From the desk of Pastor Ben

The Lessons of Ministry – Part 4

“Sending away the crowds, Jesus got into the boat
And came to the region of Magadan.”     (Matthew 15:39)

Two more important lessons from Jesus’ ministry are for our consideration today. Next, in our ongoing list is the lesson of spiritual investment. When the apostles gave the Lord all they had so He could use it to feed the 4,000, they ended up with 7 baskets of leftovers for themselves. “He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

The ninth and final lesson is Christ’s limitless compassion for all our needs — daily, lifetime, and eternal. His compassion extends to all nationalities, and on the merely hungry as well as the severely afflicted. So, believers should follow their Lord’s example and “do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:10). The attitude and generosity of our giving measures our compassion, not superficial sentiments.

John Wanamaker, founder of the Philadelphia department store bearing his name, was a dedicated Christian. While observing missionary work in China, he entered a village where believers lacked money to complete a church building. In a nearby field he saw a boy yoked with an ox as the two pulled a plow guided by the boy’s father. Wanamaker’s guide explained that the boy had promised his father he would help plow if his father would sell one ox to raise money for the church. Wanamaker fell to his knees and prayed, “Lord, let me be hitched to a plow that I may know the joy of sacrificial giving.”

Ask Yourself:
What keeps you from being as available to the Lord as He wants you to be? What is it that interferes with your recognition of areas where you could serve and be useful to others for the glory of God? Deal radically and deeply with anything that prevents your full surrender to His Lordship.