Ministry & the Minister

I. Introduction
A. We’re in the midst of a series on favorite passages from the gospels. And with a new pastor hopefully coming this year, I thought it would be helpful to preach on Matthew 10 where Jesus calls His twelve disciples and then sends them out on a brief preaching excursion.
B. Matthew 10:1–15 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
II. Apostles and apostles
A. Near the beginning of His ministry, Jesus prayed all night, then chose 12 men to be with Him.
1. First they were with Him as disciples (students), being taught, trained & equipped by Jesus, but eventually they became apostles (emissaries) whom He sent out as representatives – Luke 6:13.
B. Very soon after calling them, He sent them out on missionary excursions. But later, of course, He sent them out permanently as His ambassadors – to carry out what He had begun.
C. These apostles fulfilled a unique calling for a unique time. After He was gone, they were Christ’s spokesmen – during the foundation-laying phase of the building of the church.
D. They were given special authority and special powers in order to carry out this special task.
1. They were given the power to heal, to cast out demons, to raise the dead.
2. They were given the power to remember everything Jesus said to them – John 14:26, and the promise that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth – John 16:13.
3. They were enabled to write the NT and to make correct doctrinal decisions for the church – as in the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15.
4. Their earthly actions as apostles were confirmed and supported by Christ in heaven (Matt.16:19, 18:18).
E. Theirs was an essential role in the formation and setting up of the church.
1. It was like scaffolding while a building is being constructed: set up for a time, then removed.
2. Or when a baby is born and a number of special things are required: cribs, car seats, Mommy's milk, diapers, strollers.
3. All these are temporary tools to help in the transition between the womb and the real world.
4. But after this period, these things are put away, having served their function.
F. And so it was with the apostles. Once the foundation was laid (Matt.16:18, Eph.2:20, Rev.21:14) and the teachings of Jesus were recorded in Scripture, there was no more need for apostles.
III. (The call of every Christian to be an apostle)
A. Christ is still gathering and perfecting His church, to be sure, and still using His people to do so.
1. He is still making disciples and sending them out in His name to represent Him to others, both in a general sense and in a specific sense.
a. In a general sense, every believer is a disciple of Jesus, who is being taught and equipped to minister in the name of Christ in the church and in the world.
b. In a specific sense, God calls certain people to lead His people and proclaim His truth in the church and in the world.
2. And though none are officially apostles, all believers are Christ’s apostles in that we’re discipled by Jesus and then empowered & sent out in His name to do His work.
a. We have received and then we have therefore we have been called to give, as Jesus said in v.8.
b. The call of Christ is not merely to know Him and love Him, but to serve Him, to let Him do His work through us.
c. Coming to Jesus also involves coming to be commissioned by Jesus.
d. If we are going to be followers of Jesus, whom God sent to dwell among us, we are going to be sent as well.
B. This involves work in the church AND in the world.
1. Every member of the church is a minister of the church. We’re all part of the ministry team.
2. And every Christian is a missionary – in the world.
3. First, God calls & gifts every church member to bless & build up the body of Christ (1Cor.12:7).
a. Church is not just a place to receive. Each of us is called to be a giver, a minister, a carer, a supporter, a helper, a builder.
4. Also, God is a God of outreach, who cares about those who are without Christ, those who don’t yet know that He has come.
a. When the Son of God became the Son of Man, He left His place of comfort/security and entered this dirty, stinky world of ours.
b. Now Jesus shares this ministry of His with us.
c. So following Jesus means leaving OUR places of comfort and security and following Him into the dirty, stinky world, touching as we have been touched, giving as we have been given to.
C. And like the apostles, we are called not just share to the gospel, but to help people in earthly ways, works of love which demonstrate our message. Our actions are part of our message.
D. And like the apostles, we have been given power to match our mission, power for love and boldness, power to live lives which reflect the gospel.
E. But like the apostles, before He can use us in the world, He wants us to walk with Him and learn from Him. So, if we want to be effective apostles, we must be serious about being His disciples.
1. And this means spending time with Jesus. I love when the apostles were bold/unafraid in Acts 4, it says that the Jewish leaders “recognized that they had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13)
2. To be an apostle means that you need to be filled with Jesus. You need to be under the influence of Jesus. You need to imbibe deeply and continuously of Jesus.
3. You can’t be a casual drinker and expect it to have the needed effect.
4. The process is a relational one. Christ’s goal isn’t just to use us, but to walk with us, teach us.
a. He doesn’t just want people out there doing a good job for Him.
b. He wants people walking with Him, listening to & learning from Him, being transformed by him
c. He wants people who not only serve Him but hunger for Him & delight in Him & enjoy Him.
5. Some people are heavily involved in ministry but have no intimate fellowship with Jesus.
6. Others focus on being close to Jesus, but have no interest in serving the people of Jesus.
7. But we must be both disciples AND apostles. We must cultivate both a deep closeness with the Lord and respond to His calling to serve Him with love and fearlessness in this world.
IV. It is also true that from among His people, God still calls some to serve Him in more official ways.
A. We see this in numerous places in the NT:
1. Ephesians 4:11-12 He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.
2. James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
3. 1Timothy 5:22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands.
4. 1Timothy 4:14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.
5. 1Timothy 5:17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.
B. And this raises the question of paying people in ministry.
1. Jesus here says to His disciples in v.8b “You received without paying; give without pay.”
2. This makes it clear that ministry in the name of Christ is not supposed to be paid for.
a. It must be given free of charge because we have freely received from Christ.
b. The gospel is not a business arrangement. We did not earn or deserve or achieve His grace. He didn’t owe us anything. Salvation is a free gift. It can’t be purchased.
c. The man who tries to purchase it can’t have it – just like Simon in Acts 8:18-23.
d. So, we should love in the way we have been loved, by freely giving love to others. Ministers of His grace must give the gospel and the love of Christ free of charge.
3. This makes it seem like Christ is opposed to paying ministers, but He makes it clear in v.10 that this isn’t the point at all. There he says that the disciples should bring no money or food with them on their mission trip “for the laborer deserves his food.”
a. And He’s not just saying they should be paid in food or merely fed.
b. In the context, He also refers to them being given housing. The meaning of the Greek here is like “the laborer deserves to eat,” or “the laborer deserves his keep.”
C. This isn’t contradictory.
1. Jesus didn't charge for His healings or for His teaching, but He still lived off of contributions.
2. We do not pay to receive God's grace, but once we received it, we give Him everything that is ours in response to it.
3. Having received His grace as a free gift, we owe Him everything we have, though, of course, we will never be able to repay Him.
4. As it says in "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross:" "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all."
5. So, though the gospel is to be given free of charge, it doesn’t follow that those who proclaim the gospel ought not get their living from doing so.
6. In fact, in 1Cor.9:14 Paul says, "the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel."
7. Gal.6:6 "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with him who teaches."
8. 1Tim.5:17-18 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” (By the way, notice that Paul here quotes this passage in the gospel of Matthew and refers to it as Scripture.)
D. I would like to speak frankly about this, because finally, since my tenure is ending, I can do so without danger of potentially being thought of as self-serving.
1. Lord-willing, you are going to get a new pastor soon. And it is your job as a congregation to pay this man generously what he needs for his family to live on, so that they do not need to have outside income, so that they do not need to rely on other sources of income, as Jesus says here.
2. This is on you, not just on the officers. In the PCA, the congregation approves the pastor’s call, which includes his salary and benefits, and any changes made to it in the future.
3. It’s not one of those matters where the congregation is supposed to just trust the session. It’s one of the few things the congregation is required to approve.
a. There are people – even in churches – who wrongly try to get as much out of pastors as possible while paying them as little as possible. It’s the way many businesses and agencies in the world are run. But it doesn’t fit with the economy of Christ.
4. Paying a pastor is one way to encourage him, one way to express gratitude to him for his ministry, one way to make his job a joy (Heb.13:17 Obey your leaders & submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.)
a. That verse tells us that we’re supposed to be concerned about his morale, and seek to bless him. And you’re just hurting yourself if you neglect to do so.
b. It seems to me similar to what Paul says to husbands in Ephesians 5:28 “He who loves his wife loves himself.” In the same way, by loving its pastor, a congregation loves itself.
c. Remember what Jesus said: “It’s more blessed to give than to receive.”
d. Money also motivates people to do a better job – hopefully.
5. So, our goal should not be to get as much as we can for as little as we can.
6. We should treat others as we would want them to treat us.
7. Now, obviously, a man can’t be paid money which the congregation doesn’t donate, and a small church often cannot afford a big salary, so we have to be restrained by financial realities. But it’s not all about money. It’s about love.
E. Another thing we can see here is that leaders are not loners.
1. Not sent out alone, but two by two (Mark 6:7).
2. And in every church, they set up elders – plural.
3. See chart below – Notice:
a. Peter is first on every list. Matthew actually says it: “first, Peter”
b. Judas is last on every list, which makes sense because these books were written after betrayal
c. The second person changes: Andrew, James, Andrew, John.
d. And you might guess that this means the rest of the disciples just randomly get listed in between. But no. We must look deeper.
e. The 5th name on every list is Philip. And the 9th name on every list is James, son of Alphaeus.
f. Very strange! But there’s more!
g. Even though the order varies, numbers 2-4 are the same in each list, as are 6-8 and 10-12.
4. What does this mean? It seems to indicate that the disciples were broken up into three groups of four, each with a leader. Peter led a group which included his brother Andrew, along with James and John, the sons of Zebedee. Philip led a group which included Thomas, Matthew, Bartholomew. And James the son of Alphaeus led the group which included Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas.
a. So, very subtly, God has taught us that even leaders are not loners. They are meant to serve on teams. They are meant to have the accountability, encouragement and prayer support of a group which knows him and knows what’s going on in his life.
b. This is important for caring for a pastor as well. When a man doesn’t have this, he is vulnerable, even if it seems like everything is OK.
c. You might not be able to be that for your officers or for a new pastor, but you might. And if not, you may be a catalyst for it, and a supporter of it.
V. In bringing this to a conclusion, I would like to reflect on the larger principle of ministry, namely God’s strange and amazing strategy to use people to do His work.
A. If you want something done right, do it yourself, right?
B. But Jesus uses sinful human beings. He used very fallible disciples. And He even uses me & you!
C. Does God need our help? Absolutely not! Rather, He has blessed us by allowing us to help.
D. I love watching Michelle letting her children help prepare food: chaos, mess, questionable results.
E. But it’s so good for them. It’s sort of like Jesus letting people like me and you do church work.
F. We may not think of it as a privilege but it certainly is. As Paul said, “To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ.” -Eph.3:8
G. Think about the Twelve. They were nobodies – a motley crew composed of fishermen, a despised tax collector, a political revolutionary, who knows what else – and became some of the most influential persons in history. They turned the world upside down. Because He was in them.
H. Paul said, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” (2Cor.4) There’s a strangeness to this.
I. Christ and His gospel of grace are the treasure and we are the containers. But they don’t match.
J. When you have a valuable treasure, you put it in an exquisite container. But not Christ.
K. He puts it in clay pots like you and me – to demonstrate its grace.
L. And one of the things which has meant the most to me over my years of ministry is seeing people in this congregation eagerly give and serve and minister to one another and to others God brings through our doors. In them I see Jesus. And I thank God for that privilege often.

MATTHEW 10
first, Simon Peter
Andrew his brother
James, son of Zebedee
John his brother
Philip
Bartholomew
Thomas
Matthew the tax collector
James, son of Alphaeus
Thaddaeus
Simon the Cananaean
Judas Iscariot, betrayer

MARK 3
Simon Peter
James, son of Zebedee
John his brother
Andrew
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James, son of Alphaeus
Thaddaeus
Simon the Cananaean Judas Iscariot, betrayer

LUKE 6
Simon Peter
Andrew his brother
James
John
Philip
Bartholomew
Matthew
Thomas
James son of Alphaeus
Simon the Zealot
Judas son of James
Judas Iscariot, traitor

ACTS 1
Peter
John
James
Andrew
Philip
Thomas
Bartholomew
Matthew
James son of Alphaeus Simon the Zealot
Judas son of James
(Judas excluded)