Minister means servant. Minister of God means servant of God. Jesus came to this world to serve (Mat.20:28). He did ministry. For example, He baptized (John 3:22). However, it was not Jesus who baptized but only His disciples (John 4:3). Nevertheless Scriptures mentioned that Jesus Himself baptized (John 3:26). Therefore His disciples were functioning as His ambassadors and perform the work in His stead (II Cor. 5:2). Those who serve so are worthy of great honor! See, the Father will honor them (John 12: 26). How great and blessed is he who is honored by God Himself!

In this world generally a master calls his servant who waits at his doorstep. The servant comes running immediately. The master called him wishing to send him to a shop to purchase certain things. Now what should the servant do?

1.The moment he hears his master's voice, he should come and stand before him.

2.He should listen carefully as to what are the things his master wants him to buy. He should at least ask and find out the shop to which his master wants him to go.

3.He should receive from his master the money needed to purchase the goods and keep it safely.

4.Once the master bids him to go, he should go

5.Without loitering here and there, he should proceed directly to the shop, buy all the goods and return home.

6.After coming home, he should give all the goods to his master and submit to him proper accounts without any falsification.

7.After assuring himself that the job is over, till the time the master tells him to do another job, he should be within hearing distance of his master. He should keep doing other household chores such as cleaning the house, watering the garden or whatever work he had been already asked to do.

Only such a servant will be acceptable to the master; The master will be pleased with him. He will trust him, put him in charge of many things and will meet his needs. When so much discipline is expected out of a worldly servant, how much more disciplined should be the ministers of heavenly kingdom?

Ministry means to do what the Lord bids. Everything else will not be ministry but will be the opposite of it that will bring loss to the Master. Of the twelve persons who went to spy on the land of Canaan, ten persons reported that it was a land flowing with milk and honey but was inhabited by giants who can not be overcome in war and thus caused disturbance among people. Therefore the people grumbled against Moses. Though witnessing the mighty works of God, as the people failed to trust in His power to fulfill His promise, He was angry with the people and said He would destroy them. However Moses pleaded with God and received mercy (Num. 13th &14th chapters). However all the ten people who caused disturbance among the people died of a plague. Upon learning their fate, the people regretted their faithlessness and said `We have sinned. We will go up to the place the Lord promised'. So saying, they were emboldened to climb up the mountain on their own without God's command or permission and without consulting Moses, the man appointed by God. What happened? They were disappointed. Their enemies defeated them (Num. 14: 37-45).

What does God's ministry mean? The ministry is to do what God bids. If God sends His minister to some place to do certain work, He Himself goes there ahead of him (Ex. 17:5,6). He goes ahead of His minister and removes the obstacles (Micah 2: 13). All that the minister does will be blessed. God's presence in a place drives away evil forces (satan and evil forces) like light replacing darkness.

Following the advice of Moses, the twelve people went to spy on the land of Canaan. They went in obedience to the counsel of God. God was with them. The enemies could not harm them. As God was with the spies, their(Canaanites') protection (satanic power) left them by the presence of God. Therefore the two stalwarts of faith were confident of victory (Num. 14:9). A burglar enters a house, threatens the inmates with a knife, binds them and then robs all the goods. If the inmate is stronger than the thief, he will catch him, thrash him, snatch the knife and do to him as he pleases. What is the fate of the burglar now? He could at best touch the things but could not pocket them. Even what he had would be taken away from him. Alas! Jesus says that satan is strong. Truly, satan is stronger than you. He knows Scriptures better than you as he was said to be wiser than Daniel (Ezek. 28:3)(NKJV). The souls of mankind are at his feet, under his rule. If you want to capture the souls, satan should be bound first (Mat.12: 29). Jesus Christ is the only one who has conquered him. Without Jesus, you can not conquer satan by yourself (John 15:5). If He sends you to a place to do His ministry, He will first go to that place ahead of you and remove satan by His glorious presence. You can easily accomplish your mission. You can win souls.

An angel of the Lord sent Philip (Acts 8:26,29). A high official of Queen Candace believed and was baptized (Acts 8:38). The Lord sent Peter speaking through His Spirit (Acts 10: 19,20). Cornelius and his relatives were anointed by the Holy Spirit and were baptized (Acts 10: 45, 48). He sent St.Paul to Macedonia speaking to him in a night vision (Acts 16: 9,10). Lydia and her household became believers (Acts 16:14).

There are numerous proofs like these in the Scriptures. The ministries of the saints were like this till the end. How is your ministry? Woe to you if you go to do His ministry without being sent by Him, for the Lord will not be with you. Without Him, you can do nothing (John 15:5). Satan will overpower you. You will be wounded in your spirit and body. Your will be stripped of your gifts. You will lose power. You will fall in sin and your testimony will be spoiled. You will be in a pitiable state. If you drive out an evil spirit from someone without the authority of the Lord, it will possess you. If you place your hand on the head of the sick, that sickness will come to you or to your household. Don't show the verse "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15) as the basis. For, if you say so, you should baptize those who hear your voice (Mat.28:19). If you do that also, you should teach those whom you baptized to observe all things which the Lord commanded you (Mat. 28:20). What did the Lord command you? You don't know that. Therefore God did not send you to preach the gospel. You must know that after His resurrection, the Lord through the Holy Spirit had given commandments only to the apostles (Acts 1:1,2). "Then He called the Twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick" (Luke 9:1,2).

You think that you derive your authority from the above verse. But even the seventy disciples, whom Jesus sent for ministry in those days, did not think that they had such authority! He sent them giving such authorities separately (Luke 10:1-11). Therefore each one should receive the calling, the authority and his mission individually from God. It will be in accordance with the Scriptures. When satan attempted to kill Jesus by asking Him to fall off a height, Jesus showed him another verse and overcame him (Mat.4: 6,7).

If you think that you do not have such gift of hearing the word of God and doing His will, like Timothy and Titus who did according to the words of Paul, you too can follow the minister who hears the word of God and does according to His will. If you want to know where such a ministry is, let it be known that the Lord has committed to us this eternal and glorious ministry counting us faithful. He has committed this ministry only to us. As "New Jerusalem Church", we are doing this ministry hearing from Him and doing according to His words. Like Philip (Acts 8:26-39), Ap.Paul (Acts 16:9,10; 23:11) and Ap.Peter (Acts 10:5-20), the Lord is leading us. You too can be a partner in this ministry. We warmly welcome you. God is with us.

"So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, `We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do'" (Luke 17:10)