When Gospel Ministry Makes a Mess . . .

I am writing to encourage ministers of the gospel who feel overwhelmed. I want to do that by thinking about the ministry of the Apostle Paul.

Paul had one of the most effective ministries in human history, but his reputation in the city of Ephesus was complete trash. As Paul preached the Word of God, he received numerous unpleasant responses.

For starters, he developed a determined enemy named Demetrius, who was committed to opposing his work (Acts 19:24-25). In response to the pot-stirring of Demetrius, a riot broke out full of people who were confused about most things except how much they hated Paul (Acts 19:28-29). This ruckus placed Paul’s companions in jeopardy simply because they were his friends (Acts 19:29). The riotous crowd placed Paul himself in physical danger (Acts 19:30-31). If all that were not enough, the mistreatment of enemies placed Paul in legal jeopardy (Acts 19:38).

The ministry of the great Apostle Paul made a huge mess.

. . . Gospel Ministers Feel Overwhelmed

Paul was not trying to make a mess. He had no desire to hurt but to help. He was not a provocateur. The message Paul preached, which created such difficulty, was a simple one that is basic to Christianity: “gods made with hands are not gods” (Acts 19:26).

For that simple expression of truth, he was persecuted, vilified, opposed, and despised. And Paul felt every bit of that rejection. The book of Acts is the historical record of the mess in Ephesus, but Paul reveals his personal reflections about it in 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.  Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”

Paul was so overwhelmed with despair by the mess in Ephesus that he thought he was going to die.

Such appallingly painful suffering makes us wonder how Paul was not irreparably broken by such devastating circumstances.

God Strengthens Overwhelmed Ministers of the Gospel

The answer comes as Paul continues to share his personal experience of the overwhelming circumstances at Ephesus in Asia.  After he shares that he thought the experience was going to kill him, he shared how it didn’t, “That was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again” (2 Corinthians 1:9-10).

The painful experience of ministry did not kill Paul because the powerful grace of God rescued him from the peril. That experience of divine grace gave him great hope in the character of God to deliver him from all the ministry messes he would experience.

It is amazing that Paul could endure such dramatically painful circumstances and have hope. What is perhaps even more amazing is what Paul did with that powerful hope.

Overwhelmed Gospel Ministers Are Equipped for More Gospel Ministry

It is almost human nature to escape a perilous situation, thank God for his gracious rescue, and then immediately make decisions to avoid any situation like it in the future. That is not what Paul does in gospel ministry.

After he explains God’s gracious rescue from peril, Paul explains his hope for future rescue, “On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many” (2 Corinthians 1:11).

Paul receives the grace of past rescue as a hope for future rescue and redoubles his efforts at ministry to spread more blessings to more people in Jesus’s name.

The Pattern of Ministry Power

Paul’s inspired reflections help us establish a biblical pattern of ministry power. That pattern begins with faithful biblical ministry, which will lead to affliction in a world opposed to Christ and his gospel. That affliction will create the kind of brokenness and weakness that Paul experienced in Ephesus. But in response to that weakness, God will give his own divine strength for help, rescue, and power. This divine power will lead faithful ministers to pursue more gospel ministry, which will start the cycle all over again.

This pattern of ministry power provides a powerful lesson to every discouraged pastor.

In a sinful world, the truth of God’s Word is going to be controversial. This is an important lesson for the kind of gospel ministers who believe they will be able to take the controversial sting out of ministry by their own winsomeness and reasonableness. But every minister of the gospel of Jesus who desires to be faithful needs to know that when the truth is preached, affliction will follow.

Of course, we want to be winsome and reasonable. We should never do anything that adds unnecessary controversy to the message we are called to preach. The slogan I use for this at First Baptist is “nothing controversial but the truth.” But after we have repented for any sin, faithful gospel ministers need to settle in their minds that the proclamation of truth creates an experience of suffering like it did for the Apostle Paul. Jesus said, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you” (John 15:20). This should encourage every faithful minister laboring in the midst of profound controversy. No one likes ministry suffering, but if the ministry of Jesus brought difficulty, you will not find a way to escape it either. You can rejoice at sharing the same lot as the Christ you preach.

This reality ought to encourage us to great hope and great boldness in ministry. It was precisely in the brokenness and weakness of ministry suffering that God’s strength met up with Paul’s weakness and gave him the power he needed to have a ministry so effective that we are still talking about it today.

I say this to encourage the faithful pastors out there struggling through the weakness of ministry mistreatment. Ministry can be hard and painful. But when you know the powerful Christ who strengthens you with grace through the hard days, that same ministry can also be better than wonderful. If you have been hurt and attacked for your faithfulness, then take heart, you are at the low point of the pattern of ministry power. But at any moment, the God who strengthened Paul’s ministry will strengthen yours and give you the very power of Heaven to do greater things for his glory than you could ever imagine.