Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Essence of True Ministry

"One Year Bible" Old Testament Passage
Numbers 16:41-19:32

"And he stood between the dead and the living; so the plague was stopped."  Numbers 16:48 (NKJV)

How amazing it is that God would use human beings in His great redemptive work.  The history of this world since the Garden of Eden is that of a RESCUE MISSION.  Sin has worked it way into every section and sector of human existence.  Holy God has every right to banish it all to eternal damnation.  It is really quite amazing that He hasn't done this. 

Instead, He continues to pursue and persuade.  He continues to seek and to save.  He continues to redeem.  And how does He do this?  He uses frail, fallen men and women to represent Himself.  We who have been in the depths of rebellion ourselves are now called to throw out lifelines of help those who are perishing in their own rebellion. 

Moses stood between the living and the dead.  The plague had broken out among those who had rebelled against his own leadership (and thus God's leadership).  By every right, Moses might have thought that they were getting what they had coming to them.  Instead, he set about redemptive activities -- he prayed, he reached out, he stood. 

Such is the essence of Christian ministry.  We stand between the living and the dead.  Really, this is exactly what Jesus did.  And we do as He did.  We pray as He prayed.  We speak as He speaks.  AND THE PLAGUE IS STOPPED.

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