This Thing called Ministry: Relevance

Ephesians 4:11-12 Weymouth New Testament

(11)  And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,

(12)  in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body-

The responsibility to train God’s people was given to those God called into the five-fold Ministry offices, that’s why God will always connect his people to their Pastors/Prophets/Apostles etc. I have met people, and sadly even Christians who say: “Well, Christianity is a thing of the heart. I don’t have to go to Church, I can stay in my room and pray and God sees my heart and hears my prayer”

Truth is, that statement alone is more than enough proof that you need training! Because you don’t understand the Kingdom or the first basic of Ministry: IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU! God needs you out there, not indoors! Remember the words of Jesus: “Go ye in to ALL THE WORLD and preach the Gospel to every creature…” (Matthew 28:19). He didn’t say “Go ye into ALL YOUR ROOM…”

He also said: “Let your light so shine before men…” (Matthew 5:16). When you are in your room, your light doesn’t shine “before men”, it shines before you! You were saved not only to enjoy your salvation but TO SAVE OTHERS. But to save others, you require Training. That’s why you must belong to a local congregation where you receive training for the work of the Ministry.

The Lord said this to me as I wrote: “Those who will matter in my eternal plan, are those who are involved in my short-term plan”.

In other words, If you are not involved in the work of the Ministry in this present world (short-term plan), if all you want to do is to be a Christian for yourself, enjoy God’s blessings, and have a great life here on earth, that is what you’re going to be doing in the New Heaven and New Earth that lasts FOREVER (eternal plan); You are going to be present but you won’t preside over anything or anybody. Think about the examples we have of men and women in scriptures who are now with the Lord, how they lived for God, and spent their lives in His service. Remember, you are going to be in the same Heaven with them; What will be your story? What will you say you did for the Master? Will the account of your life inspire other saints who hear it? How relevant are you to the Kingdom? What is the Eternal value of your life in the world to come? What would be the value of your life in terms of Kingdom impact and service to the Master?

We read about Abraham, David, Moses, Joshua, The prophets, The Apostles, even the Lord Jesus, and we are inspired. These men had flesh and blood like you, God met them like He has met you. What stood them out is that they responded when God came calling, they responded when God came training. God doesn’t call the trained, He trains the called. Do not resist training; it is vital to your success in Ministry. Some Christians are in one three categories: Either they haven’t been trained, or they resist training, or they have been wrongly trained. That’s why the Scriptures instruct us to “Train up a child IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO…” (Proverbs 22:6). Because you can train up people in the wrong way, and that’s why certain Christians display questionable attitudes, because some of them have been wrongly trained. There is a right way to train God’s people; we’ll discuss that in our next article.

Ministry is not for Men of God, it’s for people of God. Make no mistakes about it, there is no other way to God apart from Jesus; We must not act and live our lives as if there was another way. The Gospel that we have been given is the ONLY saving power available to man, and we must take it ULTIMATELY SERIOUSLY, and make ourselves relevant in God’s plan for mankind. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important message; we must not deny any man the chance to hear it. We must be ready to do whatever it takes, give all that we have, and acquire every available training to do the work of the Ministry; it is required of us.

Consider one of many statements from Apostle Paul who has walked this earth and is now with the Lord Jesus forever, and learn from the attitude and manner with which he handled the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Acts 21:9-13 Weymouth New Testament

(9)  Now Philip had four unmarried daughters who were prophetesses;

(10)  and during our somewhat lengthy stay a Prophet of the name of Agabus came down from Judaea.

(11)  When he arrived he took Paul's loincloth, and bound his own feet and arms with it, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So will the Jews in Jerusalem bind the owner of this loincloth, and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

(12)  As soon as we heard these words, both we and the brethren at Caesarea entreated Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

(13)  His reply was, "What can you mean by thus breaking my heart with your grief? Why, as for me, I am ready not only to go to Jerusalem and be put in chains, but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus."

This is one of the major things that stood Apostle Paul out in his Ministry; He was recklessly abandoned in and committed to what the Lord had called him to do, even to the point of death, despising the evident risks. No wonder he was mightily used of God. God cannot use a man who is trying to “play safe”. If you like pray and fast for 41 days, there is an attitude God has to instill in you first. That’s why you can’t run away from Training. There is no room for “being careful”. I mean, this Gospel cost the blood of Jesus! If Jesus was careful or “played safe”, we would never have been saved! In the Kingdom, you don’t play safe, you play wise! And when you “play wise”, it doesn’t always look nice, and most of the times, you are called a fool in the eyes of men; but Wisdom is justified of her children.

The Gospel is free, but it’s not cheap; it demands everything from you and at the same time gives you more than you could have ever imagined, both in this world, and in the world to come.

And if you are reading this and you haven’t heard the Gospel, This is it in a nutshell: God is not mad at you, He loves you, and He wants to demonstrate that love to you. Religion doesn’t love, Jesus does. Religion doesn’t save, only Jesus saves. You may not feel like you need saving, but everyone needs loving. Receive this love today; say this prayer from your heart:

Dear Father, I come to you in the Name of Jesus. Thank you for your Grace and Love. With Faith in my heart, I accept your love, and the proof of it, which is your death and resurrection. I accept your Lordship over my spirit, soul and body. I now receive Eternal life into my spirit. I am born again now; I am the Righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Thank you for loving me. Halleluyah!

God has made you relevant by giving you the greatest honour a man could ever receive, the call into Ministry; don’t make yourself irrelevant.

Remember Judas. Remember Demas (2 Timothy 4:10).

An excerpt from the Heart of Jesus,

PeeJay

This Thing Called Ministry: The Call

The word “Ministry” appeared 18 times in the New Testament. 16 of those times, it is the Greek word “diakonia”, which means “service, to attend as a servant, to aid”. The other 2 times it appeared, a slightly different word was used; “leitourgia”, which means “public function, a public office which a citizen undertakes to administer at his own expense”. That second word was used in Hebrews when the Apostle Paul spoke about the High priestly ministry of Jesus (Hebrews 8:6).

“Ministry is impact. Ministry is not the same as Christian Faith” - Gabriel Israel (Rev.)

It’s quite straightforward. Your Christian faith is about you and God, Ministry is about others. Salvation is personal, Ministry is external. The day you get into Ministry, that day you cease to live for yourself. How you feel no longer really matters, what matters are the souls that Jesus paid for. One word synonymous with Ministry is the word sacrifice. Lots of researchers have spoken about the most difficult profession on earth; some have said Engineering, others said Medicine, few said something else. The Truth is; the work of the Ministry exceeds all of those professions in every possible way, especially in rewards.

Ministry has no holidays, no retirement, no summer breaks; it’s one-way in, no way out. The only way out is to create your own exit! Having to deal with human beings with different shades of character and behaviour is serious work already, but in Ministry, you are going have to deal with demons and devils also! (That’s the fun part!) In Ministry, your heart has to learn to accommodate all kinds of people, all kinds of unpleasant surprises, all types of disappointments; without breaking. That’s why you can’t study Ministry within the four walls of a University; YOU HAVE TO BE CALLED, that’s the ONLY entry ticket. Anyone who goes into Ministry without being called is on a flight called Suicide; he may not even survive take-off!

Now, every believer has been called into Ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18), but certain believers have been called into Ministry Offices. They are not the same.

Ephesians 4:11 Weymouth New Testament

(11)  And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,

Notice the emphasis and repetition of the word “some”. Not every believer is called into these specific offices. And the context clearly shows us who did the “appointing”; Jesus did! You don’t call yourself into Ministry. Knowledge of the Word and manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit is by no means an indicator that you have been called. The fact that you have worked with a Pastor doesn’t mean you are now a Pastor. This thing is not by association or sympathy, because the work is great, the adversaries are many, so you have to be sent. In fact, Bible schools and seminaries do not “encourage” God to call you. If you like, graduate from several Bible schools, if you were not called, you are just a decorated theologian who knows Greek and Hebrew!

Bible schools do not call people into Ministry; they TRAIN those that have been called! Because there is a Training FOR Ministry, and there is a Training IN Ministry. We’ll talk about that in a moment. So, you go to Bible school, if you wish, not to occupy a Ministry office, but to learn how to discharge the duties of the office you have been called to occupy! That’s why the Media takes pleasure in trying to slander the Church because of what certain “pastors” or “men of God” have done. Firstly, most of those stories are lies. Secondly, the fact that someone opened a Church, gave it a name, conducts several programs, and maybe even works miracles DOES NOT MEAN GOD SENT HIM. He is not representing God. The devil knows that one of the best ways to attack the Church is to look like them on the outside, and practice evil on the inside. And when the Media sees such things, they rejoice because they have an eye-catching headline:

“Pastor rapes and impregnates choir leader” or “Pastor steals money to buy private jet”, and all sorts of stories.

As Christians, we must be wise and be able to discern when the devil tries to transform himself into an angel of light. And you don’t discern by listening to the Media houses, or what so-and-so has to say; that’s the easiest way to be misled! The truth is, if certain Christians are as quick to pray, the way they are quick to accuse and believe a lie, there would be much less controversy and more answers from the Spirit of God to them. It’s pretty easy, God knows everyone, both those He called, and those who are trying to fake it. Ask Him from a sincere heart, and He’ll tell you. Rather than listen to people’s accusations, listen to the Spirit’s ministrations. So, not everyone standing on a pulpit, or working miracles or doing any sort of Ministry work is sent by God. And don’t let that bother you, because Jesus said “I will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Now, being called is not enough, you have got to be trained. And those that train others have to be trained themselves. That’s one difference between Training-in-Ministry, and Training-for-Ministry. When God calls a man, it’s not a title, it’s an anointing, it’s a Grace. As that man continues in fellowship with God through His Word and His Spirit, that anointing begins to teach and train him IN that Ministry he has been called into. And lots of times, that same anointing will lead you to connect to your Spiritual Father, who receives certain instructions from the Spirit for you to guide you and help you fulfil your Ministry. You must mark and reverence such people in your walk with God. One of the common mistakes some ministers make is that they go ahead of God. You don’t just jump out of bed and open a church because you were called; you’ve got to be trained.

THERE IS ALWAYS A TRAINING AND WAITING PROCESS. David waited, Jesus waited for 30 years, all of the Apostles waited, and Paul also waited. Don’t misinterpret scriptures by saying “…the king’s business requires haste” (1 Samuel 21:8). Yes, God’s business requires haste, but you require training! Otherwise, you would go out there and wreak havoc on God’s people! Besides, the call of God is dynamic and specific, Paul was sent to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews. You’ve got to understand the scope and specifics of your call. 10 people may occupy the office of a Pastor and have a different scope and assignment; Peter and Paul were both Apostles! Training IN Ministry is an ongoing process, you actually train on the go, because Jesus said Go! (Matthew 28:19). He also said Wait! (Acts 1:4) Know when to do both!

Training FOR Ministry is simply the Trained training the untrained.

Ephesians 4:11-12 Weymouth New Testament

(11)  And He Himself appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists, some to be pastors and teachers,

(12)  in order fully to equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body-

Verse 12 is Training FOR Ministry. God’s people have to be equipped with the right mindset and attitude towards Ministry.

We will discuss that next week.

Yours-in-service,

PeeJay