To Equip

Ephesians 4:¹² “so that God’s people would be thoroughly equipped to minister and build up the body of the Anointed One.” (The Voice)

Whenever I get the privilege to teach God’s Word, I have three main goals. The first is To Be Practical so that people hear the Word and know what to do next. The second goal is To Be Personal.I do not just want to be practical; I want to be personal because we learn and grow by following models. Children learn to walk and talk by watching adults. Similarly, we learn to do different things by watching people. I try to be personal. I know I am not a perfect model, only Jesus is. Sometimes I get angry, but I try to control it. I try to be real. Why am I sharing these things with you? It is so that you understand why we do what we do.

I learnt from Pastor Craig Groeschel that people will rather follow a leader that is always real, than a leader that is always right. Unfortunately, when folks get into ministry, they think they have to be right all the time. You do not have to always be right, because you are not Jesus. It is only Jesus that can always be right. But you can always be real, you can be authentic. In teaching, I try to be personal and real, I bare my heart. The third thing I do is, I try To Be Positive. There is a lot of negativity in the world, we are supposed to bring good news to people. The question is when people hear a sermon, do they hear good news, or do they hear bashing news? No one gets better by being bashed, ask those who are married. No wife can succeed in making her husband better by nagging, none! No father can get his children to be better by bashing them all the time, none! People get better through encouragement. People get better by positivity, not by negativity. Anyone can say, ‘Is something wrong with you?’

Anyone can say, ‘you did not comb your hair today’ or ‘your hair is not well packed today’. But not everyone will say, ‘Sit in front of a mirror, let me help you with your hair.’ No one is saying you should deny the problem, we are saying just be positive. Imagine someone goes for a doctor’s appointment and the doctor says, ‘You are finished! Your cholesterol level, blood pressure, sugar level, everything is high. You are dead!’ Doctors typically won’t do that. They will still tell you those levels are high, but they won’t stop there. Doctors will tell you what you need to do about it, give you medication to knock down the levels, and if need be, place you on a strict diet. So, you walk out of the doctor’s office aware of the problem but empowered to tackle it. The good news should have a similar effect on people – show them what is wrong and equip them to tackle it.

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to be practical, personal, and positive when I share the good news with people, in Jesus Mighty Name. Amen!