Success or Service???

"For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." -- John 13:15-17

Ah yes, the success syndrome... we have been inoculated with this virus and it has taken its toll. God's children have been led down the yellow brick road of glory and prestige. From one season to the next; comfort, abundance, health and wealth dance like sugar plums in the heads of believers. Is this not their right and privilege as children of the King of Kings?

Yet, the King sets a very different example for his followers doesn't He? He reminds us that we are His servants, and a servant is never any greater than their master. If our master humbles Himself to fulfill the lowly task of foot washing, shall we resist the simple task of serving others?

What is your ministry my friend? But wait... what is "ministry"? One definition suggests a rushing about in the dust, caring for the needs of others, without any concern for self. Does this define your ministry? Are you seeking success... or service? What was the example that Jesus left us again?

~ PJVS

A Beautiful Thing...

"And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me." ~ Mark 14:3-6

I remember listening to Dr. Howard Hendricks read some excerpts from reference forms sent in for prospective students at Dallas Seminary. "This young man is highly gifted in many areas and it's a shame that he is wasting his life on the ministry!" They failed to see the value of doing a "beauty thing" in serving Jesus.

As the story of this woman has been recorded in the Scriptures, her story has marked the lives of more than can be counted. Her honor has only been exceeded by her impact on those who have poured out everything for the sake of Christ. That my friend, is a "beautiful thing".

Over the years I have been greatly blessed by such highly gifted men from the above mentioned seminary. The ministries of these and so many others have been most rewarding. A life that is lived for Jesus will never be a waste, because in the eyes of our Lord it will always be a... " beautiful thing". 

~ PJVS

Partnership...

"So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me." - Philemon 17

Partners ride the trail together, run the business together and compete in the game together. They are on the same page, with the same goal. As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, "Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up." A healthy partnership is a blessing for all seasons.

Paul had a partnership with Philemon and a growing partnership with Onesimus. Being a brother and spiritual father in the Lord is a great relationship. It is more than a moment in time or phase in life. We are partners in the work of the gospel for life and strong teamwork brings a good return for our work. A healthy partnership is a blessing for all seasons.

 Who are your partners in the gospel today? Do you work alongside with a welcoming heart and supportive spirit? Do you draw strength from them as you provide them encouragement? Christian partners work together, even through the most difficult situations, because they are partners with the Lord. A healthy partnership is a blessing for all seasons.

~ PJVS

Confidence...

OUR GREATEST CONFIDENCE - 

"When we help God’s people pastorally, we have one tremendous source of confidence: It is that when God begins a good work in people’s lives He will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ. The hidden factor in every encouragement we give, or exhortation, or difficult piece of advice or correction, is that God the Holy Spirit indwells the believer to back it up, and to apply it with a force we do not possess. 

  

Our confidence that people will react and respond in the right way is not our confidence in human nature but our confidence regarding God’s working in them. This explains why Paul spoke of being confident in the Lord concerning the behavior of Christians (2 Thessalonians 3:4; Philemon 21). Without that confidence we would despair; with that confidence we are brave and strong to fulfill any pastoral responsibility."

  

- ON BEING A PASTOR: Understanding Our Calling and Work, Derek Prime & Alistair Begg

May YOU always be confident in the Lord's affirming your ministry. While you are a physician of the soul, remember that you are just a PA (Physicians Assistant) to Jehovah-Rapha, the Great Physician, and HE most certainly "restores the soul". 

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen." - Ephesians 3:20–21 

Only by HIS Power within, 

~ PJVS 

Lift Him Up!

"To lift Him up, to preach His name, and to invite souls to love Him and to follow Him is the highest, heavenliest privilege of human life ... After seventy years of expository preaching, I have yet to touch the hem of His garment." - W. A. Criswell

As you prepare for each and every sermon in 2025, may the Lord bless you with a fresh passion and vision for His high and holy calling in ministry. While some live to change the world, we live to change souls... And this is the greatest way to truly change the world. What a privilege!

"Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ Now therefore HEAR the WORD of the LORD." ~ Amos 7:14-16

In His Eternal grip,

~ PJVS

Risky and Self-Sacrificing...

"Risky, self-sacrificing service to the church and to the world, in the name of Jesus Christ, belongs organically to Christian obedience. In his own words from The Cost of Discipleship: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. Not in pursuit of something for oneself. All things are ours already in Jesus. Not in order to make something of oneself. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. Rather, in order to serve, in order to help others, in the name of Jesus Christ. Followers of Jesus are free for such service and such service belongs to and authenticates genuine witness to their crucified and risen Savior." 

- Mark Devine, Bonhoeffer Speaks Today: 

Following Jesus at All Costs

It's a New Year Pastor ... and my hope for you includes a fresh vision and passion to make the kind of disciples who will "come and die" in order to help others, in the name of Jesus Christ. May our Chief Shepherd give you all that's needed to promote this "Risky, self-sacrificing service to His church".

In His Eternal Grip,

~ PJVS

Success or Service?

"For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them." -- John 13:15-17

Ah yes, the success syndrome... we have all been inoculated with this virus and it has taken its toll. Even ministry leaders have been led down the yellow brick road of glory and prestige. From one season to the next; comfort, abundance, health and wealth dance like sugar plums in the heads of believers. Is this not their right and privilege as children of the King of Kings?

Yet, the King sets a very different example for his followers doesn't He? He reminds us that we are His servants, and a servant is never any greater than their master. If our master humbles Himself to fulfill the lowly task of foot washing, shall we resist the simple task of serving others?

As you begin a New Year, what are your ministry expectations my friend? But wait... what is "ministry"? One definition suggests a rushing about in the dust, caring for the needs of others, without any concern for self. Does this define your ministry? Are you seeking success... or service? What was the example that Jesus left us again?

"Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God." ~ 1 Peter 5:2 (NLT) 

 ~ PJVS