Finding Your Ministry

Finding Your Ministry, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? W. G. R

Acts 9: 1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.

Few things are more exciting than to see people willingly give of their time and energy to see that the church’s ministry continues. Few things are more frustrating to a Pastor than to be burdened with the majority of the work of ministry himself.

If the congregation wasn’t participating in the work of the ministry, the church is not going to grow. The church can end up being like a football game. A small percentage of the people in the stadium are playing their hearts out and 60,000 people are

sitting in the stands cheering or booing. Scripture teaches us something completely different. One of the keys to advancing the gospel is for the church to be made up of individuals who understand that it is Gods command to do the work of the ministry. Titus 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.

2Timothy 3: 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Mat. 5: 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

1 Peter 2: 12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

What Ministry Are You Involved In?

If you are a Christian, saved by the blood of Christ then you are a candidate for ministry. It doesn’t matter how young or how old you are (Connor and Bob A).Just look at what Paul wrote to young Timothy in 1Ti 4:12 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. God doesn’t care how old you are, He’s just looking for willing people to serve Him. He’s looking for FAT people

Faithful

Available

Teachable

And so I want you to ask yourself, "What ministry am I involved with? If you’re not serving in a ministry, I would encourage you to realize that God wants to use you now. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve God! Ministry work is not for Super Christians. It is the responsibility of everyone who names the name of Christ as Their Lord and Savior. As Christians we believe that ministry is using whatever God has given us to serve him and the needs of others.

Making That Commitment

When I think about how God chooses to use broken, human vessels like us to accomplish his Kingdom purposes I am moved with intense gratefulness. I am so undeserving of being used by God in any capacity, but because his love has the power to transform lives he can use anyone’s life for his Kingdom purposes. Your wounds and brokenness do not disqualify you from being useful to God, they are the reason God can use you. Your experiences become avenues for sharing Jesus with others who are experiencing similar things. Your life is a powerful tool for the Kingdom and knowing this should teach us to serve with grateful hearts.

Ministry is the work of the whole church. Every moment of your life is an opportunity for serving God. It doesn’t matter where you work or what you do, God has planted you right where he wants you because there is ministry for you to do in that place. When people ask you what you do, tell them that you are a missionary cleverly disguised as a doctor, or a writer, or dental Assistant, teacher, or mom. God has given you special gifts and abilities that he meant for you to have and to put to use for the benefit of others and for the advancement of his Kingdom on earth.

God does not intend for us to use our gifts and abilities for selfish motives, but to put them to work faithfully serving him. You are spiritually gifted so that your life might be a blessing to God and others and in honoring that call to faithful, Christian service God will bless you. Eph. 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Just remember his idea of a blessing isn’t always what we’re looking for. Sometimes the blessing is being trusted with more ministry.

The bottom line is this: ministry is what comes out of us when Jesus Christ is alive in us.

Often the problem is we deeply believe that we are inadequate and that our lives couldn’t possibly be useful to God. We have to recognize this lie for what it is. It is a lie of the enemy aimed at discouraging you from using your talents and abilities to bless others.

The point is this: the things that you think disqualify you from being useful to God or the things that you think make you flawed become useful tools for God in reaching others with his grace and love. And this leads us right back to being FAT. Learning to serve like Jesus means being available. Are you allowing God to use your talents for his purposes and glory? You know, it’s so easy to fall into the rut of not being used. Being available to God means that you willingly use your talents and abilities to bless others for the purpose of bringing God the maximum glory and honor possible

God does not call those who are equipped; He equips those whom He calls . So lets look at things to consider in finding your ministry

1. Personal Relationship