July 22, 2001
Doing the work of ministry is like eating an elephant¡Kyou take one bite at a time! The reason is obvious¡Kthe hide of an elephant, is thick, tough, and the elephant doesn¡¦t let go of it without a fuss!
In the same way, ministry can be an uphill struggle:
„Ñ People get saved one soul at a time.
„Ñ Families get helped one hand at a time.
„Ñ Lives are touched and changed one on one ¡V one at a time!
There are variables ¡V things that change in ministry. One thing that is not, however is time. Time is not variable ¡V we all have seven 24-hour days in each week.
When it comes to the number of lives touched, people helped, it is the variables that make the difference. What are the variables? Some, over which we have no measure of control, are:
„Ñ Opportunity ¡V The Father is the One who sends windows of opportunity.
„Ñ Gifts ¡V It is the Spirit of God who gives spiritual gifts to persons for the ministry.
Some other variables, which we can control or influence, are:
„Ñ Effort ¡V Often the reason we accomplish little is connected to our willingness to try.
„Ñ Cooperation ¡V There is much a person like Billy Graham can do, but it would be nothing, compared to what 125 believers working in cooperation can accomplish.
„Ñ Unity ¡V When there is mutual respect for persons, and the importance of each individual in the body of Christ, there is that blessed unity of spirit in which wonderful, awesome, miraculous things happen. Often it is difficult to describe unity, but you always know it when you see it.
Effort, cooperation and unity ¡V the variables which believers in Christ must conquer to do this eating the elephant ¡V this huge, undefined, unfinished piece of work Jesus said we must do ¡V and the way James said we should do it; let¡¦s look at ministry, one bite at a time¡Ksee
THE MARKS OF UNIFIED, COOPERATIVE EFFORT IN THE LIFE OF A LOCAL CHURCH LIKE OURS¡K
It¡¦s a Praying Church
13Are any among you suffering? They should keep on praying about it. James 5.13a
Praying is a matter of continually asking for guidance and wisdom about dealing with the adversities life doles-out. Wise leaders know, as do wise followers, that when the enemy draws near it is time to circle the wagons for maximum effectiveness.
J.D. Grey was the longtime pastor at First Baptist Church, New Orleans. Dr. Grey was being honored during a 1982 chapel service at New Orleans Baptist Seminary. Dr. Landrum Leavell introduced Dr. Grey, and told about his West Texas roots. In his message on church cooperation, Grey told us young, eager-to-learn preachers:
Boys, out on the range we could always tell ¡V even from a great distance ¡V whether they was [sic] horses or jackasses out there. When the coyotes or other predators threatened, them horses gather in a circle with their heads on the inside, ready to kick at any attackers on the outside.
Them jackasses were some different. If they was attacked, the circle was heads-out & tails-in, kickin¡¦ the daylights outa each other on the inside! Boys, it ain¡¦t much different in the church. If ya got jackasses they¡¦ll kick the stuffin¡¦ outa each other. Better to go pray with the horses when the coyotes gather!
A praying church will find a way. It is done with whole-heartedness. James said those suffering should keep on praying. In bygone days it was called praying through. That means to persevere ¡V don¡¦t give up ¡V find God¡¦s hand in whatever is happening and trace it all the way to His heart.
Sometimes that takes great cooperation and creativity in a praying church. The attacks and difficulties of life can wear you down.
A farmer came into the barn at the end of the day too pooped to move. It was time to milk Gertrude. As he plunked the milk bucket down and flopped on the stool, Gertrude looked at him with compassion.
Hard day? asked the cow. Oh, man, said the farmer, the worst ¡V I¡¦m worn, slap-out; Don¡¦t know if I have the strength to milk you, ol¡¦ girl.
Tell you what, replied Gertrude, You need the milk, and I sure need to get rid of it. You just reach out and hang on ¡V I¡¦ll jump up an¡¦ down for a while, and we¡¦ll get the job done!
A praying church has the kind of unity, cooperation and effort that sometimes colors outside the lines. But they find a way to do what God reveals in prayer.
It¡¦s a Celebrating Church
And those who have reason to be thankful should continually sing praises to the Lord. James 5.13b
God¡¦s people have always been known as a singing people. There are so many references in Scripture that teach us to sing unto the Lord, and praise the Lord. We could spend the next two days just covering them. Just listen to a few:
Psalm 30:4 Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.
Psalm 150.6 Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord
If you take the time to read through God¡¦s word, there is not much room for doubt that we are to be a celebrating people.
A woman shared about having a conversation at a local women¡¦s club luncheon, a young woman sitting across from [her] spoke of the camaraderie she felt with her mother-in-law since they¡¦d opened a small craft shop.
[All the women] looked at her in disbelief as she talked about the many tasks they performed together. When someone asked how she managed to avoid the typical in-law clashes, she answered, It helps that one of us has a good disposition. Amused, [she] asked which of them that was. Oh, she laughed, we take turns! (1)
That¡¦s the deal about a celebrating church ¡V we take turns. Many people in the world haven¡¦t a clue (and some in the church don¡¦t either) ¡V we have been called to a party! Jesus has called us to worship Him ¡V but folks, like Martha Stewart says, it¡¦s a good thing! There is room in our smiles and laughter for reverence ¡V those aren¡¦t mutually exclusive terms. Jesus had the best time while serving the Father, and we should too!
So, if the singing and praising is an effort for you, sing anyway! On the other hand ¡V if, when some of us who are more intelligent, good-looking and generally favored by the Lord, but sing off-key, off-beat, and off-everything else join in the singing ¡V you musical types just get over it. We have a command here to celebrate, and us tone-deafers are gonna join right in! Amen, all you monotone, half-noters?
It¡¦s a Healing Church
14Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And their prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make them well. And anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. James 5.14-15
Sickness was worse in the first century than now. No matter what you thought the last time you waited two hours in the doctor¡¦s office, things are much better now. We have a prayer list that stretches to Charlotte. Imagine how much the need for prayer was in James¡¦ day.
The word ¡§anointing¡¨ immediately tells us what James, the very practical brother of Jesus meant about the oil. Two words are used for anointing in the Bible. One is a religious ceremony, preparing one for special service, as when Jesus was anointed by Mary Magdalene with the precious ointment. That word is not used here.
The other word, used here, means to rub in, as in the use of a medical application, or smearing. Oil was the chicken soup of James¡¦ day. In short, James said, Pray, and see your family doctor!
The church has always gone the extra mile in cooperating with effort to heal the sick. Our job is to minister healing.
One man told about a midweek prayer service, a member requested prayer for a neighbor woman who was having a difficult time and was feeling just miserable. Volunteering to take the request, a man fervently prayed, O God, bless this miserable woman! (2)
Ladies and gentlemen, there is plenty of misery that we might address in this world. A healing church is one in which we make it a practice to get close enough to be hands-on to help.
A survey was printed in an Animal Hospital periodical that 54% of pet owners who would choose their pet as a companion over another human if stranded on on a desert island. (3)
To be a healing church, we have got to decide that we love people ¡V even if our pets treat us better! We were not love-worthy when Jesus died for us. But he came to minister, not to be loved. A healing church means effort ¡V it means cooperation, and it means being unified in purpose.
There are a lot of hurting people who need to be healed. Emotional hurt, Abuse, Addiction, AIDS, Divorce, Grieving, and the lost.
Healing the hurting is an elephant no individuals can begin to eat alone. Joining hands in the name of Jesus is the way we treat the untreatable.
It¡¦s a Humble Church
16Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results. 17Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for the next three and a half years! 18Then he prayed for rain, and down it poured. The grass turned green, and the crops began to grow again. 19My dear brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back again, 20you can be sure that the one who brings that person back will save that sinner from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. James 5.16-20
The humility that allows for personal confession never comes easily ¡V especially if I have to go first! However, James tells us our healing depends on it!
A woman was away for a few days at a teachers¡¦ convention. Suddenly she remembered it was Monday, trash day, and she expressed her concern to her friend.
But her friend tried to calm her fears, reminding her that her husband was still at home and he could certainly put out the trash by himself. But she said, It takes both of us to take out the trash. I can¡¦t carry it and he can¡¦t remember it. (4)
I heard a thirty-year Southern Baptist missionary to Africa quote an old African saying: You cannot kill a flea with one finger. (5)
Friends, there are many things we can each do on our own. However, the effect in the kingdom will be measured by the humble spirit with which we approach what needs to be done.
Should we approach anything
„Ñ without cooperativeness?
„Ñ Without combined effort?
„Ñ Without the unity of the Spirit?
James gave a couple of examples. Elijah was as simple a person as you or me. Yet, in response to his prayer, God changed nature.
His second example is about bringing the straying brother back into the fold. We (like most churches) have a bunch of ¡¥em. We have folks who still ¡§hold membership¡¨ yet never worship here. James was talking about them.
To be certain, there are some who are just
plain ¡§paperwork¡¨ errors ¡V folks who have moved and joined another church. We just never got the message.
But there are those who got saved here, and are now inactive in worship and fellowship. James tells us those people are in danger of an early demise because of their backslidden way. We have a responsibility to win them back¡Krestore the brothers.
Three thousand frightening feet above the ground, Soviet sport parachutist Yuri Belenko realized he was in trouble. His main chute had malfunctioned, and his reserve chute "barber poled" around the main, rendering them both useless.
Kicking his feet to slow the natural spiral caused by the noisy whipping canopies above, Belenko yelled down to fellow jumpers on the ground. His jump buddies sprang immediately into action, grabbed a packing mat, and sprinted toward the impact point.
All the way down Belenko yelled and tugged furiously at the static lines in a vain attempt to clear the two tangled chutes. Below, his friends stretched the mat taught¡Kand waited.
Belenko plummeted into the canvas at bone-crushing speed, ripping the tarp from his rescuers¡¦ hands, and knocking them to the ground. When the dust cleared, Belenko lay gasping for breath and complaining of a sprained ankle. In addition to the injured leg, he suffered a few bruises.
His jump buddies were there for Belenko at the moment he needed them most. This is a picture of what God wants people in the body of Christ to do for others in need. (6)
In the examples James uses, Elijah¡¦s prayer, and winning the backsliding brother, he talks about power ¡V the power of God.
Dear ones ¡V that is what it takes to eat the elephant of ministry.
„Ñ Will we see this power here at Cedar Lodge church?
„Ñ Will you see it operative in your personal life?
„Ñ In the life of your Sunday School class?
„Ñ Your pastor?
„Ñ Our Deacon body?
„Ñ The choir?
I think you¡¦re already seeing it ¡V when we link arms, link together our lives in cooperation, in effort, and in unity. One purpose, one goal ¡V eating the elephant of ministry, that huge task we call reaching our world, our nation, our city, our inactive members, our own families, our own hearts over to King Jesus!
Is your heart ready to eat an elephant?
(1) Jane Paramore, Denton, TX. Heart to Heart, Today¡¦s
Christian Woman.
(2) Gladys Brown, Bucyrus, Ohio. Christian Reader,
Lite Fare
(3) American Animal Hospital, cited in American
Demographics (7/96). To Verify, Leadership
(4) James S. Hewett, Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton:
Tyndale House Pub. Inc, 1988)
(5) Dr. Saunders, New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary, chapel service.
(6) Bud Sellick, The Wild, Wonderful World of
Parachutes and Parachutists (Prentice-Hall,
1981), p.38; submitted by Clark Cothern,
Tecumseh, Michigan
