Few days ago, I was at home trying to find something to watch on the Television. I flipped through the channels but I must admit that I was discouraged to see how many of today’s television program is openly displaying sex and violence. My natural inclination was not to cry out for censorship but to challenge the Body of Christ to come with better Television programs and counter what the secular world have to offer. But the more I think about it, the more it dawn on me that many of the giants in the Body of Christ are dead and gone. People like Jonathan Edwards, Pope Paul John II, Charles Spurgeon, Smith Wigglesworth,  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Kathryn Kuhlman,  Kenneth Haggin, Oral Roberts, R.W. Schambach, Paul Crouch, just to name a few. These men and women confronted their generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ and they made significant impact.  Now that they are gone to be with the Lord, who will step up as a light in a world of darkness? Well, the more I think about it, the more I realize that whoever is willing to say “Lord here I am send me” would have to deal with the following sacred truth about ministry.

When you are called by God to do the work of the ministry, you must make it a priority to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready to always give an answer to every person that ask you about a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.” (1 Peter 3:15). People who are working in God’s ministry must always be ready to minister. Likewise, a person in ministry must first prepare for the ministry before building a ministry. (Proverb 24:27) One of the main challenge in our generation is that there more questions than answers. A man or woman in ministry must be ready and well prepared to communicate the love of God towards all men and to give solid Biblical answers to life’s questions. Frankly, you cannot build a reliable ministry without proper preparation and readiness. And the best way to prepare for ministry is to yield your spirit to God and to constantly feed your heart with the word of God.

There was a man named Jeremiah who was called to the ministry. God instructed him to go down to the potter’s house to hear God’s divine instruction about ministry by watching what the potter does. (Jeremiah 18:1-6)  Amazingly, what the potter does to the clay in the natural is very similar to what God does in the spirit to those who are called to the ministry. Briefly, let me share with you what you should expect when you are called to the ministry.

1. The Potter must first dig out the clay. If you really want to do the work of the ministry, you must be willing to be dug out of the ground.
2. Then the Potter will separate the clay to be used from twigs, sand, pebbles or any other junk that will make the chosen clay unusable. If you truly want God to use you in the ministry, you must be prepared to be separated from worldliness.
3. The next thing that a Potter will normally do to the clay is to wash it. In other words, the clay is dug, separated and washed. Just like a Potter, God strongly desire to wash everyone in the ministry so that we can be very effective. One way that God washes those who are in the ministry is by the word of God. Have you been washed?
4. Then, the Potter will soak the clay in the water for a while to make it soft.  A hard headed or stubborn hearted men or women are hard to be used by God. It is easier for the Potter to mold and shape the clay the way he wants if the clay is soft. That is why the Bible said that “woe unto him that strives with his maker. Can the clay say to him that fashion it “what are you doing to me?” (Isaiah 45:9)
5. Then, the Potter will often smite the clay repeatedly to get it ready. Likewise, in ministry it is not uncommon for God to allow some trials in our lives. It is not to destroy us but to make us strong. No football coach will in good faith put a player on the football field that has not been conditioned for the game. Likewise, God is not likely to put anyone in the field of the ministry who has not been through some things in life.
6. Then the Potter will put that clay on the potter’s wheel to mold it and shape it as he desire. It is similar to when God brings a person to the center of his will. A times, God may have to stretch you before he make you shine. I certainly can testify to that.
7. After the Potter has mold and shape the clay, he will put it on the shelve for a while. My friend, if it appears that God has put you on a shelve; don’t think that you have been forgotten or forsaken. He is coming back to get you.
8. The Potter will then put the molded clay through the fire to make it strong and beautiful. Yes fire burns but fire also purifies. If you really want to be used by God, let him mold you, shape you, purify you, and you will be fit for the Master’s use. Think about it, you may well be the next hero of our faith.

Rev (Dr) Joshua Joy Dara, Pastor at Zion Hill Church, Pineville, LA