Effective Ministry

Written by Warren |Posted on September 20, 2008 | Comments

inspite of generations and myriads of people not turning to God in Noah’s time
even from the days of Enoch who preached to the people to repent
all the way to the days of Noah and still nobody listened
till the day of the flood
and only Noah’s immediate family got in to the ark
only 8 people got in to the ark
the household of Noah

Noah didn’t say
for many generations people never listened
even from the days of my great grandfather Enoch
nobody listened to his preaching
- – -
“It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord came with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 14-15
- – -
he was already raptured and yet people weren’t convinced of this miracle and turned to God
- – -
“Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him” Gen 5:24
- – -
he could have said
perhaps I need speech training
or read more motivational books
or learn to cook delicious lamb stew to please more people
perhaps by that I can make them listen and turn to God for salvation
but no
even when people would laugh at Noah building a boat and wherein rain never existed in his time
Noah still continued on
day and night for 100yrs building the ark because of the promise of God
I believe that in those times people are asking Noah
where is this “rain” that your God promised?!
“rain” doesn’t even exist in our vocabulary
stop preaching to us fool
you and your fathers are balonies
but no
Noah held on to the promise of God
that He will kill the world thru the flood
and yes He did
all the days of Enoch
even to his sons Methuselah then to Lamech then to Noah
all their days preaching to people for them to repent
and yet nobody listened
if we will base Noah’s performance on the standards of the many cultic leaders of today
Noah would certainly fail
he was not an effective preacher
he did not convince people
perhaps he did not go through speech therapy
perhaps he was ugly
perhaps he didn’t speak of financial issues
perhaps he didn’t speak of entertainment and stuff
no
he preached condemnation to the world
- – -
“…By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. ” Heb 11:7
- – -
the issue is not about telling goody goody stories to make people laugh
it is not about telling them what they want to hear
that is entertainment
that is pleasing men and not pleasing God
no
its about obeying the call of God
which is to preach the Gospel
make disciples of all nations
to call people to repentance
and even if they don’t listen like the people in the days of Noah
it shouldn’t be a bother to us
because the kind of faith that God has given us is an enduring faith
and not a faith that is based on man’s efforts
we must be like Noah
wherein he doesn’t base his success rate with the numbers of converts he had
no
regardless of many converts or even nothing at all doesn’t prove you to be a more or less effective servant of Christ
it is not about Christians being effective
it is not about creating a portfolio of converts
it is not about pleasing people
it is all about obedience
and that obedience comes by faith
- – -
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. ” James 2:17
- – -
it is about us giving God all the glory
that is why on the day we meet our Saviour we put down our crowns at His feet because we don’t deserve any glory
- – -
” the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” Rev 4:10-11
- – -
so what is the secret to effective ministry?
obedience to God
only God is the audience and not man