Six Essentials to Abound in the Ministry

I got an email from one of my friends at school with an outline from a recent Christian Education class.  They had Pastor Archie Parish from Idaho as a guest teacher and he used this outline for his lesson.  Following is the oulting that she sent me, it was a great encouragement to me, I hope it's the same for you :)

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 1.     Have a deep personal relationship with God. 

a.       Without this, you will get discouraged.  Your relationship with God strengthens you against sin. 

b.      Who do you want to please most? people/friends? If you so you compromise. 

c.       How much time do you spend with God?  Where is your priority? 

d.      What is the quality of your time with God? 

e.       Do you get your strength, comfort, joy, peace, etc. from Him? 

f.       Can you get by with having Christ as your only friend?      The ministry can be lonely.  Standing for what is right sometimes leaves you standing alone.

2.     Know what you believe. 

a.       What is your standard for what you believe? What others tell you or the Bible? 

b.      Do you apply that standard to every area of your life? 

c.       Can you back up what you believe with scripture?                 The Bible applies to every area of our life. 

d.      Are you confident enough in what you believe to stand on it when no one else does?

3.     Have a developed faith in God. 

a.       Is what you read in your Bible real to you in your life?  Did God really feed Elijah at the brook?  Did the widow’s cruise never run out?  God has not changed. 

b.      Have you trusted God in the hard times? 

c.       Are you ready to pray for the hard things and expect God to do it?             Ask God to increase your faith.    Life is hard but God is great.

4.     Have a healthy habit of self-examination (not self-defense). 

a.       James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 

b.      Do you take the time to allow the scripture and the Holy Spirit to reveal your problems to you? 

c.       Do you have a desire to discover and correct your faults? 

d.      Are you honest about your faults? Do you take criticism well? 

e.       What steps do you take to correct your problems after they’ve been revealed to you?

5.     Have perseverance. 

a.       What is your habit of follow through in other areas of your life?  Do you finish what you start? 

b.      What’s your motivation to do God’s work? Is it to please God or man? 

c.       Will you keep going when it’s hard? 

d.      Can you keep going when others are against you? 

6.     Be a self-starter. 

a.       Do you pay attention to what needs to be done around you? 

b.      Do you know how to set goals for yourself? 

c.       Who or what is your motivation to do what needs to be done? 

d.      Can or will you do the work of the ministry with no one else to help you?