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What is Christian Quaker Ministry? |
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Ministry in brief is the communication from our Lord to His people who are willing to listen as well as obey whenever and wherever God speaks. For us to receive this vital message, we as the sheep of Christ need to empty ourselves from our own thoughts and illusions and center on the heavenly wisdom of our Creator. Sometimes God deems it important to witness to us personally. In those moments we as individuals need to be aware that Christ is speaking to the needs and heavenly desires of individual members of His blessed Kingdom. In those moments, it is necessary for the individual to abandon his thoughts and ideas to receive God's spiritual knowledge which is far superior to our own, despite our propensity to imagine otherwise. Remember Jesus blesses those apostles who recognize their own poverty and therefore are prepared to recognize God in their inner souls. When we are in profound relationship in the Father, God speaks to us at different times. Small wonder we need to be prepared to hear our precious Lord wherever we happen to be. Friends, God's ministry is far more vital than our own. That is why when He contacts us, we are called upon by Jesus to cease our outward activities welcoming the Lord with and in our silence. As a result, we have the opportunity of first hearing the Lord communicate in our hearts and then obeying the Spirit He affords us. In addition to relating to our spiritual needs, God may render us a message that speaks to the condition of another individual, perhaps a member of His blessed congregation. In this ministry, God will eliminate our own concepts of the person, giving us, in worship, the desired outward words to communicate. In such circumstances, if we are faithful we will be uttering our Lord's ministry and not our own. Yes we need to be attentive to receive God's words that speak on another's wants and desires. Of course if we have demonstrated our spiritual loyalty, God will give us a message to be spoken in Meeting for worship which of course speaks to the needs of that particular meeting. Yet we need to be careful in discerning Jesus' message. We must wait on the Lord for clarity in our ministry. . .Because of our faithfulness in listening, we will be speaking our Lord's word for the benefit of the congregation. The meeting will be blessed in the power of God. Our witness for God's Truth is also an aspect of Jesus' ministry. Because we can be tempted with our own ideas in activities we plan to undertake to foster the community, we are required by the Lord to wait on His unction before attempting to participate in activities we feel are necessary. Let us remember He is our King and His knowledge is far greater than our own. Thus when He prepares us for witnessing, He is ministering to us in His Truth. Our waiting will enable our precious Lord to sanctify our witness augmenting our effectiveness. We will become true servants of Christ in obedience to ministry. When we faithfully minister in Jesus' name, God will empower us with the blessings of His eternal love.
Arthur Berk |