You Are qualified through Christ!

You Are qualified through Christ! 

(Eph 4:11-13  So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

 

One of the most devastating events in church history was the division of the people into clergy and layman. These unbiblical titles have been a problem since the Protestant Church annexed this idea from the Roman Catholic institution. There is no such thing in the body of true believers as a separate class of super-spiritual clergy.  If we look at Ephesians 4:11 above, we will see that Pastors are given in the church as a spiritual gift equal to evangelists, prophets, and apostles. The prophets and apostles today are not like the ones of the first century. The prophet declares God’s words and the apostle is one who is sent. The gift of Pastor is not a gift to be exalted above all other Christians. 

 

It is a sad truth, in the times we are living in, that the some clergy with their agendas, ministry plans, and executive boards end up ruining the personal relationships that most Christians have with their Heavenly Father, and the local churches.

Time to get a grip on the love of Christ! 

^{Acts 17: 24-28} “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Church Hopping - So if I am reading this correctly, it is God who has determined the times set for them and the exact places where I should live. 

Nowhere do we read that we must first get the permission of clergy to obey the Lord. Every Christian is to be involved with ministry and if the Pastor of the church does not like the fact that many are involved in personal ministries, then let him give a reason to the congregation why he opposes the obeying of Christ’s command to go forth. 

 Here is a warning from Matthew Henry:

 

"The ministers of Christ must remember that they are not Christ and therefore must not usurp His powers and prerogatives, nor assume the praises due to Him only." - 

Matthew Henry

Uneducated

Acts 14:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

 

One of the biggest misconceptions about ministry today is that unless a person holds a college and/or seminary degree, they are somehow less than prepared for the ministry of God's Kingdom purpose. 

REALLY?

Here is a truth.  Peter and John were ignorant and unlearned. Peter and John were fisherman and did not have time to spend many hours in studying the Scriptures. Look at the great ministry they had and what was the reason? “they had been with Jesus.” 

Now, where can we learn the thoughts of Jesus today? Through the means of grace, which is the Gospel found in Word and sacraments. A sacrament is as a sacred act established by Christ in which the Word connected with an earthly element gives the forgiveness of sins. I believe that the Lord gave his Word and the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper for a purpose. Through God's Word and sacraments he preserves and extends the holy Christian church throughout the world. 

Believers should therefore be diligent and faithful in the use of these divinely established means of grace for themselves and in their mission outreach to others. These are the only means through which immortal souls are brought to faith and to life in heaven.

For more on the means of grace - http://www.wels.net/what-we-believe/statements-beliefs/this-we-believe/means-grace

Personally I have a hard time wrapping my thought process on why God would still love me after all of the sinful things I have and continue to do. Yet that sweet tasting message of the Gospel of Christ helps me grasp the concept, and motivates me to strive and grow in the gift of faith the God has blessed me with. 

It is the means of grace that has changed me, the messages from the pulpit that fuel my zeal for Christ, and is responsible for establishing CEO Ministries. 

Hebrews 5: 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

You are: 

Alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

Called - 2 Peter 1:10-11 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,  and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


Chosen - John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” 


Created - Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.


Commissioned - Matthew 28:19 - 20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)

Equipped - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


Forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)


Gifted 1 Corinthians 12: 4-7 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.


Sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)

^{Colossians 3: 23-24} Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,  since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Eight years of college isn't what God had in store for me. However, I'm still responsibile for what I do with the Gospel message of Christ


So what are you going to do with it?