God’s been really stretching/challenging me lately as I’ve been reading through the New Testamant. The other morning in reading through the book of I Timothy 2 I could not stop reading I Timothy 2:3-7 and feeling pretty solid about the following conclusions…
#1 - Ministry should be done to be pleasing to the One who called me, equipped me and will sustain me! In the past I have fallen into the trap on getting to the end of a worship service and asking myself, “I wonder what the people thought” rather than, “Jesus, what did YOU think?” (BTW…I do believe ministry CAN and SHOULD be both pleasing to God and life changing/impacting the people who are in attendance!)
#2 - God wants people to be saved…His church should want that as well!!! AND…when they are saved we should CELEBRATE instead of diving into skepticism! I firmly believe that a church that does not have a heart for the lost DOES NOT have the heart of Jesus in the church! (Luke 19:10)
#3 - There really is only ONE WAY to be reconciled to God! I’ve known and believed this for quite some time…but this truth is becoming SO consuming to me right now. Ministry MUST point people to Jesus! Sure, we can teach people how to have great marriages (and we should)...but it would be a tragedy if someone had a great marriage and wound up dying and going to hell because they didn’t KNOW CHRIST! We get obsessed in the church (AND CULTURE) over things that DO NOT FREAKIN MATTER!!! People NEED JESUS…and the CHURCH should champion HIM and the Gospel over any other ridiculous cause!
#4 - Jesus GAVE HIMSELF for all men…we need to teach people to do the same. Christianity is NOT, “I prayed a prayer and told God I didn’t want to go to hell!” Christianity is SURRENDER to JESUS…it is Galatians 2:20…it is Acts 20:24!!! When a person is fully surrendered, when a CHURCH is fully surrendered then the WORLD WILL be a DIFFERENT place!
#5 - I was called, gifted, equipped and am expected to be a HERALD of the GOSPEL!!! Once again, if I am not focused on proclaiming the Gospel to a world that does not know Christ…then I am NOT fulfilling HIS primary calling on my life!