SUSTAINING CHRISTIAN MINISTRY-II—2Peter 1:12-15
Attention:
Nuns Out Of Gas:
Two nuns were driving down a country road when they ran out of gas.
They walked to a farmhouse they had seen just down the road.
The farmer had gasoline, but it could only be pumped out of a huge barrel directly into a vehicle or a smaller container.
The only other small container the farmer had was an old bedpan. The nuns were happy to take whatever they were offered, & gratefully returned to their car with the bedpan full of gasoline.
As they were pouring the gasoline from the bedpan into the tank of their car, 2 locals drive by.
They slow down & are shocked & surprised when they witness the nuns pouring in the ‘bedpan fuel.’
Wide-eyed, they quickly look at each other & say, ‘Man I wish I had faith like that!’
They knew the Nun’s ‘bedpan fueling method’ could not be sustained!
Neither can the Gospel be sustained thru unsurrendered flesh!
*Thankfully, the Good News of Jesus Christ, IS sustainable & absolutely MUST be faithfully sustained!
Need:
Some people, who are numbered among the saved, never grasp & are never empowered by the life-changing fullness that comes with their being born-again.
They wander thru life with no direction, just as if they had never submitted themselves to Jesus at all.
They may claim membership in churches, but never discover God’s desire for themselves.
Such people have fallen victim to the devil’s mantra—‘You’re not good enough’ or ‘God can’t use me!’
*IF such a ‘defeatist attitude’ were to be maintained by ALL of God’s people, THEN God’s ‘Good News’ would be ‘Bad News’ & would never be shared! And it’s life-transforming message would die with our generation!
Such spiritually poverty-stricken outlook, willingly overlooks the fact that God calls, equips, & wants to equip, EVERY SINGLE ONE of His children, in order to further His Kingdom work on earth.
But God’s equipping must be individually invited, accepted, & individually applied.
The apostle Peter was concerned with sustaining Christian ministry.
So:
Christian ministry must be sustained indefinitely.
But:
?What sustains Christian ministry?
Or:
?How is Christian ministry sustained?
We’re attempting to answer those questions by looking at:
4 concerns, by which Christian ministry is sustained.
Last Sunday, we found that:
Christian ministry is sustained thru...
1. PERSONAL CONCERNs(:12-15)
•We looked at the personal “I”s of our verses(:12-15).
•And the TIME constraints Peter faced(:13-15).
Today we’ll find that:
2—Christian ministry is ALSO sustained thru...
NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs(:12a)
Explanation:(:12a)
:12a—“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know & are established in the present truth.”
“For this reason...” & “...of these things...”
“For” WHAT “reason”, & to what “things” does Peter refer?
“For” the “reason” that is summarized in Verses :10-11!
And “these things” refers to the exhortations of verses :1-9!
•All “these things” lead up to & give rise to Peter’s summary “reason.”
There are major things at stake in the lives of God’s people, in regard to God’s design, so Peter refuses to “be negligent” as the Church’s “reminder”!....
•Peter is concerned & consumed with putting His God-ordained calling, authority, & spiritual giftedness to work, so that all God’s people will receive an “abundant” “entrance” “into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.”
:12a—“...I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things,...”
God’s people must be ever mindful of the fullness of, & the intent of, God’s revelations, that they are for the benefit of mankind.
WHY is it of such concern to Peter that God’s people should “always” be “reminded” of the “truth.”
•That is, WHY should they be “reminded” of something that they have already received, & “know”, “& are established in”?
•BECAUSE, God’s revelation of Himself to mankind is not part of the wisdom accepted by the world at large!(1Cor. 1:18(ff)
•There are many others who carry that same burden—particularly the apostles, preachers, pastors, teachers, etc.
*BUT, shouldn’t ALL of God’s people, carry that burden/attitude with us into ALL our ministries, even as varied as they are?
•YES! We ALL should “not be negligent” in order to ensure that others of God’s people, are “always” “reminded” that the growth of our faith is to be attended to & nourished individually & together!
But what about you!? & What about every other person who is saved by God’s grace in Christ!?
No matter what purpose you & I have been individually & corporately called to by the Lord, we all need that constant “reminding.”
•BECAUSE, raw human nature—untouched by & unsubmitted to God—compels each one of us to be INTENT ON the ultimate control of our own personal world!
•BUT such personal control, flies in the face of surrendering personal control of our hearts & minds to God’s control!
•We don’t want to lose control, even when we know with certainty, that God’s control would potentially invite to ourselves His perfections of all knowledge to all creation!
•God’s people battle with that every day of their lives(Eph. 6:10-13).
Eph. 6:10-13—“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord & in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh & blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, & having done all, to stand.”
As with Peter, so every Christian individual, would do well to commit themselves to “not be negligent” about...1)RECEIVING the “reminders” that always come to us by & thru the ministries of others!
AND all God’s people must be committed to “not be negligent” about...
2)Being those who “remind” others OURSELVES! So that others will be saved in Christ, & so that the GREAT NEWS of life in Christ will be sustained indefinitely, as intended!
Argumentation:
Rom. 15:14-16—“Now I myself am confident concerning you, my brethren, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, as reminding you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”
Php. 3:1-3—“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, & have no confidence in the flesh,”
Heb. 10:32-36—“But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches & tribulations, & partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, & joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better & an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:”
Ezek. 33:1-7—“Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, & say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, & the people of the land take a man from their territory & make him their watchman, ‘when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet & warns the people, ‘then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet & does not take warning, if the sword comes & takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head. ‘He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life. ‘But if the watchman sees the sword coming & does not blow the trumpet, & the people are not warned, & the sword comes & takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.’ “So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth & warn them for Me.”
All God’s people are ‘watchmen’ among themselves & for the lost! We have a mandate from God, to share & live out His unmerited forgiveness, love, & mercy toward others.
?Do you have concern for your brother in Christ?
?Do you have concern for your neighbor, who may not know Christ?
Illustration:
As I stated around Thanksgiving, whenever I bake pumpkin pies, I initially put them in the oven at 425º for 15 minutes. THEN I turn the heat down to 350º for 45 minutes. THEN I turn the heat off, but leave the pies in the oven until both the oven & the pies cool to the touch.
However, IF I was to NEGLECT turning the heat down from 425º to 350º it would burn & ruin the pies. It would be wasteful to burn them.
*I always use a timer because I have NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs!
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I don’t want to fail God! I don’t want to walk away from something that I know to be God’s will, simply because I might see it as impossible for me to do....After all, he regularly has, & still uses, a man who was not, & is still not, a public speaker(ME!)!
So I know for an absolute fact, that God can do ANYthing, thru ANYone! He can do ANYthing thru ANYone that He calls, to ANY course of action! And that’s regardless of whether YOU or I think it’s impossible!
•Or said another way...There is absolutely NOTHING that will be IMPOSSIBLE for you—as an individual, or as the church—IF God is the One who calls you to it!
NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs
Thru personal NEGLIGENCE, Christian ministry is ALWAYS diminished!
Whereas thru your personal COMMITMENT, Christian ministry ALWAYS thrives & grows!
Application:
?Is Christian ministry sustained thru YOUR NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs?
?Are YOU sustaining legitimate Christian ministry in the world?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
The Nun’s could not sustainably fuel their vehicle with the ‘typical’ contents of a bedpan!
The Good News of Jesus Christ, absolutely MUST be faithfully sustained!
Action:
Christian ministry is sustained thru...
2. NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs(:12a)
1. PERSONAL CONCERNs(:12-15)
Pt#s 2 only! presented 01/12/2025am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Rd.
Bennettsville, SC 29512
