Before You Pour Out, Be Filled
"Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.” Acts 20:28
When Paul wrote the words recorded in Acts 20, he was docked in the port of Miletus and the elders from the church in Ephesus met him there to hear some parting words and receive his blessing.
Please note the deliberate order of the two instructions he gave the Ephesian church elders:
Take care of yourselves
Take care of the church
These are good instructive words for us as disciple-makers as well. Discipling others takes a toll on the disciple-maker. It takes time and dedication to pray and be prepared through Bible reading and Bible study. Nurturing new disciples also requires an investment of time and the expenditure of energy. It is easy to fall into the trap of giving out constantly in ministering to others without replenishing our own souls.
Jesus set a good example of self-care. He regularly made time to withdraw from ministry and spend time in prayer with the Father. Jesus needed that time to be refreshed and prepared for periods of intense ministry.
Disciple-makers need to remember they can only give out what they have first taken in. Personal spiritual renewal is critical to being an effective disciple-maker. In our discipleship training modules, we learn about the necessity of regularly confessing our own sins, forgiving others, and learning how to walk in the Spirit. When this preparation is taken seriously, we are better equipped to be disciple-makers.
