A young man was once asked what he does for the
Lord: what exactly is his ministry? He looked confused and explained he does
not have a ministry, but he does have a call to be an usher; and that is the
department he works in his church. The same question was posed to a sister in
the same church and she declared she had a calling to sing, hence her being in
the choir. She was asked if she knew this was her ministry. She was taken
aback, as she felt ministry is when you have a special call to run a church or
the paraphernalia and hype that go with what we call ‘ministry’ today. Of course,
with the young man and woman’s thoughts on what a ministry is it will not be
farfetched to conclude that they might not fulfill theirs since they believe it
is for some people and limited to the church setting alone; unless they come to understand what
ministry is they would be underutilized and not succeed in their posts as any
wind of doctrine will blow them off their marks. There are so many who believe
that until they attain certain levels of spirituality and have certain paraphernalia
on ground before they can begin ministry. Some believe or imagine they have
been called to specific aspects of ministry, thus neglecting other aspects. No
wonder the competitive spirit is running circles round the sons of God. Friend,
your life is your ministry: Ministry is actually the outflow of your life! With
this definition, we can safely conclude that every man born of a woman has a
ministry. When Jesus Christ called you, He called you to be His regular
companion. Friend, there are no excuses, all of us are called to be warriors
for the KING to do battle with the enemy. Every position we occupy: in school,
at work, home – we are all given a mandate to ‘occupy till He comes’. This we
can only effectively do with our lives! And every man will give an account
before the Judge of the earth how they fulfilled their ministries! In 2 Timothy
4:5, Apostle Paul declared: “But as for you, keep a clear head about
everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your
ministry.” This shows clearly that the onus is on us to fulfill our ministries
so as not to be disqualified at the end of the race. No wonder Apostle Paul had
to visit the Apostles in Jerusalem to be assured that he was not running in
error. Friend, this matter is crucial in the heart of the Lord that was why He
gave the warning in Matthew 7:22-23 that a lot will be turned back on the last
day because their actions in carrying out their ministry though good were not however,
authorized by the Lord. The testimony of your life is more important than ‘anything
you are doing’ for the Lord. A preacher’s life testimony is much more important
than anything he preaches. A lot will not make it not because they were in
error in their actions, but their lives belie the truth in their actions in
service to the Lord be it in Church, school or work place. Paul declared in 2Corinthians
11:2 – “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you
to one husband, that I may present you as chaste virgin to Christ.” Chaste
virgins are pure, clean, modest, undefiled, trusting and submissive containers
ready and fit for the Master’s use. Friend, if your life does not attract same
testimony there is a need to revaluate and quickly return back to the Lord so
that you would be accepted at the end. The testimonies of our lives are more
important than any work we may be carrying out in the name of the Lord. If indeed Christ is the life you live, then you must return
to Him to teach and direct you on how to live it in service to Him. God bless
you.
Have you ever visited a quarry site and considered the process the rocks are subjected to before they become dressed stones to be used? If the stones could talk they will have a story to tell about their experiences. As children of God we go through diverse experiences and we wonder if we will indeed survive them. Sometimes we wonder why our gracious and compassionate Father would allow such to befall us considering who we are in Him and what we are doing in His vineyard. The Scripture that should readily come to our minds in such circumstances is God’s assurance when He said: “I will be with you when you pass through the waters, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. You will not be scorched when you walk through the fire and the flame will not burn you ” (Isaiah 43:2). This Scripture assures us that through the experiences of flames and waters, God is always by our side to see us through. Thus, it is necessary for us to go through the...
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