ONE MAN STOOD BEFORE SMITH WIGGLESWORTH INSIDE A TRAIN AND SAID, “I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE BUT YOU CONVICT ME OF SIN.”
YOUR GENERATION FEELING THE PRESENCE OF GOD WHEN THEY COME AROUND YOU IS THE CONFIRMATION OF YOUR PRIESTHOOD
PRIESTHOOD IS NOT FOR FANCY, IT IS A RESPONSIBILITY – THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BEING THE CUSTODIAN OF DIVINE PRESENCE.
SUCCESS IN ANY REALM IS A PRODUCT OF UNDERSTANDING. NOTHING IS SUCCESSFUL WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING.
IN MY GROWING UP DAYS, WHAT I DID WAS TO ALMOST BE PERMANENTLY PRAYING IN TONGUES.
THERE ARE TIMES WHEN COMING OUT TO PREACH CAN BE A DISTRACTION TO ME, THE THING I CHERISH THE MOST IS TO BE WITH HIM.
THE REAL ADDRESS OF THE PRIEST IS GOD.
EVERY TIME YOU REALIZE THAT YOU ARE OUT OF GOD’S PRESENCE, RAPIDLY RETURN BACK.
ALMOST ALL OF MY SONGS (99.99 PERCENT) CAME WHILE MINISTERING TO THE LORD ESPECIALLY IN THE SPIRIT.
I GAVE MY CAR TO A PASTOR WHO GAVE HIS CAR AS A SEED FOR THE BUILDING OF THE CHURCH HE WAS PASTORING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DRIVES ME ON EVANGELISM IS THE LEVEL OF BLESSING THAT IT OFFERS TO PEOPLE THAT I ENCOUNTER.
MINISTERING TO THE LORD IS LACKING IN THE CHURCH BECAUSE EVERYBODY IS STRUGGLING TO MINISTER TO PEOPLE.
YOUR MINISTRY AS A PRIEST IS TO ENHANCE THE WORTH OF YOUR GENERATION.
OUR MINISTRY IS TO ADD TO PEOPLE NOT TO REDUCE FROM PEOPLE.
YOU ARE IN THE BUSINESS WORLD TO DO WHAT GOD WANTS AND NOT WHAT YOU WANT.
NEVER LEAVE PEOPLE THE WAY YOU MET THEM.
WORSHIP AND PRAISE IS A COMPONENT OF PRAYER.
– Dr Pastor Paul Enenche on “A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD – THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRIESTHOOD” at Kingdom Power and Glory World Conference 2023 || Glory Dome || Day 2 Morning Session || 22nd November 2023 ||
I’m speaking on the subject, “A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD – THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF PRIESTHOOD.” Our objective is as it is stated: if I am a priest, what is my work? I am not just talking to pastors now because we are a royal priesthood – everyone of us. Church Gist. Deuteronomy 10:8. It’s a clearly defined syllabus but before we go there, it is important to understand the assignment or the responsibilities of priesthood for the following reasons:
1. Success in any realm is a product of understanding. Nothing is successful without understanding. Church Gist. People fail in school not because they were not in class but because they didn’t understand what was taught. If we are to discharge our duties as priests with success, it must be discharged with understanding.
2. Every undertaking becomes outstanding with understanding. I got that sense for the first time from our Father in the Lord, Bishop David Oyedepo, (I may be saying it in my own words now) every undertaking becomes outstanding with understanding. Church Gist. If you want to be outstanding in any undertaking, you require understanding – outstanding priest, lawyer, doctor, business man, there must be understanding.
3. Understanding guarantees the prevention of wastage. Wastage is prevented – the wastage of time, life, resources.
4. Title without meaning is the product of the lack of understanding. Where a person carries a title that has no meaning, no result. Bearing the title of a priest without knowing why you are priest? That happens (when there is no understanding).
What are the responsibilities of the Priest?
1. Deuteronomy 10:8. Bearing the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord: the Priests are Ark bearers. What is the meaning of that? Priesthood is not a title; priesthood is not for fancy, it is a responsibility and it is the responsibility of being the custodian of divine presence. Church Gist. The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, they call it the Ark of His Presence, is the symbolism of the presence of God in the Old Testament. The Priest is a divine presence distributor, a divine presence communicator, a divine presence carrier. Nobody has the right to be called priest who does not carry the Ark. Nobody has the license of being called a priest who is not a carrier of presence. So, being a priest is not a matter of title but of presence. That is, your generation feeling the presence of God, experiencing the presence of God when they come around you is the confirmation of your priesthood. No priest is qualified to be called priest whose life is dry. In your class as a royal priesthood, your classmates should feel God when they come around you. In your place of business as royal priesthood, the people who conduct business with you should feel God when they come around you. Church Gist. Your business partners should experience God when they come around you. You are the visible representation of the invisible God. I am talking about convicting presence.
One man stood before Smith Wigglesworth inside a train (coach), he said, “I don’t know who you are but you convict me of sin.” I told you my own story many times: New Jersey, man saw me and said, “are you a man of God?” I said, what is it? He said, it’s all over you. Not once, not twice, several places. “I see God, I feel God all over you.” We were in a plane from Germany to America some time ago and it was like a 10 hour flight and inside that plane I was on my own, connecting God in worship. Church Gist. The whole atmosphere was charged. The Air Hostess, white woman, was passing by and was serving food. My wife wanted to tap me so that they can serve. The woman said, “leave him, leave him, leave him, we are enjoying what he is doing.” The Cabin charged with God’s presence. Of what use is an eagle without soaring? Of what use is a lion without roaring? Of what use is a priest without the Ark? What is the duty of a singer without the song? The Teacher without the instruction? The Priest without the Ark? Priesthood is not a function of coat, title, it’s a function of presence.
Beloved brothers and sisters, you just come to the point in your life where somebody will be able to say, “I came around you, I felt something” or “You entered into the room and something entered.” If we can function like that, evangelism will be easy, conviction will be easy. I’m sure you know there are different kinds of evangelism, right? Church Gist. There is what is called preaching evangelism, where you open your mouth and preach for people to be saved. There is what is called principle evangelism, where your character changes people. There is what they call power evangelism, where signs and wonders become the instrument for the salvation of the souls. There is something that is called presence evangelism where it is the presence of God you carry that convicts somebody. You moved with a presence that changed somebody’s life.
What is the responsibility of priesthood? If you say I am a royal priesthood, what is the responsibility of priesthood?
(Number 1) Bearing the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, saturating your world with divine presence, carrying such a presence to cause your generation to know that there is a God. There is something that they will feel that they can’t feel it anywhere else. Like I say many times when you pass beside a real witch doctor, (native doctor, herbalist) when you pass around them or you see them, you feel the devil. Am I communicating? Church Gist. When you see them with their red whatever and white chalk on their eyes and their regalia and all the things they are carrying and how they look and even if you approach them. There are places in those days in the Village when you are passing there, you will be running. How many of you know the kind of place I’m talking about? You are passing those places, you’ll be running because of the presence of evil you feel. If evil carries presence, who says that God does not carry a heavier presence? A heavier, more positive, more impactful presence. I want you to leave here, a royal priesthood.
2. Standing before Him.
Deuteronomy 10.8. Standing before Him is a permanent position of communion. Standing before Him, that’s what we saw in the life of Elijah. 1st Kings 17:1. “Before God whom I stand”. Standing before Him, not “before God whom I visited”, not “before God whom I saw about one month ago”. “Before God whom I stand”. I stood there yesterday, I am standing there now and I will stand there tomorrow. Church Gist. In case you are looking for my address, locate God. “Before God whom I stand”. If you want to find me, find God. When you find God, you will see me standing there. The real address of the Priest is God. You know, John the Baptist was the son of Priest Zechariah. The Bible says, “There was a man sent from God”. Not “the man sent by God.” There was a man sent from God whose name was John. Sent from God, not sent by God. “Before God whom I stand”. Many of us we stand too much in the presence of men. We are overfamiliar. We are too popular in the Courts of men until we are unpopular in the Courts of Heaven.
God knows and I know that there are times when coming out to preach can be to me a distraction. Where the thing I cherish the most is to be with Him. Somebody say, Amen. You need to develop that communion, that stand with Him. Church Gist. In the bathroom, you are standing with Him. In the marketplace, you are standing in front of Him. On the steering, you are standing with Him. Anytime anybody finds you, they find you in front of God. Standing before Him. What is the meaning of praying without ceasing? Be connected to unbroken communion. Somebody say a loud Amen!
That is your number 2 assignment, standing before Him. Now I want to let you know that there are many things that would struggle to pull you from in front of Him. There are distractions of life that struggle to pull you from His front. There are hostilities that…even enemy battles. There are things that want to occupy your mind and pull you from His front. But every time you realize that you are out of His presence, rapidly return back. That is our assignment, that is our responsibility. Church Gist. The responsibility of consistently pulling you back into his front. In my growing up days, what I did was to almost be permanently praying in tongues. If I remembered that I was not praying, I started again – under my breath. Am I communicating? When we held a preaching and God said, “Adam, where are you?” You know the meaning of that? They were not where God expected them to be. They were not where they were meant to be. They had repositioned themselves. Satan repositioned them. I can assure you, show me a man who has a stand with God, the devil has no stand in his front. No devil is a match for the man that has a stand in the front of God. This is your responsibility this morning, not just as a pastor.
I read a book of Kenneth Hagin: a criminal was caught, like a kidnapper. People normally pass through a dark alley somewhere and there was this criminal that was attacking people. Church Gist. At the end, he was arrested – it was in America – and then the victims were invited to come and identify him and they all identified him. A young lady also was invited because she passed there but she was not attacked and she said, “Yes I saw the man there, he’s the man”. Then they asked that criminal, “You attacked everybody but why not her?” He answered them, “but she was not alone, it was not only her that passed. She was in the middle of 2 giants. There were 3 of them”. “Surely goodness and mercy”. The angel of His presence that Isaiah talked about. Isaiah 63:9. You cannot be in His presence and be devoid of the Ministry of the Angels. “The Angel of His presence saved them”.
Assignment number one: bearing the ark. Assignment number two: standing in His presence. It’s a place of communion, unbroken fellowship. Standing in His presence. Pastors, preaching is at the tail end oh, those of you who are full time priests in the Temple. Preaching is at the tail end.
3. Ministering to Him.
God needs ministering. Deuteronomy 10:8. Our ministries have been so frustrated because we have been ministering to the people of the Lord without ministering to the Lord of the people. Church Gist. Ministering unto Him. The most important ministry of the Minister is ministering to the Master. The most important ministry of a child of God is ministering to his maker. Ministering to the Lord can be 2 or 3 ways.
A. Ministering to the worship needs of the Lord.
Acts 13:1-2. There are many people who submit requests for special number to minister to the people in Church, who have no business ministering to the Lord. It’s like a show then. Church Gist. Ministering to the Lord is not a matter of voice. It’s the matter of task. Isaiah 43:21. If God has given me 1000 songs, 2000 (songs), 3000 (songs), whatever I don’t know the number, 99.99 per cent came while ministering to the Lord, especially in the Spirit.
I hardly sit down to say now let me write a song. There is one song (I’m trying to remember it) that came with words first and then the melody came later. Ministering to the Lord (speaks in tongues). One day I was in my study room worshiping, tears flowing like water. My wife came in, saw me tearing, sobbing, my nose filled, congested. She just ran back straight. “What’s going on?” Sorry, she ran back straight. I was ministering to the Lord.
It’s one thing to do things in public and people saw you. To what extent did you do it in the private? Worship and praise is a component of prayer. If you worshiped for 30 minutes and prayed for one and a half hours, you have prayed for 2 hours. “Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name” – that is segmentics worship. Before you step into “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth” and then you ended again in worship “for thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever.” So you started in worship and praise and ended in worship and praise. Church Gist. So if it was one hour you did that first worship and another one hour you did the last worship and then you did 3 hours of the main prayer, you have done 5 hours of praying.
I don’t know who made us believe that worshiping time in prayer is a waste of time. Paul and Silas prayed and sang and something happened. Ministering to the Lord is lacking in the Church. Everybody is struggling to minister to people either minister by preaching or minister by singing or minister by choreography – everybody is struggling to face people nobody is facing God. God is at times saying “so the people are more important to you than me”. God does not need to hear preaching from you but He needs to receive your praise and your worship – your appreciation. Ministering to the Lord!
A second dimension of ministering to the Lord is standing by for instructions and errands. Standing by! If you want to understand the word minister just understand what happened in the wedding at Cana of Galilee where there were servants on standby waiting for instruction. John 2:5. Church Gist. Standing by! What the waiter…what we call waiter in the hotel is minister. It’s the same word – the same translation. Waiter – standing beside you when you are eating. “Yes sir, do you need some salt? Do you need anything?”
🎵🎼Here am I send me, Here am I send me. 🎼🎵As the Lord needs somebody, Here am I send me, I will go send me As the Lord needs somebody, I will go send me 🎵🎼
Ministering to the Lord means you are living your life to do what He wants. You are not living your life to do what you want. You are not pastoring to do what you want. You are not in that office to do what you want. Church Gist. You are not in the business world to do what you want. You are in that business world to do what He wants. Ministering to the Lord is our number three assignment.
4. Blessing in His name – to bless in His name that is, a priest is a channel of generational blessing. To bless in His name both in word and in deed. A priest is a channel of generational blessing.
I see something erupting in somebody’s life here today!
A channel! One of the things that drives me on evangelism is the level of blessing that ‘that’ offers to people that I encounter. “And to bless in His name.” The later part of Deuteronomy 10:8. Church Gist. Numbers 8:23-27. You don’t leave anywhere the way you met it. You don’t leave people the way you met them whether in word or in deed. I will give you a few examples.
I went to preach one time in the far North and they invited me as the guest Minister. I stepped into that place and there was no roof and no window. I didn’t know it was a popular person that was a popular pastor who had already been imparted by Archbishop Benson Idahosa with a doctorate degree in those days. So my expectation was very high. So I came – no roof, no window. Church in construction, wow! I said “are you people in construction?” Church Gist. Well, praise the Lord! This is the amount I’m going to give for this construction because I can’t pretend that I didn’t see an uncompleted building and I can’t come and preach and go and leave it like that. As many as will join me in this project, can you join me right now?…and they joined me.
I went to a town to preach and the pastor came to pick me with a car. I saw his car and the car was (a) ‘Volvo’ at that time. It has broken – one light. It was just looking somehow and he was more like the number one Pastor in that town…and I said how can this be the man of God that is representing the Kingdom in this town? I had a Volvo too at that time that had 5 gears. Church Gist. I will send it (my Volvo car) to you after two weeks. I put it in place and sent it to him. Not to sell, not to use (but) to own.
I went to Lagos to preach in a Church and the pastor of the Church came to pick me with a taxi and I said “what happened to your car?” He said “they are building so he gave his car to the Church.” I said alright, you gave your car to the Church, I give my car to you.
I went to preach somewhere and people were lifting up their crutches and everybody was healed but I saw someone with crutches who had an amputated leg and I said “you know what?” Church Gist. God has healed all the people here that have broken bones and all of that but you have an amputated leg, I am going to get a prosthetic leg for you. This is what we can do now until God gives us such an anointing to grow out the leg.
There are people who move and nothing changes in people’s life – nothing traceable, nothing! I mean we should be able to come into contact with people. Somebody met me the other day (very ‘very’ funny). He said I have brought prophet offering to give you and tithe. But we are very ‘very’ stranded right now Church wise, construction, everything. In fact we need assistance to pay for the new location. So as I saw it, I said alright, “you know where I’m going to start? I will trust God to see how I can assist you with what you are doing there but the assistance will start with what you are holding now. So you carry it, go back with it and use it for the work to start with then we will talk later.” He said “thank you sir.” (Laughs)
How many of you have seen little children before, who want to give you meat or something and when you want to collect it, they take it back? (Laughs) It beats the imagination right? It totally beats the imagination. That’s alright.
Our ministry is to add to people not to reduce from people. It’s to add to people not to reduce from people! Is God speaking to anybody here? Please, I want to beg you, your ministry as a priest is to enhance the worth of your generation – enhance the worth of people that God brings you into contact with. Church Gist. Enhance the worth, enhance the value of people, enhance the worth! Make a difference in the lives of people. I don’t know about you but I have made up my mind that I will not leave my generation the way I have met it.
Wipe out the tears of people. Wipe out the sorrows of people. Put smiles on the faces of people. It’s the duty of the Priest. That was why it was an abomination when the man that was going from Jerusalem to Jericho and was wounded on the road (laid on the road) and the Bible said “the Priest came and passed looking away and the Levite came and passed and it was a Samaritan that did what the Priest should have done.” We will go to number 5.
– Bear the Ark
– Stand in His presence.
– Minister to Him.
– Bless in His name.
Malachi 2:7. This is a very ‘very’ direct instruction…What is the meaning of that?
5. Existence as custodian of the knowledge of both God and His Word. That is, it should be clear to people that you carry God and you carry his word. You are a custodian of the knowledge of God and a custodian of the knowledge of his Word. The meaning of that is: people should come and ask you questions about God and expect answers. People should come and ask you questions in the Word and expects answers. I’m not just talking to pastors, the Priest’s lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the Law of God at his mouth. Church Gist. This is the summary: knowing God and his Word is a non-negotiable responsibility of the Priest because you cannot give what you don’t have. Philippians 3:10. Knowing God, knowing his Word is a non-negotiable responsibility of priesthood. People should come and ask you about God.
I said it some time ago: if nobody is asking you any question, nobody wants to become like you, nobody wants to learn from you, nobody wants to take steps after you, in all probability, life is wasting. Existence as custodian of the knowledge of both God and his Word – when people come to you they shouldn’t be in doubt whether you know God or not. They shouldn’t be in doubt of answers. Please, remember that you cannot give what you don’t have. Church Gist. 2 Chronicles 15:3 – there was a crisis in Israel when there was no teaching priest. The kind of people that should teach people, instruct people, that should carry the knowledge of God, they were absent. So the whole land was in chaos.
6. Functioning in the Ministry of reconciliation: the assignment of the Priest is to reconcile God and man; to make peace between God and man. That is why they offer the peace offerings and all the offerings they offer in the Old Testament. It is to make peace between God and man. 2 Chronicles 29:23-24; 2 Corinthians 5:17-19. Church Gist. Any pastor who preaches without altar call is a kingdom liability, is a ‘mispastor’, a ‘misminister.’ You’re functioning contrary to why you’re there. He has given us the Ministry, the Word of reconciliation …and I don’t care what is your ministry, whether you’re a prophet, teacher, singer, whatever it is, or you’re a child of God on the street, whatever you do should reconcile people to God.
I thank God because of our people from the Northern and Southern America here (I am happy to have all of you) because we live in a season today where you see big conferences in America, Europe and several places, one whole week of conference morning and night, no altar call but plenty offerings are raised, plenty givings are taken. Church Gist. No soul is expected to be saved, everybody… God has to help our generation. What is the essence of a restaurant without the service of food?
One day I gave an altar call somewhere, the host of the place came and canceled the altar call. He came and canceled it. “You need to hand over your life to Jesus, you know your life is not in order with God and you need Jesus in your life, you want to be born again, you want your sins forgiven, pray this prayer after me.” After I finished my own, he came and said “you know what? Church Gist. The prayer is actually for those who have never given their lives to Christ before, if you have never been born again, if you have never prayed that prayer before – that is what the prayer is meant for.” That is (in other words) if you have prayed that prayer a thousand times and you are a murderer today, don’t pray it again. That was the last time I went to that place. He just nullified the altar call. Do you understand what I’m saying?
“He has committed to us the Word of reconciliation.” I said to you the other day I was preaching, the people that I went and led to Christ on Saturday are in foundation class now. They started on Sunday as soon as they arrived. Church Gist. I saw them on Sunday after Service and then saw some of them on Monday who had needs to be seen. It’s not as if I’m lacking in altar call. I make altar call on Sunday, (I) make altar call on Tuesday, (I) make altar call on Wednesday, (I) make altar on television…on crusade ground, everyday and then you are still going…do you understand what I’m saying?
Don’t call yourself a priest until you are a reconciler of people with God. The question to ask yourself ‘priest’ is “when was the last time you reconciled somebody with his Maker?…Because most people are angry with God. Most people are in enmity with God. It’s a permanent state of enmity, they don’t have any relationship with God. Church Gist. Your assignment is to connect people with God and make sure that they have a relationship with God…and I believe it’s a new day for somebody! If you believe that, say a loud Amen!
Lift your right hand and say “Father, I receive the grace to reconcile my generation to you, I receive that grace Lord, in the name of Jesus.”
Functioning in the Ministry of reconciliation!
7. Standing in the gap between God and man. Standing in the gap! The meaning of that is that “priesthood is an intercessory assignment.” Church Gist. The priest stands in that gap between man and God (in) the Holies of Holies. It’s an intercessory assignment. Samuel the Priest (prophetic priest – priestly prophet)…in 1 Samuel 12:23, he was talking about his prayer assignment for Israel. “God forbids that I should not pray for you.” So for Samuel, not praying for the people is sin to him. Ezekiel 22:30.
You are not necessarily a pastor but are you standing in the gap for your family? Are you standing in the gap for your children? Church Gist.Are you standing in the gap for the Pastor that pastors you? Are you standing in the gap for the congregation? Priesthood! Royal priesthood is royal ‘intercessorhood’. Somebody say Amen!
Don’t forget this “the basic assignment of priesthood (one basic assignment) is that the priest speaks to God about people and speaks to people about God. That’s where he stands. He speaks to God about people. Church Gist. He speaks to people about God. He speaks to God about the people “Lord I’m talking to you about these people, change their lives” and then he speaks to people about God “God is not a wicked God, He is a good God, don’t give up on God.” He talks to God about the people and he talks to people about God.
You know what we were told? No priest has the right to talk to people about God if he is not talking to God about people. You don’t have the right. You don’t have the right to be talking to people, everyday you are preaching. Church Gist. You don’t have the right to be talking to people about God until you are talking to the same God about people. That’s the balance of equation. You go to the Crusade, you pray to God about the people first, the souls that should be saved. After the Crusade, you still pray for the souls that are saved for them to be rooted…and so, it is an intercessory assignment.
8. The offering of sacrifices.
One major thing we know about priesthood is the offering of sacrifices. Hebrews 7:27. Leviticus 6:22. That is, the Priest is a symbol of sacrifice. Sacrifice for himself, generally sacrifice unto God. You can’t call yourself a priest if as ordinary as ten per cent of (your) income can’t be given to God. Church Gist. You are not in the realm. You are not in any realm at all. Where there are people who have passed that realm long ago. There are certain income that enter my hand (I’m not talking of tithe), it’s hundred per cent. I’ve seen forex income that went out 100 per cent. I’m not talking of tithe, I’m not even talking of taking 10 per cent for myself and 90 per cent to God. People have passed the realm of struggle to give.
Priesthood means holding nothing back. Whether it is a sacrifice on your own behalf, a sacrifice to God, a sacrifice on behalf of the people. That is, God you own me, you own everything. That’s why God said to the priests, “You don’t need an inheritance among the children of Israel, I am your inheritance”. Church Gist. The way you have donated yourself…when Moses said, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” and you stood and donated yourself to me and you offer all these sacrifices. You don’t need to ask for any property among Israel, I am your property.
Please if you are a royal priesthood, can you outline all the things I just said;
1. Ensure that you bear the Ark of His presence.
2. Stand before Him in communion.
3. Minister to Him.
Don’t struggle only to minister to people.
4. Bless in His name.
Be a blessing to your generation.
5. Exist as a custodian of the knowledge of both God and His Word.
Pursue God to know Him.
6. Function in the Ministry of reconciliation.
The business of reconciling people with God.
7. Stand in the gap in intercession between God and man.
8. Offer sacrifices.
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