A Biblical Model of Ministry

I came across the following thoughts on ministry by John MacArthur. There is a lot of wisdom here for American pastors who see themselves as entrepreneurial wizards building their churches to greater and greater heights, all in the name of "winning the world" for Christ. Read and heed:

Consider Jesus' ministry. Do you realize that Jesus never left the region of Israel? He basically traveled back and forth from Galilee to Jerusalem. That's it. Now, do you think He had a sense of winning the world? You better believe He did...but He never left where He was. You say, "How could He reach the world if He never left where He was?" Because He knew how to do it. David McKenna said, "Self-styled Messiahs are megalomaniacs. Their sense of mission has no limitations short of conquering the world and conquering it now. At the slightest signal that their efforts are being frustrated, they usually respond with rage and madness." You see, Jesus used an economy of effort. He knew how to do what He wanted to do, but He did it within certain limitations. Jesus limited His ministry. Why? Because the issue isn't how broad one's ministry is, it's how deep it is. God says, "You take care of the depth, and I'll take care of the breadth." Let's look at the limits that Jesus put on His ministry:

a. The Limitation of God's Will
The first limitation that Jesus put on His ministry was that He would only do what the Father showed Him to do. So, the number one limit on any ministry is God's will. Unfortunately, there are many people involved in all kinds of ministries that God doesn't have a thing to do with. Instead of spending their time doing what God wants them to do and what God gifted them to do, they're running around doing what they want to do. Usually it's nothing more than megalomania--an ego problem that gets out of hand. In John 5:30 Jesus said, "I can of Mine own self do nothing....I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father who hath sent Me."

So, the first limitation He put on His ministry was the limitation of God's will. The second limitation was...

b. The Limitation of Time
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus said, "Mine hour is not yet come" (e.g., 2:4; 7:30; 8:20). He had a sense of timing. Certain things were to be done at certain times--the Father's time. So, unless something was the Father's will and the Father's time, Jesus didn't do it. That put certain limitations on His ministry, didn't it? I'll tell you one thing, though, when it was the right time, and Jesus was able to say, "...Father, the hour is come..." (Jn. 17:1), it was exciting, wasn't it?
The third limitation that Jesus put on His ministry was...

c. The Limitation of a Certain Group of People
The objective of Jesus' ministry when He first came into the world was to reach "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt. 10:6). You say, "Why would He limit Himself like that?" Because He wanted to tighten the circle of His ministry. And not only was His ministry to the Jews, it was to a certain kind of Jew. In Matthew 9:13 Jesus says, "...for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." He didn't come to minister to hypocritical, religious ones; He wanted Jews who recognized their sin. So, the scope of His ministry was narrowed even further.

Another thing that limited Jesus' ministry was...

d. The Limitation of a Certain Subject
Throughout Jesus' ministry, people tried to pressure Him into making political statements. When people asked Him what He thought about Caesar, what did He say? Well, very judiciously He avoided any political involvement and said, "...Render, therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God, the things that are God's" (Mt. 22:21). You see, He refused to be forced into political involvement because that was not His purpose. I know He had strong feelings about it, but He avoided it because He had limits on His ministry.

Jesus also limited His ministry through...

e. The Limitation of a Small Number of Disciples
Jesus limited the number of people that He discipled. In Mark 5, after He healed a maniac, the man "implored Him that he might be with Him" (v. 18b). Look at Jesus' response: "...Jesus permitted him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee..." (v. 19a). You say, "Why didn't He take him?" Well, a megalomaniac would have. Megalomaniacs drag around lots of disciples to prove themselves. But Jesus knew exactly how many He could disciple effectively, and that's all He wanted.

The limitations on Jesus' ministry were astounding, yet He affected the world.

Men who affect the world put limits on their ministry that allow them to do it with depth. Paul went back to the same people three times, and Jesus worked with the same twelve people three years. But ultimately, it affected the world. Learn this, people: The scope that you're going to have in your ministry must not be related to how fast or far you travel, it must be related to how deep you plow. You concentrate on the depth, and God will take care of the breadth.

Here in Colossians 1:24-25, we've seen four aspects of Paul's ministry. The source is God; the spirit is joy; the suffering is on behalf of Christ for the sake of the church; and the scope is the whole Word to the specific world that God has called you to, and then by His Spirit, to extend it to the world beyond. Now, those are only four of the features of the ministry. We're going to look at four more in our next lesson. However, if God's people were committed only to those four, quite a revolution would take place in the church, wouldn't it?

You can read the complete message here.