CMS Session Five, An Effective Servant Submits to God

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[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

Monday, February 19, 2007

Christian Ministry Seminar

Joel Hernandez

Session 4: An Effective Servant submits to God

So far we have discussed these four things:

We are inadequate judges of our own effectiveness.

Others are inadequate judges of our effectiveness.

Results are inadequate criterion of ministry effectiveness.

Christ is the only judge of ministry effectiveness.

We have also looked at the first three of the “Four Characteristics of an Effective servant of the Lord:”

1-An Effective Servant believes God.

Hebrews 11:6

-Faith is useless until it is exercised.

-Faith runs contrary to rational explanation and science.

-Faith does not need to rely on experience.

-Faith edges one to dispense with social protocol.

-Faith recognizes the power of God and the need for mercy.

-Faith springs from an unwavering grasp of God's Word.

-Faith is persistent even when denied (or “Faith won't take no for an answer”)

2-An Effective Servant knows God.

Jeremiah 9:23

-Its not too early to start

-We don't need a perfect environment to know God

-Do not mistake service for knowing Him

-Do not mistake collaboration with God's servants for knowing him.

-Do not mistake your parents' godliness for knowing God.

-Do not mistake knowing God's attributes for knowing him.

3-An Effective Servant fears God.

Proverbs 29:25

Three things that will help you to overcome the fear of man:

1-The fear of God

2-Acknowledge the Lord's presence

3-Trust God for temporal deliverance, without expecting that He must exercise it

Now we are going to look at the fourth “Characteristic of an Effective servant of the Lord:”

4-An Effective Servant submits to God.

1-Jesus Christ is Lord

Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

The great commission as we come to know it springs from Christ having all authority and power. If Christ is Lord, everything he teaches must be heeded!

Philippians 2:8-11 (ESV)

And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The purpose why God has highly exalted Christ is that every knee should bow, every tongue should confess. That bowing and confessing should start now with the heart, with sincerity we need to start.

Col 1:15-18 (ESV)

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

Who is superior in this universe? In the Church? In the spiritual realm? In nature? The Lord Jesus Christ. He is Lord!

John 5:22-27 (ESV)

The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

The father has entrusted all authority to judge into Christ's hands. The authority to judge and rule over all. He is Lord!

2-Since Jesus Christ is Lord, we must submit to Him

Luke 6:46 (ESV)

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you?

A servant has no will of his own, no work of his own, and no worry of his own” -Robert Lightner

Sometimes we approach God and say “before I sign on the dotted line, show me the fine print”.

When Saul of Tarsus was approached by God on the road to Damascus and realized who Christ was, the first words out of his mouth were “what do you want me do?” The Lord does not show you the whole panorama of your life. He will not lay out the future plan of your life for you. You must simply trust the Lord and he will unfold His plan for you.

3-The Lordship of Christ demands complete submission

“There is not an inch of any sphere of life which the Lord does not demand” -Abraham Kuyper

We try to limit the absolute Lordship of Christ by saying “yes Christ I will do this, but please not here!” What would you think of a spouse that is 85% faithful? We cannot be 90%, or 99% or 99.9%

faithful to Christ. We need to obey Him 100% of the time! So what if you were not faithful yesterday? Forget that disobedience of the past and obey him now! Say yes now to the Lord.

4-The Lordship of Christ demands unqualified submission

What would one do if the tools in his toolbox started talking to him? For instance, what if the hammer refused to hammer at metal nails but only wooden pegs? Or if the chisel wanted to do the job of sandpaper, instead of chiseling? What would one do with such tools? Go to the nearest trash and throw them in and find other tools willing to do the work for which you have purchased them to do.

Much like these tools, the Lord has purchased you and wants to use you as he pleases. The Lord might tell you to do something that you will not want to do, or something that you don't think will bear fruit. Whatever he asks, be willing to do it. Say “the answer is yes, now what is the question?”

So what has made the apostles, and the martyrs, and the great men of Christ effective over the ages? It wasn't their ability to speak, or their looks, or anything they had in and of themselves. The effective servants were marked by these four things:

They believed God.

They knew God.

They feared God.

They submitted to God.

CMS Session Four, An Effective Servant Fears God

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[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

Session 4: An Effective servant fears God

Proverbs 29:25 (ESV)

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

On the missions field, the fear of man has been an enormous snare.

The fear of man is a trap that swallows up its visitors.

Fear (definition) - to tremble, to quake, to shake. Fear before men brings a snare. It is a very American way of thinking to say “if you don't like me, that’s OK.” In Mexico people go way out of their way to please men; they just go with the flow. So you say that you don't care about what people think of you?

Some examples of biblical figures that feared men:

- Abraham feared man and because of that he lied about who Sarah was in Egypt.

- The spies sent into Canaan feared men and decided not to go into the land.

- Aaron feared men and when Moses was gone on the mountain he gave in and did what the people desired.

- The leaders in Jesus' time feared men and therefore navigated carefully when answering questions.

- Peter swore he would never deny his Lord, but because he feared one servant girl, he denied Him.

Because of the fear of man, many people reject the gospel. They will say that they understand it and that they understand the implications of it, but they will not accept him at the thought of what their family and friends will say. It is because of the fear of man that many do not share Christ with their neighbors. In this context many find it strange that we are told to fear the Lord. Fear is the proper attitude of the creature toward the creator.

All of us are directed by fear in each one of our decisions, our preferences, our priorities. We therefore must choose how to act and form our priorities based on our fears.

Many believers don't share or speak publicly because they fear man. This fear quenches our testimonies, silences our worship, and hinders our prayers.

Fear of God is positive; it is the proper attitude of a creature before its creator.

The fear of man is a TRAP. This fear betrays us into participating in the sins of others. It Promotes such sins as favoritism, hypocrisy, and cowardice. It never satisfies. No matter who we try to please, another person will be unhappy. Fear of man prevents us from putting our eyes on the Lord.

The fear of man is IDOLATRY. We fear man and not because we love man and wish his good, but because we love ourselves above anything else in the world and wish our own good.

The fear of man is an OBSTACLE. The fear of man is an obstacle to what the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in my life and through me. Elijah did not fear man when confronting the Baal prophets other examples of this are David when facing Goliath, Nathan when confronting David, and John the Baptist throughout his ministry.

What the fear of man causes us to do:

-The fear of man in us makes us seek other people's applause.

-The fear of man makes us think more highly of ourselves than we should.

-The fear of man dejects us when others speaks badly of us.

-The fear of man makes us angry when others receive recognition that we deserve.

-The fear of man drives us to let everyone know when a mistruth has been told about us.

-The fear of man makes us joke or poke fun at others.

-The fear of man makes us not speak of Christ to others.

-The fear of man makes us ignore sin in our lives and in the lives of others.

-The fear of man makes us speak when we should be silent and silent when we should speak.

-The fear of man makes us choose other commitments over our family.

-The fear of man incapacitates us.

So what is the antidote to the fear of man?

Overcoming the fear of man

1-The fear of God

Matthew 10:28 (ESV)

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

2-Acknowledge the Lord's presence

Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Hebrews 13:5-6

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"

(Heb 13:5-6 ESV)

3-Trust God for temporal deliverance, without expecting that He must exercise it

Daniel 3:17-18 (ESV)

If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."

CMS Session Three, An Effective Servant Knows God

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[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

Session 3: The Profile of an Effective Servant

In the previous session we observed that an effective servant believes God.

Today we will look at how: an Effective Servant Knows God

1 Samuel 2:12-18 (ESV)

Now the sons of Eli were worthless men. They did not know the LORD. The custom of the priests with the people was that when any man offered sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot. All that the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not accept boiled meat from you but only raw." And if the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat first, and then take as much as you wish," he would say, "No, you must give it now, and if not, I will take it by force." Thus the sin of the young men was very great in the sight of the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt. Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy clothed with a linen ephod.

What we are seeing here is a practice that the author is describing as common to the day. The priest put a fork into the pot where the sacrificed mean was cooking. This was not his portion. The Lord had been very specific in telling the priests that they were to have only certain parts of the meat.

In contrast to the sons of Eli, Samuel is shown. What could Samuel do being so young? Not much, but he could serve and be of help.

1 Samuel 3:1-20 (ESV)

Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. Then the LORD called Samuel, and he said, "Here I am!" and ran to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call; lie down again." So he went and lay down. And the LORD called again, "Samuel!" and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." But he said, "I did not call, my son; lie down again." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli perceived that the LORD was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, "Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came and stood, calling as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant hears." Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of the LORD. And Samuel was afraid to tell the vision to Eli. But Eli called Samuel and said, "Samuel, my son." And he said, "Here I am." And Eli said, "What was it that he told you? Do not hide it from me. May God do so to you and more also if you hide anything from me of all that he told you." So Samuel told him everything and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let him do what seems good to him." And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground. And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established as a prophet of the LORD. And the LORD appeared again at Shiloh, for the LORD revealed himself to Samuel at Shiloh by the word of the LORD.

Here is a child laying in the dark, and accustomed to serving. When he hears the voice of the Lord he mistakes it for that of the priest, and runs quickly to serve. The problem is very clearly stated in verse 7. “Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, and the word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him.”

What the Lord had to say was a hard thing for such a young boy to hear. The Lord was bringing judgment on this wicked family. Samuel was afraid for a very good reason when Eli came to him in the morning. He was supposed to tell the high priest that Lord was going to destroy Eli and his house.

No matter what kind of background you come from, we all have to come to a point in our life where we have to take God's hand for ourselves. We have to let go of our parents hand and search out God for ourselves. This is what I see happening on that day with Samuel. Have you let go of your parents hand? Have you grasped God for yourself?

Knowing God is not the result of learning about him in Sunday school, Awana, or at Bible College.

Knowing God is not about “knowing about God”

Knowing God is not about academic knowledge.

Knowing him is about leaning about his true character and living in that light.

Jeremiah 9:23-24 (ESV)

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

There is only one thing you should brag about, and that is that you know him and understand him; and once you are at that point, you will realize that there isn't even any room for that.

1 Samuel 3:1-20 tells us that knowing God is about learning to hear his voice and following it and growing because of it. Godliness is the outflow of knowing God. It will make your Christian walk dynamic, refreshing, and wonderful.

Its not too early to start. Samuel was very young when he came to know God.

You do not need a perfect environment to know God. Samuel had a self indulgent man for a mentor. The world around him was in decay. There was blatant disobedience and disregard for God and his will. Samuel did not grow up in a nurturing environment

Do not mistake service of God for know God. Samuel was serving God faithfully day in and day out; but Samuel still did not know God or his word. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, you cannot really serve him unless you know him. Do not get so busy serving him that you neglect getting to know him.

Do not mistake collaboration with God's servants for knowing him. You might be working with some very spiritual men and women, some people very close to God, but they aren't him! Samuel was serving with the priest, yet he still did not know God.

Do not mistake your parents' godliness for knowing God. It would be a mistake for you to believe that just because your parents are believers that you are also. Samuel had a Godly mother, and yet he still did not know God.

Do not mistake knowing God's attributes for knowing him. You might have learned wonderful new things about God. You might be filled with all sorts of facts and key passages; but this is in no way a substitute for actually knowing him!

Ephesians 1:15-23

For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Yes the apostle was concerned about them for many different reasons, but over all other things, he desired that they Know God.

Colossians 1:9-12

And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

As you come to believe in God and as you come to know God, you will become a more effective servant for God. That is how the prophets of the Old Testament were. The content of their messages was not what they decided would be good, but it was this: “thus sayeth the Lord.”

CMS Session Two, Effectiveness Defined

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Monday, February 19, 2007 - Cristian Ministry Seminar - Joel Hernandez

[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

Session 2: Effectiveness Defined
Main Text:
Mat 9:27-31 (ESV)
"And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David." When he entered the house, the blind men came to him, and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to him, "Yes, Lord." Then he touched their eyes, saying, "According to your faith be it done to you." And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it." But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.


We are inadequate judges of our own effectiveness.
Others are inadequate judges of our effectiveness.
Results are inadequate criterion of ministry effectiveness.
Christ is the only judge of ministry effectiveness.

In the previous session we observed four characteristics of an effective servant. Tonight we will focus on this one: An Effective Servant Believes God. You need faith in God to be an effective worker for God. So you might say “but Joel, I have faith in God, after all I'm saved!” We need to grow and develop the faith that we have.

Why is it important to have faith in God?

Psalms 34:8 (ESV)
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Matthew 23:23 (ESV)
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

The pharisees camped on the smaller details instead of focusing on what God really had in mind for them.

Proverbs 34:6 (ESV)
"This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles."

Isaiah 26:3 (ESV)
"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Matthew 17:20 (ESV)
"He said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you."

There is a direct correlation between your effectiveness in service and your faith.

Luke 8:23-25 (ESV)
"And as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. And they went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we are perishing!" And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, "Where is your faith?" And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?"

Hebrews 10:38 (ESV)
"But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him."

I always thought that this verse was talking about how the unrighteous were justified, but its actually about how those who have been declared righteous should live!

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."


As I look at the lives of these men, I see this principles at work:

Faith is useless until it is exercised.
In the Matthew 9 passage, the blind men could have sat around and waited for the Lord to do as he might, but instead they ran to meet Christ calling "Have mercy on us, Son of David."

Faith runs contrary to rational explanation and science.
There was no rational reason for the blind men to believe that Christ could heal their blindness.
Romans 4:19-21 (ESV)
He (Abraham) did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.
Abraham clung to the promise that God gave him even though he and his wife were both much too old to create a child. Even though science and reason told him that it was not possible, he had faith and believed. If you want to become an effective servant you need to trust in the Lord even when it defies logic and reason.

Faith does not need to rely on experience.
There was not a long list of people that could attest to and be looked to for examples of people that Jesus had healed. Nevertheless, these men did not ask the Lord how many blind people he had healed before them. They simply had faith that he could.

Faith edges one to dispense with social protocol.
Sometimes faith demands that you do something that does not seem normal or socially acceptable. The blind men had to follow after Christ had to call after him, and even after that Jesus still went right on into the house and they had to follow him in. Calling Jesus the “Son of David” was definitely against social protocols. The Jewish leadership had declared that anyone proclaiming Jesus to be the messiah would be cast out of the synagogue.

Faith recognizes the power of God and the need for mercy.
The blind men definitely realized that they needed God's mercy on them in order for their eyes to be healed.

Faith springs from an unwavering grasp of God's Word.
How did these men know that Jesus was the “Son of David”? The religious leaders certainly weren't prepared to call him that. This is the first narrative use of this title in the gospel of Matthew. It is his messianic title. The Canaanite woman recognized him as this, the blind men did also, and so did the crowd at the triumphal entry. On the other hand, the leaders were certain that Christ's power was given to him by Satan. How did some see this but the leaders not? By knowing the Word of God. Without it they would have no reason to know or believe it. They clung to the Word of God and acted in faith.

Faith is persistent even when denied (or “Faith won't take no for an answer”)
When we pray we should approach the Judge and ask for justice. We should approach our Lord and ask for his mercy, instead of wavering prayers that say “Lord, maybe, if it be your will...”
So how can you make this practical. How can I apply this to my life? You are only 18, 19, 20 years old. You might have not seen God prove himself to you, so how will you be able to have faith?

You have to come to the end of yourself. As long as you are the authority for your life, you will not be able to trust in the Lord. You will need to let go of your expectations. Let go of the expectation that God is going to bless you with a wonderful life, a large house, a new car, great children, and a hugely successful ministry. Take away all of these false indicators.

You will need to take God at his word in childlike acceptance. Even when it is the most illogical, unreasonable, nonsensical answer that you think you can get. Oh for grace to trust you more!
You will need to cling to God as if he were your only hope of survival. Because he is.
You will come to the end of all that you can do and the end of all that can be done, and Christ will still be standing next to you.

CMS Session One, An Effective Servant Defined

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[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

Session 1: An Effective Servant Defined
Luke 11:37-12:7 (ESV)
"While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him, so he went in and reclined at table. The Pharisee was astonished to see that he did not first wash before dinner. And the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within, and behold, everything is clean for you. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it." One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying these things you insult us also." And he said, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say. In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. "I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."
You came to Emmaus to be equipped to serve the Lord. I assume that you want to be effective. You will need Bible training, you will need the support of your home assembly but those won't be enough. When my wife and I went to Mexico to serve the Lord and we thought that we were done being grown and trained. We found out that that was not true at all.


Four Characteristics of an Effective servant of the Lord:
An Effective Servant believes God.
An Effective Servant knows God.
An Effective Servant fears God.
An Effective Servant submits to God.
The Mexico City Earthquake of 1985 showed that many buildings that were thought to be solid were not strong as they seemed. I think of the Pharisees in this passage when I think of the earthquake. They were who people would turn to in a time of need. They tried to be moral, upright people on the outside; but because they neglected their inner condition, they were exactly the wrong people to turn to in situations like that.
Had you been on the scene just before Jesus arrived and asked the Pharisees what they thought about the effectiveness of their service of the Lord, they would have most certainly said “yes!” They thought they were pretty good servants, but the opposite was true.


We are inadequate judges of our own effectiveness. Jesus said great things of John the Baptist, yet John sat in prison disillusioned and wondering about who Christ really was. Jeremiah also wondered about the effectiveness of his service. In Matthew 25:32-46, when the sheep are divided from the goats, it is not surprising to see that both the sheep and the goats misjudge their worthiness.
My admonition to you is this: do not rely on your feelings. These feelings are not only irrelevant, but can be misleading also. The heart is deceitful above all things!


Others are inadequate judges of our effectiveness. People are easily mislead by appearances. I was chatting about the gospel with two women in the market. They thought I looked like a catholic saint, but they didn't realize that my paleness was a symptom of typhoid! Man looks on the outside appearance but God looks in on the heart. Men are fallible, near sighted, outwardly focused. Beware of satisfying yourself with impressing others, with having others judge you and your ministry's worthiness.


Results are inadequate criterion of ministry effectiveness. Today, numbers are a huge part of judging the effectiveness of a ministry. The Lord is not going to ask us what out ministry's mission statement was. The pharisees looked great on the outside, but were rotting away on the inside. You could have a great following, have books published, have all men's praise, and still not please God. Look at Jonah and how his preaching turned 120,000 people to God; but then you would have to pull out the kind of microscope that God uses and examine the parts of a man that God does.
There will be those that, when face to face with God, will say “look at the great things we did in your name!” but God will tell them to depart from himself because he is not pleases with their inner condition even though they had great results.


Christ is the only judge of ministry effectiveness.
1Co 4:5 (ESV)
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
2Co 5:9-10 (ESV)
So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
Christ is the only true and faithful judge of ministry effectiveness.
Effectiveness in ministry is not judged by yourself, or by others, or by the results. It is not you who will do the judging at the Judgment seat of Christ, it will be Him! It is my desire for you students to hear at that time: “well done good and faithful servant.”
We also need to remember that we do not have the authority to judge another's ministry. That is the place only for Christ. Who are we to usurp His rightful place? You should not judge your own ministry, and likewise you should also not judge other's ministries. Search the scriptures to see what will make a man an effective servant of the Lord. Let His standards from His word judge your ministry.


These are four principles that I believe create a profile of an effective servant:
An Effective Servant believes God.
An Effective Servant knows God.
An Effective Servant fears God.
An Effective Servant submits to God.

May the Lord bless you.
------------------------
Thanks to Ben Gates for the excellent note taking

Winterfest Thursday and Friday Evenings

Thanks to Ivan Munigia and Caleb Togami

Chapel: February 12 2007

[These are notes taken during the session, not the message itself.]

1 Thessalonians

Paul’s compliment V.1:3

Work of faith

Labor of love

Steadfastness of hope

They were a young church, but he could already say these things of them

He hears from other churches of what they do

We should be surprised therefore by the rebuke in chapter 4

Chapter 4 implies they have a need for spiritual growth

A need for protecting themselves for the long run

This involves a central truth that we are not careful enough about

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8

With temptations all around us in the world, Paul’s exhortation is very pertinent to us

The Thessalonians are striving to be like Christ and are hungering for him

But they must be careful in this area

Sanctification

He could talk about past or future sanctification

But he chooses to talk about present

The will of god is your sanctification

He wants you to be set apart for his use only

He will lead you in the paths of righteousness

He brings out a particularly difficult area of sanctification – sexuality

You need to understand the struggle

You need to understand how you are lead astray

King David’s example

A man after god’s own heart

Even after being warned about who she is,

God wants us to be pure and help us be pure

Hold yourself completely aloof from these situations

Set up boundaries for yourself

v.4 Each of you…(text)

vessel – euphemism for the body

2 Tim. 2:21

Romans 1:24

We need to understand how we work, how we are tempted in order to abstain from sin

We need to understand in general how your gender works, and how you yourself operate

Compartmentalization – What you do on Saturday has nothing to do with what you do on Sunday morning

But god is telling us to grow in all aspects of out lives, not just in compartmentalized sections – including our sexuality

“Be careful little eyes what you see”

v. 7-8 (text)

1 Corinthians 6 – our bodies are temples of the holy spirit

We must learn about ourselves

Sense our needs

Sense our weaknesses

Protect ourselves

Why do we allow ourselves to even be in situations where we know we will be tempted?

To abstain is to keep away from it completely

We ought not say to ourselves that we can get as close to the edge as possible and then say we can walk away

The question is not “how far can I go?” but “how should I act?”

So many of us say to ourselves say “I want as much as I can possibally have up to the line” but we don’t ask “is this what god wants for us?”

We might be doing well in many areas just as the Thessalonians were, but we might still ruin it all by falling into sexual sin

2 Timothy 2 – god wants us to be useful and available to him

It was a lie of Satan to say to eve ‘eat of the fruit and then you will know the difference between good and evil’

If we want to know what the will of god is for our lives, this is it:

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor”

The Emmaus Blog Staff

An Updated Emmaus Conferences Blog

Hi! We're two students at Emmaus Bible College, Ben Gates and Ryan Thompson. This will be the blog that we use to post updates of the special events and conferences at Emmaus throughout the year. Some highlights will be,

CMS 2007
Winterfest
Spring Banquet
Graduation (maybe)
ISI 2007
Sadies
Christmas Banquet
And so on...

For conferences we will be posting each main session with photos (and if we can figure out how, audio) and a manuscript of each session. This will be both fun and useful to not only students but Emmaus patrons and parents.
Happy Events,
The Emmaus Blog Staff