Ministry Involvement
by Dakota Davis
July 18, 2024 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Genesis 22:1-13, Mark 10, 2 Timothy 2:15, Acts 16, John 3:30

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/dakota-davis--ministry-involvement
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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all right so we are continuing our series on Ministry involvement just to kind of do a recap of what we've been doing with the past couple lessons first lesson we kind of talked about multiple different things sharing Faith serving humility sacrificing prayer and then last week we Dove deeper into prayer different aspects about that so this week we're going to look at another aspect just a little deeper that we talked briefly about already and that is sacrifice sacrificing that's a word that our flesh does not like at all nothing about sacrificing goes with flesh right it's one of the hardest things to do but yet it is so vital in our Ministries that we sacrifice

so we're going to start off with a passage of scripture just to kind of set the tone of an example of sacrifice we're going to go to Genesis CH 2 two start with verse one we're going to go through verse 13 and it came to pass after these things that God did tempt Abraham and said unto him Abraham and he said behold here I am and he said take now thy son thy only son Isaac whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Mariah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of and Abraham rose up early in the morning saddled his ass and took two of his young men with him and Isaac his son and clav the wood for the burnt offering and Rose up and went into the place of which God had told him then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place AAR off and Abraham said unto his young men abide ye here with the ass and I and the lad will go Yonder and worship and come again to you and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac his son and he took the fire in his hand and a knife and they went both of them together together verse 7 Isaac spake into Abraham his father and said my father he said here I am I here am I my son he said behold the fire and the wood but where is the Lamb for a burnt offering and Abraham said my son God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering so they went both of them together and they came to the place which God had told him of and Abraham built an altar there laid the wood in order bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar upon the wood and Abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son and the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven and said Abraham Abraham and he said here am I he said lay not thine hand upon the lad neither do thou anything unto him for I know that thou fearest God seeing that seeing thou Hast not withheld thy son thine only son from me and Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked and behold behind behind him a ram caught in a Thicket by his horns Abraham went and took the RAM and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stad of his son

so there's a lot there very lengthy passage but I wanted to go through all that for this purpose to show it says that God told Abraham to take his only son whom thou lovest so obviously God knew Abraham truly loved his only son but yet after he tells him the scripture doesn't mention that Abraham argued at all we can speculate and say hey maybe he was like did I hear you right God I I don't understand the scripture doesn't say he did so it just shows him going to work and it was a lot of work that he went through to get this altar built to get to the place to get all of this put together all because God asked him to do so God wanted to see how faithful Abraham would really be and how much he would really sacrifice for God if God ask any one of us to give up something as drastic as he asked Abraham I often wonder would we be willing would we be willing or would we perhaps question God or would we just get to work as Abraham did we have to understand living for God when he has called us into our Ministries that we've been talking about several weeks now we have to give up some things so many people talk about how well God takes me how I am and that is 100% true yes he does but he doesn't leave you that way he doesn't want you to stay that way so whatever baggage whatever it is that you're bringing into your calling it's okay to bring that into it but you can't leave it there you've got to give up some things God may not speak to any of us to sacrifice one of our children right but there might be some things that'll be very hard to give up that God speaks to you about just an example thinking in 2024 maybe that dream job you finally got and you know you're good what if God said this is not where I want you again that's nothing like what Abraham had to face in that scripture but just trying to put it in our terms right because as they say so many of us identify by our jobs by our careers so that's just one example if God asked you in order to get closer to me in order to follow me closely in your ministry I need you to walk away from that that's not right for you so what we're going to look at before we get any deeper is just like we did with prayer kind of look at it very simply

what is sacrifice obviously in a religious context in the Old Testament it was talked a lot about offering like offering burnt offerings sacrifices to God also personal sacrifice obviously a lot of us are probably not offering burnt offerings or taking animals to The Altar for God but that doesn't mean that we still can't sacrifice because there is personal sacrifice in everyday life that we live it can just mean giving up something that is so valuable for the sake of something that is more important or worthy of that for example how often if you're a parent in this house did you have to make personal sacrifices for your children and if not children for family whoever it may be maybe you had to work long long hours to provide for them maybe you had to prioritize some of their needs before your own desires we have to be the same way when we're working in the house of God sometimes it may take long hours sometimes we may have to prioritize the needs of the church the needs of the Kingdom before our own and it can also refer to the loss or Surrender of something for a greater good or idea in this case when it comes to the kingdom of God when it comes to ministering to this world I would venture to say that anything that takes away from that is worth giving up to further the kingdom giving it up for a greater purpose whether it's a small act or even a significant decision that you have to make sacrifices shape our lives and our relationship with God we have to do it if you want to be successful in that calling that God's placed on your life you got to do it

it was just talked about recently in Mark chapter 10 about the man that talked with God how do I inherit Eternal eternal life who better to ask he found his opportunity and he asked Jesus said thou knowest the Commandments and he went through all of the various Commandments and he answered and said master all these things have I done from my youth that there is a sacrifice right sorry that sound real country that there is a sacrifice I try to cover that you know cover that side up a little bit when I'm speaking but it comes out but all of that is a sacrifice following the Commandments following what God has asked us to do that is a sacrifice so we can see that this man was sacrificing for the things of God but the problem is I say is because it's still a problem with many of us today is that he wasn't sacrificing everything he should have Jesus it says beholding him loved him even though he still wasn't doing all he needed to do of course Jesus still loved him but he still showed him the one thing he lacked and he went in go sell all that you have give to the poor and so on and it talks about how the man went away with grief because of his possessions so while he was almost there there was still part of him that he did not want to give up for the kingdom we don't really know what may have transpired in his life so much after this maybe he went home and thought about it maybe he prayed about it and decided you know what he's right maybe you're in that place in your ministry right now you're right there what is that one thing that you're not willing to sacrifice for God it can be different for so many of us it may be minor it may be big but sometimes it's just that one thing God sees everything else that you're given God sees everything else that you're obeying obeying but he also sees the things that you're not giving he sees the things that you're not obeying and we have to give everything when it comes to Ministry whether you're a pastor a preacher whatever it is there's so many things that we have to sacrifice

number one that we'll talk through time you have to give your time to your ministry you have to dedicate time to the house of God whether it's preparing for service and whatever role that you play as many of you know that are involved it takes time to prepare for service it takes time to prepare I'm sure if you were to ask Pastor he takes a lot of time preparing sermons counseling visiting those that are sick whatever it is that may not be you you're not the pastor but there's still time that you have to sacrifice and give to God there's still a role that you play in this church and you have to to give yourself to it you have to be prepared whether it's spending time in prayer like we talked about again last week you got to set aside time and pray maybe it's studying God's word sometimes that can be a sacrifice as bad as it sounds to say because you got to set time aside to do that it's one thing to just pull up and read the verse of the day that's great do that but at the same time you got to sacrifice some of your day and you got to truly read his word maybe it's attending church functions I don't know about some of you but I'm sure you know as well as me CAC we have a lot of church functions there's a lot to do and it takes time if you want to be involved D maybe you can't be involved in everything but the more you're involved in in the house of God the less you're involved in the things of the world it's a sacrifice well that event's not really something that interests me you know I'm not I'm not interested in that so you're more interested in the things of the world it's not always about something that you're in interested in but it's about being a part of the house of God and every second that you can maybe it's even witnessing that can take time have you ever been going through the store and the Lord just lays something on your heart with that person that's right next to you that may take a little time out of your shopping schedule right that may be a sacrifice well I just don't have time you know I've I've got my milk here I don't want it to go bad it may be a sacrifice to take that time that person may be on the brink of something and just the words that you could speak to them because you took that time there's a guy that I used to work with many years ago he's passed away unfortunately to a car accident several years ago but he was he was a pastor he was not an Apostolic pastor but he was a pastor of a church and obviously once he heard I was in church this and that questions came up I believe I've talked about this story before but it's hard to get away from it when it comes to things like this because it really stands out to me this was a man who obviously was more studied than I was he was much older than me he pastored a church so he was more studied I'm sure had more wisdom in life of course so questions arose about our Doctrine questions came up about what we believe about scripture and interpretation of scripture obviously I had to sacrifice some of my time in order to study and be ready with answers there may come times where you have situations like this the questions are going to come when people find out about you and what you stand for sometimes they're going to ask some questions have you taken the time to be ready for those encounters because you don't know when it's going to happen you can look at any figure in thep scripture any leader in a church and I'm sure they'll all tell you you can't prepare for everything in Ministry whatever it is you can't always be prepared but what you can do is have a lot of time a lot of study and have the word in your heart and ready to go I of course did my best to explain our Doctrine with this man to go through and explain why it's important why the Holy Ghost is important why speaking in tongues is the evidence etc etc it may not have made a difference in his thinking I don't know but what I do know is that I did my part to the best of my ability I put in the time I talked to him I didn't just brush it off and say well you know this is just too much you know I got to work you know I can't I can't spend too much time with this but you got to take that time another way to sacrifice so that was time one of the biggest ones one of the hardest ones

another that you're going to have to look at in your ministry if you want to be involved is comfort and security sometimes serving in any Ministry May some sometimes leave behind your personal comfort zone often times not just pastors but anyone in the church I'm sure many of you can attest sometimes you run into challenging situations just as the situation I just explained that was a challenging situation for me sometimes just dealing with difficult circumstances in people's Liv lives because you see when people know what you stand for when they know that you're involved in the kingdom of God they're going to come to you and they're going to need prayer sometimes they're going to need a shoulder sometimes they may not have no one else and that may be difficult for you sometimes to be that person to be there are you willing to sacrifice that comfort and that security of Your World whatever you're in to be there for others when they need somebody we have to be ready to spread the joy in us we have to be ready to give an account the word says it because it's going to happen you can't always just hide away when you live for God because sometimes he'll send them to you if you're always one that doesn't reach out to people I guarantee you they're going to start reaching out to you another aspect sometimes you might have to give a financial sacrifice it may not be that you're facing a financial hardship or anything of that nature but sometimes we want to be a little greedy if I can be honest but if you want to serve the house of God you have to give to the house of God not only that but what if the Lord lays it on your heart that there's someone in your life that needs a financial blessing and maybe you're the one that he's calling on are you willing to answer that call are you willing to give to the kingdom of God you have to support the church in giving and not only that but you have to support those around you when they need a hand because it happens and lastly another facet of sacrifice when you heed that call of ministry is sometimes you're going to have to give some emotional and mental energy even if you're someone that's not involved maybe you just come to church you still have emotional burdens that you can carry you still have things that can take energy away from you even more so when you're involved when you have a piece in this you're invested it's going to take some mental and emotional energy from you whether it's a listening to your brother or sister's struggles maybe you have to be someone to offer guidance maybe you have to provide some comfort to someone during difficult times the emotional investment in the church can be draining sometimes but it's part of your sacrificial service to him sometimes you may feel that you're so involved with the things of God that it's like having a second job right but you got to remember everything that you're doing is furthering not only your personal Ministry but the kingdom as a whole so while it can be so draining sometimes you can just be so tired just know that it's making a difference not only with you but with the kingdom it can be drained to pray for people sometimes we're so caught up just wanting to pray for our own needs that we don't have anything left to pray for others but we got to do it maybe it's being here early for early for practices whether it's music whether it's play practice whatever it is sometimes that can be draining when you have two services on a Sunday and you're here all day that can be draining right but you got to do it maybe getting things together for whatever it is that you do getting notes together getting songs together getting Bible studies together sometimes it can be a lot I can attest to getting notes together that right five Wednesdays in July yeah sister Stacey knows what I'm talking about why do so many months have five Wednesdays but but whatever it is the point is it's going to take some out of you sometimes also sometimes you're going to have to give up maybe some personal goals that you've set in your life maybe some Ambitions that you've set for yourself why is that because you have to prioritize your calling maybe just maybe that the plan God has for you is greater than the goals and Ambitions you've set for yourself of course it is right maybe you have to delay that career advancement maybe you have to delay pursuing that further education maybe you have to give up that dream that you've held so dearly in order for your commitment to Ministry to take precedence sometimes that's hard to do sometimes that can take many prayers to confirm but some sometimes you got to do that and put God first anyone in Ministry we want to willingly embrace all these different types of sacrifices that we've talked about because we love God and I know that we have a desire to serve him our sacrificial commit commitment plays such a vital role in building and nurturing not only the church not only ourselves but just the communities around us it has an effect where it just goes out the more that you do

second Timothy 2:15 study to show thyself to approved unto God a Workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of Truth many of us could probably quote this verse by heart but it just shows how important it is to put in time to show ourselves approved for God study his word and I'll just tell you this no matter what you do in the church you got to study the word first and foremost if you want to hear from God if you feel like you're not hearing from God have you opened his word lately maybe that's why you're not hearing anything from him we talked a little earlier that people are going to ask you questions maybe your ministry is to be a question answer right maybe it's to know the word in your heart maybe you can explain it to someone in a way that no one else can and that's going to take some time just as we talked about it's okay to not know every answer it's okay if someone comes to you what does this verse mean to say I'm not sure but let me study that and get back with you that's okay that doesn't mean that you're failing if you don't know every answer but when you're taking the time to take that question whatever it is that person's brought forth to you seriously to put in the time to truly study to truly find the answer for that person you're going to make a difference in their life people are going to know you're a Praying Bible reading person but the thing is is while so many see us as that is that truly what we are like we talked about with prayer are we truly praying people are we truly Bible reading people because there's those in the world that that's what they will see you as and that's what they will expect when they come to you and say hey I have a need hey can you explain this scripture to me have you sacrificed some of your time to be ready for those situations we do have a responsibility to be instant in season or out of season that is our responsibility we have to do it the psalmist said I Will Bless The Lord at all times his praise will continually continually be in my mouth all the time even when things are aren't going so well in your own life there's not an asterisk at the end of that scripture that says unless things are tough but continually have his praise in your mouth if you have a rough patch that's stalling your involvement in the church or in Ministry in general something that you're not not able to sacrifice and give up just pray and rejoice through it

Whatever It Is in Acts chapter 16 it talks about Paul and Silas and how they sing praises unto God but where were they while they were singing These Praises they were in prison I have never been in prison myself believe it or not so I I couldn't imagine especially back then right but yet in this situation you see Paul and Silas they had a calling they had Ministries all throughout their lives and they did not let that rough patch they were going through stall their mission that did not keep them from being involved with what God was doing the scripture goes on to say that as they sing praises that the prisoners heard them and it has the word suddenly suddenly there was a great earthquake all the doors opened everyone's bands were loosed everyone one of the best things to do no matter what no matter what just praise him not only will you shake loose your own bounds but those around you they will also be loosed and sometimes it's through the Catalyst of you praying and worshiping no matter what that is one of the greatest sacrifices is putting aside our self when things are bad putting aside our situation when things are bad taking our Focus off of that small situation and putting it back on him one of the greatest sacrifices we can make as humans when we get in these situations we just want to survive we just want to make it through that sometimes we just put all of our focus on our situation just to get through that but sometimes you're still going to have to go through that either way just as they parted the Seas they didn't go around they still had to go through but God made a way through that as long as you're praying as long as you're giving yourself fully to the kingdom he's going to make a way through that situation so why are we so focused on that I personally believe that our situations are one of the greatest struggles that we face in being effective in Ministry can be when you look at time whatever it is those are all tough sometimes but just getting in your mind my situation does not define me my Ministry defines me when we get ourselves in that place that's when we are so effective sometimes you're not going to know exactly what someone's going through those other prisoners we don't know what was going on right but by Paul and silus being there being an example and praising no matter their own situation it made a difference in everyone's life there because I'm stressing it even if we don't always say it to those in our life people are notice a difference with us they do whether you're fully in this or not when you just have a foot in the door it's still a foot in the door and for those that are completely on the outside they take notice just a personal example I was talking to a lady I didn't know years and years ago at the store just had a conversation with a lady I don't even remember it was just small talk right and then suddenly she just asked me where do you go to church we never even talked about church we never even talked about things of God but I'm not just saying this about myself I'm just saying this as an example because it was a humbling experience that even if we're not putting it out there people can notice so are we getting ready for those encounters not everyone we come in contact with is going to understand this acts 238 message that we hold so dear that we understand so well hopefully we understand it well have we taken the time to truly know what we believe to truly know why we do what we do in the church in our life the sacrifices we give the prayers we pray do we truly know why we're doing it if someone were to ask Jesus gave the ultimate ultimate sacrifice he gave his life how much more so should we give our lives to him because we have to give our lives it may not mean literally give your life although that could be the case but just giving ourselves to the church Church to him we have to give our life to somebody an old God Bob Dylan he once had a song you're gonna have to serve somebody that's always stuck out to me he said it may be the devil or it may be the Lord but you're going to have to serve somebody it sounds so simple but yet I feel that so many times we forget that if you're not serving God then who are you serving we can't just passively go through this life with no purpose beyond what we see here on this Earth and I hate to say that maybe even in the church we're just so passive even in the church because we haven't decided we're going to make some sacrifices in our life

as I begin to draw to a close God wants nothing more for us than for us just to give ourselves to him as he did for us there's an enemy that's also wanting you to give yourself to them them and they can be sneaky sometimes right they'll try to catch you off guard and that can be one of the hardest things to do is decide who am I really giving myself to because we do have a choice it's up to us what's that thing that you're not giving up to be in that Ministry God's called you to do you have all the Commandments do you have all of this do you follow all of this but yet there's still that one thing that you can't give up are you still wondering why am I not effective why am I not reaching people God I'm doing this and I'm doing this but yet no one's coming to church when I invite them I just ask tonight that you take a step back and look at your life have you truly given up everything to him or is there still just one little thing that's keeping you from being all that God's called you to be we don't just strive to make a difference in this world but we also have have to strive to make a difference in oursel first how can we reach this world if we can't even get it through to ourselves of what we need to do if we can't even get ourselves where we need to be how do we expect to reach this world the people in the world and even people that leave church it's because they don't want to sacrifice things it's because they don't want want to give up things it's hard sometimes but as we've said all throughout this series I believe that every person in here has a place and has a purpose and has a Ministry are you giving everything to that one thing I'll end with I always find it interesting that when you find places that have been abandoned places that have been left behind whether there's there's always these structures there but yet the wildlife the plants whatever it is they find a way to come up to break up through that foundation and they find a way to still grow through that whatever it is in your life that Foundation the enemies laid in your life there's still way for that light that God's placed in you to break through that maybe it's been sitting there a while maybe it's been a long time but there's still a way for that light to break through if you'll just let it you your praise and your commitment and your sacrifice to God can shake the foundations that the enemy has placed within you that's holding you back to allow God to grow in you like never before but the question again is are you willing

John 3:30 he must increase but I must decrease let's pray as they get ready to sing Lord we thank you for your word we thank you for your spirit God lord we just come to you tonight and ask you let us be receptive to your voice whatever it is that you're asking us to set aside whatever it is you're asking us to give up for your glory god so that we can get closer to you so that we can find ourselves closer to you God Lord let us not hold on to those things that you're asking us to cast aside let us not be stalled in our ministry God that you've called us to because of things because of stuff that we just don't want to set aside that we don't want to lay down at an altar God but God let us be used to our full potential let us be used in a way that we give ourselves fully to you in the name of Jesus