What Does the Bible Say About A Call to Ministry?
Beware the False Call of Satan.
Adam & Eve—“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (Genesis 3:1).
False Prophets—“Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, declares the LORD, and who tell them and lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or charge them. So they do not profit this people at all, declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:32)
False Teachers—“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” ( 2 Timothy 4:3b-4)
Anti-Christ—“Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son” ( 1 John 2:22).
2. Step Away from the Familiar when Called.
Abraham—“Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1).
3. Don’t Make Excuses when God Calls.
Moses—“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say” (Exodus 4:12).
4. Don’t Call Yourself.
Aaron—“No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was” (Hebrews 5:4).
5. Be Willing to Answer God’s Call without Qualifications.
Isaiah—“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8).
6. Don’t Run Away from God’s Call.
Jonah—“But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3).
7. Go to Whomever and Speak Whatever God Calls You To Do.
Jeremiah—“I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations….Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD…Behold, I have put my words in your mouth’" (Jeremiah 1:5-9).
8. Follow even when God’s Call is Difficult
Ezekiel—“he said to me, ‘Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me” (Ezekiel 2:3).
9. God’s Call Means He Chose You & Appoint You to Bear Fruit.
Disciples Chosen—“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last” (John 15:16).
10. Answer God’s Dangerous Call.
Sending of the Twelve—“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town… I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:14, 16).
11. Do Not Doubt God’s Call.
Peter—“’Lord, if it's you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ’Come,’ he said… Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. ‘You of little faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’“ (Matthew 14:28-29a,31).
12. God’s Call is for God’s Will.
Jesus to the Cross—“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). “Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:1-2).
13. God’s Call involves Great Power and Distance.
Disciples Sent—“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
14. God’s Call is for Us to be Messengers.
Christ’s Ambassadors—“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God” ( 2 Corinthians 5:20).
15. Be Willing to Part Godly Company in Order to Follow God’s Will.
Paul & Barnabas—“They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord” (Acts 15:39-40).
16. God’s Call Often Involves Unplanned Situations and Unfinished Work.
Paul—”But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, I plan to do so when I go to Spain” (Romans 15:23-24a)
17. God’s Call has Standards.
Elder/Shepherd/Pastor/Overseer/Bishop—“Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap” (1 Timothy 3:2-7).
