The office of a priest is divine; far beyond any human ordination and all those formalities.
From inception till date, the first point of entry into Ministry is through divine calling.
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In Jeremiah 3:15, the he Bible says ;
"And i will give you a pastor after my own heart to guide you in all truth"
Meanwhile 3 steps are ideal here :
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* Calling and genuine repentance
*Preparation and seasoning
* divine commissioning and manifestation
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1. Calling/Repentance
Any pastor who has not been completely broken into pieces by God will be worst than an unbeliever when he finally answer the call into ministry. That's why genuine repentance is very important. Outside such, you'll be equivalent to a half done treatment with antibiotics that will later develop strong resistance against the truth.. But Just like brother Paul, you must learn to decrease for christ to increase in all your endeavors. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with christ; therefore i no longer live but christ live in me".. The crucifixion here means your Adamic nature- old man has completely been cruised!. And I'm glad to tell you that one top secret to genuine greatness in ministry is to kill the real you of yesterday.
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GENERAL CALLING FOR ALL BELIVERS
However, there is another calling in Mathew 28 (The great commission) were every believer is mandated to Preach good-news to the poor, set the captives free, and cast out demons.
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DESIRING THE OFFICE OF A PASTOR
No crime foe those who really admire the office of a bishop as enshrined in 1Tim 3 "If any of you desire the office of a bishop, some Bible translation will say" Elder - Let him be the husband of one wife, etal " But I'm glad to announce that God can never make provisions for a vision he has never envisioned. The provisions here include, anointing, grace, soul winning, kingdom /earthly wealth, protection etc.
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ASSOCIATED RISK
Worthy of note is the fact that this office of a priest is constantly open to deadly attacks from the pit of hell. If you were not divinely invited, the priestly coverage will not be there for you but by feature of being a spiritual leader who was imparted by a genuinely called priest, your congregation may experience a bit of this coverage (Protection). If you operate on the offensive, your life or that of your children and wife is at risk.
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MINISTERIAL TITLE
Eph 4:16 "And to some he gave Apostles, to some Pastors, to some Evangelist, to some prophets, to some teachers etc, all for the edification of Christ's body.
Now, these giftings can further be divided into 2;
- Shepherd fold
_ Missionary and Evangelistic fold
- Channel fold
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SHEPHERD FOLD (Apostles)
... You may have the grace to operate in these gifts but that doesn't make you the sole spiritual head of a church. What am i saying? , even though you're a very strong prophet, you still need to be called into the Shepherd fold before you can start and end successfully. A shepherd here is that fellow divinely called and commissioned into feeding God's flock with truth and knowledge. And as a steward, they will be held accountable for whatsoever travailed in the body of christ.
Furthermore, God has ways of equipping these shepherds in the five fold ministry of an apostle depending on the church's need at that time. In reality, their ministerial title should have been "Apostle" not just pastor. But as jack of all trade which they are, they may not prophesy better than you the called prophet. Hence, the wise ones will still need you for a higher level of forensic prophecies. Nevertheless, they also have their special calling outside the five fold ministry. It may be healing, miracles, marriage and relationship, Jobs, Babies etc.
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MISSIONARY & EVANGELISTIC FOLD
This fold houses the missionaries and Evangelists. By right, Evangelists were suppose to be in the field winning souls. Well, since the shepherds can still operate in the five fold ministry, he may decide to be addressed as Evangelist, Prophet, Teacher etc. But the fact is this - if you were called into the evangelistics in the likes of Renard Bonke, please stick to it. But to avoid spiritual halotery, you must have a pastor and a church you're accountable to!
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THE CHANNEL FOLD
Your duty as a channel is to make self available to be used of God in intercessory ministry, prophetics, evangelistics, teaching etc. Your own calling is not to head or set up a fellowship talk less of a church. . If you fail, who will you blame? God?.. Did you hear from him? Even though you heard, did he tell you "It's time"?
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DELAY IN RESPONDING TO THE CALL
Just like Jonah, you can't escape God's calling.
Romans 11:29" For God's call amd gifts are irrevocable
TAKE NOTE : Unnecessary delay dries off your well of grace!
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CALL INTO INDEPENDENT OR DEPENDENT MINISTRY
This is were a lot of you get it twisted. The likes of David Oyedepo, Enoch Adeboye, Paul Enenche so much seems to ginger your swagger 24/7. You watch them on television bubbling, Government pays homage to them, their pictures, stickers and names open doors in government, they are popular and you desire it should be you. Then you start nurturing the dream of becoming a General overseer of your own ministry when in actual sense, God's divine will for you was to serve him under another ministry. You are hardworking- yes, but Ten, fifteen, twenty years you're still struggling with 105 members. (Headquarter and branches sum up together). And you begin to question God when people have started questioning your calling. Who will you blame?
Conversely, if you're called into independent ministry but you're still under another person's ministry, you won't do well. Infact, You're just limiting God's calling and potentials in you.
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FULL TIME MINISTRY
Before God commission you into full time ministry, he might have open a door for you sometimes ago. Essence was to help you invest and plan well. Either in Nursery school, clinic, Pharmacy, university etc. But you didn't know it was an opportunity for a purpose. However, for a priest to be called a priest indeed, be must be committed in the temple 24/7. Such will help him communicate well with God. Same applies to Babalawo. This is a spiritual mystery!
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PART TIME MINISTRY
Working and running ministry paripasu.. This was not God's will for you as his oracle. But due to situation of things today many have no alternative than to follow the trend . And you know the end result?.. It makes our churches spiritually dry. Less miracles, less manifestation of God's presence etc etc. This has force many fake pastors into business of using charms in performing fake miracles. Juju priests now appear in suits on our pulpits deceiving themselves.
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MATERIAL BENEFITS
My advice to you: Establish yourself well.. Go to school, get a certificate, gather experiences, create ministerial networks and connections, Work for some years, make money, invest the money and use its yield to support the ministry. Until you resign from Government for good you won't know. But it must not be mechanical.
N/B: 21ST century MINISTRY IS NOT FOR POOR PEOPLE!..Quote William William anywhere.
If you're going in with the mindset of collecting instead of giving, my brother you will not go far.
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SPIRITUAL FATHER (Mentor)
No matter your level of anointing and grace, there can never be a Successful Elisha without a Successful Elijah. Get a mentor!.
N/B: Ministry is not how fast but how far
God's willing, part 2 and 3 of this update which bothers on "Preparation and manifestation of the calling" respectively should have the center stage next week.
... However, i don't know all..
That's why i hereby open the floor for Intelligent comments and constructive criticism.
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2. Preparation/seasoning
(Next week)

3. Manifestation/Glorification
(Next week)
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Yours Sincerely,
Humble Bro. William