Saturday, January 17, 2015

Ministry is not God (with Scripture)

We are all called from our sin by the Gospel of Grace. Of the many called a few (the chosen) accept the free gift (1 Pet 2:9, Matt 22:14). According to God's pleasure, each of the chosen is given different spiritual gifts (Eph 4:7-13), different measures of faith (Rom12:3) and in light of those, each one has a different path to walk though we walk alongside one another and to the same destination (1 Cor 11:1). Like a track team on a bus, some run short distances and others run long distances, but we all run towards the same finish line. The Bible teaches us how we must live (2 Tim 3:16), how we must run the race (2 Tim 2:5) and in the running of the race all the gifts we were given come in handy BUT not for us, but for our service to others (Eph 4:7-13). If faith, faith is not for me, it is for the person running alongside me. If prayer it is so that I pray for them and not myself if a gift of teaching it is so I teach them and not for me (1 Cor 13*).

Teaching is a sticky one, but the same thing applies to any ministry - ministry is to God, for God, but it is NOT God. So as a minister of Jesus Christ, your place is to seek the Lord and He will supply the demands of the ministry (Matt 6:33). Sometimes, rather, often ministry will charge your life and take over so that you have little to no time to seek nourishment in the Lord. Sometimes ministers are so busy handing out the bread of life (Matt 14*, Jn 6:35) they do not take a mouthful themselves. Beware, for those who continue this way you will be destroyed by the ministry because you will harm if not lose your relationship with Christ and without that you are dangerous to the people you serve. Some have said ministers minister out of the ministry they have received from the Lord. Call me what you may, but my study of John's second letter does not go into the depth that my sermons on the same will cover. I might be wrong, but the personal study is vastly different from study to teach. I say instead ministers minister out of what they have received from the Lord because they sought Him concerning the sheep, but they need to seek Him for their own spiritual sustenance (Jn 6:35).

Seek first the kingdom of God to maintain a viable, lively, vital relationship with you, God. Then seek the kingdom of God concerning the sheep you serve. You have to do both or else you will die or poison the sheep. This applies to everyone regardless of your ministry in the church body/kingdom.

* - Scripture can be interpreted to apply to this situation.

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