|
Plainly Speaking
with Karl J. Forehand
Going to Class with Jesus Series
Frustration
in Ministry
by Karl J. Forehand
(read Matt. 11:1-24)
Most churches are normal and most
Christians are normal. At first
glance, that is a comforting statement, until we realize that God has not
called us to be normal. Most churches
evaluate their success based on a comparison with other churches. Most Christians evaluate their
effectiveness compared to their lost friends. God never told us to evaluate ourselves in this way.
Hypothetically, this is the argument that
some make: “Karl, why don’t you just settle down a little. After all we have a pretty good
church. We ARE better than most of
the churches I know. “ You could
probably make similar assertions about your church. If not the church, we make the same assertions about our own
spiritual walks. We assume we are
better than most, therefore we must be doing what is right. We have an inflated view of our own
effectiveness and a warped view of real ministry.
God has called us to REAL ministry. The reason we avoid genuine, down in the
trenches, ministry is because real ministry is very frustrating. Often, the frustration comes from the
world, but usually it comes from the body of Christ. The things that frustrate us about THEM is
usually true of US. As we look at the
frustrations of ministry, I want to focus on what we can do to change.
Four Frustrating Attitudes
1. The unbelieving
In the passage, the people were doubting
the authenticity of John the Baptist.
But John was also doubting the authority of Jesus. While in prison, he asks to be comforted that Jesus really is the Messiah. Aren’t the unbelieving the unsaved? Not necessarily.
Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
seek Him.” The first part of that
verse is important. Every person must
come to a belief that God IS (that He exists) and that He is who He says He
is. That belief must be a belief that
is strong enough to put our trust in.
From that belief must come confession, repentance and submission. This is the defining belief, regardless of
you denominational affiliation.
But,
there is a second part to this verse.
It stresses that God also desires that we believe enough to put
our faith into action. We have to believe it is worthwhile to
serve the Lord. Dr. Ron Rushing, my
professor, has spent many years developing a list called “Identifying Root
Causes of Surface Problems.” In this
list, Dr. Rushing relates most of our surface problems to the root issue of
unbelief about a characteristic of God.
For instance, worry, anxiety and bitterness can be tied to a lack of
understanding and belief that God is sovereign. Think about it: If we really believed that God is the Supreme
Ruler, we would have a hard time being anxious. We say we believe that, but we don’t believe it enough to
appropriate it into our lives.
Do you
believe enough:
-
to share your faith?
-
to overcome major struggles in your life?
-
to submit to His
will and His ways?
-
to truly love and
show compassion for others?
Every day we say things like “I think,” “I
believe” and “I know.” I have been
fortunate enough to have some other men, in my life, that challenged me with:
“Knowing and not doing is the same
as not knowing.”
“You don’t really believe that or
you would act differently.”
“Stop thinking so much and start
doing.”
“Talk’s cheap.”
We call ourselves believers, but do our
actions show our belief?
2. The Stubborn
But to
what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the
market places, who call out to the other children, and say, 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.'
(Matthew 11:16-17)
There are two sides to
stubbornness.
One person says, “I played a
song and you didn’t dance.” In
other words, I did something and expected a response from you, but didn’t get
it. It is the assumption that
everything is a cause and effect type of thing. I’ve read dozens of books that stress this. There are countless pastors that are
frustrated because they read a Christian book that said, “Do A, B and C and
your church will be successful. The
did all twelve steps and still didn’t have a “successful” church.
I once took a youth group to a summer
camp. Every night, we gathered and
did devotions and sang and talked a little.
Tuesday night was on the purest worship experiences I have ever
experienced. Guess what I did on
Wednesday? I tried to recreate the
experience and it was a complete failure.
We can’t boil everything down to a formula and expect people to dance
to our tune. There is no perfect
witnessing technique – there is no formula for making disciples, other than
applying the principles of God’s Word and enduring until we finish the work
God has assigned.
The other person says, “Just because
you played a song does not mean I am going to dance.” This person has trouble cooperating with
anyone. They seem to be devoted to
making everything more difficult. Our
society promotes this through the importance of demanding and securing our
“rights.” The beauty of the YIELD
sign is that it does not mean that you have the right to demand that everyone
yield to you; rather, it means you have the opportunity to yield to
others. Our freedom in Christ demands
that we learn to YIELD.
3. The Judgmental
"For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they say, 'He has a demon!'
"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Behold,
a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners!' Yet
wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."
(Matthew 11:18-19)
Someone once told me, “You can’t please
everyone; because, even if you do, someone won’t like it.” I still struggle with this because I want
everyone to like me. Jesus and John
found this to be true when they encountered the religious who wanted to judge
them.
Let God be your judge. We have to ask ourselves, “Are we actually
doing His will or just trying to please other people and making it sound
holy?” Many people bounce around
their whole lives between the opinions of others. Their life is a juggling act of pleasing men instead of
God.
Is favor with men actually possible?
I believe it is. Jesus found favor
with God and men (Luke 2:52).
How did He do that? Jesus
said, “and I do
nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” (John
8:28b). Because He first sought to
please the Father first, He was also able to find favor with men. The people I respect from high school were
not the most popular, but the ones that stuck to their convictions.
Don’t waste you time judging
others. Judgment of others is
usually an attempt to shift the focus from ourselves to others. Why not attempt to serve those you are
inclined to judge. By doing this, you
may just minister to them and change their hearts.
4. The ungrateful
Then
He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done,
because they did not repent. (Matthew
11:20)
The region of Galilee saw more miracles than any other
region. They witnessed the feeding of
the 5000, the miraculous catch of fish, the Sermon on the Mount and many,
many healings. Although they had seen
immeasurable proof, they still did not repent. They were ungrateful and unrepentant. The unsaved will always be ungrateful until they are
regenerated; but are you ugrateful?
Are you thankful for your
parents? They gave you life. They changed your diapers. Maybe it’s you.
Are you thankful for your
job? You are probably making more
than you deserve on most days.
Are you thankful for you
church? You’re frustrations probably
stem from you stubbornness and the fact that you
are not contributing or not contributing the right things?
Are you thankful for you community?
It IS the place where God has placed you.
Summary
You cannot eliminate the
frustrations of ministry. They are
inevitable. But, you can change
yourself.
Are you believing? Do you believe
that God is all that He said He is?
Do you believe God can do the miraculous? Do your actions show that you believe?
Are you willing or stubborn? Do
you resist doing what you know you should?
Do you respond to sermons or just enjoy them?
Are you judgmental? Do you examine
you life first before judging everyone else?
Are you thankful? Do you know
that thankfulness is the gateway to worship?
(Psalms 100:4)
|