Pastor's Personal Vision

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)

But none of these things move me
When Paul first said these words he meant that the difficulties that awaited him further down the line in the ministry were tough, but his calling from God was stronger.

I believe that this is one of the reasons why God gave this verse to us. Because there were going to be struggles and trials along the way and that it would be a tough road.

We were to be warned. This was not the easy way. This was the road less traveled. This was a way that we had not gone before, and we desperately needed to keep Jesus in front of us leading us. (Joshua 3:4)

It would be a struggle and a trial. Were we up to the challenge? Would anything move us? Would not having the money to pay the rent or utilities? Would not being able to have enough food for the family?

What would move us? Would anything move us? That was the key. We had to be so sure of our calling that none of these things would move us.

Ministry is not for cowards or the faint of heart. It is for those who have dcided not to have comfort and ease. It is for those who know that God has called them into it and there is no turning back.

Would anything move me? That is the first part of the calling, the vision, the IMMOVABLENESS. We are here, and we are here to stay. No matter what.

Nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy
The second part is like it. It has to do with self-focus and self desires. Is my life dear to me? Do I care more about my comfort than I do about others? If I do, then I will not finish my race with joy.

This really has to do with how we interact with others. We, as a fellowship, must be willing to be a group who is selfless and willing to give our lives to others.

This is the way that we show our calling as well as how we show the greatest of all of the commandments, that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and love others as ourselves. (Mark 12:30-31)

This should be our aim and our goal. To finish our race with joy. Saddly, though, so many people finish their race with saddness and regrets. We must be a group who is determined to finish our race with joy.

So, as part of our vision, we should reach out to others sharing the Gospel with them. We encourage them to love God and to be in a right relationship with him and to begin to serve Him in the ministry. We should then focus on meeting their needs and blessing them.

And the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus
We must remember that our ministry does not start with or is sustained by us. We were not sent out by man, nor did we come at the will of man, but God called us to minister in this place. We have begun in the Spirit, we must end in the Spirit. (Galatians 3:3)

This means that we are flexable, willing to change and willing to bend when necessary. Sometimes God’s Spirit desires us to be open to change. It should never be in our vocabulary to say, “This is how we have always done it!”

No, we should be willing to change when the Spirit desires so.

Sometimes it looks like we don’t really know what we are doing here. The real reason is, we don’t. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 1:26-29

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.”

To testify to the gospel of the grace of God
This was Paul’s aim. This was his goal. To share the Gospel of Grace.
The good news of grace.

Grace is good-news indeed! So many people preach good works and salvation by those works. But that is not good news. No, the good news of the Gospel tells us that Jesus died for our sins and we justified by Him. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

It permeates every aspect of our lives. Are we living grace? Are we applying grace to our work situation? Are we applying grace to our husbands or wives? Are we willing to receive grace from others?

Do we need to change our minds about grace?

We must remember that grace is gettings God’s favor without earning it on our own. How do we apply this to others? By giving them favor without requiring anything in return.