"AND SAY TO ARCHIPPUS, “TAKE HEED TO THE MINISTRY which you have RECEIVED IN THE LORD, THAT YOU MAY FULFILL IT.”
Colossians 4:17 (NKJV)
"AND say to Archippus, “BE SURE TO CARRY OUT THE MINISTRY THE LORD GAVE YOU.”
Colossians 4:17 (NLT)
• Do not allow anyone to take you away from your assignment. And do not be lured by whatever seems to be a good package—a mouth watering package of blessing.
- Stay with whatever God has called you to do. If you were asked by someone to do what God had not instructed you to do alongside the ministry, in addition to the ministerial assignment, and be given money or good salary, do not accept the offer.
- God is strict when it comes to purposefulness or stick-to-itiveness; that is, tenacity or determinedness in whatever you are called to do—His work.
- If you are not at your duty post, that is, you are not doing what you are assigned to do; you are at a greater risk of being attacked by the adversary—the devil.
- Some have lost their lives because of such a thing. They accepted the offer to do another thing alongside their ministry works, ministerial assignments, which God had not approved or called them into; the devil took advantage of them and slay them:
9 BUT THOSE WHO DESIRE TO BE RICH FALL INTO TEMPTATION AND A SNARE, AND INTO MANY FOOLISH AND HARMFUL LUSTS WHICH DROWN MEN IN DESTRUCTION AND PERDITION. 10 FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY IS A ROOT OF ALL KINDS OF EVIL, FOR WHICH SOME HAVE STRAYED FROM THE FAITH IN THEIR GREEDINESS, AND PIERCED THEMSELVES THROUGH WITH MANY SORROWS. 11 BUT YOU, O MAN OF GOD, FLEE THESE THINGS AND PURSUE RIGHTEOUSNESS, GODLINESS, FAITH, LOVE, PATIENCE, GENTLENESS" (1 Timothy 6:9-11 NKJV).
• Whatever you are passing through in the work of ministry should not be a reason for you to take or add what God has not instructed you to do, with the work assigned you.
- Mostly, when there is a protracted or a lengthened difficulty in the life of a believer or minister; either on the material need or whatever. It is always about the derailment of the person from the vision given by God, or the inability of the person to get the assignment right. THAT is, the inability of the person to understand fully what God has called or assigned him or her to do, or when such is not doing it at all.
- What gives ministers problems much is the point being mentioned and stressed here. Instead of veering off into another thing or taking a part time secular work, you should rather take time off to seek God's face until you are able to discover where you had missed it or gone wrong.
- It is not always safe to think about taking a part time secular work or joining another ministry to work with them If God has not said that—If It was not okayed by God.
- If you joined another ministry apart from where God said to be, or you are doing another work of ministry with another minister; that would still not make it right in God's sight. God would want you to be At the right place He instructed you to be and be doing the right thing He said to do.
- Even though you may want to convince yourself that you are after all still working in the ministry. Working in the ministry is not the issue here, but, Are you At the place God wanted you to be and doing what He wanted you to do?
• I recently noticed an advert by a big ministry, asking people to apply for ministerial work. They stated the qualifications which the prospective candidates should possess.
- A minister who was not doing well in his ministry work made a mistake in taking a similar offer several years ago. He unfortunately lost his life shortly after he took the appointment. I guess he took the offer because of pressing needs in his private and family life.
- A big ministry offered, THEN, that those who were not pulpit ministers, that is, those who were not pastoring a church, who wanted to work with them should come. They offered them what to do with a package, possibly a fairly good salary. Since the minister in question was not pastoring a church, he took the offer, a couple of months after, he died in a motor accident while coming back from a prayer mountain. In fact, he was the only person who died in that accident. His death looked mysterious.
- I want to believe the cause of it is the offer he took, to work for the other big ministry, in addition with his ministry. I want to believe God had not instructed him to do that. There are other similar examples that I can share in my period of time in the ministry work.
• The Admonition is:
- Stay put in whatever you are assigned to do. And If it seems things are not working, you are not making progress as you had desired, you go to God and ask Him where you possibly had missed it or gone wrong.
- That God should let you know what you have done wrong, or where you have gone astray, or whatever He is trying to tell you to do which you have not fully understood.
- It is my prayer that you will not die prematurely. You will finish your assignment, and you will finish well in Jesus' name.
- Do not allow a need or a pressure for material things move you away from whatever God has called you to do.
- Note: ministers' wives should help and cooperate with their husbands, especially when things are still rough materially or financially.
- If you put pressure on your husband beyond necessary and move him to take a wrong step, you also would be part of the consequences of whatever negative things that happen afterwards.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
- Should there be any ailment in your body, receive your healing now in Jesus' name.
- The hold which is broken today would never rise again in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Peace!
STEPS TO SALVATION
• Take notice of this:
IF you are yet to take the step of salvation, that is, yet to be born-again, do it now, tomorrow might be too late (2 Corinthians 6:1,2; Hebrews 3:7,8,15).
a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner and confess your Sins (1 John 1:9); And ask Jesus Christ to come into your life (Revelation 3:20).
b. Confess that you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that you confess it with your mouth, Thus, you accept Him As your Lord and Saviour (Romans 10:9,10).
c. Ask that He will write your name in the Book of Life (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:8).
- If you took the steps As highlighted above, It means you are saved—born-again. Join a Word based church in your area and Town or city, and be part of whatever they are doing there. Peace!