4. Why is servanthood so important to the Christian life and to Christian ministry? In what areas are you serving the Body of Christ? Just a word of caution. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. This can be caused by exhaustion simple because a few people are attempting to do all the work. The Spurgeon Library | Hindrances to Prayer (2) We need to identify and work toward serving the real needs of others and not their neurotic wants. Thats not for us. So, exactly what does a mature Christian look like? 4:15 But practicing the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. Instead of trying to believe, he acted upon the Word. Please I need your help sir. (5) Two more companion elements to living as servants are surrender and sacrifice as are found in the exhortation of Romans 12:1-2. Your Comment *the teachings on faith are soul captivating I pray may this ministry never go down. A servant is one who, even when in positions of leadership seeks to lead and influence others through lives given in ministry for the blessing of others and their needs. But the problem is that the world is searching for significance in all the wrong places and by all the wrong means. 20. Hindrances to Serving. 23. As Scripture so plainly declares, the leads to the loss of the power of God on ones ministry. 25. With this in mind, lets review the following truth. Examine your own life to see if you are putting anything above God [career, possessions, family, ministry]. I have sometimes heard folk say that they are going to fight the devil. God builds our character as we wait on him. 5:18) is an absolute essential to the ability to give ourselves as servants. This attitude, faith, and action portrayed His entire ministry on earth (cf. Ezekiel 14:3 Son of man, these men have set up idols in their heartsand put wicked stumbling blocksbefore their faces. After awhile this woman came to me and said that she had written down twenty-five of these scriptures and had begun to confess them. (3) In the supreme act of service as our Great High Priest, Christ offered Himself on the cross as the sacrifice for the sins of the world and remains seated as our Advocate before God. The real test of whether we are truly maturing and learning to become a Christ-like servant is how we act when people treat us like one. In other words, as the God of peace and the God of all comfort, He wants us to have His peace and He wants to comfort us, but He is more concerned about our character as expressed in servant living than our comfort. They are talking of their weaknesses and failures, and invariably they go down to the level of their confession. 15. Simpson, a Presbyterian minister who later founded the Christian Missionary Alliance, was told he was dying of a heart condition and had only six months to live. Speaking of the goal of equipping the saints into mature servants, the apostle Paul said, 4:14 The purpose of this is to no longer be children, tossed back and forth by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching by the trickery of people who with craftiness carry out their deceitful schemes. What is the result of our impatience and our desire to be served now? 1), and "run with patience the race which is set . If there were no enemies to faith, there would be no fight to it. (6) Another important element in developing the heart of a servant is learning to rest and find our significance in who we are in Christ. What are the specific qualities that mark out a person as Christ-like? 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one anothers feet. The point here is a stubborn refusal to acknowledge sin and wanting to get rid of it. But who would take the position of this servant and perform the task? While all of the qualities that will be discussed in this series are not unique to Christianity and are often promoted and taught in the secular world, many of them are, by their very nature, distinctive to the Bible or biblical Christianity. 14. (6) The absence of a servants heart is really the absence of humility or pride. Backsliding, fear, error, presumption, weakness, and affluence and self-reliance. * Title: Hindrances to Faithful Ministry* Text : Jonah 4* Speaker : Pst. Those are the hindrances to growth and vitality that Jesus highlights and I think continue to be hindrances for us even today. As Ephesians 4:11ff shows, the leadership of the church has been given the mandate to equip the saints for the work of ministryservant living. He dined with the sinful. We can be engaged in all kinds of service while actually serving our own neurotic needsdesires for acceptance or feelings of significance or for control or for praise, position, power, and prestige. Here, in the upper room on the night before His crucifixion the Lord Jesus dramatically drove home the issue and nature of what it means to be a servant. This is what I have in Christ Jesus.. So, one needs to make sure these hindrances are addressed properly so that God can hear and answer prayers. There is a confession of our hearts and a confession of our lips, and when these two harmonize, we become mighty in our prayer life. As you consider the following, think about your own life and natural tendencies. Because God cares for the poor, he expects and commands his children to do the same. While many of these books may contain biblical truth or genuine help in dealing with certain problems people face as human beings, the message, whether explicit or implicit, suggests the prime goal we should be pursuing is our own comfort and the experience of some form of self-expression rather than growth in the character and quality of the life of the Savior. But what exactly is that? 2:5-8) and provides us with the perfect example of what He wants to do in our lives. Because our God is holy, there is a barrier that exists between Him and us when we come to Him with unconfessed sin in our lives. 13When I called, they did not listen;so when they called, I would not listen,says theLordAlmighty.. Romans 10:10, 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. His ultimate goal is not to pamper us physically or emotionally, but to perfect us spiritually, conforming us into the character of the Lord Jesus. 22. 1. Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah rebels against God and goes in the opposite direction towards Tarshish (in Spain). No matter what ones station or condition in life, whether king or peasant, slave or free, rich or poor, strong or weak, brilliant or slow of mind, nobleman or common, etc., in Christ God calls all Christians to live as servants serving others with the Lord Jesus as the perfect example of One who, though God of very God, took upon Himself the form of a servant., When Jesus Christ came into the world, it was not to come into a wealthy mans home where all material things might be His. In his book, The Quest for Character, and in a chapter entitled, The Gift that Lives On, Swindolls words form a fitting conclusion to this study: In our pocket of society where pampered affluence is rampant, we are often at a loss to know what kind of gifts to buy our friends and loved ones on special occasions. Leonard Bernstein, the celebrated orchestra conductor, was once asked, What is the hardest instrument to play? Without a moments hesitation he replied, Second fiddle. In my personal opinion, I haven't found this to be true. What are some hindrances to a potent prayer life? Its one of those gifts that has great value but no price tag. In seeking to develop a servants heart, Christians naturally face the opposing forces of the world, the flesh, and the devil, all of which are directed toward promoting selfish concerns and especially the pursuit of significance. 17. 47 Lawrence J. Crabb Jr, Effective Biblical Counseling, Ministry Resources Library, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1977, p. 20. His kind of service set an example. Thus He showed His followers how to serve, and He demanded no less of those who would carry on His work on earth. As a result, many people serve in various capacities in the church from a host of false agendas. 8. Verse-by-Verse Preaching Presence of these hindrances does not mean we have to be perfect and only then God will hear our prayers. She said that since she had been doing this, she had become an entirely new and different person. 23 Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Twelve months later I received a letter saying that they had a bouncing baby girl. Singapore. As mentioned, people often seek their self-worth from the opinions of people rather than by the value God places on their lives according to His Word. Willful rejection of Gods word will result in Gods rejection of our words [prayers]. When we have sinned, we feel guilty and have a sense of unrighteousness. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 3. Having pointed to His actions as an example for them, Christ then drove home an inescapable lesson, here defined as a solemn truth. If He, their master and the One they worshipped, assumed the role of a servant to minister to others, then certainly they must likewise take the towel of servanthood as a minister to others rather than seek to elevate themselves. This false mentality manifests itself in the church in a number of ways. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them. A lack of understanding of what it means to be a new creature hinders our faith life. Second, He cleanses him from all unrighteousness. service" (Rom. Six Enemies to Faith - Kenneth E. Hagin | HopeFaithPrayer Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.. 5:13-26). Such a heart will hinder prayers from being answered. The sin is in taking these hindrances lightly or stubbornly refusing to let go of them and then going in prayer for other things. Therefore, we must continually remind ourselves that the work is the Lord's and we can trust Him to accomplish it through us as we respond in faith and obedience. Hallelujah ! Faith is the basis for all we receive from God, Kenneth Hagin Seven Steps to the Highest Kind of Faith (Part IV), https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kenneth+hagin. Eventually we become what we confess, whether for good or bad. All had been prepared for this last meal with the disciples with the exception of one thing. I can always get plenty of first violinists. The woman with the issue of blood, whose story we find in Mark 5:25-34, said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. Jesus said, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. What she said was her faith speaking, and it came to pass. Thanks for the reenforcement teaching that fans my faith, I am still battling with faith please help me to grow in faith. In unbelief, we turn from resting in Gods wisdom to our own foolishness through which we seek to handle life by our own plans or machinations. This naturally leads to bitterness, contention, and division in the body of Christ. Sermons about Hindrances To Faith - SermonCentral.com How do you react when others fail to serve you in these areas? Typical of today is the enormous number of how-to-books not just for the secular world, but for the Christian community. Such surrender and sacrifice naturally forms the foundation and well spring for servant living, which is clearly Gods will for all Christians. "A Christian does not believe in superstitions like magic, cards, horoscopes or similar things," he told some . In view of these consequences, an important question that needs to be asked is simply, Do I have the heart of a servant? If I think I do, then, In what ways is it demonstrated in my life?. Jonah Series: Hindrances to Faithful Ministry (Jonah 4) In another context about praying for wisdom during times of trial, we are told about the need for faith in order for our prayers to be answered. 8Such a person is double-mindedand unstablein all they do. (James 1:5-8), Mark 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.. These studies were developed in a team training environment where men were being trained for their role as church leaders, as fathers, and as effective members of a society that desperately needs to see what authentic, biblical Christianity looks like. 19. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 1:6; Col. 3:3-4). 1:3). And once you identify them, ask yourself, Is there anything I am putting above God in my life? The attitude is, we are here to be ministered to rather than be equipped for ministry. 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and do so correctly, for that is what I am. Luke 18:1 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.. Give a hug of affirmation to someone in your family. 22:24 A dispute also started among them over which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. Matt. See also, The Hunger for Significance, R. C. Sproul, Regal, Ventura, Calif., 1993). The First Hindrance to Revival is Backsliding. He did not come into a royal home so that He might be respected as heir apparent even though He has the right to rule this earth. What is a faith fight? Thats the spirit God does not approve of! Faith is measured by our confession. 22:27 For who is greater, the one who is seated at the table, or the one who serves? While space will not allow an indepth exegesis, it is hoped that the following highlights drawn from several New Testament passages will draw our attention to a few vital principles that describe the spiritually mature quality of living as servants. Hebrews 11:6b says that God rewards those who earnestly seek him. Earnestly indicates effort which involves time! Servant living will be rewarded in the future. I promise God to use this new-found strength and life and energy entirely for His purpose and to further the gospel. (2) Failure to get involved in ministry. This ideal gift is yourself. And if He doesnt remember them, why should we? . Further, this need will be constantly inflamed by the influences of a world system that operates on a totally different basis. The Bible says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). But when we confess our sin, He forgives and He also cleanses. 1. Based on biblical values and truth, we must, by faith and an act of our will, firmly reject the goal of seeking to serve our own needs and adopt the goal of becoming servants of others like the Lord.

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