ABOUT THE PERSON GOD USES IN HIS WORK
"BUT you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, FULFIL YOUR MINISTRY."
2 Timothy 4:5 (NKJV)
A minister who is called to pioneer a ministry mainly replicates himself or herself in the life of those who come under their leadership.
When God called someone, He actually called the person to tell or teach the people what he or she knows about Him—God. This is the reason why God usually takes whoever He wanted to use in pioneering a new work of ministry through series of challenges and trials.
Whatever the person passes through would be the message given to him or her to teach those who would be brought on his or her way by God. In other words, your experience in God, in your walk with God, is what you tell the people who are brought your way.
A minister who has been taken through series of challenges, by God, would have what he learnt in those challenges as the emphasis or the core of his ministry message.
A minister's level of growth, that is, his practical knowledge of God, would by and large determines the growth and greatness of their ministry.
God will not give you a ministry that is higher than your level of maturity! Consequently, If you dodged or avoided circumstances that could lead to your growth, you do not want to face challenges or problems that come your way; you are indirectly dodging or evading your greatness.
You grow along side with your ministry.
The greatness of a ministry is about the growth of the founder. If your growth is stunted, your ministry growth also would be stunted, dwarfed or impeded.
This readily shows the reason why a number of ministries and ministers plateaued out, because the founders of such ministries have stopped growing in their walk with God.
If you are growing in your walk with God, your ministry would not be plateaued, because you would be receiving divine ideas for growth in His Presence—in the place of fellowship or communion with God.
As a leader responds to God's dealings in his or her life and ministry, God will begin to move such a leader from one level of glory to another!
Retrogression or stagnation in a minister's life and ministry starts with complacency or swellheadedness—when such a minister started having unjustified feeling of being pleased with the self or with their situation or achievements.
When a minister seems to have arrived, such does not have passions for God as he or she used to, their love for God has nosedived, everything they do now is mechanical; such is not real or genuine, and not sincere in their hearts again—he or she is just faking it, using gimmicks.
When a minister gets to this point, God's presence in his or her life will begin to fade or wane—dwindle and decline.
Growth primarily comes through fellowship, intimate relationship with God. Your fellowship or communion with God makes His presence be with you (Exodus 33:14,15).
God's Presence
A need to grow in your fellowship with God that would result in God's strong presence in your life:
• Pay attention to reading, studying, and meditating, also known as, pondering on the Word of God (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3).
• Pray regularly and add fasting to your prayers (Ephesians 6:18). Cultivate the habits of leading a fasted life—fasting often (2 Corinthians 11:27)
• Minimize the number of people you have or allow—in the first level of relationship—in your life. The reason being that, the more people you have in your life, the lesser the attention you give to God and His Word.
Having lesser number of people in your life does not mean you should not minister to multitude of people, but it does mean you only allow few people in your private life.
In Jesus' earthly ministry: He ministered to the crowd, the multitude (Matthew 13:1-3); did relate with the seventy, the disciples whom He appointed and sent out to preach (Luke 10:1); and trained the twelve apostles (Mark 3:13-15); but relates closely with the three—Peter, James, and John—as companions. The three had access to His privacy to some extent (Matthew 17:1-8).
• Jesus took the three, Peter, James, and John, to important places He went (Mark 5:35-41; 9:2; 14:32,33).
• They were with Him on the mountain of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8).
• They were with Him when He wanted to raise Jairus' daughter: when He did shut the door, He only had the three of them plus the parents of the girl with Him in the room (Mark 5:35-42).
As a minister of God, your relationship with every individual should be defined.
Thus, If you can build a strong fellowship with God, you will not lack His presence in your life (Exodus 33:13-15).
Remember, having God's presence with you would make signs and wonders follow you (Mark 16:17).
Signs and wonders in the ministry come through fellowshipping or communion with God—when His Presence has domiciled in your life.
Jesus did not take lightly His relationship and communion with God the Father, even when He has other relationship in place. He used to go to the mountains alone, to pray and fellowship all night with God the Father (Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42; 5:16; 6:12).
"SO HE HIMSELF OFTEN WITHDREW INTO THE WILDERNESS AND PRAYED."
Luke 5:16 (NKJV)
Garden of Gethsemane was a usual place of prayer for Him, Jesus (John 18:2).
• Your privacy as a minister should be guarded.
• You must have a place you retreated to, in order to recuperate, after you may have minister to the crowd.
• If you are always with the crowd, mingling with them, going out and coming in among them; it may be difficult for you to have or carry God's Presence with you.
This same pattern is the usual pattern of Moses, he always went to the mountain or be in the Tabernacle to meet with God for prayer and fellowship (Exodus 24:12-18; 33:7-11).
God wants your attention than any other thing, even than whatever work you might claim that you are doing for Him.
If you give your attention to God, you will have His Power and Presence in your life heavily.
"AND SAY TO ARCHIPPUS, "TAKE HEED TO THE MINISTRY WHICH YOU HAVE RECEIVED IN THE LORD, THAT YOU MAY FULFIL IT."
Colossians 4:17 (NKJV)
You will not fail in Jesus' name. Peace!