2 Cor 1:3
God of All Comfort
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who
comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the
comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so
through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.a 6If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation;
and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same
sufferings that we suffer. 7Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you
will also share in our comfort.
8For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers,b of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so
utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9Indeed, we felt that we had received the
sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10He
delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver
us again. 11You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing
granted us through the prayers of many.
I suggest you intentionally write up some of your painful experiences into your “suffering testimony.” Your
suffering testimony will include suffering you experienced innocently like a painful illness. It will also include
pain that you brought upon yourself by poor choices such as an alcohol addiction.
1.
My life seemed normal until …
Explain the occurrence(s) in your life where you were discouraged or challenged by a great burden. It can be
something like a past addiction to drugs, alcohol, or pornography. It can also be an event like the death of a
friend or family member, an illness, depression, or maybe the divorce of your parents. It does not have to be
anything catastrophic or impressive, just an event of importance to you. This is not the time to be self-righteous.
Rather, it is a time to be vulnerable and transparent.
2.
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As you recall the past occurrence in your life, explain in detail how God intervened. Use phrases that express
emotions and feelings. Also recall Scripture verses and biblical stories that were helpful in meeting your needs.
3.
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This is when you brag on Jesus! Explain how your life has changed for the better. However, be careful not to
over exaggerate or to come off as if you have obtained perfection. Remember, the purpose of the suffering
testimony is to use painful experiences to identify with others and create bridges to more effective ministry.
Write out your suffering testimony by using the guidelines below:
1. 1. My life seemed normal until …
2. 2. I discovered hope and help in Jesus when …
3. 3. I am glad I have a personal relationship with Jesus today because …
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of
truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him,
because He remains with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)
Effective ministry begins today as you learn to spend time with God the Holy Spirit by reading the Word,
praying, yielding, obeying, worshipping, avoiding sin, confessing unrighteousness.
I Thessalonians 5:12-22
12We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
13and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. 14And we urge
you, brothers, admonish the idle,c encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. 15See that
no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. 16Rejoice
always, 17pray without ceasing, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise prophecies, 21but test everything; hold fast what is good.
22Abstain from every form of evil.
In this verse Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to use different strokes for different folks. Encouragement
comes in different shapes, sizes, and colors in order to fit the need. The unruly person needs warning. The timid
needs comfort. The weak should be uplifted. Everyone will require patience.
Through his letters Paul sprinkles little words of instruction that show us the many ways we can encourage
others. Read through this list slowly and see where you can improve.
•• “Love one another.” (Rom 13:8)
•• “Show family affection to one another with brotherly love.” (Rom 12:10)
•• “Outdo one another in showing honor.” (Rom 12:10)
•• “Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not
be wise in your own estimation.” (Rom 12:16)
•• “Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another.” (Rom 14:13)
•• “Therefore accept one another, just as the Messiah also accepted you.” (Rom 15:7)
•• “Instruct one another.” (Rom 15:4)
•• “Have the same concern for each other.” (1 Cor 12:25)
•• “Serve one another through love.” (Gal 5:13)
•• “Carry one another’s burdens.” (Gal 6:2)
•• “Accepting one another in love.” (Eph 4:2)
•• “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you
in Christ.” (Eph 4:32)
•• “Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from
your heart to the Lord.” (Eph 5:19)
•• “Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.” (Eph 5:21)
•• “Consider others as more important than yourselves.” (Phil 2:3)
•• “Forgiving one another.” (Col 3:13)
•• “Teaching and admonishing one another.” (Col 3:16)
•• “Overflow with love for one another.” (1 Thess 3:12)
•• “Build each other up.” (1 Thess 5:11)
Hearing and Doing the Word
19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for the
anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant
wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word
and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and
goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty,
and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is
worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Jude 22-23
22And have mercy on those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy
with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.
James 5:19-20
19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20let him know that
whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of
sins.
Jesus reminded us that communing with him and his Holy Word is the best act of ministry that can ever be
performed.
Spending Time with God in His Word
Spending time daily feasting on the Word of God is essential for maintaining effective ministry. Some general
guidelines enhance any daily time spent with God’s Word:
1. Have a set time. It may be first thing in the morning, late in the afternoon, or before you go to bed. The
important issue is not when you take time but that you take time. It order to be consistent, it helps to have
a standing appointment with God and his Word.
2. Block out an amount of time. This may be from 10 minutes to an hour. Reading three chapters a day takes
approximately 15–30 minutes, depending on the length of the chapters. By reading three chapters a day, you
can read through the Bible in a little more than a year.
3. Have a place. Your place can be at the desk. Or in your favorite chair. Or in a coffee shop.
4. Follow a plan. Some people like to read all the way through the Bible. Others like to read the same chapters
daily for a month. Others like to study a paragraph at a time.
5. Mark in your Bible or write in a notebook. What you note may be a sin you need to confess, a promise you
need to claim, an example you need to follow, or a command you should keep. As you read, do not be afraid
to underline, circle, or mark key words, names, or verses in your Bible.
6. Read or study in different translations on occasion. You can get 22 different translations for free
online (www.biblegateway.com).
7. Vary your “diet” by periodically switching from reading the Old Testament to the New and vice versa. It is
all the Word of God.
Now What? Overwhelmed or Overjoyed?
Do you have any stories of how God impacted your life while listening to or studying his Word? If so, rehearse
them out loud or with a friend. Take time to rejoice over them. Then say when that encounter occurred. And if
there has been no encounter to that magnitude in the last year, ask yourself why you have not experienced God
that way in recent days?
Are you busy?
Are you too
busy?
If you consider yourself “too busy,” what do you believe is the cause of all your busyness? Is it simply a rough
season in your life, or is it self-inflicted? Are there too many good and honorable irons in the fire that are
actually keeping you from focusing on doing what is best?
Do you spin your wheels performing duties and tasks and calling it ministry, or are you making sure that you
are encountering God’s Word during your ministry week? Are you convinced that this routine will make an
eternal impact on your life? Will you take time to experience God’s Word profoundly?
And most importantly, are you a demanding taskmaster forcing your ministry team to perform so many tasks
that it leaves no time for them to be impacted eternally by God’s Word?
Spending time daily feasting on the Word of God is essential for maintaining effective ministry.
The Bible is clear that instead of spending our time and energy competing with and comparing ourselves to our
Christian brothers and sisters, we are to love them.
Read slowly through this sampling of injunctions from the apostle Paul. As you do, ask God to give you a
greater love for your co-laborers in the gospel:
Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. (Rom 12:10)
Love does not envy. (1 Cor 13:4)
Your every action must be done with love. (1 Cor
16:14) But serve one another through love. (Gal 5:13)
Above all, put on love—the perfect bond of unity. (Col 3:14)
Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and
admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. (1
Thess 5:12–13)
No one should despise your youth; instead, you should be an example to the believers in speech, in conduct, in
love, in faith, in purity. (1 Tim 4:12)
Now you, man of God, run from these things; but pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and
gentleness. (1 Tim 6:11)
Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your
labor in the Lord is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58)
Let me give you a quick explanation of some key words of this verse, and then I will put the pieces together to
help you apply this transforming verse. “My dear brothers” refers to all believers who have accepted Jesus
Christ as their personal Savior (i.e., the “body of Christ”). This command is aimed squarely at believers and
ministers.
“Be steadfast” means “to be seated” or “to stay in place.”
“Immovable” means “to be rendered immobile, incapable of moving or going elsewhere.” In essence, God is
telling us not to move or even be able to move out of or from something.
“Always excelling” is a phrase expressing a superlative idea, meaning we are continually to be progressing,
pursuing, or growing by leaps and bounds.
This may sound confusing. On one hand, this verse teaches us that all believers have to be seated, stay in one
place as if rendered immobile. On the other hand, once we get to this one place, we start bouncing around! Does
this seem odd? Hang in there with me, I will explain in a moment.
“Labor” means to “work or toil to the point of exhaustion.” So God is saying that you should not only get
moving, but you should be so active that it brings you to the point of exhaustion.
Confused? Wondering how can you be both “seated” and “rendered immobile” while “abounding”? It kind of
sounds like God’s Word is commanding us, “Don’t move!” and at the same time, “Get moving!”
Let me attempt to put it all together. The words “steadfast” and “immovable” refer to how we should never
leave the will of God—meaning don’t you dare walk out outside of his will, his purpose for your life, or his
mission for your ministry. But while you are smack-dab in the middle of God’s will, start working like crazy!
Work hard! Pray hard! Focus! Always be growing, developing, superseding, and abounding in your personal
relationship with and service to Christ!
However, while you focus on being in the center of God’s will, and while you worry about how you are doing in
God’s eyes, take confidence and be encouraged that your hard work and ministry are not “in vain” (i.e., without
purpose, without value, or empty). Your work has profound purpose and depth of meaning!
Ministry is about settling into the will of God and working as hard as you can. We are to do this without
needlessly comparing ourselves with or competing with anyone else. We need to do what we have been called to
do.
I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to
have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content
—whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who
strengthens me. (Phil 4:11–13)
Philippians 1:12-18 (The Advance of the Gospel)
12I want you to know, brothers,e that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, 13so
that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guardf and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for
Christ. 14And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more
bold to speak the wordg without fear.
15Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16The latter do it out of love,
knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition,
not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in
pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.
