Surrendered Life

· Why is the Holy Spirit’s working so necessary to effective ministry? John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Many desire to do great exploits but without the leading of the Holy Spirit it is impossible. Jesus knew we would need help to proclaim the gospel, so he sent His Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us into all truth. He sent him to sanctify us every day by his truth and his truth is his word. When we think we can operate on our own, we have separated ourselves from the one we need to abide in daily. If we don't deposit anything into our spiritual account, the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit will always be negative. We have not deposited the Word of God in our hearts so He can draw from it to help us be effective in ministry. As humans, we can easily move away from the truth with our own understanding but when we trust the leading of the Holy Spirit, we will always turn to him to give us direction in our ministries. · What happens when the main power behind our ministry is will power? Disaster, plain and simple! · What is the role of miracles in Paul’s evangelism? Paul's teachings validated his call to apostleship; the truth of the gospel was confirmed in his teachings. He overcame cultural barriers by becoming like those he ministered to; always prayed or sought prayers for open doors to ministry. The powers exercised in Paul's ministry (2 Cor. 12) gave particular power to him to perform miracles that would open the way for others to receive the gospel. · What would happen if we saw miracles in evangelism in our day? What hinders this? Because we have been so dormant in believing that miracles still exist, if we saw them, we wouldn't know that it was a miracle or wouldn't believe it. We are overwhelmed and pressed down on every side because of the many things that we go through or deal with. So much so that we are too focused on how to handle the things of this world and not allowing God to take control of the things that keep us from operating in the miraculous or even knowing them when we see them. Our lack of remaining connected to Jesus Christ is one of the main reasons many are hindered in this area.

· Why do you think there was so much strong opposition to Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica? The Jews were accustomed to the reading of the Law. Paul, in his wisdom, began his teaching in the synagogue from the standpoint of what they were familiar with but moved from the Law to a more unknown teaching---grace. The Law required something to be saved whereas grace was a gift given by God and ready to receive to those who believed the message of Jesus Christ that Paul preached. Opposition was always at the forefront when it came the Law and grace and is illustrated in many of Paul's letters to the various churches who accepted the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There was always opposition to the truth because my personal belief is that many could not understand it nor desired to accept it. · Why do you think Paul keeps preaching the gospel, even though there is often a violent reaction against him? Being called, Paul understood that he would have to give everything to follow his calling. He was determined to share the gospel that saved him and brought him into the truth of Jesus Christ. He expected violent reaction against him and any other who preached the true gospel. To hear truth but struggle to understand the simplicity of this truth does and will often cause a violent reaction against any who preaches a true gospel. · Does a violent reaction to our ministry necessarily mean we should stop? I like what Paul said in Galatians 2:19-20, "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." When this becomes our life, we understand that Christ lives in us and if he overcame the adversities he endured, than why shouldn't we continue to stand strong in our belief even in the midst of violent reactions. Paul surrendered all to live a life pleasing to God and nothing stopped him from that.