Ministry — More Important Than Life

 Ministry — More Important Than Life

“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:24)

According to the New Testament, “ministry” is what all Christians do. According to Ephesians 4:11–12, pastors have the job of equipping the saints for the work of ministry. But ordinary Christians are the ones who do the ministry. 

What ministry looks like is as varied as Christians are varied. It’s not an office like elder or deacon; it’s a lifestyle devoted to making much of Christ and meeting the needs of others. 

It means that we “do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). Whether we are bankers or bricklayers, it means that we aim at advancing other people’s faith and holiness to the glory of God. 

Fulfilling your ministry is more important than staying alive. This conviction is what makes the lives of radically devoted people so inspiring to watch. Most of them speak the way Paul did about his ministry here in Acts 20:24: “I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.” Doing the ministry that God gives us to do is more important than life.

You may think you need to save your life in order to do your ministry. On the contrary, how you lose your life may be the capstone of your ministry. It certainly was for Jesus — only in his thirties. 

We need not fret about keeping ourselves alive in order to finish our ministry. God alone knows the appointed time of our service. He will decide when our death is not an interruption of our ministry, but the last act of our ministry.

Henry Martyn was right when he said, “If [God] has work for me to do, I cannot die.” In other words, I am immortal until my work is done. Therefore, ministry is more important than life.

WORRY NOT!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY JULY 14, 2025.

SUBJECT: WORRY NOT!

Memory verse: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God" (Philippians 4 vs 6).

READ: Matthew 6 vs 25 - 33:

6:25: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

6:26: Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

6:27: Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

6:28: So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

6:29: And yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

6:30: Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

6:31: Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' Or 'What shall we drink?' Or 'What shall we wear?'

6:32: For all these things the Gentiles seek. For your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

INTIMATION:

Worry or anxiety is being uneasy with fear, crave or desire regarding something, In our memory verse, the Scripture tells us not to be anxious about anything. Imagine not being anxious for anything. It seems like an impossibility because we all have worries; on the job, in our homes, in our business, at school, etc. The reason we worry or burn with anxiety is because we have not trusted God and His promises enough. 

God has given us His promises in all things; in "all" not "some." God is a God of Promise, and we, His children, are children of promise, and heirs of the promises of God. The Bible, in Hebrews 6 vs 17 - 18, indicated clearly that God's promises are unchanging and trustworthy because God is unchanging and trustworthy:

"Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us." 

These two immutable things are God's Nature and His promise, and God swore an oath by them! God embodies all truth, therefore, cannot lie. Because God is truth you can be secured in His promises, “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us” (Second Corinthians 1 vs 20). 

Therefore, turn all your worries into prayers, locating in the Scriptures the promise of God relevant to your situation, and put Him into remembrance (Isaiah 43 vs 26), for He watches over His Word to perform it (Jeremiah 1 vs 12). Whenever you start to worry, you stop to pray, and if you start to pray, you stop to worry.

In the passage we read today, Jesus tells us to stop worrying about those needs that God promises to supply. Worry has its negative effects on us; it may damage your health, cause the object of your worry to consume your thoughts, disrupt your productivity, negatively affect the way you treat others, reduce your ability to trust in God. Worry immobilizes, but genuine concern moves you to action.

Worry is distinct from planning. Planning for tomorrow is time well spent, worrying about tomorrow is time wasted. Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference. Careful planning is thinking ahead about goals, steps, and schedules, and trusting in God's guidance. When done well, planning can help alleviate worry. Worriers, in contrast, are consumed by fear and find it difficult to trust God. They let their plans interfere with their relationship with God. Don't let worries about tomorrow affect your relationship with God today.

Carrying your worries, stresses, and daily struggles by yourself shows that you have not trusted God fully with your life. It takes humility, however, to recognize that God cares. Many a time we run away from God because of our sin, thinking that struggles caused by our own sin and foolishness are not God's concern. But when we turn to God in repentance, He will bear the weight even of those struggles. Letting God have your anxieties calls for action, not passively. Don't submit to circumstances, but to the Lord who controls all circumstances.

The Scripture, in verse 33 of our passage today, asks us to first seek His kingdom and His righteousness. That is; to turn to God first for help, to fill your thoughts with His desires, to take His character for your pattern, and to serve and obey Him in everything. After you have done this, all other things the world is busy running after will be added unto you. 

Please note carefully that all other things, apart from seeking God’s kingdom, are just additions, and not the main substance. The main thing that matters to God is your relationship with Him. What is really important to you? What do you really seek after? It is noteworthy that earthly concerns and desires, all compete for priority with seeking God. Any of these can quickly bump God out of your life; out of first place if you don't actively choose to give Him first place in every area of your life.

Prayers: Abba Father, I will forever trust in Your promises. Daily You have loaded me with benefits. All that is within me bless Your Holy Name! My soul blesses, and rejoices in You. Thank You Lord for I know You will never leave me nor forsake me. I put my cares upon You, knowing You care for me. Help me to put away any anxieties in my life, but rather turn any worries to prayer and supplication, giving thanks in all things to You, in Jesus' Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

What Moves You to Minister?

 What Moves You to Minister?

For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:8)

Faith has an insatiable appetite for experiencing as much of God’s grace as possible. Therefore, faith presses toward the river where God’s grace flows most freely, namely, the river of love.

What other force will move us out of our contented living rooms to take upon ourselves the inconveniences and suffering that love requires? 

What will propel us . . . 

to greet strangers when we feel shy?

to go to an enemy and plead for reconciliation when we feel indignant?

to tithe when we’ve never tried it?

to speak to our colleagues about Christ when we are timid?

to invite new neighbors to a Bible study?

to cross cultures with the gospel?

to create a new ministry for alcoholics?

to spend an evening driving a van?

to invest a morning praying for renewal?

None of these costly acts of love just happens. They are impelled by a new appetite — the appetite of faith for the fullest experience of God’s grace. We want more of God. And we want this more than we want our private, disturbance-free security and comfort. 

Faith loves to rely on God and see him work miracles in us. Therefore, faith pushes us into the current where the power of God’s future grace flows most freely — the current of love. 

I think this is what Paul meant when he said that we should sow to the Spirit (Galatians 6:8). By faith, we should put the seeds of our energy in the furrows where we know the Spirit is at work to bear fruit — the furrows of love.

HOW TO ATTRACT SPECIAL AUDIENCE IN PRAYER!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY JULY 13, 2025.

SUBJECT : HOW TO ATTRACT SPECIAL AUDIENCE IN PRAYER!

Memory verse: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6 vs 33.)

READ: Psalm 37 vs 4 - 6:

37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

37:5: Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

37:6: He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.

INTIMATION:

You attract special audience in prayer when you partner with God in ensuring the establishment of His Kingdom here on earth. Kingdom-oriented prayer gives you special audience with God. If you desire breakthroughs in your life, one of the fastest ways of achieving it is to have a strong affection for God and His kingdom. Let your thoughts be dominated with the desires of God, serve and obey Him in everything.

Your delight in the Lord occasions strong affection for God and His kingdom. When you delight in the Lord, you will experience great pleasure and joy in Him and His kingdom. The Scripture says of the Lord, “Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth...” (Isaiah 58 vs 14.) Desire to know God better, and to know His great love for you. When you do, you will entrust everything about you—your life, family, job, possessions—to Him and He will work out what is best for you. 

The reason God created the earth is for the extension of His kingdom. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in Matthew 6 vs 9 - 10, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When you pray kingdom-oriented prayer, you are giving reference to God's spiritual reign. It is God's Will that His kingdom be established here on earth as was announced in the covenant with Abraham. 

When we pray "Your Will be done on earth," we are praying that God's perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as the next. When you are interceding on kingdom matters, let it be from the depth of your being, as if you are praying for your own child who is dying, or even the healing of your ailment that has kept you at the corridor of death. Such prayers usually means much to you. 

If you concern yourself that much on ensuring the actualization of God's Will on earth, God will definitely concern Himself with your affairs, and you will experience additions to you of all the things the world is struggling to get. This is a prayer strategy that moves heaven to rain down favor on you, so much so that you will not need to pray for most things before you get them as the Scripture foretold, thus, "It shall come to pass that before you call, I will answer, And while they are still speaking, I will hear." (Isaiah 65 vs 24.) This is prevalent in the lives of those who are heartily mindful of His kingdom matters. Their prayers are answered at the right time. 

Most people are dying in their prayer rooms because they are self-oriented in their prayers. They the "needy-stars" of the kingdom. Their prayer is always all about self; "Lord, give me this; Lord, bless me; Lord, bless my children and my wife," and their demands are endless. All they remember to pray about is "me, I, and myself." They are least concerned about the welfare of anybody else or on any issue that does not touch them personally. Their idea is, "If God is concerned about His kingdom, let Him fix it."

When a kingdom prayer point is raised in the church, a lot of people just mumble through; you can hardly hear what they are saying. But when it is said, "Pray for yourself, that this year's prophesy may find fulfillment in your life," people begin to pray with much vigor and energy. But it is how much you take pleasure in the affairs of the kingdom that determines the quality of response you enjoy from God. 

The psalmist in Psalm 102 vs 12 - 13 says, "But You, O Lord, shall endure forever, and the remembrance of Your name to all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion; For the time to favor her, Yes, the set time, has come." When your concern for God's kingdom is deep-seated in your heart, you pray heart-felt prayers for the kingdom and His people. Your prayer shall be that, "The Lord endures forever, and be remembered throughout all generations." Then, He will arise with mercy and favor for you. As you begin to seek His kingdom in your prayers, I see every concern in your life become a testimony of answered prayers to you, in Jesus name.

Prayer: Abba Father, let the zeal of Your kingdom eat me up, that I may desire to do all the things required for the advancement of Your kingdom, and the propagation of the Good News of Christ at any opportunity that presents itself for it, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed, Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

ENGAGING THE SPIRIT OF FAITH!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SATURDAY JULY 12, 2025.

SUBJECT: ENGAGING THE SPIRIT OF FAITH!

Memory verse: “We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;” (Second Corinthians 4 vs 13.)

READ: Romans 4 vs 17 - 24:

4:17: (As it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead, and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;

4:18: who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, “So shall your descendants seed be.”

4:19: And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead, (since he was about an hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah's womb.

4:20: He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,

4:21: and being fully convinced that, what he had promised, He was also able to perform.

4:22: And therefore, “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”

4:23: Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him,

4:24: but also for us, it shall be imputed to us who believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,

INTIMATION:

The Bible based faith is the reliance, loyalty, or complete trust in God and His Word. The Word of God is spirit and life (John 6 vs 63); It is God in the Spirit available to the believer that gives life in the affairs of the believer. The Bible based faith is the spirit of faith (Special faith), and It is the principal weapon of war for a child of God; the victory that overcomes the world: "For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith" (First John 5 vs 14). The spirit of faith sees the invisible God in any challenges of life. 

Special faith is something other than general faith or saving faith. It is a supernatural manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby a believer is empowered with faith beyond simple saving faith. This is the kind of faith you need to be able to move the obstructions or obstacles in your way. Sickness, financial strife, abuse, pride, unemployment, bondages, and strongholds of all kinds will not be able to stay in your life when you pray with this kind of (wonder-working) faith. They must go! All you have to do is believe, and nothing will be impossible for you (Mark 9 vs 23). 

The spirit of faith (Special faith—the gift of the Holy Spirit) is the predominant faith for exploits. This spirit is encountered through the work of the Holy Spirit in the believer. It is a spiritual force; a living force, drawn from the living Word of God, to produce living proves. It is the miracle-working faith that Jesus had during His ministry on the earth, and He said that we would walk in even greater power and perform greater things than He did. Prayer with such faith is real, and dismantles pride and vengeance, filling the holes with love. 

Therefore, if you want to receive the promises of God in His Word you must have faith in God Himself, and the Spirit of God—the spirit of faith—must be operational in you. The Scripture says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11 vs 6.) God promises that all who honestly seek Him—who act in faith on the knowledge of God that they possess, will be rewarded. Faith makes us share responsibility of our lives with God through His Spirit indwelling us, and in the light of His Word. With our faith in God, His Word, and our obedience, we commit God's integrity to perform His Word—His promises (Jeremiah 1 vs 12).

The Spirit of faith is one of the mysteries of the kingdom of God. It is a potent force, with power to quench the fiery darts of the devil; "Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." (Ephesians 6 vs 16.) Those fiery darts include; fear, doubt, unbelief, anger etc. When he throws such darts on you, and you are weak in faith to resist it, you succumb to his lies, and miss the provision in God’s promise. Therefore, be fully persuaded of the truth in the Word of God, give yourself to raw and strict obedience to it, and you will behold the manifestation of the fulfillment of the promises of God in your life.

The main elements of faith in its relation to the invisible God, are: (1) A firm conviction, producing a full acknowledgement of God’s revelation or truth. (2)  A personal surrender to Him, and (3) A conduct inspired by such surrender. For instance, the Scripture, in Isaiah 53 vs 5, says, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” 

How then do you obtain by faith the healing virtue enshrined in the verse above? Now, the three elements of faith must be at work; (1) ‘a firm conviction’ of truth that by Christ’s stripes we are healed of any illness or disease, (2) a personal surrender to Christ, accepting His works for us in redemption, and (3) to conduct yourself in a manner inspired by such surrender—the Scripture says you are healed, and you exercise your faith in the healing so obtained. 

In the passage we read today, the object of Abraham’s faith was not God’s promise of a child to an aged and weak man—a hundred years old, with a wife with dead womb—90years of age, which is remotely impossible in reality. Instead, his faith rested on God Himself, knowing that He who promised is faithful, and will do it. Many of us would have acted otherwise if we were in Abraham’s position, thinking it is impossible for a man of 100years and a wife of 90years to give birth. But Abraham held tightly to his faith in God—the spirit of faith was alive in Him—he never wavered on the promise, and fully persuaded that He had promised, He was also able to perform.

Many will pray for healing, using relevant Scriptures of God’s promise of healing, but will still not be persuaded they have received their healing according to the Word of God. The devil will throw the dart of doubt their way, they are hit, and their spirit of faith is dampened. With such wavering in faith, it is obvious they will not receive anything (James 1 vs 6 - 7).

Prayer: Abba Father, my trust is in You, Endue me with the spirit of faith in You, and Your Word, that I may have strong conviction of the truth in Your Word, surrendering completely to Christ, and conducting myself in accordance to my convictions and surrender, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

 Faith Expels Guilt, Greed, and Fear

The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1 Timothy 1:5)

Paul is aiming at love. And one of the essential sources of this great effect is sincere faith. The reason faith is such a sure source of love is that faith in God’s grace expels from the heart the sinful powers that hinder love.

If we feel guilty, we tend to wallow in self-centered depression and self-pity, unable to see, let alone care about, anyone else’s need. Or we play the hypocrite to cover our guilt, and so destroy all sincerity in relationships, which makes real love impossible. Or we talk about other people’s faults to minimize the guilt of our own, which love does not do. So, if we are going to love, the destructive effects of guilt must be overcome.

It’s the same with fear. If we feel fearful, we tend not to approach a stranger at church who might need a word of welcome and encouragement. Or we may reject frontier missions as a vocation, because it sounds too dangerous. Or we may waste money on excessive insurance, or get swallowed up in all manner of little phobias that make us preoccupied with ourselves and blind us to the needs of others. All of which are the opposite of love.

It’s the same with greed. If we are greedy, we may spend money on luxuries — money that ought to go to the spread of the gospel. We don’t undertake anything risky, lest our precious possessions and our financial future be jeopardized. We focus on things instead of people, or see people as resources for our material advantage. So love is ruined.

But faith in future grace produces love by pushing guilt and fear and greed out of the heart. 

It pushes out guilt because it holds fast to the hope that the death of Christ is sufficient to secure acquittal and righteousness now and forever (Hebrews 10:14). 

It pushes out fear because it banks on the promise, “Fear not, for I am with you. . . . I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). 

And it pushes out greed because it is confident that Christ is greater wealth than all the world can offer (Matthew 13:44).

So when Paul says, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from . . . sincere faith,” he is speaking of the tremendous power of faith to overcome all the obstacles to love. When we fight the fight of faith — the fight to believe the promises of God that kill guilt and fear and greed — we are fighting for love.

We Experience the Spirit Through Faith

 We Experience the Spirit Through Faith

Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith? (Galatians 3:5) 

Every Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul said, “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him” (Romans 8:9). The Spirit came to you the first time when you believed in the blood-bought promises of God. And the Spirit keeps on coming, and keeps on working, by this same means.

So Paul asks, rhetorically in Galatians 3:5, “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith?” Answer: “By hearing with faith.”

Therefore, the Spirit came the first time, and the Spirit keeps on being supplied, through the channel of faith. Whatever he accomplishes in and through us is by faith.

If you are like me, you may have strong longings from time to time for the mighty working of the Holy Spirit in your life. Perhaps you cry out to God for the outpouring of the Spirit in your life or in your family or church or city. Such cries are right and good. Jesus said, “How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). 

But what I have found most often in my own life is the failure to open myself to the full measure of the Spirit’s work by believing the specific promises of God. I don’t mean merely the promise that the Spirit will come when we ask. I mean all the other precious promises that are not directly about the Spirit but, perhaps, about God’s provision for my future — for example, “My God will supply every need of yours” (Philippians 4:19). God’s Spirit is supplied in an ongoing and powerful way precisely through specific acts of faith in specific promises for specific situations. Do I trust him right now to do what he has promised to do?

This is what is missing in the experience of so many Christians as they seek the power of the Spirit in their lives. The Spirit is supplied to us “by hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5) — not just faith in one or two promises about the Spirit himself, but about all the soul-satisfying presence of God in our future to do for us, and be for us, whatever we need.