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Mar 08, 2026 06:00am

The Life and Death Intensity of Ministry

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If you are a genuine follower of Christ, you will have a passion to serve Him so that others may come to know Him. You will see it as your highest task and noblest privilege. And you will give yourself—at various seasons in various ways—to His service.

COUNTING THE COST

But it would be wise as you begin to count the cost, just as Jesus advised (Luke 14:25-33). Ministry is simple in one sense. Paul models it over and over again for us. Notice how he conducted his work in Acts 19.

After these events, Paul resolved by the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. (Acts 19:21)

Paul was wise enough to know that the Spirit must direct and empower his work or it would be “wood, hay, and stubble” and bear no lasting fruit. The simplicity of ministry is that we can be assured of His leadership for the humble-hearted. We must simply listen to the Spirit and follow His promptings. He provides the direction, the power, and even promises to give us the words to say as needed.

THE INTENSITY

But lest we think it is a “flowery bed of ease,” take one scenario of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus, outlined in Acts 19. Notice what he encountered.

He preached boldly in the synagogue for three months until “some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd.” (If you’ve ever been the recipient of such slander, you know it can be brutal.) So, Paul made the decision to withdraw from them and take the hungry-hearted to another venue. There he preached and taught for two years and established the church at Ephesus.
“Performed extraordinary miracles” (Vs. 11) so that many believed, doing direct business against evil spirits. Some false ministers thought they could borrow off Paul’s name and tried to do the same but met a horrible fate. This served to advance the cause of Christ even more.
Oversaw a movement of confession and repentance. “Many who had become believers came confessing disclosing their practices” even burning today’s equivalent of over $1 million dollars’ worth of books. Quite an event.
A mad riot erupted as the silversmiths who made pagan goddess statues were fearful they would lose their business. They raised such a riot that Paul would have probably lost his life if he had not been prevented by the disciples from entering the crowd.

Think for a moment about Paul’s experiences facing hardened, slanderous religious leaders, demonic forces, and an entire city in a mindless mob ready to destroy him.

But in the midst of it all we read these words:

The Word of the Lord spread and prevailed. (Vs. 19)

Glorious, but hard ministry as he encountered the world and its hardened resistance and the devil with his furious attacks … but worth every moment.