Ministry Is...

Ephesians 4:1-16 KJV

1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Each one of us is called by our Lord to serve Him.  Our duty is to see that we become one in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.  Our duty is to edify Him, to build Him up, to speak in truth and in love, to lead all those around us to Him.  And we must walk worthy of the vocation of which we have been called.  To do this we must first understand what Ministry is.

Ministry Is...

Listening, when you'd rather fix the problem.

Searching for the joy, when it's easier to say "it's not fair."

Helping, when you feel like you're the one that needs help.

Telling God, "use me", when you'd rather ask to be rescued.

Encouraging, even when you don't understand God's reasoning.

Hugging when it feels awkward.

Saying, "let's pray right now", instead of "I'll pray for you."

Serving, when you doubt you have anything left to give.

Comforting by being the flicker of light in other's dark caverns.

I took each of these points and I searched for scripture to back them up.  I wanted this to be real, to be steeped in the Holy Ghost, to inspire us to do more, to live our Ministry, to know that even the little things are important and are a reflection on our relationship with Christ Jesus.

Listening:

Ephesians 4:29 KJV 

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

We must listen more and speak less.  Too often I find myself halfway listening to the person talking to me.  I'm more interested in putting together a reply than really listening to their problem.  I want to rush in and fix it, give them my advice and my solution when what they really need is just someone to pour their heart out to.  And when we do speak we must be careful of what we say, we must use our words to build up, not to tear down. We must let our speaking as well as our listening minister grace to those who turn to us for help. If our Lord was only partially attentive to our prayers, rushed in and cut us off with His idea of a solution, well, we wouldn't pray very often would we?  Like Christ sometimes we just need to listen with love.

Joy:

Psalms 30:5 KJV

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

Life isn't fair.  We all know that.  Bad things happen to good people.  Bad things happen to Christians who are faithful and love the Lord.  Saying "it's not fair" to someone who has turned to you for help is taking the easy way out.  You are doing a disservice to them and to the Lord because you've either lost an opportunity to witness to a lost soul or lost the opportunity to support your brother or sister in Christ.  Walking worthy in your Ministry means searching for the joy even when it is difficult to find. Letting that person know that yes, we may be weeping now, but it will only endure for the night. Our joy will come in the morning.  Perhaps not in the literal sense but we have the promise that our joy is coming. Whatever the situation may be, it will not last forever, with the Son comes our joy.

Helping:

Mark 9:14-27 KJV

14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.

15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.

16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?

17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;

18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.

19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.

20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.

21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.

22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.

23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.

26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.

27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.

Everyone comes with baggage. Find someone who love you enough to help you unpack.  How much more baggage could a person have than a demon possessed son?  And what did the father do?  He took his son to the disciples first and they could not help him.  We must always remember that not everyone can help us, not everyone wants to help us.  There are those who simply want to glean the gossip from your troubles and carry them as fast as they can to whoever will listen.  You must find someone who loves you to take your problems to.  You must be the person who loves another enough to help them unpack.  The father in Mark 9 had to turn to Jesus, had to believe that Jesus would and could heal him, before his son was healed. Who loves us more than Jesus? No one.  To help others we have to love as much like Jesus as we can and when we can't love them enough we must point them to Him.

Use Me:

Colossians 3:22-24 KJV

22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God;

23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.

Forget about the self altogether. Your real, new self will not come as long as you're looking for it.  It will come when you're looking for Him. --C.S. Lewis

In our Ministry we have to remove all thoughts of ourselves.  We should not be ministering or helping others to make ourselves feel good, to look good in front of others, or for any reward.  We help, we minister in the singleness of heart, fearing God.  All of our actions should point to Him.  Everything we do in our Ministries should glorify and honor God, even when we feel like we are the ones who need to be rescued because sometimes that is when God can use us the most.  I have gone through many terrible things in my life.  I've had 2 miscarriages and a stillbirth, we've lost all our worldly possessions and home in a fire, we've lost jobs and nearly our home, gone 8 months with very little income, lost family members because of our faith...It would be so easy to hide in shame, in pain, because of what I've had happen in my life.  But that would be selfish.  I am not proud of the sins in my past, I'm not seeking pity for the losses in my life, but I do want to use my life to be of service to Him.  I want the Lord to use me, to use my experiences to bring glory and honor to Him, even when there are still so many times when I just want to be rescued myself.

Encouraging and Serving:

Philippians 2:1-5 KJV

1 If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Let's stop pretending things are ok when they're not, so we can pray for each other and know that we're not the only one who struggles. --Renee Swope

Let's stop pretending.  Let's stop plastering fake smiles on our faces.  Let's stop telling everyone that we're ok. Let's ask for help.  How can we help one another if we're hiding all our problems.  Hiding them doesn't make them go away.  Pretending they don't exist doesn't fix the problem.  We don't need to air our dirty laundry but if we open up to the Godly women in our lives, who may have gone through the exact situation we're in right now, then we can minister to one another.  Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory...not even our sufferings.  In fellowship of the Spirit we ought to be able to be candid with one another, be likeminded and having the same love for one another that Christ has for us so that we can serve and encourage one another.  I struggle every church service with keeping my boys quiet and still.  They've just turned 2 and 3 and Brandon sits on the front pew with the other preachers, as is his place.  So often I find myself alone, in the back of the church feeling like a hindrance, a distraction, a nusiance.  If I would open up to the women around me, the seasoned mothers, then perhaps I could gain their wisdom and encouragment?  Because if I don't then the only one suffering is me. If I continue to pretend that everything is ok Sunday after Sunday and I don't ask for the prayer of my sisters in Christ, then it is I who will suffer in vainglory and won't glean from the Pastor's message the things I need so that I can be of service to someone.

Hugging and Comforting 

Psalms 69:20 KJV

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Don't shine so that others can see you. Shine so that through you, others can see Him. --C.S. Lewis

Sometimes all it takes is a tender word and a hug to show Christ's love.  I am a touchy feely kind of person.  I need to hug and kiss and caress those that I love. And I understand that not everyone is comfortable displaying that kind of affection. I certainly am not as affectionate with a stranger as I am my family. But sometimes in our calling we have to do things we're not comfortable with.  Sometimes we encounter people who are desperately searching for comfort, people who are filled with such a heaviness that we can't understand.  Sometimes, even if it's awkward, we need to wrap our arms around them as the Father would and give them our love and comfort because it's not about us.  Ultimately it is about Him.  If a hug can convey His love for them, then I'll hug every stranger I come across.  We must be that flicker of light in other's dark caverns, we must shine so that others see Him in us.

Praying:

James 5:16 KJV

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon against trials. The most effective medicine against sickness. And the most valuable gift to someone you love.  So why don't we do it more often?  If you ask me to pray for you, I will absolutely agree to.  But then life gets in the way.  I am a Momma to 2 small, demanding boys, I have a husband to take care of, a household to run, I have commitments to our Ministry...I am human so sometimes I may forget a prayer request.  I know that we hear a dozen or more throughout the day and we cannot always remember them.  So what is the harm in taking the time, right then, and saying a prayer?  None, no harm at all.  If we took just 60 seconds to pray when someone asks us to can you imagine the results?  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  To be effectual, to be fervent, it cannot be forgotten. 

Ministry is so many small but important things.  There are so many ways to be a witness, to convey His love for others, but we must take the time to do them and to do them for the right reasons.  We must walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called.