What scares me about a young minister or a growing pastor is not the ministerial youthful exuberance or his excesses…which he will have and which he must demonstrated at certain age in ministry except he has walked with a lot of older people who could impart wisdom to him really. Reminds me of when we just encountered light on grace,redemption,righteousness and eternal salvation and we will share word till 2am in Archi studio circa 2002 thereabout.I remember things we taught then that the Holy Spirit has explained better to us that I see some younger ones start saying now. I sometimes laugh at myself and some of my friends at the excesses of those teachings…but hey it meant we were growing really. When a seeds grows…it may grow out of boundary…this is the reason for pruning. The excesses will drop off or will be cut off as he grows if he is meek. This is the reason we must preserve our teachability.
What scares me really about young ministers are the things he is ignorant of, but doesn’t even know. What scares me is his despise of wisdom.
Sometimes in 2011 my wife and i had gone to receive a lecture from an old man in Oyo state. Which I must say I enjoyed. When we got into our car to return to our base station in Kwara state…she told me a story about the old man and a certain pastor.
Here is the story the way I remember it(my wife is asleep now so I can’t wake her for the details….but I remember the sketch)
The old man who lectured us had given one of his houses to a young Pastor out of his kind heart to live in…FREE!!! Let me remember to mention that the young clergy was the pastor of the local assembly the old man worshipped in.
A few months into living in this free house…there was an INVASION. NOT BY THIEVES BUT BY TERMITES. He did all he knew to do to stop this destructive insects but all to no avail. One day, a neighbor told him a huge “SECRET” about termites. He was advised to kill a big black dog and bury at the entrance of the house.
Frustrated with all the troubles the insects have caused him…he heeded the counsel and buried a dog in the house. Well unknown to him another neighbor saw him do that and mistaken it for RITUALS. He went ahead and told the owner of the house…who came with other deacons of the church and dug the house and found the big,dead,black dog.
They moved a motion to the headquarters church and called for the immediate sack of the “voodoo pastor” of their branch. He was sacked. The young man never recovered from that innocent mistake. Heard he later died of a broken heart leaving behind his wife and children. Funny thing is no one believed his story really.
Fast forward to 2016 now…the Lord provided us a property to move the church to…we started work on site and then we had an INVASION too. The termites. They were so many you would wager they owned the land really. One day, one of the carpenters called me and said he can tell me the permanent solution to this TERMITES PROBLEM…Pastor let’s buy a big black dog and bury at the entrance. I SCREAMED SO LOUD HE ALMOST WENT DEAF.
The story came to me strongly. I told him never to suggest such madness to me. Just do your work and leave here.
Many a Pastor have ended their ministries this way. Taking blind counsel. Imagine I took this counsel and the ministry blows up numerically and the miraculous exploded to another level…and unknowingly to you, your neighbor saw you bury a dog. One day they would gather the neighborhood and come and dig out the DOG and DESTROY THE CREDIBILITY OF YOUR MINISTRY.
DEAR SIR AND MA….if there is one thing you must guard and protect with everything in your life…it’s the credibility of your ministry.
Dont let people start battling with lies because of your carelessness.
WHAT IS THE BLACK DOG YOU ARE BEING OFFERED IN YOUR MINISTRY. maybe your mother comes with a special soap to bath so you can conceive and end the delay…REFUSE IT….ITS A FORM OF DEAD BLACK DOG…IT WILL DESTROY YOUR CREDIBILITY.
MAYBE FOR YOU ITS A SPECIAL JERUSALEM OIL…for ordination. Refuse it…IT COULD BE WHAT SATAN IS LOOKING FOR TO DISCREDIT YOU…MAYBE ITS A PRAYER CLOTH FROM THE TOMB OF LAZARUS…STOP IT. DONT BE CARELESS. YOU CAN DESTROY YOUR MINISTRY…you may be as sound as Apostle Paul himself…if your credibility is destroyed…no one may listen to a word of your sound doctrine and revelation. You will be called a worded BABALAWO.
Keep your ministry pure. Whatever God can’t give you…don’t reach for it with a stick. It may fall on your head and break.
Many pursue doctrine at the expense of wisdom. Please don’t substitute either. Embrace both. It will preserve you.
THERE ARE MANY “BIG BLACK DOG COUNSELS FLYING EVERYWHERE IN THE NAME OF THE PROPHETIC.”
Please be careful…YOUR NEIGHBOR IS WATCHING…YOU MAY BE INNOCENT BUT THEY MAY NEVER SEE YOUR INNOCENCE…TILL YOUR MINISTRY IS DESTROYED FROM AN HONEST IGNORANCE. DONT COLLECT ANYTHING FROM ANYONE. PERSONALLY I NEVER…it doesn’t matter who you are and how close you are to me.
So you will be able to say like Abraham…so that when I become all God has said about me you will not say you made me what I am. The glory due God is now given a special salt from Israel.
Welcome to Freedom.
#NotesfromPM