Motivation in Ministry

When you study the life of Paul, you wonder what motivated him to continue in the ministry God had called him to. Paul paid a great price in following Christ. Immediately after he was struck blind on the Damascus road, Ananias was told that Paul would suffer for the sake of Christ and I wonder if he shared this with Paul.
Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
Act 9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
Paul lived an extraordinary life and stayed faithful to the Lord throughout his entire life. He never quit in spite of all the challenges he faced. The church in Corinth that he established even questioned his qualifications as an apostle. When he wrote to the church in Corinth he defended his call to ministry and equality with the other apostles.
2Co 11:5 Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.
2Co 11:6 Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.
He even stated that he endured more suffering and hardships than anyone and went on to list all the things that happened to him in his pursuit of fulfilling God’s call on his life.
2Co 11:23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one--I am talking like a madman--with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.
2Co 11:24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.
2Co 11:25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;
2Co 11:26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;
2Co 11:27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.
2Co 11:28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.
Paul had a determination to fulfill his ministry, to pour himself out regardless of the cost or price of obedience. Nothing else seemed to matter to him and whatever trial or hardship or punishment that came his way was simply considered part of consequence of his calling. I am sure Paul did not enjoy these difficult times. Being whipped 4 times with 39 lashes each time must have caused intense pain that stayed with him for several days. Paul must have been Satan’s #1 enemy because of the damage he was doing to his work. He was targeted all the time because of the impact he was having on a lost world. Paul probably fought battles that you and I have yet to face. The level of intensity he encountered was most likely greater than you and I have ever faced. What was it that kept Paul running the race, fighting the enemy, constantly moving forward to advance the Kingdom and caring for the church that often had big issues to resolve? How did Paul stayed motivated to continue in the ministry?
I think of several things about Paul that I believe helped motivate him in his pursuit of God and I believe these are the same things that will help us as well.
First, Paul saw his horrendous condition before he met Christ. He saw how wretched a man he was before he encountered Christ. In Romans 6 he even stated that he was a wretched man who struggled to do what was right and often did the opposite thing he wanted to do before he met Christ.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being,
Rom 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Rom 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Paul called himself the chief of sinners.
1Co 15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
1Co 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
1Co 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
The damage he did to the believers prior to his salvation must have stayed with him throughout his life. Yes he was forgiven but the memory of what he had done was never wiped away. Paul saw himself for who he was, fully admitted his faults and realized that apart from God’s intervention in his life he would have continued to live a misguided life and caused further damage to God’s Kingdom. Paul recognized he was a debtor to Christ. He had nothing on his own that could ever give him what Christ had given him through salvation.
Eph 3:7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God's grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
Eph 3:8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
When he looked back on his life before he met Christ, he had nothing to boast about, all was loss to him.
Php 3:7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Php 3:8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ

Whatever accomplishments he may have achieved when he was a devout Pharisee were considered as filthy rags to be thrown away. Paul did not have a high view of himself or his accomplishments in his life before he met Christ.
Prior to know Christ Paul stated that men are hostile toward God and he was including himself in this description. In Romans 1 Paul states that mankind recognizes that there is a God through the creation yet they choose to not believe in him because in doing so it will require them to submit to him.
Rom 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Rom 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
Rom 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
Rom 1:31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Rom 1:32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
We are rebels against God because we want to do what we want to do. Paul recognized this in his life as well.
We live in a time when people do not really want to admit how rebellious they are toward God. Most people will admit they are not perfect but they do not see themselves as rebels against God. They compare themselves with others according to human standards and in most cases they can say that they are not as bad as some people. Paul did not compare himself with others, he compared himself to the standard that God had set and in doing so saw himself for who he truly was and how desperately he needed Christ to save him from his sin and sin nature. If we do not see ourselves in our state of rebellion against God, being at enmity or hostility against God we will find it difficult to see a need to change.
Eph 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins
Eph 2:2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--
Eph 2:3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
One of the great motivating factors in Paul’s life is that he knew where he came from and how lost he was even though he was a very religious person. He saw the depth of his sin and was indebted to Christ for what he had done for him. We too must remember where we have been and how lost we were without Christ. Some of us have gone through some very difficult things in our lives before we met Christ and the consequences of our sinful lives perhaps are still with us. Others may have not experienced the same degree of sin but all of us were sinners bound for hell before Christ came into our lives to rescue us. The punishment and the destination of sinners regardless of the severity or amount of sin is the same.
In the jail that used to be in Antigua there were 2 sections. One section for people without money and the other for people with money. Those with money stayed in an area that was protected from the other section. They had a couch, refrigerator, tv, stove and the beer truck stopped each week to make deliveries. Hell is not like that, there is no special place for people who have committed what we would call lesser sins. All sin comes from a heart of rebellion against God and hostility toward God. The destination is the same. Paul knew what God had saved him from and eternity in hell and from living a life of rebellion against God. What Christ had done for Paul, I believe this was a primary motivation in fulfilling his call in spite of the difficulties he faced.

A second thing that motivated Paul was his love for Christ and his church. Because of his love for Christ he accepted his call to be an apostle to establish the church that is the Body of Christ. Christ and his church are inseparable; serving the church was serving Christ. Paul’s love for Christ was reflected in his love for the church. He labored to establish a local church wherever he was sent to proclaim the gospel. When you read any of the letters he wrote to the churches you quickly see how much he loved the church and how he longed for the church to become everything God wanted it to be. He encouraged, admonished, labored in prayer, disciplined, rebuked, made financial sacrifices, set standards for leadership, promoted unity, combated division, confronted sin, taught sound doctrine all for the purpose of making the church what it was designed to be. Paul’s love for Christ’s Body was evident and he devoted great effort to establish and maintain a healthy church. As an apostle, this was his calling and he could not walk away from it. To do so would be an act of disobedience to the Lord. His love for Christ was evidenced by his obedience to him and his service to the church. Our love for Christ must be the motivation for our obedience to his call in our life. Each of us has a calling from God just as Paul was called to be an apostle and establish the church. We do not pick and choose what we will do for the Lord. God asks us to love him and from this love serve him in whatever calling he gives us. When you truly love someone, you are willing to do whatever they desire that is in agreement with the word of God. There is a devotion to the person that is evidenced in our willingness and desire to do what is pleasing to them. Paul’s love for Christ motivated him in his service to him.
2Co_5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;
We never read where Paul refused to do what God asked him to do. As you grow in your love for Christ, it will become easier for you to make changes in what you do for him. He may ask you to go a completely different direction or pursue an entirely new field. If you truly love him and know that he loves you, it will not be a hard thing to make the changes. Your heart will be set on being obedient to him and you trust him to take care of you as you walk out the calling. Faith works by love.
Gal_5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
If we truly love God it will not be a difficult thing to walk by faith because we trust the one who is leading us. Many people struggle with trying to figure out what they should do with their lives while other people choose to do what they want to do and do not give God consideration. Our first priority is to love God and develop our relationship with him. Out of this relationship of love we learn to set aside our selfish ambitions and make ourselves available to him to fulfill his calling on our lives.
Psa_37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I believe that if we focus our attention and love on God he will make clear what he desires of us and we will respond in obedience because we desire to please him.
A third motivation of Paul was knowledge of the reward that would be given to him for completing his calling. Paul said, ‘I press on to receive the reward of the high calling.”
Php 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Php 3:14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul had been given a glimpse of heaven and I believe he understood that there was a reward waiting for him as he completed the mission God had given him. We do not know all that God has prepared for us but what we do know is that is will be beyond our wildest dreams and expectations.
1Co_2:9 But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--
Paul understood that he did not labor in vain.
1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
The work he was doing for God had benefits on earth but also benefits for eternity. God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.
Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
He does not forget what you have done in obedience to him but takes note and will reward each of us for what we do to bring honor to him.
We are destined to be joint heirs of the rich inheritance God has for us. We will reign with him through out eternity and enjoy the presence and glory of God. We have so much to look forward to and like Paul stated
Php 1:21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Php 1:22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.
Php 1:23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
Though Paul knew that heaven was a better place to be, he also knew there was fruitful labor for him to accomplish until the day God called him home. This should be our example as well that we continue in the race and remain motivated to accomplish fruitful ministry until our time on earth is over and we go on to receive our eternal reward.
When you begin to feel that you are waning in your motivation for service remember and remind yourself of these three things.
1. Where you have come from and where you would have been without Christ’s intervention.
2. Truly loving Christ and the work he has called you to do.
3. The reward that awaits you when you receive your inheritance.

The Road Less Traveled...July 2011

Happy 4th of July to my USA friends and family! I pray it is a great day of celebration of the freedom God has given to a nation that has been blessed in so many ways.
June was another great month of ministry as we continue to host teams and reach out into our community as well as other cities in Guatemala. We hosted a team from Louisiana and then had a YWAM Discipleship Training School team from Los Angeles stay with us for a week. The students were all from South Korea and were on their final weeks of their 2 month outreach and were looking for a place to minister so they contacted us on short notice and it all worked out for them to come. God has ways of fitting things together when we allow him to work in and through us. Only a few of the 9 adults spoke a little English and no one spoke Spanish so it was a bit of a challenge to communicate but it all worked out and their ministry was well received. We had a couple of days of Kids Club ministry with the team and the neighborhood kids really enjoyed learning about Korea. We enjoyed some of their Korean foods and were able to share with some of the families in the neighborhood as well. While the Korean team was with us we were also joined by 3 students from the DTS in Guatemala City who also came to finish their outreach phase. They plugged into our ministries and were a great help and blessing to us. We also had an intern, Dave Miller, from Philadelphia Bible University with us for 6 weeks. Dave is not a stranger to us as he participated in our discipleship school back in 2006. While here he met his wife who was studying Spanish in Antigua and they eventually married. He is finishing his degree and will begin full time ministry in a church. We have had a variety of people with different types of ministries working with us and we have truly enjoyed each one.
Currently we are hosting a group of 23 youth and adults from Georgia and will have one more team after they leave coming from Minnesota for a week of ministry before we begin the DTS at the base. It will be nonstop until December 15 for all our staff. We have 13 students coming for the DTS and we are looking forward to working with them. We have been blessed to have a new staff member join us who was a former student in a previous DTS we conducted. She will be helping with the DTS as well as taking on the hospitality of the base along with other ministries that we conduct. This has been an answer to our prayers and we thank God for his faithfulness to send the help we need.

Church Construction Update
Last month I sent out a request to help Pastor Antonio finish the construction on his church "Vida Real" (Real Life) in San Pablo La Laguna. Through the generous offerings of several people all the money has been raised and the new roof will be put in place soon! This has been a true miracle for the church to see God provide for their needs through the Body of Christ. I plan to be at the church when they have its dedication. I remember almost 5 years ago that we dedicated the piece of land that the church is now constructed on and prayed that God would do miraculous things through the church to reach out into the community. Thank you for praying and giving to help this church that is making a difference in their community.
International meal
One of the things I enjoy about YWAM is the opportunity to meet people from other countries and enjoy or at least try the foods they prepare. In this picture we had people speaking 5 different languages but our common bond was Christ.
Movie Night
Last Friday night we traveled to Parramos to show a film in the Central Park of the city. We were able to show about 10 minutes of the movie before the rains came and forced us to move to another location. We had four young men who had never gone to church or read a Bible come to Christ after the movie.

Helping the poor
Many of the children who come to our Kids Club live in very difficult situations. Eder and Carolina who head up the Kids Club make a point to visit some of the families each week. Often they find out the families have very little to eat and lack jobs to be able to provide. Some of the families have an absent father either due to death or abandonment. When we discover these needs we visit the families with some food and pray for them. We will be reaching out to the moms of the children who come to the Kids Club as well by inviting them to a special meeting to share a Christian movie and in the future help educate them on hygiene and nutrition for their children as well as share Christian principles for raising their families. Several of the children come to both the morning and afternoon session of the Kids Club as they are not attending school. One mom brought her deaf daughter to our meeting and asked for special prayer for her. She said her daughter could hear if she had a hearing aid but many who receive hearing aids are unable to pay for the batteries to be able to continue to use them. Please keep our Kids Club ministry in your prayers as it is such an important ministry for the future of the children.
Thank You!
I appreciate your prayers and financial support that have enabled me to be here. May God richly bless your life.
Contribution address:
YWAM Chico
15850 Richardson Springs Rd
Chico, CA 95973

Correspondence Address:
Bruce Ahlberg
3ra Av 1-30, Zona 6
Ciudad Vieja, Guatemala