Can you see we haven't even talked about anything in the church yet? We're just identifying aspects of your territory. Imagine if you were to identify each one, and begin to think what you could do to build, cultivate, develop this area. Be amazing wouldn't it? Okay then, your possessions, your possessions need maintenance and management and they're part of your territory. Your job and your workplace, now you have a great responsibility in the workplace. Why? Because if you're a believer, you are responsible to do something about the spiritual atmosphere of the place. If there is demonic activity there, you do have authority to address it, and deal with it as a representative of the kingdom of heaven. You can speak in it. We'll show you how to do that tomorrow. You can address it and change it and I've proven it. I proved it when I was a very young Christian. It's not difficult to shift a spiritual atmosphere in a place, because you have the right and the authority, and you are delegated authority to do it. Getting the idea?
Okay, what else? Your ministry, well that's an area of serving in the church or gifting and skill that God gives you that takes you outside the church, so your ministry - let's get away from the spiritualising too much - your ministry, another word, a better way to say it would be your service for the kingdom, your service for the kingdom. When you use the word ministry it sounds very important and special, but actually the word minister means servant. Actually if I can make it even clearer, it's the one who comes around and does something like this: it says I see your cup, it's just empty. Can I just - excuse me a minute - can I just help you and there you go, there you go. I'm sure that'll be much better now - see? Now that's what ministry is. People get the wrong idea, but ministry means - it's the word daikano, to wait on the tables, to meet the needs of people.
When you're waiting on the table, who's important, you or them? The person who's sitting at the table's, the important one. [Laughs] You're just the one waiting on the table. They're the one having the feed, they're the one that's being looked after.
So ministry, the word used to describe ministry is to wait on tables. It's to have a servant, or heart of a servant, to look after the needs of other people. It's nothing to do about how important you are. Insecure people with no identity get a big head about having some big ministry - I'm a this, I'm a that. Oh great, ministry means wait on tables you know, and Jesus modelled it. He washed people's feet. That's ministry, so you can do miracles and wash feet, you can do them all. No one's too important, so your ministry, what God called you to do is the territory that God wants you to grow and develop, and this is your metron, so for example with Graham and Jessie, God's put it in their heart to go out on the streets and to meet people in the streets, so God has given them a whole territory to begin to invade and to go into. That requires they do certain things.
Now everyone here can have a ministry. Within the church of course there's some areas of serving that we need to fulfil in order just to keep the family functioning properly, basics of children and youth and young adults, and sound and technical gear, and serving in the kitchen - all these serving areas, but they're all part of just keeping the household going. But beyond that we also have service within the community, and where God called you to serve, whether it's a place in the house, or a place in the community or both, that is your territory. You're responsible then to govern your territory. You say well, I'm not in charge of the ministry - but that doesn't mean to say you don't actually have a sense of responsibility for it. You see you're called to be a king, not a slave. A slave waits to be told what to do, a king designs how things could be better. See their whole attitude around this area? So you have a territory.
So you start to identify your territory, and then of course the reality is that you also have a territory or an engagement in the community. I've discovered wherever I am, God has an assignment for me there. Now that's a hard one to keep in mind because you just get busy doing stuff, but if you can imagine - have you ever seen an embassy, like the American Embassy or the French Embassy? If you go to an embassy it's an interesting thing, but the piece of land actually is foreign territory, so you can't go in there without permission because you're going into another country essentially. You're going to the embassy, the representation or the representatives of the Government of the United States, so when you go in there that's actually foreign territory. Now have a think about this. You have the spirit of God in you, and you are an ambassador, a representative of the kingdom of heaven, so wherever you are - think about this - wherever you are, then this is my territory.