ACHIEVEMENT-BASED MINISTRY

"After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, 'Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent' " (2 Samuel 7:1‭-‬2 NIV). 

By 'achievement-based ministry' I mean doing church with the aim of gratifying your personal interests, usually by achieving financial success and amassing material possessions at the expense of the well-being of church members, or to the neglect of the plight of Christians under your care. 

Ministry that is achievement-based is driven by what you can accomplish by your own power and affluence instead of the Holy Spirit. Ministry is "not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD Almighty" (Zec 4:6). 

As an emerging leader, you do well to note that God is not gratified by works but by obedience. 

God spoke to king Saul by the Prophet Samuel and said, “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king” (1 Samuel 15:22‭-‬23 NIV). 

Is this not too serious a warning for you to neglect? Indeed, the God whom we serve is not gratified by works but by obedience. 

This is because, he says and does everything for his glory. He does not side with any person who tarnishes his image and desecrates his glory. This is why he is not gratified by works but by obedience. And so, everything you say or do, as a minister of God, must be to his glory. 

Glory means reverence, honour, esteem, praise, beauty, brightness, splendour or radiance. All of these words explain God's glory. Your words and your works must bring glory to God. This is what it means to worship him. 

David purposed in his heart to construct a temple for God since he felt uncomfortable living in a gorgeous home while God was worshipped in a dilapidated tent. He shared his vision with Prophet Nathan. "This is a heavenly idea!" every human being would agree as did Prophet Nathan. 

On the contrary, the Lord was not pleased with David building him a temple. The Lord clearly showed that he was not moved by a stupendous temple as much as he is moved by reverence, honour, esteem and praise for his name. God cares about his glory more than anything else!

The temple itself was good and pleasing to the Lord but the person to build it. He did not approve David building him a temple but David's heir. The reason is that David's hands were bloody from too many wars, and he would not be glorified by bloody hands building him a stupendous temple. 

Note, whereas the Lord was not happy about bloody hands building him a temple yesterday, he is not happy about corrupt, dishonest leaders building him temples today!

So then, ministry is not about works, that is, doing big things for God. It is about obedience, doing what pleases him and glorifies his name. 

If you are thinking of doing big things for God, be sure that they are things he has already prepared for you to do to glorify him. 

Do not do big things for God merely to show forth your power and affluence, but rather, to show forth his glory and excellence.  

You must not let God's people under your care feel cheated and exploited. When God's people under your care feel cheated and exploited, God loses praise in the hearts of his own people, and he will not be happy with you, the leader. 

Do not let your works be motivated by achievement, that is, what you are able to accomplish by your power and affluence, instead, let them be motivated by the glory of God, that is, what brings glory and praise to God.

#Truth Haven

Comments

  1. Sage WordFebruary 6, 2023 at 5:15 AM

    Sage broadcast empowers you to study, reason and question (srq) scripture in order to find evidence of the truth. Remember, this is achievable only through the Holy Spirit.

    ReplyDelete

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