The Most Joyful Part of Ministry

Imagine what it would have been like to be one of the twelve. When we think of their time during Jesus’ ministry, we often picture them following Jesus everywhere and sitting there quietly while he teaches, heals, and casts out demons. Now, that isn’t entirely off. Much of their ministry did involve following Jesus around as He taught and performed miracles. But one aspect of their training under Christ that we can easily overlook is the fact that even during Jesus’ earthly ministry His followers traveled, spoke, and even did miracles on His behalf.

There are at least two instances of this. The first round involved just the twelve (Matthew 10; Luke 9:1-6). But on another occasion He sent out 70 of His disciples to preach and teach and even perform miracles (Luke 10:1-16). Later, He met with them to have a debrief about how things went. We read about this encounter in Luke 10:17-20. The verse tells us they came back with joy because the demons were subject to them in Christ’s name. In other words, when they relied on the authority of Christ, even the demons had to do what they said.

To be fair, I think I would be pretty shocked and excited by that as well. We apparently don’t see demon possession as openly or frequently as they did during the New Testament times. But imagine you see a dark spiritual force completely dominating someone, a problem no one can seem to fix. Imagine looking into the wild eyes of a human being dominated by some other force, commanding that force in the name of Jesus, and it obeys you. Could there be a greater demonstration of Jesus’ power?

Yet notice how Jesus responds. He does essentially 2 things. First, He tells them they haven’t seen anything yet. In Luke 10:18 we read, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning.” What these disciples had seen and participated in was real and was exciting, but there was much more to come. That’s why in the next verse He tells them, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” This mission was just the beginning. There was a lot more to come, and Christ would be empowering them in unique ways to accomplish that ministry.

All of this is understandably exciting, but that’s why Jesus’ next statement in Luke 10:20 is a little surprising. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” So Jesus tells them, “This is just the beginning” but then He also tells them, “But don’t get too excited about that.”

Jesus is doing something crucially important here, and every pastor, deacon, teacher, or dedicated layperson should pay attention. He is trying to help His followers calibrate their joy. According to Jesus, serving in ministry, and even seeing great ministry success should not be my greatest joy. My greatest joy should be that I am a Christian. Leading people to Christ, seeing breakthroughs in discipleship, watching people get excited about ministry, all of that is wonderful. Obviously we want to see that. But my greatest joy must remain that I am saved and my name is written down in heaven.

This simple truth is both humbling and encouraging. It’s humbling because when ministry is going well and I see spiritual growth, numerical growth, and the kingdom advancing, it reminds me that none of those should really be adding anything to me. They aren’t my value, and they shouldn’t even be my ultimate sense of joy. It’s encouraging because when ministry isn’t going well, and when I feel like doing what God has called me to do is like moving through molasses, or when I fail at something God called me to do, none of that changes the fact that my name is written in heaven. As Jerry Bridges has said, “Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace”

Anchoring our souls in our salvation with greatly stabilize us as we serve the King. The greatest thrill in ministry is and must always be that I am a child of God. In the radical ups and downs, highs and lows, wins and failures of ministry life, one thing remains constant. My name is written down in the book of life. I belong to Christ, and He belongs to me. No matter how much success or failure I might have, I can always rejoice in that.

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Ben Hicks is the Associate Pastor at Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis. This article originally appeared on his Substack.

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Photo by Jacob McGowin on Unsplash