Father and Son

In our series on Jesus style ministry we’ve looked at how Jesus started with an ordinary life, lived among ordinary people allowing Him to understand and relate to the people He was reaching. He focused on building transformational relationships that were life changing. And He majored on the heart. In this final part of the series we’re going to look at the power behind Jesus ministry: His relationship with His Father.

Jesus style ministry is rooted in strong, life-giving communion with the Father. Jesus’ favorite name for God was “Father.” In the Old Testament “Father” is used 15 times, in the New Testament, it is used over 200 times.

The two times God speaks audibly in the Gospels he says the same thing. At Jesus’ baptism: And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 11:17) And at Jesus’ transfiguration: Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son whom I love. Listen to him!” (Mark 9:7).

Throughout His time on earth Jesus revealed by example what this kind of love relationship was like. He depended completely on His Father for daily direction, power and provision and obediently carried out every instruction. He often left the demands of ministry just to find a secluded place to be alone with His Father.

For every hour that Jesus spent in public, there seem to have been many, many more spent in private contemplation.

For every hour spent with the crowds, many, many more were spent with small group training and teaching. Jesus’ disciples saw His relationship with His Father and they wanted to know the Father the way Jesus did too (John 14:8).

What about us?

Do we long for that kind of intimacy with our Heavenly Father?

God wants to relate to us as a Father to His child and He’s given us the privilege of drawing near to Him.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us.. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his [children].” – Ephesians 1:3-5 

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” – 1 John 3:1 

In fact, He chose us before the foundation of the world and waits with open arms for us to enter His loving embrace.

A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, he leads forth the prisoners with singing.” – Psalm 68:5-6 

So the final point in Jesus Style Ministry, the final destination, is a person.

Love is more than a feeling.

Love is more than an action.

Love is a person to behold.

Jesus Style Ministry flows out of being loved and being in Love with the Father.

“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with signing.” Zephaniah 3:17.

Two things never change – what God says about Himself and what God says about us. What if we allow Him to love us and allow ourselves to love Him back?

To request an mp3 or audio CD of the sermon please email your request to femcpem@gmail.com

Major On The Heart

Jesus chooses ordinary people to transform and he builds them into disciple making disciples. He didn’t worry about building institutions, ministry dynasties, heavy programming or deep theology. Instead Jesus focused on the heart. And so Jesus style ministry majors on the heart.

The Pharisees missed it in Jesus’ time and today churches often miss it as well. And by missing the main thing often times we major on the wrong things. Wrong things that cloud our ability to minister to the heart of people. Wrong things such as:

Apathy – The greatest threat to love is not hate but apathy. Apathy makes us unavailable because we don’t care about anyone else but ourselves. Jesus was available to the non-persons in the culture and religion around Him. He ministered to prostitutes, children, enemy soldiers, beggars and the downtrodden. If we don’t have space in our hearts and lives for the poor and broken we don’t have space for Jesus.

The “B’s”- Butts in the seats, budgets and buildings. Counting things and making lists to demonstrate size, notoriety and influence. Jesus taught about fruit growing quietly, humbly and hidden. It’s vulnerable and starts small but in it is great potential and goodness. Just like ministry to the hearts of people.

Churchianity – Thinking that all ministry should happen in or through the church. Jesus taught in Synagogues but he also taught from mountainsides, in people’s homes and at the lakeshore. He went with the people to their homes, where they worked and where they played. Drag a man to church and he will think about fish. Take a man fishing and all day he will think about God. Jesus spent time among lost people in their space to know their heart. Because he knew their heart he knew where to direct his ministry.

Doctrine-ism – Majoring on people’s theology more than their heart. Jesus reserved His most vigorous attacks for those who would make themselves the judge and jury of another’s theology or lifestyle. Jesus majored on the hearts of people not their heads.

The broken heart; the repentant heart; the embarrassed heart; the bleeding heart; the ashamed heart. That heart could be in a blind person, a tax collector, and adulteress or a Roman centurion. To each Jesus reacted the same way, helping them to be whole, at peace and restored to the fullness of life.

What would happen if we did the same?

To request an mp3 or audio CD of the sermon please email your request to femcpem@gmail.com

Building People

 In the first part of this series we defined ministry as “Loving people and pointing to Jesus in our daily lives.”

We don’t need to be eloquent or charismatic to be a part of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus lived and made disciples out of ordinary people as they lived out their ordinary lives. In fact Jesus’ central ministry method was transformational-people-building. In other words, life on life discipleship.

It’s not glamorous; not pain-free; not immediately profitable. But the long term results are incredible. This kind of transformation cannot come from church programming or reading a book. It takes time and it takes intentionality.

So what does it mean to be a disciple?

A disciple allows Christ to transform his character – You look like Jesus.

A disciple allows Christ to transform his competency – You do what Jesus did. Apart from the transforming work of Jesus in our lives, we cannot produce kingdom fruit.

So how do we do that?

We could start with the Sunday School standards: read the Bible, pray everyday, but true discipleship starts with the heart. God is not interested in empty rituals. He wants our hearts, “This new plan I’m making with Israel isn’t going to be written on paper, isn’t going to be chiseled in stone; This time I’m writing out the plan in them, carving it on the lining of their hearts. I’ll be their God, they’ll be my people. They won’t go to school to learn about me, or buy a book called God in Five Easy Lessons. They’ll all get to know me firsthand, the little and the big, the small and the great.” Hebrews 8:10-11. Bible reading and prayer should spring from the heart’s desire to know God more and to be more available to Him. So many of us were taught that to become a disciple we needed to ask Jesus into our life but in reality, being a disciple means Jesus invites us to partake in His Life.” Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30

Ultimately to be a disciple we need to make ourselves available to Jesus.

James and John left their nets, Matthew left behind his swindler ways, Paul left behind his old name and nature. That’s what opens up our lives to transformation. That’s where we step into discipleship.

A disciple faces one direction – following Jesus.

Jesus style ministry is when ordinary people are transformed into disciples and allow their lives to have a transforming influence on others.

Let’s not settle for just inviting Jesus into our lives. Let’s accept His invitation.

To request an mp3 or audio CD of the sermon please email your request to femcpem@gmail.com

What’s Your Ministry Style?

What’s your ministry “style”?

You might say, “well I’m not a pastor or anything, I don’t have a ministry style!” But actually, you do.

If you have trusted Jesus, congratulations, you are a minister. As a minister you have a ministry style which is powerfully connected to your personality and your Saviour.

How can we define ministry?

The way I love people and point to Jesus in my daily life.

So what’s “Jesus style” ministry?

You might say, “well, I’m not some fantastic singer, great preacher, or powerful leader. I’m ordinary. How can I possibly do ministry Jesus style?”

Well, Jesus spent the first 30 years of His life living an ordinary life around ordinary people. That’s thirty years spent establishing credibility as a family member, a neighbor and a carpenter. He knew how to make, fix and sell things. He knew how to forage for a living. He knew small-town life and little people. He understood toughness, gentleness, sickness, fatigue, poverty and hopelessness. Jesus was not exempt form the awfulness of the real world as a teenager and a young man. But at the same time His extraordinary mind was being influenced by His mother Mary’s insightful view of history. He was deeply influenced by the teaching of the Scriptures in the synagogues where He attended, as was His custom. The Bible tells us he “grew in stature with God and man.”

So Jesus’ ministry style was greatly affected by how and where He grew up. He did not walk straight from Heaven into messianic ministry. Jesus spoke the language and experience of ordinary people. Jesus knew how to draw people and repel them because He knew what was important to them.

And that means that you too can minister “Jesus style.” In you ordinary life you’ve learned what it feels like to laugh, mourn, feel pleasure and pain. You know about struggles and triumphs, hopes and disappointments. You might feel so small and ordinary but that’s one of the things that God has used to prepare you for ministry.

Your ordinariness is not a liability- in fact it’s one of the things that connects you to the ministry of Jesus, because it connects you to the lives of other ordinary people around you.

To request an mp3 or audio CD of the sermon please email your request to femcpem@gmail.com