Wednesday January 21st, 2026
« This is a true saying: If a person is eager to be a church leader, he desires an excellent work »
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-10NLT
1 You yourselves know, dear brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not a failure.
2 You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition.
3 So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery.
4 For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.
5 Never once did we try to win you with flattery, as you well know. And God is our witness that we were not pretending to be your friends just to get your money!
6 As for human praise, we have never sought it from you or anyone else.
7 As apostles of Christ we certainly had a right to make some demands of you, but instead we were like children among you. Or we were like a mother feeding and caring for her own children.
8 We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
9 Don’t you remember, dear brothers and sisters, how hard we worked among you? Night and day we toiled to earn a living so that we would not be a burden to any of you as we preached God’s Good News to you.
10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.
When I see Christians celebrating because they have been promoted to higher positions of influence in God’s kingdom, I wonder if they really know what serving God is about.
When someone is promoted from leading 10 people to leading 100 people in God’s kingdom, such an individual should be sober.
- This is because the demons that will be posted to bring him or her down will not only increase in number but also in rank.
Also, he or she will become accountable to God for more people.
It is tough enough to be accountable for one person, let alone multiple people.
When Joshua was promoted to become the national leader of Israel, God had to tell him multiple times to be courageous.
Why then do people celebrate when they are given greater assignments in the kingdom ?
Could it be because their focus is not on the work but on the prestige and benefits that come with the new office?
- If God puts you in charge of the souls of men, you must recognise that at the end of your life here on earth, you will give account to God for every soul that He put in your care. In John 17:12NKJV, Jesus said
« While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled »
If Jesus could give an account of the people in His care while He was on the earth, how much more His disciples?
This is why James 3:1 says that the judgement for those who are leaders in His kingdom will be greater than that of others.
Therefore, the more people you are teaching the word of God and discipling, the more people you will have to account for.
- This invariably means that when God promotes you, you have to work, fast, and pray more.
When I was pastoring just a few people within one state in Nigeria, I used to sleep all night. During this period, one day, I saw my Father-in-the-Lord praying all night, and I was worried. In the morning, I asked him if all was well. He laughed and told me that I would understand later. Now, I understand because all-night prayers have also become my lifestyle.
When you serve God, He will promote you, however, you must take the promotion as an opportunity to work harder.
Application – The meaning of promotion in God’s kingdom is more work and sacrifices.
Author – Bishop Enoch Adejare Adeboye; General Overseer of the RCCG
Posted by Naomie Joseph
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Freely you received, freely you must give (Math 10:8) , kindly share this devotion, and the Lord will bless you for it.
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