Ministry {Part 1}

What is ministry?

Here are some verses that talk about ministry:

Numbers 4:12
And they shall take all the instruments of ministry, wherewith they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a cloth of blue, and cover them with a covering of badgers' skins, and shall put them on a bar:

Numbers 4:47
From thirty years old and upward even unto fifty years old, every one that came to do the service of the ministry, and the service of the burden in the tabernacle of the congregation.

2 Chronicles 7:6
And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood.

Hosea 12:10
I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets.

Acts 1:17For he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

Acts 1:25
That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

Acts 6:4
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.

Acts 12:25
And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was Mark.

Acts 20:24
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

Acts 21:19
And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.

Romans 12:7
Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

2 Corinthians 4:1
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;

2 Corinthians 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

Colossians 4:17
And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

2 Timothy 4:5
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. 

A common thread I noted as I read all of these verses:

• Ministry is obtained or appointed by Christ.

• Ministry requires attention and faithfulness.

• Ministry must be fulfilled or completed.

This verse sums up these points:

Colossians 4:17~ And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which tho hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.

I believe that ministry is appointed to every believer:

2 Corinthians 4:1~ Therefore, seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.

Luke 24:46-47~ And {Jesus} said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

We receive ministry as we receive mercy: gladly and by faith. We are to be surrendered to God, which is our reasonable service (Romans 12:1). But we still haven't answered that question: if I participate in ministry, exactly what is it? 

The simple definition of ministry is "office, service."

What is ministry? Our {Office, service} to God. 

Uh-oh. that didn't tell us what to do. Actually, it did. Since ministry is service to God, we are to do whatever He tells us to do! How will we know? Prayer. Reading God's Word. Getting to know Him better.

Ministry starts with surrender, submission, and humility. I is serving. God. That means God's our "boss." We must surrender to Him, for He knows what to do;; we must submit to Him, for He will carry us through; we must humble ourselves, for we don't have a clue!!!

So, believer, you have a duty to ministry, whatever that may be! But remember the musts.

*For a really, really fantastic story of ministry and trusting God, read a biography sometime on Hudson Taylor.

p.s.~ Part 2 coming soon :-)

Be still and know that I am God

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

~Psalm 46:10

To the Saul, who races to find satisfaction: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Esther, shivering with terror at the acts she has been charged to do: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To Naomi's family crying for work: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Jacob and Esau fighting: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Daniel sliding into the flytrap of insecurity: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Absalom repulsing those who truly love him: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Mary mom who is ready to quit: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the one rushing in the morning due to a late wake-up: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the traveller who has been robbed: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the David who isn't in the place God wants him: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the David who is mocked for his stand: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Rahab: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Sarah, worried over the future: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Ruth longing for a husband: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Isaiah mourning for his people: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Isaac who is flinching at the brink of death: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the John running to the tomb of Christ: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Josiah whose father is not righteous: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the woman at the well who has lost all hope of a right life: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Ananias and Sapphira lying to their Creator: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the Nebuchadnezzar who finds glory in himself: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD.

To the 21-century girl who has been in one or more of the above situations: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT HE IS GOD!

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Be still, and Know that He is JUDGE.

Be still, and know that He is SAVIOR.

Be still, and know that He is THE STRONG TOWER.

Be still, and know that he is HEALER.

Be still, and know that he is REDEEMER. 

Be still, and know that He is DELIVERER.

Be still, and kknow that He is a Christian's STRENGTH.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's SHELTER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's FRIEND.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's RESTORER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's FATHER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's LOVE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HIDING PLACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's RESTING PLACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's TRUTH.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's ETERNAL LIFE.

Be still, and know that He is the LORD WHO PROVIDES.

Be still, and know that He is the LORD OF PEACE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's SHIELD.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HELPER.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's COUNSELOR.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's HOPE.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's COMFORT.

Be still, and know that He is a Christian's LISTENER.

Be still, and know that He is the FOREVER MERCIFUL LORD.

Be still, and know that He the CREATOR.

Be still, and know that He is the REVIVER.

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*If you do not know Christ as your Savior, please understand how, and visit the "How you can get to heaven" page on this blog.

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What an amazing verse Psalm 46:10 is! Praise God! for He is God alone!!! Exalt Him!

Let me tell you a story about how this verse has recently affected my family...

My mom was the first one to read the verse. This was on the 16th, and she started reading the Psalms of the day, which brought her to Psalm 46:10...

She got this line stuck in her head. The verse really spoke to her heart, and when she read it, a song came into her mind. She could only remember a few notes, so she looked it up, hoping to find the whole song available to play. She found it. She played it, and she loved it. Later on that morning, she was in our living room, and decided to listen to it again... not knowing that my father was kneeling beside our kitchen counter praying for God's help and encouragement! So, as my dad was praying, my mom played this song...

When I finally got up outta bed (I took advantage of getting the monday off), I heard my mom singing this song, and I knew it was frim a Bible verse. It was exactly what I needed to hear before I continued my day!

So I am sharing this with you, and I pray that you will receive it and it will be a blessing!

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Here's the video of the song...

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Trust Me

Have you ever played the game, "Trust Me"? I have. It's when a friend comes up behind you, holds out her arms and commands, "Trust Me!" You are to blindly fall back into her arms, trusting that she has the strength to catch you, and doesn't back away. The "catch" (hahaha) is that your friend is standing just so that by the time you're either caught or doomed, you have absolutely no control over your body; gravity does.

The lesson I learned Sunday is that we are to trust God. So often we say, trust, without even really thinking about all the wild aspects of the action that t-r-u-s-t represents. So let's take a look.

According to wikipedia, trust involves the following:

"One party (trustor) is willing to rely on the actions of another party (trustee); the situation is directed to the future. In addition, the trustor (voluntarily or forcedly) abandons control over the actions performed by the trustee. As a consequence, the trustor is uncertain about the outcome of the other's actions; he can only develop and evaluate expectations. The uncertainty involves the risk of failure or harm to the trustor if the trustee will not behave as desired."

Let's examine this. Of course, this definition is geared toward a human trusting another human, so some things are different, for we are trusting our Creator.

• First, the trustor is willing.

Willing to do what? Rely on the trustee. Remember, we are the trustor, and God is the trustee. We must rely completely on our Trustee. Right now I am reading a biography on Hudson Taylor. He literally put himself in the middle of helplessness, because he couldn't wait to see what God did next! At on epoint, He needed money for necessary preparation for his missions. He received two offers to pay for this preparation: from his father and the Chinese Evangelization Society. Yet he didn't receive either! Instead, he relied on God to provide his needs.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches 

in glory by Christ Jesus.

~Philippians 4:19

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto

thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, 

and He shall direct thy path.

~ Proverbs 3:5-6

These verses brings us to the next points:

• Our situation is directed to the future.

Now, we can trust God at the moment also, right? Yes, we can, but trust in God is not to be a last resort. We are not to say, "Well, now that I am about to ruin it all anyway, let's try God." No, we are to trust God as a priority.

• Next, trust involves voluntarily abandoning control, or surrendering.

We do not have control over our lives. Our Creator does. And He invites us to trust Him to supply our needs. So. You have two options:

1. Attempt to steer your life in the way you will it, although you don't know exactly what will happen in the next three seconds, or
2. Surrender the steering wheel of your life to the will of the One who does know what will happen every split second of eternity future.

• The next part of the wikipedia definition does not apply to our trust in God, because God promises that He will supply, and God doesn't lie.

Think about that for a sec. God promises, and He doesn't lie! What an amazing thought! We already know that He will steer us in the right way, yet many times we take the wheel anyway, even though we haven't even taken driver's ed!

So far we see that there is much involved in trust, but wait, there's more!

With our application  of driving comes yet another area for trust and surrender- the gas peddle!

We cannot be controlling how fast we are moving in our lives. For example, if you didn't know much, you wouldn't know to slow down on sharp corners and would probably end up falling off a cliff! But God knows, and He knows the whole road ahead! God's timing is perfect, my friend!

I have previously posted about forks in the road of life. As a matter of fact, these two posts parallel alot. To read this post, click here.

You see, trust represents a very complex surrender-type action/comfort. Is God commanding "Trust Me" right now? You may be going through a trial, or maybe not. Either way, are you ready to fall back into the arms of God, whom you know will catch you? Friend, I am praying for you, that you would trust God!

TRUST!