CHARACTER: THE PREREQUISITE FOR MINISTRY
Many Christians today, have different perception with regards to the substance of the anointing.
Some say it is all they need to prove to the world that they are spiritual.
Others also use the anointing as a yardstick to decipher how efficient someone will be in the ministry. They say the most anointed are the best. Based on this, they assign task to only associates or folks they consider to be very anointed and full of charisma. For them, when you are anointed, then it means you are ripe for ministry.
Some individuals are also of the mind that, the anointing is all they need to launch themselves officially into the ministry. The moment they sense an urge to prophesy is the exact time they feel like starting churches of their own. Even if they already belong to a church, they will find means to rebel or break away just to be on their own. Because after all they can also give a word of knowledge or minister to people to fall under the power. I’m not making fun here. I’m stating the fact.
Many youngsters in the Body of Christ today are too obsessed about gifts and anointing. The least manifestations of Spiritual gifts in their life place them on top of the world. They shout and jump and say, “At long last I am also ripe for ministry. I can now be on my own.” They then begin gathering crowds to themselves, starting churches on their own and also assigning titles to themselves. They are all good and I write not to condemn any. I’m only demonstrating my point.
The anointing is a very precious commodity and I love it. Thank God for His anointing. It sharpens us and empowers us to work in His vineyard. I love it very much. But the question here is, “Is ministry all about the anointing?” The answer is an emphatic No.
Taking up the work of the ministry is not all about the anointing. There is more to it than that. Before the anointing comes, is Wisdom and Character. No matter how anointed you may be, I will personally say you are not ready yet, if you lack any of these two, that is wisdom and character (character include the ability to teach the word). I don’t care what you say about this. It is the truth. Character is a necessary condition and the anointing is a sufficient condition. Character is the hypothesis while the anointing is the consequent.
With wisdom, character and the ability to teach the Word, you declare yourself eligible and fit for any use in the house of God. This is because God is after men and women of character and not of power.
You might not be operating in certain gifts and anointing, but being faithful alone to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit or the anointing within, will cause you to bear much fruits. You are likely to bear much fruit than them who can prophesy both heaven and earth together but lack character.
When we meet these three criteria - wisdom, a godly character and the ability to teach the word -, by bible standard, we declare ourselves as vessels for honor fit and sanctified for the Masters use.
If anyone desires to be in the ministry, the first he should endeavor to work on is his character. Because character is what you can give yourself but the anointing is what God can give you. Paul in writing to Pastor Timothy said, “If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, *and+ prepared unto every good work.” (2 timothy 2:21)
Notice what Paul said. He said, “If a man is able to purge himself . . .” NOT “if God is able to help a man purge himself . . .” So you see, Character is what you can give yourself. And it is what God demands before putting an individual into the ministry or placing the anointing on him.
Paul again said something to Timothy. He said, “. . . Christ Jesus . . . hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (1 Timothy 1:12). In other words, Paul was saying that, it is my faithfulness that made God put me into the ministry and to work for Him. He made mention of no anointing since he couldn’t give that to himself save God.
In 1 timothy chapter 3, we find the criteria for leadership as was written by Paul to Timothy. I love how The Message Bible goes at it all. Paul started by saying that, if anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, then it is a good thing. He goes on to say, BUT there are preconditions and he listed them all.
In stating the requirements under which one could become a bishop, a deacon, or a church leader, one single reference was not even made to the anointing. All the conditions were pointing to character, wisdom and ability to teach. Consider the Scripture below.
“If anyone wants to provide leadership in
the church, good! But there are
preconditions: A leader must be well-
thought-of, committed to his wife, cool
and collected, accessible, and hospitable.
He must know what he's talking about -
apt to teach-, not be overfond of wine,
not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned,
not money-hungry. He must handle his
own affairs well, attentive to his own
children and having their respect. For if
someone is unable to handle his own
affairs, how can he take care of God's
church? He must not be a new believer,
lest the position go to his head and the
Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think
well of him, or else the Devil will figure
out a way to lure him into his trap.The
same goes for those who want to be
servants in the church: serious, not
deceitful, not too free with the bottle,
not in it for what they can get out of it. ”
2Timothy 3:1-8(MSG)
When we carefully analyze the scripture above, we see that there is a prevalence of the modal verb ‘must’ in describing these preconditions. It simply talks of compulsion or how necessary those conditions are. So you see, character is a necessary condition and the anointing is a sufficient condition. This means that when it comes to working in the house of God it is necessary that one builds himself or herself in character but it suffices to be anointed. No matter how anointed a person may be, if he lacks any of the conditions above, he qualifies not to be given any ministerial assignment. Any pastor or church leader who does so does it at his own peril.
The voice qualifies you for the blessing not the hand Many pastors and church leaders like Isaac keep on making one terrible mistake anytime the need arises for them to appoint or choose ministerial partners or pastors. They close their eyes to the vessel and only consider the oil. They are sensitive to charisma and dead to character . . . They are particular about the oil but care less about the vessel.
They just like Isaac always fall prey to the deception of Jacob.
Oftentimes, we like the Patriarch Isaac prefers to only have a feel of people’s hand and to have a smell of their garment before we can approve them or send them out with a blessing. We always ignore the voice.
Isaac could fathom out the voice which came up first for the blessing. He was also able to identify uniquely the hand, but then, he was swayed by the power of his senses - feeling and smelling - to look over the voice (the betraying factor).
He had a feeling it wasn’t Esau. That’s why he could say, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau” (Genesis 27:22). But then he overlooked the voice - the character-and by enjoying the sweet touching and smelling (the anointing), he gave a blessing to a wrong vessel.
It is so with many of us especially church leaders in the Body of Christ today. We’ve consciously taken our ears of the voice - character-and are seriously enjoying the smell and touch sensation - the anointing – and are thereby sending wrong people out.
Today in Christendom, folks are endorsed and appointed only by virtue of their anointing. Little or no consideration is given to their character. But that is a wrong way of choosing leaders and it is very unbiblical.
Many Christian leaders today like I said early on always fall prey to this Isaac syndrome. They are only interested in feeling the hands and smelling the garment and care less about the voice. Through this, many have embittered their spirit.
Some have even suffered broken heart as a result. They send their associates to pastor churches elsewhere only to see the church being given a new name and its assets thereof hijacked. The head of course didn’t know the character of such. If he knew, he would have undone such infidels even before they striked. And how could he have known? Very simple. It is just a matter of paying careful attention to the voice.
Character is the key. We have to endeavor to know it before establishing upon trust.