May I See Your Business Card

May I See Your Business Card

Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

To God
Psalm 29:2 NIV
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

To Other Believers
Hebrews 6:10 NLT
For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for Him and how you have shown your love to Him by caring for other believers, as you still do.

To Unbelievers
Matthew 5:13-14 NIV
"You are the salt of the earth… You are the light of the world…"

THREE AREAS OF MINISTRY

Physical Needs
Matthew 25:35-36, 40 NIV  
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” 40 …’Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

Matthew 10:42 TLB
“If, as my representative, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be rewarded.”

Emotional Needs
1 Thessalonians 5:14 NIV
And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

Spiritual Needs
2 Corinthians 5:18 NIV
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

Colossians 1:28 NIV
Christ is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ

1 Corinthians 12:5 NASB/NLT
There are varieties of ministries, but we serve the same Lord.
7 TLB The Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church.
27 TLB All of you together are the one body of Christ and each one of you is a separate and necessary part of it.
CREATED FOR MINISTRY

Ephesians 2:10 NIV
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2 Timothy 1:9 LB
It is He who saved us and chose us for His holy work, not because we deserved it but because that was his plan long before the world began.

CALLED INTO MINISTRY

Galatians 1:15 GNT
God, in His grace, chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him.

Ephesians 4:1 NIV
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.

1 Peter 2:9-10 TLB
…for you have been chosen by God himself—you are priests of the King, you are holy and pure, you are God’s very own—all this so that you may show to others how God called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light. 10 Once you were less than nothing; now you are God’s own…

GIFTED FOR MINISTRY

1 Peter 4:10 NIV
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

AUTHORIZED FOR MINISTRY

Matthew 28:18-19 NIV
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations…"

2 Corinthians 5:20 NIV
We are therefore Christ's ambassadors…

Matthew 20:28 TLB
You attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve.

Colossians 4:17 NIV 
Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

PREPARED FOR MINISTRY

Ephesians 4:11-12 NASB
And He gave some as… pastors and teachers,12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ;

THE BODY OF CHRIST NEEDS MY MINISTRY

1 Corinthians 12:27 TLB
All of you together are the one body of Christ and each of you is a separate and necessary part of it.

Matthew 9:36-38 NIV
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

ACCOUNTABLE FOR MINISTRY

Romans 14:12 NIV
So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

REWARDED FOR MINISTRY

Colossians 3:23-24  
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Matthew 25:23 NIV
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master’s happiness.”

MY RESPONSE
ROMANS 12:1-5

COMMIT

1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

ELIMINATE COMPETING DISTRACTIONS

2 Don't conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
3 Don't cherish exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance but try to have a sane estimate of your capabilities by the light of the faith God has given to you.

COOPERATE WITH OTHER BELIEVERS

4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Hebrews 10:24 NIV
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.