Honoring God in Your Ministry

Honoring God in Your Ministry

After reading through the transcription of a prophecy spoken over me as a young believer in 1986 by a senior prophet of our movement, my pastor sat me down and affirmed that I might have really been called to ministry. It didn’t seem like it was for general ministry, but in full-time capacity as a preacher of the gospel. Prior to that talk, I still knew in my heart that God was calling me to ministry; I just didn’t know how to go about it.

Know that God has called us to be ministers of the gospel, whether in full-time capacity or not. We believe that every believer is a minister. Charles Hillis, a missionary to China, says, “every soul with Christ is a missionary. Every soul without Christ is a mission field.”

As followers of Christ, we are called to be fishers of men, and therefore, ministers of the gospel.

As ministers, how can we honor God in what we do, not only to properly represent Christianity to outsiders, but so it won’t be “reviled” but ultimately glorify God?

The apostle Paul mentions the word “honor” five times in his first epistle to Timothy (1 Timothy 1:17, 5:3, 5:17, 6:1, 6:16).

Let all who are under a yoke as bondservants regard their own masters as worthy of all HONOR, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

1 Timothy 6:1

To him be HONOR and eternal dominion. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:16

Clearly, Paul meant to emphasize honor. Using the acrostic HONOR, let us look at how we can honor God in ministry.

 

Handles the truth correctly. (1 Timothy 6:2f-5)
As we handle the Word of truth, we are expected to adhere to the sound Word of God and not be easily swayed by any popular controversial teaching getting into the church. At the same time, we  continue to foster a godly attitude produced by a burning heart, not a questionable one propelled by a big head.

Obeys the path of godliness. (1 Tim 6:6, 6:11)
We honor God when we choose to follow the path of godliness. We exert a fairly good amount of effort in deliberately pursuing godliness and all his other friends–righteousness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness–and fleeing from issues that weaken your desire towards it.

Never gives up the fight. (1 Tim 6:12)
The moment you took the side of righteousness, you declared war against the opposing stronghold of wickedness. You need to take the mission to heart like a soldier and be determined to win like an athlete.

Don’t give up contending for the faith, or even for the souls of men.

We honor Him when we fight the good fight, and grasp firmly the calling and the hope that we have: God’s gift of eternal life.

Opposes material gain. (1 Tim 6:5, 7-10)
Part of the calling of a minister is a realization that material things are but a means for us to propel God’s kingdom here in earth. Money is a tool; an equipment to be used, not to be worshiped. When we become derailed by it and of its lure; we lose sight of its purpose.

Resolves to serve until the end. (1 Tim 6:13-16)
A recent study discovered that young people don’t necessarily stay loyal to just one another. Mostly, they tend to hop from one company to another. If this is the prevailing status of this culture, it’s even more challenging today to swim against the flow, spiritually speaking, but it’s worth it. It’s a sign you’re alive! Dead fish go with the flow, you know.

Stay loyal. Endure. Keep the faith. Don’t give up. Stay in the game no matter what. I know you’ll be richly rewarded. We honor Him as we resolve to serve God till the end. Isn’t that amazing that a call to ministry could start out with a still small voice in a person’s heart?

 

Well, it happened to me. When that pastor sat down with me, I heard God calling.

I was just caught off guard.

I didn’t realize that God sounded like Steve Murrell.

 

Ferdie Cabiling serves as the Executive Director of Victory Metro Manila. He is married to Judy and is a dad to Elle and John Philip.

2 Comments

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