How Should We Minister A Very Happy New Year To All Starting from today and for the next few days we will be doing quite a fair bit of visitations. We will be catching up with relatives and friends whom we have not often met. In busy Singapore keeping in contact with people can at times be a luxury. We just do not seem to have the time for it. As such it is good to have a festive time such as Chinese New Year when we can catch up with each other. Having the opportunity to meet people also gives us an opportunity to minister. In our Christian life we are called by Jesus to be his witness. We are commanded to share the gospel with people. This season gives us the perfect opportunity to do so without us having to seek them out. However, how should we minister? What must we do to be effective for the Lord? How could we be the effective witnesses for Jesus? These are questions which we would look at this morning. After Jesus had taught his disciples various principles about the Christian life. After he had demonstrated to them the power of God in casting demons out of people and healing the sick, it was time for the disciples to put into practice what they had learnt. Jesus was going to send them out to minister. Before sending them out however, Jesus gave them clear instructions about what they should do. These instructions apply to us today as well - as we go out to visit we should go out to minister as well - we should consider Jesus sending us out to minister. But, how should we minister? How can we be the effective ministers of Jesus? How could we be His witnesses. Please turn with me to Matthew 10 MT 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. MT 10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. MT 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. 9 Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; 10 take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep. MT 10:11 "Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. 15 I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. 16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. How should we minister? Firstly we note that Jesus called his disciples and gave them authority. -- to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy and drive out demons. As Jesus had demonstrated the power of God by healing the sick, raising the dead and driving out demons, he was asking his disciples to do the same. But he had to give them the power to do so. So, as they went forth to minister, this was clear in their minds. They have spiritual power to do a spiritual work. The disciples saw him and heard him granting them power. How does this apply to us? We don't see Jesus. We don't hear Him granting us power. So, does this apply to us - in that when we go out to minister, we should go out with the knowledge that we have authority. How do we know that we have been given authority? We have not heard Him tell us that. He told the disciples and He gave them the authority. But He did not give it to us. Well, we have the power and authority because we have the Holy Spirit. At this stage of Jesus' journey with the disciples, the Holy Spirit has not been given to the world yet. Jesus told them to wait for this. He said "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." As the disciples waited, on the day of Pentecost, they received that power. Peter stood up to say that this is what God has promised every single one of us. We shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. I know I have the power because when I received the Holy Spirit I began to speak out in tongues - same as what Joel had prophesied - same as what happened to the disciples. You have the power when you are filled with the Spirit of God. It is so important for us to have the power in ministry because we are not doing physical work. We are doing spiritual. We do not need muscle power. We need the power of the Holy Spirit. It is so important that Jesus told them not to go out until they received it. So, how should we minister. The first thing is to know that you have the power. The power to cast out demons. The power to pray for the sick. The power to bring God's wisdom to those in need. Secondly, Jesus told them not to take along any gold, silver, copper in their belts - they were also not to bring any bag containing any extra clothing - in another word, they were not to bring anything along with them. They were to bring nothing. When we are down to absolutely nothing, that is when we realize that all we have is God. How do we minister? We are to know that nothing that we have will ever work in ministry except God Himself. We are to empty ourselves of everything so that God can work through us. As long as we think we have something to rely on, we would not rely on God so much as we should. The disciples learnt it well. We note that the day immediately after Pentecost, as John and Peter were going to the temple they met a crippled man at the entrance. They told the man "gold or silver we have none. What we have we give to you. Get up and walk." That day, the man was healed. He came to accept Jesus into his life. He went forth to tell many others about what God had done. How many more came to accept Jesus through this man is up to us to think. The ministry of Jesus - in preaching the Word, in healing the sick, in casting out demons has indeed been extended to his disciples. It should be extended to us as well. The apostle Paul also learnt it well. On his missions trip to Athens, Greece, he preached there using his own wisdom. He met with very poor results. On his next stop in Corinth, he promised himself that he will not preach on anything else except Jesus and Him crucified. He confessed that all he needed was the power of God and God's wisdom. He needed nothing else. He ministered powerfully in Corinth. What made the difference? In one case, Paul depended on himself. On the other he depended on the power of God. I do not expect you to bring nothing when you visit people the next few days. For some of you, you have to bring ang pows along with you. For most we need to bring oranges. So, I don't expect you to go around with nothing. However, when you minister, which you should, do so with the knowledge that nothing you have is ever going to work except God Himself. Your reliance must be upon the power of God and the wisdom of God. Thirdly, Jesus told the disciples that as they go out to minister, build up relationship with those who are receptive. They should knock on every door. Not all are going to be receptive. For those who are, they should build up relationships with them and make all attempts to bring them to the Lord. For those who are not, leave the matter to God. We should do the same. Our time and resources are limited. We should indeed make all attempts to bring the gospel to everyone. Not all will be receptive. For those who are, we should spend more time and do all we can to bring them to the Lord. For those who are not, we should leave the method to God. Maybe not now. But later. When God has worked on them more. So, how should we minister? We should minister with the knowledge that we have power and authority. We should minister without relying on ourselves but upon the Lord. We should minister to those who are warm towards the gospel. I have no doubt that in this day and age that we have to minister with signs and miracles following our sharing of the Word. That the gospel has not only to be proclaimed but it has to be demonstrated. That we not only tell people about God but we show them God. For that, we need to know that we have power and authority. We cannot rely on ourselves. We have to rely on God and we have to leave the whole ministry to Him and Him alone. He alone is the minister. We are just channels in His hands. What can we do as we go forth? When we visit people we do not know what situation they may be in if we have not been in constant contact with them. Even if we are, we do not know what they had gone through in the days that had gone past. So, be alert and attentive to listen to people. See their facial expressions. You can tell if they have no peace even though they may have a smile on their faces. Be attentive to what the Holy Spirit has to tell you. Tap on the wisdom of God to say words that will lead to the person opening up to you. Do not rely on yourself. You can tell when you hit on the right subject. Normally tears will come to their eyes - especially when they are in deep hurts. If a person is sick, it is obvious. Offer to pray for the person. People in need are open to be prayed for. If they reject your offer, leave the matter to God. Don't push it. Before you pray tell them that you are praying to Jesus and that you believe Jesus will help them in their situations because He loves us all. When you pray, know that you have power and authority. You don't have to see the results straight away and bring the person to Christ. However, you should follow up with at least a telephone call a few days later. If the person has been touched by God, you can then begin to share the gospel more and possibly lead him to the Lord. You could bring him or her to church next week. Do I know that I have power and authority? Yes. Have I cast out demons. Yes. Have I prayed for the sick? Yes. Are all healed? I don't know. None has died immediately after I prayed for them. Some were healed immediately. Others over several days. Some died some time later. So, were these healings a result of my prayers. I don't know. Have all felt better after I talked to them. Some do. Some I don't know. They never told me. All I care about is that I minister as I have been called to. I leave the results to God. Can you do what the apostles have done? I am sure you can. I have experienced it. Ps Eileen has experienced it. Those went out on missions trips with us have experienced it. In ministry, it is not whether you can. God has already empowered you to do so. The question is whether you are willing to do so. How do we minister? We minister knowing that God has given us power and authority to. We minister knowing that the work is His not ours. We minister by leaving the results to God. The question today is whether you are willing to do so as you go about visiting. Whether you are willing to do so everyday from now on. Whenever you meet people.

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