As ministers of the word of God, we have to know that we are not in this work for ourselves or by ourselves. A Minister's Calling reminds us that it was not us that chose to do the work of God, but on the contrary, it was God Himself that chose us to do His work. Believing and trusting that fact, we will understand that God has given us the resources necessary to do the work of the kingdom.

God has given us the grace and power of Christ. Doesn’t that give you comfort with the mere thought that we have been given the grace and power of Christ? Look at 2nd Corinthians 12:9-10.

2nd Corinthians 12:9-10, “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

These verses alone should comfort us in the resources that God has given us to carry out the mission for God. Paul explains in the verses preceding the ones cited that he had a thorn in the flesh. The “thorn” caused Paul to seek Christ, through prayer, three times to have it depart. To which we see the response of Christ, “…My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” Christ’s grace, or undue favor, is sufficient. No matter what it is that we are encountering it is Christ’s undue favor that is sufficient for us. Notice that Christ does not take time to baby Paul or tell him that everything will be okay, but He does say that His grace is sufficient. As ministers of the gospel we will encounter stuff. But this stuff must be put in its place. In other words, we must remember that no matter what hardship we go through Christ’s grace is sufficient. That is, no matter what, His grace is more than enough to get us through.

Christ continues, “…for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” In Paul’s weakness Christ’s strength is made perfect. Why? I can’t tell you how many times I have seen preachers trust in themselves more than Christ. They say their trust is in the Lord but is it really? How many times have we as believers, not just preachers or ministers, trusted in ourselves when things got tough? We have to remember that the tough things in life is where we should be. The uncomfortable tough things that we encounter place us in a good position with Christ. Many times we beg and plead with God to remove us from problems or situations. However, if we take the word of God and believe it for what it says, we will find that in our weakness Christ’s power/strength is made perfect. Imagine if we stayed in a weak position how much the Lord could demonstrate His power through you.

Verse 10 points us to how we should now react and feel about this infirmity/suffering. Paul says that he takes pleasure in infirmities, reproaches, necessities, persecutions, and distresses for Christ’s sake. Do we have this type of relationship with our Savior? Do we take pleasure in sufferings and needs and persecutions? If we did trust in Christ we would be so much stronger because we would understand, as Paul did, that when we are weak then are we strong because of the power of Christ in our weakness.

God has granted us both the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. We find, once we are believers in Christ, that the Holy Spirit takes up permanent residency within us. In that, we have both presence and power. We have to remember that the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity which means that He too has all power. The Holy Spirit cannot be powerless. Being powerless is against His attributes. Therefore, as the Holy Spirit lives within you (2nd Corinthians 6:16, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”) He also brings His omnipotence.

Acts 1:8, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you...”

This verse demonstrates the very fact that as the Holy Spirit comes upon you His power comes too. As ministers we have to remember that we can not walk in holiness and demonstrate the power of God on our own. The power that we have is because of the Holy Spirit. This is what we as ministers have to trust in, the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, because you have been called by God, He has given the gift of a pastor/teacher (minister) to you. If you have been called by God to minister to the people of God we have to understand that He has equipped you for the ministry that you are to do. How many times have we as believers acted like the Lord does not know what it is that we need to be successful (in His eyes) in ministry work? We go and beg for money to do things for the Lord. We try and manipulate people to do the things that we want instead of trusting in the Lord. We become like the world in trying to get better deals on things opposed to trusting the Lord. Why? If God has gifted us to work in His kingdom here on earth wouldn’t that include meeting all of your needs?

Ephesians 4:11-12, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”

Notice the reason that God has given some as apostles, prophets, evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers. In verse 12 we see the intent for these gifts. These gifts were given for the purpose of perfecting the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. You see, the intent for your gifting is not for your purpose but for God’s. He has gifted you to complete the ministry work that He has intended for you to do. Now, because the Lord has gifted you, you should know that He has also given you the victory. You never have to wonder if you will be successful because when you work hard and trust in God’s power to help you be what He has called you to be, you will have the victory.

2nd Corinthians 2:14, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.”

Through this verse we find that we are triumphant as children of the Living God! However, take notice that our victory is not because of our own skills and talents but rather because of God.

God has given us faith to sustain us in the ministry. So many times I have seen and witnessed ministers throwing in the towel. This should not be. God has given us the faith that is necessary to sustain us through the tough times and the good times.

2nd Corinthians 4:13, “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;”

No matter the circumstance that Paul was in he always was ready to continue on, in Jesus name. Why? Was it because he was “super-spiritual?” Was it because Paul was closer to God? No, it was because he was given the faith from God to continue on. The difference between him and a lot of these pastors and ministers that I have seen give up, is the faith. He believed God. This is what God has given to us as a resource, faith. Where is your faith today? Are you truly trusting that God has called you to this work? If you do then you have to have faith that he has given you all the resources you need to complete the job.

Love is another resource that God has given to you and I. Love is a gift from God. We have been taught what true love is. Do you think that love is something that we were taught by our families? Do you think that the love you have learned is comparable to the love that God has demonstrated from the cross? These two types of love are at two different levels. Usually the love of the world is reciprocated or done because someone has done something for you. God’s love is unconditional.

Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The love that we had before we were saved is nothing compared to the love that we have after we have been regenerated. 1st John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he first loved us.”

The love that we have is known as a communicable attribute from God. In other words, the love that we have after regeneration is the same love that God has. Now, we are able to truly love the people that we minister to because of the love that has been taught and demonstrated by God. Because of this love that we have, we can count it as a resource; if we love the way that God loves then we will never give up or give in.

Our final resource that we will discuss is the hope that we have in the resurrection. All that we hope in, all that we place our faith in, is the resurrection of Christ. What is it that separates Christianity from all of the other religions/cults in this world? The difference is the fact that you will never find the bones of our Savior, Jesus. Christ did indeed die a real, physical, death. Understanding that Jesus really did die we also must believe that He got up from the grave. Other than Christ, name someone who was dead only to come back to life and never die again. How can any other religion/cult offer eternal life to you if their leader (Muhammad, Charles Taze Russell, Buddha, Joseph Smith) could not overcome death? With Christ, He did die and come back to life, forever. That is what He offers to us, and that is what we have to offer to others.

2nd Corinthians 4:14, “Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.”

In closing, we find that there are many resources for the minister. The biggest resource that we must count on is believing on God’s word. If we don’t believe in His word what can we believe? We must believe it exactly as it is and not put our own twist on things. God is perfect, and therefore, God’s word is perfect. It's perfect enough to trust in and perfect enough to give to others. May God continue to keep you strong in your work for Him.

References

• What the Bible Says to the Minister: The Minister‘s Personal Handbook. (1996). Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.