Study Guide
Wait on Ministry
3,664 words, about 18 min read
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Mary Banks Ministries & Bible Teachers International PO Box 11563, Spring, TX 77391
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Mary Banks, an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ is the founder of Bible Teachers International Worship Centers, Lifesavers International, Sons. Training, Bible Teachers Global Training Centers, the Mary Banks Faith Library, and Bible Theater International now located throughout the U.S., Canada, The Caribbean Islands, India, Africa, and Europe. Recognized as “The Bible Teacher” to the Body of Christ, as well as an international speaker, Mary has authored many books and courses that have brought a sure word to the world and the Church. Mary has also penned, produced and directed outstanding stage productions, such as “Amazing Grace,” with receive eight academy award nominations in the Caribbean. Mary has touched the hearts of thousands held captive by crack cocaine, depression, alcoholism, unforgiveness, perversion, and lives without purpose’. She is anointed with wisdom and understanding in the ability to answer the simplest and most difficult questions of life, by applying the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our everyday situations, circumstances, and relationships.
Apostle Banks has been recognized for this outstanding evangelistic work and value to her community by her peers, business community, as well as government officials.
I have been in the body of Christ for over 50 years now and I have never been so aware of how serious a time we’re living in as it relates to whether we’re going to make it into heaven or not. The goal of a Saint is to make it in; to reach that high calling in Christ Jesus. We just want to make it into the kingdom and carry as many souls with us as we possibly can. But the scripture tells us that in these last days there will be a great falling away. I dare to say, the falling away has already taken place. But think about it now, the falling away is being accomplished in the church. But we are also members of the Body of Christ. Therefore, those who are falling away from the faith, are doing so in our presence. Saints all over the world are watching people that they might have fellowshipped with for years; that are now on the wrong side of the faith. When you understand the mind and heart of the Father, you can readily see that the church has a perception of God that is not the true and living God of the Bible. Listen to me, really good here; because the Lord wants the body of Christ to understand this.
It has become extremely easy for Satan to sift the church. Saints are readily gravitating to Satan because their perspective and the perception of God is wrong.
When there is an erroneous perception or perspective of God, then you have an erroneous perspective of the church. I taught a lesson years ago in which I said, “When you’re in a trial or when negative situations come into your life; the first thing you need to do is, find God. Where is God in the situation or trial? This principle works across the board. Once you get a spiritual eyeball on God and what His position is; you can see Satan. And once you see God, you can also see yourself. If you had any doubts or some ambiguous perception of where you were, once you can see God clearly, then now you can truly see yourself. You can see your own disposition and judge whether it agrees or contrasts with God. If you see God, you can also see Satan. But now I want you to think about this. If you can’t see God, then you can’t see Satan; you cannot discern him. Satan is like a chameleon. The scripture says he transforms dE Cep-
TION A NEW ‘OLD’
himself to appear as a minister of light. So, you must be able to see God in order to identify Satan and his devices.
If you don’t see God, you’re not going to see yourself. The prince of this world has blinded the minds of those who are off course. That means you cannot discern your own spiritual location.
Why? Because you will judge yourself in the light of the God of your imagination. You don’t see real God, you can’t discern real Satan, so consequently, you don’t see the real you.
The church has given God a personality that doesn’t exist. And in that remaking of God, they have made him very tolerant of sin. The very things it once preached against, are now quite acceptable. The church has convinced itself that this is the mind and heart of God.
Modern-day ministers are offering the church an alternative to the God of the Script. They have presented a God that is moved by so much compassion and love that he now embraces sin and lasciviousness. He is a God of understanding and mercy. He is not as strict and unbending as some have proclaimed him to be. He has become a God, who embraces our failures instead of demanding that we change. His love covers and engulfs all, therefore He is a God of inclusion and tolerance. He no longer demands his church to be holy, perfect, and without blame. Furthermore, those who preach the doctrines of righteousness, oneness, perfection, and holiness, are labeled as judgmental.
By making God tolerant of sin, these ministers of satan, have convinced the Body of Christ of this new God. They have reshaped the character of God and his Christ. And many saints have accepted a God who now shares many of the attributes of the devil. As individuals, they have become very tolerant of their own sinful dispositions.
My daughter, Pastor Tanya Thomas, who pastors the largest church in our organization, offered an interesting question that begs to be answered.
She said, “Mom, explain to me how Christian women, who laud their godliness, can sit in fellowship with another Christian brother or minister who acts like them in gestures and mannerisms, and it does not vex their spirit? We are not talking about men and women in the world, but brothers and sisters in the household of faith. We’re talking about being in settings where most of the women act like men and the men act like women. How is it that so-called straight men or women, who sit in such environments, spirits are not vexed?” If the spirit is not vexed by
such an anti-Christ display, then the question truly is, why? Why can these women or men not discern that such is not God or godliness? Now let me be clear here, we’re not talking about saints interacting with sinners, but saints interacting with other saints who claim to be delivered from their past lifestyles. We’re talking about saints who prefer the attributes of their past lives.
When those of us, who are vexed, speak against such things, we are marked as judgmental and haters. And it is false clergymen, who have led the charge against righteousness. They stand in their pulpits and convince the saints that “wrong is right and right is wrong.” Those who are offended with those whom they might have once been spiritually accountable to, are the first to embrace such teachings. Others who are simply wanton and carnal-minded, also find the lie incredibly convenient. The blind is truly leading the blind and they both are heading for destruction. Yes, beloved, the church has indeed fallen away from the principles of the faith.
Nevertheless, I am by no means implying that we can’t interact with people who are not saved. But your disposition in the interaction is one of an intercessor. I am speaking of the remodeling of the household of faith. I speak of those who once knew God.
My son was telling me about a minister whom he once listened to. He is very well-known and preaches to a good-sized church. But he uses vulgar profanity consistently in his messages. But the people sit there and listen, through every service. Why does that not vex their spirit? If it’s a vexation to one saint, it ought to be a vexation to all saints. But the truth is, you have five hundred or more people that sit and listen to all that profanity every week. It is not a vexation to them, because the preacher has trained them to be tolerant of the attributes of Satan. Evil men and women ministering to the Body of Christ, have taken the attributes of Satan and made them a part of the personality of God. This ‘new god’ is very tolerant of profanity and those who use it. He may not be a homosexual, but he tolerates those who prefer to walk in the attributes of the opposite gender.
Now we have saints who have known God and his word, rethinking, and reconsidering that which they know the word itself condemns, just might be God. “Maybe all that I have known of God is a lie”. “Maybe this new god, who is a god of love, and tolerance, is the real god.”
What happened to these saints? The scripture is quite clear on this matter.
Romans 1:21-23
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man.
FEAR GOD
Circle the correct letter.
1.What is the goal of a saint?
A. To execute every vision that God has given to them
B. To make it in to heaven
C. To bring as many souls into the kingdom as possible
D. Both A and B
E. Both B and C
2.What is the great falling away?
A. The day Adam and Eve sinned against God
B. A time when many members of the body of Christ depart from the faith
C. The day of the rapture
3.Which of the following are negative effects of having a wrong perception of God?
A. Inability to discern the devil
B. Inability to discern your own spiritual disposition
C. A only
D. Both A and B
E. B only
I will give you another perfect example. I was talking to a couple of ministers who wanted to do something in ministry. I had been their leader for years. So, I asked the Lord, “What is your council?” The Lord didn’t waste words. He said, “They’re not ready yet. There’s no anointing; there are character issues that are detrimental to his people.” When there is no anointing, it is evident that God is not working with you in ministry.
You have to do what you do on your own. Furthermore, when God mentions our character issues as detrimental to His people, that places us in the same boat as Jesus placed the Pharisees.
Luke 11:52
52 Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered And so, I shared that with those ministers. I said, “Baby, God told me to tell you that you’re not yet ready for what you desire to do. And these are the reasons. But they had already decided that they were going forward regardless of what I said. In fact, they didn’t come to get my opinion; they came to inform me of their decision.
The Body of Christ must have leadership that contends for its soul. We must be leaders that care for the people of God - leaders who care whether you make it in or not. This situation caused me to see how much I truly cared for the people whom God has entrusted me. I genuinely care for the people I serve. I became fearful for them because I know the voice and the ways of the Lord. I also know that the scripture will not be broken. God placed a woe on those who hinder the souls seeking the kingdom. But when the heart is wanton, these warnings are ignored.
I simply passed on what the Lord had said to me. But there was much rebuttal, and even my knowledge of apostolic order was challenged. I
have birthed many children into the kingdom, and I have raised many who came as babes. I considered them all my children. Though sometimes they can be naughty or even disrespectful, I love them still and continue to pray for the mercies of God.
Before this, I counseled another couple whom everyone thought to be the following senior pastors of one of our works. But they, too, were not spiritually ready at the time. I told them that I would appoint them to work under the tutelage of another senior leader until the Lord declared them fit to move forward in the pastorate. They said, okay. Simply, okay. There was no rebuttal because they trusted me as their leader. They complied and served under the other minister. I watched them evolve with discipleship, and they came forth as senior pastors of a new work and went on to become bishops. God vindicates righteousness. A sure way to tell whether a minister believes the word of God or not is his steadfastness in scripture and the voice of God. If you believe the scripture cannot be broken, you will stand fast in what it says. Likewise, if God has indeed spoken to you, nothing should deter you from that visitation. In the previous chapter, we talked about waiting on your ministry. In the example I cited, the couple was not willing to wait on their spiritual development. But there is a reason the following passage is written.
Romans 12:7-8
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation:
We must wait until our character is equal to the gift. Character is a manifestation of Christ. It is also the criteria for anointing. It is God that will work through us. It is His power that will overcome all the power of the enemy. But, waiting is never an option when there is a lust for ministry, even if God calls for it.
The couple in the example said to me, “We’re just going to do that which is in our hearts to do, and we are going to do it now.” One of them went on to say, “I’m going to adhere to all your teachings. Whatever is lacking, will be fixed while we are working the ministry.” Please note that there was no rebuttal regarding the things that needed fixing. The rebuttal came concerning the method God chose to fix them.
Come on, let’s get real. Many of us have been saved for years, under leadership and accountability, and we did not fix ourselves. And now we are going to work ministry without any accountability, and surely, we will fix all the ills of our character
– this is presumptuous behavior.
GOD CANNOT CHANGE
These ministers in the Body of Christ acknowledged the lack of anointing and character issues but decided to continue the course and timeline they had set for themselves. The problem was no longer about apostle and pastor disagreement; this is about leaders in the Body of Christ creating a ‘new god.’
This ‘new god’ is no longer absolute; neither does he know his own mind. This ‘new god’ that they serve is negotiable. He doesn’t just instruct with the expectation of obedience. His instructions are vulnerable to our discussions of them. This is a ‘new god.’ I don’t know him. I can’t trust him.
Nevertheless, the next task was to convince me of the mind of this ‘new god,’ that I, too, might worship him with my obedience and submission. Now right here is a very important principle. If you do not walk in the “...it is the norm to see arrogance and rage spewing out of the hearts of the brothers.”
Spirit, you can be easily seduced into following the whims of others. You, too, will change the character of the true and living God into something that is a figment of your imagination or your sentiments for those you love.
The Counsel of God is Immutable
Hebrews 6:17-18
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
Those who walk in the Spirit have strong consolation in the fact that they can trust that which God speaks and the fact that it will never change. His counsel is immutable; it changes not. Therefore, at the risk of offending people and the threat of the departure of those you love, you must hold fast to the word you know the infallible God spoke to you. Remember, God always vindicates righteousness.
When you don’t regard the word of the true and living God, you will follow a ‘new god,’ the god you create with wantonness. You will do the same thing Eve did. You will x-out the voice or word of the living God and replace it will the voice of your own will.
Because ministers can’t force God to work with them, nor can they force Him to reveal the mystery of Christ to their understanding, rather than repent and submit, they are forced now to worship the ‘new god’ of their imagination. He is the one that negotiates with them and always allows them to do things their way.
What is the motive for the counsel God gives that is not what we want to hear? His motives are perfection, holiness, and steadfastness. He is preparing us to deal with the real devil and all the devices he is using against the people of the world. But satan can only be defeated by righteousness and self-denial.
MAKE A NAME FOR THEMSELVES
moved, and resolve came into my spirit. I submitted to the will of my God, and he granted me ministry.
I was pliable in the hands of my God. I would easily bend to his will, regardless of how I looked or But when God puts a halt to our ministry, it is because he knows that we are not spiritually equipped to do battle with the devil. I recall all too vividly how God had his foot on me for at least twelve years. Although I might have been the best teacher in my environment, he did not grant me the liberty of starting my own ministry. I didn’t understand that. But I didn’t know that there were things I had not yet learned, and there were places in the will of God I had not yet walked.
Though I was incredibly frustrated during those years, he never let up. He held me in check as life’s experiences revealed my spiritual weaknesses. After I was beaten to the ground and made as weak as a ragdoll, I heard my Father say, “You will do it my way, or you won’t do it at all.” My heart They are not interested in being exalted in the eyes of men. They want the power of the Holy Ghost to flow through them like a river. They want the Father to manifest himself in every encounter with the powers of darkness.
THE TRUE SONS OF GOD ARE NOT TRYING TO SET UP PLATFORMS TO WE ARE THE SONS
what I lost. I would love his people and seek nothing from them beyond righteousness.
He always vindicates his word. Always. If God says something, he’s going to prove it. Now, if there’s controversy, meaning someone is right, and someone is wrong. God will prove whatever he has said through the mouth of his servants. Regardless of who is right or wrong, God will render encouragement to the truthbearer and a rod of chastening to the unbeliever. He would do a disservice to both parties if he did not vindicate his word. He is a good and faithful Father.
Because I waited, I was allowed to see my weaknesses and vulnerabilities the enemy would have used to destroy the people He sent me to save. I thank God for not allowing me to continue. I would have been destructive and a huge stumbling block to the people of God. I praise the Father for His wisdom and chastening. I praise the Lord for making me wait.
Circle the correct letter.
1. Who in the church of today can be Likened to the pharisees in the this scripture?
(Luke 11:52 - Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.)
A. Pastors who don’t attend churches that believe in apostolic order
B. Ministers with character issues that are detrimental to God’s people
C. Both A and B
2. What does it mean to wait on your ministry?
A. To wait until your character is equal to your gift
B. To wait until you have learned enough about what to do in different ministry scenarios
C. To wait until your pastor or Bishop says it’s ok to minister.\
3. Why would a minister continue in ministry despite not having the right character?
A. Their desire to glorify God
B. Their love for people
C. A lust for ministry