The reception of the Holy Spirit is a call into Ministry which is all about service to God and humanity. God desires that we use the gifts, talents and blessings that He has given us to help people around us , uplift their spirits and make them better persons.
But how to start doing the necessary works of the kingdom is often a challenge to a lot of young ministers. The challenge is in two folds. Firstly, some aren’t even convinced if at all they carry sufficient anointing for the work or the areas of their callings. Another is confusion on how to get started. People under the second category are either timid, have issue with boldness or think they probably have to wait a little longer to be fully ripe for the work.
Perhaps, some people are not aware that it is actually by doing the works that spiritual gifts blossom and more are added to believers. Also, the work is immediate, just like the disciples who started instantly to witness for Christ as soon as the Holy Spirit fell on them on the Pentecost Day. So go all out to minister to people as the spirit directs you. “…you received not the grace of God in vain”. (2 Corinthians 6:1). The Holy Spirit is released on you to enable you serve and by so doing work out your salvation”.
There are lots of lazy Disciples these days; they are keen at accumulating power, yet not giving out. I have had reason to talk with a couple of fellow believers why they were not anxious about evangelism and praying for the sick. Their answer has been that they had to save themselves first before saving others. Such a mindset is in disagreement with the principle of the spirit. Perhaps the people with such mindset are yet to have a grab of the concept of discipleship.
Discipleship goes beyond believing in Jesus Christ. It is in accepting Jesus as Master and working hard to be like him. After receiving the Holy Spirit on acceptance of the Gospel and probably received the necessary spiritual education or training, you are good to go in witnessing for Jesus. Failure to do this means that something may be fundamentally wrong somewhere; then you need to seek help from the leaders of your community or Church.
10 Tips To Overcome Timidity and Effectively Exercise The Gifts Of The Holy Spirit That You Already Carry;
1. Regular study of the word. It helps you get familiar with the Bible stories , while filling you with more power, since the word itself is spirit. Also, read lots of Christian literatures and watch ministrations. Ministrations by good ministers can easily be watched on YouTube. You can as well buy their CDs from religious shops or at crusade grounds. This gives you different views about common issues
2. Prepare adequately before going to the field. Revise your talks and write them down, including the flow. All good ministers take days and even weeks to prepare their messages. If you start early to prepare, you will have more time to receive discernment and guidance for enriching your message. As part of preparation, pray for guidance of the Holy Spirit
3. Be an active participant in your church or community prayer meetings. Try hard not to miss activities of the spirit like prayer meetings and when you are there participate actively. It is a good opportunity to watch and learn from others. Also, you will achieve perfection when you do something regularly
4. Start demonstrating the gifts from the scratch in your family , among friends and relatives. Preach the word during your family devotions and don’t hesitate to pray for your sick family members whenever the need arises. Many believers have been able to discover their spiritual gifts of healing after praying for people in their inner circle and such people received healing.
5. When you pray or preach, target to do your best, not perfect. If you are just starting and already want to perform like prominent ministers, then you are heading to failure. Aiming too much at infancy stage is like mounting so much pressure on yourself. Aim to start gradually , but progressing steadily, creating rooms for mistakes and learning from such errings to get better.
6. Make effort to memorise some valuable verses of the Bible. Quoting of Bible verses makes preaching more exciting. Such also commands more power as it is like directly holding God by his own words.
7. Always be neat and modest in your dressing. Good dressing makes one look more presentable before the people, raises self esteem and builds confidence
8. Get a role model and try hard to be like him or her. You should have a mental picture of the kind of minister that you wish to become in future. Identify an experienced minister that posesses such qualities and work hard to copy him or her. In your community, look out for good ministers that you admire. Get close and obedient to them so that they can be interested in your growth.
9. Avoid sin, curtail worldly pleasures, pray and fast. These four activities sum up life of holiness and spiritually that every believer needs to embrace to excel in God’s vineyard. In this state, the Holy Spirit will abide with you at all times and use you to do the work which is God’s.
10. When you have done all of the 8 suggestions, the last is to go to God in prayer, to help you perform whenever the occasion calls to do his will. All powers and abilities comes from God and he distributes them as it pleases him. Ask him to count you worthy among those that he equips for special use
