Learn The Process

It is disheartening to see the number of ministers of the gospel who went through no form of training but today have set up churches and fellowships with nothing but the claim that God called them into ministry.

I have seen some of them doing and saying all sorts of things in the name of Jesus but without the backing, support, input or instruction of the Lord.

They are often frustrated, and they end up fleecing the sheep that they had been sent to nurture and care for.

It is often a painful sight to see

There is nothing wrong with going your own way and following the Holy Spirit's leading in leading the flock of God, which has been given to you by divine mandate.

There is everything wrong if you are leading them by sheer human sense

Jesus called it the blind leading the blind

Being anointed is not a substitution for proper training and instructions in righteousness.

God was the one that called Elisha by name

God told Elijah to anoint Elisha in his stead

Elijah did not just go to the farm to pour oil on Elisha; he took the young man under his wings and showed him the how and the why of spiritual things before handing over the mantle of authority.

Elisha went on to do double the amount of miracles Elijah did, including many of which we didn't even see Elijah do in his lifetime.

Elisha's calling was enhanced by training and instructions

We saw a young prophet in 1 Kings 13

He was highly anointed, and he heard directly from the Lord

God gave this young prophet express instructions on what to do and how to do it

He obeyed God perfectly until he met an older prophet who lied to him and deceived him

He fell for this deceit easily because he lacked training in discernment

As young as Samuel was when the Lord called him, he was already learning the ropes of how to minister, and he could see for himself that the sons of Eli were profaning from the offerings of the Lord

He didn't join them or see it as the norm

He did things as they should be done, and God, in turn, saw his take to the training as an indication of the rightness of his heart, the expression of his true character, and God placed the burden of leadership on his shoulder.

God was right.

Samuel was able to stand before the Israelites several years later to challenge any of them to impugn his integrity.

Prophet Samuel learnt the rules, and then he discharged them uniquely not only as a priest but also as a prophet.

Jesus learnt the rules.

He understood why the religious leaders did whatever it was they were doing, and therefore, when he challenged them, or they challenged him, he spoke from a knowledgeable position.

He didn't hide behind "This was how our fathers did it, or how dare you question the ways of God?"

It is funny to see many people on social media who claim to be Christians but who have absolutely no relationship with the Holy Spirit and only take positions on spiritual issues according to their feelings.

The disciples of Jesus learned the rules, and they updated their knowledge according to the unfolding of prophecy as the Lord led them.

At first, Jesus taught them how to pray what we call the Lord's prayer; this was long before they came to understand that Jesus would die and resurrect and give them the gift of the Holy Spirit 

After his resurrection, Jesus told them, "Hitherto you have not prayed in my name, but going forward, whatsoever you shall ask for in my name shall be given unto you."

So they stopped praying the Lord's prayer after that time and started praying in the name of Jesus.

His Kingdom has come, and the way of His kingdom is different from the way they did things when they were still waiting for his kingdom to come.

They understood this

Many Christians today still don't understand that.

They still pray the Lord's prayer and claim they are doing God's will; this is because they lacked training in righteousness.

When you read the epistles, you will see that none of the apostles prayed the Lord's prayer in any of their writings, and neither did they teach it to any of their church members.

Before Jesus died, he taught the disciples many things in parable and according to their level of knowledge, but after resurrection, he breathed upon them and released the Holy Spirit upon them so that they might have the understanding of things as they are and walk in the light of this knowledge

Knowledge is key.

Even if you don't plan to do things the way they are being done at the moment, learn why they are being done that way.

Ravi Zacharias would say, "Don't remove an erected fence from a field until you have learnt why the fence was erected there in the first place."

A man moved into a community in Lagos in 2005; behind his house, there was this humongous structure that had been erected there by the previous landlord, who sold the house to him.

The man called an engineer to bulldoze the structure, and then he invited a landscape artist to construct a beautiful garden behind his house.

A few months later, there was a heavy rain, and some dams in Ogun and Lagos states were opened

These dams had not been opened in years.

Guess who woke up in a house full of water?

The man and his family

He had removed the structure carefully constructed to prevent his house from flooding.

He had replaced practicality with beauty

He learnt his lesson the bitter way

The gospel is an art that must be learnt

The gospel is a science that must be researched

The gospel is a mastery that must be earned

The gospel is a lifestyle that must be lived

The gospel encapsulates how you think, live, walk, sleep, wake up, get married, remain single, make decisions and take dominion over all things.

The gospel is your life.

Living this life is a skill that must be learnt under those who know it and live it.

Healing the sick, raising the dead and working miracles are not just things that happen to freaks and fanatics.

It is part of the teachable and learnable elements of the gospel

There are so many wonders the believer is capable of, but he will never know it by sitting in church every Sunday while one preacher talks to him over and over again

The way the church was set up by Jesus was different

Today, you are a new convert, you get trained, and in a few months, you are an apostle

Apostle Paul met Jesus in Acts 9; he got converted and baptised

Then he went to the desert of Arabia for three years to study 

He came back to Jerusalem, and in Acts 13, he was separated from Barnabas for their assignment

He was an apostle after his first missionary journey

He was not a permanent church member who had a seat in one corner for forty years and was only supposed to come, contribute money, pay tithe, get the church to come for his or her wedding ceremony, name his babies, and bury him when he dies

Jesus' instruction at the beginning was that we should make disciples of all nations, TEACHING them to observe the things he has taught us!

Can you see the importance of being taught and learning?

When I was an undergraduate at the University of Ibadan, there was a Russian professor that attended a fellowship that I belonged to

He was a professor of music who was a student and a trainer at Julliard

We had a young man in the fellowship who was a musical prodigy

This young man trained himself to play musical instruments and would play for you any music he has only listened to perfectly after listening to it only once

Our fellowship leader wanted to see if the professor could help this young man by recommending him to some top establishments in Europe.

We were preparing for Christmas carols.

The professor and the Reverend came around and watched us

Then the Prof played some tunes, and this young man played them perfectly

The professor was using musical notes, but the young man was not

We were all blown away

Then, the professor gave the young man some musical notes and asked him to play.

The young man couldn't play

He had never learnt how to read musical notes

What!

The professor was shocked.

How do you want to play and become world-renowned without learning the basics of a discipline?

The professor started shouting, "You learn the rules to break the rules."

"In Music, In Mathematics, In English, In everything, learn the rules to break the rules."

I never forgot that lesson in my life

The young man missed a golden opportunity that year, but he was ready the following year, and now he lives in Ireland and plays his music with an orchestra all over the world.

When I joined the School of Disciples in 2009, as I began to learn and grow in my knowledge of Christ, I learned something from the minister they invited to our Fire Conference.

I have forgotten his name, but he was flown in from Kaduna

He said, "I congratulate those of you who came to this school to learn with books and a chalkboard, but true disciples are those who are close to the pastor and are observing him as he dispenses the truth of the gospel in words and in deed.

You are all sons of the prophet but none of you will be Elijah or Peter or Timothy if all you are doing is reading books.

Those who will lead must first follow closely, and then they will become!

I signed up to be a PA to a pastor the following week

I knew I was called into ministry, and I wanted to learn and grow

I wanted to make my mistakes as a trainee and gain mastery when I launched out

It was while I was a PA that I learnt administration, preparation of sermons, preparation of communion, and meditation. I did a lot of writing, and I began to lead prayer groups and fellowship cells

I became a youth pastor, and I grew under the constant tutelage of many to become a pastor

I began to visit mission fields, and I gained experience in that regard

All the training I got led me to this point in my walk with the Lord today

-GSW-