Is our Service a sign of Love or Power

The higher we grow in numbers the higher the dynamic of the church. True ?
Honestly speaking some kind of pride inside also increases.

Does size matter? Yes, definitely!
We are to populate heaven and storm the gates of hell!

On the other hand, as the process of growing the church over the years, we need to guard our heart as well.
Otherwise we can be too caught up with numbers and deviate from the purpose God has given.

In the other words, the true mark of a successful church may not be the size, power or success but everything that flows from a wellspring of love.

The one element that will last through eternity is love, besides faith and hope.

John 13:34
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."

Love is the fruit of the Spirit of God.
Love is kind and is not rude.
Love is kind and is generous.

I once had an opportunity to had a conversation with a minister of a very fast growing congregation.
Asking him what is his current challenges compared to when his congregation is much smaller.
To my surprise his answer was that he used to know everyone in church; now there are many who know him but he doesn't know them. In one incident he recalled that when he was eating in a restaurant one day and somehow the food was not done properly, he made a complaint. Having not happy with the respond of the waitress, he asked for the restaurant manager. Before the manager was being called, the waitress said, "I'm sorry, pastor." He said he really learned something that day!

John 13:35
"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."


Application :
Are we who professed the name of the Lord really show love?
and are we marked by the love of the Father or by worldly power and success and pride?

Is Ministry a Gift or a Possession

"What's your ministry?"
"How long have you been in this ministry?"
"You running all by yourself?"
"Don't you have raise people to run the ministry?"

Often hear the above questions?
I have been ministry for more than 10 years. I have seen ministers (that includes myself) trying to run everything.
For some their ministries are untouchable and really untouchable. No one can involved and no one can take over.
Many do not want to be moved into another or new area of ministry or responsibilities... it is the saying, "Don't rock my steady boat!"
You can hear the silent yet loud voices of protest.

What are the possible excuses?

I have always with the kids.
I have always with the youths.
I know nothing about business people.
Caring for the old folks is not my gifting.
I'm not a "D" or a "C" person.
God never called me to be in this ministry... but only this ministry.

Has our ministry or ministries has/have possessed us? or we have possessed it/them?

The truth is all ministry is a gift!
We are stewards of it/them.
A trust given to us for that period of time!
It is not your private possession.

Application:
What is your posture towards ministry?

Who's Glory? Yours or God?

Whenever we do something for God, are we doing for our own glory or God's glory?
I can confess we cannot deny that we did receive some of God's glory when we do something successfully.
However, it is how we re-direct all the praises and the glory back to God the Father.

Honestly speaking, i do enjoy and I believe you too the presence of God's glory that we have taken Him for granted.
How can this be?
A famous quote says, "Familiarity breeds contempt."
I was guilty of assuming His Sprit, His presence instead of seeking Him.

Both OT and NT described how people dishonor the presence and glory of God and then ended up dead!
Story in 2 Sam 6:6-7 told of the account of Uzzah, when the oxen stumbled he took hold of the ark and he got struck dead.
In Acts 5:1-10, another account of Anaias and Sapphira, both struck death because lying in the Holy Spirit.
Two very serious account that took their lives.

Application:
Have you ever checked your motives?
Your intentions? or
Good intentions with wrong motives?
or
Doing the right thing in a wrong way?


We can talk a lot of God's glory than be changed by His glory.
Let's be aware of of own limitations and refuse to accept the glory that is due to God and God alone.

What are you building?

God's Kingdom or man's kingdom

When we first moved into our new premises very near to the one of the largest and longest mall, we raised fund and had the premises be renovated and transformed into a very different outlook.
In any way, it is still a rented premises but our finances and pledges are poured into the cost of the renovation and furnishing.

For me, this is one of the best outlook of a church premise that may not look as one, as we have the objective of making it warm and welcome for friends and family.

Though buildings are important for us to come together to gather to worship Him together, we need to build lasting relationships.
In building God's kingdom we may ended up building man's or our own kingdom and bypass what's truly the call of God to reach the lost.

You know what's the difference. In building man's kingdom, we will always look Backward and talk and boast of our past achievement and success, whereas in building God's kingdom, we will will always look Forward, looking ahead to a new horizon for a new harvest field!

Application:
What are you building?

A Team Ministry or A One Man Hero

In ministry, we always look for the man! True?
We can some how find ourselves saying, "If we can find that one-man then we are fine."
But again before the one-man is found, it was everybody working together. And when the one-man was finally came aboard, the everybody effort was suddenly dissolved leaving everything for the one-man to do.

What is missing?

Is ministry lies on personalities?
Is ministry lies on sermons alone?
Is ministry lies on an event?

I believe we are all in this together. It is the TEAM effort. It is the TEAM coming together for a good cause!
The cause for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

The TEAM consists of US and with the Holy Spirit.

Praying together
Interceding together
Worshipping together
Witnessing together
Teaching together
Preaching together
Discipling together
Playing together

That's right!
The operative word of ministry is TOGETHER and not alone!

What happens when we choose to do it alone? Rambo?
We see ourselves
separated;
alone;
apart;
discouraged;
depressed;
deprived;
self-pity;
disorientated;

Eph 2:19-22
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Give or Acquire

How do you measure your growth in ministry or the things that you are doing?

It is always a tough decision whether to give away or to acquire.

Our normal mindset is once given away... that's it, it will return anymore.
The world mentality is to grab, grab and grab.

Can we say our measure of growth is by how much we gave last year and not how much we received?
Can this be ultimate measurement for growth?
Though we have financial controls and accountability.

Will God be please by a bigger building? or a fatter account?

My conviction is
if we are reaching the lost!
if we are giving to mission!
if we are drawing people to Christ!
if we are investing into the harvest field!
if we are focusing on what God called us to do... obeying the Great Commandment and fulfilling the Great Commission!

Acts 20:35
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'

for other readings :
Read Luke 12:13-21 Parable of the Rich Fool

Relationship or Just Want to be Right

I can fight and argue my way to state that i am totally right and loose the relationship.

Have you heard "I know I'm right and I don't care what other people say..."?
How often we respond and act like this?

Many do not realize until we face the real life.
Having to be right all the time can be an exit door for many good relationships.

What happen to people who always claim to be right?
Often they become self-righteous, judgmental and condemning.

Learning from Jesus is the best example.
Jesus was always right but rarely condemning.
On the hand, Jesus stands for the truth. He became angry with the religious self-righteous... He overturned the tables of the money changers because they are making the house of God into den of robbers.

Romans 15:7
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God."

We can learn to
accept one another just as Christ accepted us.

We can be right
without severing relationship.

We can learn to
accept one another even when you disagree with their opinions and beliefs.

But
there are times when the relationship causes you to sin and continue in sinful behavior
then
probably you have to part the relationship.

James 5:19-20
"My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins."

Question : What would you do when disagreement arise? What should i consider?
Ask "What price are you willing to pay to stand for the truth nothing but the truth"?
Ask "Which one is worth it, "sacrificing truth" or "sacrificing self" ?

John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

People or Policy

I can say almost all churches or organization are governed by their own standard procedure or whichever you called it. And that means policy makers do exist. I worked for a manufacturing company for a long seven years many years ago. And my last four years i was involved in making quality and environmental policies and standard procedures for the company.

I discovered that many workers were so intimidated by the procedures that their own superiors have written.
The whole idea of the procedure was to "write what you do" and "do what you write." And they can change that procedure if it does not apply anymore and needed to change for better. But because of ignorance, it has become a bondage to many of them and majority were afraid to request for change.

Policies or standard procedures or by-laws or constitutions are written by people with the intention to protect the institution and it's people.
But sometimes the very thing that protect us can also separate and divide us.

Our commitment in ministry is to people, to tending and to caring for the sheep; all the more honoring God.
When policies do not protect and serve people, then they must be re-examined, revised or sometimes have to set aside.

Policies should serve the needs of the body; and not dictate the ministry of the body.

I told one production supervisor, "The procedure is meant to help, to assist, to maintain quality of manufacturing and not to cause fear, burden and unnecessary stress. If you see any flaws in it, please come forward and request for amendment. There is always enough room for improvement."

Never let policies pull you down from achieving what God has called you to do!

The Living Word is the most accurate authoritative Word of Life to guide and direct our steps. Following them is a good policy

Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

Many things or One thing

Luke 10:41-41

⁴¹"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴²but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Today we are so occupied with so many stuffs.

Astro has so many channels I not even know;

Unlimited numbers of websites that I have no idea at all;

Mobile phones, PDAs, Smartphones moreover with those who have Blackberrys, Iphone, Ipad and with Wifi areas and portable modems... we are connected 24 hours 7 days at all times.

Needless to say all the media and entertainment world attracting our daily attention.

I can say that majority of us or all of us are trapped into this busyness. Those mentioned have become part of human life.

Just imagine if the world without them.

There will be more families in the park, picnic by the beach, playing kites, children at the playground with their daddies and mummies.

On the other hand, what if all the Astro channels relate to the Bible; we treasure our mobile phones, smartphones whatever communication media is the Bible.

We carry them everywhere we go, we browse it all the time, we anticipate God speaking to us at every moment, now and then we will pick up and check thinking God would be calling us or texting us... our connection with God is 24 / 7/ 365 without fail.

Our world will be a different world.

May I ask you, "What is the ONE thing Jesus referring to?"

People or Programs

Often times we are just too busy doing programs, especially in church activities. As such that we probably would have live for programs rather than what is important that gives life.

I once told a famous quote, "Major the major and minor the minor."

Are we seeking to satisfy the appetites of hungry sheep without considering their nutritional well-being?

We are growing daily physically but not growing healthy from the inside out.

What is the spiritual balanced-diet?

Food :Matt 4:4 : the Word of God

Water :John 4:10-14: the Water of Life

Air :Gen 2:7 : the Breath of Life

Developing programs is best when the Spirit of God meets the Deep Real Needs of people drawing them to Christ alone.

My soul faints with longing for your salvation, but i have put my hope in your word.

Psalms 119:81

Exist to serve or to be served

It is always a struggle for every church whether they have leaders that exist to serve or waiting to be served. It is the same senario whether we have more leaders or more followers. Do we need more people to serve us or to serve the Kingdom of God?

Eph 4:11-16

An effective leader equips believers to do the work of ministry.

What kind of leaders do we need?

We need leaders who focus on strength not weakness;

We need leaders who give power away not hoard them;

We need leaders who invest time in others;

We need leaders who choose to grow by multiplication;

We need leaders who impact people beyond their own reach;

Phil 2:5-7

Ministry is best learned through serving the least.

Are you looking around for someone to serve or are you equipping others to serve Christ?