Motivation for Your Ministry - Part 2

Last week we discussed Paul and his motivation for ministry and compared it to our own. Your can view the full post here. We focused on Paul's number one motivation - fear. This week we will look more at his motivation by love. What can we infer about our own ministry? Are we motivated by fear of the Lord? Or love? Let's take a look at Paul's ministry again:

II. Motivated by the love of Christ

I do what I do because of What He has Done for me.

Look in Vs. 14 The love that Jesus demonstrated on the cross, compels us,

Not only do I do what I do because I know who I serve,

I do what I do because of what He has done for me.

The word "Compels" in its basic sense is that of two things holding or pressing together, perhaps with something caught in the middle. It means to be gripped with an inner pressure. It is a word Paul uses to describe how the love of Christ, has gripped him, what Jesus has done on the cross and the knowledge of what it cost Jesus, compels him, drives him to live for Christ and not for himself.

The same verb is used in Luke 8:45, you remember when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus and Jesus says, "who touched me?" The disciples said, "The multitudes are crowding and pressing upon you." The idea here is that Jesus was caught in the middle of a crowd and was being pushed, carried along by the crowd.

In the same way, Paul is saying that he is surrounded by the love of Christ and it pushes him, compels him to live for Christ and not himself.

There is no motivation stronger than coming to the understanding, not only that someone loves me, but that they loved me enough to die for me.

This is what Paul had said in Galatians 2:19-20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved men and gave Himself for me."

This is a great motivating factor in Paul's life and ministry, which were inseparable. Jesus died for me, and in Him I have died to myself and my life is now His life, therefore what He did, I do, but even more, it is not me that does it, but Jesus does it by living in me and through me.

Therefore all died…. Dead to self-centered living, dead to personal agendas, dead to personal ambitions, but alive to Jesus.

It has been well said that, "Christ died our death for us that we might live His life for Him."

It is easy to lose the passion of that love, to lose perspective on what it is Jesus has done for us, to allow the love for other things to replace the passion the love of Christ elicits in our souls. Paul had not lost it, Paul had this passion, it drove him, it urged him on, it was one of the motivations for ministry and evangelism in his life. It should be so in the life of every believer. Paul was motivated by the Love that Jesus had for him.

As Ray Palmer wrote in his great Hymn, "My Faith looks up to Thee."

"May thy rich grace impart, strength to my fainting heart, my zeal inspire,

As thou hast died for me, O may my love to Thee, pure warm and changeless be, a living fire."

Paul was motivated by the Love of God that was so powerfully demonstrated on Calvary's cross.

I hope you're enjoying this Motivation for Your Ministry series. Let me know in the comments if there's a topic you would like us to explore together!