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What is Ministry?

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• Title this message, "What is Ministry?" Since in the last couple of weeks, several things have arisen that made me think that a lot of people do not particularly understand. So I wanted to clarify this truth from Scripture. So if you look in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verses 1 and 2, the Apostle Paul says, "Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." I have heard many say, "I am in the ministry." I've heard parents say, "My son has entered into the ministry." I've heard a lot of preachers say, "Well, we must focus on the ministry." So the question would have to be asked, what exactly is the ministry?

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• We could also ask at the same time, are there variations in the ministry? Obviously, there must be differences in the ministry because not everyone has the same gifts. Therefore, we do not all function exactly the same in serving the Lord. So a few of these questions can be answered very quickly by just looking at a couple of passages. So I want you to hold 2 Corinthians and turn back, if you would, to 1 Corinthians 12 very quickly.

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• And let's begin reading there with verse 4. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, and notice, if you would please, with verse 4. The Scripture says there, "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." Now, when you look at verse 4 and the Bible says there are diversities of gifts, the word for gifts is the word charisma. And in the context, it is saying that it is the Holy Spirit of God that imparts these gifts to individuals for the honor and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the service of the church as well. Now, he goes on to say that, of course, God gives these gifts to each of His believers. But notice, if you would, differing gifts, therefore, according to verse 5, leads to different ministries. He says, "Now there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord."

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• Now, I'm going to point this out a little bit later, but the word administrations there is actually the word for ministry, or the word for service. And then he says in verse 6, "There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." Now, the interesting thing is when you go back to verse 5 and the Bible says there are differences of administrations, it is the Greek word diakonia, which refers to service and to ministry. Now, when you look in verse 6, when we're talking about diversities of operations, the word operations refers then to the effects or the operations of the working of the ministry. And the Greek word there is energema, which literally is where we derive our English word energy from. So he says there's different gifts, there's different ministries, and he says there's different energies. Now skip down to verse 14, if you would, because now he's going to explain this. He says, "For the body is not one member, but many." So obviously, we have many members on our body, but one body.

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• "If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members, every one in the body, as it hath pleased Him. And if they were all one member, where were the body? But now are there many members, yet one body. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked: that there should be no schism in the body."

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• "But that the members should have the same care one of another." So if we understand 1 Corinthians chapter 12 correctly, we cannot dismiss, we cannot denigrate, nor can we deny any ministry as insignificant, no matter how small that ministry may be, because each part is absolutely necessary for the whole. Just like each part of the body is necessary for the whole. So God is telling us that each separate ministry, however small, however seemingly insignificant, is absolutely necessary for the whole.

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• Now, if you go back and look at verses 11 and 12, the Bible says, "But all these"—that is, that would refer to not only the diversities of the gifts, but the diversities of service and the diversities of operations—"but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ."

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• Let me put it to you like this. There is no room for jealousy or envy in the gift simply because God has sovereignly bestowed each gift upon each believer, and each one is given for the benefit of the whole, for the benefit of the body. So let me just say it very bluntly. Translated, we do not choose our ministries. We don't even choose our gifts. God chooses for us. And we should be grateful and thankful and appreciative for any gift that we have simply because we do not deserve to have any gift whatsoever, neither do we deserve to have any ministry whatsoever. Anything that we have received of God is nothing but pure grace and mercy. And so, therefore, we have to learn then to submit to God and His wisdom and enjoy the gifts that He's given us and use them for His honor and glory and for the good of His people. So I think one of the problems today is that many Christians do not understand ministry. And unhappily, I also think many pastors do not understand ministry.

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• Because most preachers and most Christians wrongly think when you hear the word ministry, you're only thinking about preaching or you're thinking about church. We tend to think that those who have been called to preach or those who have been called to be missionaries are in the ministry. Well, that is true, and I'm certainly not downplaying that. I believe that those gifts are absolutely necessary. But the truth of the matter is, the ministry is far more than just simply that. When you think about the average Christian, the average Christian would probably tend to think that their lives are regular or even mundane or without meaning or without purpose, because they do not view themselves as being in the ministry.

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• I can quote this, but since we're close by, I want you to see it. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and look at verse 31, and then we're going to turn to Colossians chapter 3. But look in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 31, first of all. Look what he says, "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." Well, if we're doing something for the glory of God, that is ministry. It's ministry to God and His glory. So he said, whether we eat or whether we drink or whatever we do, we do all to God's glory.

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• It was the habit of Stonewall Jackson every time he mailed a letter to pray over it and ask the Lord to bless that individual and to bless the message that he had in that letter as well. So that was just simply an illustration of this. But if you look at the book of Colossians, chapter 3 and verse 17, you'll see a verse similar to 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 31. In Colossians 3:17, he says this, "And whatsoever ye do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him." So whatever we do in word or deed, when you put 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Colossians 3:17 together, eating and drinking, working, speaking, if done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and for the honor and glory of God, is ministry. So you need to think about these phrases, "whatsoever ye do" or "whatsoever ye do in word or in deed," you have to consider that these phrases basically cover every area of life.

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• And the truth of the matter is this. The life of each Christian is to be a life of ministry. It's not just preachers and it's not just teachers, it's every child of God, his life is to be a life of ministry. So when you think about this in light of "whatsoever ye do," you have to conclude. Like a wife who keeps the home, washes dishes, cooks, that's ministry. That is, as long as it is done for the honor of the Lord Jesus Christ and the glory of God, it is ministry. Think about waiting on and taking care of elderly parents. That is ministry. Taking care of anyone else who is sickly. That is ministry. It doesn't matter what we're doing as long as it's in word or in deed. What about raising children? What about teaching children? All of that is ministry because it is part of our calling. It is part of the gifts that God has given unto us. Now, whatever our ministry is, we're not to faint in that ministry. So, if you look back in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 4 and look at verse 1, He says this, "Therefore, seeing we have this ministry."

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• Now, watch carefully, "as we have received mercy." So it's only God's mercy that gives us any ministry whatsoever. But since we've received this ministry and we've received mercy, we faint not. We faint not. So we're not to faint. Do you understand what I have fainted one time in my life? Just one time. When I was at boot camp, I was running and I stepped in a hole and twisted my foot and I went down on it and I heard it break. So I hobbled up to the sergeant and I said, "I just broke my foot." He looked at me and said, "Well, can you march back to camp?" And stupid me said, "Well, yeah, I guess I can." We were two miles from camp. And I marched back on a broken foot. And so, of course, my foot was being held in by that boot. And they had to cut the boot off. And when they cut the boot off, my foot just... And boy, you come out the pain and I fainted.

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• So here's the point I'm trying to make. When I fainted, that sergeant could have stood right over my face and yelled, wouldn't matter. He could have yelled "parade rest." He could have yelled "right arm." It didn't matter. I had fainted. I didn't hear it. I was incapable of functioning. So he is saying since we've received this ministry, we're not going to faint. We're not going to become incapable of functioning.

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• Now, the interesting thing is this. When you look at the word ministry here, it is the Greek word diakonia. This is the main word that is used throughout the entire New Testament that deals with ministry. It is translated in our Bibles as ministry, ministration, ministry, and service. It occurs 34 times in the New Testament. We derive our English word, the diaconate, referring to deacons, from this word. It is also translated in our English language as deacon or literally transliterated as deacon, but diakoneo, the verb, means to serve, diakonia is the service, and diakonos is the servant or the deacon. So when you talk about a deacon, you're talking about a servant, you're talking about diakonia, which is a ministry. So a deacon is literally a servant. A minister is a servant. It is exactly the same word, and it speaks of personal service.

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• Now, let me show you. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 6. Acts chapter 6. And let's begin reading there with verse 1. Look in Acts chapter 6 and verse 1. Here is where you're going to find the first deacons. And I want you to note what is going on. Acts 6, verse 1: "And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration." Now, the word ministration is diakonia. They were being neglected in the daily ministry. Watch verse 2: "Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables."

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• "Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." So what happened, it was the apostles who were waiting on tables. It was the apostles who were serving food to the widows and the orphans. And they got so busy that some of the Grecians were being neglected and they complained. And the apostles said, "Look, it is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Look ye out among you seven men full of faith and the Holy Ghost, whom we may appoint over this matter." And so the first deacons were actually appointed then for the ministry. Waiting on tables, that was it. The ministry of waiting on tables. So note, if you would, this is the word for ministry, and literally it means a servant. It means a waiter. So these deacons were supervising the feeding then of the widows and the orphans.

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• Now, we don't tend to think of waiting on tables as ministry. I mean, that's too mundane. But when you look in Luke 10, you don't have to turn there, but when you look in Luke 10 and verse 40, you remember how Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, but the Bible said, "But Martha"—what did she do? She served. Guess what? It's the word ministry, diakonia. She was ministering. How was she ministering? She was cooking food and providing tables and waiting on tables to feed those people. You remember, it was Peter's mother-in-law in Mark 1 in verse 31, who had the fever.

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• And our Lord went in and touched her and healed her. And the Bible said she arose and ministered unto them. How did she minister to them? She cooked food and fed them. And then, of course, you remember in Matthew 4, where our Lord was out in the wilderness 40 days, and He was fasting. And when you get down to verse 11, the Bible said that the angels came and ministered to Him.

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• It's the Greek word diakonia. What did they do? Probably brought Him food since He had been fasting for 40 days. So, waiting on tables in the Scripture is clearly ministry. So, the word ministration in verse 1 and the word ministry in verse 4 of Acts chapter 6 are exactly the same word. So, thus waiting on tables, that is rendering service to others, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for the honor and glory of God, listen now, is just as much ministry as is preaching and teaching the word. It's ministry. It is ministry. Now, the truth is that ministry is all about ministering to others and doing so through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, that our heavenly Father might be honored and glorified.

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• Let me give you some scriptures. I want you to think about this. The first one is Matthew 20 and verse 28. The Bible said, "For even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." So Jesus Christ did not come to be waited on. He came to wait on others. He did not come to be served. He came to serve. And you remember that passage in Luke 22 and verse 27.

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• Our Lord said this, "For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth?" Then He says this, "Is not he that sitteth at meat?" Yes, the one that sits and is waiting on, He said it's greater. "I am among you as one that serveth." So he said, "I did not come to be waited on. I came to be the waiter. I did not come to be served. I came to serve."

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• And in both of these passages, Matthew 20, verse 28, Luke 22 and verse 27, the Greek word is diakoneo, which means to minister, to wait upon, to be a domestic, to be a servant. So while I'm on this, let me tell you what I conceive in my mind as one of the greatest failures we have in Christianity today. And this is, I believe, one of the greatest failures among Christians.

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• And that is simply this. We have lost the idea. We have lost the attitude. We have lost the motive. We have lost the propensity to serve. In other words, we no longer have a servant's heart, like our Lord had a servant's heart. We want to be the master. We want to be the one waited on. We want to be the one served. We do not want to be the one serving and waiting on others. So we no longer desire to be a servant. We desire to be a master. Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles.

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• To the book of Romans chapter 12 and look, if you would please, at verses 6 and 8. Romans chapter 12 verses 6 and 8. Look at Romans 12 beginning there with verse 6. We're going to go to 1 Peter next, but look in Romans 12 verse 6. He says, "Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministry."

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• "Or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness." Then he goes on to say, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." But note, he talks about different types of ministry. He says, whatever gift God has given you, that's what you are to be exercising.

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• Now, if you would turn right over to 1 Peter chapter 4, and look, if you would please, at verses 10 and 11. 1 Peter chapter 4, beginning there with verse 10. Watch this, if you would please. 1 Peter 4 and verse 10. He says, "As every man hath received the gift"—which indicates that every Christian has some kind of gift—"as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God."

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• That is, if you're going to preach, you preach the word. "If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

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• Now, note, if you would please, that we are to minister one to another. Now, oftentimes we talk about a Christian community. And I certainly believe in community. But usually when you and I think of community, we think of a group of people living in the same geographical area. Well, when you think of the word community, "com" is a preposition which means "with" and "unity." That's what the word community means, "with unity." Now, one dictionary definition of community gave this: "a unified body of individuals, such as the people with common interests living in a particular area." Well, I then went to Webster's 1828 dictionary and I looked up the word community and here's what I got: "A society of people having common rights and privileges or common interests, civil, political or ecclesiastical or living under the same laws and regulations. This word community may signify a commonwealth, a state, a body politic, or a particular society or order of men within a state as a community of monks," or we could say a community of believers.

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• And it is often used for the public or people in general with very definite limits. So when we're talking about the community of faith, we're talking about people who are living under the same law and regulation, that is God's law. And we're talking about people who hold the same ideas and the same belief. You know, that's why the Apostle Paul said that we're to do good unto all men, but especially they that be of the household of faith.

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• Now, when we think of the word commune, I could say that Brother Gary and I communed yesterday. When we think about the word commune, we just simply think about talking. Or sometimes we may think about talking and eating. But the word communed is from the Greek word homileo and it means, listen carefully, to communicate, to be in company with, to associate with, and to stay with as well as to converse one with another. So when we commune, we are not just simply talking, we are associating one with another. So the word minister implies community, because you have to have someone to minister unto.

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• So I want you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians, chapter 8. Then let me show you that the word community does not necessarily mean someone in the same geographical area. Look, if you would, at 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, beginning there with verse 1. Watch. "Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit"—that is, we want you to know—"of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia." Macedonia was in Greece. OK. "We want you to know the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; how that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality."

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• "For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering"—there's that word diakonia—"to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."

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• Now, note if you would, here are the churches in Macedonia through their great trial of affliction and their poverty have taken a gift. A financial gift for the poor saints at Jerusalem, so skip down, if you would, now to verse 19. He said, "And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered"—there's the word diakonia again—"which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind: avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered"—there it is, diakonia—"that is ministered by us: providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men."

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• So the Apostle is saying now that this is a ministry. Whenever you see the word administered there, it is the same word as ministry.

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• Now, if you would turn back in your Bibles to Romans chapter 15, you'll notice how the Apostle Paul asked prayer specifically, that the offerings that were given to the saints of Jerusalem be received and that he be protected as he carried these offerings. So, notice in Romans 15, verses 30 and 31. He says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service"—that is my ministry, diakonia—"which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints." So he's talking about ministry. And all this is these saints in Macedonia have taken an offering for the community of saints in Jerusalem.

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• Now, let me point something out that I think is extremely significant. Many times we proclaim our love for our heavenly Father. And I would hope, I would pray that you would tell God every day that you love Him and that you love the Lord Jesus Christ and you love the Holy Spirit. One God manifested in three persons. But here's a good question. We often say, well, we're God's ministers. Okay? Here's my question. If we're God's ministers, how in the world do we minister to the one true and living God? How do you minister to someone who has absolutely no needs whatsoever? God has no needs.

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• How can you give to Him when He possesses everything? He created everything. You cannot give to Him without Him first having given to you. So the question has to be asked, how do we express our love to Him? How do we express our love for Him? Here's the answer. I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews. Look in chapter 6 and verse 10. Hebrews chapter 6. Notice, if you would please, verse 10. Watch carefully. This is how we love our Lord. Hebrews 6, verse 10, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Now, let that sink in, "For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name." In other words, you did it for God, you were honoring Him.

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• But how did you do it? "In that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." Let me put it to you very plainly. We love God by loving His people. We serve Him by serving His people. We minister to Him by ministering to His people. It is impossible to minister to God without ministering to His people.

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• Now, if you will turn back to 1 Corinthians chapter 16, and look, if you would please, there at verse 15. Here's an interesting concept of the house of Stephanas. 1 Corinthians, chapter 16 and verse 15, Paul says, "I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.)" Now that's an addiction. They have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.

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• So that was their life. Their life was serving others, especially the people of God. I understand that there's an office of a bishop. I understand there's an office of a deacon and a true shepherd feeds the sheep and the true deacon helps the pastor and waits on the people. I understand that. But if you are a child of God by faith in Jesus Christ, you do have a ministry. You may not be a preacher, you may not be a missionary in the sense that you travel to a foreign land, but you do have a ministry.

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• Now, look in your Bibles to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. And look, if you would please, at verses 16 through 18.

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• Now, here is the ministry. Watch. 2 Timothy, chapter 1, beginning there in verse 16. "The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus." Why would God give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus? Here's why. Paul says, "For he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain: but, when he was in Rome, he sought me out very diligently, and found me. The Lord grant unto him that he may find mercy of the Lord in that day: and in how many things he ministered unto me at Ephesus, thou knowest very well." So here, Onesiphorus found the apostle Paul, sought him out when he was in prison, and Paul said he was not ashamed of my bonds. He refreshed me. He brought me food. He brought me gifts.

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• He did everything he could to take care of me. So visiting God's imprisoned saints and supplying their needs and refusing to be ashamed of them is a ministry. That's what Onesiphorus did. And Paul said he ministered to me in Ephesus. And you know very well how he did that.

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• Now, look, if you would, back in Philippians chapter 2. Philippians chapter 2. I want you to see the concept of ministry. Philippians chapter 2, beginning there with verse 25. I want you to understand that Epaphroditus was an individual who really, truly understood ministry. Philippians 2 and verse 25. Paul said, "Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants."

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• "For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful."

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• Now, here's a man who's actually made himself sick, but I'm going to show you how he made himself sick. He says in verse 29, "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me," your lack of ministry toward me. He said, Epaphroditus is one of you. And he ministered to me and he ministered to me to the point it was almost dead because you failed in your ministry. Wow. So here's a man who took ministry very, very seriously. So the term ministry is indeed a very wide term. It does include preaching. It does include teaching, but it includes preaching and teaching on all the things. If I'm teaching on the doctrine of justification by faith alone, that's ministry. If I'm teaching on the doctrine of sanctification, that's ministry. But if I'm teaching on the biblical doctrine of self-defense, that's ministry, too. If I'm teaching someone how to plant, how to garden, or how to clean an animal and take care of themselves.

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• That's ministry. The average preacher would not necessarily say that's ministry, but the truth of the matter, it is because we're ministering to the saints. Now, what God has called us to do is to take heed to our ministries. He said in Colossians 4 and verse 17, Paul wrote and said this to Archippus. He said to Archippus, "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it."

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• Now the word fulfil is from the Greek word pleroo, which means to make full, to fill up, to fill to the brim, to cause to abound, to put into full force, to fill to the top so that nothing will be wanting. So, he says, Archippus, you need to make your ministry abound in every way that you possibly can.

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• Now, the Apostle Paul also told Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 5, "But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, and"—listen to what he said—"make full proof of thy ministry." Well, how do you make full proof of your ministry? Don't give up. Don't give out. Don't quit. I have known a number of pastors who quit preaching. You ask them why? "Well, I got burned out." Well, how did you get burned out?

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• You know, that's just strange to me, that's beyond my mind. In the sense that this is all I've ever done, this is all I've ever wanted to do. It's all I want to keep doing. I don't understand. I know you can get hurt in the ministry. I understand that. I know you can get betrayed. I know you can get stabbed in the back. I understand that. It's happened to me. It's happened to a lot of people. But the point is, you still don't quit. You still don't give up. You don't give in and you don't give out. So he says you're to make full proof of your ministry. Whatever ministry God has given you, you are to exercise it for the honor and glory of God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ.

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• Now, let me try to tie some of these things together for you. The first application I want to make today is this. Each person, each believer has a gift and has a ministry. That does not mean that everyone is called to preach. That does not mean that everyone is called to teach. All it means is that God has given every believer a gift and everyone has a ministry.

  #52 | 40:27 to 40:56 | cleaned

• There are some that are exhorters, that is for sure. There are some that are benefactors, there are some that just want to support the ministry. I had a dear friend, he's now dead, many of you knew him, Melvin Stringer. Melvin was one of those unique individuals that everything he touched just turned to money. He could make money faster than any man I've ever seen in my life.

  #53 | 40:57 to 41:23 | cleaned

• And he made it honestly. And if he had kept all of his money, he would have died a millionaire, probably a multimillionaire, but he didn't keep it. He gave it away. Alice can tell you, had it not been for Melvin Stringer, she and I and our children would have gone hungry many, many times. When my refrigerator quit, we didn't have money. He bought us a refrigerator. When our car quit, he bought us a car. It wasn't a new car, but it was one that would run. He would help. He would help any young preacher. He would help widows. I've seen him. I know personally, he'd go to a widow's house. Her hot water heater had quit. He would take it out, go buy a new one, install it, never charge her a penny. That's a ministry. And I'll tell you something else. He had a ministry that most of you would never dream of. Melvin Stringer would see a husband and wife walking along the road. He would stop and pick them up, take them to his house, feed them, give them a room to stay in, teach them to work, get them a job.

  #54 | 41:24 to 42:43 | cleaned

• And he did that over and over and over. When I had his funeral, there were grown men and women there who referred to Melvin and Barbara as mom and daddy that he picked up alongside the road and taught. That's a ministry. I could never have that ministry, but God gave it to him. I'm just simply saying everyone has a ministry and we have to be faithful. The Apostle Paul said, "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful." It was also the Apostle Paul who said in 1 Timothy 1 and verse 12, listen to this, I love this. He said, "I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." If you look up the word counted, it means this, "I thank Jesus Christ our Lord, who imputed me to be faithful." In other words, He charged me as being faithful. I really wasn't faithful, but He counted me faithful anyhow and put me into the ministry.

  #55 | 42:45 to 44:01 | cleaned

• And when the Apostle Paul found out that, yes, bonds awaited him in Jerusalem, he said in Acts chapter 20 and verse 24, "But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." He said prison doesn't bother me. It doesn't minister. It doesn't cause me fear. And when it came time for Paul to die, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 through 8, he said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand."

  #56 | 44:01 to 44:38 | cleaned

• "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." But he said, I'll finish the course. In other words, he was faithful to the end. That's making full proof of your ministry. Stay faithful to the end.

  #57 | 44:39 to 45:05 | cleaned

• Now, that brings me to this. We have to learn to respect and honor the ministry of other believers. Their ministry may not be our ministry. It may not be something that we would like or something that we would do. But it is a ministry. How would you like to be a minister to a leper colony? You wouldn't. Most people wouldn't. But there are individuals who have given their lives waiting on and serving lepers. How many would you like to be a missionary to the cannibals? I wouldn't. But there are people who have and they've given their lives. So just because we don't like a ministry or think we wouldn't like it, we would do it doesn't mean it's not a ministry. Moreover, let me point something out.

  #58 | 45:06 to 46:20 | cleaned

• There is a vast difference between my ministry, our ministry, and the ministry. So I could say to Brother Gary, "Well, this is my ministry, I teach, that's what I do." Well, let me ask you a question. How many people could I teach if nobody came? You see what I'm saying? So it's not now just my ministry, it becomes our ministry, if all of that. Now, listen to this, so we have my ministry, we have our ministry and then we have the ministry. So our ministry would take precedence over my ministry and the ministry would take precedence over our ministry. So if we were honest and unselfish, we should desire that our ministry would fail, my ministry would fail, and not our ministry, or our ministry would fail, not the ministry. You follow what I'm saying? So if God is pleased to prosper some other ministry that's not ours, we should still rejoice. Because it is THE ministry. And THE ministry takes precedence.

  #59 | 46:21 to 47:55 | cleaned

• Moreover, I want you to understand this, as Christians and as Christian ministers, God has called us to a holiness and obedience. That's why He said in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 3, "Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry be not blamed." So our lives should be holy and righteous. We are His ministers, His deacons, His servants, His children, and we minister to Him by serving each other. Let me show you one last passage. I want you to turn to Matthew, chapter 25, you know this, but I want you to see it. Look, if you would, Matthew, chapter 25. And let's begin reading there with verse 34. Matthew 25 and verse 34. I'm not reading the first part, but watch this.

  #60 | 47:56 to 48:57 | cleaned

• "Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." And the rest of that passage, "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

  #61 | 49:00 to 50:01 | cleaned

• "For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?" And Lord, if we had seen you, surely we would have done that for you. "Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me." So our Lord said very clearly that when we minister to others, we're ministering to Him. We cannot have a ministry without ministering to the Lord. And we cannot minister to the Lord without ministering to each other.

  #62 | 50:02 to 50:52 | cleaned

• Whatever gift God has given you, whatever ability He's given you, use it for His honor and His glory by teaching and sharing with the saints of God. That is ministry. The Apostle Paul said, "Let us do good unto all men, but especially unto the household of faith." Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask you for your grace, your mercy, your goodness and kindness. Thank you, Father, for the ministry that you've given each one of us, the gifts that you've given each one of us. And help us, Father, to be more faithful in serving each other.

  #63 | 50:54 to 51:39 | cleaned

• So that we may serve thee more acceptably and effectually. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, whose name we pray, amen.

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T13:42:03Z