Thread by @GbengaWemimo

Doing the work of God in a shoddy manner attracts no blessing, if you are not ready to do the work as one that was sent, it is advisable to keep away.
I mean this with love and respect, zeal is good but when you receive the right call and you choose to obey it, you must treat it

with utmost respect
There is a carnal spirit, the Bible referred to it as the “spirit in man” and some old ministers defined it as the spirit in man, this spirit is not the Holy Spirit.
It is a spirit of religion and all it cares about is looking good and seeming good. It is not

of God.
When you set out as a minister to do the work of ministry in a carnal manner in which all you desire to do is use people or use whoever is available regardless of their obvious ungodly nature, you are not doing it as unto the Lord. You are just doing it for your own ego!

Imagine that you are a pastor and you discover that one of your ministers is a cheat, he didn’t cheat an outsider and he was not reported to you. He cheated you and you have evidence but because you have a secular job, you left him on the altar to preach so that your absence will

not be felt or that there will be no vacuum…
Imagine that you are a pastor, you met a minister through a friend, the friend is a minister too and the friend later told you that “That brother has some character defects) and they were obvious and then you take that same brother

disregarding the warning and make the brother a pastor in your church just because you need “available” hands
Imagine for a minute that a sister I. Your church went to sleep with a married man and you were informed with video evidence and yet you left her to keep ministering

On your altar without any form of discipline because the sister is available and you must keep the church open.
Imagine that a pastor knew that a lady in his church is a side chick to many men and the pastor turned a blind eye and retained her as a minister because there are no

other available capable hands
Why would such a pastor say he is doing the work of God? Is he pleasing God or himself?
What can such a pastor preach that is worth listening to? A man who surrounded himself with crooks and people with questionable character
Would you want to be

associated with such a “pastor”?
I once worked with a pastor who acted this way, she would say “I will use whoever is available, the church must keep running”
She was married to a military man and was using her husband’s influence to get contracts with the government
She was

convinced her financial success was the key to the church’s success, so she would leave the church for many months in a year chasing contracts
Of course, she needed “hands” to keep the church running while she was away, so she ensured there were a lot of available hands
It didn’t

matter whether the hands were dirty or clean
I joined the church straight out of the university and she made me an altar minister the second Sunday I attended the church
She said she prayed and waited on God to send her capable hands
I was a young man who was still trying to find

my footing in life and I plunged myself into the work because she promised to pay me monthly stipends
I did my “NYSC” as her staff (she had a travel agency, an oil and gas firm and other businesses but I was stationed at the church and she paid me 25,000 Naira every month.

One day, I went with her to pray for a friend of hers, a German lady who had cancer
The lady got healed
Out of gratitude the lady offers me a job, a good job
This pastor said “No”
I wasn’t as smart as I am now at the time and I assumed she had my best wishes at heart
I declined

the offer
Then we went for a zonal church event (a football match) and I was asked to be the commentator
I did quite well.
The zonal church immediately wrote to her asking her to transfer me to them for paid employment
She tore the letter (The assistant pastor later told me)

Then she travelled to Abuja to chase a contract and I got a job somewhere in Ojota
Weeks after I started the job, one of her staff members had an accident and was killed on the spot
When she was told she rushed down to Lagos
She heard I had gotten a job and she said the death was

my fault (this was after months of not paying salary and I had to feed)
“if you were on your knees praying, no evil would have befallen me, my company or the church” she said.
I tried very hard to raise that brother from the dead, but my efforts were futile
When we were on our

way home from the mortuary she said “You have to quit that job. I asked God to send me capable hands so that I can face my business and I will use any hand available. You are a good hand but if you’re not available you are of no use to me. I promise to ensure that you rise as

high as possible under my tutelage. Just pray that I get this contract, I will find you a wife and settle you so that all you will be doing is pray and ensure my progress and that of the church.”
Her words made sense to her but at that point I realised something. I was just a

tool she was using to play “Pastor”
She was not really called of the Lord and I was!
Got called me on September 17,2007. Two years before I met her.
I decided to leave
Then she made her next move, she said God told her I am the husband to one of her daughters in America.
O oh!

I ran.
Another brother who joined the church and was active in the choir took the deal and she used him for another five years before discarding him.
I went to see her in 2019, when her husband died. I went on my knees and apologised to her for the manner with which I left and

she said she has forgiven me but by that time she had heard and seen the wonders God has turned my life to
Dear young ministers, run from users and abusers who present an “I will help you” front but are only using you to fill a gap.
Their characteristics are listed above
They

just want to deliver a “service” but they have no regard for your development or that of those they can use to achieve their purpose
If the devil is available, they will put him on the altar
Please don’t be like them, the work of ministry is delicate and divine
Power and might

cannot do it
It must be done only by the spirit.
Do you know the funny thing? When you decide to leave such users, they get defensive and angry!
A true man of God is happy to leave people grow and thrive and leave them to continue the work.
Users however only see you as a tool

and losing you means they will have to find another or do the work themselves.
You can also have a user as a church member or ministry member! All such wants to do is use you to climb the ladder of ambition
Watch out for the signs
Hirelings do not love as God loves, they are

selfish and they do not follow the tenets of the scripture as they ought to
There are many of them in the church today
You must so your best to set your course with God straight and walk in your calling!

I wish you well

-GSW-

@threadreaderapp unroll