Evangelism is what keeps the influx of new Christians into the body of Christ. It’s like renewing of blood cells, and is the lifeblood of Christian living. After the newbie Christians takes that eternal life step, what next? The follow-up after conversion is as crucial as the initial drawing to Christ. In Ephesians Paul gives a list of the ministry gifts and he lets us know without a doubt that each has his own ministry according to his own gift.
I cannot go door to door. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. Some would have us believe that we aren't doing God's will unless we are outside our comfort zone. There is a Hebrew word for that—Ba Lone Ne.
The human mind and body is frail which is why God gave us a day of rest to refresh ourselves in Him. He gave us night time so that we could rest everyday from our labors. God also gave us ministry gifts which Paul lists for us in his letter; and what is so intriguing is God gave us Motivational Spiritual gifts so that we would be motivated to do His work in our ministry gifts.
Ministry Gifts – Ephesians 4:11-16 – these gifts are specifically for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man and unto the measure
a. apostles
b. prophets
c. evangelist
d. pastor
e. teacher
Not everyone can teach. Not everyone can understand God's Word perfectly with Spiritual understanding and wisdom then proclaim it for all to hear; not everyone has the ability to pastor (I wonder how many pastors are standing in pulpits who are church called and not God-called pastors.) However, everyone does have a ministry gift and a motivational gift that spurs us on to keep working the LORD’s work. When we use our motivational spiritual gift, we don’t burn out because we are supernaturally motivated in our ministry. Of course, the key is to understand that motivational gift, use it in the ministry gift God gave us. Some people live their whole life setting on pews hatching out nothing because they never put forth the effort to understand their motivations or to find their special ministry. How sad.
Sometimes people don't want to talk about what Christ has done in their life because they do not feel worthy or because they have some secret sin in their life and they are walking in the darkness… but, do not want to change. Some people have dozens of excuses for not sharing Christ but say they try to do it. Well according to Ray Pritchard, “trying to do something is actually failure to do it and it is an excuse.”
I am not talking about going door to door or dialing for Christians or bringing folks to conferences. Jesus’ last command was while you are going, go out and make disciples, baptize them, and teach them all things He commanded. And He equipped us for the job.
What I am talking about is actual Ministry. If we use our specific God-given gifts in ministry, God will open the eyes of those we minister to and He will use us to draw so many to Himself. Paul epitomizes the Great Commission because he made disciples, he baptized them (or had his co-worker baptize), and then he spent time teaching the disciples in all Biblical principles.
The Hebrew wordיד yâd (yawd) means many things, but among them: servant, open hand, fellowship, labor, draw with strength—a friend of mine is fond of saying “He drags us to Himself.” Another Hebrew word used in Numbers 18:7 is עבודה עבדה‛ăbôdâh ‛ăbôdâh(ab-o-daw', ab-o-daw') Work of any kind: an act, bondage, bondservant, effect, labor, ministering, office, service, servile, servitude, tillage, use which is where Paul draws his term “bondservant of Christ”. When we minister, we are in service. The Greek word διακονία diakonia (dee-ak-on-ee'-ah) is where we get our word Deacon and means attendance, service, office, relief.
I love the definition that says, “To draw with strength.” Isn't that what God did for us? His great strength He gives to us in measure so that we can do his work and not falter. That is a great responsibility.
I once met a man named Gordon McGee who said that he never let a day go by without witnessing to at least one lost person. Now that he's retired, I imagine that is probably hard to do. I also heard the Louisiana Women's Ministry Director, Cindy Townsend, say that she deeply desired for everyone she met to know that they had met Jesus through her.
Those two statements made a deep impact on me. Do I practice that everyday? No. I fail at that. However, I am much more conscious now of how much my actions impact those around me in how they view Jesus. That is a responsibility that makes me tremble. Continue The Study…
For more about the motivational spiritual gifts you can visit Don and Katy Fortune.
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