Colossians 4:17 And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.
FIFTY-FIVE (55) YEARS
This month marks my fifty-five years in the ministry. I define the word “ministry” by a zealous sign-up and surrendering to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ. I teach that all Christians are in the ministry from the moment of their salvation. There is no “call” to preach excluding others who do not receive the “call”. (We are not Calvinists. When a person joins the U.S. military, they are a representative of the armed forces from the time they sign in till the time they are discharged. In the service of the Lord the only thing that remains is the Lord’s judgment on what kind of soldier you were. A soldier is a soldier whether they are in uniform or in the shower. They are on duty even when they are off duty. They virtually belong to the military department of the United States. I teach it is the same in the ministry. You become a representative of the Lord when you receive the fact that He was a representative of you when He paid your sin debt on the cross.
I started the clock of my ministry when in 1969 I got serious enough to separate myself from that which separated me from the ministry. I was addicted to nicotine and my addiction was as crippling to me in the ministry as cocaine is to fifteen-year-old. I came to the truth that I could never seriously serve the King as long as I had any identification with tobacco. I quit at that moment and began my ministry. I celebrate that moment at 10:00 pm on the 12th of December every year. It does not mean anything to anyone else but me. It was not an overwhelming emotional experience; in fact, I made the decision with a good amount of trepidation, but the good Lord smiled as I signed the contract and began my career as a soldier in the army of the King of Kings. My ministry began by throwing my (perfectly good and enjoyable) cigar out the window of my car as a symbol of my sincere commitment to His service. It’s hard to preach with a cigar in your mouth; you can’t really enjoy either one.
All service in the ministry is both mandatory and voluntary and promotion and reward is dealt accordingly. The largest competitor of the ministry is the world with the flesh and the devil not far behind. The devil wants you lost and on your way to hell. IF YOU MUST GET SAVED…he wants you to be a silent compromiser of the truth. The world advertises that by choosing a culture of friends, or an occupation, or better yet a profession where your ministry is uncomfortable at best.
MINISTRY IS LIFE AND LIFE IS MINISTRY
As I enter my fifty-sixth year in the ministry I am busy teaching the young people the King has given to us that “Life is Ministry and Ministry is Life.” The world is right in our face preaching it’s shimmering and jangle gospel about life and many of this generation sadden our hearts by choosing that path. But, the Lord gives us one here and maybe another there. Enough to continue praying in hopes that if our great King would provide a temporary reprieve from total apostacy there would be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel.
It is sustaining to us to run our prayer list of 80+ year olds who are still in uniform standing guard on the street corners of the world. I will be 80 in February so, hopefully I will muster with them. It is my joy though, to recruit into the service of our great Leader because I believe that Ministry is Life and Life is Ministry. There should never be a vacation or retirement from the ministry. Our uniform is tattooed onto our soul. For more detailed information on the ministry click here.
Have a great ministry!
1Tim. 1:8
Dr. Gerald Sutek, Robin and the SWAT team for Christ
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