The Lord is challenging us in these days not to be a church that has some spectators and some players, but for all to be players. God wants us to get out of the bleachers and grandstands on to the field of play, not for a pitch invasion afterwards, but in the game itself … John Wimber used to say, “Everyone gets to play”, as Matt Jones quoted at the NCMI Paris Equip.

Ministry is not confined to the elite, to the clergy, to the prominent Christian celebrity. By involving ordinary people in what He had come to the world to do, Jesus laid the foundations of a new all-believer priesthood, in calling ordinary fishermen, Andrew and Peter, James and John, and others, we see a model for ministry that the New Testament church was to follow, and that the church today is meant to follow.

The Old Testament priesthood was static, it was temple-based and only the Levites were called to be priests. The New Testament model looks different. We are the living stones, we are God’s building and Christ in us is the hope of glory.

The first duty of a priest is to continually offer sacrifices of praise to God, that means the fruit of our lips, being His witnesses. 1 Peter 2:5 says “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ”.

What the world needs now is not a sleeping church, not an apparently lifeless church, but a church that is radiant and pulsating with the presence and power and love and life of God. “By this will all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). We can change the world if we as priests have learned to love as Jesus loves us.

We need to be passionately mobilized as we see in these exciting times, God is restoring the church where every part of His body has a purpose and function.

Jesus’ mission is to mobilize every follower, every disciple, every priest, male or female, to be the priesthood of all believers. All believers means all ages, we are never not on mission. For all of your life, you are on His mission.