I need to hear what the Lord says about ministry and remember to follow what is presented in Scripture regarding my ministry and my business dealings. This was once again taken from the rich material and brilliant mind of John MacArthur.
Few people in history have affected the world the way he did. Jesus never left Palestine, yet no one has come remotely close to having the impact on the world that He has. Jesus’ ministry was effective because He limited it to doing what God wanted.
First, Jesus limited His ministry to God’s will. He said in John 5:30, “I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” Too many men in the ministry are busy building their own empires, rather than seeking to fulfill God’s will.
Second, Jesus limited His ministry to God’s timing. The gospel of John repeatedly speaks of Jesus’ hour as having not yet come (cf. 2:4; 7:30; 8:20; 12:27; 13:1; 17:1). Jesus carried out His ministry conscious of God’s timing. He refused to do things until the right time.
Third, Jesus limited His ministry to God’s objective. He knew that God had not sent Him to reach the entire world by Himself. In Matthew 15:24 He said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
Fourth, Jesus limited His ministry to God’s kingdom. He refused to be drawn into the political controversies of His day. When His opponents tried to embroil Him in one such controversy, He replied, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s” (Matt. 22:21). He kept the political realm and the spiritual realm separate. That is a lesson many in the contemporary church seem to have missed.
Fifth, Jesus limited Himself to God’s people. He realized He could pour His life into only a few men. Out of the larger group of His followers, He chose the twelve and spent most of His time with them. And even among the twelve, He spent more time with Peter, James, and John than with the rest.
Those who desire truly effective ministries must learn the importance of limits. If they concentrate on the depth of their ministries, God will take care of the breadth.
Jesus’ response about rendering to Caesar and to God was actually a refutation of the inscription on the denarius used to pay Caesar’s taxes; the inscription said, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus.” Jesus made clear that Caesar was not God.
Jesus’ interaction with “politics” was not just limited to dealings with the Romans, like Pilate, but primarily with Jewish leaders, including the scribes and Pharisees. While often called “religious” leaders, these Jewish leaders were also rulers (under the watchful eye of Rome) over much of the daily lives of their people. Scribes interpreted and enforced the law of Moses, the “constitution” for the kingdom of Israel.