CLEARANCE FOR DIVINE ASSIGNMENT

It was sometime in 2015.

I was angry.

Very ANGRY!

And I told the Pastor how I felt. How dare he! “You don’t do that, Pastor! You don’t make such commitments on my behalf without getting clearance from me! NO! It’s NOT right!”

I was in a workers’ meeting in Church. The service just finished a few minutes earlier and the Workers’ Meeting had commenced. Pastor announced the plan to start House Fellowships in several centers around Abuja.

“We will start with just 5 centers”, he said. “These 5 centers are…” he reeled them out. One of the centers was my neighbourhood, Guzape. I frowned. I hope Pastor is not planning to use my house for a House Fellowship? I was not aware of any other Church member living in Guzape…

Pastor continued: “The houses we will use are, Architect Haruna’s house in Guzape…”

I stood up immediately!

“No, Pastor! My house will NOT be used for any House Fellowship! You don’t take such decisions without informing me! You should have discussed with me first! You get clearance from me BEFORE you make such commitments!” I was LIVID!

Why do Pastors do this? Why do they seem to enjoy manipulating and controlling their flock?

Nonsense and ingredients!

Pastor apologized and reduced the House Fellowship Centers to 4.

Some time later, I was home, studying scripture. I read 10 chapters of scripture daily, 5 when I wake up in the morning, 5 before I go to bed in the evening. I have been doing this since 1988.

On this fateful day, I was reading the Book of Acts. And the Holy Spirit and I got into an interesting conversation…

In Chapter 9, Saul was on his way to Damascus on a mission: to arrest and jail as many Christians as he could lay his hands on. But on the way, he had an encounter with Jesus. He became blind and was led into Damascus by hand. The aggressive, zealous man became humble and helpless.

Then God spoke to a disciple, Ananias: “Go and lay your hands on Saul and fill him with the Holy Spirit! He has seen a vision of you coming to do exactly that!” Now, here’s the thing: God had showed Saul a vision of Ananias coming to lay hands on him BEFORE He informed Ananias about it. The Holy Spirit told me, “Did you notice I committed Ananias to a Divine Assignment BEFORE I told him about it? Do You notice I didn’t get clearance from him BEFORE I committed him to the Assignment?”

Woah!

I continued reading…

In chapter 10, an angel appeared to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion. He told the Centurion: “Send men to Joppa and call for one Simon Peter; he will tell you what you will do.”

And the Holy Spirit said to me again: “Did you notice I committed Peter to a Divine Assignment BEFORE I told him about it? “Do You notice I didn’t get clearance from him BEFORE I committed him to the Assignment?”

Woah!

I stopped reading.

The Holy Spirit continued; “I did not bother to get clearance from Ananias and Peter BEFORE I committed them to these assignments because I TRUSTED THEM! I knew they had a heart for me. I knew they were committed to My WORK. I knew they had hearts completely sold out to Me. Those are the kind of people I can work with, not those whose egos are so bloated that they need them massaged before they can be useful in my Kingdom…”

“If you feel a need to be asked for clearance BEFORE your house can be used for a HOUSE FELLOWSHIP, I wonder what you would have said if you were Zacchaeus who I met for the first time and TOLD (not ASK PERMISSION FROM): I am coming to your house for dinner!”

“I wonder what your reaction would have been, if you owned the donkey I used to ride into Jerusalem when my disciples just untied it without getting clearance from you!”

“What would you have done if you were the owner of the Upper Room I used for the Last Supper when my disciples made preparation there without your permission?”

“If you were Obed-edom the Gittite in whose house King David kept my Ark for 3 months without getting clearance from him…”

I got the message.

And I repented in dust and ashes…

Shalom,

Haruna Daniels.