Your Call
When explaining faith Paul wrote,
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15)
In Christian circles people wait to be “called” to ministry. What that means is never really explained, so I think many of us wait for a “Damascus Road” kind of moment:
As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:3-6).
And to be sure, that would be cool- but I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess most ministries don’t start like that. But while reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit showed me that our “call” has already been issued.
I’m going to start with the assumption that you’ve read the Bible. If you haven’t…well what are you waiting for? The Bible notes, “
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). You don’t need a physical book to do it, there’s plenty of Bibles online or in an app form. Your faith should be built on Biblical foundations. Anyway, with that assumption in mind, Paul continued,
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For a time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, do suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Timothy 4:1-5).
We are called to persevere in our faith, our lives, and our teaching. If you’ve read this passage, consider yourself called. I don’t know what form your personal ministry will take- but you have been called.
“But I’m unqualified!” In terms of knowledge, training, and experience you absolutely might be. But that’s not how the economics of heaven work. You might not fight the bill in man’s eyes, but we’re not ministers of man. We read,
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
It’s one’s heart and faith that God looks at- the other stuff he’ll provide as needed. Think about the original apostles. History records, “
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). Peter and John were just dudes. But perhaps there’s an example of someone even more unqualified:
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 18:24-28).
To put this into better context, Apollos know the Old Testament well, but his understanding of New Testament theology was basically nil when they found him preaching about Jesus- keep in mind he didn’t have the gospel books and Paul’s letters as a reference- but you know what he did have? Faith…and balls. Apollos boldly spoke about something he barely understood- but he was considered a top-level preacher of his time. Paul even gave him a shout-out later by writing,
What, after all is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).
Paul noted that both he and Apollos were just mouth pieces for God to get his work done- as are we all. “But I don’t know what to say.” That’s fine, neither do I most of the time. The content of these articles mostly come as I’m writing them. But I trust that when I need it, God will deliver. Why? Jesus explained,
When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say (Luke 12:11-12).
Our savior has promised to provide what we need in our ministries. If you claim to believe in Jesus then you need to believe his promises. So ask him what you can do!
History records,
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9:35-38).
There are a lot of people in the world and we only make up a small percentage- learn your Bible, pray about how you can minister to others, and then get out and do it! We are told,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).
The Holy Spirit in our lives is our call. Welcome to the priesthood!
…Now before you run out the door I do need to rein things in a bit. Paul noted the importance of sound doctrine and he also wrote, “
Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Timothy 4:16). Being called is not being given carte blanche to push your own ideas. And you need to be willing to be called wrong by God. The Bible tells us,
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength (1 Corinthians 1:20-25).
Our words need to be based in Scripture. So read, read, read! You can start preaching today- but be ready to have your doctrine adjusted by the Lord as you go. There’s no shame in that, Apollos didn’t even know about the Holy Spirit when he started.
We are told,
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20).
So get out there! And may the Lord instruct your tongue and your heart!
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