Ministry Monday & The Sunday Sermon Review: The Importance of Recieving

There is nothing that is more overlooked by ministers than the importance of being ministered to. I know this because I am a minister and I have many family and friends in ministry as well. We often give and give until we are past empty. We pour out our hearts on Sundays, Wednesdays and other days of the week, and keep ourselves so busy that we don't have much time to be ministered to...to be poured into.

I have been running on fumes for a long time, and I am intimately acquainted with burn-out! Trying to pour into people, when you feel completely empty is not a good feeling! Receiving criticism rather than encouragement makes it even harder. This is why ministers must immerse themselves in times of personal worship and devotion. Without that time, we can not continue to minister to others without the overwhelming feeling of doing ministry out of our own strength instead of God's strength. And let's face reality...ministry in our own strength is completely worthless!!

Sunday morning, our pastor preached a sermon called the "Foolishness of the Gospel." In that sermon, he talked about God using the weak, the broken, and the empty. As part of the sermon, he read the story of the Widow's Olive Oil in 2 Kings 4:

  ¹ The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

 ² Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
   “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

 ³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

 ⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
   But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

 ⁷ She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

In this story, the widow was at her witts end, and what did she do? She cried out to the man of God for help. She had almost nothing left, but because she cried out, obeyed the instructions of the man of God, and believed, God multiplied what she had. In the same way, as ministers we give and give until we have nothing left, but when we make time to cry out to God, listen for His guidance and instructions, and worship Him as our faithful, trustworthy God, we will always have plenty of energy and strength left to minister to others and make it through our day with JOY! This is how we are effective in ministry; we allow God to pour into us on a regular basis through personal times of prayer and worship, not just in corporate worship or when we are studying and preparing to minister to others!

When it comes to this point, I am most definitely preaching to the choir. I am the worst at letting my personal worship and prayer time slide because I am doing ministry. I pour out my soul till it is dry, forgetting to go to that well of living water for a refill. The supply is always there, but we have to recieve it...we have to go after it!

This weekend, I was ministered to in an awesome way. I had been through a long tough week, and my soul was in need of a refill. I needed so badly to sit back and worship without having to be the one leading. Don't get me wrong...I love leading worship! However, week after week of planning and organizing a worship service, leading the choir and congregation, being scrutinized and criticized, and yet pouring out my soul every Sunday, leaves me empty and longing to be filled. So, it was an incredible experience for me to be able to attend the premiere of "Fear Not Tomorrow: The Worship Experience," a musical worship service with all new original songs based off of Ruth Graham's book, "Fear Not Tomorrow: God is Already There."

Sunday was my birthday, so I took the evening off from ministering at my own church. My mom came in from out of town, and we had lunch and went to the worship service together. It was so crowded that we almost decided to turn around and go back to my church, but my soul was longing to stay. God has drawn me there to do a work in me. So, we found ourselves a seat on the stairs in the balcony of the church. It wasn't comfortable, but I was determined to stay. I thank the Lord that I did!

By the second song, my eyes were filling wih tears, and by the fourth song the tears would not stop flowing. In the end, all I could do was raise my hands up and sing through my tears.

 Ruth Graham talked about being "undone," a state in which we are numb to God's love and protection...a place where we are blinded by our circumstances and overwhelmed by confusion and fear of the future. I have been there, and in many ways, I am still in that state. The journey that I am on is a journey to healing. Why would God chose to use me in my state of brokeness and fear? I don't know the answer to that question. But I do know that he works in mysterious ways, and that He has a greater plan that I can not see right now! I was reminded Sunday night of His all-knowing and always loving character!

Here are a few of the lyrics that touched me deep within my soul and became the cry of my heart:

You are a God who's always reaching
The hope that we are seeking
A God who will not change

You are a love that's so amazing
Joy that never ends, faithful friend
You are, you are
                               ~ You Are

His arms always open
They're aching to hold
The bounties of Heaven
Are waiting to flow
Let go what restrains you
Let God fill your soul
You don't know tomorrow
But you know who's in control!

                           ~ Fear Not Tomorrow

Trembling with fear
Eyes filled with tears
Afraid to take one single step
Blinded by pain
With nothing to gain
Dreading the unknown ahead

At the end of all of me 
He proves Himself to be

In my place of undone
I find He is the One
No shadow of turning away
My beloved He gently holding me
The breath that will sustain
In my place of undone
                                    ~ Undone

 The "Fear Not Tomorrow" worship experience was truly a comfort and a blessing to me, and one of the best parts was getting to share it with my mom and getting to talk to her and spend some time with her. She lives 1.5 hours away, and with my very busy schedule, I don't get to see her or talk to her often. We didn't always have the kind of relationship that we have now, and I feel so blessed that we are now able to share with each other and pray with each other. It was such a big blessing to have her with me. She is always encouraging me to worship and pray with freedom and honesty. Our relationship has come a long way, and we have both grown and matured so much spiritually. Along the journey, I have come to appreciate her love, her support, her prayers and her encouragement. She truly ministered to me this weekend, as did the worship service!

My problems haven't been solved, and there was not one easy step to freedom of fear and wholeness of spirit. However, I feel a little bit lighter today. I feel less focused on what's ahead and more focused on seeking God, here and now, to fill me up so that I can pour myself out to those that I minister to each week.

I now have the book, Fear Not Tomorrow, God Is Already There, and the CD of the original worship songs. I started reading the book today, and I hope to telling you more about it and what I am learning from it as I go along. Right now, I can feel that God is going to use it (along with my study of His word) to do tremendous things in my life. I have already been ministered to today, by both the book and the CD!