MINISTRY MINDED LESSON 4 BE AVAILABLE FOR MINISTRY2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

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Year: 2015

Title: Ministry Minded Lesson 4 Be Available For Ministry

Teacher: Jerry B Simmons

Series: 2015 Ministry Minded Series

Teaching Transcript: Ministry Minded Lesson 4 Be Available For Ministry

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. Welcome back to Ministry Minded, where we continue to discuss and talk about some important principles and essentials for us today.

who serve and lead within the ministry. And tonight for lesson four, we're talking about availability and being available for ministry. I'm sure you've heard the saying, if you've been around, God is more interested in your availability than your ability. And it comes in different forms and fashions, but you know, the same basic concept that God is looking for your availability.

And as an example of that, let me share with you this quote from David Guzik. He says,

And so here, David Guzik is pointing out that it's important for us to be available and that the person who's available will actually be more effective than the one who's more gifted. And as an example of that, you could think, of course, of Samson. You know, Samson had great strength and he had great potential, but, you know, with all of his giftedness and the could-have-beens, the should-have-beens in his life, he

He really, he wasn't available for that. He wasn't present in that. He didn't remain faithful. And so he was not able to see the full potential. And so others who were less gifted, less strong than Samson,

would be more effective and productive in their ministry for the Lord. And so this is the concept we want to consider today. God is more interested in your availability than your ability. And so to start off the evening, would you turn your Bible to 2 Chronicles 29. And we're going to look at this passage and then move on to some others, looking at eight different points about being available for ministry.

But as we think about this saying that God is interested in your availability, I want us to consider what that means. What does it mean to be available? Does that mean you just have to, you know, be a warm body that's there and breathing and then you're available? What is the criteria? What does it mean to be available?

And I think sometimes we think that it means, well, tell me what's happening. Tell me what the need is. Tell me, you know, what's going on. And then I'll decide if I'll make myself available for that or not. You know, that we want to, you know, pick and choose what we want to be available for.

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and to be willing. And I think we'll get to see that even as we begin here. So the first point about being available for ministry here is in 2 Chronicles 29. We'll look at verses 34 through 36, and that is be sanctified. If we're going to be available to do the work of the Lord, we need to be sanctified or set apart for the Lord. Now, 2 Chronicles 29, we're jumping into the life of King Hezekiah.

And King Hezekiah is trying to right many of the wrongs that were done prior to his kingdom. And so he is opening up the doors of the temple, which had been shut. And, you know, there was a neglect of the worship of God in the previous reign. And so now Hezekiah wants to bring about revival. He wants to bring people back to the worship of God. And

And so he opens the doors of the temple and he calls out to the priests and to the Levites to get things cleaned up and ready and make it ready for service once again.

And as things are getting cleaned up and getting ready, he calls the people of the nation together and he offers sacrifices and calls people to repentance and calls and invites the people to also sacrifice and begin to worship God once again. And as he does that here in 2 Chronicles chapter 29, there's a great response.

And the people begin to engage in the sacrifices. And there's so much sacrificing going on that it becomes overwhelming for the priests. And so let's jump in. 2 Chronicles 29, starting in verse 34, it says, "...but the priests were too few, so that they could not skin all the burnt offerings."

Therefore, their brethren, the Levites, helped them until the work was ended and until the other priests had sanctified themselves. For the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests. Also, the burnt offerings were in abundance and the fat of the peace offerings and with the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the Lord was set in order.

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced that God had prepared the people since the events took place so suddenly. And so what we see happening here is this revival breaks out as Hezekiah calls the people back to the worship of God, that there's a big response. And

And they rejoiced because, you know, they could tell God has done this work and prepared them because there was such a great response to the call to worship God. And so there was just an abundance of these burnt offerings and the peace offerings and the drink offerings. And there was all of this, you know, great worship and sacrifices being given. And so it was an abundant work that God did.

Now, the priests and the Levites were involved in the work, and they got to be part of the revival in a unique way because they were the ones chosen by God to administer the sacrifices and be part of it. But verse 34 has something very key and important for us to consider, and that is, in verse 34, it tells us that the Levites began to also be part of the sacrifices, and

It says that they helped until the work was ended, until the other priests had sanctified themselves, for the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves than the priests. And so there was an issue. Because of the abundant response, there wasn't enough priests to handle the work.

There was more sacrifices happening than there were priests. And they couldn't handle the workload. The revival was so great. The work of God was happening so great that there wasn't enough priests to do the sacrifices. And so there was Levites who were there

And they were prepared. They had sanctified themselves. And they stepped in and began to help the priests in the sacrifices. Now, typically, the sacrifices, you know, this was a job for the priests. It wasn't for the Levites. The Levites had their role. The priests had their role. And this was a different role than the Levites had.

But the Levites got to participate in it because they were prepared. And it's not just that there wasn't enough priests, but you see that it says until the other priests had sanctified themselves. And it says that the Levites were more diligent in sanctifying themselves. And so there was a lack, there was a, you know,

insufficient amount of priests, not just because, you know, there wasn't enough people involved in the ministry in that way, but because the priests were not prepared for the work. They weren't sanctified. They weren't set apart. And so they weren't ready for the work to take place. But the Levites had been diligent in sanctifying themselves. Now, what does it mean to sanctify yourself? Well,

To sanctify yourself, it means to keep yourself apart or separate, to cause yourself to be hallowed or to be observed as holy. Also, it could be said to consecrate yourself or oneself. And so the idea here of being sanctified, we often describe it as being set apart or

And you can talk about being set apart in two ways, being separate from, but then also being separate for. That is being set apart from sin, being set apart from things that are defiling and that are not of God, but then also being set apart for the things of God. That I only, you know...

apply myself to the things that are beneficial, the things that are of God, the things that are good and that God approves of in my life. And so the Levites were diligent in sanctifying themselves. Earlier in the chapter, Hezekiah called the priests and the Levites to sanctify themselves. And

And it was the Levites who were more diligent in that. They heard the call. They were faithful. Okay, we're going to clean up our hearts. We're going to clean up our lives. We're going to clean up the temple. And we're going to consecrate ourselves once again to God. We're going to be devoted to doing the things of God. But the priests, some of them were diligent, but also there was those who were not diligent. And so they weren't.

fully separated from the things of the flesh, the things of the world. They weren't fully dedicated to the things of God. And so when this opportunity took place, when this work of God happened, they weren't ready. And so in that way, I would say that they were not available for ministry because they weren't sanctified.

They didn't heed the call of God to be sanctified. And so they didn't prepare themselves. And they missed out then on that work that was happening that day as God called his people back to himself. And so there's a need for us to be sanctified.

to be set apart from things that really have no business in our lives, and also to be set apart for the things that God wants in our lives, to be devoted to and dedicated to the things of God. And that's a prerequisite. In order for us to be available for ministry, we need to be sanctified. Consider Isaiah the prophet as an example.

Remember, he's there standing in the presence of God. And as he sees the holiness of God, he says, woe is me. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. And so then in verse 7, it tells us that the angel takes the coal from the fire and he touches Isaiah's lips with it. And he says, all right, this has touched your lips. Your iniquity is taken away. Your sin is purged.

And so there's the cleansing of his sin. There's the removing of the filth and the reasons for his undoneness. But then in verse 8, he says, Notice the order. First, he's cleansed, sanctified. And then he's available and able to go, here am I, send me.

There's the sanctifying first and then there's, you know, now he's available. Now he's able to volunteer. Now he's able to engage and participate in the work because he has been cleansed. And so Isaiah is a good example that we need to be sanctified. We need to be careful what we allow into our hearts and into our lives. Now, we also see here in verse 36 that the people rejoiced because Isaiah

Well, this took place suddenly. And the idea was, by the time the other priests who weren't prepared saw the work, it was too late for them to get sanctified to be able to be part of the work.

It was too late for them. Not that they missed out for the rest of their lives, but they missed out on that day. They didn't get to participate in the work of that day. They weren't part of the revival, you know, and the celebration of that day because, well, they saw it and then they started to get ready. And by then, you know, the glorious day had passed them by. They had missed that opportunity. And so the point here, the need is for us to be sanctified today.

In order to be available. That is, we have to already be sanctified. Not, well, okay, you know, I'm maybe going to get involved in this or get involved in that. Or, you know, maybe I'd like to be available for that. But when we see the work happening, oftentimes it's too late. We need to hear the call of God ahead of time.

hear from him to sanctify ourselves and set ourselves apart from things that are not good, things that are not of God, and devote ourselves to things of God. And if we don't, it's very likely that we will not be available. We will miss out on opportunities that God may have for us. In 2 Timothy chapter 2, Paul says that in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.

Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, that is the things of dishonor, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the master, prepared for every good work. And so Paul says the same thing. Again, notice the order. You cleanse yourself from the things of dishonor. And in doing so, you become a vessel of honor. You become dedicated to the things of the Lord, sanctified and useful for

And now you're prepared for every good work, whatever God wants to do. The thing I like about the account here in 2 Chronicles 29 is the Levites got to kind of like, you know, take a couple steps up in the type of ministry that they were able to engage in, you know. So they weren't called to do sacrifices, right?

And, you know, although we might think, you know, that's not a glorious thing, you know, bloody and all that. But for them, it was a thing of honor. It was a thing like this was holy, you know, this was reserved for the priest. But the Levites got to perform the job of priests for that day because they were ready.

And that's going back to Dave Guzik's point. So we may not be as gifted. We may not have that kind of calling. But if we're ready in that opportunity,

God will use us in ways that are kind of above our normal, above what, you know, our normal calling is. But we might get to participate in something greater than what we're used to or than what our normal calling is because we're there and we're prepared and we're ready. We're sanctified and set apart for God.

And so I want to encourage you this evening to be sanctified, to set yourself apart for the Lord in order to be available for ministry, in order to be available for the Lord to work in your life and through your life. Matthew Henry says this about these priests. He says,

So the problem was, before Hezekiah, it was not just, you know, some people or the kings that were wicked, but there were the priests and the Levites who were also involved in things that were not of God. And so these priests, many of them were not available that day because, well, they hadn't yet fully set aside their idols. They hadn't set aside those things that they were worshiping apart from God. And they didn't have the zeal that you would have expected. Right?

I mean, this is a call for revival. This is a great call that Hezekiah has brought forth, that really the Lord has brought forth. But they didn't have the zeal. They weren't really anxious, you know? So they were kind of like slowly dragging the idols out of the house, you know? And they weren't diligent in it. They weren't hasting in that we want to get right. We want to clean up. We want to get ourselves ready. And so again, I would encourage you to learn from their bad example and be sanctified, right?

Are you available for ministry? If God would present to you, you know, the work of an evangelist this evening, and maybe you're not called to be an evangelist, but...

Maybe, you know, you're there and there's an opportunity and God wants to use somebody. Are you ready? Are you available for that kind of ministry? Are you available or would you miss out on the work because you're not sanctified? Because you're not prepared. You haven't separated yourself from the things in your life that you know God wants those removed.

And you haven't dedicated yourself to the things that are of God that you know God wants you to be engaged in. And so that's the first point here. To be available for ministry, we must be sanctified. And it's not something that we wait until we see the work and decide if we want to participate in it. By then, it's too late. We need to be sanctified now so that tomorrow or this evening or moments later, we're ready. We're ready for the work that God wants to do.

Well, the next thing that we'll see as we talk about being available for ministry, we're going to jump over to Matthew chapter 17. And here the point is to be prayed up.

That is to be having, you know, a normal and consistent ongoing prayer life, to be in prayer with the Father. And in Matthew chapter 17, it's right after the transfiguration. And remember, as Jesus comes down the mountain from the transfiguration, you know, he has Peter, James, and John with him, and they come down and encounter the other disciples. And there they see a commotion happening, and there's this challenge that's going on because, you

There's this demon-possessed boy, and the disciples have been trying to, you know, cast the demon out of this boy, but have been unsuccessful. And so as they're attempting to do this, Jesus returns, and now he's going to handle the situation. In Matthew chapter 17, in verse 18, it says, "...and Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the child was cured from that very hour."

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, why could we not cast it out? So Jesus said to them, because of your unbelief. For assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, move from here to there and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you. And then notice verse 21. He says, however, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. And so in order to be available for ministry, the disciples here were not available for

for this ministry of rescuing this boy from this demon. And the reason why, they said, how come we couldn't cast it out? You cast it out, no problem. How come we couldn't? And Jesus gave them basically two reasons. In verse 20, he says, well, first of all, it's because of your unbelief. You have little faith, and so you're not able to have the authority and the power in your life that you should have. But then also in verse 21, he says...

you know, even further to elaborate on that, he says, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. And so there was a need for them. Jesus was not saying that, you know, they should have prayed more, you know, at that moment, but he was talking about their relationship with God, which kind of connects with their unbelief, that they weren't prepared spiritually. They weren't

It's kind of a Christianese term that we would say, but they weren't prayed up. They weren't engaged with God on a level before that, prior to that, to prepare them for the work that was at hand. And many times in our lives, there is a work that we are called to do, but it requires prayer.

a certain level of engagement between us and God. It requires a certain level of relationship between us and God. We have to have that kind of connection, that strength that comes from spending time with God. We need to be prayed up. I like the way that John Corson describes it. He says, if I hear Jesus right, he's saying it's too late to pray and fast when the emergency is before you. You must develop a life of prayer and fasting so that when the problem surfaces, you're already prepared.

So that when you show up and now there's this crisis or now there's this emergency situation, now there's this ministry opportunity, that's not the time to pray. But...

You should be prayed up in advance. You should be seeking God and spending time with God beforehand, in preparation for what God wants to do. And so there's this anticipation that should be in our hearts where we're expecting, we're looking for God to work. We're looking for ministry opportunities. We're looking to be used by God. And whether we're talking about, you know, here in the church or we're talking about outside,

on the mission field, you know, in our workplaces or homes or neighborhoods or wherever, that there's this making ourselves available, not just, you know, well, hey, I'm available, you know, let me know if you ever need anything, but this expectancy, I'm available, and part of that is by engaging and spending time in prayer. Again, Corson says, at the time of the emergency, it's too late. It's not the time for the prayer and fasting then, it's in

preparation beforehand. Think about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he was heading to the cross. You know, that's, well, that was his time of prayer and preparation. He was getting prayed up there in the Garden of Gethsemane, connecting with the Father, getting strength and preparing himself for the work at hand. And he was trying to prepare his disciples too, right? He's like, hey, you guys watch and pray here.

Hey, how come you're sleeping? Couldn't you watch and pray with me for an hour? You should be in prayer. You should be engaged. And remember, he says the flesh or the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And that's why you need to be prayed up to strengthen yourself. Even though you're willing, but your flesh is weak. You need to be engaged with God in order to be prepared for the things that are about to come. And so to be available for ministry, we need to be prayed up.

We need to be spending time with God in prayer. And so I would ask you, are you available for ministry? If God wanted to do a unique, new, interesting work right now, this evening, as you head out from here, would you be available for that work? Or would you miss out because you're not prayed up? Would you be like the disciples, not available for the ministry of relieving the boy from the demon, but because they weren't prayed up, they...

They couldn't participate in that. They weren't able to bring deliverance to him. Instead, they missed out on that opportunity. Be available for ministry. It means to be sanctified. It means to be prayed up. And thirdly, we'll jump now to Hebrews chapter 5. It means to be a student of the word. Be a student of the word of God. In Hebrews chapter 5, the author of Hebrews, looking at verses 12 through 14, he says this.

Notice what the author of Hebrews says.

He's speaking to these who are wanting to, desiring to turn back to the Old Testament sacrifices. They've reduced themselves to infancy. And he says, by this time, you've been a believer for a long time. You ought to be teachers.

By this time, you ought to be discipling others. You ought to be making disciples. You ought to be engaged in teaching others. But instead, you're in this perpetual position of needing someone to teach you the first principles. And so you're in this constant cycle of immaturity where you just need to be taught the basic essentials over and over and over and over again. And he says, you've been around long enough. You ought to be able to teach others.

You ought to be able to pass these truths on and not need to be taught them over and over again. And he gives the example or illustration of milk versus solid food.

And you could look at milk and talk about milk as being pre-processed food. It's food that someone else processes for you. And so for us to sit in a Bible study, we're receiving milk. It's someone else has chewed on it. Someone else has processed it. And now they're bringing forth that word to us to, you know, read commentaries, to read devotional books, to listen to the radio and the teachings there. That's all things that other people have prepared for us.

But solid food is something different, and that is when we engage with the Word of God on our own. I like the way that F.B. Meyer talks about this. He says, He says,

Seek a firsthand acquaintance with the things of God. Be a student of the word of God. If we're not a student of the word, if we haven't spent time, again, back in Hebrews chapter five, he says that it's by reason of use.

Those who are mature, it's by reason of use with the Word of God. They've engaged with the Word of God. They've been involved. They've studied. They've spent time in the Word on their own, and they've spent so much time in the Word of God that it's, well, it's matured them. It's brought them to maturity, and so they have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. The people that the author of Hebrews is writing to

They were not available for ministry because, well, they were requiring that they be taught again. They weren't spending time in the Word. They didn't have a good understanding of the Word of God. They were immature in their faith, and so they were not ready. They were not available for ministry, but they were requiring that others minister to them continually.

Paul the Apostle encouraged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verse 15, to be diligent, to present himself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Be diligent, Timothy. Be diligent. Be faithful. Continue to present yourself approved to God. And how do I do that? Or how do you do that? He says, rightly dividing the word of truth. Timothy, you got to learn

how to rightly divide the word, how to spend time in the word, how to bring out the understanding, to bring out the truth of it, to not twist it, to not make it say something else or just make it say what you want to say, but to rightly divide the word of truth.

It's more than just listening to others talk to you about the Word of God. It's more than just having, you know, kind of a light devotional time where you read a little bit and then you go about your day. But learn how to divide the truth. Learn how to understand the different parts and elements of the Word of God. And learn how to understand, well, you know, the different types of passages that there are and teachings that there are and what the whole counsel of God's Word says.

In the next chapter of 2 Timothy 3, Paul tells them, How do you become equipped for every good work? You become a student of the Word. How do you make yourself available for ministry?

You become a student of the Word of God. That's what the Scripture is given to us for. And there are many believers who are not students of the Word. They kind of know the Word based on what other people have told them. I pray that's none of you. But that's the reality that we face. Many believers maybe get into the Word once in a while. Many believers engage in the Word rarely.

some only at services. But in order for us to make ourselves available to God for ministry, if you want to be used by God and useful for his work and for his kingdom, you need to be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, who can rightly divide the word of truth. Be a student of the word. Are you available for ministry? If God wanted to do a new, unique, special work right now, would you be ready? Would you be available at this point?

Or would you miss out on the work because you're not a student of the word of God? Because you're not engaged in his word and you don't have your senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Well, point number four, we'll jump now to Acts chapter one, and that is to be filled with the Spirit. This, of course, is another familiar passage to us. I know all of these are familiar passages to us, but essential for us, again, to understand what it means to be available for ministry. In Acts chapter one, we have Jesus ascending to the Father, but before he ascends, he gives his disciples instruction. Remember, he gives them the great commission, go reach the world with the gospel, and then

But then he tells them to wait. In Acts chapter 1 verse 4, it says, And then jumping down to verse 8, he describes it more. He says, So he gives them the task of being witnesses to him.

to the whole world. But then he says, but wait, wait in Jerusalem. You're not ready yet. You're not prepared. You're not available for this ministry yet. Wait until you receive the promise of the Father, the promise of the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes, then you'll be ready. When you're filled with the Spirit, then you'll be available and empowered to do the work that I have called you to do.

Alexander McLaren, the commentator, says it this way. He says, no one can do the Christian work of witnessing for and of Christ without that clothing of power. It was granted as an abiding gift on Pentecost. It needs perpetual renewal. And I'm not spending a lot of time here because we've talked about this many times. The need for us to be

continually seeking God and asking for the work of the Holy Spirit in us to be filled with the Spirit. Jesus talked about that, you know, giving what father would give their child a stone when they ask for bread and so on. And if you know how to give good gifts to your children, even more your Heavenly Father knows how to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Amen.

And there's this importance, this need for us to be filled with the Spirit. And it's something that we receive. It's something that we have to invite God to do. It's not something that He forces upon us, but it's opening up of ourselves to God, to be filled with the Spirit and to receive that work.

And so be filled with the Spirit to be available for ministry. Are you available? Or would you miss out on the work because you're not filled with the Spirit, because you're not allowing the Holy Spirit to work in your life the way that He desires? Well, point number five, we're going to jump now to 1 Peter 3. And here, to be available for ministry, we see we need to be ready to share our hope. Be ready to share your hope.

In 1 Peter 3, Peter's talking to those who are suffering. They're suffering persecution. They're suffering all kinds of attack.

And so he's encouraging them in that to endure, to be faithful. But then he also says in verse 15, And so Peter says,

All right, guys, you're suffering. You're going through great difficulty and persecution. Here's what you need to do. You need to be ready to share why you have hope. He says, be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope. So you're suffering greatly, but you have hope. And so people are going to ask, why do you have hope when things are so hard? Why do you have hope when things are so difficult? How can you have hope in these kinds of situations and circumstances? And so he says, be ready to answer that question.

Sometimes, I know we look at this verse and it's thought of in the sense of apologetics. Always be able to give an answer for whatever attack against the faith that people give. But what Peter is saying here is, hey, you should be living in such a way that people notice that you have hope in the midst of difficulty. And when they ask you why you have hope, be ready with an answer. Be ready to give a defense to say, this is why I have hope.

And so in order for us to be available for ministry, we need to be available to answer that question. We need to be ready to answer that question, that when others notice things in our lives, they notice our hope in the midst of difficulty, that we should be ready to give an answer, to give a defense and say, this is why. There's reason to have hope even in the midst of great difficulty.

But notice also in verse 16, he says, having a good conscience. So it's not just answers, information that you need to have, but you also need to have a good conscience, a clean conscience. The idea here is that you're living in a way that's upright. Again, going back to being sanctified. If you don't have good conduct, you don't have a good conscience.

then you're not going to be available to give that answer. You're not going to be available to share the reason for the hope because the way that you're coping with the great difficulty is by doing things that are wrong. But the idea here is you're not, you know, escaping and doing things that are wrong because of the great difficulty, but that in the midst of it, you have a clear conscience. You have a good conscience. And so they may call you evildoers, but

Like Daniel, you know, the people wanted to get a hold of Daniel and take him out. And so they tried. They examined his life and they decided, you know, we can only find something against him if it's something concerning his God. Because he has a good conscience. We can defame him as an evildoer, but they're going to be ashamed. We're going to be ashamed because there's no wrong found in him.

And so we need to have our hearts prepared in that way, having a good conscience, being sanctified, and being ready to give that defense.

Albert Barnes, the commentator, says this way, a Christian should have such intelligent views of the truth of his religion and such constant evidence in his own heart and life that he is a child of God as to be able at any time to satisfy a candid inquirer that the Bible is a revelation from heaven and that it is proper for him to cherish the hope of salvation.

We ought to be engaged in our Christian faith in this way that it's so real to us that at any time if someone is inquiring, again, this isn't pushing our faith on other people, but anytime someone comes up and asks, why do you have hope? Why are you able to smile? Why do you have this love? Why do you demonstrate this character? Why do you have joy? Whatever the case may be. Any candid inquiry, anybody who comes up and says, why do you have that?

We should be able to have an answer, to give a response as it relates to our Lord Jesus Christ. And so are you available for ministry? Or would you miss out on the work because you're not ready to share your hope? Either your conscience isn't clean or you haven't had that preparation, that thoughtfulness ahead of time, wondering, why do I have hope? Why am I able to endure great difficulty and still trust in God and express the joy of the Lord? Moving on to point number six.

Be prepared to teach. I'm going back to Timothy now, 2 Timothy chapter 4. Paul tells Timothy, 2 Timothy 4.2, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. It's an exhortation for Timothy to preach the word, to declare the message of the scriptures, to declare the word of God.

And he tells them to be ready in season and out of season. Be ready at all times. The idea here of be ready, Wiest, the Greek scholar, says to be instant or to be ready. It's from the word which means to stand by, to be present, to be at hand, to be ready. The exhortation is for the preacher to hold himself in constant readiness to proclaim the word.

And I want to share this with you guys and specifically with those who are gifted and called by the Lord to teach that you should, you need to hold yourself in a constant readiness to proclaim the word. You need to keep yourself in a place where you are ready in season and out of season. And the idea here is you're ready now.

All the time, that you're ready at any moment, whether it's convenient for you or not convenient for you, whether it's popular or not popular. And this is something that I really want to stress and encourage, especially for the guys here of this fellowship, that you would be ready and prepared to teach at all times.

Going back to earlier in my life, I remember a time where the Lord challenged me, and the Lord challenged me to be ready to teach all the time. And he laid it on my heart very clearly, and I would extend this and encourage, you know, anybody who wants to take the Lord up on this challenge to do so, because God will use it. And so what he put on my heart was to be so prepared to teach that

That if I walked into service before, I wasn't a pastor then, you know, I was attending, I was always involved in serving, but I didn't have, you know, any real responsibilities except for maybe the sound ministry, right?

But the Lord put on my heart to begin to prepare, to always have a message ready, and to be so prepared that if I walked into service, let's say I walk in on a Sunday morning, and I'm walking in at service time to sit down and worship. And I walk in the door, and back then, maybe it was Dylan or Cisco would tell me, hey, Pastor Tom can't make it today. Are you ready to teach? And I'm like, yeah, I'm ready.

And my commitment to the Lord, what the Lord challenged me was to be ready so that I could say, yeah, I'm ready to teach. Go sit down in my chair, enjoy worship. Not like, you know, frantic, stressed, pulling my hair out, like, you know, make the worship a little bit longer so I can get ready. But I could just walk in, sit down, worship and stand up and teach what God had given to me. And so that was the challenge that God gave to me. And I can tell you, and I've shared many times, as many messages as I prepared, God's had me teach.

He's used those. And so I would be faithful to prepare. And I would, you know, do as God told me to do. And then he would put that to work. He would use it. And it was a way for me to just make myself available to God by preparing to teach. I can't tell you how many times, and again, I'm not, I always share the disclaimer. I'm not sharing that I'm always perfect and, you know, but this is just what I know because it's my own experience, okay?

There were days where Pastor Dylan had a Thursday night Bible study, but he worked in Long Beach, even though he lived in Corona.

And so he had an important job, and so sometimes there would be emergencies and such. And not just sometimes, but it started to be pretty regular. And so it was often the case where it would be, you know, like 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I'm at work, and Dylan calls me and says, I can't make it home for the Bible study tonight. Can you teach my Bible study for me? And so I would get off work at 5, get to Dylan's house by 7, and...

Have to be able to bring forth a message for the people that God had gathered. And it was a really regular thing for a season that there was a lot going on. And so I had to be ready. I had to be instant in season and out of season. And one of the reasons why I'm sharing these things with you, and this is strong on my heart, is because I can say clearly, I don't have anyone like that here. I don't have anyone like that. I've got guys who will teach...

If there's enough notice, you know what I mean? And there's opportunity to prepare. But there are occasions where nobody's ready. And it's not always, you know, everybody's... I'm not trying to slander all you guys, okay? And I'm not saying, you know, there's all this neglect. But there's, you know, valid reasons why those who were scheduled to teach couldn't teach. So a recent example. I was at my sister's wedding.

And I was at my sister's wedding, and Rick was scheduled to teach, but he was in the hospital. So, you know, again, this was not any wrongdoing on his part, but then there was the need. Okay, so who's going to teach? And the guys that I was reaching out to were not available and were...

Not ready. And so I was seriously considering. My sister's wedding was on a Saturday, and it was late in the afternoon. And so I was ready to either drive home Saturday night, so drive home, you know, and then wake up the next morning and teach, or fly home. And so I was going to, you know, fly home, fly back, spend a few hundred dollars, but just leave straight from the wedding, you know, and come home because I didn't have someone that was just ready, that was just always prepared, right?

And I want to encourage you guys, I really want to challenge you guys. Listen, if you want to be available for ministry, be ready to teach. Have a message ready to go all the time. If you are called to teach, then you should be ready. You should always have a message prepared. Charles Spurgeon says, the Holy Spirit has made no promise to supply spiritual food to the saints by an impromptu ministry. So just stand up and speak whatever comes to your mind. He says, the Holy Spirit hasn't promised to feed the saints that way.

He says the Holy Spirit is not going to do what we should do for ourselves. If we have opportunity and time to study, then we should do that. Now, there are times where God does an impromptu work, and he does speak, you know, in an impromptu way, but that is not, you know, meant to be that we then bank on that. We count on that, and so we don't prepare. We don't study. We're not ready because we just expect the Holy Spirit's just going to, you know, give us what we need to say at the moment, and

He says, no, we need to be diligent, to be faithful, to prepare, to study. There will be times where you don't have opportunity to study and you still are required to teach. And then the Holy Spirit works and he is faithful. And I can tell you that God is faithful. I've seen that demonstrated over and over again. But when we have opportunity, when we have time, when we have the means, we need to be prepared. And to be prepared for ministry, to be available for ministry, we need to be prepared to teach. I like this.

Pastor Dale Goddard. He's the assistant pastor, assistant to Pastor Raul Ruiz over at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs. And for a long time, he's always encouraged us. Every minister should always have three messages. Three messages. He says, one in your Bible, one in your pocket, and one on your desk. And so another way to say that is one that you've recently taught,

One that you are prepared to teach and one that you are preparing to teach. One that you're working on, you're studying, you're preparing. One that you have ready to go and then one that you have that you've recently taught. You've, you know, shared it recently and so you're able to grab that and be able to share that if the need arises. Again, I would challenge you guys. Be prepared to teach. I know many of you are called to teach and so you should have three messages. You should. You really should. I know it's work. I know it's hard. I know it's hard.

I know, you know, sometimes it's easier for us to prepare a message when we have the deadline, right? We're under the gun. It's hard to prepare a message when you don't have the deadline in front of you, right? But you need to learn that discipline. You need to make yourself available for ministry, to make yourself available to be used by God. Learn the discipline of preparing a message even if you don't know when you're going to share it or why you're going to share it or how you're going to share it or who you're going to share it to.

And if you prepare that message, my experience, every message I've prepared, God has used. I've shared every message I've prepared. It's not always in a public setting. And sometimes it's, you know, I do the work and I prepare the message. And then it's more in counseling. It's more in individual encouragement. Sometimes it is a public setting like this or some other situation, a different kind of thing. But the point is, if you're diligent and faithful to prepare, God's going to use it.

And it's a way of making yourself available for ministry. And so are you available for ministry? Or would you miss out on the work because you're not prepared to teach? If you walked into service this morning and I wasn't here and they said, does anybody have a message ready? Would you have got to participate in the work? Would you have been able to engage in the work of God in that way? Are you available to that degree?

And, you know, I'm talking about Sunday mornings because that's, you know, that's where I'm at. That's what's on my heart. But this applies, of course, to all kinds of things.

And so if you're involved in children's ministry, you know, there's a need for you to be available by preparing to minister to the kids and by having those things ahead of time, not just when you're scheduled, but that you have stuff ready to go so that you can minister to the kids at a moment's notice. Or if you're involved in the ladies study, you know, you show up and there's discussion that goes along with the study right now on Thursday evenings that

That you come, not when you're scheduled to help lead the discussion, but that you come, you're a leader within the body of Christ. You ought to be ready so that if,

the leader's not there, not available, or so that you can engage with the ladies in a more meaningful and deeper way, you need to be ready to engage in the discussion and be participating in that way. Same thing if you're involved in the men's study or if you're involved in Meridian and the outreach there, if you're involved in the youth ministry, that you should have this type of preparedness, that you're ready to go and be engaged in the work. And it's a way of making yourself available for the ministry.

All right, moving on. Point number seven, be experienced. And for this, I would refer you to 1 Samuel chapter 17 and verses 33 through 36. Here we're jumping into the life of David and where David meets Goliath and he's going to go out and attack Goliath. But Saul tells David, hey, you're not able to go against the Philistine to fight with him for you're a youth and he's a man of war from his youth.

In verse 36, David says, David had experience. He had involved himself. He had been engaged in smaller battles.

So as it came to this battle, he said, I have experience. I have been prepared. God's prepared me for this. I'm able to go into battle because I've been on the battlefield. Not with a giant, not with Goliath, but I've fought a lion and I've fought a bear. And I've defended the sheep from these animals. He had experience. He had experience.

And I would encourage all of us to keep this in mind. Sometimes we're only willing to make ourselves available for ministry when it's something that, you know, we think is worth our time or worth our effort. And so we don't even consider, we don't even think about things that we would say are lesser things because, well, you know, I'm called to this.

But one of the ways that we prepare ourselves for the giant battles is by engaging in smaller battles. It's how we prepare ourselves. We need some experience. And so maybe you are called to teach on a Sunday morning. But having you teach on a Sunday morning, that's not going to be the first opportunity that we give you to teach. We've never heard you teach before. Why don't you come teach on a Sunday morning? No, we'll invite you to teach other occasions.

And maybe be involved in children's ministry. Maybe be involved in youth ministry. Maybe be involved in Sunday evenings or other occasions. And let's get an opportunity. Let's give you some experience. And that's when we've been doing the rotation of guys teaching on Sunday evenings, that's what it's for. It's giving guys experience, giving them opportunity. Because although men are gifted, there needs to be that exercising of the gift to learn how God works in that and to learn how God wants to use that.

And so you need that kind of experience. And so there needs to be a willingness on your part to do whatever needs to be done.

to help you get some experience for the later things that God wants you to do. Here's what Warren Risby says about that. He says, Cultivate a servant's heart and be available. Never look upon any assignment or opportunity as small and unworthy. It has well been said, make every occasion a great occasion, for you can never tell when someone may be taking your measure for a larger place. Cultivate a servant's heart. That's...

That's important. As you make yourself available, just willing to serve, not looking on something as, ah, that's not worth my time, that's not worth my effort, or engaging in it just kind of half-heartedly. I like what he says, make every occasion a great occasion. Whatever capacity you're serving the Lord in, whatever opportunity he gives you, make it the best occasion that you can. Make the most of it. Give it your all. He says, you can never tell when someone may be taking your measure for a larger place.

You might think, hey, I'm not even fighting a rabbit. I mean, a lion, I'm fighting a rabbit. But hey, maybe you're fighting the rabbit so you can get some experience so that you can fight the lion, so you can get some experience and fight the bear and get some experience and fight Goliath. It's the way that God works. He gives us experience. And with that experience, he gives us then more opportunities. And so I would encourage you to volunteer. Sign up for things that you think are beneath you that are lesser and make them great opportunities.

to be engaged, to get experience, to be ready for the next things that God wants to do. Are you available for ministry or would you miss out on the work because you're not experienced? So there is that Sunday morning and I'm not available for whatever reason and you say, well, I'm ready, but you have no experience. We never heard you teach. We're not going to throw you up on a Sunday morning. Well, we might throw you up in the sense of, you know, like that, but no, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. That's not going to be that first opportunity. It

You need some experience. And this, you know, I'm talking about teaching, but whatever aspect of ministry you want to talk about, get involved, engage, volunteer, and God will use those things to build you up for the next things. All right, finally, point number eight is to be present. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24 and 25 says,

Tells us this, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another and so much the more as you see the day approaching. In order to be available for ministry, you have to be there. You have to be present. You have to be there for the occasion. And so the author of Hebrews encouraged the people to not forsake the assembling together. Now,

Some within ministry, I believe, take this beyond what is intended here by the author of Hebrews. And not to, you know, say our way is better than anybody else's way or anything like that. But for me, I think it's really important that we have balance. That the expectation should not be and cannot be that you should attend everything.

There are some who would suggest that, though. There are some who would say that, especially if you are involved in certain levels or certain ways. If you're on the board, then they would say, well, you have to be attending everything. Every time the doors are open, you've got to be there. Or if you're a pastor here, then every time the doors are open, you've got to be there. You have to attend every event, be part of every function, and you have to be there.

And I think that takes that beyond what actually, you know, the scriptures require. And it can become very unhealthy for us. There does need to be balance. Nobody can attend everything. Nobody can. And that's not an expectation. But there also is the other side where, you know, hey, I just come and go whenever I feel like it, however I please. And there's no real commitment there.

And that's not a way to make yourself available for ministry either. And so, you know, those are kind of the extremes. And so we need to come more towards the middle. And how often then? So forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, how often are we supposed to assemble? Well, I would suggest to you the normal practice of the early church was to meet on Sundays. That was the, you know, the service that they had, the gathering together. They also met, you know, in different homes and stuff throughout the week.

But they met on the Lord's Day to remember the resurrection of the Lord. And so I would suggest that's a good blueprint. That's a good guideline. Now, God may require more of you. And so you respond as the Lord speaks to you. You respond to what God puts on your heart. But weekly, I think, is an important thing that we need to be gathering together faithfully today.

On a weekly basis. And whatever you're attending, whatever you're involved in, be faithful in that. And don't forsake that. If God calls you to also attend, you know, the youth ministry on Friday nights or, you know, the women's Bible study, be faithful, attend in that, you know, assemble together in the way that God has instructed you. But there needs to be that consistency. If God calls you to Wednesday nights, then be faithful in Wednesday nights.

And it's that consistency, that's that faithfulness of not forsaking the assembling that creates the opportunity to then exhort one another. And so much the more as you see the day approaching. Because we see each other once in a while and ministering to one another can be very challenging. It's more difficult because we don't really know each other. Let me just remind you, ministry doesn't just happen up here. This is a small part of ministry.

On Sunday mornings, on Wednesday evenings, different occasions, the ministry is taking place in the chairs as people engage with one another and talk to one another and minister to one another and pray for one another. And it's happening throughout the week. It's not just, you know, what happens in front of the congregation or in the, you know, official service time. So with that in mind, it's hard for us to minister to one another when, you know,

We see each other and it's just like, how's the weather? You know, what's going on? You know, how are the Botham Dodgers? You know, all that. We have to develop some deeper connections. And so to forsake the assembling of ourselves as we're not faithful, we don't develop those relationships and it limits our exhorting one another. It limits our ability. In verse 24, he says, let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.

There's this relationship that's developed where we're considering each other. We're meditating. We're thinking about ahead of time, how can I stir up this brother, this sister? How can I engage them, encourage them to go forward in the work of God? It requires that we be present, that we be faithful, that we be regular, that we be attending so that we develop these relationships so that we're able then to encourage and build up and exhort one another and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

The commentator Thomas Constable says it this way. He said, the readers needed to stimulate one another to remain faithful to the Lord. This type of love is the product of communal activity. We cannot practice it in isolation from other believers. Regular attendance at church meeting facilitates this because there we receive reminders and exhortation to persevere. But notice what he says there. This type of love is the product of communal activity. We cannot practice it in isolation.

You cannot learn teamwork all by yourself. The only way to learn teamwork is to be part of a team. And the kind of love that God wants us to have for one another, we cannot learn listening to the MP3, you know, on a boat, out fishing. We cannot learn love that way. The way that we learn the love that God wants us to have for one another is by being together. Consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. The only way that we can do that is by being together.

By having that contact, by being connected with one another. And so we need to be present. And again, don't take it too far and extreme and then your life's out of balance and your wife doesn't know who you are because you're always here. That's not healthy. That's not what God wants either. But you need to have that consistency, that faithfulness, that engagement with other believers so that you're then able to

to minister. You're available to minister because you're present and you're regularly, you're always present and you develop those relationships. And so are you available for ministry or would you miss out on the work because you're not present? You're not here, so you're not available. If God wants to do a unique work amongst us this evening, if you're not here, you're not available. If he wants to do a unique work on Wednesday evening,

As we often have opportunity to minister to one another as part of the service. If you're not here, you're not available. If he wants to do a work at the women's study, if you're not here, you're not available. In order for you to be available, you got to be present. You need to be there. And again, not saying everybody should be at everything, but you should be responding to the Lord about what he wants you to be engaged with. And as you engage with that, be faithful in that. And there's going to be some sacrifice. It's going to require some cost, but be faithful in that.

to be available for ministry. And so what does it mean to be available? God's not looking for your abilities. He's looking for your availability. That's not just you saying, well, I'm a, you know, I'm alive and I'm here, so you can put me to work. But that's, okay, I want to be available. I want to participate in the work of God. And so I'm going to prepare myself in advance.

And so I'm going to be sanctified and I'm going to be prayed up. I'm going to be a student of the word. I'm going to be filled with the spirit. I'm going to be ready to share my hope. I'm going to be prepared to teach. I'm going to be experienced and I'm going to be present. And as we do these things, we make ourselves available, useful for God to use us however he chooses. It's not up to us, but it's up to him. But we're available, preparing ourselves, willing to do whatever God wants.

And then we'll see God work. We'll see God use that availability that you present to him. Lord, we thank you that even though we are sinful, fallen, Lord, still in desperate need of your grace, you allow us to participate in a work that has eternal value, that has great reward. Lord, we get to be part of your work, part of your kingdom, useful for you. It's such a blessing. And so God, as we consider that blessing, I pray that you would help us

to be prepared, to make ourselves available to you, useful for you by sanctifying ourselves, setting ourselves apart for you, by seeking you and spending time with you and being faithful in our relationship with you.

Lord, by being faithful in the things that you call us to, I pray, Lord, that you would stir us up, that you would challenge us, Lord, that you would help us to be diligent in all the things that you call us to and the things that you put upon our heart. I pray that you would stir up in the heart of men and women to be ready to teach and ready to share, to be prepared to be

Lord, for any moment, you to be able to put them to work. Maybe even like the Levites, they might even get bumped up a couple levels in their opportunity to serve you because they're prepared, they're ready, they're available. And Lord, there are those who are gifted that are not available, and I pray that you would stir up within them, Lord, an availability, a desire, Lord, a zeal and a fervor. As Hezekiah gave the call and the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves, Lord,

Lord, I pray that you would help us to hear this call. It's you calling us to be sanctified, to be set apart, to be devoted to your work. And I pray, God, that you would help us to respond. Help us not to be like the priests who weren't ready because they didn't really apply themselves. They weren't really diligent or zealous in it. But Lord, help us to be like the Levites who were diligent, passionate about getting right with you to be available for your work. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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