Nobody on earth can put in the ministry. They can give you a diploma from a seminar, can be ordered by a bishop, or receive a commission from a denomination. But the apostle Paul reveals the only source of true call to ministry: "I thank you strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, since, keeping me faithful, put me in the ministry" (1 Timothy 1:12).
What does Paul mean here when he says that Jesus was strengthened and had the faithful? Think of the time the conversion of the apostle. Three days after that event, Christ put Paul in the ministry - specifically in the ministry of suffering: "For I will show how much he must suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16). This is the ministry to which Paul refers when he says, "Therefore, having this ministry ..." (2 Corinthians 4:1). He continues adding, "... as we have received mercy, we faint not." He is talking about the ministry of suffering. And he makes clear that it is a ministry we all have.
Paul is saying that Jesus gave a promise for this ministry. Christ promised to be faithful and to strengthen it through all its trials. The Greek word equivalent to enable means "a continuous supply of strength." Paul says, "Jesus promised to give me more strength I need for the road. He enabled me to stay faithful to the ministry. Thanks to him, I do not give up on me swoon. I emerge with a witness. "
A transfiguration is happening in our lives. The truth is that we are changed by what haunts us. We become like the things that occupy our minds. Our character is being influenced and impacted by what has captivated our hearts.
I thank God for every person who feeds your mind and your soul with spiritual things. Such servants have set their eyes on what is pure and holy. They keep their eyes on Christ, spending quality time worshiping it and built up in faith. The Holy Spirit is working in these believers to continually change its character to the likeness of Christ. These believers will be ready for hard and intense suffering to come. Believers lazy, careless and without prayer suffer heart attacks or depression. Their fears overwhelm because they have the Holy Spirit working in them, transfiguring. When hard times come, they just do not have the force.
Here is Paul's final word on this subject: "We do not give anybody any chance to stumble, that our ministry is not discredited. Rather, we encourage all ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons ... as sorrowful, but always rejoicing, as poor, yet making many rich "(2 Corinthians 6 :3-5, 10). How "many rich? Shining into out the hope of Christ in the midst of our suffering. We offer true riches when we cause others to ask, what's your secret? Where can I find such peace?
0 comments:
Post a Comment