Cornerstone Curriculum, Official Certification Edition

LESSON 4 | THE EQUIPPING MINISTRY: THE MINISTRY OF PROCLAMATION / 337

We need not, however, be either deterred or intimidated. We do not preach about ourselves; we are not the subject matter of our own ministries, but rather we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and we, like Paul, are servants on behalf of those who hear and respond to our message of Christ and his Kingdom. We are confident of our message, because Jesus of Nazareth is the God-bearer; the very glory of God himself shines forth in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ. This remarkable treasure, this astounding Gospel exists in us, mere jars of clay, in order that the surpassing power of the entire preaching event may belong to God and him alone, and never to us. Only God can reveal, only God can redeem, and therefore only God deserves the glory and praise for the work of the ministry. It may take us most of our ministry lives to grasp this basic yet essential point. Although we ought to in every way prepare ourselves to be the kind of vessels the Lord can use in ministry, we need never to forget that without the direct intervention of the illumination and convicting power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot in any way bring a person to saving faith in Jesus Christ. Apart from the drawing of God the Father of souls to the Lord Jesus (John 6.44), apart from the overcoming of the influence of the “strong man” in order that the Lord Jesus may despoil his goods (Matt. 12.29-30), and without the convicting power of the Holy Spirit of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16.7-11), no fruit will be borne. All the essential interior transforming grace must come from God, and not from us. This, of course, does not mean that we do not continue to prepare ourselves and others for the work of the ministry. What it does suggest, however, is that we recognize what must occur before fruit can be borne for God. See Paul’s good wisdom in 1 Corinthians: 1 Cor. 3.5-9 – What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. [6] I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. [7] So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. [8] He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. [9] For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. In preparing for ministry we face many barriers, difficulties, and challenges, but the god of this age is an enemy of a different sort , one which only our triune God can face and overcome. Let us depend evermore on him to do what he alone can do – unveil the minds of unbelievers so they, like us, can see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

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