Ministering spirit

“ It is what all persons, entering on the divine life, are more or less exposed to. “Meditation, prayer, reading, and temptation, (says holy Luther) make a minister.” Your levity of spirit, and fickleness of temper, are your greatest diseases. These are to be watched and prayed against, and by divine grace will be overcome. Look up, therefore, dear Sir, to the blessed Jesus. Out of weakness he can and will make you to become strong, and turn your lightness of spirit into solid joy. ”

“ Physical condition may have some influence on a minister's delivery; but the chief element in the eloquence that awakens and converts sinners and strengthens Christians is the unction of the Holy Spirit. Our best power is the power from on high.
I would say to young ministers—look at your auditors as bound to the judgment seat and see the light of eternity flash into their faces. Then the more fervor of soul you put into your preaching the more souls you will win to your Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. ”

“ Hence the Apostle says, “A measure of the Spirit is given to every man to p. 29profit withal;” every Minister of the Gospel, for some purpose in the Church; and it is a sad pity for good men to fall out by the way, seeing God has allotted every man his peculiar work; and one Minister never can do the work of another ”

“ Paul to Timothy, “The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God, peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledgment of the truth.” [193b] It is the duty of Christian ministers to exhort and console each other in the difficult work they have to perform; “to put one another always in remembrance;” to “bear one another’s burdens;” to “admonish one another in the spirit of meekness and brotherly love.” ”

“ Ministers differ in their abilities—some have greater and some less; but these all worketh that self same Spirit, who divideth to his Ministers severally as he will, for the perfecting of the saints, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God.—This is the design of the Gospel Ministry. The breaking of these pitchers, that the light might appear, may be emblematic of the various trials and heart-breaking circumstances they meet with here below ”

“ He has ministers to employ, and spiritual influences to communicate to his ministers for the good of his church. The Holy Spirit usually works by the ministry, and the ministry will be of no efficacy without the Spirit ”

“ The Gospel must be proclaimed with great tenderness of spirit, and in deep love for the souls of those that are in their sins; love that is all aflame for the perishing. A minister should keep as near the head of the church as possible. He should pattern after the Master in simplicity, in naturalness, in literalness, in appropriateness and in holiness. As He is in the world, so are we, so clean and pure; morally speaking, the minister should be transparent—Christ shining out in all his ways—looking, speaking, doing the right thing at the right time and in the right manner. ”

“ A great deal of the labour of faithful ministers is labour in vain; and, when it is so, it cannot but be a great grief to those who desire the salvation of souls. Note, 2. The labour of ministers is in vain upon those who begin in the Spirit and end in the flesh, who, though they seem to set out well, yet afterwards turn aside from the way of the gospel. Note, 3. Those will have a great deal to answer for upon whom the faithful ministers of Jesus Christ bestow labour in vain. ”

“ Blessed be Thy Good Spirit, that ever it come in my heart to become Thy minister. May the same Good Spirit make me truly sensible of the honour and danger of so great a trust, and of the account I am to give. And give me grace to make amends, by my future diligence, for the many days and years that I have spent unprofitably. And this I beg for Jesus Christ His sake.
He that doth not find himself endued with a spirit of his calling, hath reason to fear that God never called him...... ”

“ An Exhortation to Ministers IF all who labored for the conversion of others sought to reach them BY THE HEART, introducing them immediately into prayer and the interior life, numberless and permanent conversions would ensue. On the contrary, few and transient fruits must attend that labor which is confined to outward matters, such as burdening the disciple with a thousand precepts for external exercises, instead of leading the soul to Christ by the occupation of the heart in Him.
If ministers were solicitous thus to instruct their parishioners, shepherds, while they watched their flocks, would have the spirit of the primitive Christians, and the husbandman at the plough maintain a blessed intercourse with his God; ”

“ Every minister of the gospel is a “drawer of water,” to his congregation, from the “Spiritual Rock” which follows the church. He must be clothed with meekness from Heaven, or the provocations of the people will be apt to embitter his spirit. God would have us minister mercy, in the spirit of his own mercy. “The servant of God must not strive, but be gentle toward all men ”

“ Christians should do the things that may rejoice the hearts of one another, both people and minister reciprocally, and ministers of their brethren. From the world they expect trouble; and where may they look for comfort and joy but in one another? (2.) Fruits of faith and obedience in people are the minister's greatest joy, especially the more of love appears in them to Christ and his members, forgiving injuries, showing compassion, being merciful as their heavenly Father is merciful. " Refresh my bowels in the Lord. ”

“ He now, and from time to time, recommended to his brother a life of self-denial, of weanedness from the world, and devotedness to God, and an earnest endeavour to obtain much of the grace of God’s Spirit, and God’s gracious influences on his heart; representing the great need which ministers stand in of them, and the unspeakable benefit of them from his own experience. Among many other expressions he said, *“When ministers feel these gracious influences on their hearts, it wonderfully assists them to come at the consciences of men, and as it were to handle them with their hands ”

“ If any Man speak, let him speak as the Oracles of God: If any Man minister, let him do it as of the Ability which God giveth; that God in all Things may be glorified through Jesus Christ; to whom be Praise and Dominion for ever, Amen. From which it appears, that those that minster must minister according to the Gift and Grace received; but they that have not such a Gift, cannot minister according thereunto. The ministering must be by the Gift and Grace received.Secondly, As good Stewards of the manifold Grace of God: But how can a Man be a good Steward of that which he hath not? ”

“ Here is a minister—and, by the way, there has been many of them—who embraces the truth of the Lord's speedy coming; it is as fire shut up in his bones; he comes with the joyful intelligence before his congregation, and in the fulness of his soul he preaches that truth, which is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ”

“ This would not only be a great comfort to a worn-out servant of God, but also of great use to the work of the ministry, which, to be faithfully and effectually performed, requires all the powers of the body and mind of man. Old faithful ministers are to be highly respected for their work's sake, and to be supplied with all the necessaries and comforts of life ”

“ It is natural that the minister of the gospel who, as a human instrument, is very successful in winning souls to Christ should be “highly esteemed in love for his work’s sake,” and yet nothing exposes him more to the unjust criticisms and unchristian detractions of his less successful brethren in the ministry. ”

“ One great want of the times is a commanding ministry—a ministry of a piety at once sober and earnest, and of mightiest moral power. Give us these men, "full of faith and of the Holy Ghost," who will proclaim old truths with new energy, not cumbering them with massive drapery nor hiding them beneath piles of rubbish. ”

“ The great work of ministering to them is in supplanting the preacher, who renders but a fractional service to the people, by a pastor whose preaching is an announcement of the varied ministry in which he serves as the curé of souls. ”

“ Each individual amongst them, both ministers and people, should feel and should act, both in public and in private life, as if the; character of the whole depended on his conduct. Let ministers exert themselves more and more, to promote true godliness in their respective flocks. Let heads of families attend to the cultivation of religion in their domestic circles. Let the young vie with one another, who shall be most distinguished for amiableness of disposition, and tor their zeal and activity in promoting the cause of the Redeemer. Let all classes cultivate a spirit ”

“ I would by no means have you become ministers without giving your hearts to Christ; but this you are as much bound to do, as you are bound to do all the good you can to others. If you are not Christians, I want you, through grace, to become such, and I want many of you to become ministers and missionaries. ”

“ It is small business either to disparage or flatter the ministry. But we may, even at the the grave, speak of the minister as a man. Theology, like conscience, belongs to the private property of each communion ”

“ We need not look forward to the good time, for it is now come, when ministers are esteemed for their knowledge of divine truth, and their ardent love for the same, together with their faithfulness in dispensing it to their people, and their living and walking in the precepts of Jesus. ”

“ The minister who gives himself to the word and prayer, as he is the fittest person to exhort, so he is the fittest to bless and pray for those that enter into this relation. (2.) We ought to desire and pray for the welfare and prosperity one of another, so far from envying or grieving at it. ”

“ The older ministers should encourage the young to do all they know of God's will and to trust him to make his will plainer and clearer. Young minister, you should encourage yourself. You should be patient under the molding and fashioning hand of God, trusting him so to fasten these truths upon your heart and mind that it will be as natural to practise them as it is to breathe. If we as ministers are humble enough, God can get to the people through us what he wants the people to hear. ”

“ My earnest prayer is that you may soon be directed to the right man to be your minister, to one who shall unite all hearts and all hands, and carry forward the high and holy mission to which God has called you. He will find in me not a jealous critic, but a hearty ally in everything that he may regard for the welfare of this church. ”

“ But it is a different preaching which creates the hush that tells when Christ is in the midst. There is nothing like worship, when it is real, for destroying every shred and atom of a man's self-importance. A minister of God who carries a sense of his importance about with him, even into the pulpit, is a dreadful and pathetic sight: but who will say it is unknown? ”

“ The minister, who would be most like the Master, must go and, like Him, lay the warm, kindly hand on the leper, the diseased, the wretched. He must touch the blind eyes with something from himself. The tears must be in his own eyes over the dead who are to be raised to spiritual life, Jesus is our great exemplar. ”

“ Good ministers may and should encourage themselves in the hardest services and the hardest sufferings, with this, that God will certainly bring good to his church, and benefit to his elect, out of them.— That they may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Next to the salvation of our own souls we should be willing to do and suffer any thing to promote the salvation of the souls of others. ”

“ Many think that if they attend in the church, the minister to preach, and the people to hear, their duty is done. But more is required than this. May the Lord stir up the gift that is in his people and ministers, that they may have compassion on their fellow-sinners,—that they may never think it too late, but remember that while there is life there is hope!” Once more I pray, sir, pardon and excuse all my errors in judgment, and the ignorance that this is penned in; and may God bless you in all things, and particularly your friendship to me and my parents. What a comfort is family religion! ”

“ Foolishness, lightness, jesting, indulged in by the minister while preaching the everlasting gospel, is entirely out of place. Nor does this admonition apply entirely to the pulpit, but at all times, under all circumstances, a minister should be an example to the flock. Only thus can we ministers expect to obey God and fulfil our calling and accomplish God's will in the salvation of the world.
Those who are young in the ministry should not get discouraged because they have not fully comprehended and practised the different things herein set forth. ”

“ Besides the ordinary occasions of Confirmation and Sickness, the minister may be called upon to give spiritual advice or comfort to persons whom he knows to be living evil lives or to be at enmity with their neighbours, or who are troubled in conscience about coming to Holy Communion, or generally about their spiritual state. ”

“ Their mental endowments command respect and inspire confidence. There never has been a time in the Christian ministry when there was such a demand as now for ministers with minds cultivated and well stored with knowledge, and hearts set on fire by the Holy Ghost. ”

“ Gospel ministers are as necessary to the moral world, during the present state of things, as the sun, moon, and stars are in the universe. A church without such helps, would be like a firmament deprived of globular lights. Ministers, with the bright rays of heavenly doctrine, dispel the darkness of ignorance, chase away the clouds of error, scatter the mists of prejudice, disperse the fogs of vice, from the human mind. ”