We have been talking about the fact that God desires to use us much more than we want to be used. The first step we must take for this to happen is becoming living sacrifices. God will mold any person who will do this and make them usable.
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
John 2:23-25
Miracles followed Jesus’ ministry and many believed on His Name as a result. I wonder what we would do today if confronted with a ministry like His.
We would probably take these people who believed as a result of the miracles and mobilize them. I’ve seen many churches that give members stacks of tracks to pass out in their neighborhoods. These things are good but they are not the first thing we should do with new believers.
John tells us that many believed on Jesus’ Name as a result of the miracles following His ministry. We need to take note of His response.
But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men.
John 2:24
Jesus did not mobilize these new believers or send them out to talk about His ministry. He knew that they were not ready. They were not born again or filled with the Holy Spirit.
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:4-5
The disciples had spent just over three years with Jesus. They had witnessed most every miracle and attended all of His meetings. It would seem that they would have been ready to be sent out in ministry. Jesus told them to wait for the promised Holy Spirit. He knew that they would need the Spirit’s presence in their lives to succeed.
Jesus is more concerned with the quality of ministry. In this day of “seeker” friendly churches it seems that we’ve become much more concerned with quantity. Our goal is to pack our churches instead of creating disciples.
If a person is saved in most churches today they will be told to go tell everyone what has happened to them. This is not a model seen in Scripture.
We must allow time for preparation. Ministry must not flow from our abilities. The result of this type of ministry is the powerlessness we see in so many churches today.
Jesus would not commit Himself to those who believed on His Name. He knew that preparation takes time and would require the people to first become living sacrifices.
The majority of people ministering today work from their own abilities which have been refined through schooling and academic studies. Multiple denominations even have services that supply sermons on a subscription basis to eliminate the need for pastors to spend time studying! These pastors may have a good heart and they mean well but they lack the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
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