2 Words in 1

Ministering to One Another
The Work of the Ministry

 

Ministering to One Another

I will never forget being in a particular conference, quite some years ago now. There was a powerful move of the Holy Ghost; it followed the message of someone who was tremendously anointed. Men and women’s hearts were broken; there was a deep stirring that hovered just over the place. The minister in charge of the meeting did something we had not seen so much of before. He loosed everyone, in the entire place. My God, the things that happen, when we loose one another.

He simply told us, to begin to go about the place and to minister to one another. He told us to lay hands on one another and speak to each other, whatever the Holy Ghost gave us to say. I’ve never seen anything like it. I saw ministers, men and women alike and saints, fall on each others necks and minister to one another. Oh God, I wish I could describe it. I ‘m here to tell you, that people prophesied to one another, they laid hands on each other and rebuked sickness and disease and they literally poured oil on one another hearts and spirits. How deep. How cleansing and refreshing. I’ve never seen people love one another, as we did that day. Such heaven.

The truth is, we are all ministers. The word minister, means to attend to the needs of others; to care for. It is something that everyone of us can do. You don’t have to be called to preach or teach; any of those things. There are many ministries in every body, in every church or assembly. But there is nothing like the ministering of one-on-one, with your brothers or sisters in the Lord.

That’s what’s wrong with some of us, that others think we are being so negative and living in the past. The real problem is, we have seen it work. We know first hand, just how much we can do for every one who is a member of the household of faith. We’ve seen it, in full operation.

Angels, are ministering spirits, to the heirs of salvation. Wouldn’t you think, that we, who are the blood-bought, filled with the Spirit, absolute sons and daughters of the most High King, could do the same thing?

Doesn’t it make all sense, that if we cannot minister to one another, how in the world can we minister to those outside our circle or beyond our doors? Is it because we don’t really love one another; have we become so cold and wrapped up in ourselves that we cannot recognize others needs.

The heart in Jesus Christ, went out to others; it’s like He couldn’t help it. He just had to help those people. Is my pain so great, that I cannot feel yours; do I not see.

The point is, do people realize what they are missing? See, we used to do it. No one can tell me we didn’t. God’s people need to be loosed. I have come to understand, that something is going to have to happen against all of this suppression of the Saints.

Is it, that the need, will overcome all of the resistance? I don’t want to say this too harshly, but there is somebody, who is choking God’s people. God is warning, one more time, for them to take their hands off of His people.

We can heal one another; does anybody hear me? We can set one another free, by moving in the Holy Ghost to one another!

The Holy Ghost in every last one of us, can fix in our own brother or sister, minister and repair, the very body of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

Go back to the house. Begin gathering together in one another’s homes, the way we once did; the way the early church did. Take your freedom and pray for one another, minister to each other, until victory comes. Call for others to join you. It’s already begun. Minister, to each other, in His name.

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The Work of the Ministry

How many are working at the present time? I guess the question refers to the “some” God set in the church. The first question we need to honestly ask ourselves is, did God take them out?

Did He take some of them out or most of them, or none of them? Does anyone ever ask, why can’t we leave things alone; are we mightier or smarter than God? Common reasoning says, if He put them in there, He must of had a good reason for doing so. Maybe it was the way, He wanted things done?

Without the reverent fear of the Lord, we have a tendency to go messing around in things, that are none of our business. It seems, we have no true resistance, to arranging things the way we want them, and even justifying ourselves for doing it.

It’s what happens when you let men get too much in control; they only misuse it. The idea that these things were set in the church for balance, doesn’t register with most people. The scripture clearly says, “for the work of the ministry.” If only one or two are operating, it seems to me, that only about twenty to forty percent of the work, is being done. If they are not all working, something is getting left off, or left out.

All of these, were also for the edifying, of the body of Christ. It does not take complicated mathematics, to see, that a great part of the edifying, is not being done either. Who appointed themselves, this all-in-one attitude. I’ve even heard that before; all five in one. Then why didn’t God say it that way; or why didn’t the apostles write it that way? Well, God didn’t say it that way, the apostles didn’t write it that way; so, one might assume, it’s not that way.

And we wonder why we have all not grown to maturity, and become the full church Jesus Christ set in motion; in operation and demonstration!

We were supposed to grow up; read on down in that chapter. We were all supposed to be everything in Christ, we could be. Not a few gifts, scattered out to an ever fewer people, trying to do the full work of the ministry. We were told some years back, that burn-out, was a big problem in many of our churches and fellowships. Well, it’s no wonder. When you have only one or two of the ministries, trying to do all the work of the others, all by themselves, it sounds like someone, may have an ego problem.

Those of the ministry who are operating with all of their hearts, cannot carry all of the load; they never were meant to. And sadly, their hands were definitely tied.

We’re going to run out of time. I think, that is exactly what some are hoping for. In all the earnestness I could express, with as much humility as I was capable of, I said something I believe is true.

Those who are controlling and manipulating the ministry, have no intention of giving up their power base; their unearned authority. Unless the body rises up and evicts these people, there will be no change in many places. So, we face something we have to face.

Either the Spirit moves to those who WILL follow Him, or this full and mature body of Christ that was intended, does not happen.

But Christ will, have what He wants; and this time, He will use the angels of heaven to get it. It is written, in His own words. It thus stands to reason, that we are likely going to be here, much longer than we were told.

 

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Robert Blackburn