Traduction du livre “what god looks for in his vessel” de Gbilé AKANNI

God is judicious with heavenly resources.When there are no hands to handle

such resources, they will waste. Rain is good but if there are no containers to
collect it, it will not only waste, but also cause erosion.It will create gullies and
wash away even the little things that one already has. God is withholding
revival, not because He does not want it but because He has not found hands
that can handle it./
In the book of Genesis 2: 4-7, as long as there was no man to till the ground,
God withheld the rain. It was after God formed the man that He began to
release rain. While the man was not yet formed, God arranged that a mist
should arise from the earth to at least water the ground(vs6)./
Whenever usable men are not available, God makes a kind of make-shift
arrangement to maintain a form of godliness by providing a mist. There are
ministries already going on today, but the best way to describbsence of rain!/
Much of jesus' work on earth was to produce usable men. Paul did the same.
And he told Timothy to commit what he (Paul) had taught him to faithful men
who would be able to teach others also./
Again, God''s need of usable men is because every man will produce after his
own kind. Men who are in leadership have a strong influence upon the people. A
churchis usually not holier than the holiness of her pastor and a Church does not
become more evangelical than the evangelistic fervor of her pastor or elders./
The obedience of the congregation is also directly proportional to the obedience
of its leadership. Life begets life. When you have a pastor that is worldly, he can
only produce a worldly congregation. God, therefore, sees it as an important
thing that those he will use must become his correct specimens./
This is not just about preaching right. You may be careful to preach the bible,
but what you will eventually produce is ‘you’. The genetic connection between
parents and their children is a very serious issue. Though invisible, it is very
strong. It does not only happen with physical parenting; it is also true of spiritual
parenting./
That is why God does not rush to appoint men into spiritual leadership. Men in
spiritual ministry do not just preach the gospel, they produce men after their
own kind. If your life is not right, then you will contaminate the Church by
perpetuating your Kind./
A servant of God does not only touch the work of God, he becomes a part of that
work. So God’s consideration is Whether He can allow the life of this man He
wants to use, to become a part of what he wants to do eternally. Ministry,
therefore, is not first of all an activity; it is a life! One’s character trait multiplies
when it passes into other lives./
After Jesus resurrected ( John 21: 1-3 ) Peter, the leader among the disciples
simply said: “ I am going fishing” Automatically, almost without thinking, six of
the disciples said, “We are going with you also” A leader does not need to say,
“Follow me” before people do what they see him do. Who else could go when
Peter had denied Christ? /
There is therefore, a need for God to be meticulous in looking for the man to use
because once a man is projected by god Into leadership, his influence on the
followers is difficult to cancel. God is ‘afraid’ of releasing His power to men
because He is ‘afraid’ of releasing His power to men he is ‘afraid’ of their kind.
The pertinent question therefore is, If we leave you to produce after your own
kind, will God be satisfied?/

WHAT ATTRACT GOD TO A MAN

“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a
man after his own heart, and the lord has commanded him to be commander
over his people, because you have not kept what the lord commanded you’’
1 Sam 13:14
“ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify
yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice”. Then he consecrated Jesse and
his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice.
So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the lord’s
anointed is before him.”
But the lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of
his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;
for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Sam 16: 5-7
“This Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to
Jesse, “The lord has not chosen these.”
And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There
remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said
to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.”
So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-
looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him for this is the one!”
Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers;
and the spirit of the lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel
arose and went to Ramah.
1 Sam 16: 10-13
NOT AN EMERGENCY SANCTIFICATION
Every time god is looking for a man to use, He does not jump on the first man He
sees. He looks first, for something in the man He considers valuable.
It is clear from 1 Samuel 13 that God was planning to replace Saul. Samuel had
declared that God had found a man after His own heart. But it was until chapter
16 that the man was identified and anointed.
In verses 5-9 of chapter 16 when all the elder sons of Jesse were being
considered, they had to be taken through a crash program of sanctification in
order for them to qualify to come to the sacrifice- “ Sanctify yourselves, and
come….”
But that sanctification obviously did not satisfy God and consequently did not
qualify them for the throne.
What God looks for in the man He uses is not a crisis holiness. What qualifies a
man for divine approval is not something that can be quickly acquired or worked
up on an emergency basis.
I know that for many people, if they are suddenly invited to go and preach
somewhere, they would go through such a crash program. If there was an
unresolved quarrel between them and somebody else that could become a
problem, they would say “No, no! I have a message. I am on assignment.” They
would quickly resolve it and be meticulously holy because of preaching
engagement ahead. God does not really look for men who work up their
holiness because there is a work to be done. That is not what God looks for.
There is probably a place for crash programs, but it is not very important in
God’s consideration of the man He wants to use. If you desire that God should
use you, start living a correct life today.
The men God uses are those He can pick without prior notice and their lives will
still be correct. Whereas the seven older sons of Jesse here had time to sanctify
themselves, and wear a religious garb, David did not have such a time. He was in
the field when the man of God came and as soon as he arrived at his father’s
summons, he was anointed.
He was ‘anointable’ on arrival! God did not need to order a physical outward
sanctification by saying… “go wash him before you can anoint him” or “Change
his garment before he can come to the altar”. He was already sanctified
inwardly, right in the heart. He was such a man that even in the bush, where
nobody was (to supervise him), he was still living right.
David was not like several people today that are only serious because of a post
they are clinging to in the church. If you remove them from that post they will
immediately find a reason to backslide. Such a person may think quietly in his
heart, “So why do I have to be serious again? What I was even doing for God,
has been removed from me. Why do I have to be very prayerful?” He will no
longer go for bible study. As far as he is concerned, since he is no longer a Bible
study leader, why should he be there?
Now that you seek to be used of God, has hiliness become your lifestyle? Do you
know that when God is considering a man for His use, He peeps into his family
life? He would be asking, “What is his relationship with his wife?” When a man’s
story is not straight, God will say, “No, we cannot use this man.”
You must have noted that though these sons of Jesse were prepared by that
crash program of holiness, they still did not impress God. I have a prayer I pray
for myself. It is to be a man that is always ready for God to call upon any time
and anywhere, for a divine assignment.
My primary assignment and first emphasis is just to be a Christian. Preaching, for
me, is a secondary assignment. This may look a very trivial statement. And
someone may say, ‘but we are all Christian’. I know. But I want to always be a
Christian.
I desire that when men see me, the first thing that should strike them about me
should not be that I am a preacher but that I am a “Christ-like person.” I want to
be in a place where, even though I am not known, not advertised, yet my life is
so striking to men to the point that they can say, “Yes! This man has been with
Jesus.” This is more important to God. It should be important to you too.
NOT MERE HUMAN APPROVAL
I do not know how Eliab appeared that day that even the man of God was
confused. Samuel was such a proven man of God that even the servant of Saul
confessed as they went looking for the ass that whatever he said came to pass.
But that day, Samuel was going to make a mistake with Eliab. The Bible says:
“And it came to pass when they had come, he (Samuel) looked at Eliab and said
‘Surely…’
If he did not use the word ‘Surely’, I would not have worried. By using the word
‘surely’ he meant “certainly, without any doubt, this is the man.” I do not know
what he saw that confused him. Note, however, that even though a prophet (a
notable prophet) may be confused about your personality, God will not be.
An approval into ministry is not first an appointment by your church or by men.
If it is man that placed you in ministry, that man can remove you. How I pray
that you will press beyond human appointment and get a divine recognition for
your life.
You are probably a minister or a pastor today; I thank God for that. But please
note that you have a critical need if you will succeed in what God has called you
to do:… you need to personally pursue God to the point that your calling into
ministry can be confirmed even if the church organization you serve, relieves
you of your duties.
A man that has received a divine approval from heaven cannot be threatened.
You cannot sack him. People can say, “No, we don’t want him here again,” but it
will not affect him. Why? God has approved him. I want you to press on to
possess a personal relationship with God in your life.
Make sure you are not just living under the shadow of your President or coasting
along because of size or type of congregation you pastor. It is possible some
people are coming to your church today, not because of you. They may have
another reason for coming.
It will be all right if you keep growing. But if you do not and you settle on a false
confidence based on the number of people in your congregation, the day you
are thrown out, you will end up in a vacuum since your personal life does not
command any personal following.
Press on, in your secret relationship with God, until He can approve your life.
When a man has got a heavenly approval, it does not matter where he lives. As
far as I am concerned, an anointed man has no problem with location. If a man
has God’s approval and anointing on his life and God leads him to settle even in
the bush, men will definitely go there. The rule of the game is:
“ For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”
Matt.24:28
NOT ON PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
He said to Samuel, “Look not on his countenance. So please, note! God is not
particularly concerned about a man’s countenance or stature before He places
on him an anointing that confirms him in His work. Do not judge a man by his
face. Anointing is not on the face, neither is it on the suit!
Strangely, instead of pursuing what matters to God: a correct heart; I see
ministers of nowadays pursuing excellence in physical appearance. But that is
not what God looks for in the men He raises for others to follow.
I obviously do not mean that ministers should wear rags. That would be odd.
God in not honored by even appearing unkempt. That is not the issue. But you
need to know that a man’s stature, his dressing or his physical appearance are
not God’s primary consideration in placing divine approval on his life
BUT YOUR HEART CONDITION
“. . . because I have refused him For the lord does not see as man sees; for man
looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Sam.16:7b
Look at that Scripture again: “I have refused him”. That was a man of whom the
man of God had said; “Surely he’s the Lord’s anointed”. But hear the heavenly
verdict: “I have refused him” Another version says “I have rejected him” If God
were to put His finger on your life for specific assignment in this end-time, issue
that concerns Him will be the condition of your heart.
“The heart is deceitful above all thigs, and desperately wicked, who can know
it?” Jer.17:9
It is possible to sit and discuss with people in a meeting and while they are
nodding their heads as if they are following or agreeing with you, their heart
may be very far from being with you. They may actually be thinking of doing
something else, completely opposite your position.
Jesus once had an invitation to eat it one’s Simon’s house. As they sat to eat, on
woman (a harlot, an obvious sinner) came in. She started weeping at Jesus’ feet,
using her tears to wash His feet and her hair to clean them. While she did this,
Jesus and the owner of the house were busy talking.
The man was outwardly discussing with Jesus, but in his heart. He was saying
something else. Let me paraphrase:
“ If This man were a real prophet and not just a fake, look at this kind of woman
and what she is doing to Him. Hmn…, Man of God!”
He did not know Jesus had the ability to know what he was saying in his heart.
Jesus who wanted to puncture his thought suddenly answered him out loud …
Simon!
Yes sir!
When I came to your house, did you give Me water to wash My feet?
He must have said in his heart; “Oh, that was an omission But Jesus turned to
the woman and said to Simon …
“Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for my
feet,but she has washed my feet with her tears and wiped them with her tears
and wiped them with the hair of her head.
You gave Me no Kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the
time I came in.
You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with
fragrant oil.
Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved
much…..” Luke 7: 44-47
As Jesus said that, the story ended there. He did not say anything further. What
was Jesus dealing with? He Knew Simon’s heart. Now because God’s
consideration of the man He use is first and foremost the heart, I pray your own
consideration would also be the state of your heart.
What is the condition of your heart? What goes on in your own heart? Is your
heart right with God? Have your affections been nailed to the cross? Are you
internally converted? What is your heart condition? This is not what anybody
could talk to you about as a leader, but that is what God looks for.
When Gideon gathered thousands of people to go and fight the Midianites
(Judg. 7: 1-7), God rejected them? God came to Gideon and asked…
“Who are these people with you?”
Gideon must have said…
“They are the Lord’s hosts, going to fight for us.”
But God saw into their hearts and said,
“These people? No, I cannot go with them! These will vaunt themselves against
Me and they will say my hand delivered me”
Even though they had not yet said anything like that; but God already saw what
their hearts would say.
Sometimes God does not pick a man for His service, not because of what wrong
that man has already done but because of certain tendencies in that man’s life…
because of what things the is likely to do in the future, which God has already
seen.
That is more fearful for me. God already sees what your life is going to become if
He should give you an anointing that will bring a breakthrough.
If He sees a man that will vaunt himself against Him, He will say, “Let’s peg him.
Let’s peg his development because we don’t trust what his heart will do when
we give him a breakthrough.”
Jesus teaching his disciples about principles that would make them effective,
said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see the LORD”. Friend what is
your heart condition?
If God were to only look on the physical appearance, it would have been all right
because many people appear very gentle and zealous on the outside. When we
as men look on you from the outside, we may easily see a man to praise God for,
but what does God say about you ?
God know whether you are in the ministry just to make a good living out of it.
He knows your quiet attitude towards money that makes you press on. As you
keep on saying, “Yes everything will hold tenaciously to power if he gives them a
little taste of it. He knows what they would do with it.
There are brother that God seems to regret over their lives today. You
remember how God regretted over Saul. So I keep praying for myself that God,
will never have a reason to regret that He exposed me to the ministry and
identified my life and my name with His work.”
I remember many years ago, I was crying to God for anointing. I had contracted
a burden for God to revive His church. I used to ask, “Is it impossible, O God, for
you to raise men in our land who will teach and get your people back on their
knees?”
After many years of such praying again when he said something that baffled me
He said “Yes, I have heard you and I will use you, but I’m reluctant yet because I
abhor betrayal of trust. I have put my power in the hands of many people before
you but they have betrayed my trust. Even if I will use you I will first of all test
you by putting you on probation
After twelve years, of continual preaching from one village to another; from one
meeting, one conference, one campus