Changes through Ministry II

ByPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
Welcome, dear friends!Mercy and peace of God, Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ be with you!Yesterday we began to discuss the meaning of ministry and what influence it has on your life. As we clarified, that ministry is a practical way to show God’s love to the people around me. We can serve people with everything the Lord has blessed us with, e.g. finances, time, prayers, experience of life, etc. However, it’s important to remember that all these things must be based on love. Giving is the main quality of such love. The Bible says “God is love”. 
« He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love ». (1st John 4:8).
 If God is love it’s vitally important to know and understand how Love behaves. 
« For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life ». (John 3:16).
 This verse from Scripture says God gave His one and only Son for the salvation of the whole mankind not as an act of feat but because He loves people.«For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son …» – God proved His love to us through His giving. 
« But God commends his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ». (Romans 5:8).
 We were dead in our sins, and desperately needed freedom from the slavery of sin and the power of satan. Regardless of our sinful status God came to help us and serve us. He sent His one and only Son to die for our freedom’s sake. Giving (His life) is the exact prove of love. That’s why God calls us to follow Him as His children. Taking into consideration that God is love in what area should we as His children follow Him first? Surely love is the first thing! 
« Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children. Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance ». (Ephesians 5:1-2).
 By living in love we offer ourselves as a sacrifice to God for the benefit of the other people around us. 
« By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him? My little children, let’s not love in word only, neither with the tongue only, but in deed and truth ». (1st John 3:16-18).
 Love always gives! We share our property or skills to meet the needs of people God sends on our way. It’s also possible to help other people, even sacrifice yourself, meet all people needs but have no love for them. This is what Paul’s letter to Corinthians tells us: 
« If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don’t have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don’t have love, I am nothing. If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing ». (1st Corinthians 13:1-3).
 If our deeds are driven by different motives instead of love, it’s not a ministry in Biblical sense. The bible says, there is no profit for a man whose deeds are done without love. Such ministries or sacrifices do not please our God. So ministry presumes we use every blessing God has given to us to meet the needs of people around us, by expressing the love the Holy Spirit has poured into our hearts. 
« and hope doesn’t disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us ». (Romans 5:5).
 Thus, true ministry starts with discovery of the gifts and assets I possess. After a person has determined what he has, he or she should look around in order to find the people with whom he can share his gifts and assets with. Living this way our life will be filled with joy and satisfaction because of the privilege we have to serve or help somebody else.Let God pour His love and mercy on you to serve other people!See you tomorrow.Rufus Ajiboye, pastor

Similar Posts

  • What are the benefits of pain and suffering at the time? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 2 minutes
    Problems try and purify our faith.Quite often the Bible compares sufferings with the furnace used for the purification of metal that burns up all the dross. “In this your greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter, 1:6-7).

  • Value God’s Word!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Today God wants to tell us the same thing. The Word of God is life to us. When God sends us His Word, He offers us life. Rejecting the Word of God we reject life itself. Moses says about God’s Word: «For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life…»It is extremely important for us to appreciate the Word of God and not to treat it as something futile, – it is not like a song that we have listened to and then gone to do our own will. It should be to us like the greatest treasure. We have to value God’s Word, to hide it in our hearts, to appreciate it because it is life to us. God says that through the Word and through our right attitude towards it we can extend or prolong our days. Our attitude toward the Word determines whether we will extend our life or shorten it.

  • Everything that is hidden will unavoidably be brought into the light II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!» (Psalms, 32:1-2) David says that after repentance God’s forgiveness comes into person’s life, his transgressions are forgiven, his iniquities are not imputed to him and his sins are covered. David says this person to be blessed. One who does not hide an iniquity in his heart is open before God. But there is no forgiveness for the one who does not repent and does not confess his sins to God.

  • Why do people choose to be irresponsible? IV

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    «Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honoured» (Proverbs, 13:18).When an individual does not accept correction and advice, then it makes it difficult to help him to become more responsible. As we have mentioned before, an irresponsible person always considers himself to be right; in his opinion he never errs and because of it he has a hard time accepting reprimand and correction. If a person has come to a point when nobody can speak into his life, then downfall of such a person is practically inevitable.

  • There are three main types of believers: observers, consumers/users and servants! II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    The third type of believers is servants. Servants are the ones that are on the giving end. It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. We all like to receive, but if we want to be truly blessed we need to look for opportunities to give.Jesus said that the rivers of living water will flow out of those who believe in Him:«”He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified» (John, 7:38-39 ).

  • The level of our faith depends on our ability to hear from God

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 6 minutes
    When we hear the Lord’s voice it strengthens us and takes disorder and confusion out of our lives. When we hear the Lord’s voice it awakens in us the spirit of faith and raises us up into God’s dimension.Let’s look at some verses of Scripture that tell us about the benefits of hearing God’s voice and being led by the Spirit.