Take Yourself Seriously

1Ti 4:16 Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.

One of the cardinal errors that you must avoid in ministry is the blunder of NEGLECT!
Whatever is neglected will deteriorate, be corrupted, and will ultimately be lost.
Paul’s admonition to Timothy in our opening text is to “take heed unto thyself”.
In other words, do not neglect yourself.

If you will be God’s man to lead His people, then you must take yourself seriously!
You see, God must think so highly of you, for Him to have chosen and called you, and put you into the ministry to lead His precious people.

You must therefore carry yourself with the same degree of importance that the Lord has placed upon you.
Think soberly (accurately) of yourself according to the measure (Grace) that God has dealt to you.

God will not use you beyond your estimation of yourself!

This is why God will take time to convince you first, of who and what He has made/is making you into.

He told Moses “I have made you a god unto Pharaoh” so act like it! (Exodus 7:1)
He told Gideon “You are a mighty man of valour” so Gideon had to act like it. (Judges 6:12)
He told Jeremiah “say not I am a child”, “don’t be afraid of their faces” (Jeremiah 1:7)
He told Jacob “thou art Israel” (Genesis 32:28)

God does not tell you those things to hype you, He is not a sycophant.
Neither does He tell you such things to make you proud, He tells you so you can take yourself seriously!

It is false humility a.k.a “humble pride”, when you say “we are nothing, it is God that is doing it all”.
You are not a “nothing” Beloved!
You are God’s battle axe!
His threshing instrument with teeth, one that will thresh mountains!

I remember how a Senior Minister gave me a prophetic word about four years ago when I moved to Lagos by the leading of the Lord. Oh He was so gracious!
He sent the word to me by a recorded voice note. He said to me “you are not a small fish in a big pond, You are the big fish”!
Boy, those words shot adrenaline into my system, and I have carried myself that way ever since!

Sadly, I have come across a few pastors who obviously do not think much of the call that the Lord has placed upon their lives.
They are not the least bit serious about themselves, and it shows in the kind of fruits that they produce, if any at all.
Beloved, do not be that kind of minister.

Regardless of how simple your calling came to you, take it seriously!
For example, I never saw any spectacular thing, and I have not seen any till now.
Much of my ministry steps and moves have been by the INWARD WITNESS!

Conviction and Obedience is what takes you far, not spectacular encounters!

To take yourself seriously is to be aware of the following:
– Your calling
– Your levels – there is such thing as promotion in the kingdom; it comes on the basis of Faithfulness.
– Your seasons/phases – there are at least FOUR major seasons/phases of ministry

Some miss out on their seasons and their callings because they are unaware of what the Lord was doing in their day.

If you do not correctly acknowledge and align with what God is doing you will altogether miss it.
This is because the things of God work through the channel of estimation.

Be like Apostle Paul, magnify (esteem glorious) your ministry and calling.

Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

Notice that Paul was well aware of his apostleship (see further references – Romans 1:5, Galatians 2:8, Ephesians 3:1-4)

HOW TO TAKE YOURSELF SERIOUSLY
Pay attention to your gifts and abilities as deposited in you by the Lord
Pay attention to the impartations that you have received
Pay attention to the prophetic words that have been spoken over your life
Pay attention to the instructions that the Lord has given you personally for your life and ministry
Pay attention to the warnings of the Lord
Pay attention to your health
Pay attention to your supernatural relationships – marriage especially!
Pay attention to your personal devotion with the Lord
Pay attention to your doctrine!

As you give attention to these important areas, you will grow in them.
You grow in the Anointing as you acknowledge and use it!

I believe this has challenged and blessed you.
See You next week,
Go and win with Jesus!