Post by Les Brewer on Aug 22, 2019 22:15:16 GMT
Balance Biblical Ministry
10: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 46:10-11)
Brethren let me speak freely unto about a mindset I have for ministry. When I was first saved all I heard at first was the hellfire and brimstone messages that ultimately brought me into a place of condemnation. God was only someone to be feared at every turn in life. It is true that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and we should have a healthy fear of God over the fears of man and the world. Then I got tapped into the ultra-positive thinking and speaking conduit of preachers and teachers and my paradigm into that kind of mentality ended up taking me away from reality and the hard cold facts of life in this world. Brethren what I am saying is that God has given us a happy medium through his scriptures. When we super impose our carnal reasoning into them we end up going to the extremes and excesses that bring us to a place called apostasy.
I view life through the lens of scripture and am learning to apply those scriptures appropriately and properly to life. Generally I view life from the positive perspective without neglecting the negatives in life as well. One reason that I am generally a positive person is because of the joy of knowing my Lord and Savior. But my old carnal nature was the most negative and pessimistic as possible; I was cynical and critical of everything and everyone. Why? Hatred sat upon the throne of my heart. Un-forgiveness was the underlying factor for that hatred to have such a hold on me.
My positive attitude is derived from my daily devotion to God. I seek his face, I read his word, and I commune with him all the day long. He is in all my thoughts and I have abandoned my heart to him in unconditional surrender. Where he leads me I will follow for he is the Shepherd of my spirit, soul, and body. I have learned that if he is for me; no one can stand against me and succeed. I have also realized that if I die in the act of exercising his will; that is also considered victory; for death has been defeated and has lost it power to persuade me. I fear God who is my Creator, my Savior, my Shepherd, and my soon coming King.
When I preach I pray for the message. God knows the congregation far better than I do. Preparation is a vital key to pulpit ministry and in fact to any ministry. When we minister it is on behalf of the Lord as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Our thoughts concerning ministry should involve edification, exhortation, and comfort generally. However, there are times when God wants to bring correction, instruction, and reproof. When one strives to hear God in presenting his word and they’re anointed of the Lord to do the work; they’ll sense the unction to preach or teach God’s will concerning his word. The results will be lives changing for the better. Hence the lost will be found, the hurt will be healed, and the oppressed will be delivered; the body will be edified, exhorted, and comforted to strive or press for the prize of the high call of God.
10: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah & Selah
Shalom, Agape, & Amen!
D. Ray Ritchie (Bishop)
10: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 46:10-11)
Brethren let me speak freely unto about a mindset I have for ministry. When I was first saved all I heard at first was the hellfire and brimstone messages that ultimately brought me into a place of condemnation. God was only someone to be feared at every turn in life. It is true that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom and we should have a healthy fear of God over the fears of man and the world. Then I got tapped into the ultra-positive thinking and speaking conduit of preachers and teachers and my paradigm into that kind of mentality ended up taking me away from reality and the hard cold facts of life in this world. Brethren what I am saying is that God has given us a happy medium through his scriptures. When we super impose our carnal reasoning into them we end up going to the extremes and excesses that bring us to a place called apostasy.
I view life through the lens of scripture and am learning to apply those scriptures appropriately and properly to life. Generally I view life from the positive perspective without neglecting the negatives in life as well. One reason that I am generally a positive person is because of the joy of knowing my Lord and Savior. But my old carnal nature was the most negative and pessimistic as possible; I was cynical and critical of everything and everyone. Why? Hatred sat upon the throne of my heart. Un-forgiveness was the underlying factor for that hatred to have such a hold on me.
My positive attitude is derived from my daily devotion to God. I seek his face, I read his word, and I commune with him all the day long. He is in all my thoughts and I have abandoned my heart to him in unconditional surrender. Where he leads me I will follow for he is the Shepherd of my spirit, soul, and body. I have learned that if he is for me; no one can stand against me and succeed. I have also realized that if I die in the act of exercising his will; that is also considered victory; for death has been defeated and has lost it power to persuade me. I fear God who is my Creator, my Savior, my Shepherd, and my soon coming King.
When I preach I pray for the message. God knows the congregation far better than I do. Preparation is a vital key to pulpit ministry and in fact to any ministry. When we minister it is on behalf of the Lord as ambassadors of the Kingdom of Heaven. Our thoughts concerning ministry should involve edification, exhortation, and comfort generally. However, there are times when God wants to bring correction, instruction, and reproof. When one strives to hear God in presenting his word and they’re anointed of the Lord to do the work; they’ll sense the unction to preach or teach God’s will concerning his word. The results will be lives changing for the better. Hence the lost will be found, the hurt will be healed, and the oppressed will be delivered; the body will be edified, exhorted, and comforted to strive or press for the prize of the high call of God.
10: Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
11: The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah & Selah
Shalom, Agape, & Amen!
D. Ray Ritchie (Bishop)
