March 29, 2024
Pastor Darin Youngberg
<< Next Entry Previous Entry >>
Daily Bread May 23,2017
Posted on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 by Bro_D
Titus 3:13-14 Do your best to speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing. (14) And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.
Schedules tend to fill up quite quickly. We all have pressing items on our agendas. Things we must get done and those we just want to do. Like going to the doctor, getting shots or just the routine physical, I hate that, but it must be done. Now, going on vacation, I want to do that. I want to see the sites, relax by the pool, enjoy a good meal, and I don’t really mind the whole TSA thing in the airport… cuz I know what is to come ---but none of those MUST be done. There are things in life that are necessary and there are those that are unnecessary – they nice to have, but not having them won’t kill me. LET ME BE CLEAR RIGHT FROM THE START – unnecessary things are not necessarily bad – but they can lead to negative consequences. And yes, I have a vacation planned for this summer! I DON’T pick and choose the scripture for Daily Bread, I just open the Bible and read the first thing God puts in my face….. that’s not always pleasant!
The Apostle concludes his letter to Titus with an urgent request – make sure Zenas & Apollos are granted all they need for the ministry …. And get them on their way quickly. If we were to review the ministry of Jesus Christ, we would see the same urgency. He had everything He needed, when He needed it and nothing would hinder Him from His call. The ministry of the Gospel was the foremost priority for Jesus, and He placed that same burden on His disciples. Paul continues to teach that the Gospel must be the priority in the life of the Born-Again-Blood-Bought-Believer (BBB).
IF we look at the modern church, the 2017 church goer --- is that what we see? Do WE live with the same zeal? IF Zenas & Apollos are illustrative of the 2017 church, Paul would be telling us to make sure the church lacks nothing --- nothing should be lacking when it comes to the ministry of the local church. In Acts 2 we see that Body came together and gave all they had so that none lacked. The reason a ministry lacks is because those called to equip the ministry are holding back the resources or have used those resources for another purpose. Paul was urging the church to make sure this did not happen.
When I first started being involved in church ministries, I was told of this 80/20 rule. My pastor told me it meant that 80% of the work was done by 20% of the people. As I have been in ministry now fulltime for 17 years, I see a 90/10 rule. One thing I know about rules …. They were meant to be broken! (Insert smiley emoji here) When I first came to FBCO one of the mindsets I wanted to instill in the people was, “Every Member On Mission”. I just can’t find one single verse in the Bible that says ministry is to be done by a select few. I can open my Bible to just about any page in the NT and find more than one verse that would tell us that we are a people on mission – not a people that ought to be – but a people on a mission. If I am not on mission (actively doing what the LORD has commissioned me to do) then what does that say about me?
I can only fulfill a need if I know of the need. I am sure there will be those reading this that have a need – if you would like to know if I or any other brother or sister in Christ can meet that need, please let the need be known. I can only expect the needs of ministry to be met if I let those needs be known. So… here ya go …
- VBS is right around the corner and we have need of more volunteers to love and teach the children of our community
- We need a person or 2 that would be willing to give their time in the nursery of FBCO 4 or 5 times A YEAR (I know, we are asking for a HUGE commitment!)
- We need people who are willing to commit to pray before services on Sunday morning as well as during our services on Sunday morning – there are specific prayer requests and a place to pray
Are you willing to devote yourself to good works so that those needs may be met and the ministry may prove fruitful?