The Ministerial Authority by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Calling Versus Sending

Ministerial authority begins with one of the most misunderstood distinctions in the Kingdom — the difference between being called and being sent. Mark 3:14 says Jesus ordained twelve, first that they might be with him, and then that he might send them out. Being called is not the same as being sent. Many enter ministry before their season of commissioning, and the result is a journey full of unnecessary strain and injury.

The Components of a Genuine Sending

When a man or woman is truly sent by God, four things accompany that sending.

1. A Clear Mandate

   The sent one receives a specific assignment — not a vague sense of purpose but a definite word about what they are commissioned to accomplish. Empowerment belongs to the mandate, not to the person alone. Moses was given power not because he was Moses but because God sent him. The rod of Moses became the rod of God. Those who send themselves struggle because no empowerment follows a self-appointment.

2. Empowerment

   When God commissions, he equips. Exodus 4:2-5 shows God turning a rod into a serpent and back again — not to entertain Moses but to demonstrate that his authority would be backed by power. This is why ministry is hard but not impossible. Grace sustains those who are sent. Moses went before Pharaoh without a single natural credential and compelled a nation. He was empowered because he was sent.

3. Location

   God tells the sent one where to go. Exodus 9:1 — Go to Pharaoh. Precise. Acts 1:8 — Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, then the uttermost parts. Even Jesus, whose ministry touched the whole world, began somewhere specific: Matthew 4:14 — Zebulun, Naphtali, Galilee of the Gentiles. Every ministry with global reach starts with a God-given location. Wandering ministers are unsent ministers. John the Baptist was sent to immerse people in water — not as ritual but as a spirit-inspired strategy to identify the Messiah. John 1:33 records that even his unusual method was given by the one who sent him.

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4. A Spirit-Inspired Strategy

   Others may inspire and instruct, but every sent minister receives their own approach. Jonah's strategy was to cry over a city — and the whole city, including the animals, repented. Jonah 1:2. Hosea was sent to marry a harlot as a living message to Israel. These are not frameworks copied from successful ministries. They are impressions from the Spirit that, when obeyed, produce undeniable fruit.

The Season of Commissioning

Beyond the calling and the preparation is a season of commissioning — a moment when the Spirit pushes the minister outward. Acts 13:1-3 shows Paul, already called, still waiting within the church at Antioch until the Holy Ghost said: Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. They fasted, prayed, laid hands, and sent them away. This is where ordination originates — not merely confirming a calling, but imparting grace for the assignment ahead.

Paul himself maintained that his message came directly from Jesus (Galatians 1:1), yet he submitted to the church's commissioning. After fourteen years he still returned to the apostles in Jerusalem to present his teaching for examination (Galatians 2:1). What looks like arrogance in the immature — bypassing accountability — is actually the posture that kills ministry. Hands were laid on Paul. Paul laid hands on Timothy (2 Timothy 1:6, 1 Timothy 4:14). Laying on of hands imparts grace alongside confirming the call.

The Basis of Ministerial Authority

Once sent, authority operates on six foundations.

1. God Who Instituted the Offices

   Romans 13:1 says there is no authority except from God. Ephesians 4:8-11 records that when Jesus ascended, he gave gifts — apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. The authority of a minister is therefore not personal. It is the authority of the one who ordained the office. To recognise a minister is to recognise God in a man.

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Apostle Michael Orokpo
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2. Scripture

   Hebrews 13:17 commands believers to obey those who have rule over them. Scripture legitimises and limits ministerial authority simultaneously. A minister has authority to the degree that scripture permits — no further. Anything outside that boundary is flesh, not anointing.

3. The Calling of God

   Hebrews 5:4 — No man takes this honour to himself but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Jeremiah 1:5 — Before you were formed, I ordained you a prophet. The calling itself becomes a credential before God and before creation.

4. Moral Character

   When a minister loses morality, they lose authority. 1 Timothy 3:1-7 lists the character requirements — blameless, husband of one wife, not given to wine, not violent, not covetous. The soul of a minister transmits to those they serve. A minister living in sin will activate the same patterns in their congregation without anyone understanding why. Moral compromise is not a private matter for a minister.

5. Manifestations of the Spirit

   2 Corinthians 12:12 — The signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience: signs, wonders, and mighty deeds. The Holy Ghost validates the office with undeniable fruit. Acts 5:12 — By the hands of the apostles were many signs and wonders wrought.

6. Fruitfulness and Sound Doctrine

   Ephesians 4:11-14 — The five-fold ministry was given to equip the saints and ground them in truth. A minister who cannot ground believers cannot hold authority. Truth is absolute but revelation is progressive — error during growth is different from stubborn or wilful departure from the word. 2 Timothy 2:15 — Study to show yourself approved, rightly dividing the word of truth.

How Ministerial Authority Is Exercised

1. Equipping and Edifying

2 Corinthians 10:8 — Paul says if he is to boast, it will be in the authority given him for edification. Ministerial authority is not control. It is the capacity to build people from spiritual infancy to maturity. Phrases carry breakthrough. Declarations open destiny. An office that cannot grow people has no grounds for demanding submission.

Equipping happens three ways:

• Through teaching and instruction — 2 Timothy 4:1-4. Preach the word, reprove, rebuke, exhort.
• Through impartation — Romans 1:11. Paul longed to impart a spiritual gift to establish the Romans. Truth can be transmitted as a body of spirit, not only through cognition. There are services where nothing is clearly articulated yet people leave full — that is impartation at work.
• Through example — Philippians 4:9. The things you have learned, received, heard, and seen in me — do them. Simplicity, generosity, prayerfulness, consecration: these are the curriculum of a minister's life.

2. Bringing Spiritual Covering

Covering comes through:

• Doctrine — Truth preserves. Acts 20:32 — Paul commits the church to God and the word of his grace, which is able to build and give inheritance.
• Intercession — Luke 22:31 — Jesus told Peter that Satan desired to sift him as wheat, but that he had prayed for him. The intercession of a minister is a spiritual shield over congregants.
• Instructions — When prophetic instruction is given — a fast, a prayer commitment, a period of giving — obedience to that instruction places the believer under a covering they cannot otherwise access. Hebrews 13:17. Disobeying prophetic instruction withdraws that protection.
• Decrees and prophecies — Numbers 6:23-26. God told Aaron to bless the children of Israel. The priestly blessing is not a church cliché. It is a system of preservation.

3. Discipline

1 Corinthians 4:21 — Paul asks the Corinthian church whether he should come with a rod or in love. Discipline is biblical and necessary. Hebrews 12:6-8 — Every son whom the father receives, he chastens. A minister may suspend someone from responsibility, give them a demanding assignment, or confront them through the word. But all discipline must be justified by scripture, done with love, and aimed at restoration — not destruction.

4. Accountability

The minister is charged by the Holy Ghost to take heed to the flock (Acts 20:28). They will give account for souls. This gives authority to demand accountability — in finances, in service, in conduct. Money given to the Lord's work is not merely money; it is faith and worship in tangible form. A minister who handles such resources carelessly touches something sacred.

5. Blessing

Balaam, even in his compromise, understood: I have received a commandment to bless and not to curse. The primary jurisdiction of a minister is blessing. A minister who has ten thousand in their congregation but cannot point to one person healed, one person delivered, one life transformed — yet claims power through threatening — has abdicated the mandate.

In the name of Jesus — you shall rise and not fall. Death shall not know your house. Let your hands prosper. Let the works of your hands prosper. May the Lord bring unto you honourable relationships. Every reproach is rolled away. Every curse is broken. The yoke is destroyed because of the anointing. Your paths are straight. You are the head and not the tail. Be fruitful, multiply, replenish, subdue the earth, and have dominion.