seminar pastoral ministry

MAINTAINING FRESHNESS OF ANOITING AND POWER IN

PULPIT MINISTRY
1 John 2:26, 27
The topic presumes that the pastor in the pulpit has received the initial
freshness of anointing and power with the accompanying wisdom ,
enthusiasm ,illumination, love ,effectiveness, liberty of expression ,utterance
and the joy for the work of the lord .The scripture affirms that the anointing
teaches you, and is truth (1 John 2:27).This describes the coming of the holy
spirit of truth (John 14:26, 16:13).The power is also from the holy spirit (Acts
1:8).Hence , the anointing and power for ministry in the pulpit comes from
the Holy Ghost who makes the pastor /Teacher at the pulpit a gifted minister.
Pulpit Ministry cannot be done by human power or might, but by the
spirit. He gives all that we need for successful pulpit ministry. Every pastor
with a busy schedule and numerous calls to preach, teach, counsel visit need
to maintain the freshness and anointing for both Christian life and ministry.
Other ministers like John Wesley, Charles G. Finney, John Knox, E.M.
Bounds, D. L., and Moody, lived and ministered severally and yet maintained
the freshness of anointing and power. Their experiences testify to the fact
that it is possible to keep fresh spiritually while ministering in the pulpit.

1. SOURCE OF ANOITING AND POWER FOR PULPIT

MINISTERY
Mathew 3:10- 11, John 16:7 -13 , LUKE 24:49 , Acts 1 : 4-8; 2:1-4; Luke 4:18
-19; 1 Corinthians 12: 7 11 ; Ephesians 4:7 11; Ephesians 4: 7 , 11 16; 1
John 2:27
The experience of baptism in the Holy Ghost on the sanctified believer brings
anointing and power upon the believer along with the appropriate gifts foe
ministering. The power of the Holy Ghost beings to work effectively in the
life of believer ; he quickens , convicts , regenerates , gives life and adopts
him into Gods family , bears witness, helps in prayers, inspires scriptures,
sanctifies, illuminates, reveals the deep things of God; teaches and guides us
into all truth. He also imparts the supernatural gifts, directs gospel work and
confirms the gospel with signs and wonders. Just as Jesus says in John 15:5
that Without me ye can do nothing , so we can say of the Holy Ghost, that
without Him the minister can do nothing effectively in the pulpit.

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2. POSSIBILITY AND EVIDENCE OF LOSING THE FREHNESS

OF ANOINTING AND POWER IN PULPIT MINISTRY
2 John 8; Ephesians 4:29-31; Psalm 51:7-13; Judges 16:18-20; 1 Corinthians
9: 16-27
What can be possible cause and consequences of losing freshness, anointing
and power? Anything that grieves the Holy Ghost, sin and disobedience can
lead to loss of the freshness of anointing and power. Other possible causes
are:

Prayerlessness (Matthew 26:41)

Neglect of personal devotional study of Gods word (1
Timothy 4:16)
Self-confidence and pride (1 Corinthians 10:12; 2 Corinthians 3:5)
Disobedience and unbelief (1 Samuel 15:16-23)
Covetousness and self-well
Love of money, love of praise and desire for material gain
(Timothy 6:10-12)
Unfaithfulness in service and ministry (1 Corinthians 4:1,4;
2Corinthians 4:1,2)
What are the consequences?

The consequence will appear both in our personal life and public ministry. A
few of them are:

Lack of fresh understanding or illumination of the Holy Spirit

when reading Gods word
Defective relationship and fellowship with God
Ministering with mere letter of the word of God without the
unction and anointing of
the Holy Spirit
Exalting activities more than the true love for God
Living and ministering in past experiences

How then do we maintain the freshness of the anointing and power in the
pulpit and be effective and profitable to our calling and mankind?

3. CONDITIONS FOR MAINTAINING FRESHNESS OF

ANOINTING AND POWER IN PULPIT MINISTRY
1 John 2:27; Ephesians 4:29-31; 1Thessalonians 5:17; 2Timothy 2:15; 1
Timothy 4:13-16; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Acts 6:4; Jude 20:21

Cleanse yourself from every defilement and consecrate daily

unto the Lord upon altar (Leviticus 6:12,13)

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Have a regular and effective life daily. (1 Thessalonians

5:17),resisting the devil in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-13)
Give attention to personal devotional study and meditation of the
word of God (1 Timothy 4:13-16; Joshua 1:8)
Balance your daily programs of actives with corresponding
personal development programs (Luke 6:12; Mark 6:30-32; Mark 1:35).
Be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in all areas,
including eating, sleeping, talking and mixing with others ministers
who do not believe what you believe (Ephesians 4:30; 1 Thessalonians
5:19; Psalm 1:1-3)
Saturate your life with challenging books and autobiography of other
anointed ministers; and listen to their message regularly (2 Timothy
2:15; Ephesians 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:21; Isaiah 40:28-31)

As a minister, you are to keep yourself fresh in the anointing and power of
the Holy Ghost in the pulpit and outside the pulpit. And, if you have lost the
experience, you can renew your strength in the Lord!

seminar

pastoral ministry

DEVELOPING MEMBERS AND WORKERS TO FULFIL THE

MINISTRY
TO approach and deal with the subject, there are three words that will
demand our careful attention. These words are: (a) members (b) workers and
(c) ministry. While the first two deal with the people, the third one deal with
the work or the assignment expected of the people.to begin with, let us look
at the definition of the three words stated above.
Members are the people in the church who are born-again but without a
specific or regular assignment in the church.
Workers are members of the church with specific assignment in the church.
Ministry is the work or task before the members of the church.
The understanding here therefore is that both members of the church and
workers are involved in the work of the ministry in one way or the other. For
instance, both are involved in evangelism, prayers, visitation, giving
financially for the work of the ministry. This work is explicitly outlined in
Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-20 and Acts 1:8.
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1.

MINISTRY OF THE CHURCH

Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 1:8; John 17:18; 20:21; 21:15-17.
Every true church has a ministry of the community that has been given to
her by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This ministry includes both the home and foreign missions.it is the noble
responsibility of the church leadership to teach and emphasize this truth until
the entire membership of the church has completely understood it to the
extent of getting involved in the work. Any church leadership that is ignorant
of this duty will find himself failing in his noble calling. This mandate is to be
carried out through the following avenues: Personal evangelism, mass
evangelism, literature evangelism, church planting etc. This task will demand
money, materials and manpower which are expected to be met from the
church membership. If this is the case then we need to equip and develop
our members to be fully aware of their responsibilities.

2.

DEVELOPING MEMBERS TO FULFIL THE MINISTRY

Ephesians 4:11-13; Acts 6:1-6; Matthew 4:19-19; Jude 20.

The purpose: The purpose of this development is to thoroughly educate the
members to be aware of their responsibilities towards fulfilling the ministry.
The process: this area of developing is a process and it requires time. It
takes time to develop the membership but the result is worth the duty. In
Matthew 4:19 Jesus asked Peter and Andrew to follow Him and He will make
them fishers of men. The making here is a process. In this process, the
member or the follower like raw materials is processed until he becomes a
finished product. In order to carry out this process of developing the
membership, the following steps should be followed prayerfully.
i.
Preach and teach the new birth clearly and convincingly to the entire
membership. Demand results (John 1:12; 3:3).
ii.
Preach and teach evangelism as a personal ministry for all believers
and mobilize membership to be out for evangelism (Act 1:8).
iii.
Preach and teach sanctification, Holy Ghost baptism, consecration etc.
iv.
Preach and teach on prayer and mobilize the entire membership to
pray (all night prayer etc.).
v.
Outline the vision of the ministry clearly (Habakkuk 2:2).
vi.
Repeat the vision on a regular basis for emphasis (1Timothy 4:6; 2
Peter 1:12).
vii.
Appreciate and give them a sense of belonging.
viii. Let them know that it is the will of God for their lives and they will be
blessed by doing it.
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ix.
Pray for them both privately and publicly (Galatians 4:19).
x.
Believe God for abundant fruit (John 15:5, 8; 1 Corinthians 3:6; Psalm
126:5, 6).

3.

TRAINING OF WORKERS TO FULFIL THE MINISTRY

Ephesians 4:11-13; 2 Timothy 2:2; Luke 6:12, 13; Exodus 18:13-26;

Philippians 4:9.

Even with a highly motivated and developed membership, there will be the
need to train up workers for specific ministry. This is the purpose and goal for
the training.
The process: The process of training the workers is as listed below:
i.
Selection: Act 6:1-6; Numbers 11:11, 17; Exodus 18:13-21; Luke 6:12,
13; John 1:35 51; Mark 1:19; Matthew 4:21; Luke 9:1; 10:1).
The process of selection for training is very important. Born-again members
of the church should be selected for this training.
ii.
Association: (Exodus 24:12-14; 32:15-18; Deuteronomy 1:38; Mark
3:13-15; Acts 4:13; John 14:8, 9; Mark 6:31; 10:32).
After the selection, the trainee is allowed to associate with the trainer. This
enables both to know themselves better and the trainee can learn for the
trainer.
iii.
Impartation: Exodus 32:15-18; Numbers 17:18-20; John 15:13;
Matthew 13:16, 17; 1 Thessalonians 2:7, 8)
Impartation is the means of teaching the would-be worker the things he
needs to know for the work. This is very necessary.
iv.
Consecration: (Esther 4:16; 1 Chronicles 29:5; Luke22:28, 29;
Romans 12:1).
With the impartation comes the consecration which the would-be worker
must make if the training is to continue.
v.
Demonstration: (Exodus 17:9-12; John 13:1-17; Luke 11:1-11)
The trainee is given opportunity through the trainers demonstration to have
a first hand and practical information of which he is expected to do.
vi.
Delegation: Exodus 18:9-21; Numbers 27:18-22; Luke 9:1-8; 10:1-21;
John 21:15-21; Philippians 2:19,23)
The trainee is given opportunity to carry out certain assignment in with his
training. He is then watched or supervised as he does this assignment.
vii. Supervision: Exodus 32:15-18; Mark 8:19, 20; Philippians2:22).
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The trainee should be watched and supervised as he carried out his work. He
is corrected when he makes mistakes. He will learn better.
viii. Reproduction :( Ecclesiastes 7:8; Hebrew 10:36; 1 Corinthians 15:58;
16:13).
This is the goal for the training. This is what is expected of the trainee. If the
trainer and the trainee have followed the steps outlined above prayerfully,
the trainee will be the joy of performing and reproducing.
Finally, it must be remembered that there should be training and retraining
the form of regular workers retreat, workers meeting, seminars and
workshop. Time and patience must be allowed for an effective training.
With these, both members and workers will fulfil the ministry.

PIOUS PRINCIPLES THAT PRECIPITATE PROGRRESS FOR

PROFESSIONALS
Psalm 75:6, 7; Proverbs 10:22; Genesis 1:1-13; Exodus 14:15; Matthew
28:19; Proverbs 22:29; Philippians 3:13; Ecclesiastes 9:10
The idea of progress is attractive to most people but few people are ever
resolved enough to make the ideals addictive. Although it is in the cavity of
every heart where the deep-seated desires for progress exist, but its
universal impetus is not compelling enough in many to translate such
fantasizes into reality. Progress as someone defines is to advance, more
forward unto higher ground. No amount of fooling around, seeking the right
feeling can give this progress in ones profession as divinely ordained. During
the journey of the Israelites to the land of Canaan, God command Speak
unto the children of Israel that they go forward (Exodus 14:15), implies
progress. Even in the great commission, it is clearly stated that God ye:
(Matthew 28:19). These and many other passage of the Bible show that God
is the origin of progress for his creatures.
There are many people contemporary days with diverse idea, plans and
programs to achieve progress all to no avail. Then we need to the origin of
progress (I.e. God) to see where they missed it. We shall consider them,
some fundamental principles of progress.

Gods plan of progress for professionals

Godly principles of progress for professionals

Golden portraits of progressive professionals

1. GODS PLAN OF PROGRESS FOR PROFESSIONALS

Genesis 1:28

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The scripture is replete with passages that show us that success, progress
and excellence is Gods plan for us all. The realization of this truth is the first
step towards a successful and excellent professional career. Many people
develop the wrong notion that they are destined to be failures; probably after
several failed attempts at achieving success. Such people soon give up the
aspiration for success and advancement and begin to point accusing fingers
at God. They has forgotten that God who was successful in creating the
entire universe did not create or design a man to be a failure (3 John 2;
Genesis 1:28). God wills that we be successful and make progress in lifes
endeavor (psalm 92:12-14).

2. GODLY PRINCIPLES OF PROGRESS FOR

PROFESSIONALS
Roman 12:1, 2; Proverbs 1:7; psalm 37:1-5
As proven as the principles discussed below are, a solid spiritual foundation
is indispensable (John 15:5). Anyone who desires progress in life must all the
master over all situations to show the pathway i.e. allowing Jesus to rule,
reign and control such a life. It is then true progress can come. Some of
these principles are:
Faith planning and projection: for our resources to be
appropriately combined for optimum yield planning and projection are very
important. Things do not just happen, they are made to happen. Planning
makes possibilities reality. To make progress planning is essential.
i.

ii.
Search and research for knowledge: Proverbs 24:3-5. Those who
will make progress and get to the peak of their carrier and profession in life
must possess a certain level of knowledge on a regular and consistent basis.
Edwin Colo said, every man is limited in life by these things:

The knowledge in his mind

The worth of his character
The principles upon which he builds his life/profession.
Books constitute the source of acquired knowledge, and
through reading we acquire such knowledge. Somebody said, if we open we
will discover we have wings.
iii.
Career ideas: Ruth 2:2; 2 Kings 7:3-8, 9. Ideas, they say, rule the
world. As a professional, you need good ideas (may God inspire good ideas in
us all) to be able to make progress and become an achiever. Barrenness of
ideas is one of the greatest tragedies in any profession. Generate good
ideas. At other times, base your ideas on true analysis of your surrounding
situations and circumstances.
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iv.
Right focus: Matthew 6:22; 1 Thessalonians 4:11. Focus draw goals
closer, it is a magnet that attracts you to your goals. It disallows distraction.
It enhances great commitment and dedication towards achieving goals.
Avoid capitalizing on your weak points.
v.
Investment for harvest: Every God-given resources of ours will
contribute to the progress of our profession, hence none should be wasted.
Invest your time, treasure, talent for something worthwhile and you will be
rewarded greatly.
vi.
Fear of God and honesty: Proverbs 1:7; 1 timothy 6:6-11. For any
meaningful progress, the fear of God is fundamental. This will one to avoid
the ungodly methods of achieving progress, which is common in our society.
2 Timothy 3:1. But godliness with contentment is great gain (progress).
Honesty in all matters is very important.
vii. Faithfulness: 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2. A man or woman who desires
progress must be faithful in little and major issues in the course of his/ her
profession. To be faithful means to be absolutely trustworthy, loyal, reliable
and true in word and deed.
viii. Discipline: Proverbs 4:23. High sense of discipline is required for
success. To have rule over ones temperament (self-control) is very
indispensable to progress.
ix.
Diligence: Proverbs 22:29. Diligence demand conscientiously working
to accomplish all set goals and objectives. It opposes indolence, laziness and
laissez faire attitude in all issues.
x.
Concentration and commitment: Romans 12:1, 2. As professionals
who are desirous of success and progress, we must be fully persuaded of the
demand of our work ,what is entail and must be willing to pay the price. It is
the inputs that determines the outputs. We need to constantly appraise our
commitment to the assigned work.
xi.
Humility: 1 Peter 5:6.God honors humble people and do exalt
(promote) them. God hates the proud. Proverbs 6:16-19. The proud is
resented in the community too. Pride is a vise that can cause retrogression.
xii. Regular attendance to workshop, periodic symposiums and seminars
organized by the professional bodies will help to refresh and update
expertise.
xiii. Vision: Proverbs 29:18. Ability to project into the future, set
appropriate goals either short-term or long term (as the case may be) will
provide the drive to pursue our goals.
xiv. Prayer: Jeremiah 33:3; Matthew 7:7; 1 Chronicles 4:9-10; Genesis
32:24-29. This implies calling upon God, the source of progress. However,
this kind of prayer must be purposeful and persistent in nature until the
desired progress is achieved.

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3.
GOLDEN PORTRAITS OF PROGRESSIVE
PROFESSIONALS
Daniel 1:8; 1 Corinthians 4:1, 2; Proverbs 22:29; 4:23
Bible characters like Joseph and Daniel were prime Ministers in Egypt and
Babylon respectively. Nehemiah was a cupbearer in the palace of the king in
Shushan. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego worked as provincial
administrators. Paul the apostle was a lawyer, St. Luke was a medical doctor,
and Esther was a queen. They exhibited some of the aforementioned
principles during the business of the state and achieved enviable results.

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