TRUE MINISTRY
True Ministry
The touchstone of Discipleship is revealed in our abandonment to His Glory. It is in our touching of Him where we are brought to the place of facing our own inherent desire for recognition and pre-eminence. This is something so vital to our walk and our sharing of Him with others. Freedom from ourselves is the path to our freedom in His Spirit.
“He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory, but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is in him”
John 7:18
John the Baptist
“Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus”
John 1:35-37
Do we really want this? Do the ministers of God and the multitudes of church organizations across the land really desire this one thing; for men to rise up and follow Jesus? Our part is to declare “Behold the Lamb of God” and to do it in such a way that men actually rise up to follow Him. We are here to make Him known. Those to whom we minister should hear us speak and then rise up and follow Jesus! How simple and pure ministry is to be! The sad part is that men, their organizations, and their own desire for recognition corrupt this simple truth and lead men to follow them and to “support” their ministry rather than the development of others in their own ministrations.
The purpose of the New Covenant…
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more”
Jeremiah 31:33-34
It is to this end that we labour and preach the wonder of His Name! Purify us Lord for your glory.
BT
You touched deep issue here, and a nerve for me. Thank you for your courage. You wrote, “Those to whom we minister should hear us speak and then rise up and follow Jesus! How simple and pure ministry is to be! The sad part is that men, their organizations, and their own desire for recognition corrupt this simple truth and lead men to follow them and to “support” their ministry rather than the development of others in their own ministrations.”
You have quite accurately described a flaw so large and disruptive in the religion of the institutional church that it has effectively precluded any meaningful and effective spread of the true gospel of the Kingdom.
The institutional church exists to promote itself, and in so doing it has prostituted itself to the world. The world sees this clearly. Sadly, the leaders of the institution – people who should know better – are blinded to the facts by their own hunger for validation, respect, and position, and the greedy need for proceeds to keep the machine running. Christ is no longer the focal point of the institutional church. That place has been usurped by the Christian, and that usurpation has been led by the institutional leaders.
No institutional church is free of this self-serving prostitution. Wisely, you also provided the answer to the problem, an answer few are willing to embrace. “Freedom from ourselves is the path to our freedom in His Spirit.” Your identification of the purpose of the New Covenant (from Jeremiah 31) is spot on.
Very much appreciate your encouragement. There is a new wineskin being formed and its bonds are in Christ nothing more and nothing less.
BT
You touched deep issue here, and a nerve for me. Thank you for your courage. You wrote, “Those to whom we minister should hear us speak and then rise up and follow Jesus! How simple and pure ministry is to be! The sad part is that men, their organizations, and their own desire for recognition corrupt this simple truth and lead men to follow them and to “support” their ministry rather than the development of others in their own ministrations.”
You have quite accurately described a flaw so large and disruptive in the religion of the institutional church that it has effectively precluded any meaningful and effective spread of the true gospel of the Kingdom.
The institutional church exists to promote itself, and in so doing it has prostituted itself to the world. The world sees this clearly. Sadly, the leaders of the institution – people who should know better – are blinded to the facts by their own hunger for validation, respect, and position, and the greedy need for proceeds to keep the machine running. Christ is no longer the focal point of the institutional church. That place has been usurped by the Christian, and that usurpation has been led by the institutional leaders.
No institutional church is free of this self-serving prostitution. Wisely, you also provided the answer to the problem, an answer few are willing to embrace. “Freedom from ourselves is the path to our freedom in His Spirit.” Your identification of the purpose of the New Covenant (from Jeremiah 31) is spot on.