Women in Ministry: What is yours? Part 1

 

I always believed my ministry was to be a good wife, a good mother and a good Christian woman.  You know, volunteering at church, attending Bible Studies, and being available for everyone as much as possible. Didn’t you?

I thought it was the pastor’s job to give the gospel to the lost, and that we were to go to church, learn about God, give Him glory with our daily lives, and occasionally give the gospel as best we could if someone directly asked us.

I thought that even though when I first became a believer, I read Luke 12:8,9:

 

“Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God”

 

For months I told a lot of my friends about Christ, and not just once. I wanted to make sure I was not denied before the angels of God! It got so my friends would see me coming and raise up a hand saying, “I know, I know!”’ Like spare me!

 

The problem was not knowing how many people or how many times I had to confess the Lord before I was done and had safely executed this directive from God! It was the same growing up Roman Catholic, where one never knew if they had done enough works to be sure of heaven! I did not know, living within a religion that works don’t get anyone to heaven, only relying on the finished work of Christ gets you to heaven.

I also did not know how to rightly divide the word of truth! As I matured in the faith learning how to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15) it became apparent to me, that I had as much to unlearn as learn about God and His plan for today!

While Luke 12:8-9, was FOR my knowledge and edification it was not TO me! Today I am not saved only IF I profess Christ to another, but by believing on the finished work of Christ on the cross for my salvation! Today, once saved by believing the gospel of the grace of God, I choose to profess His work on the cross to others that they too may believe and be saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit instantly, for eternity! No conditions today past believing!

 

One day I was reading about David and this Scripture hit me square on:

 

Act 13:22 …I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.

 

This verse caused me to set out on a Biblical quest, if you will, wanting to know what a woman of God is, a woman if you will after God’s own heart.  Consequently, I began to search out in the word of God what a woman of God’s ministry is all about. I thought I had found it in Proverbs 31, I even taught women’s Bible Studies on the passage, but later I learned that while the Proverbs 31 woman is a good study for women in character, I learned that today we have been given a vocation and ministry from God!

 

Our ministry is not our job or our role in life, such as that of wife and mother, teacher, doctor, baker, secretary, business entrepreneur ad infinitum. Our ministry is our call to action by God, for God‘s purpose. To know God’s purpose allows us to know the full will of God for our life.

 

How we make our living is our own choice.  We may have a strong feeling of suitability toward a particular career or occupation, but this is not a ministry. Though many a career has been used for ministry!

However, everyone in the body of Christ has been given the same ministry regardless of our lot in life. He wants us to know clearly what our vocation and ministry in Him is all about! And we willingly believe God.

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

1Co 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

The fact that we are a daughter, sister, mother, or wife, is simply a role of our womanhood, who we are as humans, it is not our ministry.

We may and should minister to others who need us, our husband, children, friends, and the world at large, but our ministry itself is something entirely different! Just as a man can be a husband and a father and can and should minister to his wife and family because these roles are indeed God-given. These are important, God-ordained roles, but they do not replace or usurp the ministry given to us as members of Christ’s body.

However, it is important to remember that failing to perform these necessary roles in a godly manner would equate to not adequately performing God’s will, as Paul cautions us here:

1Ti 5:8 But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

Our call from God is a high calling, not an earthly choice of occupation, talent or profession or inclination.

Phi 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Our ministry from God is important to know because we are told that it is…

…for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12)

And we believe God in His purpose.

We were also created for the Lord’s pleasure. Think about this a moment…

Rev 4:11 …Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

We give God pleasure when we clearly understand the purpose and direction our lives are to take to fulfill our ministry in Him.

Col 1:10  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Php 2:13  For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

1Th 4:1  Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

When we have a clear understanding of God’s will for our lives through knowledge of what is given to us in the word of God, we will answer our call to action!

We can know the will of God. One does not have to search all their lives to know the will of God! The word of God tells us clearly His will for our lives today.

Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1Th_4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

1Th_5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Eph_6:6 Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

What makes a woman of God, a woman after God’s own heart is knowing our calling and ministry, taking up our call to action and walking worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called! It is believing God and doing what we believe!

 

Eph 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,

 

I wondered how we walk worthy of our vocation, but the very next verse tells us clearly in:

 

Eph 4:2-3 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

The marvel of this holy calling, our vocation and ministry, is that we can know that God has given us wisdom and prudence to walk the worthy walk, having made KNOWN the mystery of His will! Let’s look:

 

Eph 1:8-9 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:

 

Do you know what that word prudence means? It is practical wisdom. Wiki says: “It means the exercise of good judgment, common sense, and even caution, especially in the conduct of practical matters.”  Now, do you think the Lord left anything out of the Bible when it comes to knowing and doing His will? No! He certainly did not!

While we have liberty in Christ as to the specifics of doing His will, He guides us with the direction of walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh.

Gal_5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

Gal_5:25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

 

It is plain in the word of God what our vocation and calling is! We know our directives and have our marching orders plainly stated. Let’s see what they are:

 

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2Co_5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

And…we believe God.

Our vocation is so much more important than our earthly occupation, and the Lord supplies us with all that we need to fulfill our holy calling. He supplies us with wisdom and prudence in our holy calling. He gives us the knowledge and understanding of what our vocation, our ministry is and how to expedite it!

And…we believe God.

The question is, how do we apply it in our everyday lives? Are you living your vocation? We come to church, we listen to the Bible studies and the sermons…do we make use of them with others that we meet? Do we apply them to our lives? If not, we are ever learning and never really coming to a knowledge of the truth, like the men we read about in II Timothy 3:7, who were

…ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

 

Never coming to the knowledge and truth, like knowing the will of God for your life, make many folks simply useless to God. Those who read the plain word of God without the blinders of religion, are able to implement our call to action, and solve this dilemma, because they believe God.

 

As women we are to teach other women and children.  We are to witness the gospel of the grace of God to all, anyone, male or female.

Our ministry today is given clearly in this verse:

 

2Co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

 

It is not our goodness or our works that has the Lord calling us, but it is according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began! We have a holy calling, a ministry direct from our Creator. When we are walking worthy of our vocation and ministry then we are being fruitful in every good work!

 

Col 1:10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 

Choosing a career, making the choice to be a wife and mother is most honorable when your ministry is primary, in that your family will hear the word of God rightly divided. It is their choice what they will believe, but it is our choice to give them the gospel of God rightly divided to make that choice.

Through my study of what made David a man of God, a man after God’s own heart and what makes a woman a woman of God, a woman after God’s own heart…turned out to be the very SAME thing.

It is a man or woman, who like David, believes what God tells them and DOES what God has said, no matter what. Is this you? If so, YOU are a woman of God. You are fulfilling the will of God.

The Gospel of the Grace of God: 1Co 15:1-4 I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you…By which also ye are saved…How that Christ died for our sins…And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: