Are You Qualified For Ministry?

"And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1Cor. 6:11).

Scripture teaches that the ministry of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is for all believers (1Cor. 12:7).

At what point do we become qualified to be ministers of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and in particular, the gift of prophecy? What level of maturity should we attain to before considering ourselves fit to minister? What measure of faithfulness in our walk with the Lord should we exhibit, before stepping out into ministry? What depth of healing and wholeness should be attested to in our lives, before we begin to minister healing and wholeness to others?

As always, we can look to Jesus, and the pattern He established in choosing those whom He would send out, to do the work of the ministry. Let's begin our study by considering the faithfulness, wholeness and maturity of the disciples whom Jesus chose to send in His name.

1. They were lacking in faith and weak in prayer, but rather than feeling condemned and disqualified, they asked Jesus to increase their faith and teach them to pray. We can do the same! (Matt.17:19-21; Luke 17:5; Mark 9:28-29; Luke 11:1)

2. They lacked understanding of some of the basic teachings of Jesus, yet they drew near to Him, seeking, questioning, receiving and learning of Him (Matt. 15:15-16; Matt. 16:6-12; Matt. 16:20-23; Matt. 18:21-22).

3. They were stingy, judgmental and mean-spirited. In both of the following passages of scripture, Jesus not only rebukes his disciples for being stingy, but he also has to tell them to be nice to Mary (Matt.26:6-10; John 12:3-7).

4. They were motivated by selfish ambition and revenge. Mk. 9:33-34 and Lk.22:23-24 reveal the arguing, plotting and scheming going on among the disciples as they dispute individual place and position in this new "ministry" that Jesus has been discussing with them. When Jesus sends them into an area to make preparations for His arrival to minister, the disciples want to call fire down on the heads of those who reject the ministry (Lk.9:54)!

5. They went through times of doubting, disloyalty and unfaithfulness to Jesus and to His purposes in and through their lives (Matt. 26:31; Matt. 26:70-74; Mark 14:50).

It is strikingly obvious that the disciples of Jesus were not 100% loyal. They were not healed and whole emotionally. THEY WERE NOT FULLY MATURE! Yet, these are the people to whom Jesus GAVE His power and authority. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.

In this week's lesson so far, we've been considering the "qualifications" of those who were chosen both to do and to teach the things of Jesus. These are the same people who "turned the world upside down", yet they are people with whom any believer can easily identify. There is one other qualification we must not overlook! Fully recognizing that all promises, purposes and provisions are made possible in and through the glorious man Christ Jesus, we are enabled to fulfill the one qualification attainable by us all:

Mk. 4:19:

"Then He (Jesus) said to them, `Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men'"

And as Eugene Peterson writes in The Message, verse 20, "They didn't ask questions, but simply dropped their nets and followed".

Surely, one of the sweetest sounds that never ceases to bring joy and delight to our Savior, is the sound of dropping nets, closely followed by the sound of purposeful, surrendered footsteps.

In short, what stops God from using you for ministry?

• Are you lacking in faith? Then confess this to the Lord and ask Him to increase your faith. He will.

• Do you feel you are not knowledgeable enough of scripture and understanding of doctrine? If so, then ask the Lord to teach you and give you wisdom. Continue to read and study God's word. There is a certain basic level of scriptural understanding that is necessary to be able to effectively minister God's truth, but you do not have to hold an M.Div degree to be usable. Continue to learn scripture and study to show yourself approved (2 Tim 2:15), but do not discount the Lord's ability to use you because you are not a Bible theologian.

• Do you need more maturity in your character development? I.E., are there areas of your character that are not perfected yet? This is true for almost everyone who God uses. He will continue to develop and shape your character. His indwelling Holy Spirit will continue to transform your nature into conformity with the nature of Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.") Choose to cooperate with Him instead of resisting Him. Allow Him to mold and transform your character. (Romans 12:2 NIV "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.") But do not assume you have to be perfect before God starts to use you. Just be willing to be "in process" with God and allow Him to further refine you as He uses you. That is what He did with His disciples and He will do the same for you.

• Do you go through times of doubting, disloyalty and unfaithfulness to Jesus and to His purposes in and through your life? Then allow Him to restore you, as He restored Peter when Peter denied Him (John 21:15-19).

Jesus did not disqualify His disciples for any of the above reasons, and He will not disqualify you, either. If you have a willing heart and a sincere desire to be obedient and available to Him, God will use you.

MATURITY AND PROPHETIC MINISTRY

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Eph. 4:11-13

In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote: "It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird; it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs, at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must hatch or go bad". Much of the church today looks like a hatchery! The hatching process is messy and awkward, but it is essential for transition and it is essential for flying. The Apostle Paul, like an old, mother hen, knew well the cost involved in the hatching process.

It is within the context of the messiness and the awkwardness of the church at Corinth, that Paul, by the Holy Spirit, brings forth much of the scriptural instruction concerning prophecy. In First Corinthians we find answers to some of the basic questions about prophecy: Who, What and Why? Who may prophesy and who is prophecy for? What is prophecy? Why prophesy?

Upon considering these 3 W's, we'll find that the answers are quite simple and direct.

Who may prophesy?

ALL believers. (1Cor. 14:1, and 31)

Who is prophecy for?

Prophecy is for the church and for unbelievers. (1Cor. 14:4, 24)

What is prophecy?

Prophecy is that which brings edification, exhortation and comfort to people. (1Cor. 14:3)

Why prophesy?

Prophecy edifies the church, is a sign to unbelievers and brings glory to Jesus (1Cor. 14:3, 4 and 24, 28; Rev. 19:10)

When considering some of the instructions concerning prophecy and other gifts of the Holy Spirit related in First Corinthians 12-14, one needs to be mindful of the people to whom these instructions were given. The church at Corinth was dealing with major problems, such as divisions and quarreling (1Cor. 1:10-11), immaturity and carnality (1Cor. 3:1-3), arrogance and presumption against an apostle (1Cor. 4), sexual immorality (1Cor. 8,6 and 7), issues related to idolatry (1Cor. 8,9 and 10), and drunkenness at meetings (1Cor. 11:21). These are serious issues that Paul addresses, but does he tell the church to stop meeting? Does he instruct them to stop listening to the Spirit? Does he warn them to stop praying for one another and to stop ministering to one another? No, he says there are even more things he needs to talk to them about, but that he will set them in order when he gets there (1Cor. 11:34). Then, like a good father, he begins to instruct them in the correct way to receive and to do the work of the ministry. How can he do this? He can do this because he trusts the height, width and depth of the love and grace of God (1Cor. 1:4-9). He can do this because he knows and trusts the person of the Holy Spirit (1Cor. 12:11). He can do this because he trusts the redemptive power of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ (1Cor. 6:11).

We are partakers of the divine nature, each time we release and receive the ministry of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We draw others, unbelievers and believers alike, near to the presence of the Lord, each time we offer ourselves as vessels for His service. God longs to speak to mankind. We must come to understand that we are co-laborers with God and have been given the holy privilege of revealing His love to mankind. The redemptive power of the cross is released into the world, the church and individual lives, each time we trust God to speak through us by the Holy Spirit. "For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev. 19:10).

We stated in a previous paragraph that much of the church today resembles a hatchery, so we can pose the age-old question of which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Putting the question in context with our study, let us pose the question of which comes first - ministry or maturity? The verses of Ephesians 4:11-12 have been trumpeted loudly and clearly throughout the Body of Christ in recent years, as the understanding has unfolded that there are those given to the church (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers), whose privilege and purpose is to "equip the saints for the work of the ministry". Along with this, there has been an emphasis on developing "Body Ministry", and rightly so. Reading further through verse 16, we find that doing of the "work of the ministry" is a VITAL part of the maturing process for the saints.

What are some of the purposes accomplished through Body Ministry? Several are listed in Eph. 4:11-16:

• The Body of Christ is built-up (vs. 12)
• We are brought more fully into the unity of the faith (vs. 13)
• We are led into a deeper knowledge of the Son of God (vs. 13)
• We mature in Christ (vs. 13b-14)
• We mature in love (vs. 15)
• We take our part in the process by which the entire Body of Christ is joined together (vs. 16)
• As each one grows, we all grow (vs. 16)

It is interesting to note that the process that begins with the ministries given to the Body for the equipping and edifying of the Body (vs. 11), comes full circle to the Body of Believers itself, knowing how to grow in love and edification by receiving that which "every joint supplies".

We asked: which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Ministry or maturity? The answer really is simple. If you're an egg, it's time to hatch! If you're a chicken, it's time to reproduce and encourage others to hatch! We are all called to spiritual maturity - to growing up "in all things into Him who is the head - Christ" (vs.15), but we should not let the awareness of our immaturity cause us to draw back from the very process by which we are brought to maturity. There are depths of edification and maturity that we can come to know only as we are willing to step-out to do the work of the ministry. God's grace IS sufficient. We bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ and to His immeasurable gift of the Holy Spirit, each time we take up the cross of our self-conscious unworthiness, deny our fear and lack, and trust His ability to work through us, until we all come "to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ".

Each lesson is accompanied by an activation exercise, or workshop, designed to help you more fully develop your prophetic gifting. These activations start simple, and each week's activation builds on the previous ones. To see the activation for this week's lesson, click here.