Understanding Purpose in The Christian Ministry (PART 7)
By Pastor Raphael Adegoke
For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.” (Gal. 2:8).
Glory be to God in the highest, it’s another week. May we not miss out of any of God’s blessings for us this week in the name of Jesus! Amen!
Last Tuesday, we considered Spiritual Office as a gift to an individual and to a people, but today we shall be focusing on “Understanding Scope”.
What is scope? Scope is the extent of the area or subject matter that something deals with or to which it is relevant. But in this discourse, it is regarded as the area that a minister deals with or to which he is relevant.
One of the things many ministers seek today is relevance. Meanwhile, there is nothing that makes a minister irrelevant as much as seeking after relevance, especially when it is sought in a wrong place. One of the things that characterized the Old Testament prophets, Jesus and the Apostles was “Understanding Scope”. This is clearly stated in the scriptures
3“Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me.” (Ezekiel 2:3)
23But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” 24 He answered, “ I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:23-24)
For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles.” (Gal. 2:8).
Many ministers today keep praying and hoping for the power, grace, anointing, strength, e.t.c., that they will never receive because their scope is wrong. Just as a fish will struggle to swim, a bird will struggle to fly and a cheetah will struggle to run, so it is for any minister that does not understand the scope of his ministry. A fish needs little or no effort swimming compared to a cheetah. Though a cheetah is of bigger stature and very swift on ground, yet it will never ever win any swimming race with a fish.
Just as God will naturally not supply strength to a fish to fly or an elephant to do, so He will naturally not supply power, grace, anointing, wisdom, e.t.c., in to any minister who isn’t within scope. “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”( Matthew 7:6). This is one of the reasons it sometimes seems many minister lack unction. The best any man can receive when operating outside of his scope is the applause of men which is indeed an enemy of real manifestation.
Ministers are designed for signs and wonders, but where there is lack of understanding of scope, they’ll become wanderers. That is not the design of God. So, if as a minister, excellence is not your lifestyle in what you do, you need to re-examine your scope, because without this, much struggle or efforts will only yield little or no result.
Pastor Raphael Adegoke is a Pastor in Christ Apostolic Church (Nigeria & Overseas) and a Lecturer in Christ Apostolic Church Theological Seminary.
