GIFTS AND MINISTRIES (Part I)

By Odon Bulamba (Friday 29th September 2000)

Let’s thank the Lord one more time because He is always good. He gave us everything that is necessary, so we must thank him. God still gives us His grace to know who He is, despite our little mistakes we still make. Many people on earth want to serve God one way or another, but God didn’t choose them. Some are wealthy and could give their fortune for God’s work, in order to help other servants. Those who do it don’t always realise they are supporting God’s work because according to human thoughts, a man knows he serves God when he preaches the Word of God. We must realise that God’s work is multidimensional.

You might wonder why I said that many people want to serve God when God hasn’t chosen them; this is to help you understand you must keep what you have been given. Several people need God’s Word in their lives today: they are spiritually dead and they might be looking for God’s Word with a torch and can’t find it while we have been given this Word and we often neglect it. It sometimes hurts God’s heart. So let’s watch out that God will not regret choosing us as He regretted creating man in Genesis 6:6.


1. WHAT IS A ‘MINISTER’?

Today we are going to talk about the ministries of God. I learnt today at school that New Zealand elects its ministers. In New Zealand ministers are very important people who are to be respected and they always have a good reputation and are highly educated. They must be members of the parliament before becoming ministers. The prime minister must also be a member of the parliament as well as the leader of their political party. These are stages.

We see a pattern for Christians in all of this. If today you want to become a member of the parliament (MP), will your behaviour make people vote for you or not? Is your level of education high enough so that people will vote for you or not? Is what you say good enough to become a MP? If people vote for you today, will they regret it tomorrow? To choose their ministers, the Prime Minister will interview some MPs. In countries that have a president, they will also call and interview those who have applied for the position of ministers. During the interview the applicants are given a job description, the standards and agreements are signed.

- Peter, if you want to be the minister of justice, do you know the law?
- No, I don’t.
- So, Peter, you can’t be a minister.
- Michelle, you want to be the health minister?
- Do you know anything about health or medicine?
- Yes, I know medicine.
- So you can work for me.
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And this is how God sorts us out and gives to everyone according to His will. First, God looks at what is inside us, what He has given us and He sees how much we have worked with it before giving us greater things. It’s like a parent paying the school fees for his son to learn at school. The parents have planned something for the future of their child, thinking that after completing their studies they will be someone in this world.

One day I was here in this house and there was a discussion about Nathanael’s future. Sylvie wanted him to study music (the piano) and his Dad wanted him to study law, and Nathanael said he wanted to be a missionary. So as early as possible the child is prepared to be someone in the future and if Nathanael decides to stop his studies after 5 years, he will be the loser. If the child doesn’t do their homework and doesn’t revise their exams, they will fail and this will damage their future.