Five Portraits of a True Ministry

 

Five Portraits of a True Ministry

Written by Rev. Emma C. Innocent PhD through the HolySpirit

Lev 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

In this scripture, we shall be examining the five portraits that makes up a true ministry. By true ministry we 

mean a ministry orchestrated by God. Before we go on, let me give you the two Greek words and their 

meanings that defines the word – Ministry.

First is Diakonia, meaning, the service of a servant. It refers to office of one called by God to carry out 

assignment. This includes evangelist, teacher, prophets, pastors, apostles (Eph.4:11-13). Other special gifts 

to the body of Christ are also listed in Romans 12:7-8.

2Cor 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

The second is Leitourgia, from where we got the English word ‘Liturgy’ meaning service of a public servant 

or priestly service. E.g., A bishop. A regulated service where you are employed to carry out duties, rites or 

rituals or overseer a congregation (1 tim.3:1-2). Another example are Levites. Only from the Levites that a 

priest can be chosen to serve the people. No matter how zealous you are, you are not permitted by the Law 

of Moses to take up priestly work. Even kings could not. King Saul tried it and lost his throne. 1 Sam.13.

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a 

better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

In Diakonia, you don’t need any qualification to be called into it but in Leitourgia, you sure need to go 

through lots of it. With diakonia, it is not a function of desire but with Leitourgia, you have to desire it. Bthat as it may, God calls people into ministry. For the body of Christ, Jesus is our high priest and he is making

intercession for us before the father. This book will focus on diakonia which relates to every believer in

Christ.

Now, let see the five portraits or acid-test that makes a true ministry:

Lev 1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

1. THE CALLER – LORD JESUS: “And the LORD…”. The LORD has to be the Alpha else that ministry is not

of God. Sadly, lots of ministry are as a result of circumstances, pressures from people or their pastor

calls them into ministry. Some even enter ministry because they got a prophecy from someone.

Beloved, if you cannot trace a personal encounter with God, that ministry you are running is your

ambition, not His vision.

Please note that Vision is the inspiration God gives to you while Ambition is the motivation you give

to yourself.

The first acid-test of a true ministry is where God is the engineer of it. It shouldn’t be because you

fail in school or business that is why you enter ministry. Ministry is not man’s idea, rather, it is God’s

idea. Prophecies are good, desires are awesome but if you must function in the five-fold ministry,

then you must have an encounter with Jehovah. If God didn’t call you expressly to it, don’t do it as

a ministry. You can or may still use your gifts as service in the church but can’t start a ministry

without the caller.

This is the crux of so many failed ministries. They started it in zeal, mistaking it for ministry. Beloved,

wait on the LORD for your ministry. “The LORD called unto Moses…” not the other way round.

Therefore, if your purpose for entering ministry is not based or begin with god, then know that you

are own your own.

There are consequences of calling yourself to ministry:

i.

You function only by your capacity, no heaven’s authority. E.g., sons of Sceva Acts. 19:14

ii.

You risk losing your reward i.e., labour in vain.

iii.

You will be offering strange fire like Aaron’s sons did. Lev.10:1-2. This can lead to untimely

death, life, properties or precious time being lost.

2. THE CALL: by call, it means to commission, appoint. This is not operating your spiritual gifts, and

calling it a calling. That you can prophesy doesn’t mean you should start a prophetic ministry nor

does that make you a prophet. That you can sing doesn’t mean you should turn it to a ministry. You

can bless the body of Christ with your gifts without making it an office or calling.

Five important graces (abilities) we must be able to distinguish:

i.

Talent: this is inborn ability from God your creator to do or say things that other people

struggle to do normally. You don’t need to be born again to have talent. The purpose of

talent is to benefit you and humanity.

ii.

Gift: this is an impacted ability from God your saviour, to do or say things that fellow gifted

Christians can do or say. The purpose is to benefit the body of Christ. 1 Cor.12:1-8.

iii.

Skills: This is learnt ability from you to profit yourself. You don’t need any position in church to be a skillful person.

iv.

Calling: This is appointed ability from God given to an individual for the purpose that will be

known to him or her. Calling is a special assignment God calls you to fulfill on earth. Another

name for it is PURPOSE. Everyone has a purpose why God brought you to this world.

Believers and unbelievers alike have a calling. You will have to discover your calling from

your caller else you will be living on earth outside God’s plan for your life. For example, if

God designs for you to be in the fashion industry, and make Him known there, but you find

your way in banking, your best there will look like a desert. You flow better where God has

called you to. Therefore, it is key you see God to show you what He is calling you to do.

Ultimately, if you are not in Christ, it will be hard to discover your purpose. The first step to

discovering your calling is making Jesus, Lord of your life. Second step is to seek Him in

prayers to show you in visions and dreams why you came to this world to do. Third step is

to look inwards to your talents and gifts, they are pointers to your purpose.

v.

Ministry: This is mandated ability given to the called to execute. It is the detailed analysis of

what to do and whom you are called to be. You got to be sent to be in ministry.

3. The Person: “And the LORD called MOSES…”. Moses represents that individual, not a collective

entity. Does that mean that God cannot call into ministry, a group of people? Of course, he can and

he does. Nevertheless, each one has the call already. He deals with individuals, and if your calling is

attached to another, He (Jehovah) can call you into ministry with that person. E.g., John Wesley and

Charles Wesley, the Jeffrey brothers, Barnabas and Paul (Acts 13:2)

Isa 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and

blessed him, and increased him.

Therefore, you are created for a unique purpose. Every ministry must have that person that

encounter God. It is that personal encounter that leads to ministry. That your husband is called as

a Pastor, doesn’t automatically mean his wife is a pastor. She has to discover hers and stay there.

Sadly, lots of African churches have made church business as their enterprise, moving from sons to

daughters. If God calls you son into same call, that is awesome. When we see the work of God as

HIS work, we won’t have this ideology that it is MY ministry. it is His work, not yours; so how dare

you to hand over leadership by relationship? The Blessed Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke, “founder” of

CFAN didn’t make his son the successor even though he was a worker in the same ministry. No call

is automatically transferred except God gives it to you. God called Moses out of the congregation.

It is a sign that even if the cloud is in place, God will single you out and call you if He has an

assignment for you.

Beloved, if you want encounter with God, you got to create privacy with Him. Come out from among

them and be separate. That is the rule. Ministry is for the separated. He must take you OUT before

He takes you IN to courier His presence.

NB: I recommend the book – ALONE WITH GOD by Bishop Francis Wale Oke

4. THE MESSAGE: “And the LORD called Moses and spoke unto him…”

The fourth acid-test of a true ministry is that he or she got the mandate to operate ministry. Being

called is not enough especially if you are called to the five-fold ministry. you got to be sent! That He

called you doesn’t mean you should go! Many minsters have made shipwreck of their faith because they didn’t wait to be sent. 

To be sent is to given details of your calling. It is to be given authority to operate within your call.

Take the case of a man who applies to be a policeman. Intentions are not enough to qualify him.

Even after passing his exams, he still won’t be recruited until he is bestowed the police uniform. The

uniform is the authority to act instead of the government to the people. After then, he will be

assigned to primary place of placement (POP). It is after you get your POP that you have the

jurisdiction to carry weapons. So also in the kingdom service, you got to be sent to be fit for ministry.

A key bible example is John the Baptist. Before birth, he was called. But he didn’t start baptizing

until he was sent to do so. The process between been called and been sent is preparation.

John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

Beloved, when you see ministers running church programs every time, it is mostly due to loss of

assignment. Just doing programs, January to December to bless people doesn’t make you a SENT

ONE. It can be tiring if ministry is all about programs. Ministry is not all about programs. Programs

are good for the purpose of driving the ministry assignment, and not as the purpose for ministry.

“…and God spoke to Moses…” Did God speak to you to run that program? What is the purpose of

that program? Is it in the direction of your sent word? Do you have a sent word from God? If you

can’t definitely answer these, please go back to your caller and ask Him. It is important to get it right

so as not to be disappointed at the end that you have run in vain.

Jer.23:21 “I have not sent those prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them yet they

prophesied. KJV” Let us see verse 22 in MSG “If they’d have bothered to SIT DOWN and meet with

me, they’d have preached my message to my people. They’d have gotten them back on the right

track, gotten them out of their evil ruts.”

The above scripture is pathetic. It is very much possible to make “impacts” in ministry without being

sent. Impacts are not same with transformations. Ministry is about transforming lives, not just

impacting them. And the only thing that can transform people is God’s message given to you to

deliver to your generation.

Beloved, what is your voice crying for in your generation? Are you a voice or a noise? Are there

definite transformed lives that accompany your ministry or is it just people getting blessed? Go back

to your caller and ask questions. The blessed Kenneth Hagin once pastor a church for years, then

one day, Jesus told him, that pastoring is not what He called him to do. Hagin was shocked and told

Jesus, but people were getting blessed. Jesus answered him, I am committed to honour my word,

not you. He learnt a big lesson which is, it is not doing God’s work that matters but it is doing it in

His own way. He (Hagin) ran without getting details to become itinerant evangelist. Again, Jesus

appeared to him, saying that is not his calling either. It was after the second rebuke, he sat down to

ask details of His calling. Only then, he got it right and enter the fullness of God’s plan for his life.

As we begin to round up today’s rhema, let see the New Testament reference to this:

Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him

of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them

that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

We can see the progressive questions being asked by Apostle Paul. Let see this mathematically:

Salvation < Believe < Hearing < Preacher < Sent. This means until you are sent, there will be no

salvation. That you are a preacher doesn’t mean you are sent. If we follow this progressively,

ministry will not be burdensome.

Matt 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Beloved, if the ministry (God’s yoke and burden) is hard and heavy, it is either or both of these:

i. It is not God that gave it to you

ii. You are not learning of Him how to do His work.

5. POWER (TABERNACLE): God called Moses and spoke to him from the tabernacle. The tabernacle is 

the embodiment of His presence. When He gives you His message, He also endues you with the 

authority and power to bear fruits. Ministry without power is child’s play. If you didn’t go with 

power, people will doubt that you met God.

Exod 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto 

them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? 

what shall I say unto them?

Moses enquires what he will say to the people – The Message. Nevertheless, that was not enough 

to convince him to deliver Israel from Egypt. He needed more than words; he needed power!

(Ex.4:1). Beloved, message without power will make a mess of the messenger. It is through the 

greatness of His power that God’s enemies will submit (Ps.66:3). Ministry is military! Authority is 

good but power is what will get the job done.

When I remember the case of Apostle Paul, I can see why the later part of His ministry was 

characterized by power. Immediately after his calling, he preached Christ (Acts 9:20). He jumped 

into preaching after the call but met with strong opposition that nearly took his life. He has to jakpa

(a Nigerian slang meaning ‘run away’). Acts 9:25. He came to Jerusalem, and preached Christ. Again,

they sought to kill him. He was then jakpa to his home town – Acts 9:28-30.

It took years between Acts 9 when he was called to Acts 13 when he was sent. It was in Acts 13 we 

saw that he moved from just preaching Christ to demonstrating Christ. Beloved,seek for enduement 

of your calling. If God has called you as an evangelist, then the power that accompanies that office 

must show up. If you are not seeing it, get back to your caller and seek Him out. This is why we wait 

on Him as he said to the apostles in Acts 1:7-8. Don’t die as a chicken. You can’t confront sons of 

Belial without power! Seek for His tabernacle (presence)! Moses not only got the message; he also 

got the power! You too can be a man of power!

1Cor 2:4 And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration 

of the Spirit and of power:

One mighty demonstration can cover for one thousand sermons. The goodnews is, He will never 

leave us stranded. If he gave you the message, he will confirm it with signs and wonders. I remember 

March 10, 2007; the LORD told me “if you preach my word, I will cause the world to come and hear 

my words from your mouth”. God is faithful to His word. I see you breaking limits! I see you 

encountering God like never before! The world will hear God’s voice through you! You will not only 

prophesy, you see mind-blowing results! Your caller will defend you, in the name of the Lord Jesus 

Christ, amen. Shalom.