Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. Paul’s letter to Ephesians 4:11-12
I’ve always wondered why there was great silence in heaven when God asked, “Who will go for us?” It was meant to be a straightforward mission – to redeem mankind from their woes caused by their recklessness. After much silence, the only son of God volunteered to go. That was the beginning of an eternal responsibility and journey. I believe it’s pretty easy to sacrifice for a good person than a “not so good” person. The Son was willing to take a huge risk on mankind. He left behind the majestic splendour of God’s presence for thirty-three years for unwilling people. What a risk! It was a risk that paid off in the end.
In the midst of contradiction, opposition and resistance, Jesus was focused on his mission. Not for a second did he lose sight; he remained committed till the mission was accomplished and he declared boldly, “It is finished.”
The real beauty of life is not just in the now but when you exit. Be sure to leave something worthwhile behind for humanity or your family at least! Jesus exited and left an amazing gift for humanity – a gift of a new life. It was the beginning of the end of pain and shame for mankind.
The Church
The church is meant to be the greatest force on earth, advancing the mission Jesus started. The church is the body of Christ. She has all the advantages – Jesus himself is her head.
But unfortunately, it’s either the church has lost sight of this important truth or become distracted with other issues less important. The church is not delivering as she was previously designed by God to be. The capacity is dropping and the body of Christ is suffering due to pain induced by reckless and undisciplined leaders and members. The church, as you may know, is not the worship building or venue, but the people worshipping in the building. The church is the people. As Jesus is the head and the church is His body, I believe He is taking necessary actions and precautions to root out the sickness and pain causing the body to suffer. It is time for a clean-up. Jesus will sweep and clean His temple once again! Remember he did it before, he will sure not hesitate to do it again. His action will ignite the greatest revival the church has ever experienced in her history.
The assurance I have is this: Jesus is never complacent about the church he bought with his blood. He declared in the bible, ” I will build my church and the gate of hell will never prevail.” Though the statement is for encouragement, it is also a statement of warning that the church will suffer many things but it will not be overpowered at any time.
The Pastor
Being a pastor is one of the most difficult jobs anyone could do. It’s more of a calling than just a job and you don’t need much evidence to truly know whether a pastor is operating in his office as a job or as a calling. As stated by Jesus, pastors are one of the gifts given to His body; they are tasked with the sole responsibility to equip people to do His work and point them back to Him. It’s unfortunate that today, some pastors are pointing people to themselves or encouraging people to point to them. It amuses me when I hear a pastor say, “It’s my church and no one can take it away from me.” You are only qualified to call it your church if you have died and risen from the dead like Jesus did. It is Jesus’ church, His body. You are only a gift given to nourish, care and point the body to the heart of Jesus.
A pastor is not more important than a member of the church in the sight of God. Stop treating the people Jesus died for as if they don’t count or matter. It is now a common practice to reserve special, more comfortable seats in church for those we consider more important. I understand it is important to have order in gatherings, but we have taken it to the extreme. Pastors that should serve are now being served. Never grow too big to the point of losing human contact, otherwise, you are as good as done.
Everything we do in church should and only be centred on Jesus and nothing else matters.
