2007-02-09
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The Holy Spirit directs me to write about the ministries that arise out of Avery T. Willis' disciple's cross [from his wonderful course, MasterLife]. You'll remember that Christ is at the center of the two cross-pieces. From center to bottom is God's word, from center to top is prayer, from center to right is fellowship, and from center to left is witness. The key verses for each of these positions, in order, are: JN 15: 5; JN 8: 31-32; JN 15: 7; JN 13: 34-35; JN 15: 8. I would like to speculate as to why these were all selected from the book of John. The latter was a prolific, mature, and inspired writer, as he is the author of JN, 1-3 JN, and Revelation. John was the "disciple that Jesus loved" and, I suspect, His best friend on earth. When Christ was on the cross, in JN 19: 26-27, "Jesus saw His mother and the disciple He loved standing there, so He said to his mother, 'He is your son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'She is your mother.' From that time the disciple took her to live in his home." Unlike the other three Gospel stories of MT, MK, and LK, John lived to be a mature man and thus write his account of Christ's ministry on earth, death, and resurrection from the perspective that living longer gives. The book of Revelation, also written by John, is another example of how people especially esteemed by God are given a view of the future.
Now to the ministries that arise from the disciple's cross: With Christ at the center, we who are true believers can feel His impact on every aspect of our lives. Part of this comes in the form of God's decision to create each of us with whatever talents He feels are needed to best serve the Body of Christ and thus, God's purposes. RO 12: 1, "So then, my brothers, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him. This the true worship that you should offer."[Refer also to RO 12: 4-6a, which gives insight into the way God has distributed the various talents]. People who love to study God's word, can write, teach, and speak about it are called to preaching and teaching. [On your diagram, write this just below the bottom piece of the cross]. People who have a talent for prayer are called to worship and intercession. [Write that above the top piece of the cross]. People who are gifted in fellowship are called to a ministry of nurture, something like the Stephen ministry and other care ministries. [Write "ministry of nurture" to the right of the fellowship cross-piece]. Those with special talents in witnessing might be called to a ministry of evangelism. [Write this to the left of the witness cross-piece]. No one ministry is more important than any other. To complete the disciple's cross diagram, write the words "ministry of service" across the top of the west/east cross-pieces.
When reading what Christ says, in LK 9: 23, "If anyone wants to come with Me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me," I needed to really understand what this means. Forgetting oneself doesn't mean take some action that will bring ruin to one's body. After all we must remember, 1 COR 6: 19 which tells us that "the body is the temple of the Spirit." On the other hand, it tells us we must learn to be unselfish and care about others around us. It also means, we must live according to God's teaching. That was clear to me. Initially, when I got to "take up his cross every day," I didn't fully understand. Christ was telling us that we have to act on our responsibility to Him and others. We need to be serving Him in whatever ministries for which we have been given talent. God created each of us differently, which is why some people are teachers/preachers, others are care ministers, others evangelists, and others strong in worship/intercession. Paul's words in GA 1: 15-16 illuminate how he was called to service, and thus anyone. "But God in His grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve Him. And when He decided to reveal His Son to me, so that I might preach the Good News about Him to the Gentiles, I did not go to anyone for advice…" He goes on to say how he spent three years in Arabia without seeing anyone except James, the Lord's half-brother [author of the book of James]. The last part of LK 9: 23 was easy for me to understand, but not always so easy in the doing, "…follow Me." As a sinner among other sinners, I sometimes find myself severely tempted, challenged by the dirty work of the evil one, and weak. It is at times like these that I and others must turn to the Lord for help. When we do this, He is eager and ready to give it. Remember JER 29: 11-13? It's a fitting closure to this parenthetical interruption [of a discussion on materialism] about the disciple's cross. "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you not to bring disaster, plans to bring about the future for which you hope. Then you will call to Me. You will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me because you will seek Me with all your heart."
PRAYER: O Lord, Your wisdom and decisions are so far beyond anything a person has or can make. You are a loving God and live up to David's words in PS 18:1, "I love you, Lord; You are my Strength." You are our Protector and can direct us to live lives of holiness that please You, if we are willing to listen. PS 56: 13, "Your protected me from death and kept me from stumbling, so that I would please You and follow the light that leads to life." You extend us grace when we surely never deserve it. You guide us to make right decisions, have good thoughts, and take righteous and sometimes apostolic action. PS 37: 23-24, "The steps of the godly are directly by the Lord. He delights in every details of their lives. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand." You call us to carry out various ministries for the most righteous of reasons. Your mission statement is found in EPH 1: 4-5, "Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before Him. Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us His sons-this was his pleasure and purpose." Dearest Father, You have our thanks and praise, just as Paul wrote in EPH 1: 6-8. "Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son! For by the death of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God, which He gave to us in such large measure!" We come before You today to ask that You remain intervening in our lives, that we might have the strength and courage to listen to Your direction, serve You with distinction, and always be in close fellowship with You. You have promised us in MT 5: 3, "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the Kingdom of heaven." We are so richly blessed when we seek out Your direction and follow it. We can witness to this first-hand, if we will only persist in watching You at work in our lives and those of other believers around us. We are called not to keep our faith to ourselves, but to share it with others. All too many people in this world are spiritually lost, because they have not feasted on the richness of faithful obedience to You. We are called to do our part, using the talents You give us, to serve You in bringing as many as will listen to the truth to the place where the Holy Spirit can give them faith. We dedicate ourselves to kind of faithful obedience to You. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Next week, I'm directed to return to the subject of materialism beginning with 2 COR 5: 20-21 to see what it means to be "ambassadors of Christ." When the Lord decided to "transform us inwardly by the complete renewal of our mind" [RO 12: 2], He had a gigantic task to do. In our own materialistic society, the job is even greater. The adversary has also been hard at work trying to bring us to idolize material wealth. We are blessed that God wants the exact opposite of this kind of idolatry, that He gave the example of His Son's earthly life, and that He is patient enough not to quit trying to bring us closer to Him. If you are feeling valued and loved right now, then you are getting the point of this message. Our gracious Father has every reason to throw up His hands in disgust at some of what goes on in our lives. Yet, He directed His Son to give this mission statement for Himself in JN 6: 39-40, "And it is the will of Him Who sent Me that I should not lose any of all those He has given Me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day. For what My Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in Him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day." When Christ was ascended, did He leave us or cease to exist? Absolutely not! In the form of the Holy Spirit, He dwells within us. While some call this "having a conscience," true believers understand that this is one form of God's continuing, patient, and compassionate intervention in our lives. We already know from JOB 16: 19 and JOB 19: 25 that "Someone" [Jesus Christ] is with the Father in the heavenly Holy of Holies being our Advocate and Intercessor. Our Lord will never abandon us. Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn