We are beginning a series entitled THE MINISTER’S RELATIONSHIPS and this month we start with:
THE MINISTER’S RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
Some years ago a pastor friend of mine said something which came as a shock:
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He said, "The cross was not about JESUS!"
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"It was all about PEOPLE"
- which when you think about it is obvious, but I had not heard it expressed in that way before. We rightly have great solemnity when we think of Jesus on the cross – but it was not for Himself that He went through that - but for us - people - and that is what ministry is all about - it’s about serving God yes, but we serve God's purposes by serving PEOPLE.
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Ministry is all about relationships with people and for ministry to be effective those relationships need to be functioning correctly. However, as young ministers (or older ministers) our most important relationship is our relationship with God Himself.
All effective ministry flows from our relationship with God - and we see this in the ministry of Jesus.
The ministry of Jesus was all about relating us back to God as our heavenly Father but that came out of His relationship with the Father first:
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“The one and only Son, who is Himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father,
has made Him known.” John 1:18
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For Jesus His relationship with God was a Father/Son relationship, He knew He was loved by the Father:“This is My
"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17 & 17:5
“The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands.” John 3:35
“The Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.” John 5:20
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life.” John 10:17
Since we were born again - adopted into His family, we are loved as sons (and daughters) and are able to relate to God as Father:
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“The Father himself loves you because you have loved me.” John 16:27
Furthermore, the relationship Jesus had with the Father when He was on earth was a relationship of total dependence upon God and His ministry flowed out of that:
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“The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing,
because whatever the Father does the Son also does.” John 5:19
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“Whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John 12:50
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We can only minister effectively in Jesus’ name if we have a relationship of total dependence upon God too.
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Jesus did his miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit - not out of his inherent power as Son of God - because He laid this aside when he came to earth:
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“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used
to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.”
Philippians 2:6
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This is good news for us because we are to minister (to be servants) in exactly the same way – totally dependent upon the power of God the Holy Spirit.
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Ministry is all about relationships and we cannot be ministers for Jesus unless we have a living, growing, up to date relationship with Him first and foremostly.
There is a Podcast that goes along with this Message of the Month which can be found on the Podcast page of the ymforum website.
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