1. Everyone is a
and ministry is
!
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 NLT
So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead “Come back to God!” For God made Christ who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ!
2. It is not the minister’s job to
, but to announce what has already
!
2 Corinthians 6:3-13 CSB
We are not giving anyone an occasion for offense, so that the ministry will not be blamed. Instead, as God’s ministers, we commend ourselves in everything: by great endurance, by afflictions, by hardships, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger, by purity, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, by the word of truth, by the power of God; through weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, through glory and dishonor, through slander and good report; regarded as deceivers, yet true; as unknown yet recognized; as dying, yet see-we live; as being disciplined, yet not killed; as grieving yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. I speak as to my children; as a proper response, open your heart to us!
3. Besides
, what stands in the way of our
for reconciliation?
4. A distinctive biblical idea that means “to serve” or “service”. In reality,
are
.
Ephesians 4:11-12 CSB
And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the whole body of Christ.
Mark 10:45 CSB
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Matthew 25:41-46 CSB
“Then he will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you didn’t take me in; I was naked and you didn’t clothe me, sick and in prison and you didn’t care for me.’
“Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and did not help you?’
“Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life!”
James 4:17 CSB
So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it!
5. All who take part in the
of service are
.
Greek: doulos = “bondslave or bondservant”
Romans 1:1 NKJV
Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle separated for the Gospel of God…
Galatians 1:10 NKJV
For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please man? For if I still pleased man, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.
Philippians 2:7 NKJV
…but made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of man…
“The concepts of minister and ministry must be broadened today to include all the members of a church. The common concept of the pastor as the professional minister must be discarded, because the biblical pattern is for him to be the one who trains the congregation for ministry. All the saints are responsible for loving and ministering in various ways to one another, using the spiritual gifts distributed to each by the Holy Spirit!”
- Ronald F. Youngblood
Isaiah 58:5-12 CSB
“Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
“Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?
“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
to bring the poor and the homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?
“Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.
Your righteousness will go before you,
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.
“At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;
when you cry out, He will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking…
“…and you offer yourself to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
“The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.
“Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.”