gifts vs ministry, big vs small, supernatural vs normal and divine

I was thinking these days that I don't want to push it - I finished that "30-day challenge" and it worked out well, so now I don't need to blog on this site daily. I write my enjoyment of the Lord on the agodman.com website - please subscribe there to get portions of the Word emailed to you whenever they are posted. By the way, in a few weeks there will be a college age conference in the UK, in Bower House, and I have the feeling that after this conference we will have some sharing from the students of their top enjoyment in this time. First, pray for this time, that the Lord would unveil us to see the full ministry of Christ in three stages - especially in the first stage, the stage of Incarnation. Second, keep an eye on agodman.com - a God-man is a normal Christian!

The Ripley's Believe It Or Not in Piccadilly Circus, London

Apologies again for the quality of the picture - this is the building of the Ripley's, Believe it or Not, in Piccadilly Circus in London, at night. All lighted up, lots of people even after 9pm on Saturday would go into the museum... It's kind of pricy, I think, but for £25 I think they will show you the most amazing inventions and the coolest things in there. Basically, you won't believe it - Home to 700 peculiar, amazing and fun exhibits across 5 floors, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! is the London attraction sure to excite, delight and thrill the whole family. With everything you can imagine and plenty more you can’t, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! London is certainly the place to visit and definitely a day out of the ordinary!

Gifts vs Ministry; Big vs. Small; Supernatural vs Normal and Divine

This week and in the past weeks I have been considering the difference between these two types of things - on the one hand there's the supernatural, the gifts, and something big; on the other hand there's the ministry, something small, normal, and divine. People today when they think about God they think of something supernatural, and especially when they hear "the Holy Spirit" they think of some amazing and great power that falls upon man and does things... Even as believers and as genuine Christians we may have this concept that God needs to do something supernatural and something big - at least from time to time.

What's even more deeper than this is that many believers, just like the rest of the people in the world, appreciate a GIFT in the Body more than they appreciate or promote the MINISTRY. Let me define these terms, at least the way I see them in the light of the Bible. A GIFT is supposed to be something normal, according to the Psalm that says that "He led captivity captive and gave gifts to men" - here we see that each member of the Body is a gift to the Body. But in 2 Corinthians and in Ephesians we see that God gave some specific gifts to the Body of Christ, like: apostles, shepherds and teachers, evangelists, prophets. These are gifted saints who function in their measure to release their portion AND to perfect others to do what they also do.

On the other hand, MINISTRY is not something peculiar and specific that someone has, as we see today in Christianity so many "ministries" - no, Ministry is "the ministry of the new covenant" about which Paul was speaking. The ministry is produced through our enjoyment of the riches of Christ and having these riches being wrought into us through all kinds of sufferings and consuming pressures, so that we have a priceless treasure in an earthen vessel (2 Cor. 4:7). This ministry is produced in a long period of time and is different from the gift - the gift is almost "natural", in the sense that there's a human capacity filled with God's life, while the ministry is being produced in someone who may not be that capable but cooperates with the Lord.

The question is, what do we prefer / promote / desire: do we want something BIG, something SUPERNATURAL, and do we desire to be a GREAT GIFT to the Body? Or do we take the other way, keeping it small, desiring to be ministers, and living a normal and divine life? It is SO TEMPTING to take the large / big / great way - it is humanly natural to choose this. Even if someone doesn't know the Lord and an apostle speaks the word to him, he will be impressed and will say - wow, what a gift, so rich and so high! But in the church life saints may experience the Lord in a hidden and sweet way, not very outward and open, and may even pass through all kinds of sufferings that can't be explained humanly - and we think something's wrong, or maybe they need to do something to get out of this situation... - but the ministry can be produced in such ones!

I am praying that the Lord would open my eyes to see things the way HE sees things. The Lord Jesus, God living on earth as a man, did not do a BIG work - He lived and worked in a small way, in the tiny country of Israel, and did not make sure that everyone in the world heard about Him when He did something! No, He spent time with the Father, He expressed God, and when He did something He tried to tell people not to publicize it. At the same time, the Lord Jesus did something else, something most people didn't notice: He took 3 years and a half to train 11 disciples to be with Him, to be together as a group, and to love Him. That's what He did when He was on the earth, and when He died and resurrected, He had these 11 to be His continuation! He didn't train several thousand people - though He could have... but He trained 12, and one was "lost"!

The disciples followed in the Lord's footsteps - even though at the beginning of their ministry, there were some signs and wonders, some healings and some miracles, the disciples "remained small", and grew in a normal and divine way. Paul was moved by the Lord to go all the way from Israel through all Asia and even into Europe (Acts 16:9) - yet he himself also took the way of the ministry, of being produced as a minister of the new covenant. He passed through a lot of sufferings for the Body of Christ, meeting from his part what was lacking in the Body. Not it's us - "brother we", and it is so tempting to follow or swarm around or appreciate a gift, a genuine gift in the Body. But WHO will pay the price to tell the Lord,

Lord, give me the experiences I need that this ministry may be produced! Lord, I want to be a minister of the new covenant, one who ministers You into people and who cooperates with You in Your ministry today!

[ what do YOU think about this? Do you still appreciate the gifts in the Body more than desiring to be a minister? Do you see the difference between the gifted ones and the ministers? Do YOU want to be a minister, or is it better / more interesting to be around someone who has a great gift in the Body? How do YOU feel about all this? - let me know in your comments below]

go for the chicken and forget about the bones! (1 picture + 1 experience with the Lord today) 30-days challenge

The title of this sharing is inspired from the article, My heart overflows with a good matter; I speak what I have composed concerning the King(Psalm 45) - via agodman.com, somewhere in the last few paragraphs. I like KFC (as I was sharing before) with the saints, and I mostly love having Nando's (grilled chicken - yummy!) with the saints. But when I have chicken, I don't emphasize or get disturbed by the bones of the chicken - I go for the meat! The skin is also good, especially if it's grilled.... - but the meat, that's what I like! It's the same with the church life - "go for the chicken in the church life"! More about this after,

1 Picture Today - King's Cross in Central London

This is the BIG building behind and above the King's Cross train and tube station in Central London. I promise you - I don't want to advertise for these guys, but it looks like Marriot Hotels owns this place also, and they call it, St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel in London. They have been working on this place to renovate it forever, and now it's open! I've been around King's Cross many times, especially since the saints live there and we meet around there many times. You can get the London Underground, the National Rail, and the International trains from this location (some leaving from St. Pancras). You can see more pictures of the hotel via, Explore St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel, or check out what's up around this are - King's Cross stuff. Of course, the best thing about King's Cross is the saints - they are the excellent, all my delight is in them!

1 Experience with the Lord - Go For the Chicken and Forget About the Bones!

I was touched by this illustration that brother Ed shared in the message for this week - Crystallization-Study of the Psalms(1), message 7. If someone comes to your home to visit, you don't put the rubbish bin on the table and tell him, Here, have a banana peel! Neither do you put the garbage somewhere that can be seen - NO! You hide the rubbish, you clean the house, and you offer the guest something good to eat and drink! And if there's rubbish you see around, you put it away! No one invites someone else to his house and makes sure that people see the litter bin / rubbish bin...

It's the same in the church life - you don't point out the defects or weaknesses of the saints; rather, we learn to cover one another in love, pray for one another, and see Christ in the saints! This is a secret that will help us in our whole life and will uplift our appreciation of the saints - seeing Christ in the saints! Sometimes you can't even see Christ living in some of the saints, but your negative speaking or your condemnation / exposing will NOT help! What really helps is for us to throw away any weaknesses, failures, or defects - into the universal rubbish bin, the lake of fire! What we want to focus on is enjoying Christ, ministering Christ, and seeing Christ in the saints!

It's interesting: we eat the WHOLE LAMB(since the lamb is Christ), but we don't "eat the whole chicken" - rather, we eat the meat and the other softer parts that can be edible(depends on people's taste...). What really matters about the fried or grilled chicken is that we eat the meat and forget about the bones! Put away the feathers, the bones, or even the dung - focus on the meat! Look away and throw away into the trash can any "feathers" or "bones" or even "dung" you may see among the saints - and focus on the meat! I wanna go for the meat and forget about the other stuff! If you try to eat the bone - God forbid... - you may get sick! In the church life, go for the chicken!

In the Old Testament king Balak got Balaam the prophet to curse the people of Israel, but Balaam couldn't do it - he rather blessed Israel(Num. 23-24). There is no failure or sin in Israel! God sees His people as being holy and without blemish, filled with Christ an put into Christ! Blessed are those who bless the church / Israel, and cursed are those who curse the church / Israel. We need to learn to see the saints as the Lord sees them - God-men filled with the growing and flourishing divine life! When we see the church and the saints as God sees them, we will speak well and bless the church!

The church life is wonderful! The church is glorious! The church in our locality is spotless and blameless - it is pure and it is glorious!

If we "go for the chicken", we will see Christ in the saints and we will minister Christ when there's a deficiency or any failures... I want to learn to know the saints not in a natural way but learn to know them according to Christ and no longer according to the flesh. And if there's a lack of Christ, I want to learn to minister Christ and pray for others - rather than criticizing or pointing out their condition... God knows our condition, but He also knows that His divine life in us can do it! He can do it in us! :) Go for the chicken, and forget about the bones or the feathers!

On Time 4 the LTM + Thorough Cleaning - One Meaningful Thing I Did Today (30-days challenge)

The most meaningful thing a human being can do - before the Lord's return with His kingdom or him being raptured to the heavens - is to enjoy the Lord and worship Him at the Lord's Table Meeting on the Lord's Day! Praise the Lord for this privilege! The Lord's Day is a new beginning - it's the first day of the week, the day of the Lord's resurrection from the dead, the real Sabbath, the day in which we all can gather to enjoy the Lord together, remember Him, and eat + drink together in the Lord's presence! Which brings me straight away to...

One Meaningful Thing I did Today - On Time for the Lord's Table Meeting + A Thorough Cleaning!

I don't know how you are in this respect, but many people I know - myself included - tend to be late especially for this, the Lord's Table Meeting. I don't know, maybe 5-10 minutes late... and sometimes I have no problem with this! I come late to the meeting, and "it's fine" with me... This doesn't mean I have a habit of being late, just that - due to unforseen or unplanned things - I somehow get to the meeting a bit late! When I get there, yes, I do exercise my spirit and participate, but recently I have been shined on by the Lord and convicted concerning this.

How comes I'm never late for work? Actually, if I'm late, I apologize, I promise I won't do it again, etc. How comes when I attend important outward events that I care for - I'm never late? How comes I'm never late when I'm supposed to meet someone at a certain time we both agreed on? How comes I'm never late for interviews? How comes I'm never late for the train or the plane - rather I plan to be there 30mins ahead or hours even? But... when it comes to meeting with the King of Kings at His table, when it comes to meet with the saints - the sons of God - to bring God praise and worship... I have almost no sense of guilt?

This is not to put guilt into people or even into me - but the Lord Jesus, the living Person within us, has something to say about this. Just contact Him and ask Him about it! That's what I did, and I was rebuked, corrected, adjusted, and exposed... so today, even though I had to take the tube (and not the bus as I used to) I made sure I was there right at 10.00am! O, the joy! O, the flow! O, the praise! I was sitting between two dear brothers and as we prayed and praised, the Spirit with our spirit... was so rich and so moving! Praise the Lord... Paying the price - YES, there is a price to pay! - to be on time at the meetings can also bring you some more practical experience and enjoyment of Christ!

This is also true about the home meetings, the prayer meetings, and all kinds of meetings - somehow we tend to get late (for various reasons) to the meeting, and... it can become a habit. Especially when you're young this is more true... In the Full Time Training you just CANNOT be late - and you learn to be regulated in this, in order to be a proper human being and a proper vessel in the Lord's hands. But what about when no one is demanding this from you - when there's no "serving one" that gets you to the meeting, but you have to do it yourself? Would you be early / on time because you just love the Lord? When we meet with the saints - this is the greatest joy on earth! It is here that our spirit never faints, and our lives are filled with worth!

The second thing, as mentioned in the title, is... THOROUGH CLEANING! I'm not sure you YOU are in this, but I both love and hate cleaning! I love cleaning and I love being clean, but at some points in time I just don't want to / hate cleaning! This doesn't mean that it's clean / messy in my room / place all the time, but it means that things pile up, the cleaning gets delayed, other more important things get in the way, etc - and the cleaning part sometimes gets forgotten! It's even more difficult when you have your own place - you don't live with people, parents don't see you to be on your case, you can "do what you want"... but many times the divine life in you and even your inward sense of being a clean-proper-human-being bothers you to CLEAN - and CLEAN THOROUGHLY!

When the divine life comes into us through our regeneration - when we are born again to be sons of God - we start a new life, and there's another Person in us. The Lord is very real and very practical. Though you may not feel anything when you tell Him daily, Lord Jesus I Love You! - yet when the time comes, when there's a practical thing happening, the Lord will be real to you within and He will speak to you specifically. He is not at peace with me enjoying the Lord in my room when my room is in a mess! Many times I repent to Him about the state of my room, the state of my heart, the state of my PC, my facebook comments and pictures, my twitter comments, etc... The Lord has something to say about everything we do/say/are! And the more we listen to Him, though we may do outward things in fellowship with Him, the more we gain Him!

So... please accept my apologies again for "using myself as an example" - I'm not different than anyone else and I'm not "special"; rather, I believe we all have this kind of experiences... - but the Lord somehow needs to make His home in our heart more! The inward enjoyment is expressed outwardly in a practical way by having Christ lived out in us - we become Jesusly human, human yet divine, proper human beings living Christ! ... to cut the story short, after such a wonderful time at the Table Meeting today there was a bothering in me, and when I got home, I was strengthened and motivated within to clean my place! Dusting, wiping, hoovering / vacuuming, washing dishes and cleaning, putting things where they belong, ironing the shirts (30mins of ironing!), arranging things, getting 2 loads of laundry done + putting them up to dry, putting out the trash / rubbish, etc... - these are just some of the things I had to do....

Lord, thoroughly clean my inward being! No separation or cloud between me and You! Shine on us, Lord, and may there be no hindrance. Keep speaking to us. Even in practical things, Lord, we want Your presence. Re-arrange the "furniture" in our heart, and strengthen us to cooperate with You even outwardly in our room, our house, our family, among the people we work / study with... Make us real Christians, real God-men!