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From the EditorFellowship of ServiceWho, Me? Serve?MentoringThe Role of Christian Women in Paul’s DayElizabeth: A Woman of FaithShopping for Modesty in Egypt |
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True Ministry
By Loren Chamberlain
One of the first things Christians need to know is you don’t have to be an ordained Minister to minister! To minister means to attend to the needs and comfort of another. “To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). Paul gave us some very important principles for ministering to others. For one thing, we must do our best to find common ground with those we come in contact with. It is a big mistake to display a know-it-all-attitude. We must do our best to make others feel accepted. We need to be sensitive to the needs and concerns of others and look for opportunities to tell them about Christ. Paul chose to find common ground with everyone and those with weak consciences in order that some might be saved. However, Paul never compromised the gospel truth, the Laws of God, or his own conscience. Paul was always willing to go the extra mile to meet people where they were. He always kept his eyes focused on the goal of spreading the Good News. Paul’s life focused on taking the gospel to an unbelieving world. These principles should be a part of our personal ministry, for they are just as valid for us today as they were for Paul in his day. Team Effort is Necessary for True Ministry Paul explained to the church at Corinth that no one person should do everything. Paul’s gift was preaching, and that’s what he did. He was emphasizing the need for Christian ministry to be a team effort. No preacher or teacher is a complete link between God and His people. Likewise, no individual can do all that the apostles did. Each Christian should be content with the gift or contribution God has given him/her to make, and he/she should carry it out with a whole heart. “I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought” (1 Corinthians 1:10). Paul was pleading to the believers to allow real harmony to exist among them and to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. Of course, Paul was not saying they had to be exactly the same to be perfectly united. Instead, he wanted them to set aside their arguments and focus on Jesus Christ as Lord, and their mission to take the light of the gospel into a dark world. God’s Message is the Center of True Ministry When Paul spoke he put solid content and practical help in his messages. He did not want his listeners to be impressed with his speaking ability or his style, but with the message. Paul had no desire to impress others with his knowledge or speaking ability. “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power. We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing” (1 Corinthians 2:1-6). According to Paul, it is not necessary to have a large vocabulary or be a great speaker to share the gospel message with others. The persuasive power is in the story, not the storyteller. True Ministry Requires Preparation Paul, after his conversion, spent many years in preparation, preparing for the ministry that God had called him to. “But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Peter and stayed with him fifteen days” (Galatians 1: 15-18). If we are to serve others it is necessary for us to prepare just as Paul did. We need to pay close attention to the Sabbath messages we receive, study the church literature we are sent, and read the Bible on a daily basis. Doing so will enable us to give an answer for our faith, explaining to others the message of salvation, the Good News of the Kingdom of God, in other words, the Gospel message. “Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). If we are to live for God we must be ready to give when others take, love when others hate, to help where others have abused. By giving up our own rights for the privilege of serving others we will one day receive everything that God has in store for us including eternal life. The apostle Paul knew that faith could not be demanded. Nor could holiness be legislated. “This is determined by God, not man.” Paul’s desire was to be a “helper of their joy.” We should have the same attitude that Paul had. “Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith you stand” (2 Corinthians 1:24). i | |