TACF Journal

I listened as a young man related his Christian experience to Pastor Bob and me after one of Randy Clark’s meetings during the recent School of Healing and Impartation. Frustration, even depression, seemed to characterize his Christian walk. “I go to Sunday services,” “I go to the mid-week services,” “I go to weekly Bible studies and prayer meetings.” But he wasn’t satisfied. He was attending meetings out of some sense of religious duty or obligation. His “joy of the Lord” had been replaced by the “dreariness of routine”!

The next night, a 40-something-year-old woman came up for prayer and God poured out His grace upon her. As she lay on the floor, basking in the presence of the Holy Spirit, she asked me, “You’re a minister; how do you keep your ministry fresh?” I began by reminding her that my ‘ministry’ to her that evening was nothing more than what any Christian should be doing.

While they posed their questions differently, God’s answer for the woman and the young man is essentially the same. I believe there are three keys to keeping your personal ministry fresh, exciting, and powerful: Identity, Intimacy, and Action.

Identity

An old rock ‘n roll song asks, “Whooooo are you? I really want to know!” The answer is one of the keys to a vibrant ministry, full of the power and love of God. When a parent tells a child often enough that he is worthless and will never amount to much, guess what often happens? The child is conditioned to fail. How often have you proclaimed, “I’m only human” or, “I’m just a sinner” or something similar to explain away some failure or another? Yet, you are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27)! Understanding who you are in the Kingdom of God is the first critical key to successful personal ministry.

Galatians 3:26, 27 (NASB) says, “For you are all sons [and daughters] of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” You are a Son or Daughter of God, created in His very image! Romans 8:16, 17 goes on to say that if we are children of God, then we must be heirs of God also – in line for a royal inheritance!

You are a Son/Daughter of the Most High God, the Creator of the universe!! You are a prince and priest in His Kingdom, destined to reign upon the earth! You have every right and privilege and responsibility afforded to a prince or princess of the Kingdom. Now, imagine yourself in your royal garments at the King’s court, sitting at the King’s table; this is who you are when you have entered the Kingdom through faith in Jesus. As Christians, we have no business positioning ourselves for failure! Lift your head up, Christian! You are royalty!

Intimacy

The second key to your successful personal ministry is intimacy with the Lord. Time in His presence manifests His power in your life. Can people tell you’ve been with Jesus? It was always God’s plan to be in constant communion or fellowship with His chosen people. Adam enjoyed this position with God before the fall of man. In Exodus 19, God tells the people of His desire to come near His people, but the people are so afraid, they tell Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die." (Exodus 20:19). 

God desires close fellowship with you! He wants to know you and be known by you in a deeply intimate way. He told Jeremiah, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13) And again, in Jeremiah 33:2,3: “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name:  ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ Find the time each day to spend with the Lord in worship, in prayer, and in reading the Word. Jesus is sure to respond Jesus with “unsearchable things” for you to know! 

Action

The third key to successful personal ministry is action! “Doing the stuff!” Hearing God’s voice and “going for it!” I was sitting in a local café, waiting for new tires to be installed on my wife’s car. It was almost time to go when four young men sat down at the next table and ordered breakfast. Suddenly, as I closed my book and prepared to leave, my ear began to hurt. In fact, as I imagine the moment, I can feel it again; it was a strange pain, a little hot, a little tingly; and I knew there was nothing wrong with my ear. I realized this was probably a word of knowledge from the Lord, and as I looked up I decided that one of these young men must have an ear problem. Stepping over to their table, I apologized for interrupting, and explained briefly that I was a Christian, and that God sometimes showed me ‘stuff’ about other people. Then I popped the question; “Does one of you guys have a problem with your right ear?”

For a second there was dead silence; then three guys looked and pointed wide-eyed at their fourth companion. Meanwhile, the fourth guy was trying to pick up his jaw from where it had just hit the table. In disbelief he slowly asked “Dude! How did you know that?”

“God showed it to me.” And while my jaw retained its position, inside I was doing one of those dances you see football players do in the end zone right after scoring the big touchdown!

After explaining what I was going to do and what I was expecting the Holy Spirit to do, I placed my hand on his ear and commanded the ear to be healed and to open up. While the ear did not immediately open up, the astonishment of the word of knowledge released faith in the young man to receive his healing. Meanwhile, God was opening other doors as He allowed me to quickly explain the Gospel, noting that God has plans for them far beyond their current circumstances. As the server began bringing out their food order, I was able to explain to them how our Lord wants us to truly KNOW Him, not just know about Him. The last plate of food arrived from the kitchen and I blessed them and left them to digest not only the bacon and the eggs, but the goodness of God as well.

I like to say that ‘faith’ is an action word. Indeed, the action and results of stepping out as in that café provide me with great excitement; it’s an adrenaline rush like almost nothing else. But God doesn’t give me much to act on when I’m not in intimate relationship with Him. And I don’t hardly have the confidence or boldness to speak out what I do hear without the deep-seated understanding of who I am in Christ. Identity, Intimacy, and Action: Your three keys to keeping your personal ministry fresh, exciting, and powerful.