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I AM AN 80 YEAR OLD MALE, BORN AGAIN, CHRISTIAN WITH A LOVE FOR JESUS. I DO NOT GET OUT MUCH ANYMORE BUT FIND THAT TELLING PEOPLE ABOUT THE LOVE JESUS HAS FOR THEM IS NOT ONLY WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO BUT SOMETHING THAT THE WORLD NEEDS.
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REST AND RE-FIRE
FROM ANDREW WOMMACK MINISTRIES
REST AND RE-FIRE
Mark 6:31, "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."
MATTHEW 14:13-21; MARK 6:30-44; LUKE 9:10-17; JOHN 6:1-14
Jesus often separated Himself from others so that He could spend time with the Father. Here, we see Jesus calling His disciples apart for rest and leisure. Many zealous Christians have neglected the needs of their physical bodies and have, therefore, cut their ministries short through death or severe illness. Likewise, many have failed to take the time to be still and know God (Ps. 46:10). This will also cut your ministry short through non-effectiveness. One of Satan's deadliest weapons against those involved in ministry is busy-ness. We must balance our time ministering to others with our time of being ministered to by our Father. If the devil can't stop you from "getting on fire" for God, then he'll try to stop you by getting you "burned out."
Remember, the reason Jesus and His disciples were going to this remote place was to get away from the multitude for awhile and rest. This rest was not optional, but rather, a necessity. Jesus and His disciples were taking a much needed vacation. However, the multitude followed them and their vacation ended even before it began. Surely, Jesus and His disciples were just as disappointed as you or I would have been. But instead of anger or bitterness, Jesus was moved with compassion.
Later on in the evening, Jesus went up into a mountain and prayed until the fourth watch (3 to 6 a.m.). The Lord intends for us to take care of these physical bodies as can be seen by Jesus' actions in taking His disciples aside for rest. But when this purpose was frustrated by the demands of the ministry, Jesus gave priority to the spirit man and stayed up all night praying and getting the spiritual rest He was needing. We should follow His example and always put the needs of the spirit ahead of the needs of the flesh.
Hi David,
I have come to appreciate your wisdom and the posts you place here from Andrew Wommack. Thanks for posting this, and reminding me of something I need to pay more attention to in my own life (before I get too crispy in my burn-out) - lol.
A man who allows himself to burn-out in Ministry, is not as effective as one who can strike a balance between his own needs and the needs of others. It is a point well taken, but hard to implement.
Unfortunately, it becomes difficult even in well funded organized Churches not to burn out, since people tend to be pew sitters, instead of getting involved. Then the workload falls upon a few willing members, instead of shared among the group.
Luke 10:2 - As Jesus said, the harvest is ripe but the workers are few.
In the case of this particular Ministry, although the need has often been explained, we still do not have a proper board of directors.
We need wise senior leaders to step in as department heads, and members to fall into place under their guidance. Then I could actually take a vacation and come back to face 8 hour days and manageable workloads.
Since you see the problem clearly, please pray that this will happen, and please take action to see that it does happen. Otherwise this network may never become the soul winning, children feeding, world changing outreach it was intended to be.
How can it, when everyone waits for someone else to move it forward? I would rather see people try and fail to make things happen, than watch them sit on the sidelines while the harvest rots in the field.
Thanks for this timely post, Ken
Brother David,
Neglecting my own physical needs cause me to become disabled at 56 years of age. I was Minister of Music and had a high maintenance music ministry, I also was a youth pastor, and we know that keeping up with teenagers is rough. Both of them together made it so that many times I thought I would meet myself in my travels. I also did many revivals in both areas of ministry. I led the music in regular church revivals, and also preached some youth revivals. I had at least 2 cantatas (or Dramas) a years with music, and youth camps and and youth mission trip each year with the youth ministry. I never did personal recordings back then because I never had the time. It was only at the end of my ministry and after I was disabled that I started my CD recordings, so I know from where you are speaking about rest and personal time. I also missed out on a lot of family time through out my life time.The time I did have with my family was when my kids were teenagers and part of my youth department, and my wife also helped me with my youth ministry. If it weren't for that I would have missed out on more than I did. I give testimony to all of God's ministers to allow time for rest and family in your ministry. Thanks Brother David for sharing this with us.
Rev. Zack Martin Sr.