The Holy Spirit dropped this phrase down in my spirit several weeks back. I, like most every Christian, want to be effective in life, ministry, family, etc. I also understand that in order for me to be effective I must live my life in line with God's word. After all, it is his will, not mine, that I am to be found accomplishing.
What is the heart of the church? What should be the heart of every Christian? I know there are many more answers to this question than you will get here, but I will only share what God has emphasized to me. I also believe as we get back to doing life and church God's way we will be amazed at the results we get.
The Holy Spirit said to me, "Ministry is loving God and helping people." This would completely cover the New Testament commandment of love. Why did Jesus come? Jesus came to seek and save those that were lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus came to fulfill God's will here on the earth. Jesus was moved with compassion for those who were bound by the devil. Do we want to be like Jesus? Does it matter to us that there are people in our circles of influence who are lost, broken, and/or held captive by the enemy?
We are instructed in the Word to follow the example of Jesus. Honestly, at this time it is the Body of Christ that is to carry out God's will here on the earth. It is you and I that should be carrying this gospel to the lost and dying of this world. We are anointed of the Holy Spirit for this purpose.
I know very often we teach and preach about our rights, authority, and privileges in Christ Jesus. This is not wrong and I will continue to do this. But I also know that every single Christian has a ministry! The ministry we have been called to is called the ministry of reconciliation. What does that even mean? It means that now that you are saved you have a responsibility to allow God to use you to bring others into the body as well.
We as a church must get back to loving God and helping people. When was the last time that your prayer included a request of God to put someone in your path to witness to? When was the last time that you looked for someone to encourage? When was the last time that instead of talking about how messed up someone was you invited them to come to church with you so they could get straightened out?
I am not saying that the church as a whole is not growing, but I do believe that we could gain much more ground if reaching the lost and dying of this world was a top priority. No matter where you are in your life today if you will allow him to God will use you to help others. Always remember that the greatest ammunition that you have is to tell others what God has done for you!
