Difference between revisions of "2001-08-05-Ministry"
m (moved Ministry-2001-08-05 to 2001-08-05-Ministry) |
|||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
==Session== | ==Session== | ||
===Opening=== | ===Opening=== | ||
| − | Ginny: I would like to ask the teachers about ministry being so hard. Am I doing the right thing? Is this what it's all about? | + | Ginny: I would like to ask [[the teachers]] about ministry being so hard. Am I doing the right thing? Is this what it's all about? |
| − | Helena (Jonathan TR): I greet you, this is Helena. I am happy to make this contact in this manner. | + | Helena (Jonathan TR): I greet you, this is Helena. I am [[happy]] to make this contact in this [[manner]]. |
===Lesson=== | ===Lesson=== | ||
| − | It is purposeful, your current engagement in ministry. As you know from experience your opportunities for outreach appear on the heels of attainment in your own right. The qualifications you have acquired are immediately serviceable to those around you. The difficulty you experience is not due to your relative level of preparedness, for that is given; you are prepared. It is more that the arena within which you are functioning in ministry is new and therefore unsettling. | + | ===='''''[[Outreach]]'''''==== |
| + | It is purposeful, your current [[engagement]] in ministry. As you know from [[experience]] your opportunities for [[outreach]] appear on the heels of [[attainment]] in your own right. The qualifications you have acquired are [[immediately]] serviceable to those around you. The [[difficulty]] you experience is not due to your [[relative]] level of [[preparedness]], for that is given; you are prepared. It is more that the arena within which you are functioning in ministry is new and therefore unsettling. | ||
| − | Michael was our best example of technique in outreach, for his simple method was keen interest in the individual he sought to bring closer to the Father. That interest impacted the soul of the one he sought to reach more than his words. Your opportunity is a two-fold blessing, for you are engaged with Michael in reaching another in his flock, one of the strayed sheep. You know his story of how the Father delights to seek for the lost single sheep while the other ninety nine who are close to Him remain behind, that He may bring to fullness all who could and will be in His fold. | + | [[Michael]] was our best example of [[technique]] in [[outreach]], for his simple [[method]] was keen interest in the [[individual]] he sought to bring closer to [[the Father]]. That interest impacted [[the soul]] of the one he sought to reach more than his [[words]]. Your [[opportunity]] is a two-fold [[blessing]], for you are engaged with Michael in reaching another in his flock, one of the strayed sheep. You know his [[story]] of how the Father delights to seek for the [[Rescue|lost single sheep]] while the other ninety nine who are close to Him remain behind, that He may bring to fullness all who could and will be in His fold. |
| − | Concomitant with your effort to bring understanding and knowledge and insight to the table for nourishment of another soul, there is the function of the flow of spirit, that water of life, the drink that accompanies the nourishment. This intangible spirit association is detected super- | + | Concomitant with your [[effort]] to bring [[understanding]] and [[knowledge]] and [[insight]] to the table for nourishment of another [[soul]], there is the function of the [[flow]] of [[spirit]], that [[water of life]], the drink that accompanies the nourishment. This intangible [[spirit]] [[association]] is detected [[super-conscious]]ly by you and the one to whom you reach. In your [[experiential]] background you can note times when you have felt this [[infusion]], this enfoldment, and the [[guidance]] associated with the [[presence]]. [[Trust]] ever and always the surety of this divine [[overcare]]. Picture a bucket on a pivot hinge balanced such that when it is empty it's upright, but when it's full it tips and empties its [[content]]. You have been filled with a degree of [[wisdom]] and [[experience]] and are now able to tip and let that life-giving water flow into the empty bucket below. That [[becomes]] a gift to another and a gift to you as you return upright to [[receive]] anew. The [[friction]], the difficulties, are only the pivoting in order to give. The [[transfer]] is the work of [[spirit]]. |
| − | You all have been taught that you will teach those just a little behind yourself and will be taught by those just a little advanced from you. This holds true. There are unique situations, as you are encountering, wherein a soul is reaching for a level and steps out of step with the path the soul has been taking. There is a chasm that must be crossed. This is more difficult to approach, for it is not the sequential manner of one lesson being taught by another who has learned it but rather to bridge from one paradigm to another. You are recruited to this opportunity because you are prepared with the necessary ingredients to assemble that bridge and expedite the crossing to bring that individual to the experiential step of growth where they would have been under more ideal circumstances. You will not be able to backtrack, to retrace steps of a journey that has tangented away from an expeditious course of growth. | + | You all have been taught that you will teach those just a little behind yourself and will be taught by those just a little advanced from you. This holds true. There are [[unique]] situations, as you are encountering, wherein a [[soul]] is reaching for a level and [[steps]] out of step with the [[path]] the soul has been taking. There is a [[chasm]] that must be crossed. This is more difficult to approach, for it is not the sequential manner of one lesson being taught by another who has learned it but rather to bridge from one [[paradigm]] to another. You are recruited to this [[opportunity]] because you are [[prepared]] with the necessary ingredients to assemble that bridge and expedite the crossing to bring that individual to the [[experiential]] step of [[growth]] where they would have been under more [[ideal]] circumstances. You will not be able to backtrack, to retrace steps of a [[journey]] that has tangented away from an expeditious [[course]] of growth. |
| − | Be alert for any springboard, any comment, any expressed wish, hope, or even grievance that may open discussion of conceptual considerations that you have comprehended and are adept at expressing that could be that shunt which will allow the one you seek to serve to make that crossover. | + | Be alert for any springboard, any comment, any [[expressed]] wish, [[hope]], or even [[grievance]] that may open [[discussion]] of conceptual considerations that you have [[comprehended]] and are adept at [[expressing]] that could be that shunt which will allow the one you seek to serve to make that crossover. |
| − | If you picture a vertical line, the path of ascent to the Father that all individuals must make, everyone has a vertical line of their own that is less than the ideal plumb path of ascent. Each of us lies near, to some degree, that perfect course. There is where spirit enfolds all to draw us in to that ideal ascension. Some have let their lines tip to extremes away from that smooth course of growth; some with keen intellects and demanding emotions which, while powerful tools for growth, can also inhibit growth with the lure of deviation. This is what I mean by 'you will not be able to back up', to go down that line to the starting point to rise in a more ideal manner. You will need to look for the crossover to help that individual adjust to the proximity of a better ascent. | + | If you [[picture]] a [[vertical]] line, the path of [[ascent]] to [[the Father]] that all individuals must make, everyone has a vertical line of their own that is less than the ideal plumb path of ascent. Each of us lies near, to some [[degree]], that [[perfect]] [[course]]. There is where [[spirit]] enfolds all to draw us in to that [[ideal]] ascension. Some have let their lines tip to [[extremes]] away from that smooth course of growth; some with keen [[intellects]] and demanding [[emotions]] which, while powerful tools for [[growth]], can also inhibit growth with the [[lure]] of deviation. This is what I mean by 'you will not be able to back up', to go down that line to the starting point to rise in a more [[ideal]] manner. You will need to look for the crossover to help that individual [[adjust]] to the proximity of a better ascent. |
I hope I have been helpful. | I hope I have been helpful. | ||
| Line 29: | Line 30: | ||
Ginny: Thank you very much. | Ginny: Thank you very much. | ||
| − | When Jesus was with Ganid they met a person whom he decided not to help. His associates asked why. He said because he knew that person couldn't be helped. At another time Jesus helped a youth in the hills because he knew he was receptive. How do we develop a more delicate sense of when people are open to our help? | + | When [[Jesus]] was with [[Ganid]] they met a person whom he decided not to help. His associates asked why. He said because he knew that person couldn't be helped. At another time Jesus helped a [[130:6 The Young Man Who Was Afraid|youth in the hills]] because he knew he was [[receptive]]. How do we develop a more delicate sense of when people are open to our help? |
| − | Helena: As you know from your studies that Jesus became a keen observer of all mankind and sought to introduce himself to all manner of personalities that he possibly could within the constraints of his environs. This training of his taught him the skills of discernment. The one to whom he gave no counsel was due to his ability to discern drawn from prior encounters of those of like orientation. He did make comment to Ganid that this individual needed a critical experience to cause the desire | + | Helena: As you know from your [[studies]] that Jesus became a keen [[observer]] of all [[mankind]] and sought to introduce himself to all manner of [[personalities]] that he possibly could within the constraints of his environs. This [[training]] of his taught him the skills of [[discernment]]. The one to whom he gave no [[counsel]] was due to his ability to discern drawn from prior encounters of those of like [[orientation]]. He did make comment to Ganid that this individual needed a critical [[experience]] to cause the [[desire]] for fellowship with their party, Jesus and Ganid, such that this individual could catch the [[flavor]] and become [[hungry]] from the spiritual [[aroma]] of those walking in the [[light]]. He knew the time was not right. |
| − | Your situation today is more like the one in the hills who is extremely hungry but lost in just how to go about filling that need. Notice how Jesus worked the situation to bring about the recognition of the proper and helpful path for that young fellow to take. | + | Your situation today is more like the one in the hills who is extremely [[hungry]] but lost in just how to go about filling that need. Notice how [[Jesus]] worked the situation to bring about the [[recognition]] of the proper and helpful [[path]] for that young fellow to take. |
| − | In summary I would say that bringing yourself into contact with a variety of personalities will sharpen your discernment for effective outreach, and any particular episode -- this current one being a good example -- you may have a relative degree of success and experience that fulfillment. Or it may be the step towards a more critical future contact ministry, this one a building block for you as much as it would be a teaching and learning experience for the other. | + | In summary I would say that bringing yourself into [[contact]] with a variety of [[personalities]] will sharpen your [[discernment]] for effective [[outreach]], and any particular [[episode]] -- this current one being a good example -- you may have a [[relative]] degree of success and experience that fulfillment. Or it may be the step towards a more critical [[future]] contact ministry, this one a building block for you as much as it would be a teaching and learning experience for the other. |
| + | ===='''''[[Stillness]]'''''==== | ||
| + | Elyon: I greet you, this is Elyon. I am going to take a few minutes to address the topic "[[application]]" as it ties into your [[conversation]] this day. | ||
| − | + | You use this word in two ways that are applicable to [[service]]. When you are approaching an [[organization]] that you wish to be enlisted in, a [[business]], a [[college]], you submit an application. It is reviewed; you are interviewed, and you receive [[acceptance]] or perhaps not. This is the first [[step]] in the mode of ministry, that 'ask and you shall receive'. I [[observe]] that my friends and [[students]] in my [[tutelage]] have given application wholeheartedly; the forms are thoroughly filled out, and you are all [[eager]] to be placed in [[assignment]]. This is the first step, the application in the form of asking. | |
| − | + | Now I [[observe]] a [[hunger]] to apply yourselves, to take your [[comprehension]], to [[bridle]] your longings, and to apply them in [[healing]] ministry, in [[educational]] ministry, in [[counseling]] ministry. This is the application of [[expression]]. It is likewise the answer to your prior asking, for in this [[dynamic]] of 'ask and you shall receive', you in your application of your [[experience]] in [[outreach]] becomes the reception, the answer, to your [[petition]]. | |
| − | + | The [[Most Highs]] rule in the kingdom of men when [[mankind]] [[engages]] in the ministry of the Most Highs. [[The Father]] works in the lives of those about you when you are the means whereby the Father makes [[contact]]. When you all [[ascend]] into the [[morontia]] realities, you will be housed in vehicles with [[sensory]] abilities that will be far more conducive to [[spiritual]] sensibilities. There will be greater [[harmony]] with the [[Ta|divine spirit]] even before [[fusion]] on a scale that to you this day would seem as good as fusion itself. The great [[preacher]] Paul spoke of looking through a dark glass. This is the condition of [[the soul]]s encased in physical [[bodies]]. It takes [[effort]] to reach the realm of spirit. It takes great [[faith]] and [[trust]], the willingness through [[doubt]], and to not experience reward. Those who have [[attained]] that [[assurance]] of spirit [[association]] are the very individuals that the celestial ministers on [[this planet]] seek out as [[Contact Personality|contact individuals]] for the others in your life. | |
| − | + | All of you were brought to a deeper [[desire]] to [[discover]] [[the Father]] because of some or several [[individuals]] in your lives who [[manifested]] this association with [[spirit]]. It would be a delight to all the [[indwelling spirit]]s that the Father has bestowed upon this world if everyone could look within, realize the [[presence]], and enter into [[fellowship]]. That is more likely to happen in a [[morontia]] realm. Here, however, the reach inward often begins with a reach outward to another in one's daily arena of activities. Until the inner experiences [[awaken]], you may be the only [[divine]] fragment that the other [[individual]] [[experiences]]. This is the reason for the importance of [[stillness]]. Indeed, it is important to have that fellowship, [[creature]] with [[Creator]], but it is also important for that fellowship to be [[manifest]] from the creature in [[communion]] with the Creator to another creature who seeks that [[association]]. Your time of [[stillness]] is a time of [[service]], of [[preparation]]. Indeed, being alone in the hills with the Father can be uplifting to the [[weary]] [[soul]], but it is also directly associated with [[outreach]] to [[the multitudes]]. Though [[Jesus]] stood upon a rock and could speak to a crowd the truths of [[the kingdom]] of heaven, he did more for those who sought his [[counsel]] those times he spent alone with the Father, for the [[illumination]] of the [[truths]] within him became the guiding [[light]] for those gathered about him. | |
| − | + | To return to my [[topic]], being [[177:1 One Day Alone With God|alone in the hills with the Father]] is your application to be engaged in ministry and He will [[accept]]. Then you must, as I know you are willing, apply yourselves to the needs of the many who are [[surrounding]] you in your daily life. You may not stand upon a rock and [[preach]] to multitudes, but you will have just as great an [[impact]] to [[touch]] [[the soul]] of one as if you were to touch the souls of many. You know that [[Michael]] was very aware of this [[principle]], for the many would [[abandon]] him at the slightest [[disappointment]]. It is the few who held true in [[loyalty]] and [[trust]] that he cherished, though he would never grow [[weary]] of seeking whoever wished to enter into [[the kingdom]]. He did hold dear to his heart those who were, and today are, wholeheartedly seeking that entrance and [[engagement]]. | |
| − | |||
| − | To return to my topic, being alone in the hills with the Father is your application to be engaged in ministry and He will accept. Then you must, as I know you are willing, apply yourselves to the needs of the many who are surrounding you in your daily life. You may not stand upon a rock and preach to multitudes, but you will have just as great an impact to touch the soul of one as if you were to touch the souls of many. You know that Michael was very aware of this principle, for the many would abandon him at the slightest disappointment. It is the few who held true in loyalty and trust that he cherished, though he would never grow weary of seeking whoever wished to enter into the kingdom. He did hold dear to his heart those who were, and today are, wholeheartedly seeking that entrance and engagement. | ||
If there are other questions, I would receive them at this time. | If there are other questions, I would receive them at this time. | ||
| Line 53: | Line 54: | ||
Evelyn: I guess there aren't. | Evelyn: I guess there aren't. | ||
===Closing=== | ===Closing=== | ||
| − | Elyon: I will then draw a close in prayer: | + | Elyon: I will then draw a close in [[prayer]]: |
To our divine counselor, the Infinite Father of love, we seek the keen orientation that Michael exhibited while dwelling upon this world Urantia of desiring to be about Your will and the patience of knowing when his hour had come. Granted that each of us as individuals is not engaged in a bestowal mission of epochal significance, we may not have an hour; we may have a minute. May we be observant when that time has come and set down our tools and be about Your business. | To our divine counselor, the Infinite Father of love, we seek the keen orientation that Michael exhibited while dwelling upon this world Urantia of desiring to be about Your will and the patience of knowing when his hour had come. Granted that each of us as individuals is not engaged in a bestowal mission of epochal significance, we may not have an hour; we may have a minute. May we be observant when that time has come and set down our tools and be about Your business. | ||
| Line 65: | Line 66: | ||
[[Category: Elyon]] | [[Category: Elyon]] | ||
[[Category: Jonathan]] | [[Category: Jonathan]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Outreach]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Stillness]] | ||
[[Category: 2001]] | [[Category: 2001]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:44, 27 June 2013
Heading
Topic: Ministry
Group: N. Idaho TeaM
Facilitators
Teacher: Helena, Elyon
TR: Jonathan
Session
Opening
Ginny: I would like to ask the teachers about ministry being so hard. Am I doing the right thing? Is this what it's all about?
Helena (Jonathan TR): I greet you, this is Helena. I am happy to make this contact in this manner.
Lesson
Outreach
It is purposeful, your current engagement in ministry. As you know from experience your opportunities for outreach appear on the heels of attainment in your own right. The qualifications you have acquired are immediately serviceable to those around you. The difficulty you experience is not due to your relative level of preparedness, for that is given; you are prepared. It is more that the arena within which you are functioning in ministry is new and therefore unsettling.
Michael was our best example of technique in outreach, for his simple method was keen interest in the individual he sought to bring closer to the Father. That interest impacted the soul of the one he sought to reach more than his words. Your opportunity is a two-fold blessing, for you are engaged with Michael in reaching another in his flock, one of the strayed sheep. You know his story of how the Father delights to seek for the lost single sheep while the other ninety nine who are close to Him remain behind, that He may bring to fullness all who could and will be in His fold.
Concomitant with your effort to bring understanding and knowledge and insight to the table for nourishment of another soul, there is the function of the flow of spirit, that water of life, the drink that accompanies the nourishment. This intangible spirit association is detected super-consciously by you and the one to whom you reach. In your experiential background you can note times when you have felt this infusion, this enfoldment, and the guidance associated with the presence. Trust ever and always the surety of this divine overcare. Picture a bucket on a pivot hinge balanced such that when it is empty it's upright, but when it's full it tips and empties its content. You have been filled with a degree of wisdom and experience and are now able to tip and let that life-giving water flow into the empty bucket below. That becomes a gift to another and a gift to you as you return upright to receive anew. The friction, the difficulties, are only the pivoting in order to give. The transfer is the work of spirit.
You all have been taught that you will teach those just a little behind yourself and will be taught by those just a little advanced from you. This holds true. There are unique situations, as you are encountering, wherein a soul is reaching for a level and steps out of step with the path the soul has been taking. There is a chasm that must be crossed. This is more difficult to approach, for it is not the sequential manner of one lesson being taught by another who has learned it but rather to bridge from one paradigm to another. You are recruited to this opportunity because you are prepared with the necessary ingredients to assemble that bridge and expedite the crossing to bring that individual to the experiential step of growth where they would have been under more ideal circumstances. You will not be able to backtrack, to retrace steps of a journey that has tangented away from an expeditious course of growth.
Be alert for any springboard, any comment, any expressed wish, hope, or even grievance that may open discussion of conceptual considerations that you have comprehended and are adept at expressing that could be that shunt which will allow the one you seek to serve to make that crossover.
If you picture a vertical line, the path of ascent to the Father that all individuals must make, everyone has a vertical line of their own that is less than the ideal plumb path of ascent. Each of us lies near, to some degree, that perfect course. There is where spirit enfolds all to draw us in to that ideal ascension. Some have let their lines tip to extremes away from that smooth course of growth; some with keen intellects and demanding emotions which, while powerful tools for growth, can also inhibit growth with the lure of deviation. This is what I mean by 'you will not be able to back up', to go down that line to the starting point to rise in a more ideal manner. You will need to look for the crossover to help that individual adjust to the proximity of a better ascent.
I hope I have been helpful.
Ginny: Thank you very much.
When Jesus was with Ganid they met a person whom he decided not to help. His associates asked why. He said because he knew that person couldn't be helped. At another time Jesus helped a youth in the hills because he knew he was receptive. How do we develop a more delicate sense of when people are open to our help?
Helena: As you know from your studies that Jesus became a keen observer of all mankind and sought to introduce himself to all manner of personalities that he possibly could within the constraints of his environs. This training of his taught him the skills of discernment. The one to whom he gave no counsel was due to his ability to discern drawn from prior encounters of those of like orientation. He did make comment to Ganid that this individual needed a critical experience to cause the desire for fellowship with their party, Jesus and Ganid, such that this individual could catch the flavor and become hungry from the spiritual aroma of those walking in the light. He knew the time was not right.
Your situation today is more like the one in the hills who is extremely hungry but lost in just how to go about filling that need. Notice how Jesus worked the situation to bring about the recognition of the proper and helpful path for that young fellow to take.
In summary I would say that bringing yourself into contact with a variety of personalities will sharpen your discernment for effective outreach, and any particular episode -- this current one being a good example -- you may have a relative degree of success and experience that fulfillment. Or it may be the step towards a more critical future contact ministry, this one a building block for you as much as it would be a teaching and learning experience for the other.
Stillness
Elyon: I greet you, this is Elyon. I am going to take a few minutes to address the topic "application" as it ties into your conversation this day.
You use this word in two ways that are applicable to service. When you are approaching an organization that you wish to be enlisted in, a business, a college, you submit an application. It is reviewed; you are interviewed, and you receive acceptance or perhaps not. This is the first step in the mode of ministry, that 'ask and you shall receive'. I observe that my friends and students in my tutelage have given application wholeheartedly; the forms are thoroughly filled out, and you are all eager to be placed in assignment. This is the first step, the application in the form of asking.
Now I observe a hunger to apply yourselves, to take your comprehension, to bridle your longings, and to apply them in healing ministry, in educational ministry, in counseling ministry. This is the application of expression. It is likewise the answer to your prior asking, for in this dynamic of 'ask and you shall receive', you in your application of your experience in outreach becomes the reception, the answer, to your petition.
The Most Highs rule in the kingdom of men when mankind engages in the ministry of the Most Highs. The Father works in the lives of those about you when you are the means whereby the Father makes contact. When you all ascend into the morontia realities, you will be housed in vehicles with sensory abilities that will be far more conducive to spiritual sensibilities. There will be greater harmony with the divine spirit even before fusion on a scale that to you this day would seem as good as fusion itself. The great preacher Paul spoke of looking through a dark glass. This is the condition of the souls encased in physical bodies. It takes effort to reach the realm of spirit. It takes great faith and trust, the willingness through doubt, and to not experience reward. Those who have attained that assurance of spirit association are the very individuals that the celestial ministers on this planet seek out as contact individuals for the others in your life.
All of you were brought to a deeper desire to discover the Father because of some or several individuals in your lives who manifested this association with spirit. It would be a delight to all the indwelling spirits that the Father has bestowed upon this world if everyone could look within, realize the presence, and enter into fellowship. That is more likely to happen in a morontia realm. Here, however, the reach inward often begins with a reach outward to another in one's daily arena of activities. Until the inner experiences awaken, you may be the only divine fragment that the other individual experiences. This is the reason for the importance of stillness. Indeed, it is important to have that fellowship, creature with Creator, but it is also important for that fellowship to be manifest from the creature in communion with the Creator to another creature who seeks that association. Your time of stillness is a time of service, of preparation. Indeed, being alone in the hills with the Father can be uplifting to the weary soul, but it is also directly associated with outreach to the multitudes. Though Jesus stood upon a rock and could speak to a crowd the truths of the kingdom of heaven, he did more for those who sought his counsel those times he spent alone with the Father, for the illumination of the truths within him became the guiding light for those gathered about him.
To return to my topic, being alone in the hills with the Father is your application to be engaged in ministry and He will accept. Then you must, as I know you are willing, apply yourselves to the needs of the many who are surrounding you in your daily life. You may not stand upon a rock and preach to multitudes, but you will have just as great an impact to touch the soul of one as if you were to touch the souls of many. You know that Michael was very aware of this principle, for the many would abandon him at the slightest disappointment. It is the few who held true in loyalty and trust that he cherished, though he would never grow weary of seeking whoever wished to enter into the kingdom. He did hold dear to his heart those who were, and today are, wholeheartedly seeking that entrance and engagement.
If there are other questions, I would receive them at this time.
Dialogue
Evelyn: I guess there aren't.
Closing
Elyon: I will then draw a close in prayer:
To our divine counselor, the Infinite Father of love, we seek the keen orientation that Michael exhibited while dwelling upon this world Urantia of desiring to be about Your will and the patience of knowing when his hour had come. Granted that each of us as individuals is not engaged in a bestowal mission of epochal significance, we may not have an hour; we may have a minute. May we be observant when that time has come and set down our tools and be about Your business.
May we be emboldened in the awareness that the significance of our mission is shared by a multitude of personalities, that where sixty minutes are gathered an hour has arrived. Let us draw our strength in this association knowing fully of Your ever constant indwelling presence.
