Foundations of Leadership VII, Ministering Effectively From the Word of God

All right, hold it longer. Let's just let them sing. Go ahead. Holy Lord of all is he Commander in chief Bring us to attention Lead us into battle to crush the enemy for he has no authority here in this place he has no authority here for this habitation was destined for the Lord's presence no authority Mighty warrior dressed for battle Holy Lord of God is he Commander in chief Bring us to attention Lead us into battle to crush. The enemy. For he has no authority here in this place he has no authority. We're gonna sing. Sing it again, beloved. But this is the only song we're going to sing right now. And I specifically chose it. Put it back again, Paul, please. For the strength of this last phrase. For he has no authority here Nothing gets so important to us as we come before the Lord. Don't you that he has no authority to blind our eyes to the truth of God's word. He has no authority to sow discord he has no authority to be the accuser of the brethren one to another. He has no authority to deceive us from fulfillment in the truth of the word tonight. And we're going to focus on that as we sing again. And just believe the Holy Spirit. Just to begin to drive out anything tonight that would prevent you from walking in a real anointing of God. Are you for that? Let's sing it from the beginning again. Mighty warrior just for battle Holy Lord always. Lead us into battle to crush the enemy for he has no authority here in this place he has no authority here for this limitation was measured for he has no authority for he has no authority here in this place he has no authority Hallelujah. Sing it again. He has no authority here Put it on your heart. He has no authority here in this place he has no authority here for this habitation or session for the Lord's presence no authority Come extend your hands for he has no authority he has no authority here in this place he has no authority King for this sation was measured for the Lord's presence no authority Mighty warrior dressed for battle Only Lord of all is he Commander in chief Bring us into battle to cast the enemy for he has no work for. Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah. Oh, Lord, Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Blessed be the name of our God Blessed be the name of our God Hallelujah, Father. Praise the name of our God. Oh, Jesus, hear this band tonight. Father, we pray tonight that you would grant us a great liberty in our hearts as we share the things that you've been teaching us. Concerning faith, Lord, concerning that which we, by virtue of the conquest that you've called us to in our hearts, Lord, would receive by grace, through faith, Lord, concerning this ministry, Lord, this very assembly tonight and this very place in which we meet, Father, we believe you now to move among us as we share our hearts and to cause there to be a knitting together, not just an exchange of information, Lord, but an appreciation, one for another, Father, of the nature of the partnership of faith in which we've entered together. Lord, just bless us and give us a freedom and a liberty, Lord, cause each one to be included not just in the flesh, but in the spirit, Father, as we share now in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Go and be seated. We're going to come back in the conclusion of this evening. We have some things that we really need to pray about tonight. So we're going to conclude with a time of prayer and intercession and spiritual. You're going to be ready for that. Okay? Hallelujah. Spiritual engagement. Praise the Lord. Good to see everybody, isn't it? If you're near someone that looks tired, just give them a shoulder rub and. Tell them. All right, If you had 17 or 18 hands on, you know, you look pretty bad. Would you go ahead? In just a minute, get in your ministry groupings, and we're going to do, as we said last week, share the specific nature of the faith goals that you worked out this last week. I know you did that. And if you didn't, if you didn't just turn in your notebook and things right up here. Can you imagine failing the course one week from graduation? The longer we go week by week together, beloved, the more convinced I am that this is one area in particular of growth that we must embrace, we must pursue, because the enemy has just held the church in just such powerlessness in this realm of faith and moving ahead in specific ways by faith. And I'm just excited about it because I know the Lord's teaching many of us some specific things. So in your circles, what you'll do is you'll just share here is one of my goals and maybe share why it is and what you're going to do in order to see it fulfilled. And I'm sure that each of you will have several be jotting them down so that one of the byproducts is you can be praying for each other so that if Gene shares two or three of his faith goals, that hopefully there are four or five in that group will be praying for Gene, that God would move in Power. And that's going to become the basis of some accountability and in future weeks. All right, so we'll do that now. The deacons are going to join us a little later. They're about to collapse on Sunday morning. So we gave them a very slight dispensation for the first 45 minutes of the meeting and they're going to join with us. At the risk of setting up a seven o' clock service just for them, if they don't on Sunday mornings, how would that be? So we want them in here with us and be praying that they get done as well. Any questions? I won't use any more time. Take a good 35 or 40 minutes and do this right. All right. If you have a question, let's say Jay, for example, shares something that's really vague, like, well, my faith goal is just to feel better about God. That'd be hard to do for Jay, but we want that to take on a practical sense. And so you challenge it. If it seems really vague to you in love, say, hey, I want to be able to pray for you. And I won't know whether you feel better about God or not. Jay, how would you know? Well. Okay, that was one of his goals, you know, While I feel better about God, you'll know. Come on, you're done. That's it. Take it away. Here, he has two printed pages over here. Okay. Anyhow, you know what I'm saying? Be specific because it really matters very little how many of you work in an environment where you're required to come up with some specifics. If you walked in and handed in. Well, I think we're going to, you know, we're going to produce a bunch of widgets next year. Bunches just don't make it in terms of goals. Right. All right, take the next 30. We'll be back together. Just so you can plan on it at 8:30 sharp. All right. Go where you were last week and someone will be there that you know. I hope. I have no fear in me by his word Death cannot swallow me by his word I have prosperity by his word Sickness can dwell in me by his words I walk in victory by his word. I've been saved so I'll sing it once again let's stand by. His word, I have no fear Spirit. Death cannot swallow me by his word I have prosperity by his word. Sickness. Can dwell with me by his word I was by his word. Let'S sing it once more. Singing by your word by your word. I have no fear in me by your Word, death cannot swallow me. By your word, I have prosperity. By your word. By your word, I walk in victory. By your word, I've been set free. By your Word, I've been set free. By your Word, I've been set free. Hallelujah. Oh, Father God. Oh, Jesus, how true that is, Lord. Hallelujah. Lord, we do right now confess that your word has, is, and will forever set us free. Father. We bless you, Lord. Lord, we pray tonight that a real revelation of the extent, Lord, of the magnitude of that freedom would be ours. As we share your word now, Lord, as we look together to the word of life and find a feeding time of our spirits, Lord, just direct us together, Lord, and cause faith to arise toward these things which we've shared in these circles, Lord, to complete that which you've begun in us by faith, Father. O Lord, we walk in victory. Lord, by your word, we've been set free. Praise your name, Jesus. Everyone said amen. Praise the Lord. All right. Okay, brothers, lots of outlines. How many of you found that working through these faith goals in your ministry circles was testing? It was not that easy to do. Anybody? Oh, wonderful. Pastoring spiritual giants has always been my heart's desire. 90 people have no problem making faith goals. Fred, we need to go. We need to get a group of people that need lead here. I don't know about this. This is great. Really. Did you find it challenging? How many people came up with at least a couple really tangible faith goals? Anybody? Several. Good, good. Roy, can you tell us one? You had your hand up last, so you get to. Can you give us one? Yeah. It's an area of personal finances. We're struggling. A couple years ago, my wife and I bought a house, very nice house we've been looking at for a long, long time. 10 years tough, but we felt we could swing it. But then we had to put our youngest daughter back at a private school because public school just not cutting it for her. My wife decides she wants to go to college. So now I have four people in private school that just. Right now it's just a real burden between the two of us. Plus paying the bills. A little tough at times, too, but just it's sort of been a burden. Burden for the two of us. I believe the Lord. It was very interesting because one of the things I think has been staying in the way is that we had not really thanked the Lord for where we were. And thanks to Fred's talk last Sunday when we were driving home, both of. Us. Recognized that we hadn't. We just Started thanking the lord for where we were. I just believe that's the first step in solving the problem for us. Praise the lord. All right, well, I trust that those of you who met in that group will be praying for that. How about one more in a ministry sense, who had a ministry goal, faith goal that they could share? Bea, one of the. We've been getting some small groups of teenagers underway, a goal that's measurable and attainable. And we'll pray with Blaine in that. I hope all of you had things like this. What? By faith? By faith. That's right. It's a faith goal. It's out there where I trust God's put that in Blaine's heart. Remember all these things last week we talked about? You just don't make up numbers or dates or people. God plants them in your heart. And that's really what brings us to the study tonight about the word. And I know we could talk a lot more about your faith goals, but I want to just get through this material tonight and allow us a little bit of time to pray about this very specific situation here regarding the building and so on. Y' all get an outline, Turn to Hebrews 5. And follow along as we read here in verse 11. Okay, Hebrews 5. 11. About this we have much to say, which is hard to explain since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of God's word. You need milk, not solid food. For everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and a faith toward God with instruction about ablutions, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. I'm going to just briefly tonight, and I know that most likely will raise as many questions as I'll answer concerning how to minister effectively in the word. I expect that most all of us recognize that we are a bible believing church that will put you in safe company when you're having fellowship with the baptists and most other people who are really concerned as evangelicals about the word of God. We believe the word of God. We believe the word of God is inerrant, that is without error, that it's God's rule of faith and practice. And you will not ever come to perceive fully the importance of the Word of God as the power of your ministry until you believe. A couple of things I'm going to say right now. That is that the Word of God is the word of life. That there really is no ministry of lasting, abiding value apart from the Word of God. First, John 1:1 says, this is the word of life that we're going to describe to you. And we've seen him and we've touched him, and we say to you that this is the Son of God that was sent into the world. John in his Gospel, the gospel of John 1:1 said in the beginning was the Word the Logos, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word of God is incarnated in Jesus Christ and is absolutely inseparable from this written word. If you begin to accept the postulate that somehow you can have ministry apart from the Word on the basis of your knowledge or your appeal or your doctrinal pedigrees and so on, you will find yourself planting a lot of fleshly seeds. And you know how you can tell what you're ministering? Look back on it two years later. Look back on the home group that you've led two years later, and you'll get an idea what you're imparting there. Look back on a cell group that you're part of. Look back on a ministry that you've been involved in, and you'll see what you're really imparting. We have nothing to leave with people beloved, except the Word of God. There is no ministry apart from the Word. When Paul was about to leave the Ephesian elders, remember what he said in that moving scene where they wept and kissed his neck because they weren't going to see him again? He said, now I leave you to the word of his grace. I leave you, I entrust you to the word of his grace that that Word will fulfill in you the completion of the maturity that I began in you some years before. And we don't have anything else to give people but the word of grace. I know in my ministry there's a temptation because we have so much out there, don't we? Concerts and speakers of this and doing of that and youth ministry. I know it's easy to get really caught up, and a lot of activities, I had that same inclination. You know, it's just out there. You need to be doing things with kids. But I found that in youth ministry, just as in any other ministry, that's what you do. And you don't minister the word of God, what you'll end up with is a bunch of kids who maybe have friendships and enjoy getting around together. Two years down the road, they've departed the faith. They're not really. They never really were secure in Jesus. You have nothing to give except the word of God. That's why Isaiah 55:11, thy word, the word that God sends forth will not return void. And that's the promise that we have of that. That's why Paul exhorted Timothy to prove yourself a workman, rightly dividing the word of truth, because that was the key to an effective, abiding ministry. And that's why Jesus said, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you will and it shall be given to you. That's why he said in John chapter 8, verse 32, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. The word of God is truth. Abide in my word. Continue in my word. John 8, 32 says, continuing in my word. So forgiveness, sanctification, consecration. Write these things down. Endurance. This is all in the introduction. Forgiveness, sanctification, consecration, endurance, victory, spiritual warfare. Forgiveness, sanctification, consecration. That's devotion to the Lord. Endurance, victory, spiritual battle, the weapons of our war. All these things are dependent on how faithful and true you are in ministering the Word of God. And most especially tonight, letter C there, the Word is closely linked with faith. For we know that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. There's a lot of other scriptures to reinforce that principle, beloved. But unless the Word of God is central to your faith goals, they're just wishful thoughts. Unless you have the Word to focus on Blaine toward that goal that you shared, it'll just be a wishful thought. The Word is living and active. That's what's going to make that faith goal come alive in your heart and enable you to reach out and receive that, to honor the Lord. Now, I just need to say again, there's no point in going through the next three steps quickly unless you believe what I'm saying, that we have no ministry that's not based in the Word. We don't have anything to give people but the Word of God. It's the Word of life. All right. And I'm going to. When I conclude, I think you'll see how this ties together. Now, because you have the outline there, you're at a great advantage. You know, it's almost like a team that Goes out and gives the players the playbook. Right. And so you know where I'm going with this tonight. But how many of you were kind of expecting when you saw what the teaching was going to be, that I was going to give you seven steps to putting together a teaching or six ways that you can make people stand up and cheer when you bring a word or something like that? Right. Methods are not unimportant and we all need those little kinds of helps. But you know, when I was. When I was before the Lord, it was. The Lord just made clear to me that unless we grasp a few very basic things here, all the methodology is just so much rubbish. It just won't amount to anything unless you get these few basic points. And I just submit them to you for your prayerful consideration. The first one. And they all point to one thing, which I'll wrap up with. But hearing the word for the people to whom you're ministering, I'm talking about. Listen, if you don't have a ministry, I'm talking about your family, okay? I'm talking about when you fathers sit down with your kids to have a little time before God together. I'm talking about any application you want to make. I see a brother here I know has a Bible study at work. He has. How many is it, Jack? Eight or ten. Where are you? I just saw you a minute ago, Jack Mays. How many guys come to your Bible study? 11. All right, 11 guys at work meet with Jack. Wherever you apply this. Unless you hear the word of the Lord for your people, you'll never be effective. How many of you have listened to eloquent teaching that never really got into your spirit because all it really was was just general out there kind of stuff God can take. You can tune in a radio program, you know, and listen to somebody from. Generally, they're from California or Florida. Ever notice that? I'm just, you know, it's inevitable, folks, right? All of us will be there eventually in the happy farms down there, roving around, sharing. But it really is a. You can tune in and certainly glean some things. But I believe it's because it's to the degree to which those men and women have been before the Lord and are faithful to their ministries. But likewise, you can sit and hear a lot of teaching. It never, ever gets past your head because it's not God's word. It's not his quickened word for that people. Now here we are talking about small groups. Maybe you're only discipling one person, but I want you to know that to be effective in communicating the Word, you have to hear what God's saying for that person. How many of you, when you get together with someone that you're seeking to grow up in the Lord, well, let's just get together and talk. That's okay once in a while. But if you want to see that person growing, taking steps of faith maturing, you better ask the Lord. Lord, what is your word to that person? What word, not just what Bible verse can I lay on, but what is the word of the Lord for that person? What does God want to quicken from his eternal word for that person, Jesus? You know it's said of him that he turn to John 5 and underline this in case you've forgotten it, Do this right here. John 5. Look at verse 19. Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever he does that the Son does likewise. Verse 24, Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes who sent me, and him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but is passed from death to life. I've said, and I know you've all heard the truth, that Jesus didn't go out and just start talking. He only did. He only did what he saw the Father doing. And another scripture that's just coming to my mind as I'm sharing this, I may not be able to put my finger on it immediately. The Scripture also says, John 12:49, look at this. This one will set you back about six yards. Verse 48 and 49. 12:48. He who rejects me and does not receive my sayings, the word that I have spoken will be his judge in the last day. Now listen to this. For I have not spoken on my own authority. The Father who sent me has Himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore I say as the Father has bid me. Would you underline that? What I say, therefore I say as the Father has bidden me. I stand before you as a pastor and a teaching ministry. And I say that word humbles my heart. When the Lord Jesus Himself didn't just in all of his wisdom and all of his perfect character, when he didn't just go out and just start sharing. I want you to know tonight I feel responsibility. Do you feel responsibility? If Jesus only spoke what the Father gave him to speak, how much more do we have that same burden to fulfill. Does that humble you? Like it humbles me. How many times have we just sort of made it up tonight for home group? Geez, they're going to be here in 10 minutes. You know what laughing is. Right? Please underline that and ask God. Just. That's not condemnation. It's a challenge that this stuff is so vital. Now do you see in Jesus life, why was he able to say that? What did he do that we know we should do and usually don't? He went with God. He said, father, I'm going to be with hundreds and hundreds of people today. What do you want me to say to him? Up and let her see there. Beloved, you only hear what the Father wants to say if you take time to be with him. Let me ask you right now, what prevents you from hearing what Father is saying for you to share? Not just time. We know none of us have enough time. Funny. You know, I'm sure the Lord's going to talk to us about that someday. You know, all that time we thought we didn't have that. We ended up. But what blocks your. What obstacles do you have to hearing. All right, Carl, give us one. In my own life, the intensity of my own thought to come up with what I think is good for the group. Okay, Your own desire. Let's think this through here. Now, what should I do? What would be good for him as opposed to sitting back? Alright, I identify with that. Carl's saying he wants so much to do what's right in a sense. He almost wants to evaluate it based on what he sees. And he doesn't really give the Lord a neutral slate. Ever have that problem? Do you ever have such a desire for a group of people that you want to write on the slate instead of just erasing it and letting the Lord you say, well, how does the Lord do that? Does he. Well, he'll quicken the word. He'll make as you just get before him and say, lord, make it alive to me. He'll show you. He'll cause things to jump off. What else is a block? Just two or three more. Jay. Mental preoccupations with any number. But I think, all right, isn't it hard to hear when you feel like, you know, it's i95 right inside your head, you know, know on Friday evening, just. You just have traffic. You have so much going on in your head that you just can't. How many. When you take time away with the Lord, how many of you find that it takes you at least an hour Just to tune out. And if you try to drive, you know, when I go away to be with the Lord, which I try to do every week, and you pray for me, because it usually happens, but it doesn't always. That first hour I found when I tried to dive in there and be, you know, Mr. God man in that first hour, coming in with my super cape on, here I am. It was a wash. Because the first hour I just had to get, you know, first thing I had to do was stop bringing the newspaper in, you know, I had to. And I began to realize that first hour, I might as well just sing, you know. That would drive out everything that wasn't of God, that's for sure. I cleared my mind and allowed the Holy Spirit to speak. You'll never hear if you have that clutter. Give me one more thing. Disobedience. Not wanting to hear what he has to say to you. Okay, no doubt about that. If you don't want to hear, God's real gentle that way. Gives you what you want. Alright, you have one more. Condemnation. Condemnation. Well, I haven't been there with you, Lord, for the last two weeks, but I'd like to hear right now. And then suddenly you realize, oh golly, if I were God, I wouldn't have a thing to say to you, right? And you know, the enemy will really play on that. Please remember that you have access to the throne of grace based on one thing. What is it? Blood of Jesus. There's probably 15 more obstacles and you know what they are. But the main thing is you've got to give God time. How many of you believe that there is enough time, it's just a matter of doing it. I believe that many of you, many of you have lots of responsibilities and you're all quote, busy people. But beloved, if we call ourselves leaders, if we call ourselves men and women of responsibility to this body, then we need to be before God to hear what he's saying to the people that he's given us charge over. Let me just say, finally, your hearing is progressive. Notice back and just remember, you don't have to turn back there. But in Hebrews 5, what did it say about hearing and our faculties for hearing? Okay, they were dulled. And what makes them sharp? Practicing, I think. How many of you have found that it's the more you listen to God, the easier it is to hear Him. The more you give God of your uncluttered attention, the easier it is to discern when it's his voice and when it's somebody else. And you know what's a blessing about that? Therefore you'll find it easier and easier to hear God for a people. Because the Lord I know when we get to heaven and the Lord shows us the replay, we're going to be amazed at how many words were proceeding from heaven for us. I don't believe God's up there just saying, well, you know, I might give them one this week or I might speak to you once. I just think God is a speaking God. He constantly wants to communicate, he wants his heart to be known, his revelations pouring out of God. Folks, we are the problem. And if we'll just tune in and tune out, all the God will speak to us. Now, how many of you can think of one application of what I'm talking about? One person that you share with, one group that you teach that needs to hear a word from the Lord. I'm saying I want you to know this is so important. If there's just one person, maybe you don't have a ministry at all. You're just loving somebody. Can you see the benefit of loving them with a word from God? The word of the Lord for them. Alright, quickly, number two, Roman numeral two. The second key to effectiveness on ministering the word is to meditate on it. Once the Lord leads you in scripture, once he quickens scripture to you to teach on it, to share, meditate on it. What does meditation mean? What does it mean to meditate? Someone give me a nice unspiritual definition. Like a cow chewing its cud. There you go. Just sits in there and every. Notice when a cow does that, it just, you know, it doesn't look real spiritual, does it? Huh? It just blinks its eyes and moves its head around and it doesn't think a whole lot about it. Al, I think the Hebrew root for meditation means to mutter. Okay, Al said the Hebrew, Just saying the Hebrew word for meditation means to mutter. Okay, I'll stay away from that one. Go ahead. And it goes into one stomach and then they regurgitate it. That is gross. But go ahead, put it into another stomach and that's how it becomes milk. And that's kind of like meditation. You receive it the first time and you bring it back and rework it, rethink it. That's right, that's right. And could it be maybe instead of stomachs, but we can use, you know, it comes in to our mind and into our spirit and then back to our mind and back out of our mouth. You know, that's sort of a back and forth thing. Meditation isn't some big weird thing where you have to space out and sit, you know, with your legs folded up underneath you. Well, some of us have that impression, you know. How many of you were kind of brought into a fear of meditation by all the abuses you've heard of? Yeah, I've seen a lot of stuff that I wouldn't want to touch, but there's meditating on the Word. Oh, that's life. Not so much recently, but boy, for a number of years when I was in college and right out of college in seminary, a group of guys that I put up with me as a young disciple made me put three by five cards in my shirt pocket, you know. And one way they encouraged me to learn the Word was to say, you know, pull out your three by five and give it to me and tell me what's on it. And that was just a great way to meditate on the Word. And when I was, you know, sitting in class not wanting to listen, I'd bring up my three by five card. Whenever you have some free time. Now again, that's a little thing. Some people here, you'd be changed if you would just do that little thing. Carry scripture in you all the time meditating on the Word. I have a lot of Write down Joshua 1:8. You all know that scripture. Oh boy, do you all know that scripture. There is one person that doesn't know. We've got to read it to them. Ok, that's one. This is. Here it comes. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night. That you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous and then you shall have good success. Meditate on that word day and night, will you? Now again, I'm talking about as the Lord quickens a specific word. Say it's Monday evening and you're preparing your teaching for Thursday night home group. And the Lord says, this is what I want to speak to the people. Then you have two or three days to meditate on that. Take it to work with you. Think about it in the evening as you're drifting off to sleep and put it before you. Meditate on it. Go over and over again. Meditation was the way that Abraham was able to look past Sarah and see that God was going to fulfill his word. So, you know, it's really powerful, right? And he had to look past this 90 year old body and believe that it was going to conceive. It shows you the power of meditation, Right? All right. Another thing that meditation is, is removing the obstacles, in a sense, by focusing on the Word. We talked a minute ago about all those obstacles. They're just going to begin to fall away. And I don't need to elaborate on that. But, beloved, what you put in your mind is what you're going to become. What you put in your mind is what you're going to become. If you put the word of God in it, that's what you're going to become. And this is really important. I'm going to conclude in that point. Just remember what I'm saying. Third, meditation enables you to now get this. Become one with that word. You want to be an effective teacher of God's word, then you become one with it. You let that word be so much a part of you that you can't wait to get it out that it explodes out of your being when you share it. I want to guarantee it won't matter what method you're using. It won't matter how eloquent you think you need to be. It will change people. You want to know when I believe that God used me to teach in this body or wherever I might be? It's when I know that God implanted a word and I just became one with that word during the week. And I, you know, I know when that. And the scary part is, the more I go on the Lord, the more I know when that hasn't really happened. That's when I stand up here and we sing six or seven extra choruses and, you know, let's get right down. Beloved, it's so differ