“It’s true that some are preaching out of jealousy and rivalry. But others preach about Christ with pure motives. They preach because they love me, for they know I have been appointed to defend the Good News. Those others do not have pure motives as they preach about Christ. They preach with selfish ambition, not sincerely, intending to make my chains more painful to me. But that doesn’t matter. Whether their motives are false or genuine, the message about Christ is being preached either way, so I rejoice. And I will continue to rejoice.”
Philippians 1:15-18 NLT Not everyone liked Paul. Some so-called ministers were jealous of Paul and wanted to see him fail in his ministry. Others stood in respect to God's call on Paul's life. They simply wanted to share the responsibility of carrying the gospel to all who would hear. The amazing thing is that Paul doesn't let this distract him and cause him to chase unnecessary things. Instead, he thanks God that it has caused the gospel of Jesus to be preached and people to come to know Christ as Savior and Lord. Competition, jealousy, and impure motives exist in the ministry today as well. We cannot let ourselves get caught in the trap of comparing ourselves with anyone else. Comparison causes inferiority and superiority issues. God sees our motives and will honor our service accordingly. Let's stay focused on our call to ministry and simply do what God has called us to do in the place He has called us to serve.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Author
![]() Rev. Curtis Norris Archives
March 2020
|