Today we are looking at something very important. Last week, it was a question that was thrown at us: Can Your Ministry Be Found In Christ Jesus? I am sure since last week you have been meditating on it and you have been getting the right answer God. You understand that the question is not the one asked by me to you and it is not one that you will respond to me. It is what the Holy Spirit is asking us and we must all respond to Him. Today there is another question and I want you to be expectant to receive whatever God has brought for you and to be encouraged with it. The question the Lord has prepared for us and wants us to consider today is this: Does Your Ministry Flourish on The Blessings of the Lord God? It is a question that is very direct, it is not ambiguous and it is personal.
Listen To Podcast: DOES YOUR MINISTRY FLOURISH ON THE BLESSINGS OF THE LORD GOD?
You must answer the question in the manner and in the same way I must answer the question. The question the Holy Spirit is asking us is "Does your ministry, your church, your organization flourish under the blessings of the Lord God?" And we are going to be learning from the life of a man that we know to have been blessed by God. Very quickly we will go to the book of Genesis chapter 14 and we learn a few lessons there. Genesis 14, and I will begin my reading from verse 18. The Bible says:
"Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said:
“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”And he gave him a tithe of all.
21 Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the [g]persons, and take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— 24 except only what the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men who went with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion."
I am sure many of us have been reading this chapter and we have been reading a few verses there. But I am also persuaded that many of us have been resting every time we gets to verse 20 that concludes with "and he gave him tithe of all." I am sure many of us have preached on tithes and offerings and we have quoted this verse, quoting it as the foundation for tithing in the Bible. But beyond tithing, there is so much that the Holy Spirit has for us today. It says "Blessed be God most High who has delivered your enemies into your hands." And before he even said that, it says "Blessed be Abraham of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth." It was God that he was referring to there as the one who is the possessor of the heavens and the earth. Another way we can put that is the one who is the owner, who is the Lord, the one who is the Master and controller of heavens and the earth, let Him bless you.
Of course you know that if I bless you as a person, reaching out to you, you will be happy. Now, if there is someone who is higher than myself, who is richer, who is bigger and have more resources, if the person should bless you, you know you would be happier. It is possible for men to bless you and you will be so much excited. But the blessing that was released by the Priest of the Most High, King of Salem called Melchizedek, it was a blessing from him, it was a blessing that was coming upon Abraham from the one who has the capacity to him. You see, you can't give what you don't have. It takes God who owns the heavens and the earth to bless you with whatever is in the heavens and on the earth. So, while you could be open to people blessing you, there is a dimension of blessing that only God can reach out to you. And so the man said "Blessed be Abraham of the God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth and bless be God Most High who has delivered your enemies into your hands."
Now, the first question that is raised under this major question Does Your Ministry Flourish on The Blessings of The Lord God is: WHAT IS YOUR MINSITRY? Now, if we can have a good understanding of what Ministry is, it is from there that we can understand how such ministry must be blessed. Should it be and should it rely on the blessing that comes only from the Lord? Or can your ministry survive from the blessing that comes elsewhere? Now, in Genesis 14:14, we are showed a picture of what ministry means. And I want to quickly read it. Genesis 14:14, the Bible says
"Now when Abram heard…" If you have been following us in other programs, Leaderview and the rest, talking about Nehemiah, you would have discovered that Leaders respond in history and emerge in history into the fullness of their leadership, the moment they hear news or they hear something. Now, while everybody could hear something, leaders will respond differently from everybody. Now, as a minister of the gospel, you are a leader, and you are a servant, just like Abraham. We are supposed to learn something here. In Genesis 14:14, the Bible says: "Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan."
Now, he heard the news that his brother was taken into captivity. I am sure you understand that in the book of Isaiah 61, the Bible says the Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because He has anointed me to preach, to heal and to do many other things, that is ministry. Ministry talks about causing those who have be imprisoned to be released. Now, the brother of Abraham, was in captivity, and was a prisoner. Abraham hearing the news, became burdened for his brother and for the people that are with his brother. And because of that, he rose up to the challenge. The Bible says "he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan."
What Abraham did was ministry, and I must confess to you. Of course, it looked like a military mission as at that moment that is ministry. You must understand that each time you rise up for the sake of others, you rise up to please God to serve your generation in the will of God, you are in ministry. The Bible says "he went in pursuit as far as Dan." And so, the question we could ask is: How was that ministry supposed to flourish? That ministry of a man hearing the news of the captivity of his brother and going in pursuit with his armed men, as far as Dan; how should such ministry flourish? Now, we have a pattern for us to have an understanding in the same chapter 14, and from verse 21. See what the Bible says:
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram, (this is after they have gone in pursuit and they have recovered everything) “Give me the persons, (the persons that were gotten in the course of the battle) and take the goods for yourself." And I want you to understand that of course, a king would love the people of his kingdom to increase, but whether you are a king or not, everybody love the goods, because the prosperity of any person is to the degree or the proportion of the amount of goods he possesses. The king said to Abraham, give me the persons and take the goods. While that may look like an honest gift, see the response of Abraham in verse 22.
But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’—
The question is: Why was Abraham that careful and that leads me to the next question that the Holy Spirit has put in my spirit and the question is: Who Takes Credit for Your Advancement in Ministry? You know, when his brother was in captivity, he armed his trained men and went in pursuit. Now while that happen, that is not supposed to be the last time he will be in need of such pursuit. And so the question is, how would he survive? How would he feed the people or take care of his army? How would he prosper? Now, a king wanted to show kindness, he wanted to help and support his ministry, he wanted to make his ministry to be sustained by his provision. But Abraham said “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing from you."
Now it shows to us that while a ministry can flourish on the gifts and the provision of men, it is possible for a ministry to also flourish by the blessings of God. You remember, before this incident, the King of Salem, Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High had blessed him. He says "Blessed be Abraham of the Lord God, the possessor of heaven and earth." So, a man who has been blessed by God also has an opportunity to be blessed by man. But he refused the blessings of man, lest the credit should go to man. And this is important for us to understand as ministers of the gospel. Of course, God has called you into the ministry, and your ministry is affecting lives, it is possible for men to want to reward and favor you, but you must understand that God must take credit for every growth, for every prosperity, for every increase and for every advancement of your ministry, and for that to happen, you must be careful on whose blessing you receive.
Now, there was a point where God appeared to Abraham again. Immediately after this incidence and as soon as Abraham got that victory, as soon as Abraham passed the test, see what happened in Genesis 15:1. It says: After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” You see, the ministry that you are doing is before men, even though you are doing it by the commandment of God. However, because you are doing it before men, there is a chance that men may want to reward and bless you. However, you must also be careful to know what to take.
I remember when Elisha told Gehazi, it is time to collect cloth, is it time to collect this and that, now Elisha had rejected what Naaman brought, but Gehazi felt that would be robbery, just get it. Everything he brought for you, you did not ask him, he brought them for you, collect it all. But the man of God said "is it time to collect." And so, it is important in ministry to understand that while God can bless you through men, God must remain the blessing or the source of your blessing in ministry. It says "Blessed be Abraham of the God Most High, the possessor of heaven and earth, who has delivered your enemies into your hands."
Men did not deliver this victory to you! These achievements that you have been recording, and have recorded over the years in your ministry did not come to you by men, God did, and He must take credit for every exploit of your ministry. And the only way to guarantee that is not to submit your ministry to the blessings of men. If that happens, then God cannot take credit for the growth of that ministry. How many ministries today are flourishing on the blessings of men instead of the blessings of God? Abraham said "I have raised my hand to the God of heaven, the possessor of heaven and earth, that I will take nothing from you, lest you say I have made Abraham rich."
What is it that you have said to God when you raised up your hands to Him? Are you fulfilling those terms, or are you basically living on what men give to you. Are you living and surviving in ministry on the resources of others? Are you telling yourself "if so and so should leave, the ministry will collapse." If that is so, then the advancement can't be to God, it must be to such men. I want you to meditate on it. In Proverbs 10:22 the Bible says "It is the Lord's blessing that makes rich and add no sorrow to it." Definitely, under the blessing of God, you will be rich. You can't be blessed by God and you are poor and struggling. Things will walk out for you, you will have access into the resources of heaven, since God, the possessor of heaven and earth is on your side and He has blessed you. If that is the case, you will experience abundance of everything that you require and no man will be able to day I have made that happen for you.
Let God be true over that ministry and let every other man a liar. Make God the only one who can take credit for every advancement or growth of your ministry! You must flourish only and by His blessing. You must not replace God with men. You remember what the Lord Jesus Christ shared in Matthew 6:25-34, when He was talking about how the creatures of God are not as valuable as you and I, are taken care of by God. If God could take care of those ones, won't God clothe you and give you every good things of life? It say is verse 33 to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and every other thing shall be added unto you." While you depend on God and not on men, the Lord will cause your ministry to flourish. While you rely on His blessings regularly, you will not lack anything that you require to prosper in the works that God has committed into your hands.
Don't forget, it was God that delivers the enemies of Abraham to His hands. God is able to give you results in this ministry. Souls will be won, there will be advancement and increase, there will be miracles and revelations and visions, men will be built up in faith and in the Spirit, and yet no man will take credit but God. But you must remain under the blessings of God; you must not seek for blessings in men. If men should bless you and God does not, you are still cursed. If God bless you and men don't, you are still blessed. Remain under the blessing of God and flourish in the same, and God's glory shall be expanded and magnified on the earth, and you will be blessed.
God bless you for the gift of your time, my name is Gboyega Adedeji. It's been a great joy sharing this word with you, answer these questions that God has sent our way through this podcast and make a decision in your heart not to continue any further relying on the blessings of men but to stay through to the one who has called you into the ministry and to give credit to Him for every growth, for every impact, for every increase of that ministry and God will be glorified on the earth in Jesus' name.
I hope to connect with you again next week Friday at this same edition of Forms & Patterns™, stay flourishing, stay fulfilling your ministry under the blessings of God.
Amen
