THE MARK OF A MINISTER

'The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.' - Acts 16 vs 17

Hello Dearly Beloved, it's a great joy to my soul always bringing you God's seasonal word for your faith and salvation. This is a classical compendium for Pastors and Minsters of the Gospel in General. Share with your friends who are ministers and lets help correct the errors of our ministration, for the coming of the LORD draweth nigh.

What makes one a true minister approved of God? Does the amount of anointing one commands qualify him to be a true minister of God? We are in a generation where we rate the effectiveness of a minister by the enormous attendance he has, by the massiveness of the size of his building, and by the abundant cash he possesses. But what saith the scriptures? What can we get from the scriptures? Let's examine our opening scripture again;

'The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.' - Acts 16 vs 17 {KJV}

I love the way the Revised Standard Version puts it;

'She followed Paul and us, crying, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.'

This was the story of a demon possessed girl which always cried after the Apostle Paul and his companions any time they passed by that road. Now, attention will not be given to the story for the sake of the context of this teaching, but I love us to see what she said there. Looking at the underlined part of that scripture, it says which shew unto us the way of salvation. That's it! That's the mark of a true minister.

Brothers and Sisters, I would like you to note that that was the speech of someone who was under demonic inspiration. Take note, the devil only takes note of you when you are a threat to him. The devil spoke out loud at the Apostle and his companions through that girl because he perceived them as threats to what he was doing through that young girl. What is it that he was scared about in them? Their message! Little wonder he expressed it in that statement; which shew unto us the way of salvation. You see? - Selah

God said to me, '...the devil is not bamboozled by your gifts, he too displays much more of the supernatural, and he started it before you ever thought about it.'  So your giftings have no relevance to the devil, but your message does. So you are identified in the Realms of the Spirit by God, the Angels, and demons also when your message is entirely centered at the salvation of the souls of men. To satan, this is when he recognizes someone as sent from God. So if you as a minister are not firmly standing on that ground, satan doesn't know you. If satan doesn't know you, how does God therefore know you? - Selah. Minister Arise!

THE SEVEN SONS OF SCEVA

 13 ¶ Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

 14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.

 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

 16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. - Acts 19 vs 13 - 16 {KING JAMES VERSION}

This' a very interesting story we have here, the story of the seven sons of sceva who took upon themselves to call the Name of the LORD upon one who was possessed by an evil spirit. Look at the response of the evil spirit to them in the verse 15;

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?

WHO ARE YOU?

The LORD they knew, the Apostle Paul they knew, but they themselves were not known of the demon. Now if you take a look at the life of the LORD and the Apostle, obviously, they were out for the souls of men, and their message was centered in that direction. But these guys, they weren't preachers of salvation, but were lovers of the power. - Selah

Note what the Spirit told me, '...the greatest deception of your generation is this: the blind sees, the lame work, the prophetic is manifested, but I don't know them.' And I said to the LORD, '...LORD we want to be known of YOU.' And HE said to me, '...Do the first works.' {Revelations 2 vs 5}. And I said to HIM, '...LORD what is the first work?' He said to me, 'Preach the Gospel'! This final word came to me as a COMMAND!

Dearly Beloved, More Grace!

God Bless You.
- Pastor Jenning Uweye