Getting in the Game #17

The Kingdom Cowboy

Summary:

It's easy to compare sports with God's kingdom. Alot of us start when we are young and, just like parents who encourage us and cheer us on, the Kingdom is full of people that do the same, to see us grow and become all that we can be in God. It's just getting off the bench and getting in the game that makes all of this start to happen.

Show Notes:

• There's a time that we have to get off the bench and get in the game, but many are afraid to step on the court or field, especially when it comes to doing any type of ministry.
• Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers were given to the church to build up, edify, and for equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. It's the job of these five fold ministries to equip you to go out and do the ministry to God's people.
• We're all being equipped for the work of the ministry. Opportunties come up if we are looking for them. Just be ready for it and open to it.
• Being pushy and manipualitve dosen't work. That's not God's way at all. Nobody likes someone who tries to push Jesus on them. That's a bas look on the whole body of Christ.
• Ministry is best done through relationships. That makes it a lot easier. Then, when you do feel the spirit of God leading you to so that, put it out there. Something like, I believe that God can fix your problem."
• So, what's the next step for all of us? The first thing is to lean into a relationship with the Father. From His standpoint, it's always been about the relationship. "You search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, but you are not willing to come to Me, that you might really have life."
• The way that you get in the game is to build that relationship with the Lord. YOu have to give Him some time, and I would encourage, really encourage you, to get in the Word.
• The church will never be the true church until we recieve and understand this thing about being equipped for the work of the ministry.

Quotes:

• There's a stigma associated iwth the word "minisrty." People think about standing up on a stage, giving thier testimony, preaching a message or sonething like that. It's one of those things in the Bible Belt, where we are so used to those poeple...the pastor and a few elders, doing all the ministry and the rest of us just sitting around. We are all called to mnistry.
• I always had the thought in my mind that when I would go to church, hear things and would sit through messages on Sunday morning, I didn't know anything at that time, but I took notes and took notes. But from the jump go, I was always in the mode of being trained, being raised up, being equipped for something.
• We have the mentality that only a few are called to the ministry. That's not true. Accoursing to the Bible we are all called. And if we get that, then the ministry gets outside the church service, out there on the golf course, at your palce of business and those kinds of places.
• We are made by God to be sensitive and to recieve information, input, leadership from the Holy Spirit. So we need to take Him up on that and ask for people to be healed, to be set free, for marriages to be put back together, all those kind of things.
• Get in the game and find out how you are gifted, vecause there are ways that you are gifted and anointed. That's a supernatural endowment from God and that helps you go far beyond what you could do.

References:

Ephesians 4:11

Takeaways:

It's not nearly as hard to reach out and bless people in some way as you think it is. The queastion is, "will you?" But we all have to get off the bench at some point, start connecting with the Father and letting Him lead us by His spirit to move in our anointing to bless others and see them have an experience wiht the Lord.