Bro. John Burns Words for CPP Director’s Meeting on 1-28-07

First of all, you have to all understand that you are important to God and His church. God even regards you as greater than John the Baptist. Let me prove it to you. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus said, “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.” We understand that Jesus was talking about the New Covenant being Superior to the Old Covenant. John the Baptist lived under the old covenant, praise God, we are living under the new covenant.

Under the old covenant, everyone could not be a high priest. There were a lot of men in the Levitical priesthood, but there was only one high priest. They were all Levites, but not all priests or preachers. Only one of them could take the blood and sprinkle it on and around the altar for atonement when it was time. However, there was one priest who started the ceremonies by simply lighting the fire on the altar. His work was just as important as the High Priest was. Without the fire on the altar being lit, nothing else could have happened. The fire being lit on the altar was necessary.

The Word of God compares our functions in the church to that of a body. Imagine living without a liver. The liver is not seen, but you couldn’t really function without one. Imagine living without a brain. Many people seem to try it (laughing), but it’s not really recommended. The brain is not seen, but you can’t make it without it. The colon is not seen, but it is very vital to the health of the body. Just because these things are not seen does not mean that they are not very important.

There is a common belief among people in the church, especially those young or new to the church, that if I cannot sing, play an instrument, or preach, my work is not important. There is an important group of verses that has always stood out to me. I Corinthians chapter 12 discusses the various Gifts of the Spirit. One type of gift has always stood out from this chapter. That is the “helps” gifts. The tribe of Levi had many more helpers than preachers or priests. Helps is listed before governments and gifts of tongues.

If a church is to be a strong, vibrant, healthy, church; it must have strong, vibrant, healthy, committed workers. We are to come to church to praise Jesus and leave the church to work for Jesus.

In Matthew 10:42, Jesus said, “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” Jesus said that we would be blessed for even giving a cup of water. The “little” works are just as important as the “big” works.

We should all have the attitude, “Whatever needs to be done, I’ll do it.” Like in snowflakes, we are all different than each other. We need to enjoy that diversity and let it strengthen us to do great things for God’s Kingdom.