The Ministry of One

The desire to reach the masses with the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ has a downside:  the neglect of pastoral ministry to the individual.  The ability to broadcast the word of God through periodicals, books, airwaves, television and internet has resulted in a deluge of information on demand.  Knowledge alone, however, is no substitute for the personal need for all believers to be shepherded by Jesus and one another.  This interpersonal connection one with another is a critical necessity which allows the body of Christ to function in a healthy and fruitful manner.

In The Minister as Shepherd by Charles Jefferson, this point is well-illustrated by medical practice in his day:

"The modern physician is nothing if not individualistic.  Physicians never deal with men in crowds.  'One patient at a time'--that is the rule in all hospitals throughout the world.  Each patient has his own chart at the head of his bed.  The temperature of his body, the beat of his pulse, and the number of his respirations are carefully noted.  Each patient has his own diet, his special remedies, and his particular kind of nursing.  It is this sleepless vigilance, this jealous guardianship, this minuteness of observation and delicate accuracy of treatment of the individual man which has filled the modern world with miracles and given the physicians of the body their unparalleled prestige.  It is not by spectacular and scenic methods that the death rate of great cities is reduced by the faithful nursing of one patient, the loving care of the one baby, who without this care and nursing would have died.

The same policy adopted in our churches would bring equally astonishing results.  Under our present system vast volumes of energy go to waste.  Christian men and women are filled with energy, but in many cases the energy turns no wheels.  This is in every church a Niagra of force which creates neither heat nor light.  There is in every church desert land which would blossom as a rose if it were irrigated by an engineer's skill.  There are swamps which could be drained if only the necessary knowledge and genius were at hand...When we see that the work of the Christian church is work on the individual, it is then that no parish, however limited in territory, seems really small.  There is an unimaginable amount of work to be done in every church.  Young men ought not to feel that their life is thrown away because they cannot preach great sermons before a crowd.  Get rid of the oratorical conception of the ministry and put in its place the pastoral idea.  You ought not to turn your back upon a church because it seems dull and dead...Never believe that there is a church on the earth, however desolate or demon-possessed, that cannot be made to blossom with the flowers of paradise under the summer warmth created by a shepherd's care." (Jefferson, Charles Edward. The Minister as Shepherd: the Privileges and Responsibilities of Pastoral Leadership. CLC Publications, 2006. pages 80-83)

Christians should not be deterred from this pastoral approach to ministry and service because others see it it as unnecessary or outdated because of their wealth of knowledge.  Does not the Good Shepherd of the sheep, Jesus Christ, know far better what the needs of His sheep are and how to meet them?  He has chosen to connect us to one another in the Body of Christ where each member and joint supplies strength and is governed by His love one for another.  Let us be those who intercede on behalf of individuals at God's throne room of grace rather than the general masses.  We are to invest our efforts to minister to the one person God has set before us rather than lamenting over the masses who remain unreached.  The unreached will be reached as we are faithful to minister to the one, and an example is how Jesus reached all Asia through Paul.  We will not succeed by looking for a potential Paul but by looking to Jesus who turns a Saul into Paul.  If we are willing and content to be shepherded by Jesus Christ, we will be led to do God's will wherever he guides us.

Christians Have a KING

Allow me to set the scene early in Saul's reign:  the children of Israel demanded Samuel give them a king like the other nations, and God chose Saul to be anointed.  This humble man of Benjamin was literally head and shoulders taller than any man in Israel, and the people shouted for joy at his coronation:  "God save the king!"  Though a king had been chosen and crowned in Israel, life went back to normal.  Everyone returned to their houses including Saul, and men whose hearts God touched accompanied him.  What happened next was shocking.

1 Samuel 11:1-4 reads, "Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you." ² And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel." ³ Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you." ⁴ So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept."  The aggression, threat and insult of Nahash the Ammonite is no surprise, but the people of Jabesh Gilead who (along with all Israel) asked for a king for the express purpose of fighting their battles immediately forgot they had one!

The men of Jabesh Gilead offered to serve Nahash the Ammonite if he would make a covenant with them--even though it was a terrible covenant which involved gouging out their right eyes.  Then they asked for time to send messengers "to all the territory of Israel."  They were not even confident there was anyone who would fight for them or save them when they had a king.  Finally, at the hearing of the message the people in Saul's village wept in hopelessness and despair.  When the word from the messengers reached Saul, he was filled with the Holy Spirit and took immediate action to muster the nation to battle to fight for Jabesh Gilead.  By the end of the following day, the Ammonites were slain and scattered so not even two men remained together.

If the children of Israel could forget they had a king they could see with their eyes, it is evident Christians can forget they have a king Jesus Christ the anointed Messiah who remains unseen.  The Holy Spirit who came upon Saul to gather the people to war rested upon Jesus Christ the KING OF KINGS who defeated sin, Satan and death.  Jesus is not in a distant land where messengers must travel, for Hebrews 4:16 exhorts all those who are subject to Christ:  "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."  Beloved believer, do you feel hopeless like the men of Jabesh Gilead?  Are you willing to serve sin that reproaches us and our LORD?  Do you feel there is no one who can save you or redeem the difficulty you face?  Do your eyes pour with tears in despair and hoplessness for others as if there is no hope for them?

Jesus Christ is our king and the KING OF KINGS!  Perhaps the conflict you face now will be an opportunity to renew the lordship and sovereignty of Jesus over your life.  That is what happened when Saul gathered the people and defeated the Ammonites.  Samuel and the people returned with Saul to Mizpeh and "renewed" the kingdom there.  For about a year the people had lived life like they did not have a king, and I daresay there are Christians who have gone even longer without the full realisation of Christ's saving power, grace, love, forgiveness and deliverance.  What a Saviour we have in our LORD Jesus!  What a KING!  Let us praise and thank Him for His goodness to us, and worship Him in the beauty of holiness.

The Gift of God for You

When I was a kid there was a strange disconnect from the known risk of smoking and common practices.  For instance, in Southern California at our local diner upon entry a cigarette vending machine was a fixture.  A waitress would ask for our preference of "Smoking or non-smoking?"  We always chose the non-smoking section, but the view of smoke rising from tables and ashtrays was not far away.  It was ironic to me we eat to sustain the health of our bodies, whilst at the same time the clearly visible Surgeon General's Warning stated, "Smoking may be hazardous to your health."  This warning later took aim at smokers personally:  "Quitting smoking now greatly reduces serious risks to your health."

I saw a sign today in the shops in Australia that reminded me of how much things have changed.  The sign simply said, "Smoking kills."  It struck me that a sign intended to warn all of the serious health risks of smoking is no guarantee.  Smokers can always dodge the implications of the potential hazards of smoking by citing examples of people who lived healthy and died young, or people who smoked packs a day who lived a long life.  I am not a smoker myself, but I can see how easy it is to deflect the more serious warnings because they are not personal.  Even if the sign read, "Smoking will kill you" there would be those who doubted this claim, deny belief by their continued smoking or be indifferent.

One aspect I love about God's word is there is no wiggle room concerning warnings of sin.  There is no wavering maybes like, "Sin may destroy relationships" or "Sin might increase your sorrow in life" or "Sin might punch your ticket to hell."  God is absolutely clear concerning the destructive, deadly consequences of sin for people created in His image.  Ezekiel 18:20 states, "The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself."  There is no question concerning the righteous standard held forth in the 10 Commandments and the testimony of scripture, for the sovereign God speaks in absolutes.  God tells every person what are the clear consequences of sin individually:  the death of the body and ultimate eternal death of our souls.

Until now our future looks bleak because we are all born addicted to sin:  pride, rebellion, selfishness, folly and much more.  The glorious truth is the God who knows and reveals our sin also has provided a way for us to be instantly cleansed, forgiven and born again.  The lungs of a heavy smoker can recover over time after quitting, but being justified by grace through faith in Jesus is done in an instant.  When we repent of our sin and believe on Jesus as LORD and Saviour the righteousness of God is credited to us.  Paul contrasted our lives governed by sin and self and the life we have through faith in Jesus in Romans 6:21-23:  "What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. ²² But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. ²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

See the assurance God gives those who trust in Him!  All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death.  Faith in Jesus does not provide a possibility of salvation or redemption but it is a guarantee based upon what God has already said and done.  God offers all sinners the gift of salvation, having clearly communicated our need.  He has set before us a way of life and death all must choose, and the wise will hear God, believe what God says is true for them personally and obey.

The God Who Sends

I love how man plans his way, and at the same time God directs his steps.  A great passage that illustrates this is when the donkeys owned by Kish went missing.  Kish asked his son Saul to take a servant and find the donkeys which were lost.  They went from city to city looking for the donkeys and as days passed their food was spent.  After a discussion Saul and his servant decided to go to the seer Samuel and ask for guidance.  Their visit was without appointment and were appearing unannounced, but God had already orchestrated the whole affair.

1 Samuel 9:15-17 reads, "Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came, saying, ¹⁶ "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to me." ¹⁷ And when Samuel saw Saul, the LORD said to him, "There he is, the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall reign over My people."  Isn't God awesome?  God spoke to Samuel about the man from Benjamin He would send Him.  Saul had no idea he had been sent, for as far as he could tell he was on an aimless search for lost donkeys!  At the request of his father Saul obediently searched and at the same time was sent by God to Samuel to save God's people from the Philistines in response to their cries.  Samuel extended an offer of hospitality to Saul and his servant and they enjoyed a banquet prepared for them and others.

Like Saul, we can simply be going about our business--and it seem futile and pointless at that--yet God has a totally different purpose and end He will be faithful to accomplish.  We not may be one God intends to anoint as king or to be a deliverer of His people, but we can extend hospitality to those who are hungry or need a place to stay.  We can encourage one another with wisdom from God's word or be willing to accept a friendly offer of fellowship.  I imagine Saul had many things he would rather have done than look for lost donkeys, and yet it was part of God's unfolding plan on a path to becoming king.

Consider for a moment the way God sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to seek and save the lost:  He experienced suffering, endured temptation, and overcame death on Calvary to atone for the souls of sinners.  Unlike Saul, Jesus knew the purpose of His earthly pilgrimage and how He would lay down His life to redeem the lost and rise from the dead in glory.  What appeared a grave injustice on every level satisfied the justice of God, and the disciples never saw it coming.  Praise God His ways are higher than ours and He knows what He is doing, even when we feel like we are spinning our wheels and going nowhere.  We can rest confidently in His goodness and grace when we are like Saul who had no idea where the donkeys had run off to or why.  In his situation and ours God is at work, and let us labour to trust and obey God wherever He sends us.