The Call
THE CALL
Greetings brothers and sisters, grace and peace to you in the name of God our Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. I thank God for giving me this opportunity to Share His word with you. Lord, Please help me explain the content of your word in such a way that others are able to receive what is being expressed and apply it to their lives. Father for those who don’t know Christ concerning the forgiveness of their sin, open there hearts and minds that something said will help them understand and come to Christ. Lord, I know that your word will not come back void. thank you, Father, in Jesus name Amen.
https://fromtimetoeternity.com/the-call/
Being called by God for a specific ministry can be very gratifying. God has a purpose for everyone’s life, the problem is we have trouble discerning just what that purpose is. Our task is to find out just what it is God wants us to do. There are so many areas in the church where workers are needed. One of the ways we can find out what it is God wants us to do is by getting involved in the work that available. God gives gifts to people in two ways. One way God gives special gifts to people is through our parents at the time of natural birth. This is where you find some people very talented and it defies all logic. These are called natural gifts or talents. Then there are supernatural gifts spiritual in nature. God give people spiritual gifts when they are born again in Christ. to equip the church so that the church can operate with maximum efficiency, for the health and edification of the church and the glory of God. These gifts are spiritual God gave some to be teachers, missionaries, singers, deacons, counselors, prophets, and Pastors, administrators, missionaries. Paul speaks about this in the book of 1 Cor. 12:27-31.
There is nothing more fulfilling than participating in the work of the church, however, there are some dangers. Participating in the work of the church is not to take the place of worshiping God. Some people go to work in the church and haven’t been saved. Some people that are saved get so involved in the work of the church they neglect the worship of God. This is dangerous because some people think that because of the work they are doing they are saved. This is called salvation by works, or legalism. Paul speaks about this in Roman 3 :20 where he said no man shall be justified before God by the works of the Law. The only work that is acceptable by God for the salvation of the world, is the work of His Son. God in His great wisdom and mercy has provided us with His Son, who is the only one that is able to redeem us from sin. Satan has placed in the mind of man the idea that somehow if we can do good enough, work hard enough, God has to forgive us. This is the logic: when God compares our Good to our evil, He will see that the good outweighs the evil. Based on these finding God has to declare us righteous. This logic is erroneous, God is not obligated to anyone. This is why it is important that the pastor is observant to make sure to the best of his ability that everyone working in the church is saved. How awful it would be for someone to die and go to hell after giving so much of themselves to the church thinking they are saved and they are not.
There are people that want to make sure they have been called. Even though they feel a strong sense of God’s presence surrounding them and everything seem to confirm it. Some people that are called want to be sure that it is God calling, and that they are not calling themselves. With the call, there is much responsibility. Some people are afraid to answer the call. because they have no confidence in their ability to the job. That’s what is so wonderful about this call, If the call is from God, you can place your trust in Him and not in yourself and God Will make you successful. Once you know it is God who is calling you must answer the call. It would be very difficult for you to live without doing so.
The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those Days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. one night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple” of the lord, where the ark of the lord was. Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, “Here I am. And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” But Eli said, ” I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. Again the Lord called, “Samuel” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.” My son” Eli said. “I did not call; go back and lie down.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. The Lord called Samuel a third time and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me”. Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel told Samuel “Go and lie down, and if he calls you say, “Speak, Lord for your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there, calling us at the other times, “Samuel Samuel. Then Samuel said “Speak for your servant is listening (1Sam 3:1-10).
The two highest offices in the church are elder and deacon. Just because a man desire to be a deacon or an elder doesn’t mean that he has been called. Just as most jobs in the world, in order to fill these positions a man must have the qualification which is listed in (1 Tim 3:1-13 ). There must be evidence that the person meets these qualifications. The scripture says if a man that desire to be in these positions. they desire a good thing. The scripture does not say that if a man desire to be a bishop or deacon God has called them. A man must show evidence and meet the qualifications and be validated by the church. They must undergo examination. the church must not be too quick about confirming one to be a deacon or elder without evidence. we must look at the fruit. Jesus spoke of examining the fruit when He spoke about a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit (Matt 7:17,18 ). There is a reason God put these qualifications in the Bible. God did not leave it up to us to make exceptions. The word of God must be obeyed no matter what, we must be as confident as possible that the person has been Called.
A person that believes he or she has received the call from God. should take that concern to the pastor. The pastor will help that person in distinguishing where the call came from, God or self, or other. The Pastor will nurture a relationship with the individual that will allow him to observe whether the call is true or not. Once the pastor believes that the call is authentic, he will take the necessary steps to prepare the candidate for the ministry. The candidate must believe and understand that the pastor of the church gets His directions and vision from Christ. No one in the church deacons, associate pastors, or any other ministry in the church is to usurp authority to implement their own vision in the church without the pastor’s permission, he is held responsible before God. God will not lead the pastor of the church in one direction and lead the apprentice or associate ministers in another. Think of it like this, Christ is the Head of the body which is the church (Col 1:18). Just as with Eli and Samuel when God is ready He will let the apprentice and or the church know as well as the pastor, that it is time for him to retire. The deacons receive their instructions, and authority from the pastor to serve the body, not to rule over the body but to help the pastor serve the body of the church, It is important that the deacon meet the qualifications set in (1 Tim 3). God placed these instructions in the Bible to help us to identify whether a person has been called or not. If we are careful to follow these instructions God will enable us to identify the false prophets or deacons. If a person does not meet these qualifications they are not to be installed in the church as a deacon or pastor. If we install a person based on anything other than the qualifications set forth by God the church will not be a church of God but a church of the world. God holds the pastor of the church responsible for leading the church. God holds the body of the church responsible for decisions they make, which is contrary to the instructions laid out in scripture.
My friends God can use anyone to achieve His purpose. God used a false prophet to deliver a message of blessing to the Children of Israel, Balaam was on the way to deliver a curse to Israel, but God told him to say only what He told him to say (Numbers: 23, 24 ). There is no compromise of God’s instructions, for example: It is not alright for the pastor to say to the young ladies or girls in the church” if you are going to get pregnant you ought to get something out of it” This is an outrage, God said that sex outside of marriage is a sin. The pastor of the church does not have the authority say otherwise. What should be said to them is if you are having sex outside of marriage you should stop asking God to forgive you, and give you strength to restrain your self until marriage. whether a person is obedient to God’s word is not the issue here. Disobedience to God’s word is an offense to God and is a sin, which is between the sinner and God. The Pastor is to say what God said concerning the matter. That is the proper way to lead young people into righteousness. It is not alright to sin. When you hear a pastor say something like that run! run! like Joseph in (Gen 39:11). He is not saying what thus said the Lord. God has been too good to you for that. We all have sinned, and Jesus died for our sin. We have no right to tell someone it is alright to sin as if it is something trivial. Sin is serious, it cost Christ His Life. We must ask God to forgive us and strengthen us to resist committing sin. My pastor always said we are Christians, saved from sin. We are not sinless, but we sin less.
My friends thank you for allowing me to share with you concerning being called by God. If you think God has called you, pray to God ask Him to reveal it to you. If you know God and you know His purpose for you, praise Him, and I hope that this message has encouraged you and increased your understanding Let me know blog my post. If you have not made the decision to become a Christian and I can help you, please allow me, God loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for our sin, all He asks is that you believe in Him and you will not perish but you will have everlasting life. Do you believe this Let me know blog my post?
God bless you
Rev. Reginald Stevens
