Who Is Your Center?

Picture taken from “https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/united-states-nicknamed-uncle-sam”

I am challenged by the thought as to who is the center of my life? What impact should having Jesus as the center of my life or Jesus as my Lord (master, supreme authority) have on my actions or ministry? Do I need to repent (to change the way I think), which shall change the way I act? What should I understand about Christ-centered ministry versus a professional career path in business?

What is Christ centered ministry?

According to the website Got Questions (https://www.gotquestions.org/Christ-centered-life.html)  “a Christ-centered life is one that is focused upon a commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord. At the core of every human decision is a motivation. Some people are motivated by the quest for pleasure or money. Some center their entire lives on a goal, a job, or even their families. These things are not wrong in themselves; however, that which we center our lives on can become our god.

Jesus has raised us up from our former life without Him to walk a new life of abundance on this earth (John 10:10). He is our Lord who has the right to tell us how to live the life He has given to us. Loving and pleasing Him is now our motivation. As we choose to follow and obey Him, we begin to think about Him, talk about Him, and dream about Him. We grow in our esteem of Him, and we yield more in joyful surrender to His will (Psalm 40:7-8).

This is not to imply that people who desire to live a Christ-centered life don’t ever stumble, sin, or make mistakes. However, a Christ-centered person cannot endure not living in harmony with the Lord and the Lord cannot endure not living in harmony with His people. We will find the conviction of Holy Spirit is active in bringing us to repentance, when needed, to restore and maintain fellowship with Jesus (I Corinthians 1:9).

It is interesting that in the NT we discover the command to “follow Me” from the mouth of Jesus recorded 20 times. If we read the verses where Jesus calls us to follow Him, we discover the following:

• Following Him will often mean that we can’t follow others.

• Following Him will change our activities. In Matthew 4:19, we find that those whose time was once spent in an activity to catch fish are now told by Jesus that following Him will result in activities/efforts to catch men, women, and children for the King and the Kingdom of God. This is not to imply that we must change our career when we choose to follow Him, but it does mean that our actions or behaviors will change.  

• We discover that following Jesus, not only means we cannot follow others, but it also means we cannot always follow or serve our desires, we must serve the desires/purposes of God. Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, and Luke 9:23 all speak of self-denial or taking up our cross.

 I read an article once that stated that the cross for each believer is where our will and God’s will cross. The question for each of us is when we are challenged to take up our cross or do His will (when it not what we want to do)—Will we do it?

·      Will we eat something when He is urging us to fast?

·      Will we speak our opinion when He is calling us to be silent?

·      Will we speak His word, or be ashamed of Him and His word?

·      Will we pray for someone or accuse/condemn them?

·      Will we give thanks (I Thessalonians 5:18) or will we complain?

·      Will we see the praise of men or the praise of God (John 5:44)?

·      Will we speak hurtful words when hurting people use us, hate us, or dishonor us? OR will we bless and pray for them (Matthew 5:44).

As we fellowship with Him, we discover that He has given us gifts of grace to accompany a job function or calling/purpose in partnership with Holy Spirit in the earth. These grace-gifts and Kingdom job function is called ministry.

Proverbs 3:27 (NKJV) — 27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.

There is a power in your hand because Jesus Christ is in your heart. It is the power to do good. It is the power to release through action the grace gifts that have been given to you. I Peter 4:10 says every believer has received gifts and we are to minister or serve or give to others as good/faithful stewards of the manifold grace of God. If you have been given a speaking gift, then you allow Him to speak through you. If you have a gift of childcare, then do so for the benefit of the working parent in your community.

If you look up the word minister/ministry in The New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words, Lawrence Richards states…

The Hebrew word translated “minister” in the NIV is šāraṯ. This word is used of persons who give personal service to a ruler, particularly of those who are set aside to perform some special service in the worship of God. It is of special note that such ministers, in the secular and sacred realms, are persons of high rank. They merit special respect, for they are in a very close relationship with the ruler they serve.[1]

Richards says to minister is to give personal service to a ruler, which begs the question as to who is our ruler? Our calling or ministry is in service to our ruler and if we are a born-again then our ruler or Lord is Jesus Christ. Ministry is a personal service to Jesus Christ, ministry merits special respect (don’t disrespect yourself or demean your ministry), and it requires a “very close relationship” with our ruler or Lord.

If we look further at the definition of minister/ministry, Richards says the NT Greek words “are distinctive in that their focus is squarely on loving action on behalf of a brother or sister or a neighbor.” These loving actions proceed from our subjection to Jesus and “these ministry words call us to look at our fellow human beings as objects of the loving services we extend to them for Jesus’ sake.” As we mature, we realize that our role as ministers never ceases regardless of where we are, the time of the day, or the people we are with. The is no more sacred or secular, it is just the Christ-life.

Colossians 3:17 (KJV 1900) — 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

This passage reminds us that everything we do and everything we say is to be done in the name of the Lord. During the normal tasks of life, you are still a minister for Him. In addition, you are to enjoy all of the actions whether it is taking out the trash for your neighbor or teaching a child how to do addition.

We live in a world system where greatness is often defined by our “likes” on social media, by the famous friends we have, by the car that we drive, or the neighborhood in which we live. Jesus put an entirely different spin on the word great and upon the word’s minister/ministry.

Matthew 20:25–28 (KJV 1900) — 25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Greatest in the Kingdom of God and in the eyes of our King, Jesus Christ, is in doing the ministry work to which we are called to do. Typically, it will never be considered great in the performance measurements used by this world. However, when our ministry is Christ centered it will always be great in the eyes of our King.

Do we live for what is written in the history of men or do we live for what is written in the annals of heaven? Remember, when we stand before the Lord after our earthly journey has ended, the books are opened, and it is from the books we are judged and rewarded (Revelation 20:12). We will be judged by what good works or Christ centered ministry we did during our earthly life in comparison with what He chose and appointed us to do before we were born.   

“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.”

― Ronald Reagan

 We must always remember that these ministry works will not typically take us into the spotlight of those who are rich and famous in this world. The greatness of the world is often measured by those who serve us, while in the Kingdom of God greatness is typically measured by the number of people we serve (as directed by Holy Spirit).

A sobering thought sometimes the mindset of the marketplace of this world slips into the Church. For example, since I am serving a Moses, then I shall be a Joshua. There is this thought that I will have a famous ministry because of the ministry (mantle) that comes to me by virtue of the “apostolic leader” I currently serve. However, if we consider Daniel, he was faithful in his service to Nebuchadnezzar, but he received the ministry job function because he said yes to the Lord’s calling on his life. Even though he knew that his apprenticeship under this heathen king prepared him to be the prophet he became, I doubt he bragged on his mentor.

We must understand that when we are born-again, we were promoted to highest status, level, caste, or social status in the universe. We have been raised up and seated with Jesus Christ. Therefore, no offer of promotion, fame, or wealth can compare to what you already have in Christ.  

We must also understand that ministry is your function and not your rank in the Kingdom. A person called to be an apostle is of no higher rank by virtue of their “job function” in the Kingdom of God that a woman who is called to be the mother of one child. Rank in the Kingdom is received/imparted to us by humility, by serving the purposes of God for our lives, and by learning to love God and people. The housewife/mother who loves more is higher in rank that an apostle who loves less. God is love and those of his children who surrender to His love and share His love are the greatest and of the highest rank in the Kingdom of God.

We don’t get to choose our ministry calling, we only get to decide whether to accept or reject God’s ministry calling/Kingdom job function (Romans 11:29). The English translations of the Bible that describe five offices or job functions in the Church in Ephesians 4:11. However, in these ministry callings or job functions are principles applicable to every believer, regardless of your ministry calling or job function in the Kingdom. For example:

·      There are those who are called to the office of Evangelist, but all believers are called to evangelize or share their faith.

·      The are those called to the office of Pastor, but all believers are called to shepherd or pastor others (e.g., children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, neighbors, co-workers). The first shepherds we have are our parents. I realize a few parents may reject the calling to shepherd their children, but that doesn’t negate the fact that they are called to pastor their children.

·      There are those called to the office of Teacher, but all believers are called to teach others. This command is part of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20)

·      There are those called to the office of a Prophet, but all are called to prophesy (I Corinthians 14:31).

·      There are those called to the office of apostle, but the Holy Spirit sends all to the uttermost parts of the earth (e.g., their home, their children, their neighbors, their co-workers, their local grocer, their banker). Jesus promises us all, that upon being baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), that we shall be sent to the ends or uttermost parts of the earth. As Julie Smude, a friend of mine shared, the sometimes “the ends of the earth” is the neighbor across the street.

The Greek word translated apostle or messenger in our English translations means “one sent on a mission or a messenger.” I don’t think anyone would argue that Isaiah was called to the Kingdom job function of a prophet. Yet in Isaiah 6:8, we read…

Isaiah 6:8 (KJV 1900) — 8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

Isaiah was not called to be an apostle, but he was sent on a mission. You may not have the job function of an apostle, but you do have a job function for the Lord on the earth, so you are being sent. Prior to the sending and even after the sending, there are principles we shall explore in future blog posts.

Here is a summary of what we have discussed in this blog.

·       You must be born-again.

·      If you are born-again, you are called to a ministry or job function or purpose on the earth. The first step in preparation is the Baptism in Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

·      We are joining in the ministry of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Incorporated (Revelation 11:15). This is the family business, and we are now members of this family. In this business, Jesus is the boss or Lord. He has specifically stated that He would send Holy Spirit and it is only in union with Holy Spirit that we would be successful partners in the family business on this earth. In other words, every member of the family has a job function or ministry and so they are a minister.

·      We are being sent to the ends of the earth, which sometimes is next door.

·      There are principles in the Bible for preparation and success in the adventure to which we are called.

·      The greatest calling for you, is the Kingdom job function or purpose given to you by God before you were ever born. The degree to which we serve the purpose of God on the earth, is the degree of our joy.

Love and blessings! Evans

[1] Richards, Lawrence O. New international encyclopedia of Bible words: based on the NIV and the NASB1999: 443. Print. Zondervan’s Understand the Bible Reference Series.