15. Am I Wanting A Nice, Quiet, Peaceful Life?
In Matthew 10:34-39 Jesus clearly tells those He has called and gifted your life is not going to be one of relaxation and enjoyment on a consistent basis.
It amazes me the number of times Jesus clearly told people in the Gospels that following would cause controversies and divisions. If you want a nice, quiet, peaceful life, the ministry is not a place for that. We will experience family problems, we will experience emotional problems, we experience health problems, and we will experience spiritual warfare on a magnitude that most people cannot identify with.
When we begin to do effective ministry the target on our backs for every demon in Hell to take a shot at gets larger and larger so if peace, prosperity and niceness is something we achieve to, ministry should not be the road we go down. That is not meant to discourage anyone but to encourage you. When these things happen it probably means that God is doing something or getting ready to do something in your life that will blow your mind.
Jesus never promised us a peaceful life this side of eternity; in fact, He promised the opposite! We should not be surprised when all hell breaks loose…because it usually means the stage is being set for God to show just how AWESOME He really is!
16. Will I Trust God or Others for My Reward?
Jesus clearly says in Matthew 10:40-42 that there is some sort of reward for those in ministry. I believe there are rewards on both sides of eternity…the Bible speaks of this…however, rewards should NEVER be our motivation—JESUS SHOULD!
I would much rather hear the unfading applause of Heaven than the conditional applause of men. And…one of the dangers of ministry is that we can get so caught up in receiving attention and getting rewards from other people that we actually sell out Jesus (just like Judas) and turn our backs on the ministry that He has called us to.
One of the things that I want to hear from Jesus is “Well done my good and faithful servant.” And the way to insure that that happens is to not get caught up in what people are saying about me as a leader whether good or bad but keeping my eyes one Him and remembering He bought me, He called me and is THE very reason I am alive!
I am a servant of the MOST HIGH GOD…that is my reward…anything else is wood, hay and stubble!