Title:The Mystery Of a Ministry Based On Mystery by Dr. Joseph Dimitrov
Text:2 Timothy 4:5;1 Corinthians 2:7; 4:1
INTRODUCTION
A. A Ministry That is Fully Accomplished
2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
B.A Ministry That is Hard to Explain
“We are ministers of God and stewards of the mysteries of God.” (1Cor. 4:1) The same we find in Eph. 1:9.
1Cor. 2:7 “but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory.”
I.An Accomplished Ministry Does Not Mean That the Goal Justifies the Means
A.Awareness From God’s Perspective
B.Awareness From Paul’s Perspective
Paul refused to preach words of wisdom (1Cor. 2:1) because of two factors:
1. The Nature Of The Gospel
2. The Nature Of The Church
II.An Accomplished Ministry Does Not Mean That The Results Depend On So-Called
‘Successful’ Methods
A. Irrelevance Of The Message
1. There Was Jewish Variety Of Rejecting The Cross
2. There Was Greek Variety Of Rejecting The Cross
B.Generational Characteristics
1. The Jewish Version
2. The Greek Version
C.Possible Temptations
D.Spiritual Marketing or Branding
In regards to salvation and the growth of the Kingdom of God on this earth God does not accommodate Himself to the wisdom of this world.
The gospel is predominantly an announcement.
III.An Accomplished Ministry Does Not Mean That Real Success Could Be Defined By Known Evaluating Criteria
A.The Message, The Hearers And The Preacher Matched Each Other For Folly And Feebleness
B.Significant Facts That Define The Mystery Of Ministry
1. Important Ingredient Of The Message And The Preaching
1Cor. 2:4-5, “And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.”
2. Understanding and Application ofJesus’ Description of The Holy Spirit’s
Person and Role
The holy Spirit is the parakletos Being that provides the dunamis enablement which aims at the kosmos transformation.
a. Parakletos Being is His relation to the individual Christian
b. Dunamis enablement is His relation to the church.
c. Kosmos transformation is His relation to the world.
John 16:8-11, "And he, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and ye behold me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world has been judged."
CONCLUSION
A.Ephesus, Corinth, Our World And The Concept Of Fulfilled Ministry
B. 2 Tim. 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.”
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