Day 39
The Ministry
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)
Your ministry is the 4th Treasure
Your Ministry is the 4th treasure that you must guard with your life!
My dear beloved, unlike the popular belief, your biggest ministry is not to preach to crowds, to run crusades, to form churches, or to bring thousands or even millions to Christ. In fact, you can do all these and yet fail to fulfill your ministry. In truth I tell you, the biggest ministry of your life is yourself, to conquer self in you, to bring your flesh to the cross and crucify it with Christ that you may no longer walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit. You must make a conscious decision to crucify the flesh with Christ; to put self aside; to do no longer things according to your will; to surrender your will into total submission to Christ; in order that His will may be done and not yours! Until you make this decision, you are not ready to serve God! Oh, you can serve churches, you can serve organizations, you can serve men and women, and you can even serve yourself, but God is not there, my dear beloved. God’s ways are not our ways. Therefore, God must work in us before He can work through us. He first must deal with the self in us, for the flesh is in perpetual enmity with God. They cannot work together!
You are the vessel that God desires to use for His eternal purpose; however, the flesh also wants to control you so that you may do the works of the flesh! Now, to whomever you surrender your will, will lead you to bear certain fruit. If you surrender your will to the flesh, you will produce the works of the flesh. If you surrender your will to God, you will produce the fruit of the Spirit!
“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I
also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)
If you are doing the above, you have submitted your will to the flesh.
Please check out selfish ambitions which is the weapon that the devil has been employing lately to entice us to do the will of the flesh.
Now, this does not mean that you cannot preach! You can preach a powerful sermon, but perhaps there is a woman in the congregation just waiting for you to finish preaching so that the two of you may commit adultery. Again, you can preach powerful sermons, yet you cannot stand the brother next to you. Therefore, your preaching does not impress God, for even the devil can quote Scriptures. Some preach out of envy; selfish ambition; out of self or pride; for honor, recognition, riches, money; or to be called pastor, prophet, reverend, bishop, or apostle. We find that, especially in our current generation where titles are so important, often if you call a man of God by his name alone without his title, he will not answer! Are we therefore not carnal? That is why preaching is not included in the fruit of the Spirit, because we can use the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for our own selfish ambitions!
“Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains.” (Philippians 1:15-16)
My dear beloved:
“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
For the Lord Jesus knows all those who are His:
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
My dear beloved, let us therefore not be of those to whom the Lord will say “I never knew you!” Rather, with fear and trembling, let us handle the Word of God in spirit and truth, doing the will of God from our hearts.
The Lord Jesus said:
“By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” (John 15:8)
It is clear then, that God is glorified when we bear much fruit, but often we mistakenly “bear fruit” such as preaching; leading big crusades; evangelizing; baptizing people as a result of our preaching; bringing others to church; praying for others; and casting out demons. And yes, these things we are commanded to do! However we thank God for His Word that reveals to us what His true fruit is! Amen!
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” (John 15:1-2)
Here, the Lord Jesus tells us that we do not bear fruit of ourselves; the fruit is rather a result of God’s work in our lives. Now we know that God works in us through the Holy Spirit. If a person does not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within him, that person cannot produce the fruit of the Spirit, for it is God who works in us through the Holy Spirit for us both to will and to do His good pleasure, or in other words, to bear fruit.
“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13)
Because we bear fruit as a result of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Bible calls it the fruit of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
There are nine varieties of fruit, and not one of the varieties is preaching.
So then, God is glorified when:
· We love Him with all our hearts, and we love others as we love ourselves!
· We are joyful in the midst of problems and uncertainties because by giving us the Holy Spirit, He has given as a guarantee of eternal life.
· We have peace in the midst of trials and tribulations because we trust Him!
· We are longsuffering, extremely patient with others and ourselves and most of all with God, trusting that God knows what is best for us.
· We are kind.
· We are good.
· We have faith in Him, believing that He is able to supply all our needs. And we are faithful with what He has entrusted us with, including ourselves.
· We are gentle.
· We exercise self-control.
“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.” (Ephesians 5:9)
AMBASSADORS OF CHRIST
“Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:20)
My dear beloved, our ministry is to reconcile people to God; however, before this happens, we must be reconciled to God ourselves so that we may be true ambassadors for Christ!
HOW TO BE A TRUE AMBASSADOR OF CHRIST:
A) With the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is an inlet that comes through faith, a gift from God! So we must learn to listen, surrender, and submit ourselves to God through the Holy Spirit, so that God may use us as He wishes, according to His purposes; so that His work may be done in us and through us; and finally, so that His Word may be spoken through us.
B) Through Your Life
Do not tell people that you are a Christian; they must see it for themselves, through your lifestyle, your behavior, your conduct. And most of all, they must see it through your character, which is the best sermon you can ever preach. Then, because of your life, many people will turn to God. When you live an effective Christian life, God will work through your life to bring His lost children to His Heavenly kingdom, that they may have life also.
C) By Your Love
Do not talk love: give love and show love. This was one of the most powerful tools our Lord Jesus used during His ministry on earth. He did not choose whom to love, He loved everyone unconditionally, and the result is that many people felt welcomed and comfortable around Him, especially sinners. So if we are our Master’s disciples, we must copy the unconditional love exhibited in our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Genuine love is the greatest weapon into any one’s heart.” (Ramos Talaya)
D) With Your Words
Please choose your words very carefully because what you say can make or break your ministry. Always stick to the truth, the Word of God, rather than your own interpretation of the Word of God. And make sure that your words are always, always, in one accord with your lifestyle. As they say: “PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH!”
E) With Your Service
We must develop a servant’s attitude. We are here to serve, not to be served. This is one of the biggest lessons Christ taught His disciples. It does not matter what your profession is; your status; your level of education; or your position, race, gender, tribe, or country. In the kingdom of God, everyone is a servant and the greatest of all is the one who serves. Once you have developed this attitude of a servant, you will realize that there is more pleasure in serving than in being served in the kingdom of God.
F) With Your Money
This probably is the most potent when it is used wisely. Money is power! No doubt about it! So your money is important in the kingdom of God
G) By Your Prayer
This is the most important one: we must develop a steadfast prayer life, a two way communication with God. Because even though we can share the gospel with someone, only God can convict a person through the Holy Spirit, and only God can change that person’s heart. Therefore, we ought to spend a lot of time in prayer for all our brothers and sisters, for all our ministries and projects. The good thing about prayer is that prayer is universal; you can pray for anyone, from anywhere in the world, at anytime, and God will hear and answer all your prayers. How wonderful is that. Thank You, LORD, for prayer and for faith. Amen!
Please remember when you pray that prayer is a two way communication. When you pray, therefore, you must allow God to answer while you pray. Pray and be still and allow God to reply, similar to a conversation with your earthly father. May the God of peace bless your heart, in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Finally, my dear beloved, to bear much fruit is to surrender our will to God, which is a very difficult thing for us to do. This is a constant fight between the flesh and the Spirit, for they are contrary to one another. And it is my sincere prayer that our flesh lose the fight and that God’s will be done in all our lives!
Therefore, my dear beloved, surrender all to God, those secret things that you hold close to your heart, the ones you enjoy the most. Surrender all to Jesus our Lord. Make God first in your life. It means that you must let go of everything in conflict with the will of God. Shun all forms of evil, especially the secret ones with which you can get away, the ones no one will ever know about! When you are presented with an opportunity to do evil, and you choose rather to do good for Christ’s sake, you bring much glory to God. For we are God’s epistles, written with love for good works. Amen!
“Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:11)
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen!
Meditation: By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit. So you will be My disciples.
Prayer points: Help me, oh LORD, to do Your will, oh my God! I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Commitment: I surrender all unto You, oh Lord Jesus. Let Your will be done and not mine. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment