20 THINGS I WISHED I KNOW BEFORE BECOMING A PASTOR

I

hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there are some things we are failing to prepare new pastors for.
Here are some things I wish someone would have sat down and told 20-year-old me. I have spent the last decade learning these the hard way:
Things I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a Pastor

1. It will be the hardest thing you ever do.
No seriously, it is really, really, really hard! Imagine the most difficult thing you have done and multiply it by a hundred. That may be close to how hard ministry is. If you want to be a pastor because it sounds fun or easy, do something else.

2. Integrity and a love for Christ will not be enough; you have to be able to lead people.
Your character and love for Christ are the requirements for entry. These are crucial and more important than anything. However, no matter how godly you are, if you cannot lead people, you will struggle.

JESUS IS COMING BACK THIS DECEMBER

Though HE said no one on earth knows the date of HIS coming back, it would seem someone thinks he knows.

Nora Roth, a Christian computer programmer and a conspiracy theorist, says the second coming of Jesus Christ is nearer than you think. He specifically predicts that Jeus would come back December this year.

Roth said he has conducted a research that shows the apocalypse will occur by the end of 2016

SPIRITUAL EFFECTS OF SEX

We all know the simple definition of sex, but sex is far beyond having fun or making love to our partners. Sex is the exchange of spirits between man and woman. Although medically sex is very good and it’s an exercise when you have only one partner. But sex gets its spiritual effects, you can just be infected with sexually transmitted diseases, you can’t also contact SPIRITUAL TRANSMITTED DISEASES. 

NO EXPIRY DATE

"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matthew 24:35). 

The word of God bears no expiry date. The word never ceases to work. The word that God has spoken thousands of years ago will continue to be active for thousands of years to come. As long as people can mix their faith with the word, an impact is bound to be created. Any time your faith is ready, you will find the word still there, ready to be activated. The word of God never dies, neither does it ever become impotent. It will continue to echo through all generations. It lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).

LOADED WITH DAILY BENEFITS

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah" (Psalms 68:19). 

Our God is a miracle working God. From the beginning of time, we see His miracle working power on display. Creation itself came into being as a miracle. For He spoke, and all the things that we see came into existence. The mountains and hills, the oceans and rivers, the trees and the treasures under the belly of the earth, the beasts of the field and the birds of the air, the sun, the moon and the stars, and all the planetary bodies of the universe - all these are the results of simple commands from the mouth of the Lord God almighty. What a great and mighty God we serve! 

MY FRIEND, THERE IS HOPE

"For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease" (Job 14:7). 

I hear in my spirit, "there is still hope". This is the word of the Lord to you today. There is hope. 

There are a number of reasons why you should believe with me that there is hope. First of all, there is hope because you still have life. The Bible says that the living have hope. Your waking and uprising this morning morning is a great sign that there is hope for you. Every movement of the members of your body is an indication that there is hope. 

GOD'S INTENTION ABOUT YOU

For you shall eat the labor of your hands: happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you" (Psalms 128:2). 

God wants you to be happy. He wants to fill your heart with gladness (Acts 14:17). He wants it to be well with you. He wants you to eat the fruits of your labour so that you can spend your days in prosperity and your years in pleasures. That is why the Word says God wishes above all things that you prosper and be in health just as your soul prospers (3 John 2). That is why God has made provisions for us to receive all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). Our heavenly Father is a good God who wants the best for His children. 

We should have no doubt about these intentions of God towards us because the indicators are all over in His word. For example, the Bible encourages us, "Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart" (Psalms 32:11). Again it tells us emphatically, "Rejoice evermore" (1 Thessalonians 5:16). This exhortation to continually rejoice and be glad is repeated in so many places in the Scriptures because God does not want you to waste your time and emotions in sorrow and sadness. He wants to ensure that you miss no moment of happiness.