Every Christian Is a Minister
BY RICK WARREN
“You
come to him as living stones, a spiritual house that is being built into a holy
priesthood” (1 Peter 2:5a GW).
God says that you
are a priest. Depending on your background, that may be scary or confusing.
Peter is saying
that the two benefits that priests have are now available to everyone who is a
believer.
In the Old
Testament, priests did two things:
1.
They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God.
They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody
else had to go through a priest.
2.
The priest had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to
the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving).
Those are the very
two things that are true of you when you become a believer.
You now have
direct access to God.
You don’t have to
pray through anybody else.
You don’t have to
confess through anybody else.
You don’t have to
fellowship with God through anybody else.
You can read your Bible,
talk with the Lord, and fellowship directly with him.
The Bible says
that when Jesus died on the cross, there was a veil in the Temple that
separated the Holy of Holies, where God’s Spirit was, from where man was.
Only priests could
go behind that veil once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that
veil — about 70 feet — from top to bottom, symbolizing that there is no longer
a barrier.
You have also been
gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister — not
a pastor, but a minister.
Any time you use
your talents and gifts to help others, you are ministering.
“It is he who
saved us and chose us for his holy work not because we deserved it but because
that was his plan long before the world began”
(2
Timothy 1:9a TLB).
Why did God save
you? So you could serve Him. A non-serving Christian is a contradiction.
How do you know
what your ministry is? Look at your talents, gifts, and abilities.
When you use those
talents and gifts to help other people, that’s called ministry — nothing fancy
or scary about it. It’s just helping others.
Can you be a
priest in a sales office? You bet you can.
Can you be a
priest as an accountant? Of course.
Driving a truck?
Sure.
Any time you’re
helping other people in God’s name, you’re ministering.
Talk It Over
· What are your spiritual gifts and abilities? How are you using them to
serve God and others?
· With what attitude do you think God wants you to serve? Why?
· How do you make the most of your status as a priest? Do you take full
advantage of your direct access to God?
http://pastorrick.com/devotional/english%2fevery-christian-is-a-minister1?roi=echo7-29474314425-50022451-48ff19a8161c4adf9b3f2abf7bd12293&
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