Baptists Committed to World Evangelism

Deuteronomy 17:18-20

Titus 1:5 “For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee. If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot and unruly.” I was reminded and challenged this morning about the requirements for an elder/bishop/pastor. I wanted to list these below as they are found in the book of Titus: Blameless The husband of one wife Having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly Blameless as the steward of God Not selfwilled Not soon angry Not given to wine No striker Not given to filthy lucre A lover of hospitality A lover of good men Sober Just Holy Temperate Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught Able by sound doctrine to exhort and convince the gainsayers The office of a pastor is a very high calling. Let us not forget the great example that we must set.

Acts 16:6 “Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.” As Paul travelled and started churches, he looked to the Lord for continual guidance and relied upon the Spirit to lead him.  God guided their steps and God guided their stops.  The Holy Spirit forbade them to go to certain places that they wanted to go.  The Spirit closed doors, and the Spirit opened doors

John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John has had an incredible ministry. People from all over Judea and Israel are coming to hear him preach and to repent of their sins. Jesus says there is no one greater in the kingdom of Heaven except he that is least.

Luke 16:10 “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in the much.” Preparation for more begins with being faithful in little. In the story Jesus has just told, the man was faithful with his money, so he was rewarded because God knew he would be faithful with other things. In our lives, we must work on the little things. If we are not good stewards of the little time, little money, little opportunities that God gives us, then we will not be given more

Matthew 23:27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead mens bones, and of all uncleanness.” Jesus gives a scathing inditement against the scribes and Pharisees, who have been hounding Him relentlessly with criticism and attempts to cause Him to stumble. At each turn, Jesus confounds them with His wisdom and authority. In this chapter, Jesus uses some of the his strongest language for these religious hypocrites.

Matthew 7:21 “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” It is very sobering to think that there are those who profess to be Christians yet they are not genuinely saved. We must make sure that we are not just doing good works in Christ’s name and calling Christ Lord. Are we doing the will of the Father?

Could it be that as men of God we have lost our vision for the world. It was not on purpose! Many have become so busy doing the work that they have lost the big picture. It is as though all were working on building a large building, bridge or railway. It is easy to become a bricklayer rather someone building a cathedral

God allowed me to have a wonderful time with Kevin and Beth White in Cochabamba, Bolivia. They are doing a tremendous job. They will be with us at Vision for our World Vision Celebration in September. So I hope you get it on your calendar to be at the conference and to meet and get to know the Whites. The Whites are coming home on furlough at the end of May.

There is so much ministry that we can do ; we must decide what we should do .   Very few missionaries go around not having anything to do.  The problem is working long hours every day and not seeming to accomplish anything.  What is it that God desires to accomplish through you on the field?  Will what you are doing make that a reality?  We all have the same amount of hours in a day/week/year.  We must redeem the time and use it as wisely as possible. Below are some helps on how to stay focused on the right ministry. 1.  Align yourself each morning to the Word of God.