To You: Brethren in the Lord.

Dear Pastor,

Would you ask yourself a sobering questions; Why am I looking for support? What is the motivating factor that impels me to seek financing whether locally or feom overseas?

If its not about missions, about the souls, about the cross-then its all selfish and you are doing your own work and not God's.

A pastor is a missionary; may be this could a surprise to you, it isn't I presume. Every time you heard about the word “Missionary”, you probably thought about someone traveling a great distance to preach the word of God to some savages, atheists or pagans in a foreign land. That is partly true, but not the whole story. I want you to know that Jesus Himself gave a model in Acts 1:8 how a missionary should work and a missionary could just be a common person like you.

“…witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in all Samaria and to the uttermost part of the world…”

As you sit before this computer, I want you to reflect whether you are already a missionary or just hoping someone could make you one. What are you doing about your Jerusalem (immediate surrounding, that is your city and its people)? Your Judea (your own nation and its natives)? Your Samaria (your continent and its heritage) and the uttermost (the world beyond) part of the world?

Of course you know all these things as a pastor. You have no need to read them once again from me. But I have a commissions, to work hard to support the efforts of those pastors who are already doing everything they can in their Jerusalem; their local Church. God has never at any time called a lazy person; sitting and doing less, complaining about lack of resources...looking to the mountains and the skies? Look at Moses, David, Amos, the Apostles-all were very busy people before their Calling. It is also necessary that you should learn to be busy and to be a steward of the little resources that you have; then the Lord will be your increase, and not a man from west or East.

Again I speak like a fool...forgive me.

Anyone whose heart is torched ablaze with the desire to serve as a missionary, whether serving in the frontline (apostolic, prophetic, pastoral, evangelistic, teaching, singing, intercessory etc.) or in the backline (logistics, administration, medical aid, food distribution, clothe distribution, technicians, drivers, engineers, builders etc) should realize that Ministry is not the work of man; of strength, of might, of ability, of understanding or resources but the work of the Almighty God and can only be accomplished through His own infinite wisdom and immutable will.

Do not seek for resources, they will seek after you for if the vision that you are serving is of the Lord, He will provide. Many resources follow me today, beacuse I stopped fretting and whining and begun to look up to the Lord as my provider. Men will fail you and their supply will be exhausted; the the treasures of the Lord are infinite.

Kindly pose here a while to think…To ponder…Pose again, and again. Lift up your face, look around, then reach back to yourself and figure out whether God actually wants you to work on this vission, at this time or another time. Does God want you to continue in a Jerusalem Mission? Or go to Judea Mission? Or Samaria Mission or the Uttermost Mission? Does God want you to serve in the frontline or on the backline?

Are you serving where God wants you to serve? Are you operating in the right ministry? Is the Lord your Supply-do you have an abundance or are you struggling?

Do you Know about PAUL'S PRINCIPLE in the ministry? Have you a confirmation that you are called to a full time ministry like PETER?

Can you raise you ministry support locally?

I DONT SAY THIS TO YOU SO DONT ACCUSE ME!

I am so sorry that I have something unkind to share with you. Yet it is not my word, but God has put this upon my lips to speak. It is my humble expectation in the Lord that as you read this write up you should begin to hear clearly from the Lord before you attempt to undertake any ministery work or else you will be walking down the path of deception, pride  and selfishness. Many people are upbeat and unnecessarily excited about what we are doing at Sound Doctrine since they have a mindset which is not solidly focused on the interests of God but on selfish path to satisfy the appeal of the flesh.

I hope you are not like any of such and that your inquiry is sincere and divinely directed by God for the sake of the Kingdom. I welcome you with all my heart as a co-worker in the LORD.

Indeed there are opportunities for funidng of God's work, but you must understand that it is not you who is going to do something but God doing something through you. You must then understand like John the Baptist did, that you must decrease and He must increase inside you. Be advised that at Sound Doctrine  we have learned to wait upon the Lord and to listen and to follow the Spirit of the Lord. It is sometimes difficult to listen well to God in a world full of many voices, or to obey what He is telling us, more so when it is contrary to our expectations. However, we have no otherwise but to submit as Abraham or Jeptha.

It took Jesus Christ three and half years to prepare eleven men for the Great Commission. I desire that you should ask yourself if you are adequately prepared to undertake this Commission, to be a steward of the resources if put in your charge. The Missionary Concept fronted by Sound Doctrine Commission is predicted upon the foundations of the Great Commission Commanded by Jesus Christ in Matthews 28:19-20 and the Methodology prescribed by Him in Acts 1:8. The Approach to making one a disciple of Christ is also rested upon the prescription of the Master in Luke 14:25-33.  We are a Bible believing people and we “hate” theology (human opinion on Goad’s word) and Pentecostal mischief of Simplification or Complication of Goad’s word and for that matter we can only follow Sound Doctrine as plainly outlined in the Scriptures.

We are a Commission, not a Denomination or a Sect. We don’t trust our opinion or wisdom, however smart or educated they may appear but surrender and subject all things to His Spirit to Teach, to Correct, to Rebuke and to Guide our paths to the springs of life which is the riches of his WORD.

A pastor is a missionary.

But what do you steward? True or false Doctrine?