"BUT WHEN IT PLEASED GOD, WHO SEPARATED ME FROM MY MOTHER'S WOMB AND CALLED ME THROUGH HIS GRACE,
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood."
Galatians 1:15,16 (NKJV)"WHO HAS SAVED US AND CALLED US WITH A HOLY CALLING, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began
TO WHICH I [Paul] WAS APPOINTED A PREACHER, AN APOSTLE, AND A TEACHER OF THE GENTILES."
2 Timothy 1:9,11 (NKJV)
-> Preparation stage.
• If God has interest in using a person, He will train him or her in the School of the Holy Spirit.
- The training may start by touching their comfort.
- You may be denied the usual manna that you RECEIVE regularly, which you do not labour for (Exodus 16:21).
- You begin to notice that your prayers are no longer answered easily as it used to be.
- You may discover that with all your prayers, fastings, walking in holiness, Giving, and practicing of All other spiritual principles; things are not working as you expect.
- God has permitted all these to build you up spiritually, in order to prepare you for the assignment He has for you.
"AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD to those who love God, TO THOSE WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE."
Romans 8:28 (NKJV)
• The Ministry work is not for babies, chicken-hearted people; but for mature adults, lion-hearted people—those who can stand in the face of opposition without backing down (1 Corinthians 15:30,31).
- You may begin to notice that before you receive a blessing, you would have to put in a lot of spiritual efforts: prayers, fastings, confessions of the Word, and the likes.
UNLIKE in the time past that you will just claim or declare a thing and the answer will come, you see it manifest or materialize. - This may set you thinking, wondering, Why things have changed?
- If a responsibility would be given to you, God would want to know how responsible you are, and the way to do that is through the stretches of your FAITH; He will allow you to work, face challenges, and see how you handle them successfully (Romans 5:3-5).
• At this stage, God would no longer give you things on the platter of gold, you will have to task your faith, labour in Word and prayers, before you receive whatever you want.
- Unlike when you used to receive manna; even when you murmur, disobey, rebel, manna would still be given to you (Exodus 16:12).
- But now every disobedience, murmuring, rebellion, Spiritual laxity attracted sanctions and chastisements; there is no mistake without a discipline or chastisement (Hebrews 12:7,8,11).
- At this preparation stage, you may lack knowledge of any number of things about the ministry work, in fact, you may be tempted to abandon what you are doing for God—your ministry Or assignment, when you sense that the call on your life is the cause of the challenges you are facing.
- "that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this.
- For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know."
1 Thessalonians 3:3,4 (NKJV)
- If you drop your ministry Or assignment, you are only prolonging your journey.
- You do not need to quit the work, you just need to brace up, acquire more knowledge, and submit yourself for training and mentoring.
- The essence of this teaching, training manual, is to open your eyes to things ahead of you and sensitize you, that whatever you may be encountering as you progress in the work, such is not strange.
"BELOVED, DO NOT THINK IT STRANGE CONCERNING THE FIERY TRIAL WHICH IS TO TRY YOU, as though some strange thing happened to you."
1 Peter 4:12 (NKJV)
- The signs are evidences that God's hand is on your life, to use you for a particular purpose; you just need to submit to God's plan and accept the call He has placed on your life.
-> Acceptance of the call stage
• You need to accept the call by going to God and tell Him that you are ready for His PURPOSES, plans, to be fulfilled in your life.
AND I Believe whoever has answered the call of God must have done this, because it is the first thing to do before you started the work at all.
- Another thing to do after you have accepted the proposal is to make yourself available for the assignment Or the work.
- Even when you made yourself available for the work, people might not be coming, attending the meetings you organize, as you have expected.
- You just stay put and be faithful, when God sees your faithfulness, diligence, and sincerity, He will cause doors to be opened for you (1 Corinthians 16:8; Colossians 4:3).
- Know that the doors that God has not opened cannot be forced open (Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7).
- Make sure you are at your duty post, attending to one thing or the other, even when people are not coming—you should not be idle, as some so-called ministers lazed about without engaging in any meaningful thing (2 Timothy 2:15,16).
- Observe the office hours, be there to pray: pray in the language of the Spirit, tongues, at least for one hour as you resumed at the place you use for the office (1 Corinthians 14:2).
- Sit there to read the Bible, books of proven authors, pray, and do your paperwork.
IF you need to nap, you may do so, when God sees your faithfulness, HE will begin to send people to you, to be ministered to—for counselings and other ministrations:
"He who calls you is faithful, Who also will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24). - At this stage, things might be rough financially and it might not be all that easy or rosy for your immediate family, but always remember that God who called you is faithful.
- It is at this stage that those who are not convinced about the call of God on their lives usually run back, or look for the alternatives—what to do, or a substitute.
- You may be receiving counsels from different quarters, some well intentioned people, about what else to do.
- If you are the one who founded the ministry, you may be asked to go and look for another job with which to support YOURSELF; or if you are under a ministry you may be receiving incitement that your Senior pastor supposed to be paying you and treating you better than he is currently doing.
- Some may even suggest to you that the money 💲 brought to your ministry is your money 💰, you can go ahead and be spending it; the answer to all these is patience and prayer.
• You will not fail in Jesus' name.
Peace!
TO BE CONTINUED