Christian Ministry: What Are The Tasks? Part 2

Introduction: The Minister's Self-Care

0:00 All right, brethren, because we've just had this brief break and we're the same group of men, I won't have to spend any time reviewing, just try to remind you where we are in the outline. We're considering the major third question, what are the tasks of the Christian minister or ministry? And we've said that Acts 20, 28 is perhaps the most clear text in all of scripture to give us the bare bones of what those tasks are. We are to pay close attention, we're to give attention to ourselves and to all of the flock.

0:39 And we're looking today at just large letter A, what does it mean for a minister to take care and to nurture himself? And in the last hour we looked at the first major subheading, we are to take care of our own spiritual life and communion with God. Now we're going to take the second and third subheading, namely, we're to take care of our own mental and intellectual life in relationship to God's truth. And then we are to take care of our own physical and emotional.

1:19 And then we are to take care of our own emotional life in the light of the demands of the ministry. And that will complete, large letter A, constant care and watchfulness over ourselves. Now there are some men that are quite faithful in nurturing their inner spiritual life and communion with God. And yet their ministries do not bear much fruit among God.

1:50 In my skin, that spiritual world is far more active. But in the 맡ieness of God's luces, and the understanding that a man should bless his own soul and回 null sowing of penitence. So you take care and nurture yourself, we are all to take care and nurture ourselves. that we must be concerned with our mental and intellectual development as the servants of God.

Nurturing Your Mental and Intellectual Life

2:27 When Jesus was asked, what is the first and great commandment, you remember how he answered. He said the first and great commandment, Matthew 22, 37, is this. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all God's to be loved, not only with the heart, the seat of our affections, the soul, the whole of the inner life, but also with our minds, our mental faculties. Are to be wholly given in love to God and to his truth. And then we're all familiar with 2 Peter 3, 18. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

3:38 And when God promises that he will give true pastors under the new covenant, this is what he says. This is what he says in Jeremiah 3 and verse 15. And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and with understanding. Well, how can I feed others with knowledge and understanding if I am not growing in knowledge and in understanding?

4:13 You see, I may come to the pulpit with a, a heart that is white-hot in its devotion to Christ, a heart that is pure from any present controversy with God. I may come into the pulpit with a heart that feels the weight of the awful reality of hell and is throbbing and pulsing with the glory of the wonderful reality of heaven. But unless I am able to impart the knowledge of those, those things in such a way that my hearers will also be able to feel the weight of those things, my ministry cannot be edifying. I can't take my heart out with all of its warmth and heat and light and press it to the hearts of my people and hope that somehow it will leak out of my heart into theirs. What's in my heart of God's truth and communion with Christ and fellowship with God has...

5:17 has got to be expressed in biblical concepts and in such a way that it comes first of all to the minds of my hearers with clarity and then it will filter down into their hearts under the blessing of the Holy Ghost. In other words, we edify our people not by a direct infusion of spiritual life into their hearts. We must feed their minds. With knowledge and with understanding, then and only then will their hearts grow in personal, vital communion with Jesus Christ.

The Role of Diligent Study and the Holy Spirit

6:00 This is why Paul said to Timothy, 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15, translated in the old authorized version, study, but it really doesn't mean study. That word spoudazo means do your utmost. Do your utmost. Give yourself with tremendous energy to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth.

6:32 If we're to handle the word of God aright, to cut a straight course in the word of truth, we must do our utmost in vigorous mental and intellectual pursuit. In conjunction with the word of God. I love 2 Timothy 2, 7 along this line as well. I was reading and my wife and I in our own devotions the night before I left.

6:59 We're going through 2 Timothy and I was struck with this again. Verse 7, Paul has written certain things to Timothy and now he says in verse 7, consider what I say. And that verb consider means, Timothy, use your noggin. Take your brain and think.

7:17 on what I'm saying. Then he says, for the Lord shall give you understanding in all things. Well, if the Lord gives understanding, why do I need to think? And if by my thinking I get understanding, where does the Lord fit in? Well, the answer is this. God never gave the Holy Spirit to put a premium on mental laziness, but he gave the Holy Spirit that as I love God with all my mind, my love will be fruitful in coming to an increasing knowledge of God. So the Holy Spirit does not work apart from my mind any more than my mind can discover God's truth apart from the Holy Spirit. But it's when we consider and think upon what God has written in dependence upon God, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding. So brethren,

Practical Steps for Intellectual Growth: Study Plans

8:13 if we're to be shepherds who feed our people, not with the froth of our own ideas, not with the chaff of our own opinions, not with the popcorn of stories and anecdotes and mere illustrations, but if we're to serve them up the meat and milk of the pure word of God, we must take heed to ourselves. Not only to nurture our inner spiritual life but to nurture our own mental and intellectual life in relationship to the truth of God. And what will that mean? Practically, it'll mean at least four things—I want to be practical. 1. You must take steps to block out large segments of time for serious study. You must take steps to block out large segments of of time for serious study and now i want to state it as bluntly as i know how if you don't have a heart for serious study get out of the ministry i don't know how to say it in more simple words than that if you don't have a heart for serious study get out of the ministry because you will

9:41 not be a shepherd after god's heart who will be able to feed your people with knowledge and understanding week in and week out there's no way to do it without serious study so you must take whatever steps you need to to block out large segments of time for serious study secondly you must have a plan to grow in your understanding of the whole word of god you must have a plan to grow in your understanding of the whole word of god and what do i mean by that i mean you just don't come in your library and say one day oh well i think maybe oh that's got a nice cover i think i'll read me a few pages in there and so i read and then the next day come over no no you've got some plan of study and you're willing to receive help in setting up a plan of study that's going to help you grow in your understanding of the whole word of god for example there are wonderful things available now that make the word of god plain good little commentaries like jeffrey wilson's commentaries published by the banner of truth done on the new testament epistles very very helpful you have bishop ryle and i'm not referring to this book now under this head but his expository thoughts on the gospels

11:09 if you want a simple helpful commentary on the gospels you get ryle's expository thoughts on the gospels and say all right i'm going to read me 10 pages of the word of god and i'm going to read you 10 pages a day until i go clean through from matthew to the gospel of john i want to get a grasp on the message of the gospels there are excellent things available but you've got to have a plan to grow in your understanding of the whole word of god thirdly you must have a plan to grow in your understanding of theology you see theology is nothing more or less than taking the teaching of the word of god on a given subject and bringing together what a passage in genesis says about it a passage in exodus says about it passage in the book of the revelation it's taking the total witness of the bible on a given subject and seeking to understand it and that's vital so that when we're dealing with any one of the parts we never deal with one of the parts we never deal with one of the parts we never deal with one of the parts in such a way that we contradict the whole for example if a man doesn't have a good systematic

12:31 theology on the person of christ and he is preaching through the gospels and he comes to this statement no man knows the hour of the return of the son of man except the father he's going to say oh jesus must not be god then that's what the jehovah's witnesses do don't they they take that verse and they twist it but if we have a solid systematic theology that is the whole witness of the bible concerning the person of christ and we understand that in the person of jesus christ we have two distinct natures joined in the one person and there are times when he speaks according to that which is true only of his deity sometimes that which is true only of his humanity but they are true of the person of christ well you see it's having a grasp upon that aspect of systematic theology that will help us to preach responsibly and feed our people with knowledge and with understanding and this is where i would commend to you the writings of professor murray dr j.i packer his book knowing god is a good little introduction to various aspects of systematic theology from a very divine perspective to a very divine perspective to a very divine

13:55 thinking to a very very emotional way this is an excellent little introduction to the doctrine of the sovereignty of god who is in control it's a summary of A.W. pink's work on the sovereignty of god very very helpful brethren we must continually be studying systematic theology that we may be more and more accurate in our handling of the word of god and then fourthly you must have a plan to understanding of the christian life you must have a plan to grow in your understanding of the christian life and here's where i would recommend highly jc ryle's book called holiness few books have had such an impact on my life at a crucial time in my life than this book if i had to limit myself to one book beside the bible that has clear basic solid teaching on the christian life it would be this book by bishop ryle on holiness every chapter is a complete essay in itself and is so helpful in the doctrine of the christian life and then this is where reading good

15:13 biographies will help you because you see the principles of the word of god worked out in the lives of men of god and this is where you will find reading church history to be helpful as well as you see the the the struggles of god's people and you see how the lord was pleased to uphold and to sustain them along that line a very helpful work is the forgotten spurgeon by ian murray that is a combination of biography and theology as it shows the various issues that spurgeon had to enter into controversy over in his ministry and then fifthly you must have i said four i'm going to give you five it with the most difficult question where is the completion you will come back with the final result pulpit and that is four here is the one i think i'm not at the heart of it but it's worth studying to jest the się and you have learned everything that's the crux of who-want in his life these are the lectures he gave to the students in his pastors college laugh they'll drive you to your knees they'll carry up into heaven with a sense of wonder and

Nurturing Your Physical Life for Ministry

16:34 glory and then another great classic the christian ministry by charles bridges and then the book by dr lloyd jones preaching and preachers some very helpful material on the work of the christian ministry and what i'm saying brethren is that we are not going to have that mental and intellectual freshness necessary to feed our people week after week month after month unless we are loving god with all our minds blocking out large segments of time to study and then having a plan in our study to grow in our understanding of the word of god itself to grow in our understanding of systematic theology to grow in our understanding of the christian life and to grow in our understanding of the christian life and to grow in our understanding of the christian in our understanding of the Christian ministry. But then we come to our third subheading. We must take heed to ourselves not only to nurture our own inner spiritual life, to nurture our own mental and intellectual life, but to nurture our own physical and emotional life. When Paul said in Acts 20.28,

17:55 Take heed unto yourselves, who was he talking to? He wasn't talking to angels, to disembodied spirits. He was talking to men. Men who had to eat.

18:11 Men who had to sleep. Men who had to brush their teeth. Men who had all of the real limitations of real humanity. And I'm thrilled when I see Paul's right hand, how he is so earthy in his instructions about this.

18:31 Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 4, and then we'll look at chapter 5.

18:39 This is one of the most abused verses in all of the Bible. 1 Timothy 4.8. We'll back up to 4.7.

18:47 4.7. 1 Timothy 4.7.

18:49 Refuse profane and old wives' fables and exercise yourself unto godliness. That's what we were talking about under the first subheading. We must exercise our own inner spiritual life unto godliness. For bodily exercise is profitable for a little, either for a little time or for a little in comparison with exercising unto godliness.

19:19 By comparison, bodily exercise is little compared to exercise unto godliness. But the statement in itself is a positive statement. Bodily exercise is profitable. Why?

19:36 Because we're in the body. And you've got to serve god with your body. I've got to preach with my body. I've got to carry my body into the study.

19:47 And if my body is sluggish, then my mind is sluggish. If my body is like that of an old mare ready to go to the glue factory, and I get to preaching up a storm, instead of people being impressed with the word of god, they'll pity me for wheezing like an old horse in the pulpit.

20:11 And you've heard men like that. They begin to get anything approaching a real preaching fit, and they get out of wind, and instead of standing there amazed and thrilled with the word of god, you sit there pitying the poor out of shape. You sit there pitying the poor out of shape. You sit there pitying the poor out of shape.

20:29 You sit there pitying the poor out of shape. You sit there pitying the poor out of shape guy, and you want to tell him, remember, bodily exercise is profitable for a little. And Timothy apparently forgot that. And Paul reminded him.

20:40 Notice what he said in chapter 5. And I like the context of it. Verse 22. Don't lay hands hastily on any man.

20:48 That is, don't be quick to be encouraging people to go into the ministry. Lay hands hastily on no man. Neither be a part of the ministry. Neither be a partaker of other men's sins.

21:02 Keep yourself pure.

21:06 Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for your stomach's sake in your oft infirmities. Some men's sins are evident going before unto judgment, and some follow after. In the midst of these great concerns that Timothy would not push men quickly into the ministry, that Timothy would not be infected with the sins of others, and in the midst of these great concerns, in the midst of talking about the sober fact that all sins of all men will eventually be made known by the God who is the judge of the universe, he says, by the way, Timothy, you're serving God in a weak body, and where you are in that situation, for some reason, you have sworn yourself to be a teetotaler, but Timothy, I want to give you a little home remedy. And at the time for Paul, the best remedy, he said, was take a little wine for your stomach, for your stomach's sake. Now, he didn't say get addicted to the bottle. He said, take a little wine for your stomach's sake in your oft infirmities.

22:09 What's the principle? The principle is he's saying, Timothy, do whatever you can do to bring your physical condition up to its highest possible health and vigor. That's what he's saying. And brethren, you and I need to do the same.

22:29 Many a man is not as useful in the ministry as he could be because he has never even considered what he puts in his mouth. When the scripture says in 1 Corinthians 10, 31, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God, how can I know I'm eating to the glory of God if I don't have a basic idea of what's involved in a balanced, nutritious diet? God has given certain foods to provide certain nutrients for the body. He made the body.

23:01 He made the food. And I'm responsible if I'm going to eat to God's glory not to simply eat anything I like or anything that I was brought up eating, never investigating as to whether it's nutritious or good for me, is going to make my cholesterol high and make me a high risk of heart attack, etc. How can you say you glorify God when you stuff into your mouth that which eventually is going to take you to an early grave?

23:32 And brethren, and I don't say this unkindly, that's why every preacher's got to make conscience about keeping his weight stable. The evidence is very clear that in most cases, excess weight puts a drain upon the heart and the whole constitution that can cause us to go to an early grave or end up having to have our chest split open and have bypass operations and all the rest. So be careful about, there's excellent books available on the matter of a healthy diet. There are ways to lose weight and keep it off.

24:12 You must have physical exercise. If you're blocking out long times for study, that is a draining thing. Solomon said it, much study is weariness to the flesh. And sometimes the best thing for your study is to get out and take a brisk half hour walk.

24:30 Some of us find that jogging is best for us. Others find that swimming, whatever is helpful. Bodily exercise is profitable. And you've got to serve God in this body.

24:43 Therefore, take heed to yourself and your body is a part of yourself. And it's the purchased property of Jesus Christ, isn't it? 1 Corinthians 6.20 What know you not?

24:54 That you have been purchased with a price and you are not your own. Glorify God in your body. Now, does God...

25:02 Is God glorified in a body that staggers up into the pulpit? A big old paunch, bleary eyes, and then talks about, it's sure wonderful to serve the Lord.

25:17 Hmm? You remember what happened with Daniel and his companions? When they ate that food, not the king's dainties, which would have been compromised for them, everyone could see their flesh was fairer than the others at the end of that time period. It was a testimony of the goodness of God.

25:37 Now, it's difficult, but it's different, brethren. If God brings upon us a crippling disease, if God brings upon us something that we have not, as it were, tentated to bring upon us, that's entirely different. There are times when some of God's most powerful work has been done through the weakest vessels. But you and I are responsible for the stewardship of this body that was purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Nurturing Your Emotional Life and Cultivating Friendships

26:03 And we need to take heed unto ourselves. Our physical lives, but also, brethren, our emotional lives. You see, there are tremendous pressures upon us emotionally in the ministry. And if we do not take time to nurture our emotional lives, you know what's going to happen to us.

26:24 You remember Elijah? That mighty man of God was not afraid to stand up to 450 false prophets and another 400, over 800 of them on Mount Carmel. He stood all alone. He stood against them.

26:41 And a few hours later, some old painted Jezebel said, I'm going to get you. And he goes running. One woman sent him running when 800 false prophets couldn't do it. And what was the problem?

26:54 He was drained emotionally.

26:57 And when God came to his servant and he found him out in the cave, what did he do? First thing he did was feed him and put him back to sleep. And then only when he was emotionally strengthened did he do that. Then he started going after his conscience and said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah?

27:16 Oh, what a loving father our God is. You see, God didn't whomp, whop on him and say, hey, now, what you doing here? No, he said, my servant is drained. He needs rest.

27:28 He fed him and put him back to sleep. Brethren, we have emotional needs. I love this verse in 2 Corinthians. We'll just look at it quickly.

27:39 It's a beautiful picture. You think of Paul, that mighty apostle bearing the burden of all the churches and yet how human he was. And he was unashamed to show his humanity. Look at 2 Corinthians 7, 5.

27:53 For even when we were coming to Macedonia, our flesh had no relief. We were afflicted on every side. Now listen. Without were fightings.

28:05 Within were fears. Paul, full of fears? He said, yes. We think of Paul, you see, this mighty man.

28:14 He said, I was trembling like a leaf on the inside. But now look at verse 6. Nevertheless, he that comforts the lowly, even God, comforted us how? By the coming of Titus.

28:28 One day when he was down emotionally, he heard a knock on the door. He said, come in. And he saw the face of his brother Titus and his spirit was lifted and he embraced him. And there was emotional healing.

28:41 Brethren, we need to take heed to ourselves. Not only the nurture of our physical life, but our emotional life. We need to cultivate friendships like Paul had with Titus. Those special friendships with fellow ministers where we can spill our guts and know that our guts won't be thrown back in our face.

29:02 We need to have those relations. Jesus Christ, in the hour of his grief, was the one who saved us. In the hour of his grief, wanted to lean on three of his disciples. He said, Peter, James, and John, come with me into the garden and watch with me one hour.

29:25 Think of it. The Son of God in his holy humanity didn't veil his emotional need for support in the hour of trial. It's not a sign of weakness. To say that we need emotional support, that's why Romans 12, verse 17 says, weep with those who weep.

29:46 Rejoice with those who rejoice. And he turned all of his emotional strain inward until there was too much, and then something snapped. Pray that God give you the kind of companions with whom you can be absolutely honest and transparent. Your wife should be that to you.

30:13 And I thank God for a wife who's been that to me for 31 years. And I thank God for a wife who's been that to me for 31 years. And I thank God for a wife who's been that to me for 31 years. And I thank God for a wife who's been that to me for 31 years.

30:17 But there are some aspects that only a fellow minister can really identify with. And she's not jealous that there are certain things I only feel at liberty to share with someone who's in the trenches with me any more than I'm jealous when there are certain burdens of being a mother and now a grandmother that she shares with others who are in the same set of circumstances. If we're to bear one another's burdens, it means we've got to be close enough to get the thing off our shoulder and on to the other guys. And I would urge you, brethren, if you would be healthy ministers, to take heed unto yourself.

30:57 How can you come to the pulpit and bring a word of comfort, a word of consolation? How can you be a minister to lift the spirits of God's oppressed and weary people if you yourself come like Elijah with a juniper tree tied on your back and the whole world crushing you? So that's what I want to say. I want to say to you this morning, brethren, undertake heed unto yourself.

Conclusion: The Priority of Self-Care

31:24 What are the responsibilities of the Christian ministry? First of all is constant care and watchfulness over ourselves. And if God helps us to do that, then we will be prepared to take up what we will take up tomorrow morning, constant care over the flock. And that will be our subject.

31:47 Well, I've gone beyond our time. Don, if you want to tell the ladies, and then they want to address to me, and I was told to keep this clip going, so I'll do what I was told. All right, brethren, questions or comments on the material we've covered this morning? If not, then we're free to take a break then.

32:27 We've got no questions, no sense sitting here when we can get up and walk around while the food's getting prepared. All right?