Membership has its privileges.

 

 

 

Membership opens doors for ministry.

 

Paul the apostle wrote to the believers in Thessalonike to "know those who labor [minister] among you" [1 Thess. 5:12]  He was exhorting them to know by observation those that ministered to them. This speaks of having a relationship that was more than a casual one. It is imperative for people to have a relationship with the body where they want to minister, or at least the God-given leadership team. 

 

Ministry opens doors for responsibility.

 

When a person begins to minister [work] in a specific location responsibility is a natural byproduct. A person that will not take responsibilty for their ministry [actions] is a dangerous person. A responsible minister is one that desires that God be glorified in their work and that those that are being ministered to are the priority, not the one doing the ministry. Every minister has a responsibility to bring those they are ministering to into an encounter with the God of love, and with the love of God.

 

Responsibility opens doors for authority.

 

Once a person begins to prove that their ministry is for the Glory of God and the benefit of others then God can confidently release kingdom authority to them. Kingdom authority is the ability to publicly act on behalf of a sovereign. 

Authority opens doors for the miraculous to become a normal lifestyle.

 

Christianity is not Biblical Christianity without the miraculous interventions of God. Most of what we call Christianity is a watered down version of what Jesus lived for, died for, rose again for, ascended into heaven for, and dispatched the Holy Spirit for. We have been trained to expect very little from our relationship to Jesus Christ. We have been trained to be nice. Jesus trained people to be dangerous. Biblical Christianity is a re-presentation of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in purity [the fruit of the Holy Spirit in operation], and power [the gifts of the Holy Spirit in operation]. To Jesus and His original followers, salvation meant wholeness - not forgiveness.

 

Forgiveness was, and continues to be just a portion of the message of the cross. Jesus said He came to seek and to save that which was lost, not those that were lost. Those are included in the that. The that that Jesus came to save was the Kingdom authority that Adam forfeited in the Garden.