Not Bound By Limitations To Minister

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

June 10, 2024

in Spritual Growth

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June 09, 2024

Readings: Genesis 3:8-21
2 Corinthians 4:13-18
Mark 3:29-35

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2024

Paul’s letter to the church at Rome is to tell them to renew their minds. We have misunderstood many things because of the confusion around us, so much so that we have missed much of the blessings intended for us. In the first chapter of Genesis, God has set a course when He made man in His own image and likeness. Blessing him, telling him to be fruitful, to multiply and cultivate. Due to disobedience when man ate from the forbidden tree, spiritual death came to be. The reason why Christ came was to restore the image that God created. The enemy had destroyed the image because of sin. Sad to say, even when we have been born again, we have allowed the world to infiltrate our thinking and we have not really allowed our will to be changed.

When Christ went to the mountains, the people followed Him. When He went to the seashore, the people also followed Him. His ministry was not limited to a church building. He even ministered during the Sabbath when there was a need to. Wherever He was, He was “in His Church.” The world is His Church. We have limited ourselves that the church should be inside a building. We are taught in Scripture that Christ will build His Church. He was not referring to a denomination or a religion.

The front doors of houses during biblical times were always open. It was their culture. So when Jesus goes to a house to minister to its occupants, people followed Him too. Christ does not really follow tradition. He does not care what people think about Him. He welcomed everyone. He ministered to anyone- rich, poor, fishermen, ordinary people. Christ did not need security. He had no fear. He wasn’t even afraid of lepers. The religious leaders began to observe Him. They concluded that because He was able to cast out demons, He himself must be a demon. Jesus then answered, “how can a demon cast out his own? They would be dividing themselves.”

Today, even in Christianity, there are so many divisions. We should not be doing things for our own glory. We should give God all the glory. Jesus continued to tell the religious leaders, “But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.” This is what Satan did in the garden. He deceived Adam into giving his power to the strongman. Jesus, using the same principle, had to cast out the strongman (Satan)so that He could take over. Christ had to destroy the power of the enemy on behalf of mankind.

We are not to be limited by denomination or theology. God gave us a will, but Satan took away that will when sin came. God has given man the ability. What man has to do is to make the right choice, the will to do good. The will to be what God has intended us to be. God says all things can be forgiven, except for one sin – which is to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.

Christ delivers us from bondage. God wants us to see beyond limitations. Anywhere we are, in the office, in the hospital, Christ has given us the freedom to minister. Our ministry is to give glory to God. We can worship God anywhere. When Christ ascended, He gave His disciples to take His message to the world.