WHAT IS IN YOUR HANDS?
Discovering Your Own Relevance In Ministry.
Episode One.
DISCOVERING MY OWN ASSIGNMENT.
Sometime in 2011, I watched a man of God ministering on the television. He was telling of his exploits in ministry, how he had done tremendous things such as waking up the dead and so many other miracles that he had done. He was everything that I wasn’t, demonstrating through a lot of activities so much that I got so carried away and I wished to become like him.
Later on that night too, I remembered the spectacular story of the late Bishop Benson Idahosa. He was a phenomenon in the history of the Nigerian church. He went church on a Sunday and his pastor preached on I think Matthew 10:8;
‘Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons…’
The preaching of the day really caught his attention, so much that he went to his pastor after the service to expatiate on the scripture. When the pastor confirmed to him that the scripture is for everyone including Benson himself, he asked the pastor if he had woken up a dead person before, but the pastor responded that he had not. However, the pastor assured him that anyone could do so. He consequently went to town looking for dead bodies to raise up from the dead. He went everywhere asking if there was anyone who just died, so that he could raise the dead. Finally at 4. O’clock in the evening, he got one that just died. He prayed and the dead girl came back to life, and that was the beginning of a spectacular ministry that impacted the whole world with miraculous exploits that is difficult to rival.
Friends, with a combination of the story of the man of God on the television and the story of late Bishop Benson Idahosa, a desire was aroused in me so much that I decided not to sleep until God would give me the power to do some of those powerful things that they had done or were doing.
I started praying earnestly at some minutes before 12 midnight. I prayed until about one hour later when I suddenly heard a voice, GO AND SIT DOWN! I knew it was Holy Spirit calling my attention, so I went towards a chair. As I sat down, I heard the same voice again, TAKE YOUR WRITING MATERIALS! I obediently took my iPad, and then I heard that same voice for the third time, WRITE! Though it was never my intention to write anything that night, but to pray, I nevertheless started typing. It was as if I was being dictated to, as I typed what was later tilted Twelve Laws For a Successful Marriage. As I continued typing, the second page was The Able Minister.
That night, the Holy Spirit was undoubtedly telling me that my own main assignment in ministry would be teaching with literature playing major role while my area of focus would be in marriage and leadership. Instead of focusing on the grace of the man of God on the television, (though God might make any of them to happen through me) I should focus on the area of gifting that I have been endowed with. I never knew how powerful the experience of that night was, until I started developing those points that were written down. I have not finished writing since then, to the glory of God!
Twelve laws for a successful marriage was about those unfailing principles that if you observe them, you are most likely to experience success in your marriage;
Law 1- The law of departure.
Law 2- The law of cleaving.
Law 3- The law of mutual love.
Law 4- The law of mutual submission and sacrifice
Law 5- The law of almighty sex.
Law 6- The law of nakedness.
Law 7- The law of communication.
Law 8- The law of forgiveness.
Law 9- The law of deadly alternative.
Law 10- The law of imperfection.
Law 11- The law of challenge.
Law 12- The law of agreement.
On the other hand, The Able Minister was about what makes a man an able minister of God. The jottings were developed into two small books. The books gradually became the centre around which a prominent writing ministry has developed over the years.
As result of the encounter and subsequent focus on marriage and leadership, several things happened;
* I kept developing those content that I started with as each of the principles which I started with kept expanding into different books on their own. In addition to the original content being developed, the Holy Spirit also continued to use what others will see as inconsequential in marital relationships to have significance to me, thereby leading to an expansion of the content that I started with into an almost limitless content that keep expanding. The result is that several books have been written and more are being worked upon.
* I became more comfortable ministering in the area of marriage. Gradually, I became more keen and interested in matters relating to marriage to such an extent that I became ever ready and comfortable in discussing marital issues.
* Churches, ministries and others took notice of the grace I have in those areas and started inviting me to minister on marriage and leadership, further expanding my capacity in that area. If I am invited to minister on marriage and it appears as if I have not written much on the theme, it became an area for me to develop materials on.
* A radio ministry emerged through which a lot of hurting homes have been healed and a lot of separated spouses have been reconciled.
* I became comfortable ministering to pastors on the significance of their homes to ministry and how to make their spouses to run with the vision that God has given the ministers in different countries of the world that I have visited.
* My writing kept improving as a result of practice. Generally speaking, the more I wrote on marriage, the more my writing skills improved to a level that I could develop any tiny theme on marriage to become a notable matter.
* The tiny book for the minister gradually spilled over into other writings which later grew into Matters Arising In Ministry.
* My writing skills spilled over into other areas of experience. My writings on marriage and leadership spilled into other areas. For instance, I was able to put my experience of close to four decades in school administration together and write a highly successful book titled, Lessons In School Proprietorship.
Conclusion.
As much as it is a good thing to desire the gift of others, your relevance in ministry will really be highly dependent on discovering your own assignment, focusing on it and developing your capacity in that area. It is when that centre is holding firmly that you can have genuine relevance in ministry. There are many ministers of God that have been on fruitless search for power since they were called into ministry, without actually understanding what power is actually meant for. Sometimes we become so overwhelmed by the achievement of others that we erroneously feel useless, failing to know that God has different assignment for individuals. The woman whose story was written in 2Kings 4:1-7, felt that her case was hopeless until prophet Elisha asked her the question in verse 4…
‘And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.’
By the time she was led to make use of that oil, the story of her life changed. You may be missing out a lot in life and ministry if you fail to recognize that little pot of oil in your hand, not discerning, that, it is really from that little one that your relevance in life and ministry will come.
Receive the grace to recognize your assignment in Jesus name.
(Look out for episode two tomorrow: THE REAL DEFINITION OF POWER AND IT’S USE IN MINISTRY)
