Perils of Ministry

PERILS OF MINISTRY

 

Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthian Church, chapter 4 verse 1 says: “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not. This clearly indicates that believers have assignments they have been dedicated to. And to accomplish the assignment God gave gifts: “It was he who  ‘gave gifts’ he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers. He did this to prepare all God’s people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.” Eph 4 verse 11 and 12 GNB.  This is God’s appointment for ministry. Simply, it can be referred to as religious office for the benefit of the body of Christ. In the process of fulfilling this noble task, there are associated dangers and risks: hence the PERILS OF MINISTRY.

 

In 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Apostle Paul, a man ordained by God in ministry, enumerated some instances where he experienced perils in ministry. These can be highlighted as:

1.     Perils of false Apostles – These are sets of ministers who creeps in subtly to distort the facts of the gospel. They corrupt the minds of the brethren to draw followers to themselves; introduce gospels that are not of sound doctrine for selfish and personal gains. And finally shift the faith of the crowd from looking unto Jesus but rather to man. This makes it easy for them to beguile the saints of Christ and thus exercise lordship over them. Paul calls them deceitful workers who transform themselves to Apostle of Christ.

2.     Experiencing discouragement – Apostle Paul had a heavy discouragement that people he had served and ministered to in all sincerity and humility of spirit were easily deceived by “a new gospel” to the extent that they were been drawn to pitch tent against him. He felt this was because he presented the gospel to them in all simplicity and seek not to be burdensome to them.

3.     His sufferings and persecutions. In verses 24-27, he enumerated some hardship and torture he went through in the course of ministering the gospel. His ministry faced opposition both from men and elements. There were heavy demands on his time, strength and health. No room for personal pleasures.

4.     Responsibility for souls – In verse 28, he said, “Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. He felt so responsible for the welfare of every soul in the churches under him. Their well-being is his own travail.

5.     Temptations. As Apostle Paul also experienced temptations to glory in self, ministers are not exempted from this. A period of counting on achievements and successes may arise. Aside from this, other area of temptations that Paul might have not experienced, but are real and existent are what I will call the remaining “Gs”, GOLD and GIRLS. In simple terms I will call them the evil alluring of money and women. These are powerful weapons from the pit of hell.

6.     Hero worship – In Act 12 v21-22 the bible says, “And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them. And the people gave a short saying, it is the voice of a god, and not of a man.” First, he was dressed and later started being addressed as a god. This is a serious pitfall to watch out for in ministry.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ who was earlier in ministry before Apostle Paul laid down some examples for us as seen in John chapter 6 verses 5-15 where he ministered to a large company of people.

a)     Managing the thronging crowd. Apart from making them to assemble and sit in a spacious countryside, he was concerned about what they have to eat. He gave himself in service to them and not vice-versa. As he is giving them spiritual food, their physical food was not neglected. Whenever this sense of responsibility is omitted, the crowd may be lost either to stampeding or weariness. In the midst of such large crowd there will always be mixed multitudes.

b)    Loss of focus. In John chapter 6v15, the Bible says: “When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force to make him a king. Success can lead to a high level of euphoria that can make a minister acquire titles and venture into what he has not been originally called.

c)     Exhaustion. There can be period of physical exhaustion.  There is a message and there is a horse, given by God, to deliver the message. The horse must not be killed before the message is delivered. Jesus retreated. The Bible says in v15b, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

 

Another peril worthy of mention is a period of trial of faith. This can be called:

-         The Quiet Period. Elijah also experienced this when he thought he was the only man remaining standing for God. It can also be a period when everything seems so cold and the man of God feels neglected, alone and God seems to be far away. It can be very trying indeed.

 

Perils in ministry may be endless but we have this assurance that we are not alone. Apostle Paul in the book of Romans chapter 8 verses 35-39 says: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the daylong: we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

May his grace be sufficient at all times.