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It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Ephesians 4: 11 & 12
Our Officer (Pastor) asked us last Sunday if we were full-time ministers - and there wasn’t a great show of hands!
Full-time to many people equates to paid employment. However as transformed followers of Christ, we have been called to do full-time service for the expansion of the kingdom.
As the quotation from Ephesians says, we have been given appointments by the Lord through the Holy Spirit, each one sealed by the contract of us accepting Jesus, and Jesus paying the price for our sins.
It is our job to carry out that appointment full-time, not just on Sundays or at church activities, but 24/7 - 365 days a year (366 each leap year), by sharing with the people with whom we come into contact.
So next time you are asked are you a full-time minister, the answer should be YES!!
Robin Black
Many people who profess to be Christian - attending church services every week and participating in church-related groups during the week - believe they are doing their part in extending God’s kingdom. They hope that by their worship style and the programmes they offer, new people will be attracted to their location. And once they get them to enter the church building, only then they can work with the Holy Spirit in converting them, and sharing the good news about Jesus.
While it is never a bad thing to have new people entering our church buildings, it would seem we have badly misinterpreted what "church" really is! The "Church" in the Bible refers to the people who have come to know Jesus as their personal friend, and are striving - with his leading and intervention of the Holy Spirit - to lead lives like Christ! The Bible refers to "the church" as the "body of Christ". And one of the purposes of that body is to reach out and win new members to that body - to replicate!
Over the centuries many christians never learned or have (conveniently?) forgotten that Jesus called us to be disciples! And not just at the weekend or when we meet in our groups! Jesus commanded us to be disciples every day and every hour of the week, and in every situation!
The only way we can expand the body of the Church is to be alongside the people we with whom we work, have coffee, share school runs, and stand in the shopping queue! It is in these situations we are required to share the good news as The Holy Spirit leads!
This is what Jesus meant when he sent the disciples out to go into the highways and byways to share the good news, because the “Field is white unto harvest”. As God’s people and church we have to be "whole life" - 24/7 - Christians.
This can be a scary thought because we will need to depend wholly on the Holy Spirit and his leading. We will have to live what we believe and pass that on in conversation and testimony.
This is how the Church becomes a gateway. It is through this door of committed discipleship that those whom God has challenged using our influence, come and are nurtured in the church. They can then be trained in our various groups to equip them to be disciples too, as Jesus intended. And then they will become gateways themselves engaging in whole life discipleship ministry.
Are your Church doors locked - keeping you in? Or are they wide open to allow disciples to be made, used, and replicated?
Remember Jesus didn’t just choose disciples in Bible times. He chose you to be disciples in the present time, before you were born.
If you would like to know more please contact us.
Robin Black
I was sitting in our service at Ayr Citadel Salvation Army, the other week when our Officer (Pastor) asked us to turn up a song in Mission Praise, nothing unusual in that, however it was the song next to it that caught my attention. It wasn’t for the beauty of the words, or the lovely tune, as it had neither of these. In fact the song didn’t exist, well it did exist, because it had a song number allocated, I think it was 325, however it was not available to be sung. The reason was given in a single line of text, “this Song has been withdrawn due to copyright issues”.
This one sentence made me think and ask a few questions:
- What was the copyright issue?
- Why hadn’t it been resolved?
- What have I missed because the song wasn’t there?
- Did anyone else notice it was missing?
It then struck me that the same thing could happen in my spiritual life, it says in the Bible “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
If we don’t accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we don’t have our Copyright in order, therefore when we get to heaven, will there be an entry next to our name “Withdrawn because of Copyright issues”
What could the possible answers be to those questions in relationship to my personal Copyright?
- The copyright issue was I failed to be covered by the blood of the lamb, in other words I had not accepted Christ as Saviour
- I always reckoned the expiry date was tomorrow, unfortunately tomorrow never came
- I missed the peace and Joy and contentment of being in the safety of Jesus the risen saviour
- Did anyone else notice it was missing? Unfortunately, that I don’t know, however, I am sure 2 would, Myself and God
I know I have to constantly to go back to the source of renewal for my copyright and that is Jesus, sometimes it is easy sometimes it is hard, however the consequences are not just a missing song but a missing soul and a life of living in eternity with God.
Is your copyright up to date?
Robin Black
