Words of Wisdom Concerning Ministry

Are you in a season of preparation? Here are some words of wisdom from Pastor Jon Courson about ministry that have been encouraging me greatly lately.

"To you, who, like me, want to be used by God, I would say as did Zechariah, 'Don't despise the days of small things" (4:10). You may be on the backside of the desert, going through boring times or difficult situations, but know this: It's part of God's preparation."

"In this offering of consecration [Lev 8:25-27a], Aaron's and his sons's hands were initially empty. The Hebrew word translated 'consecration' means 'to fill the hands.' We usually think of consecration in terms of what we can bring to the Lord, what we can give Him, what we can do for Him -when in reality consecration means we come before the Lord with empty hands and let Him fill them as He chooses."

"Ministry is like the measles. You can't give it unless you've got it. You can't give blessing unless you're blessed. And you won't be blessed until you're locked in, tucked away, set aside -for how long? Until God's preparatory work in you is complete. Aaron and his sons were no doubt eager to begin, but they were to wait in order that they die not. Many ministries die because people don't know the meaning of a personal devotional life, of spending chunks of time locked away in the presence of God."

-taken from Jon Courson's Application Commentary

-Get into God's presence. Learn how to spend time with Him and receive fresh words from Him. Ministry will be an overflow of that. Stay connected to the vine and bear fruit that lasts.

Motive For Pressing Forward

Remember how we talked about the cursing of trusting in man and the blessing of trusting in God? Let's read a definition of those who are trusting in their God. Jeremiah 17:7-8 NASB "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust is the LORD. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit."
Isn't that great? As you trust in the Lord and as your trust is the Lord, you will be firmly planted. Not only that, when a season of drought comes in your life, you will not be anxious and your life will still bear fruit! We are going to look at five ways we can still "yield fruit" in a difficult season. But just for today let's focus on the MOTIVE of why we will still be bearing fruit. A LOVE FOR GOD!
In a difficult season you may find it hard to continue to press forward and obey the Lord, but a love for the Lord will make it possible. John 14:15 says, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." John 15:14 says, "You are My friends, if you do what I command you." Remember when things are hard, that you love the Lord and that you are His friend. Stick close to Him...that your love for Him motivate you to still be fearless and fruit-bearing!

Cursed or Blessed?

Jeremiah 17:5 teaches us "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength." So where does the blessing come? Verse 7 says, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord." Not only does the blessing come from trust in the Lord but when the trust is the Lord is the true blessing! Remember, God does not just meet the need He is the need! We simply need Him. We will be digging into a chunk of scriptures in Jeremiah 17 but this is what we're going to start with. Meditate on this....GOD is the need that we are searching for. Let's seek Him and find Him and get to know Him more and more!