Deep Into Ministry
Pastor Ken Crow
Ezekiel 47:1-10 (King James Version)
Ezekiel 47
1Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
The fact is this. We can go as deep into ministry as we are willing to go or we can wade around on the edges and never realize our full potential . God leaves this up to us. God does not force us to do anything nor will he somehow magically open the deeper doors of ministry if we don’t have the want to or drive to move forward.
What does it take to move deeper? Tonight we will look at three things we must make part of life as a minister if we wish to reach the deeper waters.
1. Biblical Study
2 Timothy 2:15 (King James Version)
15Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Paul in his letter to Timothy stresses without a doubt the need to study the scriptures.
We must know what we are talking about if we are to have an effective ministry.
John 14:26 (King James Version)
26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
This scripture has been taken out of context a lot over the years by those who would say that study is unimportant or not necessary because of the power of the Holy Ghost.
What Jesus is really saying here is that the Holy Ghost will teach us the ways and words of Jesus and bring them to our remembrance as we preach and witness.
The Holy Ghost works along with The Word of God. The Holy Ghost is not intended nor ever was intended to take the place of knowing what God’s Word says.
2. Prayer
We know by the Word that Jesus stayed in constant contact with God the Father.
He accomplished this through prayer.
Prayer will open up doors in the ministry.
Matthew 6:6 (King James Version)
6But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
We know Jesus instructed his disciples to pray.
One proof of their prayer life is in the following scripture.
Acts 3
1Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
The door of deep ministry opened up as a direct of Peter and John’s prayer life.
The same could be said of Paul and the rest of the new testament ministers.
3. Willingness to Learn from both God and other men and women of God.
Many times God puts people in the paths of his ministers. Sometimes these people may be other ministers . Sometimes they may be people we work with or deal with on a regular basis. Other times maybe just someone we see or meet once in our life time. It is real important that we keep an open mind. It is though these experiences we gain insight into life itself. A minister without insight into human life or understanding of human nature will never go far in the ministry. We must be willing to learn and willing to apply what we learn.
Jesus Christ had an unparalleled insight into humanity. This gave him the qualities of compassion, understanding and great patience with people.
We could go to several scriptures to confirm this insight but really all we need to do to see it is read the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Again our depth in the ministry is determined by us .
The pace that we move is determined by God himself. As we advance in our study, prayer and learning God advances us into deeper waters.
1 Peter 5:6 (King James Version)
6Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Make no mistake about it . Successful ministry requires that our ministry take priority over just about everything else. It also requires great commitment .
God did not call you and I to wade around the edge. He called us to swim , to be over taken by the river and carried from glory to glory.
God Bless and Amen
