Ministering: Pst Seyi Osanyinbi
The kingdom of God is the main driving agenda on God’s mind. Therefore, when Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, the first thing that He taught them to pray about was that God’s kingdom be established and His will be done here on earth. This request came after reverencing the father and that in a sense is giving Him the ‘honour’ due to Him. The invitation for God to send in His kingdom to the earth is not for a visit as some of us think or show in the way we pray and act, it is an invitation for Him to invade the earth forcibly.
1 Corinthians 9:27
You must understand that in the kingdom, you have the dual responsibility of saving yourself and others. You are a member of God’s army, enrolled after you have been saved and it is your assignment to see that others become members of God’s army too. We must understand this lest we think that we own our lives and live anyhow while thinking that all that constitutes our service to God is attending church service not knowing that we have served ourselves. God looks forward to having as many people as possible in His army and we have to invite others, men who will learn about the cause they are to fight for and wholeheartedly fight for it. Let us consider the characteristics of the army of God.
- They understand why they are fighting (Hebrews 10:7)
No man fights effectively until he has agreed that he is in a fight meant for him. Even in the face of death, the assurance that he is fighting a battle meant for him makes him dare to put his life on the line. A belief in the words of a leader at war can put many to death, but they keep fighting because they trust his words. There is a motivation that makes them fight and ready to die. Every army has a motivation for fighting. You must also have a motivation for dying for the course of Jesus.
You must understand that you cannot be a member of God’s army and fight the cause that God has not approved. You cannot claim you have been raised in the church to raise millionaires or to erase all false ministers in the country. That will negate some other biblical principles. The responsibility of the church is to teach righteousness. This does not mean that members of the church should be poor but we will not term prosperity as the ministry of the church. The ministry gift is given for the edification of the church and perfection of saints. This is what is written about the church.
- They understand faith (Galatians 2:20)
For you to be effective as a soldier, you must understand the faith. The faith is not the same as faith. Everything about eternal life is called the Faith. Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith therefore we must understand the syllabus that He authored and finished. We are gradually coming to a time where it is difficult to call a man a sinner. How then do we preach the gospel when there is nothing wrong in what we want people to turn away from? But against all these, we must preach the gospel. If we will keep quiet, then we must be ready to face the consequences (Matthew 10:33).
- They have a good conscience
In the natural, a man who will go to war must have lost his conscience if he will kill and still retain his mental balance. He must be ready to kill people who are not guilty; babies and aged, just because they are affiliated to the land he is fighting against. Therefore, you must have lost your conscience because you will be asked to do things you would not have done normally and you must be able to do it without any bad feeling. However, in the Lord’s army, you need a conscience. Lack of conscience can wreck a man. If your conscience is not purged, anything that you offer to God is dead. All form of wickedness play because the consciences of people are dead. The only thing that can quicken the conscience of people is to allow the expression of God in their hearts.
- They understand grace (2 Timothy 2:1)
One of the major challenges of the church is to know what it means to be strong in grace and know how it applies in our day to day activities. There is a grace that comes from Jesus and we must acquire the capacity to use grace effectively.
- They know how to communicate truth (2 Timothy 2:2)
You must know how to communicate truth, not just being able to teach it. When you meet a person, you should be able to know where the person is in the spirit and what you can do to bring the person where he should be. You must know how to pick men who are faithful because one of the most important things that God looks out for in men that he wants to use is their faithfulness. Heaven wants a man that is dependable and has the strength of consistency.
- They know how to suffer ill-treatment (2 Timothy 2:3)
You need the strength to suffer and still be strong. Satan will fight you with discouragement and disappointments but you must learn hardness. You must learn to endure the situation. You must decide you are not going back even if it means death. We must get the internal strength to endure whatever comes just like Jesus taught in Matthew 5:40.