Identity as a Minister in Love by serving..

Annie has a wonderful post on ministering to Jesus, and how we serve Him.

How do we minister to Jesus? He taught us to love, and that we accept him when do to him when we do to the least. What does that tell us?

Lets look at the word minister.

Diakonia -

service, ministering, esp. of those who execute the commands of others

of those who by the command of God proclaim and promote religion among men

1. of the office of Moses
2. of the office of the apostles and its administration
3. of the office of prophets, evangelists, elders etc.

the ministration of those who render to others the offices of Christian affection esp. those who help meet need by either collecting or distributing of charities

the office of the deacon in the church

the service of those who prepare and present food

Reading a dictionary you should know that the first definition is the most common meaning for the word, and based on the topic of this post well…

The word Dikanonia is taken from Diakonos… Dikanonia and Diakonos are the ones who acts as servent or minister, both from the verb dioko.

Diakonos servant or minister and Diakonia is used for ministry or service

Diakonia:

II Tim 4:5 But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

II Tim 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.

Diakonos:

Mathew 20:26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,

Col 1:7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

The definition of dioko puts an intersting spin the person who ministers.

Dioko

to make to run or flee, put to flight, drive away

to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after

1. to press on: figuratively of one who in a race runs swiftly to reach the goal
2. to pursue (in a hostile manner)

in any way whatever to harass, trouble, molest one

1. to persecute
2. to be mistreated, suffer persecution on account of something

without the idea of hostility, to run after, follow after: someone

metaph., to pursue

1. to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire

John 5:16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews persecuted him.

Rom 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse

Heb 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

Heb 12:14(NAS) Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

So three things come to mind when I think of ministry.

One, A Command:

Luke 10:27 He answered: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ ; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ “

Two, understanding how we serve the Lord:

Mathew 25: 37-40 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

Three, what we will face while ministering:

Mathew 5:10 -12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

~ by ckroboth on October 14, 2008.