“Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.” Deut. 10:20
“As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” 2 Tim. 4:5
“And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.”” Col. 4:17
When the Lord speaks in His Word about fulfilling one’s ministry, He is not just speaking of people like me who are devoted full-time to the Lord and so-called ministry work as I am as an evangelist and writer. Nor is He speaking just of those in what some call the five-fold offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher. Nor is He referring just to those who have jobs in churches or do full-time missions work in foreign countries. He is speaking of ALL who will spend eternity with Him in heaven. ALL who have a forever relationship with God through faith in Christ. ALL who are born again by turning from a lifestyle of sin, believing in Christ as Lord, and living a life devoted to Christ. To ALL who profess to be Christ followers. To ALL who don’t want to spend eternity apart from God in hell and the lake of fire and have thus repented and turned to God and His ways as their very lifestyle. If you profess Christ as Lord, or if you now realize you must repent and turn to Christ forever and do so now, God is referring to YOU as part of that ALL. ALL those who will be with God forever through the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the verses above, Paul tells Timothy his son in the faith to FULFILL his MINISTRY. Archippus needs to be told to FULFILL his MINISTRY. So then God’s only referring to those two along with all those today called into and dedicated to God and full-time to ministry, right? Not so!
Back up to Deuteronomy where God tells us to FEAR HIM, to SERVE HIM, and to hold onto Him for dear life. His greatest command is to love Him with all our hearts. He also commands us to serve Him. As I read in a book long ago, we should serve Him out of our love for Him!
Are you living your life to LOVE and to SERVE God almighty, and when you stand before the Lord one day and give an account of your life will you be able to say you fulfilled your service to Him? A good reminder to us ALL, isn’t it?
If you need help and encouragement in seeking and finding God’s purpose for you & in fulfilling your ministry, please feel free to contact me at 843-338-2219 or love@walkbyfaithministry.com.