installed into office in the church of Jesus Christ. As long as you are serving Him, He will back you up and in fact work through you. Be confident.
2. BE FOCUSED (review v. 13) “Timothy – be focused on the gospel ministry, the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ! Do not be distracted from that number one priority for your ministry!”
I imagine most everyone here this morning has taken a swim once or twice in the ocean, perhaps down on the Gulf Shore or the Grand Strand of South Carolina. If you’ve spent much time in the water, you’ve had the experience of drifting in the surf. Perhaps you set up an umbrella on the beach, and you went out to splash in chest-deep water just 10 yards out. A few minutes later you realize you’re still 10 yards out, but you’ve washed 25 yards to the left or right; you’re shocked to see your umbrella way back “up there!” Under those conditions you have to be aware of the tug and the pull of the surf; and you have to consciously steel yourself against it or you’ll end up a long way from home!
It’s the very same thing in the Christian ministry, and that’s what Paul is writing about in v. 13. The anchor, the center of ministry must always be the gospel of Jesus Christ. But once you’re out in the current of church ministry, and dealing with all the day-to-day and week-to-week “busyness” of the church, you might look up and find that there’s no “gospeling” (to coin a word) going on! Not that the church has rejected the gospel; but rather that the preaching and the study and relishing in the gospel has ceased to be the primary focus of the church! Other work and duties and responsibilities have tugged you away from the gospel.
Again, we see the issue come up immediately in the ministry of the Lord Jesus. Within the first couple of days of his public ministry, he was in a village where things were going great. Everyone was excited and happy. There was a huge spirit of celebration at work! Peter comes and finds Jesus praying and says, “Everyone is looking for you!” (Mark 1:37). (In other words, we’re staying here, right?) Jesus replies, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” Jesus was always looking for new places, new faces, and new opportunities to preach the gospel of the kingdom!
This is the reason that we’re doing the Gospel of Mark and Christianity Explored downstairs at 11:00 a.m. for the first half of the year. And that’s why henceforth every new person the Lord leads to LVPC will be strongly encouraged to do this foundational study of the Gospel!
To those who were installed into office this morning – I charge you to keep us focused upon the gospel. Be ruthless about it! Permit nothing to drag us away at LVPC from the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But notice also v. 14 (review). Timothy had some spiritual gift which the Holy Spirit imparted to him on the occasion of his ordination as Pastor of the Ephesian Church. Funny thing is, we don’t know what it was! But it was something unique in Timothy; something in his way of doing ministry that was glorifying to Jesus and faithful to the gospel and edifying to the church, but uniquely and wonderfully “Timothy”.
Likewise, for each of you installed this day, your ministry as you grow into it will have some sort of leading edge. (Examples: hospitality, intercessory prayer, healing prayer, visitation of shut-ins, counseling others, teaching, serving, organizing.) In the days and weeks to come, I’m going to be praying for you, that the Lord will help you to identify that leading edge for your ministry, so that you’ll not only be confident in your ministry but also focused in your ministry.
3. BE DILIGENT! (v. 15) It occurs to me that there are twin leeches which will latch onto you and sap you of all the life and energy you need to be diligent in your ministry. Those are the leeches of laziness and discouragement.
Let’s talk about laziness first. Once you are focused in your ministry, and you have a pretty good feel for the specific tasks which the Lord is calling you to do for Him, you put that in front of you and you keep it in front of you at all times. The Lord’s work comes first. I make no apology for saying that and expecting it of myself and each one of you.
So you take your knife and scrape off the leech of laziness, only to look on the other arm and see the leech of discouragement. The results aren’t what you hoped for or expected; every time you try to accomplish a specific task, you notice that weird things happen which bring additional pain or stress into your life. Last week I was praying for one of our WO missionary families in which every member of the family was simultaneously experiencing severe back pain! (Hello! Can anyone say, “Spiritual warfare”?)
So to those ordained this morning: you have set yourselves on the crosshairs of the enemy. He is real, and he does not want you to serve the Lord Jesus with any kind of confidence or enthusiasm or vigor. The best thing you can do is to expect some spiritual opposition to come, so that you are ready to raise up the shield of faith when it hits! Along with praying for you that you’ll identify your own focus in ministry, I’ll be praying that you’ll learn to discern spiritual warfare when it’s happening to you…. So that you will be encouraged and diligent in every task set before you. When your work is done, may you be able to say along with the Lord Jesus (John 17:4) “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” May you resonate with his words on Calvary’s cross, “It is finished.” May you be able to say along with the Apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Be confident, focused, diligent…
4. BE ATTENTIVE (review v. 16)
What are the two major areas to which we must always pay careful attention according to verse 16? (Life, and Doctrine)
Life: Who you are, really on the inside. It’s what you do when no one else is watching. It’s looking for integrity in the little things. It’s making sure that there’s no area of life that goes unexamined; and that there’s no one area of life which isn’t coming more and more under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Are there areas of your life in which you struggle? Of course! But minimally are you persevering in baby steps of growth even in those difficult areas? “Watch your life, and your doctrine, closely.”
Doctrine: What you believe about God and the world. Doctrine is more than “Bible knowledge.” Doctrine is how the whole message of the Bible fits together! Those installed: You affirmed this morning that you believe that the WCF contains the system of doctrine taught in scripture. By that you’re affirming that the Bible is more than a hodge podge collection of religious stories; that there is one over-arching message in the Bible, and in fact that the 35 chapters of the Confession of Faith contain that system of doctrine that is taught in Scripture. That’s a serious vow! Watch your life and doctrine closely!
When Jesus came to trial, he had lived such a thoroughly self-examined life that no one could say anything against Him! False witnesses came forward, but their comments were so patently silly that they gained no traction at all.
I close with this. One day, each of us will stand before the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. God has appointed Jesus as Judge of all the earth on that final day. To those who have rejected Him, Jesus will declare them guilty – and justly so – and drive them away into eternal damnation. To all who have received Jesus Christ by faith and repentance, God credits to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself. That’s good news! We stand on his goodness! His goodness saves us, and not our own.
And yet, even for Christians, we will each stand before the judgment seat of Christ… and there he will bestow awards to us based upon the quality of our lives lived for Him!
On that day may Jesus say to you.. and you… “Come and enjoy your great reward, for you have watched your life and your doctrine closely.”
Amen.