“Lord Jesus, forgive us that we do not function with the understanding that You are our Treasure. We say that we believe in You but our lives are so full of pessimism and bleakness. Please forgive us for our lack of faith in You. Please help us believe in You. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”
Act 3:6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”
We continue to consider Jesus, as our Treasure, whom we share with our hurting world.
Our sufficiency, in our ministry, is Jesus. II Corinthians 3:5-6 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, (6) who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
We are ministers of the new covenant or the New Testament. The ministry of the New Testament is a ministry of His Holy Spirit. We are set free to give ourselves completely to Jesus and to those around us. Our ministry is not a contrived one. It cannot be contained, but our ministry is that which is bubbling from within us, overflowing into the lives of others.
This was what Peter and John were sharing with the lame man. They were sharing with him, Jesus, who was filling them and was overflowing from within them.
Friend, are you experiencing the abundance of Jesus in you and is your ministry, an overflow of Jesus from within you, to others? The letter kills but the Spirit gives life.
Apostle Paul’s prayer was that the church should experience Jesus as their Treasure. Ephesians 1:19-23 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power (20) which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, (21) far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. (22) And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, (23) which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
When Jesus, our Treasure, resides in us, there is power that emanates from Him, through us. God the Father has made His Holy Spirit reveal Christ in us. The Triune God are at work in us. Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Jesus, our Treasure, is seated at the right hand of God, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. This is an amazing, powerful, exhilarating truth that must sink deep into us. When we operate out of this truth, we will move in the same way in which Peter and John related with the lame man.
This is the glorious position of His church. When we look at ourselves, it is obvious that we do not believe this truth of Jesus as our Treasure. We, sadly, remain in our negativity and pessimism. The church has a glorious task here on earth, which is to operate as those in whom, Jesus is the Treasure.
Will we, as His church, at this moment, repent for not trusting God, and ask Him to give us the needed faith to live out of this truth that Jesus is our Treasure?
When we, as His church, take on the fullness of our distinctiveness in Christ, the Gospel of our Lord Jesus will cover large territories. This is a fact of history.
I Thessalonians 1:5-8 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. (6) And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, (7) so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. (8) For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so that we do not need to say anything.
The kind of men that Paul and his team were was so distinct because they were functioning out of Jesus as their Treasure. The impact that this unique life produced was that the Gospel reached wide areas.
This truth and its bearing on the spread of the Gospel is an unalterable reality. If we, in our generation, do not work with this understanding that Jesus is our Treasure, then we have much to give an account for, before our Master, when He returns.