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ToMyWellBeloved
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PitfallsToAvoidInMinistry60
One of God's servants said: "My greatest pain today is to see Gospel ministers who are afraid to tell the truth because of the love for money or human respect." This is one the things that formed the basis of what we are presently dealing with as the second pitfall avoided by the apostles and preachers of old, which is, not being afraid/timid to speak the Word of God to all men, but boldly declaring the mind of God in truth. We had said some preachers could no longer preach the Gospel of Christ boldly, because they have fallen for the bait of the enemy through love for gifts and hastiness to receive favours from men. Hence, we said the best and the safest way for a minister of God to be free from every form of entanglement that can hinder him from speaking the Word of God faithfully and boldly as he ought to, is to be led by the Spirit of God before receiving gifts/favours/supports for himself and the ministry. Another thing we have also established is that God has always been the One who sponsors/finances/funds any man He calls and the specific work He commissions them to do. He has been doing this in all generations/dispensations - giving specific instructions to those He called to where and who they are to meet, ask, and receive provisions from, either for their personal welfare or the work of the ministry, and by also supplying their needs through miraculous means.
So, the moment a minister begins to use worldly/carnal methods/formula to get supplies or raise funds; once he begins to apply means contradictory to biblical patterns or principles to gather money and materials for himself and the ministry; once he begins to raise offerings for whatever reasons in ministry without a definitive instruction or leading of the Holy Spirit, He will corrupt the Word of God, lose the confidence and boldness to preach and teach the whole counsel of God truthfully, and also miss the mark of the high calling. We had also said a preacher is bound to be a victim of these pitfalls when he has refused to tame, starve and mortify his appetite and that of his household for fame, gain and materialism; when he has abandoned or deviated from the specific work that God assigned him; and when he has of his own will or idea added other business to the specific work he was been assigned, or decides to do or copy what he sees another man doing.
To further confirm and also establish from the Scriptures that God is solely responsible for the provision/supply of all that is required to do the work He has commissioned a man to do, that He indeed leads/instructs His servants to the source of the provisions/supplies, and also gives/sends them miraculous provisions, we have considered how He did that to Noah before the dispensation of law, to Moses and Elijah under the dispensation of law, and now we are focusing on Christ, Who though under the dispensation of law was laying the foundation for the Church that was near delivery. Therefore, He was showing us the pattern of how the Lord will supply the needs of/provide for His servants, the ministry and all that pertains to it, under the dispensation of grace when the New Testament Church is born, through the ways/means He received supports/provisions for Himself and the ministry. We have already considered two examples of divine provisions of what is required for our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out the divine mandate as the need arose from Luke chapter 5 verses 1 to 3 and Matthew chapter 21 verses 1 to 3. So, for a minister of God to receive timely, sweatless, and adequate divine financial, material, and spiritual provisions as the Lord deemed fit in ministry, he must learn to operate within the confines of his calling - minding and doing only what he has been assigned to do. To every one born of God and to every man called to preach the gospel there is a job specification and directives given to them. Have you discovered yours? midi sleeved wedding wears in knee length