NOT ALL PASTORS ARE MEN OF GOD

 2 JOHN 1:9 – 11
“Anyone who runs on ahead [of God] and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ [who is not content with what He taught] does not have God; but he who continues to live in the doctrine (teaching) of Christ [does have God], he has both the Father and the Son.
 
10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine [is disloyal to what Jesus Christ taught], do not receive him [do not accept him, do not welcome or admit him] into [your] house or bid him Godspeed or give him any encouragement.
 
11 For he who wishes him success [who encourages him, wishing him Godspeed] is a partaker in his evil doings.”
 
Dear people of God, all men of God are pastors but not all pastors are men of God.
 
So what is the difference?
 
When you mention God in a title, not everyone qualifies for that title as we shall soon see in this message.
 
The Lord Jesus made it clear that not everyone who calls Him Lord shall enter His kingdom but only those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Not everyone who performs miracles using Jesus’ Name qualifies to be called a man of God – Matthew 7:21-23, unlike what many have come to believe in today’s Christendom.
 
Let me list some characteristics of men of God so that we can know the difference between them and those who hide under Christianity to perpetrate fraud.
 
(1) A man of God preaches Repentance from sin, Salvation in Jesus Christ, Righteousness, Holiness, Heaven, Hell, Eternity, etc, in 9 out of every 10 sermons.
 
His emphasis is on de-populating hell and populating heaven in line with God’s Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20.
 
(2) A man of God has only one spouse until DEATH alone separates them. He does not marry, divorce and re-marry because God hates divorce – Malachi 2:15-16.
 
(3) A man of God does not exploit the single and married ladies in his congregation through fornication and adultery.
 
A popular Nigerian actress said recently that 75% of the rape cases her organization is handling was perpetrated by religious leaders or pastors and they never reach the end of most of the cases because the victims’ families come to beg that the case be dropped and the pastor be left to God.
 
(4) A man of God prays for people FREE of any monetary or other charges as Jesus commanded in Matthew 10:8.
 
(5) A man of God does not engage in rituals and occultic practices to grow church membership.
 
(6) A man of God does not convert church funds to personal use. By this, I mean he does not divert monies meant for church projects to his personal use.
 
Many people would misunderstand this point to mean that all of today’s rich pastors are not men of God.
 
No!
 
There are rich men of God but their riches come from God’s blessings over the works of their hands and not the church’s funds so we cannot conclude on any man of God’s wealth until we genuinely know the source of their income.
 
(7) A man of God does not pray for the death of his or anyone else’s human enemies but preaches forgiveness and tolerance. The Bible says we should strive and pursue peace with all humans and holiness without which no human would see God – Hebrews 12:14.
 
He reconciles people and not divide them.
 
(8) A man of God follows God’s laid doctrine of FIRST teaching and preaching the Word and then miracles follow for those who hear, believe and whose faith is increased as a result of believing God’s Word – Mark 16:15-18.
 
This is one of two major ways God manifests His power because hearers of the Gospel must first hear, understand, accept and believe in God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit to receive Salvation and eternal life and then God confirms His Word with signs and wonders following.
 
A mere pastor on the other hand emphasizes miracles FIRST over God’s Word and hardly gets any miracle from God, then becomes desperate to visit ritualists and voodoo priests who infest them and their congregation with demons just for miracles.
 
(9) A man of God does not boast about his ability to perform miracles when miracles happen in his ministry because all power belongs to God. Rather, he ALWAYS gives glory to God Who ALONE has the power and ability to perform miracles.
 
(10) A man of God does not use armed police escorts to move about as we see in today’s world especially in Africa.
 
If you preach to your congregation about God’s Divine Protection whilst quoting Psalm 91, which is very correct because it is God’s Word and CANNOT fail, BUT you enter and leave church gatherings every time with armed police escort, it means there is something that is not right in your life as a preacher and you cannot be a man of God because your trust is not in God but in armed police escort.
 
Recall the Words of Jesus to Peter in Matthew 26:52-53, “Put your sword back into its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. [Gen. 9:6.]
 
53 Do you suppose that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will immediately provide Me with more than twelve legions [more than 80,000] of angels?
 
 (11) Finally, a man of God is genuinely interested in working with God to win lost souls through Evangelism because that is the main thrust of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
God is not interested in academic qualifications, riches, lands and other material possessions. While these are important here on earth, they cannot guarantee entry into heaven.
 
What God is interested in is whether or not someone is born again having repented of sin, confessed and forsaken sin, accepted Jesus Christ as Messiah, and is now living in righteous obedience to all God’s commands.
 
Anything else anyone is focused on and claiming he or she is a man or woman of God is going contrary to God’s commands and such individual may not make heaven unless he or she repents to do what God has commanded.
 
At this juncture, dear friend, you may have realised from this message that your pastor is not a man of God and you are now asking the question, what do I do now?
 
Go back to what we are told in today’s lead Holy Bible text above.
 
You would be a partaker in the evil of the pastor who goes ahead of God in wrong doctrine and behaviour where you openly or covertly support his or her glaringly evil actions.
 
Even if the pastor is occultic and you believe he or she may afflict or even kill you if you depart from his or her congregation, I tell you that a genuine child of God, a Christian, has a God-given right to trample upon snakes and scorpions and over ALL the powers of the devil, the enemy and NOTHING shall by any means hurt you.
 
Exercise your right over the evil pastor by rebuking in the Name of Jesus Christ the evil spirits operating in him and be sure that Jesus would protect you from harm because He has said so in Luke 10:19.
 
Do not exercise any fear or worry or anxiety because that leaves an open door through which the devil can get you through the evil pastor – 2 Timothy 1:7.
 
Leave the congregation of the evil pastor and ask God in prayer to guide you to a genuine church where a man of God is leading.
 
Be sure that God would grant your request because He loves you and does not want you to perish in sin and end in eternal damnation.
 
From within your new congregation that God directs you to, continue to pray for the souls in your former place of worship led by the occultic pastor and break the power of the devil over them in the Name of Jesus Christ and pray that their eyes of spiritual understanding be opened by God to know the Truth of God’s Word as you have now known.
 
Remember that Jesus Christ is coming NOW to take ONLY those who are qualified according to His righteous standards in the Holy Bible.
 
Are you ready for Him?
 
May the good Lord bless you as you heed His Word today, act on it and share with others in Jesus’ Most Righteous Name, Amen.
 
Gabriel Ama.
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