Pray for Your Church: Members (3)
So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20.21
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28.18-20
Gifts and callings
All believers have been given spiritual gifts to serve the Lord in building up one another and their local church. It is important that every church member be encouraged and helped in identifying their gifts, so that they can faithfully contribute to Jesus’ work of building His Church. Praying for our fellow church members about this matter can help us all be good stewards of the gifts of God.
Every believer has gifts to use in serving the Lord as a member of His Body. Moreover, every believer has a calling in which to carry out the work of being an ambassador of the Kingdom of God. In our calling, we work to glorify God and realize more of the presence, promise, and power of His Kingdom. Everyone’s calling has many facets, including, marriage, family, property, and our job, or—in the case of students—their education. Believers are ambassadors of Jesus Christ into all those spheres and the people we encounter there.
Paul discusses the matter of calling under the rubric of “condition” in 1 Corinthians 7. Everyone has a calling. All believers have the Spirit of God to empower us, bear fruit in us, and direct us in fulfilling our calling—in all its facets—unto the Lord. Because Jesus sends us into our calling, we are a people on mission. Each of us has a mission field, defined by the “as-you-are-goings” of our daily lives. Where we go, what we do there, the people we encounter there, make up the “condition” or “calling” appointed to each of us. Our duty is to be faithful to seek and represent the Kingdom and glory of God in all we do (1 Cor. 10.31), for this is the overarching calling of every believer’s life (1 Thess. 2.12; Matt. 6.33).
Thus, by the inward work of the Spirit of God, every church member has gifts for building the local church and a calling in which to extend the reach and impact of the Kingdom of God.
Sent like Jesus
Jesus sends us into our calling in the same manner that He was sent to earth. By understanding what Jesus was sent to do, we can understand how to fulfill all the different facets of our calling.
In short, Jesus was sent to earth to bring near the Kingdom of God. He preached that the Kingdom of God was “at hand” and even “within you.” Jesus showed by His life of purity, spirituality, charity, suffering, and faithfulness what the Kingdom of God would look like when it came. And in His preaching and teaching He used vivid metaphors, careful instruction, and stern warnings to communicate the nature and promise of the Kingdom and the requirements for entering it.
Jesus was sent to bring near the Kingdom. Together with the Father, they poured out the Holy Spirit of God, Who, in His coming, brought the Kingdom to earth to begin its relentless expansion over all the world (cf. Dan. 2.44, 45).
We have been sent for the Kingdom, to bring it near to those within our sphere. Seeking the Kingdom and righteousness of God is the first and defining priority of every Christian’s life (Matt. 6.33). Our eyes are always to be on the Kingdom and glory of God. We must understand what the Kingdom looks like as it comes increasingly in us and through us unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit in all our calling and throughout our mission field. And we must seek it and express the rule of King Jesus in all we are and do.
As lavishly as we have been gifted to work for the building-up of one another and our church, we have also been empowered by the Spirit of God to bear witness to Jesus as ambassadors of His Kingdom in the world.
A people on mission
We are people with a purpose, a mission. We are sent by Jesus to extend His Kingdom to our world. Who we are, how we do whatever we do, our ways of relating to others, the topics of our conversation, the ways we show the love of Jesus to our world: Our mission to bring near the Kingdom of God entails all these aspects of our calling.
It’s too easy for us to slack off on our ambassadorial duties. If we will pray for one another, we will be more likely to make progress in this mission and calling than to just stand still or regress. Here’s a prayer you can use to pray for your fellow church members:
Lord Jesus, You have sent us
to bring Your Kingdom
to the people in our world.
Help us, by word and deed,
in everything we do all day long,
to remember that
we are Your ambassadors.
We are Your witnesses.
We are Your people,
and You are our God.
For reflection or discussion
1. Do you pray for the people in your Personal Mission Field? How should you pray for them?2. How clear are you about your calling? How do you prepare to take up that calling each day?3. Whom will you encourage today in their calling from the Lord?
Next steps—Preparation: Pray about your calling, all its facets. Pray generally for all the members of your church, that they would know and pursue their callings faithfully.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: Read Moore (from the book, Revived!); from Crosfigell, “He Knows What He’s Doing”, on the work of the Holy Spirit; and “The Bitter and Sweet Word” from our daily Scriptorium series, “Jesus throughout the Scriptures.” And new in our bookstore, Let God Be True and Enjoying God, both free to download and share.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
