Five Key Areas of Ministry

Christ appeared three times in John to His disciples after His resurrection.  On those three occasions, He gave them the five most important things in the ministry.

I.  First area:  A revelation of the cross (John 20:20)

A.  “He showed them His hands and His side.” Each person who is a pastor for the Lord must have a revelation of the wounds of the cross and what they represent.

B.  The five wounds represent healing (stripes), forgive-ness (nails in hands), victory (nails in feet), prosperity (thorns), and inner healing (wound in the side).

C.  The cross is our primary message, keeping us broken and pure.

II.  Second area:  A revelation of authority (John 20:21)

A.  Christ said, “As the Father has sent Me, I am sending you.” We are deputized with His authority.  We are acting as ambassadors of heaven, and the church is His embassy.

B.  An ambassador cannot become disconnected from the authority that sent him.  He is not independent, but only a representative with delegated authority.  Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

C.  Every leader must have a revelation of spiritual authority and learn to submit to it and move under it.

III.  Third area:  A relationship with the Holy Spirit (John 20:22)

A.  Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” He was telling them that without Him their ministry would be ineffective.

B.  We must learn to totally rely on the person of the Holy Spirit.  We must pray in the Spirit before every mini-stry opportunity.  We must learn to fast to become sensitive to Him.  We must listen to His still small voice in guidance and decisions.

IV.  Fourth area:  A revelation of faith (John 20:27)

A.  Thomas did not believe that Christ had risen.  He operated by sight and not faith.  Christ told him that he must be a man of faith, or he would never do anything great for God.

B.  Joshua, Moses, Gideon, David, and all the great men of God were men of faith.  We must “launch out into the deep and let down our nets.”  We cannot “see to believe,” but must “believe to see.”

V.  Fifth area:  A revelation of pastoring (John 21:15)

A.  Christ asked Peter, “Do you love Me?  Feed My sheep.” A great leader must have compassion for the sheep.  This is the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT QUALITY OF A LEADER.

B.  Loving the sheep is what Jesus instructed Peter to do three times.  Without a love for the sheep, we are not following the example of the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

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