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

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

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 3 minutes
    In one of his psalms David talks about a day in the life of a person that has repented of all of his sins before God. We can see the advantages of that kind of lifestyle. «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)

    In one of his psalms David talks about a day in the life of a person that has repented of all of his sins before...

  • The fruitfulness of a Christian starts with the discovery of God’s will in all areas of his life and the readiness to fulfills it

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    «And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God» (Romans, 12: 2). We are filled with the knowledge of God’s will through renewing our minds by the Word of God. Through the renewal of our minds we learn to think as God thinks and look at our lives through His eyes. You won’t be able to please God if you are not doing His will for your life. In order to do His will you first need to discover it. That is why wise people who want to bring real fruit for God through their lives devote themselves to discovering and comprehending what God wants to do in their lives and through their lives. We have pointed out many times that a person can become fruitful by renewing of his or her mind through personal fellowship with God, prayer and intensive study of God’s Word.

    «And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what...

  • How to develop a habit of prayer in our life? II

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 4 minutes
    Prayer is relationships of love between a man and The God as we determined it earlier. It´s nothing else but the love of God, that prompts people to pray and spend time with Him. A desire to know Him and His will in our life is a kind of food to keep our life in prayer alive. The only way to know His will is to come to see Him and ask Him about it. This desire keeps our life in prayer alive. We have to have such desire to be able to pray continuously.

    Prayer is relationships of love between a man and The God as we determined it earlier. It´s nothing else but the...

  • Jesus was constantly seeking the God´s will for His life

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Reading the Bible we see how Jesus was growing and being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. Jesus was constantly seeking the God´s will for His life, in order to set a good example for us. If Jesus had got to know God´s will using His divine nature instead, He wouldn´t have set a role model to us nor we wouldn´t be able to follow his steps today. Jesus stayed longer in the Temple after the feast of Passover in Jerusalem while other people had already left for home (see Luke 2:41-51). What was Jesus doing there and why did He stay longer in the Temple? He stayed there to listen to the scribes and to question them. That´s one of His secrets where His wisdom came from. Jesus studied the Scriptures. He attended the Temple and asked questions, prayed and leaned closer to God, His Father.

    Reading the Bible we see how Jesus was growing and being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him...

  • The chief hindrances that block God’s power from working for us

    AutorsMācītājs Rufus Adžiboije Reading Time: 3 minutes
    Jesus sometimes connects sickness with sins. This is not always the true for every sickness or situation (John 9:1-3), but very often our problems are connected to some unconfessed sins in our lives. “And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:1-8).

    Jesus sometimes connects sickness with sins. This is not always the true for every sickness or situation (John...

  • Qualities that make us the salt of the earth and light of the world

    AutorsPastor Rufus Ajiboye Reading Time: 5 minutes
    1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew, 5:3). This talks about dependency on God. Our lives depend on God. And since we realize our dependency, we must continually come to God and spend time with Him. This is a foundational step in becoming the salt of the earth and the light of the world; we must live a life that is totally depended on God! 2) Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Mathew, 5:4). Sin, unrighteousness and injustice that surround us must motivate us to pray and mourn before God, to stand in the gap for our land. It must motivate us to repent of the sins and unrighteousness of our nation. When we look at the things around us with God’s eyes, then everything that grieves God will grieve us as well. This is where passion is born and a vision for change is conceived.

    1) Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Mathew, 5:3). This talks about dependency...