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“Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”

The easiest way to understand the meaning of the word “woe” is seeing it as the opposite of being “blessed”, happy, or being in good conditions. “Woe” can mean curse, the people that will be in bad situation, the people that will find themselves helpless, and the people that will find themselves to be in lack of what they should have. And so every one of us must know that we are in the last days and as such we must be careful about who we listen to, who your mentor, teacher and pastor is, because they are very crucial in determining and shaping your character and life and in determining whether you will be prepared for rapture or not and how it will be with you generally. Who you are following will determine the destination you will get to in life. If you are following a man that is confused about issues of eternity, there is no way you can have clarity on the issues of eternity as long as you follow a confused man. If you are following a man who is majoring on things about this life, the gospel he preaches is the gospel about this life and that is all he knows, he does not know anything beyond that; and that is the person you happen to be following, I can assure you that you cannot know more than the person that you are following. Therefore, who one is following is very important and has always been important but much more this time as we see time running out. Let us read through Matthew 10:24 (KJV), “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his Lord”. That is truth. You cannot know more than your teacher, or mentor. The only time this is possible is when you employ the private service of another teacher who knows better. But if you remain with the not so good a teacher, you will only learn what he knows and have to teach you. Therefore, who you follow is very important because no disciple can be above his master and no servant can be above his Lord. Jesus said it is appropriate for a disciple to be like his master but not that he will be above his master.  Matthew 10:25 (KJV) “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?”

If you are following a person who is untaught, who is uncooked, who is half baked, who is following for his belly, and whose priority is not to take men to heaven but his mind is set on mundane things, you can be sure that the only thing you will have is what he is giving you. That is why it is important to know the manner of person you are following in these evil days of unsoundness, confusions and manifestation of false religious spirits, spirits sent into the world to confuse men creating look counterfeits, but you must know that a look alike is not same with original. The apostle John admonished in 1 John 4:1(KJV) “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world”. How do you try them? We want to look at their manifestations and see if they agree with what is written? When somebody say, “Holy Spirit says …” What he is saying is it in tandem with the scriptures? The Holy Spirit works in agreement with the Holy Scriptures, therefore any revelation that contradicts the revealed word of God cannot be from the Spirit of God. Let us consider the book of second timothy further to look into the days in which we live which calls for each of us to be careful of who we listen to and follow on the social media. 

2 Timothy 4:1-4 (KJV), “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

The time being described by the apostle in that scripture is none other than now. Please note, the people that Apostle Paul was describing, who will not endure sound doctrine were people who formally did. Therefore, we must be very careful because the time we are operating has already been predicted to be a time when there will be unsound doctrine and people would not endure sound doctrine, they will mock and scoff at those who hold to sound doctrine. Many young people now question what they are taught, many pastor’s children now pressurize their parents to change the standards of truths which they were born into. A little adjustments, suggestions and modifications and many people have been adjusted out of God’s kingdom, but foundation of God stands sure. Anyone can chose to believe what he likes, but what God has said is what remains. You can give the word of God any interpretation you choose but there is one interpretation for every word of God in heaven. Be careful so that when you get there you will not find your interpretations to be unaccepted and thereby endangering your soul. And so it says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts (after their own sinful desires and quest for evil) shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears (teachers that have developed problem) And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry…, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” keeping the faith is a fight, that is why we have been asked to earnestly contend for the faith that was once delivered to us. God cannot bend his rules because of anyone, His foundation stands sure. 

Beloved we live in the last times, and as has been revealed, we have less than two and half minutes to midnight. What that means is that our activities are to be adjusted by the time that we are told that we are into. If your heart and life, your attitude and actions are not being adjusted and examined daily by this understanding, then you did not believe the word of God given to you; which thing is to your peril.

Everything happening around us and all over the world today is pointing us to the fact of the soon coming of the Lord and the urgency of our assignment. As you listen to the world news and events happening around us, they are all pointing to the fact that the king is coming. The question one should ask himself is this, “what is the effect of the signs of his coming on my life and my vision as a Christian? How have they affected my behavior and relationship with people around me?” if you are still living a normal life, then you don’t understand what is being said, then you are pursuing a wrong vision.

In Matthew chapter 24, Jesus made his prophecy concerning the state of the temple and at the request of his disciples listed down the possible signs of his coming. We must know that all of those signs have been fulfilled. We are living in the injury time, beloved. Mistakes made at the injury time are extremely costly. We cannot afford to gulp down any kind of knowledge into the mind. We must be careful of who we are following otherwise we will be toying with eternity. We have been given a work to do but we must know that the work for God is not as precious to God as a walk with him. We have commotions in the churches of Christ because of wrong followings. If your character, and lifestyle is not like that of our (spiritual) father, then your claim of being his child is invalid. 

Is Jesus coming again? Let us confirm from Revelation 22:12, 7, and 20 (KJV), “12And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 7Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book. 20He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. So Jesus confirms that he is coming. That he has not come does not mean he will not come. Just as the prophecy of his birth was fulfilled, so also the prophecy of his second coming be fulfilled. With all the evidences and witnesses around us, it is very obvious that our generation might live to experience the rapture. With the current state of Jerusalem and the developments in the middle-east and all other things that are happening, before the explosion will come, the church will have to go. This is why we must be mindful of who we follow. Don’t just listen, look at the life and passion of the man you are following. Discover what he is living for. Is he a lover of the mundane? Is he a lover of fashion, fame and popularity? Is he given to pride and vain glorying? What you cannot find in him, if it is found in you, you are not following him. That which is in the (spiritual) father must be in his (spiritual) children if they will be able to do the same work with him. 

Regardless of your level of faith and gifts possessed, if you do not have the Holy Spirit indwelling, the devil will easily mess you up, because as the scripture says, it is not by power nor might but by His Spirit. Be mindful of whom you are following; you cannot receive the spirit of a man whom you are not following. For you to receive the Spirit of God upon a man, you must follow him bumper-to-bumper, you must allow him to influence you. If you are following a talkative you will become a talkative. If you are a quiet person and you are following a talkative, when he wants to impact in you the Spirit of talkativeness it will not enter because you are not on the same realm. So, if you must receive what your (spiritual) father is carrying, it means that you have to have the same spirit, the same taste, desire, view and judgment. In Exodus 30:30 (KJV), “And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s office”. Aaron was to minister alongside his sons. But before that happens, both he and his sons must be anointed and consecrated to allow them minister in the same office. Let’s consider Exodus 40:12 (KJV), “And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and wash them with water.” Aaron’s sons must be washed along with him if they must partake in his ministry. If Aaron is washed and his children are not, they will not serve with him; serving with him, they will constitute a distraction, they will constitute a hindrance, they will be clogs on the wheel of progress; they will be sabotaging the operation and power of God that should flow in the ministry they have received with their father; for this reason every one of them needed to be washed both father and sons. If we say we are following that we are following a man with experience, it should not be only from his teachings, we need to look at his life, and diligence, we need to study everything about him and begin to ask God to help us fit in. because the anointing can only be released on us if we are of the same order. To participate in the fulfilment of this ministry, every one of us must operate under his order. The people that received the grace of God upon Moses were all baptized into Moses. Therefore, it follows that everyone of us must understand that we are in the last days and for us to fulfil the ministry which the Lord has called us into, to run with the vision and see the fulfilment of the declarations, we have to follow through. It is what we see him do that we are to do. Every man who has succeeded in ministry is an imitation of somebody. John the Baptist operated under the order of Elijah. Elisha was operating under the order of Elijah. Joshua was an imitation of Moses. It was what Moses carried that was put into him. Just as Gideon told the men who worked with him to watch him and do as he does, we must imitate the man of God in the same way. There is the need to study his diligence, his carefulness, and the way he has been carrying us all through, the way we looks at any matter. If we don’t do so, then even if we claim to follow him when we are not we will end up being people under a woe. 

The end-time project requires men and women whose heart the Lord has touched like he touched the chief visioner. Sons of belial have no portion in this business. This work is not for children. How then do we identify a teacher who is a child. What are the characteristics of a mentor who is a child?

They are restless and do not have the ability to sit down and concentrate, not appropriating their attention right. They are only mindful of their belly. It is their preoccupation and maintains priority in them. But Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:11 (KJV), “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Ministers who are children are novices, they are untaught, uncleansed, unrebuked, incorrigible and proud.  Children-ministers are only in ministry for what they will gain for their belly. 2 Corinthians 12:14-18 (KJV), “Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15  And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.  

16  But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. 17  Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? 18  I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?” 

Those leaders, pastors or mentors who are children are only out to make gain, what they can get from the congregation and people they are leading. Apostle Paul describes them as the enemies of the cross, Philippians 2:19-21(KJV) “But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” Philippians 3:18-19 (KJV) “(For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)”

The next question is, what are the causes of people remaining babes?

• When you refuse the responsibilities entrusted to you to challenge to make the necessary sacrifice, and adjustments for the purpose of improving yourself and for the purpose of ministry, you’ll remain a child. Paul said, when I was a child” meaning there was a time he was a child, a time he was minding the things of this life. But looking at the responsibility entrusted unto him, he had to make adjustments and necessary sacrifices. He gave up his profession for the Excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus; he did so because he considered his calling to be an invaluable privilege and that it must not fail. Paul made progress, he moved from being a child and grew into that which the Lord had called him for. Look at your life, see where adjustments are to be made in order to experience this growth. 
• When you misappropriate attention, you will remain a baby-pastor, a baby-diocesan-pastor, because you are paying attention to what you shouldn’t pay attention to, and giving less attention to what you should have paid great attention to. Martha was more concerned about much service. Marthas in the church to not pay attention to what is being said, they rather go about distracting others. Mary sat down and listened to Jesus and her first service became a memorial. Therefore when you are always wanting to serve, and you neglect your private life, you will rotten on the inside. The Lord is saying that the roots are dried up beneath and above the branches have been cut off (Job 18:16). That deep inside people, there is rottenness and this is manifest among them. They attend to others, correcting, instructing and rebuking them but neglecting to check their own lives. Hypocrisy is prevalent among them but the rule of the bible is that you first remove the log in your eyes and that physicians heal themselves. And so the thought is a thought course of remaining a child. When one refuses to allow sound biblical rules and principles practiced by men of God of old who have followed God and worked for him to control and order your daily life, you will end up remaining babes and blaspheming the name of God. Romans 2:22 (KJV) “Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.” The biblical principle of God is that you, a husbandman, must allow what you give to the people to first of all affect you. When we choose to neglect this, we will remain babes, and where you have leaders as babes there will be commotions, fightings and quarelling over petty issues. The devil with this trait has hoodwinked the church, because she has chosen to remain carnal, children, and God will not use children to minister to children. We have to become mature to carry this vision which the Lord God has given to us. This is one of the possible reasons for which that church location has not grown as it should. God will have us to sit ourselves down. Children don’t have ability to assess themselves. Listen to this, there is no person under this work who can do this work better than you, the people look at your life and follow suit. Proverbs 29:19 (KJV), “A servant will not be corrected by words: for though he understand he will not answer.” You cannot ask the people to give higher attention to the work of God when you don’t do same.
• Another reason people remain children is because they don’t ponder on the word of God which they hear. It is through pondering that you improve your faith and insight. Insight does not come by miracle. God gives one insight when he spends time reading the word of God and seeking the face of God. if you don’t have time for the things of God, they will not come to you. If you spend all your time pursuing business and you want to raise a mega church? “e no go work”. Any time you see an individual making impact, he must have paid the price. The gospel works when it first works in the life of the bearer. Take the gospel anywhere, if that gospel has worked in your life and you are steadily living out the life and giving it out, it will work. It is not a regional thing, that you will say, “In Africa people are open to the gospel” oh no, the people can be open to the gospel any where. So ponder on these things that your profiting may appear unto all.
• When you refuse to follow the steps of your (spiritual) father and mentor, you will remain a babe. Consider Abraham, he did not suddenly become a friend of God; sacrifices were made. Look at those who have served God ahead of us let their lives challenge us. When we do so we get to improve, but if we keep on giving excuses, we will not improve. The undoing of Gehazi was his refusal to follow his master’s life and example and so he ran after Naaman to collect his leprosy. Elisha was working with time and knew it was not time to receive gifts, but for Gehazi his master was too slow, and not smart, and so he followed the back doors to collect Naaman’s leprosy. Gehazi missed his encounter with God because he was not a diligent follower but a man looking for his belly, a man looking for his personal things. When you look for personal things, you will not grow. Elisha followed Elijah diligently and became like Elijah. Elisha was fond of Elijah and so got his spirit. Joshua was fond of Moses and Timothy was fond of Apostle Paul and that was why they grew to be like him. If you are not fond of the man of God in our midst, you cannot become a man that people will follow. The law of reproduction is that like begets like. Where is the gene of your father in you? Where is the diligence, carefulness, sacrifice, determination, etc.? Therefore, look at your life, use his life to mirror yours, are you really under his tutelage and mentorship? We must be like the one who has begotten us.

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF REMAINING A CHILD IN MINISTRY?

Remaining a child in ministry goes with a plethora of consequences. Viz.:

• As long as you remain a child-leader, the people that are under you will remain children. As long as you remain a novice and untaught, uncleansed and incorrigible, your congregation will remain so. The rule is whatever a man sows he will harvest in quantum, if you scoff at your leaders, those following you will do same to you. They don’t fear you because you do not fear the man ahead of you. When the blind leads the blind, both will fall into the ditch and so you cannot be better and more righteous than who you are following. Therefore if you are a novice leading other novices, you will raise a congregation of babes. Also, you will not be able to manage the people under you because of your lack of commitment. This is the rule. Who are you following? Woe unto the Land whose king is interested in name and fame.
• The young man who chose to follow a prophet who had lost his touch with God paid with his life. That young man of God ended up as a dead man because he abandoned the word of God and followed the man who said, “I heard from and angel”, and then paid the ultimate price. The 250 renowned men of Israel who followed Korah, Dathan and Abiram were led to hell alive. All the men who followed Absalom against his experienced father were also wasted. When we refuse the mentorship of the mature and tested man of God and fathers of faith, and rather choose to follow the popular; we will surely get ourselves into trouble. You have a golden plate and you chose to eat from the ground. Know who you are listening to, find out the background of the person you are following.

Proverbs 5:7-14 (KJV) is an account of the lamentation and counsel of a man who had refused to listen to the counsel of his experienced father and to his teachers

“Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. 

 Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:  Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and assembly.” Solomon got himself into all evil although he had teachers that taught him, because he put aside what he was taught and decided to follow his mind and to follow others around, he found himself in a mess. Therefore, think about the person you are following, do you know the foundation of his church? What is the source of his ministrations? Know the life of the person you are listening to, following, and spreading his gospel. If you follow a person who is uncleansed and contaminated, you will remain uncleansed and contaminated. Your eternal destination is the destination of the person you are following. You cannot be following a man whose destination is not heaven and then you end up in heaven. 

Ecclesiastes 10:16-17 (KJV) “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning! 17 Blessed art thou, O land, when thy king is the son of nobles, and thy princes eat in due season, for strength, and not for drunkenness!”

Be sure to belong to a place where you have a king who is the son of a noble; where the ministers of the gospel eat only for strength, who are mindful of heaven. There are places that specialize in one aspect of our faith or the other but is not mindful of eternity. Run from such places that do not offer the full gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus about now and eternity. If Jesus tarries, there are three words that will conclude the life of everyman, they are “The man Died” but after death what follows is judgment. Therefore, if someone is talking to you about everything else but eternity, he has deceived you.