The Mark of the Minister of God

In the world today, there are many people who do the work of God. Or, put in a different way, there are many men and women today who claim to be ministers of God Almighty and of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This in itself is not surprising in any way as the Bible states clearly that this will happen in the last days of the world. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself said:
“The harvest is plenty but the labourers are few so ask the Lord of the harvest to provide more labourers” (Matthew 9:37-38). This follows logically then that if the harvest is indeed plenty, there must necessarily be plenty labourers and harvesters.
The coming kingdom of God which is to be ruled by the Lord Jesus Christ is being referred to here. The harvest talks about the lives and people of the world that are being invited to be partakers of that kingdom. Harvest in this context means soul winning. Jesus said to His apostles:
“Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days to the end of the age” ( Matthew 28: 19-20). He repeated the same message in the gospel of Mark saying:
“And He said to them, Go into the world and preach the good news to every creature.
He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark16:15-16).
The ministers of Christ are therefore to go into the world to gather disciples from the nations and bring them into the kingdom of God. The earth is a vast creation of God. That is the reason that we have so many ministers of Christ today. However the Lord Jesus Himself probably realised that false ministers and prophets will arise in the world and will deceive many leading them astray. So He warned ahead in the gospels. He said:
“And many false prophets shall arise and deceive many and lead many into error. And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity” (Matthew 24:11-12) Jesus also said:
“Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep but inside they are devouring wolves. You will fully recognise them by their fruits. Do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?” (Matthew 7:15-16)How many people today do not attend church services?
There are many ministers and prophets of God that impressionable minds will be easily confused by their sheer numbers and the many doctrines that are being rolled out of their many pulpits and altars as we have them today. There is so much spiritual obfuscation these days that it will require a very careful study of the word of God, the Bible, and the help of His Holy Spirit to be able to distinguish between a true minister of God and those whom the Lord Jesus called false prophets.
The aim of this book is therefore to try and shed as much light on this issue as possible and endeavour also to point out who it is that appoints these ministers and the steps that must be taken before anyone can become a minister of God. Also, I shall point out to the Christian wherever he may be in the world, what marks he should look out for in the true minister or prophet of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ.
But, over and above all these, I pray that the Holy Spirit of God, who sees all things, knows all things and does all things, will lead you in all that you do including your service and worship of the Lord Jesus our Lord and saviour the author and the finisher of our faith, amen.