LOVE THE MAN OF GOD

Now going back to our discussion on water baptism, if you went through it and did not receive the five life-changing blessings that come with it, it is likely you received a sham water baptism. One big reason could be because a sham man of God ministered to your water baptism. Go, therefore, find yourself a man of God, and be re-baptized.

Who is the man of God? He manifests all these characteristics:

§  LOVE-centered. His focus is on the propagation and perpetuation of LOVE, which is the objective of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:10-11). He produces righteousness, not just good deeds.

§  Christ-centered. He is a soul-winner who is well-versed in God’s instructions and lives by them (John 10:27). He teaches God’s instructions, not his own.

§  Humility. He is God-anointed to be our parent in the Lord and as such he wields God-given authority over us. Not to lord over us, but to serve as a shepherd does to his flock, so that we may be presented perfect before God (Colossians 1:28).

§  All-inclusive LOVE. He is hospitable to everyone and does not discriminate whom to love and serve. He loves and serves even those who fail, displease, mistreat, and reject him.

§  Self-sacrificing. To him it is neighbors first and himself last. He is untiring in ministering to the needs of his flock—attending to prayer requests, giving advices, answering inquiries, lending his physical presence,  “admonishing and teaching with all wisdom”—sacrificing his sleep and rest whenever necessary. He does not mind sharing his food, money, bed and privacy with the needy. He is willing to pay the price of leadership, fully aware that the more effective a leader he becomes, the higher the price he has to pay. He is ready to lay down his life for his neighbor, if necessary.

§  Living example. He presents himself (preferably the members of his immediate family, too) as a living monument that God’s instructions are doable and beneficial. “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22) overflows in him and he infects everyone with it.

§  Practical sense. In the event his flock becomes too many to handle, he shifts to parenting the parents—that is, the parents at the home, school, workplace and government, even his fellow parents in the Lord. He brings out the best in people, disciples them to become effective men of God, and properly delegates to them responsibilities according to their capacity.

The long and short of it is that the man of God should be a success story in holiness, discipline and wisdom—worthy of imitation. He is a reliable shepherd to which parents and their children can always run for spiritual direction and enlightenment.  

²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood. ACTS 20

¹ To the elders among you, I appeal to you as a fellow elder… ² Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; ³ not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 1 PETER 5

The man of God need not be a priest or pastor. He could be wearing the robe of a lay minister, prayer warrior, outreach missionary, worship leader or musician, church treasurer or service usher. He could be without any office in the church. Whatever, his presence in our midst should be most welcome and a good enough reason for celebration.  

²⁸ In the Church, God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 1 CORINTHIANS 12

²⁰ I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts Me; and whoever accepts Me accepts the One who sent Me. JOHN 13

⁴¹ Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. MATTHEW 10

¹ Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. EPHESIANS 6

¹⁶ Submit to [holy men] and to everyone who joins in [their] work, and labors at it. 1 CORINTHIANS 16

⁷ Remember your leaders, who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. HEBREWS 13

¹² Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. 1 THESSALONIANS 5

²⁹ With all your soul hold the Lord in awe, and revere His priests. ³⁰ … do not abandon His ministers. ³¹ …honour the priest and give him the portion enjoined on you [to give him]. ECCLESIASTICUS 7

He who teaches God’s instructions but does not live by them is not a man of God. He is, in fact, Lucifer’s worker masquerading. Beware, for he is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, fielded to mislead, discourage, and dissuade us from learning God’s instructions and living by them.

How to spot one? He manifests one or a combination of these characteristics:

§  Continues in sinful ways.

§  More of a taker than a giver. He loves money and expects to be paid for his services.

§  No integrity. He lies and does not keep his word. He is likely a hypocrite who teaches one thing and does the opposite.

§  A disturbed soul whose faith-edifice is cracked with frustrations, disappointments, insecurities, doubts, worries, and grumbling. 

§  Given to a vice or addiction.

§  Has lustful eyes and or a foul mouth.

§  Has irregular prayer life. His prayers lack intensity.

§  Love of God is not the focal point of his thoughts, words and actions.

Let us test the spirits of everyone—yes, including the angels—who come to teach in the name of God.  

¹ Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 1 JOHN 4

Exact Responsibilities. What is the man of God supposed to do exactly? Let us take a look at the anointments of five, six including Levi:

Abraham

¹⁰ This is My covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. ¹¹ You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and you. GENESIS 17

Moses

¹⁰ So now, I am sending you to Pharaoh and bring My people the Israelites out of Egypt. EXODUS 3

John the Baptist 

¹⁶ Many of the people of Isra’el will he bring back to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord... to turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared to the Lord. LUKE 1

Paul 

¹⁷ I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Lucifer to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. ACTS 26

¹⁰ The authority the Lord gave me [is] for building you up, not for tearing you down. 2 CORINTHIANS 13

Simon Peter

¹⁵ Y’shua said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Y’shua said, “Feed My lambs.” ¹⁶ Again Y’shua said, “Simon, son of John, do you truly love Me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Y’shua said, “Take care of My sheep.” ¹⁷ The third time He said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt because Y’shua asked him the third time, “Do you love Me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Y’shua said, “Feed My sheep.” JOHN 21

Levi

⁵ My covenant was with Levi, a covenant of peace and life, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. ⁶ True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. ⁷ For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty. MALACHI 2

Qualifications. Can a murderer, robber, liar or adulterer be a man of God? The answer is Yes, provided he has turned into a new leaf, has God’s anointing, and is compliant of the biblical standards, to wit:

¹ If a man is eager to be a Church leader, he desires an excellent work. ² A Church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober [circumspect and temperate], self-controlled [well-behaved], and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach; ³ he must not be a drunkard or a violent man, but gentle and peaceful; he must not love money. 1 TIMOTHY 3 tev

⁴ He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. ⁵ (For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s Church?) 1 TIMOTHY 3

⁶ He must be mature in the faith [not a recent convert], so that he will not swell up with pride [blinded by conceit] and be condemned, as the devil was. ⁷ He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the Church, so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap. 1 TIMOTHY 3 tev

⁶ An elder must be… a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. ⁷ Since an overseer is entrusted with God’s work, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. ⁸ Rather he must be hospitable; one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. ⁹ He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. TITUS 1

¹ It is different with the man who devotes himself to studying the Law of the Most High. ² He examines the wisdom of all the ancient writers and concerns himself with the prophecies. ³ He memorizes the sayings of famous men and is a skilled interpreter of the parables. ⁴ He studies the hidden meaning of proverbs and is able to discuss the obscure points of parables. ⁵ Great men call on him for his services, and he is seen in the company of rulers. He travels to foreign lands in his efforts to learn about human good and evil. ⁶ It is his practice to get up early and pray aloud to the Lord his Creator, asking the Most High to forgive his sins. ⁷ Then if the great Lord is willing, he will be filled with understanding. He will pour out a stream of wise sayings, and give thanks to the Lord in prayer. ⁸ He will have knowledge to share and good advice to give, as well as insights into the Lord’s secrets. He will demonstrate his learning in what he teaches, and his pride will be in the Lord’s Law and covenant. ⁹ He will be widely praised for his wisdom, and it will never be lost, because people for generations to come will remember him. ¹⁰ The Gentiles will talk about his wisdom, and he will be praised aloud in the assembly. ¹¹ If he lives to old age, he will die famous, but if he is laid to rest before he is famous, he will be content. SIRACH 39 
    

Isn’t it wise for anyone who desires to be a man of God to start as a church helper? To be discipled in LOVE and trustworthiness and obedience and loyalty to God? For his old self to be broken and his new self to be given to humility before God and neighbor?

⁸ Church helpers must also have a good character and be sincere [not shifty and double-talkers]; they must not drink too much wine, or be greedy for money [craving wealth, pursuing dishonest gain]; ⁹ they should hold to the revealed truth of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ They should be tested first, and then, if they pass the test, they are to serve. ¹¹ Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest [trustworthy] in everything. ¹² A church helper must have only one wife, and be able to manage his children and family well. ¹³ Those helpers who do their work well will win for themselves a good standing and are able to speak boldly about their faith in Messiah Y’shua. 1 TIMOTHY 3 tev

One may be a world- famous evangelist or miracle worker with millions of followers , but if he fails to qualify to the standards given above, then he is not a man of God.

Personal Confession. Last night a member of our e-group called me a man of God and I said no I am not. I must confess this: I am no different to most men, still struggling to get rid of the old self. This is why when God commanded me to “Teach!”, I said no I won’t. I had this fear of being ridiculed for my past and of God's ministry that is entrusted to me being mocked and rejected. I reconsidered my position only after realizing the importance of pleasing whom I must please—no matter the consequences upon my person. Coming to this realization, the first thing I did was minister to the people whom I thought would ridicule me and mock the ministry. After all, I have yet to hear of a person who died of choking for swallowing his pride.