Ministry of a Kingdom Person in the Glorious Church
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Make sure you're doing ministry in the glorious church of Jesus Christ, a church without spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. People who have no knowledge of the Kingdom will just go to any "born-again" church, especially one which has the best facilities.
But a Kingdom person particularly makes sure he attends no less than the glorious church. Non-Kingdom people will tell you not to look for a perfect church. "There is no perfect church!" they insist. But the bible says there is a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle. It's Jesus' church. He died for it. He founded it.
And ministry is different in the glorious church.
In the glorious church, everyone's ministries are connected and intertwined. And I mean all ministries. Kingdom people know this so well. There is no such thing as "your ministry" or "my ministry" or "their ministry" or "our ministry."
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Like it or not, the church ministry God gave you is closely connected to what he gave me in the spirit realms, no matter if your church denomination tries hard to separate us. In fact, your ministry is also mine. Because there is only one church. There is only one Body. The success you enjoy in your church is also the same success we can enjoy in ours. The failure we suffer is yours to suffer, too.
Thus, a genuine Kingdom person is not concerned about recruiting people in his church. He is not bothered by numbers, by how church membership is increasing, decreasing or has plateaued. In fact, he does not see churches as big or small. He sees them all as one. Not the same but one. If one fails then all fail. If one succeeds then all succeed.
If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. [1 Corinthians 12.26]
The funny thing is, denominations see the passage above myopically. They apply it only to their denominations. They see how their local churches should be "one body." They very seldom see it as applying to all Christian churches the world over, no matter what denomination.
Carnal people still see church as "churches" that are vaguely or kinda related or connected to each other, in fact often in competition against each other than working together as one. They categorize them as our big church and their small church, and vice versa. Or identify them according to denominations. And then they compare them and decide which is better or gaining more popularity.
Carnal people still see church as "churches" that are vaguely or kinda related or connected to each other, in fact often in competition against each other than working together as one. They categorize them as our big church and their small church, and vice versa. Or identify them according to denominations. And then they compare them and decide which is better or gaining more popularity.
When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. [2 Corinthians 10.12]But really, how can you compare church when there is only one church? Comparison is possible if you have 2 or 3 churches. But truth is, there's only one. No matter how you name your church and try to look differently, Kingdom people still see everyone as one. That's unless you have really succeeded in making yourself different from the church Jesus established, Then that's another matter.
Thus, pastors who are Kingdom people are never stressed by ministry. Everyone of them knows that he is not alone in the Vineyard and that no one in the Vineyard can claim success just for himself because everyone is working in one and the same Vineyard. Regardless the number of churches today in the world, we're all still in the same one Church.
And the Vineyard is never divided. You can't get a portion, fence it in, work it, and treat it differently from the main Vineyard and say, "This is our portion!" This is why the owner of the vineyard got angry with the tenants in Matthew 21. They grabbed the land.
It's somewhat like this. If your neck feels hot because of flu, no other part of your body can claim to be spared of the ailment. They're all affected by flu---even your fingers and toes. If your heart performs excellently, it cannot claim the credit alone. All the other parts of your body contributed to its performance, even the small ones---pancreas, blood cells, and even your ears and toes.
It cannot happen that the heart performs well but the pancreas or kidneys failed. Well, for a while, the heart may not be affected by failed pancreas or kidneys, but it won't be long till the heart suffers the effect. Or worse, the patient suffers multiple organ failure.
No church group or denomination can marvel at being better than the other. Instead of proving who's better, they should compensate for the weakness of the other, and vice versa. The same in the body of Christ. That's how Kingdom people see it.
And the Vineyard is never divided. You can't get a portion, fence it in, work it, and treat it differently from the main Vineyard and say, "This is our portion!" This is why the owner of the vineyard got angry with the tenants in Matthew 21. They grabbed the land.
It's somewhat like this. If your neck feels hot because of flu, no other part of your body can claim to be spared of the ailment. They're all affected by flu---even your fingers and toes. If your heart performs excellently, it cannot claim the credit alone. All the other parts of your body contributed to its performance, even the small ones---pancreas, blood cells, and even your ears and toes.
It cannot happen that the heart performs well but the pancreas or kidneys failed. Well, for a while, the heart may not be affected by failed pancreas or kidneys, but it won't be long till the heart suffers the effect. Or worse, the patient suffers multiple organ failure.
No church group or denomination can marvel at being better than the other. Instead of proving who's better, they should compensate for the weakness of the other, and vice versa. The same in the body of Christ. That's how Kingdom people see it.
There are two kinds of workers in the Vineyard---the sower and the reaper, one who plants and one who reaps. The Word says both have one purpose [1 Corinthians 3.8] and both are glad together about the harvest and the work [John 4.36]. No matter your place or role in God's field, you are in it together with the rest. If I have tons of harvest and you have a few kilos, it won't matter. We will be glad together. That's how Kingdom people see it.
Hence, if I have a small congregation and you have a big congregation, it doesn't matter. Everything will be collected as one and we worked the same field. We will be glad together. Those with big congregations have no advantage over the ones with small congregations.
But what will matter during the Judgment Seat of Christ is the heart with which we did ministry. We will be judged according to what we have done. This means, the things we have done with either a bad or a good heart.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. [2 Corinthians 5.10].
Specifically, according to the context, this judgment is about "those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart" [v.12]. God is not particular about your visible achievements but inner character---what is in the heart.
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All the parables in the bible support this. What God watches is the character developed in us, not the physical result of what we have done.
We should produce crop that is 30, 60 or 100 times more "what was sown." And what was sown? The seed, which stands for the Word of God. The Word should bear fruit in us, the fruit of the Spirit. Whoever has will be given more. Whoever does not have, the little he has will be taken from him and given to him who bears more fruit. Hence, the wicked will continue to be wicked and the righteous will continue to be righteous
Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand. [Daniel 12.10]
Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. [Revelation 22.11]
Kingdom Accounting on Evangelism
I gladly share the Gospel with people around me and gladly accepts those God gives me for discipleship. God determines how many people receive Jesus as Savior and how many people remain with me for discipling. He determines whether I have few or many. But regardless of the number I have, I have victory because I know that my "labor in the Lord is not in vain," [1 Corinthians 15.58].
Moreover, everyone I shared the Gospel with, no matter what church they end up in, is my share in the harvest. I sowed the seed but another reaped the harvest. Yet, it doesn't matter. I still have a share in the harvest so that I can be glad together with whoever reaped what I sowed. I may have a small number of disciples with me but it's possible that I have a big share in the harvest because of the number of people I shared the Gospel with that went to other churches. This is Kingdom accounting. Genuine Kingdom people know this.
For more radically life-changing insights, get our e-books!
GOD's Flesh: "And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" [Job 19.26-17]. LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!