MINISTRY IS GIVEN BY GOD!

1. Ministry Is Given By God!

a) Ministry means service. God gives some gift or some ministry to every Christian. Most people think of ministry as referring to the work of elders or preachers. However these are not the only ministries.

b) Ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission.

c) The 5-fold ministry is a referring to the five ministry roles of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher found in the book of Ephesians. 

d) Each person is given a gift, a role, and a part of the Body to continue the work of Christ.

e) Each of us is born with the four spiritual gifts; clairvoyance (inner vision), clairaudience (inner thoughts or ideas), prophecy (inner knowing), and healing (inner feelings).

f) God may give one or more of the 9 gifts of the Holy Spirit. These are extraordinary spiritual gifts: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, increased faith, the gifts of healing, the gift of miracles, prophecy, the discernment of spirits, diverse kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues.

g) We are all called to do ministry and even minister, but in all kinds of different ways so that the gospel can be proclaimed, the kingdom can be built, and God can be glorified — it is the calling of God.

h) However, we notice that the word “ministry” was reserved for the elite, extra-spiritual pastors among us. People were “called to the ministry” and “doing ministry” in ways that always seemed to be in front of a crowd, preferably with a microphone.

i) The important distinction is that the kind of ministry we do is not who we are, what job we do, or even what abilities we have — it is the calling of God.

j) God is the only hero in our story, the gospel is the only idea that is profound, and how He calls us, equips us, and chooses to use us in His ministry is one of His many acts of grace upon us and the world. To have any other kind of order of importance leans us toward idolatry.

k) So, ministry is given by God! And not man!