Error of Self Promotion - Looking for Opportunities in Ministry

Why You Should NOT Promote Your Ministry

Ministry affords us many opportunities. These opportunities come to us, often times, when we are not looking for them because it is proof that God’s Word is true. Our gift will surely make room for us (Prov. 18:16). Our gift is the key to the fulfillment of our purpose. It is not our education, our money, social status, or hook-ups as our society so adamantly believes. It is our gift and God has given each and every one of us at least one. Work what your Father gave you!

In this post I want to share with you what God has taught me in my ambition to do great exploits for Him in my “kitchen.” He taught me that it is against His divine plan for me to take it upon myself to make room for my own gifts by looking for “opportunities in Him.” 

Looking for “opportunities in God” is a cover phrase for the one who self-promotes. The self-promoter has it in their heart to make their name great by way of their gift. Our gifts are not meant to make us great, but to amplify God (Eph. 1:2; Isa. 43:21). Jesus teaches us this important truth when He prayed in John 17:6. He is teaching us that He used His gifts in His earthly ministry for the purpose of manifesting God’s name (revealing God’s true character). God is so good that in Jesus’ aim to amplify God the Father, God the Father amplified Him. Jesus did not need flyers, a website with a huge picture of Himself on it telling how He preached to multitudes and fed 5000 people (not including women and children). He didn’t need ministry cards, nor did He have to write invitation letters to synagogues asking them to invite Him to preach (not saying these things are bad. They only become bad when our motive and intentions are prideful and self exaulting). His fame spread abroad by word of mouth. Jesus was not seeking fame. Let’s make that clear. But because He was operating in His gift with all purity and sincerity, people sought Him out. They sought Him out because of the power of the impartation that His gift produced. You know you are operating in your gift if your gift has the power (backing by God and substance from God) to impart or spiritually and naturally impact someone else. Jesus was imparting spiritual and eternal truths all while supplying the need of the people naturally when necessary. These truths are what God uses to establish a person (Deut. 28:9; Is. 54:14; Rom. 16:25; 1Peter 5:10) and these truths are the same truths that our gifts are supposed to portray.

If we seek to look for “opportunities in God” we will find that we are actually operating in the flesh. Once flesh is involved then destruction awaits (Prov. 16:18; Matt. 23:12). When flesh is involved then our motives are impure. 

 How? 

Because what we are now doing is stepping outside of the legal realm of using our gift legitimately in God’s plan (where He is the originator and maintainer) to illegitimately stepping over into our own plans and fleshly ambitions. Our perspective is no longer grounded in serving God, but for God and everybody else to serve us (applauding us, following us, admiring us). We think we own the rights to do what we please...with our "great" selves. This deception opens the door wide to error spewing out of us. God does not get the glory. As a matter of fact, because we have an inflated view or ourselves and our abilities, God will break us down and embarrass us.  He will permit us to receive the invitations we so desperately sought after. After we have "ministered" our "great gift," God will allow it to be a great disappointment. Those who sat under us will leave confused and disappointment because we were not all that we promoted ourselves to be. As a result we have placed ourselves on the do not invite list because we are wack-juice. Yes, wack-juice! We may indeed be gifted, but if we don't operate in humility - allowing the Holy Spirit to minister through us - whatever we put our hands to do will always be a disappointment. We will be disappointed and doubt our gift (open ourselves up to mind tricks from the devil) and others will be disappointed with our gift because there was no benefit reaped from it. No benefit was reaped because we have "ministered" in our own power (John 15:5). 

In addition, this prideful behavior will lead us down the path of idol worship and we will begin to serve mammon or money (Matt. 6:24). This happens when we only “minister” if money, or opportunities to be famous or to gain exposure is involved. Soon we will find ourselves making merchandise of the saints (2 Peter 2:1-3) in every clever way possible, even to the extent that we will find Scriptures to twist to validate our error. Our motivation quickly becomes greed. It has no choice but to fall into the hands of what is in the world as we give our gift over to the lust of the flesh, eyes, and pride of life (1John 2:16). We quickly become greedy for money, notoriety, fame and to be the next big thing.
 
When we start looking for “opportunities in God” in this manner, we will always find ourselves trying to promote ourselves. Every time we open our mouths we begin to tell everyone where we can be found, what our current projects are, and how we can be booked. If it is God ordained, if God is ordering our steps, if we are in line with every assignment He has predestined for our life…trust that those who God wants to find us will. We don’t have to go to great lengths to be found. Why? Because we are doing our part by working in the vision God gave us and waiting in prayer and preparation.
 
Also when we start looking for “opportunities in God” – again it is a cover phrase for when the flesh has taken over Gods assignment and distorted it – we begin to “brown nose,” be extra nice to people when we normally wouldn’t. We begin to seek out events with the “who’s who” and the “what what’s” in the Christian world so that we can force a “divine hookup.” We begin to force and engage in friendships or alliances of: “if you do for me, then I will do for you” – the good old buddy system that is hindering the Church. Not too long after, we find that we are becoming moment stealers. We try to steal moments that don’t belong to us and was not meant for us at that time. We know this because it was forced. We had to go out of our way to do it, even to the extent that we stepped over and trampled our brother or sister who the moment was in fact intended for. Sometimes we even go the distance to plan a moment. 

Watch out now!

We go out of our way to find out who it is we think we need to make a “divine connection” with. We then scope out events to see if they are going to be there. We then make sure that we network right. We already have planned what we are going to say and we orchestrate the right time to slip in our business…oops, our ministry card to them. When we do this we curse our destiny (Jer. 17:5).

1Chronicles 21:1- 30 lifting up vs. 7 from the AMP Bible:

"And God was displeased with this [reliance on human resources], and He smote Israel."
 
All of this politicin’ is out of line, out of order, and unnecessary. What God has planned for us, is for us. We don’t have to pass little notes to tell people who we are and what we are capable of. Our gift is the thing that will make room for us. Divine appointments will happen in God’s time. We must never try to make them happen for ourselves because we then must work to maintain it and keep it alive. 

I’m sorry! That’s too much work. I rather let God do it. 

That is how the system of the world operates and we all know that the system of the world is in direct opposition to the system of God (Matt. 6:33). In the system of God, He is the one who exalts (Ps. 75:6-7), not ourselves or other people. Therefore we should not seek to try to make “divine connections” or look for “opportunities in God.” All we have to do is obey what God told us initially – when we first got the revelation; when we first believed; when we were seeking God and our hearts were pure and our motives were right before Him; when we initially did not care what people thought about us and if anyone knew our name. All we wanted to do was to please the Father and in that we found contentment.
 
Let’s get back to that place if we have fallen from that specific grace. Repentance is in order. Let’s renounce our ambitions and turn back to the will and heart of God. In 1 Samuel 2:35, God teaches us that a faithful servant is one who does according to that which is in His (God's) heart and mind. These are the people who God will build a sure house for and they will always walk before His anointed forever.
 
Will you be that person? Join me and let’s be faithful servants of God together.


Sonia Kong, PDCM