The word “Ministry”
appeared 18 times in the New Testament. 16 of those times, it is the Greek word
“diakonia”, which means “service, to attend as a servant, to aid”. The other 2 times it
appeared, a slightly different word was used; “leitourgia”, which means “public
function, a public office which a citizen undertakes to administer at his own
expense”. That second word was used in Hebrews when the Apostle Paul
spoke about the High priestly ministry of Jesus (Hebrews 8:6).
“Ministry is impact. Ministry is not
the same as Christian Faith” - Gabriel Israel (Rev.)
It’s quite straightforward. Your Christian faith is about you and God,
Ministry is about others. Salvation is personal, Ministry is external. The day
you get into Ministry, that day you cease to live for yourself. How you feel no
longer really matters, what matters are the souls that Jesus paid for. One word synonymous with Ministry is the
word sacrifice. Lots of researchers have spoken about the most difficult
profession on earth; some have said Engineering, others said Medicine, few said
something else. The Truth is; the work
of the Ministry exceeds all of those professions in every possible way,
especially in rewards.
Ministry has no holidays, no retirement, no summer breaks; it’s one-way
in, no way out. The only way out is to create your own exit! Having to deal
with human beings with different shades of character and behaviour is serious work
already, but in Ministry, you are going have to deal with demons and devils
also! (That’s the fun part!) In
Ministry, your heart has to learn to accommodate all kinds of people, all kinds
of unpleasant surprises, all types of disappointments; without breaking. That’s
why you can’t study Ministry within the four walls of a University; YOU HAVE TO
BE CALLED, that’s the ONLY entry ticket. Anyone who goes into Ministry without
being called is on a flight called Suicide; he may not even survive take-off!
Now, every believer has been called into Ministry (2 Corinthians 5:18), but certain
believers have been called into Ministry
Offices. They are not the same.
Ephesians 4:11 Weymouth New Testament
(11) And He Himself
appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists,
some to be pastors and teachers,
Notice the emphasis and repetition
of the word “some”. Not every believer is called into these specific offices.
And the context clearly shows us who did the “appointing”; Jesus did! You don’t
call yourself into Ministry. Knowledge of the Word and manifestations of the
gifts of the Spirit is by no means an indicator that you have been called. The fact that you have worked with a Pastor
doesn’t mean you are now a Pastor. This thing is not by association or sympathy,
because the work is great, the adversaries are many, so you have to be sent. In
fact, Bible schools and seminaries do not “encourage” God to call you. If you
like, graduate from several Bible schools, if you were not called, you are just
a decorated theologian who knows Greek and Hebrew!
Bible schools do not call people
into Ministry; they TRAIN those that have been called! Because there is a
Training FOR Ministry, and there is a Training IN Ministry. We’ll talk about
that in a moment. So, you go to Bible school, if you wish, not to occupy a
Ministry office, but to learn how to discharge the duties of the office you have
been called to occupy! That’s why the Media takes pleasure in trying to slander
the Church because of what certain “pastors” or “men of God” have done.
Firstly, most of those stories are lies. Secondly, the fact that someone opened
a Church, gave it a name, conducts several programs, and maybe even works
miracles DOES NOT MEAN GOD SENT HIM. He is not representing God. The devil knows that one of the best ways
to attack the Church is to look like them on the outside, and practice evil on
the inside. And when the Media sees such things, they rejoice because they
have an eye-catching headline:
“Pastor rapes and impregnates choir leader” or “Pastor steals money to buy private jet”, and all sorts of stories.
As Christians, we must be
wise and be able to discern when the devil tries to transform himself into an
angel of light. And you don’t discern by
listening to the Media houses, or what so-and-so has to say; that’s the easiest
way to be misled! The truth is, if certain Christians are as quick to pray, the
way they are quick to accuse and believe a lie, there would be much less
controversy and more answers from the Spirit of God to them. It’s pretty easy,
God knows everyone, both those He called, and those who are trying to fake it.
Ask Him from a sincere heart, and He’ll tell you. Rather than listen to people’s
accusations, listen to the Spirit’s ministrations. So, not everyone
standing on a pulpit, or working miracles or doing any sort of Ministry work is
sent by God. And don’t let that bother you, because Jesus said “I
will build my Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it”
(Matthew 16:18).
Now, being called is not
enough, you have got to be trained. And those that train others have to be
trained themselves. That’s one difference between Training-in-Ministry, and
Training-for-Ministry. When God calls a
man, it’s not a title, it’s an anointing, it’s a Grace. As that man continues
in fellowship with God through His Word and His Spirit, that anointing begins to
teach and train him IN that Ministry he has been called into. And lots of times, that same anointing will
lead you to connect to your Spiritual Father, who receives certain instructions
from the Spirit for you to guide you and help you fulfil your Ministry. You
must mark and reverence such people in your walk with God. One of the
common mistakes some ministers make is that they go ahead of God. You don’t just
jump out of bed and open a church because you were called; you’ve got to be
trained.
THERE IS ALWAYS A TRAINING
AND WAITING PROCESS. David waited, Jesus waited for 30 years, all of the
Apostles waited, and Paul also waited. Don’t misinterpret scriptures by saying “…the
king’s business requires haste” (1 Samuel 21:8). Yes, God’s business
requires haste, but you require training! Otherwise, you would go out there and
wreak havoc on God’s people! Besides, the call of God is dynamic and specific, Paul
was sent to the Gentiles, and Peter to the Jews. You’ve got to understand the
scope and specifics of your call. 10 people may occupy the office of a Pastor
and have a different scope and assignment; Peter and Paul were both Apostles! Training
IN Ministry is an ongoing process, you actually train on the go, because Jesus
said Go! (Matthew 28:19). He also said Wait! (Acts 1:4) Know when to do
both!
Training FOR Ministry is
simply the Trained training the untrained.
Ephesians 4:11-12 Weymouth New Testament
(11) And He Himself
appointed some to be Apostles, some to be Prophets, some to be evangelists,
some to be pastors and teachers,
(12) in order fully to
equip His people for the work of serving--for the building up of Christ's body-
Verse 12 is Training FOR
Ministry. God’s people have to be equipped with the right mindset and attitude
towards Ministry.
We will discuss that next
week.
Yours-in-service,
PeeJay
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