“Come as living stones, and let yourselves be used in building the spiritual temple, where you will serve as holy priests to offer spiritual and acceptable sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5 GNT).
In the Old Testament, priests did two things:
1. They had the right, privilege, and responsibility to go directly to God. They could pray and talk to God, worship, and fellowship with God. Everybody else had to go through a priest.
2. The priest had the privilege and responsibility of representing God to the people and ministering to the needs of other people (serving).
Those are the very two things that are true of you when you become a believer.
The Bible says that when Jesus died on the cross, there was a veil in the temple that separated the Holy of Holies, where God’s Spirit was, from where man was. Only priests could go behind that veil once a year. When Jesus died on the cross, God ripped that veil—about 70 feet—from top to bottom, symbolizing that there no longer was a barrier.
You now have direct access to God. You don’t have to pray through anybody else. You don’t have to confess through anybody else. You don’t have to fellowship with God through anybody else. Read your Bible, talk with the Lord, and fellowship directly with him.
You have also been gifted for ministry to serve other people. Every Christian is a minister—not a pastor, but a minister. Anytime you use your talents and gifts to help others, you are ministering.
The Bible says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:9 NLT).
One of the reasons God saved you is so you could serve him and others.
How do you know what your ministry is? Look at your talents, gifts, and abilities. When you use those talents and gifts to help other people, that’s called ministry—nothing fancy or scary about it. It’s just helping others.
Can you serve God in a sales office? Yes, you can. Can you serve God as an accountant? Of course. Driving a truck? Absolutely. Anytime you’re helping other people in God’s name, you’re ministering.
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
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