UNDERSTANDING THE STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

INTRODUCTION
UNDERSTANDING THE STRENGTH OF CHARACTER

For more than thirty years of my born-again Christian life, I have wondered why a lot of ministers and ministries doesn’t enjoy sustainable success. There are a lot of hic-cups and devaluation in the life of believers. Many preachers start well and make reasonable impacts only for a short time. As I ruminate on these challenges, the need to write this book on the importance of building formidable character came to me. Although in the time past I had written a book on ministerial integrity, I think there is more to talk about in this controversial millennium when the love of many is waxing cold. It is not possible to separate what men will become from the way they live. It is not also possible to separate how long a man will last in ministry from his spiritual and mental separation and preparation. The foundation that bears us is meant to determine how firmly we stand. Building rich and strong character is meant to preserve our lives and ministries. It is very pathetic that sometimes men of God ignore the need to build strong character because of their inordinate desire for quick success. It is very precarious to raise a building on a foundation that is not properly built. The value of every life is in the strength of its character. Any life that is not protected through its character will definitely destroy itself. Nobody should be trusted beyond the strength of his character. However, because of the desire to manifest the power and gifts of God, a lot of Pentecostal and charismatic groups neglect the need to build themselves. It is wrong for people to lose trust in their leaders. Leadership is all about trust and any life that is not properly built can’t be trusted. Because of the strength and effort it takes to develop strong character, a lot of people ignore the need to invest their strength in it. When I discovered how important the virtues of patience and tolerance are in my life and ministry, I took time to develop it. If you ignore the character flaws you have in chase of ministerial success, weakness will eventually destroy your labour and efforts. Building a strong character is a gift you must give yourself. Your character is you and you are your character. Every tree is known from the fruit it produces. Corrupt trees will naturally produce corrupt fruits while good trees will produce good fruits. One of the ways to know how far a man will go in life and ministry is in how he reacts to the need to develop strong character. If character is meant to moderate the effort and sustainability of every endeavour of our lives, I think we should do the first thing first. Don’t give the deceiver chance to steal your destiny. Since character is what is meant to connect men to their destinies, nobody can enjoy rich attention without a properly built character. Because there are many things that look like themselves, God needs time and patience to separate things. The only life we have is meant to introduce its nature and value through its fruit. Discovering the kind of life we have is meant to help us to know the kind of fruits we are meant to bear. The earth is a place of harvest where men are expected to depend on the fruits of their character to establish the purpose of God for their lives. If you are a man of God who is reading this book, the advice of this book is for you not to build your ministry on charismatics or excessive gift manifestation. In fact, I have functioned in the prophetic office for about twenty-three years but I know the pit falls of lives that are not properly built on solid character. I think this book is one of the most liberal gifts I have given to you. It took me a lot of years of meditative reading, studying, observation and being directly involved in some failed and successful endeavors to able to write this book. Because I wrote this book from the gain of pain and deep/practical experiences, I would like you to read it meditatively.

Thank you for reading.