Our Passion and Pursuit

The Great commission is not to be our Great Passion. The Great Commission Will never be accomplished if it is our passion, for we will quickly lose sight of Who is the real source of power and authority? It is His harvest, not ours. It is His ministry, not ours. He alone is responsible for the fruit, not us. The Great Commission is also His problem, not ours. He is in the process of getting His harvest completed. Our responsibility is to be unreservedly available toHim, clean of sin, and under the power of the Holy Spirit. Never did Christ ask us to make ministry to people our number one consuming passion in life.

We often use phrases like - "His last command, our first concern." His last command should be our concern, but not our first concern. We say the reason for being on earth is for the sake of the lost. That is partially true. But we are also here for the sake of His Body, and primarily to worship and know Him. The joy of knowing Him intimately is not reserved for Heaven. It begins now.

Our role in ministry is not to make things happen, or to do ministry for Jesus. We are not the quarterback calling the plays, looking to the sidelines once in awhile for coaching from Christ. Jesus Christ is the quarterback, actively and personally involved in every move. Our role is to be a servant, a steward, a shepherd of Christ, a colaborer with Him (1 Corinthians 3:9, 10), pointing people to Jesus.

"The men and women who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character and have most powerfully affected the world for Him, have been men and women who spend so much time with God as to make it a notable feature in their lives." "To be little with God is to be little for God." "God's acquaintance is not made hurriedly. He doesn't bestow His gifts on the causal or hasty comer or goer. To be much alone with God is the secret of knowing Him and of influence with Him." - E.M Bounds

To influence people for Christ, we have to first reflect Christ. But to reflect Christ, we must first have a passion for Him that is singular, focused that puts Him first (as the Father does). Then our passion for Christ reflects Christ, which leads to influence and spiritual authority in ministry.

Both ministry to God and to people is important. It is not "either-or," but "both-and." To have a holistic scriptural view of ministry both must be considered. But only one is to be our passion. The "Mary and Martha syndrome" has often been the concern of Christian leaders. Should we serve People, like Martha did or choose to only sit at Jesus' feet? Both must be in balance. God blesses us so we might bless others. We must not selfishly hold this relationship with God for ourselves. It must go outward to others. We are not buckets, but channels of living water to others.

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