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Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord has a ministry. Not
everyone answers the call but, never the less, everyone has been
called. Rom: 8:28; Matt 28:18-20
We were called into ministry not because we
were
special but because we wanted to be obedient. Through our obedience
we found we would gain a deeper relationship with the Lord
and deeper understanding of the Lord. Answering a call is not
about us or who we are; answering the call is willingness to allow the
seed of the flesh to fall to the ground, die and be replanted by the
Lord. When we were called, we had to answer the call, either
yes
or no, our answer was yes, reluctantly, but yes. Then there was
the boot camp, as I call it. God took us through a rigorous
training to prepare us for what He knew was before us. To be able
to do the ministry effectively we had to accept the call and then be
open to where the Lord was taking us. All the while, trying to
stay out of the Lord’s way so He could use us in the way He intended us
to be used rather than following our fleshly/selfish
desires. God has
taken us through a lengthy training program, and as long as we are open
to His word and God’s will in our lives, the training will never
end. This is where “depth” comes in, we have to first submit to
God’s will, and accept by faith that what we are doing is God’s will,
fully and completely.
It is important to understand that the more
you
submit and give yourself fully over to the Lord, the deeper your relationship
will become with the Lord; and the deeper your
relationship, the deeper your faith and trust becomes in the Lord’s
provisions over your life. But there are steps that need to be
taken before going deeper. You see, going deep is not just saying
it and you’re there, it takes work, commitment, and total faith in what
God wants to do through you. It is also important to point out
that I am not talking about salvation or even about being a Christian,
I’m talking about the depth of our faith
paralleling the depth of
ministry we can do. How deep are you willing to let the Lord take
you in ministry? 2 Peter 1:5-8
DEPTH, (1828 Webster's Dictionary)
Deepness; the
distance or measure of a thing from
the surface to the bottom, or to the extreme part downwards or
inwards. The depth of a river may be ten feet. The depth of
the ocean is unfathomable. The depth of a wound may be an
inch. In a vertical direction, depth is opposed to highth.
MINISTRY, (1828 Webster's Dictionary)
Ecclesiastical
function; agency or service of a
minister of the gospel or clergyman in the modern church, or of
priests, apostles and evangelists in the ancient. Acts 1; Rom 12;
2 Tim 4; Num 4.
Let's take the definition of depth and apply
it to
the scale of measurement. 1 Kings 4:29: “God gave Solomon
wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as
measureless as the sand on the seashore.” We have been promised
even greater things than Solomon, in fact, we have been promised that
we can do even greater things than Jesus. John 14:12--“I tell
you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been
doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am
going to the Father.”
Can you imagine raising the dead, healing
the lame,
giving sight to the blind, restoring a shriveled hand, or reattaching a
severed ear by a spoken word?
I personally can’t imagine doing
anything greater than what Jesus did, but then again, I suppose that
could be a good example of a lack of faith, sadly admitted. I
guess that’s the key, “We do.” When we do it, it is just about
ourselves. If we are trusting and faithful, believing the Lord
will do His work through us, then the Father’s will will be done,
glorifying the Father. When we start thinking it’s me,
destruction is crouching at our door. Genesis 4:7; Luke
5:17; Acts 10:22-26; Acts 14:11-15; I Cor 12:7-11
I have a very simple example of how the Lord can
use
someone to His glory, if only we are obedient. My wife and I were
at a conference, after the evening teaching had ended, there was
an altar call, as well as a time to pray over and for anyone who sought
it. Three rows in front of us was a mother and her older son who
has M.S. or cerebral palsy. We could see the mother and the son
having a discussion and finally the boy started down to the
altar. The mother would move from side to side as people would
obstruct her view of her son going to the altar. We could see
that she was troubled and in prayer, as she kept watching. The
Lord spoke to me asking me to go lay my hand on her and pray with
her. I started my usual questioning of
God, (my first response is
usually, ”you don’t need me, you can do it just fine without
me.”) After a few seconds, seeming like minutes, I submitted and
crawled over the chairs, to stand behind her. She was in prayer
and had no idea I was behind her. I just put my hand on her
shoulder and began praying with
her, to the Lord alone. (I did not pray
out loud) After I prayed I went and stood by my wife and
continued in worship. The next night we sat somewhat in the same
place, and the mother and son were also there. The mom took one
look at me and came running, giving me a big hug. She said, “I
have got to tell you, that at the same moment you put your hand on my
shoulder, I was about to collapse and was praying for strength.
You put your hand on me and it felt like a jolt of lightning going
through me, giving me a surge of energy.
Now, I give this simple example for a
reason.
It’s not to bring glory to me--but to the Lord. I didn’t know
what was going to happen, if anything, all I had to do was be obedient,
submit to God’s will and trust the word he had spoken to me. I
don’t believe anyone will know the full scope of what the Lord did that
night. After sharing with the mom, there were two powerful things
that happened for both of us: we got to see the power of Gods
moving; and the mom’s measure of faith, as well as mine and my wife’s,
was deepened greatly. I cannot say how deep the mom’s faith has
gone, but for me, it has made it easier to hear the voice of God
and
submit to His voice, deepening my faith.
The Lord has asked me to do this before, and
the
more I submit, the stronger I become and quicker submission becomes,
all the while deepening my faith. Above, I underlined the word with. I
underlined it because it is very important to do just as
the Lord directs. God did not say to pray over her; God said to
lay my hand on her and pray with
her. It is very important to
stay out of the way, be sensitive to the Lord’s movement, and be
submissive to what else the Lord may have for me to do. Again, by
being open and willing, my faith will deepen in His trust, making it
easier for me to do His will when asked of again. If God knows
that I am willing and can be trusted to do just as He asks of me, God
will use me more and more and in greater and greater capacity.
That means measure of faith--depth. We need to understand that
God doesn’t need us, He wants us, but doesn’t need us. He created
the universe without the help of anyone, and certainly He can
accomplish His will without anyone now. So, the sooner we
understand God doesn’t need us, the sooner God can use us.
Mark 4:21-25--Jesus, once again, is teaching
the
twelve and some others around Him (Mark 4:10) about the measure you
use. Jesus is teaching that if you have depth of faith, the same
depth will be credited to you plus more; but for those who are shallow
in their faith it will be taken (Mark 4:25), because there is nothing
there to keep it strong and to keep you standing
firm. (Eph
3:14-19) It is not God but the devil who snatches away what was
sown in our hearts. (Matt 13:19) Without the depth, it is
difficult to discern the pure from the impure, the righteous from the
unrighteous, and good from evil; making it easier for the enemy to
steal what little faith we may have. That is why there is so much
compromising
in the Christian walk today; as there was with the Israelites.
The Lord has used me in great ways for healing
and
for seemingly small insignificant tasks. The problem with this
kind of thinking
is that there is no such thing as a
small
insignificant task. If it is from the Lord--it is
important. We have ministered to people who think that ministry
is having a snappy name, logo, website, and a steady stream of
seekers. But even Jesus would leave the ninety nine to go after
the one. (Luke 15:4) Suppose one of us has a hundred sheep
and one was unaccounted for? Would we leave the ninety-nine in
the open country to retrieve the one lost sheep?
Ministry comes in all shapes, sizes, and varieties,
and it is God who gives the ministry and the gifts to be effective in
that ministry, not man or a church. We attended a church for
about six months that was teaching about the Holy Spirit. They
were learning about different kinds of gifts and ministries and how to
achieve them. And, of course, everyone wanted the most impressive
gifts. The
problem is, God is the only one who distributes the gifts as He
wishes, we can’t learn them, receive them from any man, or change gifts
when we feel it’s necessary. Yes, God does use man to pass gifts
on but they ultimately come from God--not the man.
Ministry comes through steady growth, and a
personal
relationship with the Lord. It’s the depth that has to be sought
along with steady growth, and the rejection of
complacency and
mediocrity. We cannot find any verses in the Bible that allow
anyone to settle for mediocrity.
Romans 12:1-3--Paul is teaching about being a
living
sacrifice and the measure of faith God has given us. If someone
were to have a package sent to them, and they knew it by a notice left
on their door, but never made an effort to go pick the package up, the
package would just stay there until being sent back with a note,
“failed to respond.” God has already given us the full measure of
faith, all we must do is to go pick it up and use the content.
But are we afraid of the content? Are we afraid we may have to do
something besides complain
and grumble about our ministry, walking
around drying up like grapes to raisins? It is our duty, our responsibility
as Christians to do whatever it takes to move deeper into
our faith.
Following are more scriptures to study and
apply:
Eph 3:19--Measure of
all the fullness of God.
Eph 4:13--Becoming mature, attaining to the whole
measure.
John 17:13--The full measure of Jesus’ joy.
II Pet 1:8--Possess qualities in full measure, they
will keep you from
being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord.
Mark 4:21-24--A lamp on a stand. With the
measure you use, it
will be measured to you--and even more. Whoever has will be given
more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
Rom 12:1-3--Living sacrifices. Do not think of
yourself more
highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober
judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given
you.
Eph 3:14-21--A prayer to the Ephesians. That
you may be filled to
the measure of all the fullness of God.
II Pet 1:3-11--Making one’s calling and Election
sure. For if you
possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from
being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
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