By Kelelchi Mgboji
Assistant Business Editor
General Overseer (GO) of the Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries, Lazarus Muoka, has warned new pastors and pastor trainees not to stand alone in a mushroom ministry as GOs under the guise of fulfilling their calling.
He gave the counsel at the convocation and matriculation of student pastors of More Grace Bible Institute of the church in Lagos.
Muoka said many people who attend Bible school end up being unreliable, uncontrollable, unrighteous believers, mushroom GOs, one room GOs, or shop GOs.
“Take heed not to end up like that. Your ministries could be fulfilled within the Lord’s Chosen.
“Go and do more exploits in the Lord’s Chosen Ministry and don’t say that you could not find a way to fulfil your calling. Europe and America are waiting for evangelism,” he stressed.
He told the newly ordained pastors and trainees that rather than subject themselves to ridicule of being mushroom pastors, they should subject themselves to the peculiarity of the mandate and mission of the church.
He said every pastor could achieve more exploits for God within the fold of the church under which God has called them in order to fulfil the special mission and mandate of the ministry.
Delivering a sermon at the service which marked the 10th anniversary of the Bible college, Muoka reminded the new pastors that the Lord’s Chosen Ministry is unique with a unique mission and mandate handed to it by God Almighty who has made the church different from other churches and believers.
“Everyone graduating today or matriculating must remember the witness of this ministry and ensure that we key into it by not allowing things and bad people to mar our future.
“But we should key in as an instrument in the hand of God to fulfil the mission and mandate of this ministry.
“Our Father in heaven has chosen us not because we are the best, or better than any other human being on earth or all the churches in this world, but as a matter of choice and for His own pleasure and purpose.”
Mouka warned that this special privilege of being chosen by God is not something that anyone should look down upon, stressing that if anyone does, he will regret it because God chose him but he turned it down.
“God has a choice to make, and He has chosen you and me in this ministry for His own praise and purpose, not because of the certificate you have acquired from the Bible school you have just attended or because of any excellence of your strength or human capabilities.
“We’re a chosen generation. He has set us apart to use us above other human beings, not because of our academic excellence or the strength of our character or whether we’re strong or weak, educated or uneducated, whether we have money or not, whether white or black.
“God Almighty wants us all to be under His grace. He doesn’t want us to think that whatever we are is by our power, for He has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise and mighty so that no flesh will glory in his own abilities or presence.”
Mouka said the Lord’s Chosen Ministry is unique and that what God has done in the ministry has not been seen elsewhere in the world.
In his view, if those unique things had been done in other ministries presided over by highly educated men, it probably would have been interpreted as a result of their education or wisdom.
He reiterated that God does not want to share His glory with any man.
“God has chosen us before the certificate, even before we were born. So don’t allow the certificate to be a thing of stumbling to fulfilling God’s will for this ministry and mandate, and the choice He has made of you and me.
“In many ways and areas God has proved that this ministry is unique with a unique mission and mandate.
“So appreciate who you are and where you are, a chosen people focused on our unique mission and mandate, so that nothing on this earth will make you think otherwise.
“We should not subject ourselves to ridicule; rather we should subject ourselves to the peculiarity of our mandate and mission.”
The Dean, Academic Affairs and Head of Department of the Bible Institute, Chidozie Amadi, disclosed that about 441 pastors were ordained and matriculated from the Lagos main campus and the satellite campuses in Abia, Abuja, Owerri, Bayelsa, Port Harcourt, and Enugu.
The programme cuts across degree, diploma, certificate and missionary courses.
The Lagos campus recorded 189 students, the highest, followed by Abuja.