Friday, February 17, 2012

Legitimate and Ilegitimate Ministry

I wanted to right a blog to all of my young preachers and those aspiring to ministry.  there is an alarming trend of people entering into ministry and callings through the back door.  I have never seen an age of more self-appointed prophets, pastors, bishops, apostles, evangelist, and so on.  Your ministry must have a DNA that can be traced.  I am afraid of people that declare that they only hear from God and have no accountability on the earth.  there are some that say that I don't need any validation from man but only from god.  I believe that this is wrong and dangerous.  Paul stated that "we have many instructors in Christ but few fathers."  God has placed fathers in the body to train, discipline, and chasten.  there are many young preachers who are getting their training from Youtube and TBN and don't have a real impartation from an Apostolic father.  When you get your sights fixed on the spotlight of ministry but not on the foundation of servanthood you are headed for a difficult path.  I don't believe that you can correctly pastor a church if you have never cleaned one.  the heart of ministry is servanthood and you need to serve "under" before you can be "over".  Everybody in scripture even Jesus subjected himself to an earthly authority.  When Jesus validated his ministry he had to got o John the baptist who was the spiritual headship of that time and be baptized of him.  John felt uncomfortable but Jesus said "suffer it to be so".  In order to have a "Legit" ministry you have to be under someone that is "Legit".  Many feel that this is not important but when I go to the doctor one of the first things that I look for is where he or she went to school.  I look for the degree or certificate.  I will not trust a doctor who just wanted to be a doctor but never subjected his self to the training.  In my ministry I was trained by my apostolic father, I was endorsed as an "exhorter, licensed as a minister, ordained as an elder, and appointed as a District Elder.  What i'm saying is that other men besides myself felt that I qualified for the offices that I held.  If you are operating illegitimately, then how can you raise spiritual sons.  Bastards never last in ministry and they never reproduce anything but little bastards.

Fathers pass down spiritual DNA, they open doors, and they discipline their sons.  My pastor opened my first doors but other fathers that were connected to him opened future doors.  I would never depart my father and seek another because I only have one.  Some are changing fathers every year look for a hook-up.  You don't need a hook-up, you need a father.  Some of you young preachers are not being fathered but you are in  foster care looking to be adopted.  Growing up as a boy there were men richer than my father, smarter than my father, and more prestigious than my father but none of them loved me like my father.  If God has given you a spiritual father then be faithful and obedient and god will prosper you.

David had a crazy father in Saul but David was so faithful that he would not kill the man who was trying to kill him.  One of the last prophecies in the bible was that the father hearts would be turned to the children and the children to the fathers.  Lets turn our heart to the authority that God has established so that we can received our divine inheritance.

Could You Not Tarry One Hour?

This is the question that Jesus asked his disciples right before he was arrested and crucified.  It was a lack of prayer preparation that caused the fear and anxiety that led to them abandoning Jesus.  There are so many people in the body of Christ that are struggling due to the lack of prayer.  How can we survive the constant barrage of satanic influences if we do not prayer.  Many in the body of Christ have turned prayer into a religious exercise and totally ignore the true power of prayer.  Prayer is our divine pleasure and opportunity to have relationship with our creator.  Prayer is not a written computer program to be memorized and played over in our heads.  Prayer is a divine release that comes from our spirit.  Oh what a joy it is to have a conversation with the one who saved, redeemed, and delivered a miserable soul like me.  Growing up in church we sometimes learn to pray by observing how others pray.  This is not the best way to learn prayer.  Its almost like trying to get to know your spouse by eavesdropping on the conversation of another couple.  Prayer is supposed to flow like water.  No vain repetitions, repeated cliches, or memorized jargon.  God talked to Abraham as a man talks to his friend.  THAT'S THE PRAYER LIFE I WANT.  Sometimes in church prayer meetings I watch people who are done praying in ten minutes because they ran out of things to say but prayer is more than talking; it's about relating and knowing.

Prayer is about:
  • Praise
  • Waiting
  • Confession
  • Scripture praying
  • Watching
  • Intercession
  • Petition
  • Thanksgiving
  • Singing
  • Meditation
  • Listening
  • Worship
Can you do all of that in 10 minutes?  I can't.  Spend some quality time with God.  Learn how to be still in prayer and focus all your attention on Him.  Who wants to have a romantic date and the other person can't be still?

Pray is OUR pleasure