(1 Tim 1:12 KJV) And I thank Christ Jesus
our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me
into the ministry;
1 Timothy 1:12 is an eye opening verse because Paul is telling us that
the Lord Jesus Christ had put him in the ministry and was the one who was
enabling him. The word “enabled” in the Greek carries with it the meaning of
“strengthening” and the word “putting” carries with it the meaning of
“placing.” So we see that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one who placed the
Apostle Paul in the ministry.
One of the questions which is asked many times a day around the world of
some Christians by other Christians is, “are you in the ministry?” The word
ministry in 1 Timothy 1:12 can also be understood correctly as “service.” So
now let us ask the question in a different manner. Are you in the service?
The answer that every Christian should answer is a resounding, YES! As soon
as a Christian becomes saved, they are now in the service of the Lord.
Romans 12:1 teaches us that all Christians are in the service of the Lord.
(Rom 12:1 KJV) I beseech you therefore,
brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
Romans 12:1 teaches us that we need to be living sacrifices. That is
actually a spiritual oxymoron which can only be understood in the light of
the Scriptures. First, of all a sacrifice was killed but we are told that we
need to be living sacrifices. The teaching is that we need to be dead to
ourselves but alive unto the things of God so we may be counted faithful to
be placed into the ministry. A Christian who is dead to the things of the
world and alive unto God makes a living sacrifice.
We read in 1 Timothy 1:12 that it is the Lord who places people into the
ministry. He gives us spiritual gifts for the enabling of that ministry. So
then why are there so few Christians in the ministry. One of the main
reasons is that there is a great misunderstanding as to what the ministry
is. The churches along with their pastoral staffs have taken the ministry of
the Lord Jesus Christ and have arrogated it to themselves. Thereby leaving
the sheep in the pews to wander aimlessly instead of being made a part of
the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. It seems the churches have replaced
Christ in placing people into the ministry which has resulted in a dearth of
Christian workers.
In March 1775 the young Christian attorney Patrick Henry rode into the
small town of Culpepper, Virginia. He was totally shocked by what he saw!
There, in the middle of the town square was a minister tied to a whipping
post, his back laid bare, and bloody with the bones of his ribs showing. He
had been scourged mercilessly like Jesus, with whips laced with metal.
Patrick Henry is quoted as saying: “When they stopped beating him, I could
see the bones of his rib cage. I turned to someone and asked what the man
had done to deserve such a beating as this.” The reply given him was that
the man being scourged was a minister who refused to take a license. He was
one of twelve locked in jail because they refused to take a license. A
license turns a right into a privilege. This minister was finally scourged
to death three days later.
What then does this tell us? It tells us plainly that the church had
usurped the authority of Christ by killing those who were placed into the
ministry. Is the church still doing this today? The answer is yes! No, they
may not be scourging Christians to death but they are definitely restrictive
in their encouraging of Christians to get into the ministry. Now one of the
big problems is that there is a great misunderstanding as to what the
ministry is. When one goes to church on a Sunday morning, we will see the
Pastor preach a sermon, the Choir Director direct the choir, we will hear an
Elder read the announcements, and we may hear the associate Pastor offer a
prayer, etc. Basically what we are seeing on a Sunday morning constitutes
the essence of the question, are you in the ministry? Somehow we seem to
equate the ministry with those who are on the platform. While they are
partaking of the ministry Christ has given them, they do not take the place
of the ministry that Christ gives to every born again Christian.
The whole reason we go to church on Sunday is to get spiritually
refreshed and network with other Christians. The two hours that is spent in
church on Sunday does not guarantee our growth in the faith, nor does it
guarantee our involvement in the church ministry. Every believer has a
ministry but that does not mean that ministry is directly tied to the
church. The results of ministry is to bring people to salvation and then
bring them into the assembly of believers. If a church has 300 believers,
then there should be 300 individual ministries. No Pastor or church leader
should ever inhibit or discourage a Christian from engaging in a ministry.
One of the big problems facing the church is pastoral jealousy. Too many of
them fear that if people start getting involved in ministries, then they
will not be either needed or looked up to as the church kingpin. All I can
say is woe unto any church leaders who discourage a Christian from
fulfilling the ministry which Christ gives them. Church leaders must stop
viewing biblically literate Christians as a threat to them. They are not a
threat but a great asset to any church. Let us take a look at four reasons
why Christians misunderstand the ministry and there are no doubt many others
but these give a pretty good picture of the dilemma in Christianity today.
They are uneducated
(Acts 4:13 KJV) Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and
ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had
been with Jesus.
One of the biggest misconceptions about ministry today is that unless a
person holds a college and/or seminary degree, they are somehow less than
prepared for the ministry. Here is a truth. The people that you will meet on
the street or in work will know less than the newest believer. Oh yes, they
may have their philosophies and their scientific knowledge but they will not
have spiritual knowledge. Peter and John were ignorant and unlearned. Peter
and John were fisherman and did not have time to spend many hours in
studying the Scriptures. Look at the great ministry they had and what was
the reason? “they had been with Jesus.” Now, where can we learn the thoughts
of Jesus today? In the King James Bible. If you have one, then you have all
that is needed to bring people to Christ. All other education that you
receive will be peripheral knowledge, and there is nothing wrong about
expanding your knowledge base. I personally read between 2 to 5 books per
month, based on the length of the books. None of them usurps the authority
of the Scriptures, instead I pick books which augment my understanding of
the Scriptures and the times we live in. If you can’t get a formal
education, you can definitely read yourself into a highly educated state.
Remember Abraham Lincoln who taught himself to read and finally became
President of the USA. You must be discerning and know your authors. Start
with the Puritans.
When we look in the Scriptures, we find the Apostle Paul at the
beginning of his ministry had departed to Arabia.
(Gal 1:17-18 KJV) Neither went I up to
Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and
returned again unto Damascus. {18} Then after three years I went up
to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.
It is believed that Paul had went to Arabia to study the Scriptures and
learn of the Grace of God. Then in Galatians 2:1, we read that Paul had a
fourteen year departure.
(Gal 2:1 KJV)
Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and
took Titus with me also. It seems that Paul
did not go directly into the ministry but had a seventeen year time period
after his conversion before he began his ministry. Not everybody is going to
need seventeen years to get their ministry going. If you would like to be a
Bible teacher, missionary, or evangelist, then it is necessary for you to
get a good understanding of the Scriptures. It takes time to learn the
Scriptures and you must be able to understand the major doctrines of the
Bible so you will be able to communicate them to others. However, at the
outset of your ministry, you will have access to many tools of evangelism
such as tracts. From the day you are saved you can hand out tracts. The
problem is that too many Christians feel they must have an “official”
ministry. This could not be farther from the truth. Let me share a principle
with you.
(Acts 8:40 KJV) But Philip was found at
Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to
Caesarea.
The principle in the above verse is simple. We find Philip at Azotus and
was on his way to Caesarea which was a distance of about 60 miles (97 km).
Did Philip wait until he reached Caesarea before he started ministering? The
answer is no! He preached in all the cities he stopped in on the way to
Caesarea. Let’s bring this into modern terms. Philip handed out tracts and
supported missions until the time the Lord gave him his official ministry.
It is the same principle with us. The Lord will give us a specific ministry
in proper time but until then we are not to sit back but rather we are to
minister along the way. One way the Lord tests our faithfulness is to see
how well we handle the little evangelistic events and if we are found
faithful in these, then He can trust us and place a larger ministry upon us.
You may not have a great understanding of the Scriptures but that does not
prohibit from ministering with good gospel materials. In fact, you can
partner with a mature Christian. You can ask them if they would be willing
to answer any tough questions that may come along which you are not yet able
to answer. This way, you will learn and the one you are ministering to will
learn. Never let pride get in your way. Be honest if you do not know an
answer. Tell them you will get back to them. Remember, the work of the Lord
has eternal consequences and is nothing to fool around with nor has any
place for pride.
Clergy and Laymen
(Eph 4:11 KJV) And he gave some, apostles;
and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
One of the most devastating events in church history was the division of
the people into clergy and layman. This unbiblical stratification has been a
problem since the Protestant Church annexed this idea from the Roman
Catholic institution. There is no such thing in the body of true believers
as a separate class of super-spiritual clergy. In fact, ordination is not
found in the Scriptures but has been copied from the Roman Catholic
institution. If we look at Ephesians 4:11 above, we will see that Pastors
are given in the church as a spiritual gift equal to evangelists, prophets,
and apostles. The prophets and apostles today are not like the ones of the
first century. The prophet declares God’s words and the apostle is one who
is sent. The gift of Pastor is not a gift to be exalted above all other
Christians. Unfortunately, the church would rather copy a pagan institution
than take their understanding from Scripture. This idea of ordination has
led countless numbers of Christians to believe that unless you are ordained,
you are not in the ministry. This means that millions of personal ministries
have been aborted before they were even born. Talk about another abortion
movement!
It is a sad truth, in the times we are living in, that the clergy has
done more to ruin the local churches than any of the Christians in the pews.
This is why many Christians leave churches and why solid Christians are
tossed out because the Pastor will not tolerate any challenge to his agenda.
The sorry part is that where Christians should be involved in personal
ministries, they become frustrated because they must continue to look for a
church, and this eats up their time.
(Mark 16:15 KJV) And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach
the gospel to every creature. The Christians were
given the Great Commission as we read in Mark 16:15. Nowhere do we read that
we must first get the permission of clergy to obey the Lord. Every Christian
is to be involved with ministry and if the Pastor of the church does not
like the fact that many are involved in personal ministries, then let him
give a reason to the congregation why he opposes the obeying of Christ’s
command to go forth. Don’t let a self-deifying person quash your ministry,
instead, put him on the carpet and let him explain his opposition to the
commands of Scripture. Maybe he might need to be let go. If more churches
would challenge these clergy, they might not think of themselves as so high
and mighty. Here is a warning from Matthew Henry:
"The ministers of Christ must remember that they are not Christ and
therefore must not usurp His powers and prerogatives, nor assume the
praises due to Him only." - Matthew Henry
I am Inadequate
(2 Cor 10:12 KJV) For we dare not make
ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend
themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing
themselves among themselves, are not wise.
One of the biggest problems in those Christians who claim they are
inadequate is they compare themselves to others, especially those who are in
public ministry. They look at the gifts in others and then claim that they
can never be like them. The reality is that you are not supposed to be like
them. The Holy Spirit has given you a spiritual gift which is for you. You
are not to look on the ministries of others and then claim you cannot be
like them. Maybe God is leading you in a different ministry than the one you
are comparing yourself to. Always keep in mind that you are a unique
creation and God has a ministry strategically designed for you.
(Eph 1:3 KJV) Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Ephesians 1:3 states plainly that God has blessed His Children with “ALL”
spiritual blessings. There is no such thing as an inadequate Christian. If
God calls you to a certain ministry, then He will equip you for that
ministry.
One of the reasons that Christians claim inadequacy is because they are
lazy and do not wish to get involved. God did not save any Christian for the
purpose of being lazy and uninvolved. Do not wait for your church leaders to
encourage you to get involved, when you begin to search the Scriptures and
then find that niche where you are beginning to feel comfortable, then you
are on the road to finding your spiritual gift and your ministry. I preached
my first sermon in 1982, while being nervous, I found I liked preaching the
Word. Now in 2012, I am disabled with bad legs and a bad hip since August
2003 and no longer can verbally preach. Does that mean I should resign
myself to watch TV? The answer is no. My spiritual gift is the gift of
teaching and since November 20,1997, I have been using the Internet to reach more people
for Christ than I would if I was still doing itinerant preaching. As of
December 26, 2011 my website just passed 8.23 million page views. For example, you
who may be reading this article may be in some country outside the USA and
if not for the internet, we may never have crossed paths. So there is no
such thing as an inadequate Christian. In the course of someone’s life, God
may choose to change their direction by means of a new ministry, physical
circumstances, or whatever. It does not matter, because if God changes your
life and ministry, as He supplied for your previous one, He will supply for
the present one. Also remember you are not in the ministry to imitate
others. You are you and that is how God made you and He will empower you to
do whatever ministry He has for you.
Lack of Ministry Opportunities
Another reason that Christians misunderstand the ministry is the belief
that ministry only takes place in official settings. One of the great
problems is that Christians become saved and then link themselves with a
church and then unfortunately come to the conclusion that ministry can only
take place in the church such as Sunday School teacher, etc. Christians must
understand that ministry takes place outside the church in a much greater
capacity. Ministry in the local church is fine but there are only a certain
amount of openings leaving many without church based ministries. This is
when the Christian must look for a ministry to become involved in. You can
get a few of the believers together from your church and get involved in
ministry. When I was a baby Christian back in 1981, the first ministry I was
involved in was giving to ministries I heard on the radio or the TV. As I
gave to these ministries, I would receive mailings from them and as I read
them, it would tell me what their ministries were involved in and it gave me
some ideas on how to build a home ministry. In the beginning, these
ministries were starting to expand my ministry knowledge.
The idea that there is a lack of ministry opportunities out there is
really false. One of the easiest ministries that any Christian can become
involved in is street evangelism. I remember some years ago going out to the
streets of Perth Amboy, NJ (my city of birth) and in an evening being able
to hand out over 500 tracts in both Spanish and English. One of the best
parts of that ministry was afterwards going to Baskin-Robbins and eating a
nice size ice cream cone. The ministry of tract passing did not stop there.
I was then able with the help of others to go to New York City. I remember
setting up a soap box in Times Square where I stood up and preached while
others handed out tracts to those passing by. On the heels of this ministry
we also had gone to Nursing Homes and brought messages to the folks. When we
first started going there, the folks were hard but as time passed, they
warmed up to us.
You see ministry is like a volcano. Lava builds upon the previous lava
and then eventually islands form where they can be lived upon. All you need
to do is start doing some type of ministry and as you progress in your
ministry, as basic as it may be, your ministry life will begin to blossom.
The principle is that if you are willing to be involved in smaller phases of
ministry, that ministry will grow and there is no telling how large your
sphere of influence will be. You are reading this on my personal website and
I never know where these studies will wind up. I have been told that my
studies have been given out in prisons in Texas, California, and New Jersey.
I have no idea who has been handing them out in Texas and California but the
principle is laid out in the following verse.
(Eccl 11:1 KJV) Cast thy bread upon the waters:
for thou shalt find it after many days. If you
cast bread upon the waters, you will not know where the pieces will wind up
because of shifting currents and tides. It is the same with the Gospel. When
you send the Gospel out into the world, you never know who it will affect
and who will be benefiting from your ministry. There are many of my studies
on many different websites and I have no idea how many of them are on
various websites. That is the principle of casting your bread upon the
water. Some of my studies have been translated into Spanish and German and
handed out in churches in different countries. Now does this sound like a
lack of ministry opportunities? There is no such thing in the Kingdom of God
as lack of work or opportunity. Get busy because the reality is that we have
only a certain amount of time on this earth. I became saved at the age of 27
and at the time of this writing I am 57. 30 years of my life has now gone by
and all the unproductive time cannot be reclaimed. It goes by fast and if we
continue to wait for opportunity to come to us, then we will find ourselves
at the end of our lives very disappointed because we will have produced
little or no fruit. (John 15:16 KJV) Ye
have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that
whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
Just think of what the Lord has given to us, what will
you give Him?
A Ministry to Think About
For those who do not think they are qualified for ministry, listen up!
In 1976-77 in New York City a man roamed the streets looking for victims. He
was known as the Son of Sam. He was arrested and pled guilty to the crimes
in 1977. In 1987 while in Attica Prison, an inmate gave David a tract which
had Psalm 34:6 in it.
(Psa 34:6 KJV)
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all
his troubles. David read the tract and God saved
him in his cell. Since then Psalm 34:6 became his ministry verse. I have
come to know David personally and have visited him many times in the prison
where he is now incarcerated. He has become a tremendous minister of the
gospel to not only the inmates but to many youth all over the world. Here is
a man whom God saved that was once a criminal but now has a ministry which
covers the globe because God has given him a network of Christians to help
him. All his ministry is being done from behind prison walls and yet his
message goes out worldwide. (2 Tim 2:9
KJV) Wherein I suffer trouble, as an evil doer, even unto bonds; but
the word of God is not bound. Paul knew that even
though he was in bonds or prison, the word of God was not bound and this is
the message that I want to convey through David’s ministry. He could sit in
prison and do nothing but he chose to do ministry and he is not only
valuable to the chaplain in the prison, but to all who read his materials
including his book “My Prison Journals.” Here is a Christian that is
reaching many in the world from behind prison walls and is no longer the Son
of Sam but the Son of Hope. If you think that you cannot minister, look at
the ministry of David who had no formal theological training except personal
Bible study. He didn’t make excuses, he wanted his Christian life to count.
Do you?
Summary
These are only four reasons why some Christians misunderstand the
ministry. The reality is that the moment we become saved, we are in the
ministry. There is no such thing as a sideline Christian. We are all engaged
in spiritual warfare. The sooner we get involved with the Lord’s work, the
sooner we will recognize spiritual warfare and how to deal with it. If we
run from spiritual warfare, then we will live a defeated Christian life. The
essence of the Christian life is to live above our circumstances and below
them. Satan is the defeated foe and he may hinder us and attack us, but
because we are Children of God by Jesus Christ, we can never be defeated
unless we allow ourselves to be. The hour is late and Christians need to get
seriously involved in the ministry. Satan loves nothing more than a
Christian who has suffered a minor defeat to use it as an excuse to back
away from future ministry. For those who have suffered defeat, may I suggest
that you read the biography of John Paton who was a missionary to the New
Hebrides in the 19th century and in the face of many setbacks was
used mightily of the Lord to evangelize these islands of cannibals and
headhunters who became saved because of his perseverance in ministry. I
suggest the following edition which was written by Paton himself and not
some abridged version.
So if you are a Christian and are wondering as to whether you are in the
ministry, the answer to your query is that you are and the longer you
squander the time the Lord has given you, the less you can accomplish for
the Kingdom of God. Think about it! Will you serve the God of all might or
accept the lame excuses of Satan?
Tract Outlets
Here are the websites of some good tracts for mass distribution: