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

  • Searching for the meaning of life

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Many people ask themselves a question of why they feel inner emptiness. So many continue to walk the wrong way in their lives, and it goes on day after day. They feel their life to be aimless and they continue their walk unmotivated. Multitudes of people do not have a clue of why they live and whether the life is worth living. All of these things happen because they do not have a clear purpose for living. The lack of such a purpose often causes violence, different types of evil, disappointments, emptiness, despair, hopelessness, apathy, anger and so on.

    Many people ask themselves a question of why they feel inner emptiness. So many continue to walk the wrong way in...

  • Planning is one of the expressions of wisdom

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    The Bible talks about this, „By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. A wise man has great power, and a man of knowledge increases strength; for waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.” (Proverbs 24:3-6).

    The Bible talks about this, „By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through...

  • Disciplined person distinguishes what is good and profitable and what is not

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 6 minutes
    «All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not fur sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body» (1 Corinthians, 6:12-13).

    «All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be...

  • Purpose for living V

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 6 minutes
    After Solomon forsook God for a season, he tried to find happiness and satisfaction in different things and activities. We see that Solomon made several attempts which all lead to disappointment. For a wise person Solomon’s experience can become good lesson in what the wrong ways to happiness are. We mentioned that Solomon sought happiness in education and knowledge, in fun and pleasures, in beauty, in works of men’s hands. Afterwards he came to a conclusion that despite the fact that all these things are important and necessary for living, none of them can make us happy, if God is excluded from our life. Solomon said that everything under the sun is vanity and grasping for the wind. Solomon’s conclusion was that everything that happens under the sun is vanity and grasping for the wind – if apart from God.

    After Solomon forsook God for a season, he tried to find happiness and satisfaction in different things and...

  • Transformed person is a person with the right and pure motives

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    Transformed person serves other people because he loves them, not in order to benefit from them. It makes me sad when I meet people who minister because it gives them a certain benefits. It´s awfully hard to change a person who has such motives. Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus was one of this kind. For three and a half years he had stayed with Jesus, but in no way it changed him, because he had sinister motives. Judas Iscariot was greedy, money loving man. Jesus put Judas in charge with financial part of His ministry, so he had access to money and offerings. First Judas began to steal money from their pay-box, later also betrayed his Master.

    Transformed person serves other people because he loves them, not in order to benefit from them. It makes me sad...

  • A habit is a powerful thing that either hinders us from getting to our goals or helps us and moves in the right direction!

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    One of the important habits that we need to develop is to pray daily. Prayer must become habitual. God desires to teach us how to forsake bad habits and to develop good ones.Some people have a habit of wasting time. They may know that they need to pray, what they need to pray about, what prayer does etc, but they still don’t pray because they seem to lack the time, since they waste their time on wrong, unfruitful things – TV, computer, telephone conversations and so on. We must make an effort and find the time to pray.

    One of the important habits that we need to develop is to pray daily. Prayer must become habitual. God desires to...