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What Is Ministering To The Lord?

One of the main reasons for the "power failure" today in the Christian church is that Christians have failed to minister to the Lord. Biblically, the evidence is that our ministry to the Lord must come before our ministry to men if we are to be effective. Even after being filled with the Holy Spirit, if our priorities regarding these two types of ministry are reversed, we will be helpless and impotent before the heathen world. We need to once again dig down into the springs of God's Life and bury ourselves in Him, the Source. We need to be caught up in the wonder of the Person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, to know Him intimately and deeply. We will then find that our ministry Godward will urge us manward with a new freshness and power. Then we will not only talk of God's power but will also see it demonstrated. Never has God so burned a truth into my being and so branded it upon my soul as the truth that our first ministry is to Him and not to men. The revolution in my life began one day when the Holy Spirit gently began whispering to me, "Minister to the Lord. Minister to the Lord." For several days, this phrase kept coming through my mind. So I began to search the Scriptures. I found that to serve the Lord, or to minister to the Lord, could be translated from some of the same Hebrew and Greek words (Hebrew-sharath; Greek-diakoneo). There are many ways in which believers minister to (or serve) the Lord. We can minister to Him by ministering to those whom He loves. (See Matthew 25:40.) We can minister to Him by presenting Him with our tithes and offerings. We can minister to Him by offering Him our praise and worship. Despite the numerous ways in which we can minister to God, I knew that the Holy Spirit was speaking about the latter way-about ministering to God in praise and worship. It is amazing how often "ministering to the Lord" is mentioned in the Bible. During the stay at Sinai while Israel was in the wilderness, "the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name" (Deuteronomy 10:8). During the spiritually barren days before the rule of Israel's kings, when the word of the Lord was precious and there was no open vision, little Samuel "ministered unto the Lord before Eli" (I Samuel 2:18, 3:1). When the temple was completed, during the reign of Solomon, the ark was brought from Zion into the most holy place. "And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place... the trumpeters and singers were as one to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God" (II Chronicles 5:11-14). Mary, the mother of Jesus, ministered to the Lord as she spoke forth the marvelous worship and praise of the Magnificent. (See Luke 1:46-55; cf. I Samuel 2:1-10) Anna, the prophetess, who "spake of Him (Jesus) to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem," never left the Temple but "served (or ministered to) the Lord with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:36-38). The leaders of the early church not only ministered to the Lord privately but came together publicly to fast and minister to the Lord. (Acts 13:1-3.) Not only do we minister to the Lord here on earth, but millions in heavenly places minister to the Lord. The Apostle John writes: "And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever" (Revelation 5:11-14). How numerous are the references in the Bible to ministering to the Lord! How important it is to understand God's loving design for us as we learn to minister to Him now and equip ourselves for that same ministry for eternity!

Understanding Gods Purposes

Before we can understand our responsibility of ministering to the Lord and see it in perspective, we must understand God's purposes from the beginning of time and even before creation. It is important to note that God has Sovereignly declared that He made all things, including man, for Himself, that is, for His pleasure and for His glory. "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth . . . all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before a things, and by him all things consist" (Colossians 1:16-17). In Revelation 4:8-11, the Apostle John describes the four living creatures who worship God day and night saying, "Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." He tells of the twenty-four elders who worship God by falling down before Him and casting their crowns before His throne. They are saying, "Thou art worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and honor and power- for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." God, in speaking about each one of us, says in Isaiah 43:7, "for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." Later on in the same chapter He sovereignly declares, "This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise" (verse 21). You are made for God-for His pleasure and to praise and worship Him forever. (Continued)