11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Ephesians 4:11-15.
If any one gets into the ministry to have an easy life they have chosen the wrong career.
Number one, you do not exactly choose to be in the ministry. You are chosen and called and anointed and appointed by Jesus himself to work in his church. It is truly a calling. You can retire from a career but you do not retire from a calling. It becomes as the prophet said, It is a fire shut up in my bones.
It is multi-faceted. You become one of the five fold with purpose. The purpose is three fold.
1. For the perfecting of the saints,
2. For the work of the ministry,
3.For the edifying of the body of Christ.
“For” means there is a goal, an assignment, a job to perform.
It is not about lunches and meetings and golf outings. For a while some men thought it was to wear a suit and a tie and look respectable and be respected by the people. Now it seems to be the opposite, Stand in the pulpit with torn jeans and a T-shirt and some tattoos on your arms and see how much you can look like the guy in the padded chair looking up at you.
For the women it seemed like it was about getting all dolled up with the most expensive pant suit, and the finest jewelry around the neck and wrist and wave it high as you proclaimed the four steps to riches sermon. Now the women, like the men, are on the platform sashaying around with the tightest jeans they could slither into and the shirt that best displays their blessed and highly favored self and tell the folks about the no need to repent, excessive grace, lets jump a lot praise for the feel good easy life we can enjoy with no repercussions or regrets.
The five fold has desecrated the three fold. The goal today is another campus church, millions of dollars filling the coffers of the church and the bank accounts of the leaders. While adultery sneaks down the aisles and fornication runs up the steps and self-indulgence waits at the door, the music gets louder, the spot lights circle the room faster, and the sermons increase in falsehoods. No one is being perfected, no one is being prepared for the work of the ministry, and no one is edified.
The work of the ministry has ceased. The purpose of our selection is but a faint memory.
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Like the Taliban in Afghanistan, the devil has taken over and set up his government. Sad. -PJF-
Purpose! Ministries
A Praying Church - A Healing Church - A Holy Spirit Church - A Preaching Church
Comments