Today we are looking at something that is very important and I want you to be very attentive even as the Lord guides us into it. I am sure you have been part of our previous editions of Forms and Patterns and you have learned a few lesson, today we not be different. It is going to be, as we expect it, a better edition and I trust that God will give you the grace to receive everything that He has prepared for you.
Today on Forms and Patterns, we are looking at The Strategic Ministers Lunchbox For Effective Ministry and we will be learning a couple of lessons from the book of Psalms chapter 1. I am very sure that we have read this chapter and verses over and over. Today the Lord wants to speak to us as Ministers of the gospel from this same chapter. Psalms 1:1-6, the Bible says:
Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
You see, the first phrase of this chapter began with "Blessed is the man" and I am sure many of us have been restricting it to just any man or a kind of man. But today we want to look at that man as the minister, perhaps, the strategic minister. You see, a strategic minister is not just a minister. He is a minister that has a longer term or a long term perspective or focus for his ministry. You see, it is one thing to serve, and it is another thing to have a plan to serve for a long time. A strategic minister is a minister who has a future in view. You could have started well, as long as you do not end well, you are not a strategic minister.
Listen To Podcast: THE STRATEGIC MINISTERS LUNCHBOX FOR EFFECTIVE MINISTRY
You see, you could have began the work, you could have began laboring, you could have began clearing, but as long as you do not complete the work, you do not take the work to the finish line, you do not stay on the work; you are no longer a strategic leader. So, we are looking at The Strategic Ministers Lunchbox For Effective Ministry. You see, when you the word "lunchbox", it connotes something that is very interesting. Your lunchbox is a container that has a capacity to handle or to hold all manner of things that you intend to eat. So, different things that you have plans to eat are contained in your lunchbox.
So, today we are looking the things, the tools, the secrets, the tips of strategic ministers towards their effectiveness in ministry. We are looking at the secrets of those who have stayed so long in the things that God has called them to do. The secrets of those who have lingered behind, those who have labored till the end, who refused to look back, you remember the words of Jesus who said anyone who laid his hands on the plough and look back is not fit for the kingdom.
We are looking at those servants of God who laid their hands on the plough and have never looked back. We want to examine what was and what is their secrets so that we ourselves can become beneficiaries of the secret that sustained for so long in ministry. So, we have seen it in Psalms one verse one. It says "Blessed is the man (and we are using it as blessed is the minister) who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the paths of sinners, not sits in the seats of scornful." There are three things that we will see that leads a minister away from effectiveness into lack or no effectiveness.
Again, by the help of the Holy Spirit, we are also shown in this same chapter one, the three things that ushers or that guides the minister into effectiveness. We will look at the whole angles so that we can have a balanced perspective for our effectiveness in the work that God has called us into as ministers. You see that verse one says again "Blessed is the man who walks not.." And I want to jump into another one that says "nor stands", another one says "not sits." Those are the three things that could be contained in the lunchbox of a strategic minister that would prevent him or her from getting into the realm of effectiveness in his or her ministry.
What is the number one step? It says "That walks not in the counsel." So, this strategic minister does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Who is an ungodly? An ungodly is anyone who lives a life that is different from the life that God wants him to live. Anyone who has a life different from the life of God for him, anyone who takes a cue from anything else other than God in making decisions for his living and for his effectiveness. So, when we are looking at the ungodly, we are looking at a man, a woman who does not have God in his view, in his focus, who does not want to become like God nor function like Him. And so, the Bible says this strategic leader who has a goal for effectiveness in his ministry does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly people, he does not walk.
The Second thing in the tool box of this strategic leader is that "he does not stands in the paths of sinners." He does not walk according to their counsel, he does not stand in their paths. He does not try to copy their practices and their principles. He does not learn from them, neither does he imitate them. So, this keeps him away from being distracted.
Now the third thing in the tool box or lunchbox of the strategic minister is that he does not "Sits in the seat of the scornful." You see, it has been said that bad companies corrupt good manners. If you can determine the kind of people you sit down with, then you can determine the outcome that you produce in your life. "Birds of the same feather flock together." You see, when people seat together, they seat to talk and compare notes. And you ask yourself, are we really comparing notes or are we simply becoming like them. Now, this strategic minister who has effective ministry in view does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, he does not stand in the paths of sinners, and he does not sits in the seats of the scornful.
Now, what are the other three things that are contained in the lunchbox of a strategic minister that has produced effectiveness in the ministry is what we have in Psalms chapter one, verse two. The Bible says:
But his delight is in the law of the Lord, (Number one)
And in His law he meditates day and night. (Number two)
He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper. (Number Three)
Now, if a minister of the gospel decides from today to delight himself or herself in the law of the Lord, number one, and decides to meditate on that law day and night, the Bible says whatever he does will prosper. And what shall be the order of the prosperity of that minister? That is what we are told in chapter one verse three. "He shall prosper like a three planted by the rivers of water that bring forth its fruits in its season whose leaves also shall not wither."
Currently in January in Nigeria, we are at a moment where many trees are losing their leaves. Why? There is shortage of water. And when there is shortage of water, there is tendency for a wise tree to drop the leaves, to conserve the water that it has within itself. But a tree that is planted by the rivers of water does not need to shed leaves. So that tree is beautiful all year round. Why? Because it is planted, it is located, it is settled, it is placed by the rivers of water. So, that means there is an endless of supply of water into that tree.
Are you a kind of strategic minister whose life and ministry experiences a sustained flow of revelations and grace from the Lord or is it seasonal? If you want to understand what could produce these things, remember what the Bible says: "His delight is in the law of the Lord and in it he shall meditate day and night." This shows a man with a passion for the word of the Lord. Now, one of the things I have noted while preparing for this message is that the Law of the Lord is the minister's handbook for effective serving. You see, the name "LORD" there means "The Master" like, the Master of everyone. The owner of everything and everyone.
So, the one who is the Master of all, the maker of all, the owner of all, has written a couple of instructions to everything and everyone that He has made. So, if God commissions you into ministry, there must have been a couple of instructions that are written that are relevant for your own effectiveness. So, a minister who wants to stay long in that ministry must learn to delight in the instructions of the Master for the work that He has called him into, and not just delighting in it, but meditating in it day and night. Let it become your occupation. When people ask you: What do you do in Ministry? What you simply tell them is "I meditate on the law of my God, the law of my Master day and night."
The second thing I noted is that your prosperity in ministry would be by your depth in the law of the Lord, the Master's manual. How deep you can go in the law of the Lord would determine how prosperous you woul be in the ministry. You see, many people think money or fame defines prosperity in ministry. It is beyond that. You remember the Bible says "whatever he does shall prosper" Your prosperity is in your works and the things you produce. Your prosperity is in the result that you are able to create over time.
If you can delight yourself in the law of the Lord, in the Master's manual, and you can meditate in it day and night, the Bible says whatever you do will prosper. No wonder the Bible says "the Lord shall bless the work of your hands. So, that also connotes that the blessing of the Lord hanging on a minister is actually hanging on the minister's work.
Now, another thing that I noted is that until you fully know the mind of God over a matter, you can't effectively serve God in the same matter. Until the mind of God has been fully conveyed to you, you cannot conveniently fulfill the details of your assignment. Another thing that I noted is until you bury yourself into the word of the Master, you cannot distinguish yourself in the work of the Master. Now, you would notice that we used some words carefully. It says until you fully know the mind of God over a matter, you can't effectively serve God in the same matter. So, knowing the mind of God precedes serving the mind of God. Knowing the mind of God as a minister precedes you enforcing the will of God. It says "let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
You are the one that God intends to use to execute His will on the earth. Now, you can't do that will until you know it. You can't know it until you delight in that will, until you meditate in that will. And when you have delighted yourself in that will and meditated on it, you can then produce good works by it.
You know, another thing that we said is that until you have been fully buried, fully immersed into the word of the Master, you can't do the work of the Master, the very thing that you want to do. I am sure everyone of us loves to serve God in ministry. But if we must succeed, these three things that we saw in two different dimensions must really be considered. Number one, you don't as a strategic minister of Christ, walk in the counsel of the ungodly. You do not stand in the paths of sinners, and you do not sit in the seat of scornful. And then again, you must delight yourself in the law of God your Master, the one who has called you into the ministry, and you must meditate on His instructions day and night, you must never forget it, and then you must produce works by those instructions, for the Bible says "whatever you do will prosper."
Now, in case you are thinking "what is in it for me?" The opposite of you doing this is in Psalms chapter one verse four to six. It says:
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
I hope and believe that you will not follow the path of the ungodly. I believe you will not desire a way that perishes. You don't want God to put a searchlight upon your work and nothing is found. You don't want to be driven away by the wind while fulfilling your ministry. You want to last in ministry. You want to really last and leave legacy behind. If that must be done, then you must be that blessed strategic minister who has results to show for his effectiveness and for his blessing.
I pray that even as you take these words into practice and begin to execute the counsel of God over your life and your ministry, beginning from this week, you will begin to have good testimonies. Apply these principles from today and you will begin to see tangible results in the work of your ministry. And I pray that God's grace will be multiplied unto you, in Jesus' Mighty name we have prayed!
Be blessed!
