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
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