00:00:02 The apostle Paul was not a man given to boasting.
00:00:05 But on one occasion,
00:00:07 he felt compelled to boast a little.
00:00:11 And that account is found for us in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 11.
00:00:16 Please read with me 2 Corinthians 11:23:
00:00:24 “Are they ministers of Christ?
00:00:28 “I reply like a madman,
00:00:30 I am more outstandingly one.”
00:00:34 What was the subject of Paul’s boast?
00:00:39 Being a minister of Christ.
00:00:42 And now, being a minister of Christ, what was Paul’s focus in this boast?
00:00:47 He said:
00:00:49 “I am more outstandingly one.”
00:00:53 William Tyndale, when he translated this verse,
00:00:55 kept the very terseness and the clarity of the Greek
00:00:59 when he simply said: “I am more.”
00:01:03 That’s Paul’s boast.
00:01:07 What is he focusing on, though, as a minister of Christ in his boast?
00:01:12 He said: “I have done more work.”
00:01:16 And now from verses 23 through 27,
00:01:18 he gives almost a résumé
00:01:21 of what happened to him because of the work
00:01:24 he did as a minister of Christ.
00:01:29 Well, how will your properly focusing on your work
00:01:34 as a minister of Christ help you to succeed in your assignments?
00:01:40 Let’s consider an example.
00:01:42 And it’s found in the book of Luke chapter 8
00:01:47 —Luke 8:1-3:
00:01:55 “Shortly afterward he [this is Christ]
00:01:58 “traveled from city to city and from village to village,
00:02:02 “preaching and declaring the good news of the Kingdom of God.
00:02:05 “And the Twelve were with him, as were certain women
00:02:09 “who had been cured of wicked spirits and sicknesses:
00:02:13 “Mary who was called Magdalene,
00:02:16 “from whom seven demons had come out;
00:02:19 “Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s man in charge;
00:02:23 “Susanna; and many other women,
00:02:27 who were ministering to them from their belongings.”
00:02:33 A group: Christ, the Twelve,
00:02:38 and women
00:02:40 (women who ministered to the others)
00:02:44 —what did that mean?
00:02:45 Did it mean they cooked the meals, washed the dishes, mended the clothes?
00:02:50 Possibly but not necessarily entirely that.
00:02:55 These women ministered to the others
00:02:58 by helping them to complete their assignment
00:03:01 as they went on completing their assignment as disciples of Christ.
00:03:07 Notice the backgrounds of these women.
00:03:11 Luke mentions three.
00:03:12 He says they’re women who were cured of wicked spirits and sicknesses.
00:03:17 Look at Mary.
00:03:18 “Mary,” he says, “from whom seven demons had come out.”
00:03:23 He also mentions “Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s man in charge,”
00:03:28 and “Susanna.”
00:03:29 Think of their backgrounds.
00:03:31 Mary—seven demons came out of her.
00:03:34 I wonder how that demon possession contributed to her personality.
00:03:38 What about Joanna?
00:03:41 “Joanna,” it says “the wife of Chuza, Herod’s man in charge.”
00:03:45 In other words, Joanna lived in Herod’s palace;
00:03:49 she was a woman of the court.
00:03:52 And also Susanna
00:03:55 —it doesn’t say specifically much about her
00:03:58 other than perhaps she was one of the women who was cured of a sickness.
00:04:02 What was her personality like?
00:04:05 How did these personalities work together?
00:04:10 Here’s part of the example of what can help us to minister,
00:04:15 and that is to realize that when we look through the Gospel accounts,
00:04:19 we never find these women bickering or arguing among themselves
00:04:23 about position or prominence or place,
00:04:27 unlike some others in the group that were with them.
00:04:32 Why?
00:04:33 Because these women focused on their ministry;
00:04:37 they focused on their work.
00:04:40 They served others, and they served each other.
00:04:44 And that is a powerful example for you and for me.
00:04:49 Remember at Isaiah 11:6, it’s prophesied:
00:04:54 “The wolf will reside . . . with the lamb.”
00:04:56 Lions with calves —it’s not going to be all lambs.
00:05:02 You will meet diverse personalities in your assignments,
00:05:07 and you will have to work with diverse personalities
00:05:11 just like the women did.
00:05:13 So, what will you do?
00:05:15 Remember that some of the very qualities that make a lion or make a wolf
00:05:20 might be exactly the qualities you need
00:05:23 to help you fulfill your assignment.
00:05:27 So they’re not all lambs, but they are all our brothers and sisters.
00:05:33 So if Jehovah allows a diversity of personalities
00:05:36 within the context of the new personality, then so should we.
00:05:41 Diverse personalities make for rich friendships.
00:05:47 You know, Luke wrote these words,
00:05:49 and he’s talking about events
00:05:51 that took place around the Passover of 31 C.E.
00:05:53 When you think of these women,
00:05:55 these women were with Jesus
00:06:00 at Golgotha.
00:06:02 These women were at the tomb.
00:06:05 Likely these women may have been in the upper room as well.
00:06:09 That tells us that these women endured
00:06:12 challenging circumstances.
00:06:14 They stuck with the Lord.
00:06:16 What helped them?
00:06:18 Look back at the verse.
00:06:20 Verse 2 says:
00:06:22 “As were certain women who had been cured of wicked spirits and sicknesses.”
00:06:28 These women deeply appreciated what Jesus had done for them.
00:06:34 Certainly they glorified God because of what Jesus had done for them.
00:06:38 But they also
00:06:40 allowed their appreciation to help them endure
00:06:44 —to endure in a self-sacrificing life of ministering to others.
00:06:50 So stay appreciative, and that will help you endure.
00:06:56 Our friends are dying; our friends are getting sick.
00:07:03 Meditate on how Jehovah has blessed you.
00:07:07 Meditate on the little things each day,
00:07:11 the little gifts Jehovah gives you
00:07:14 —maybe it’s simply the peace in your heart and mind this day.
00:07:19 Remain appreciative for that,
00:07:21 and that will help you endure as a minister in your assignment.
00:07:27 One other thing that’s noteworthy about these women
00:07:29 is that these women were not easily thrown off by others.
00:07:34 Remember we said— We talked about others, the other disciples.
00:07:37 When other disciples left Christ, the women stayed.
00:07:42 At Golgotha, even the apostles
00:07:46 to a certain degree had left Christ or fled.
00:07:48 The women stayed.
00:07:51 They stood solidly on their own faith.
00:07:55 Brothers and sisters, do not be thrown off easily by others.
00:08:00 Sometimes—and you can imagine for these women with the disciples—
00:08:03 it felt like a family.
00:08:05 And sometimes today in families ones choose to leave Jehovah
00:08:09 even at this late hour.
00:08:11 Stand solidly on your own faith.
00:08:15 Like the women, do not be easily thrown off.
00:08:18 Stay with Jehovah.
00:08:21 These women must have made quite an impression on Luke,
00:08:24 because he’s the only Gospel writer who mentions them by name in this way.
00:08:30 And interestingly, Luke was a traveling companion of Paul’s.
00:08:33 From about 50 C.E. in Troas,
00:08:35 he picked up with Paul and started traveling with him,
00:08:37 and he traveled with him for years.
00:08:40 I wonder if they spoke together.
00:08:42 I wonder if they spoke about these women.
00:08:45 I wonder if they talked about how important it is
00:08:48 to focus on the work of ministering
00:08:51 and not to get distracted by other things.
00:08:54 Or I wonder if they talked about the value of preserving unity
00:08:59 by learning to work with different personalities.
00:09:03 Did they talk about the power of appreciation to endure?
00:09:08 We don’t know.
00:09:10 But what we do know is this: When Paul was in prison in Rome,
00:09:14 and he wrote his letter to the Hebrews,
00:09:16 the congregation in Judea in Jerusalem, Luke was with him.
00:09:20 And do you remember what Paul wrote at Hebrews 6:10?
00:09:23 He said: “God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love
00:09:27 you showed for his name by ministering.”
00:09:33 Jehovah did not forget these women.
00:09:36 And Jehovah will not forget you.
00:09:39 May you work hard
00:09:42 to put into practice the things that you have learned.
00:09:46 And may you be able to say
00:09:48 that you are more outstandingly a minister of Christ.
