WHEN ORDINATION BECOMES A WORLDLY CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF CONSECRATION
Bible Text:
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." — Acts 20:28
Ordination has, sadly, become an occasion for worldly celebration rather than a call that brings the saints into the reality of servanthood, consecration, and wholehearted devotion to God and His service.
The Scriptures reveal that those whom God calls are first separated unto Him before they are sent unto men (Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-16). Ordination is not primarily a public recognition of a person; it is a divine call to a life wholly yielded to God.
It is meant to produce a sober spirit of reflection, deep intimacy, and continual fellowship with God. Like Isaiah, who first encountered the holiness of God and cried, "Woe is me!" before saying, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:1-8), true ordination begins with brokenness before it leads to service.
Yet many seem to misunderstand it, treating it as though one has graduated from a university with a prestigious degree. Ordination is not a secular achievement, nor is it to be viewed through the lens of worldly success.
It is a call to service.
Jesus Himself declared, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-28).
It is a call to die completely to self, take up your cross, and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
It is a call to true discipleship. It is a call to follow God with sincerity, in truth, and in holiness (John 8:31; 1 Peter 1:15-16).
It is a call to die to self, to the world, and to its systems. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).
How grievous it is that many have reduced ordination to a personal achievement, an occasion for self-glorification and self-gratification. Yet our Lord warned, "For he that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11).
Instead, ordination is a call to fix our eyes upon Jesus—His ways, His character, His beauty, His very essence—as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Our Lord asked, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).
Will He find such faith in much of present-day Christianity, when so many do not understand what true ordination is?
When consecration and sanctification have become unfamiliar (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7).
When brokenness before God is scarcely understood. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
When dying to self, denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ have become neglected truths (Matthew 16:24).
May the Lord graciously bring His saints back to Himself and into the true knowledge of His Son. May He restore the beauty of holiness, the spirit of consecration, and the heart of true servanthood in His Church.
"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." (John 17:17)
Amen.
God's Loving Heart.
Bible Text:
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." — Acts 20:28
Ordination has, sadly, become an occasion for worldly celebration rather than a call that brings the saints into the reality of servanthood, consecration, and wholehearted devotion to God and His service.
The Scriptures reveal that those whom God calls are first separated unto Him before they are sent unto men (Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-16). Ordination is not primarily a public recognition of a person; it is a divine call to a life wholly yielded to God.
It is meant to produce a sober spirit of reflection, deep intimacy, and continual fellowship with God. Like Isaiah, who first encountered the holiness of God and cried, "Woe is me!" before saying, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:1-8), true ordination begins with brokenness before it leads to service.
Yet many seem to misunderstand it, treating it as though one has graduated from a university with a prestigious degree. Ordination is not a secular achievement, nor is it to be viewed through the lens of worldly success.
It is a call to service.
Jesus Himself declared, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-28).
It is a call to die completely to self, take up your cross, and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
It is a call to true discipleship. It is a call to follow God with sincerity, in truth, and in holiness (John 8:31; 1 Peter 1:15-16).
It is a call to die to self, to the world, and to its systems. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).
How grievous it is that many have reduced ordination to a personal achievement, an occasion for self-glorification and self-gratification. Yet our Lord warned, "For he that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11).
Instead, ordination is a call to fix our eyes upon Jesus—His ways, His character, His beauty, His very essence—as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Our Lord asked, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).
Will He find such faith in much of present-day Christianity, when so many do not understand what true ordination is?
When consecration and sanctification have become unfamiliar (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7).
When brokenness before God is scarcely understood. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
When dying to self, denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ have become neglected truths (Matthew 16:24).
May the Lord graciously bring His saints back to Himself and into the true knowledge of His Son. May He restore the beauty of holiness, the spirit of consecration, and the heart of true servanthood in His Church.
"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." (John 17:17)
Amen.
God's Loving Heart.
WHEN ORDINATION BECOMES A WORLDLY CELEBRATION INSTEAD OF CONSECRATION
Bible Text:
"Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." — Acts 20:28
Ordination has, sadly, become an occasion for worldly celebration rather than a call that brings the saints into the reality of servanthood, consecration, and wholehearted devotion to God and His service.
The Scriptures reveal that those whom God calls are first separated unto Him before they are sent unto men (Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-16). Ordination is not primarily a public recognition of a person; it is a divine call to a life wholly yielded to God.
It is meant to produce a sober spirit of reflection, deep intimacy, and continual fellowship with God. Like Isaiah, who first encountered the holiness of God and cried, "Woe is me!" before saying, "Here am I; send me" (Isaiah 6:1-8), true ordination begins with brokenness before it leads to service.
Yet many seem to misunderstand it, treating it as though one has graduated from a university with a prestigious degree. Ordination is not a secular achievement, nor is it to be viewed through the lens of worldly success.
It is a call to service.
Jesus Himself declared, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matthew 20:26-28).
It is a call to die completely to self, take up your cross, and follow Christ (Luke 9:23).
It is a call to true discipleship. It is a call to follow God with sincerity, in truth, and in holiness (John 8:31; 1 Peter 1:15-16).
It is a call to die to self, to the world, and to its systems. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Galatians 2:20). "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).
How grievous it is that many have reduced ordination to a personal achievement, an occasion for self-glorification and self-gratification. Yet our Lord warned, "For he that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 14:11).
Instead, ordination is a call to fix our eyes upon Jesus—His ways, His character, His beauty, His very essence—as the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).
Our Lord asked, "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8).
Will He find such faith in much of present-day Christianity, when so many do not understand what true ordination is?
When consecration and sanctification have become unfamiliar (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7).
When brokenness before God is scarcely understood. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise" (Psalm 51:17).
When dying to self, denying self, taking up the cross, and following Christ have become neglected truths (Matthew 16:24).
May the Lord graciously bring His saints back to Himself and into the true knowledge of His Son. May He restore the beauty of holiness, the spirit of consecration, and the heart of true servanthood in His Church.
"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth." (John 17:17)
Amen.
God's Loving Heart.
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