Download The Preacher`s Call and His Calling

The Preacher’s Call
and His Calling
Welcome! Please don’t leave until
you have understood what your call
is and what your calling shall be.
The Scope of our Study
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The nature of the preacher’s
call
The purpose of that call
The motivation of that call
1. The preacher’s calling is
personal and individual in
nature.
 The call is purely a personal
matter between the Christian
and his Lord.
 Christ’s alone is the authority of
the call.
 Whomsoever He wills, He calls.
The nature of our calling
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We in this present age base our
calling on the Great Commission
(Matt 28:18-20).
That call is not miraculous.
That call does not come amid
thunder and lightning.
That call does not come from a
dream.
Matthew 28:18-20
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18 And Jesus came to them and said, “All
authority has been given to me in heaven
and on earth.”
“All authority has been given to me” – all
power, not just a part of it.
“In heaven” - where angels dwell
“And on earth” - where all humans dwell.
Christ has authority over his people the
church, and over those who are not his
people, the world.
He rules over his own people, and over his
own enemies. He indeed is the Lord of all.
Matthew 28:18-20
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19 Go then, and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit:
“Going” – the action
“Making disciples” – making them learners.
“All nations” – all tribes and tongues and
cultures and skin colors and genders.
“Baptizing them” – what results after
making disciples of them.
Baptism is by the authority of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:18-20
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20 Teaching them to keep all the
rules which I have given you: and
see, I am ever with you, even to the
end of the world.
The job of those who have been
taught is to teach those who have
been made learners and been
baptized.
These in turn shall go and make
disciples of others, and baptize
them, and so on.
The Great Commission
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That commission is a cycle of sorts.
A cycle does not end until the owner
stops it.
This commission ensures the
continuity of the church that the Lord
has established in the world, since
this is to last till eternity.
Why worry about church growth?
Just do your job of teaching people
the gospel and baptizing them and
teaching them to also teach others
the gospel and baptize.
2 Timothy 2:2
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“And the things which thou hast
heard from me among many
witnesses, the same commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to
teach others.” (ASV)
“And the things which I have said to
you before a number of witnesses,
give to those of the faith, so that they
may be teachers of others.” (BBE)
Acts 16:1-5
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1 And he [Paul] came to Derbe and Lystra: and
there was a certain disciple there named Timothy,
whose mother was one of the Jews of the faith, but
his father was a Greek;
Timothy was a disciple, a Christian.
His Jewish faith was a potential. His Jewish mother
and grandmother were Christians.
But the stumbling block to his converting the Jews
was his Greek roots. The stumbling block to his
converting the Greeks was also his Jewish roots.
He lived with conflicting values owing to his genetic
heritage.
To do away with the hindrances the Jew would set
on his path, Paul had him circumcised.
Lesson: If anything in our person is a stumbling
block, let us undergo some refinement.
Acts 16:1-5
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2 Of whom the brothers at Lystra and
Iconium had a high opinion.
High opinion – they had a high regard for
the young man.
If a church has no high regard of you, you
can never work with them and neither can
they recommend you for the mission.
What can you do? Cultivate enough good
reputation so the church will have a high
regard of you. If you cannot do this, move
to another place where you may become
an asset to the mission. Note that Paul
never did mission in Jerusalem, where he
may have been discredited as a Jew!
Acts 16:1-5
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3 Paul had a desire for him to go with him,
and he circumcised him because of the
Jews who were in those parts: for they all
had knowledge that his father was a Greek.
It was the desire of someone older in the
faith to mentor him. We who are older must
have this desire and must always be on the
look-out for Timothies.
The reason for having him circumcised is
because of the Jews in those places where
they would be going.
His being a half-Greek also has become a
liability of sorts.
In another occasion, Paul never allowed
Titus, a pure Greek Christian, to be
circumcised. Was Paul inconsistent? No.
Acts 16:1-5
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4 And on their way through the towns, they
gave them the rules which had been made
by the Apostles and the rulers of the church
at Jerusalem, so that they might keep
them.
5 So the churches were made strong in the
faith and were increased in number every
day.
Growth in number and in the faith results
when stumbling blocks have been removed
and when preachers become faithful to the
cause of the One who calls them.
Remember then: The preacher’s calling is
firstly personal and secondly individual.
That calling must grow out of a conviction.
2. The call is moved by the
compassions of the heart.
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As one is brought to realize the deepest
need of the unsaved and views them as
lost and guilty, helpless and undone and
thus in danger of eternal ruin, thus comes
to one’s soul conviction of the dire
necessity of preaching to the lost the soulemancipating message of the gospel. "Lift
up your eyes and look on the fields, for
they are white already to harvest" (John
4:35).
A compassionate man knows that all men
are lost without the gospel. We hold the
key that opens the door of the kingdom.
A host of our missionaries moved to Asian
shores because their compassion moved
their hearts.
The nature of the calling
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Properly speaking, the need does
not in itself constitute the call.
Furthermore, the need simply
provides the opportunity for the
believer to respond to the call.
Preachers must needs to have fire in
their bosoms, with heat that they
cannot contain, that will move them
to speak out.
The call to be a preacher first comes
when one is called to be a Christian.
The nature of the calling
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Preachers are people who have
been moved:
Moved because of our love for God
Moved because of our love for the
souls of all men
Moved because of our fear that
those we love may not make it to
heaven
Moved because of the woe (“Woe
unto me if I don’t preach the gospel”
– 1 Cor. 9:16).
3. The call is the act of
discharging one’s
stewardship duties.
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This cannot be too strongly condemned.
Read I Peter 4:10: "As every man hath
received the gift, even so minister the
same one to another, as good stewards of
the manifold grace of God.“
One who has not received anything cannot
minister, and hence cannot be a steward.
But have you received God’s grace? The
answer is yes. Therefore, minister that
grace to another.
One who has received and does not
minister is unfaithful to his stewardship
duties.
We can either be good stewards or bad.
The preacher is one who answers
the call to discharge his
stewardship
 The Christian who teaches and
preaches is only discharging the
stewardship which God has
entrusted to him. You and I are
stewards of God’s manifold grace.
 All believers are ministers or
servants of the same Master, and
are engaged in the same service, in
the work of the Lord. The New
Testament clearly teaches the
priesthood of all believers (See I Pet.
2:5,9; Rev. 1:6).
I Pet. 2:5,9
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5 You, as living stones, are being made
into a house of the spirit, a holy order of
priests, making those offerings of the
spirit which are pleasing to God through
Jesus Christ.
9 But you are a special people, a holy
nation, priests and kings, a people
given up completely to God, so that you
may make clear the virtues of him who
took you out of the dark into the light of
heaven. (BBE)
Rev. 1:6
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6 And has made us to be a
kingdom and priests to his God
and Father; to him let glory and
power be given for ever and
ever. So be it.
Old Believer to a Young
Christian
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The story is told of a young disciple who
approached an older believer saying: "I am
coming back to enter the Lord's service."
The older Christian asked: "How long have
you been saved?" He replied: “Seven
years."
The old believer asked: “Then whose
service have you been in for the past
seven years?”
We have been called to minister when we
were first called to be members of His
kingdom, the church.
4. Preacher’s calling involves a
personal heart-dealing with
God alone.
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God is the God of the individual Christian
and the God of the individual preacher.
There is no such thing as "mass
production" of preachers; we don’t turn
them out by the dozens.
Mass production is good for business
because it results to more goods at less
price.
But by mass-producing preachers, we may
also lessen the value of the products, or we
may produce preachers with factory
defects.
Preacher’s calling a personal heartdealing with God alone.
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The Lord in calling a preacher
does the following:
The Lord burdens his heart.
The Lord impresses on him the
necessity of preaching the
gospel.
The Lord gives him that holy
urge to be a mouthpiece in
proclaiming the will of the Deity.
I Corinthians 9:16-18 (ASV).
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16 For if I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of; for necessity is
laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel. 17 For if I do
this of mine own will, I have a
reward: but if not of mine own will, I
have a stewardship entrusted to me.
18 What then is my reward? That,
when I preach the gospel, I may
make the gospel without charge, so
as not to use to the full my right in
the gospel.
5. The preacher’s calling is born
in spirituality’s atmosphere.
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It comes when the soul is enjoying
fellowship with God through the reading
and meditation of His word and prayer. The
carnal believer, or the worldly Christian, will
know nothing of it.
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As one reads and meditates, he comes to the
realization of the great need to pass on to
others the light of salvation. As he grows in
love with the Word, he becomes more spiritual.
As he grows in love for things spiritual, he also
grows in love for the souls of those others who
are not spiritual.
This is AGAPE – the love that one feels for
others in spite of, because of, and even
though. This is loving the unloved, loving the
unlovable, and loving those incapable of loving
back.
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Preacher’s calling born in
atmosphere of spirituality
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This atmosphere of spirituality is made
possible as the believer deliberately
presents his body as "a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1-2).
Meaning, that person, or that person’s
body, remains holy. This requires constant
purity as one goes from one life’s phase to
another.
An unholy person cannot be a vessel to
contain holy things like the gospel.
For an unholy container to be God’s
vessel, he must first be cleaned, sanitized,
sanctified, separated unto God’s use only.
Preacher’s calling born in
atmosphere of spirituality
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The calling comes through fervent
supplication at the throne of grace to
know the will of God for one's life.
Learn to ask the question: Lord, what
do you want me to do?
It is maintained by prompt obedience
to the known will of God, as found in
the Holy Scriptures.
Learn to say: Lord, help me to do
your will.
6. That calling comes usually in the midst
of Christian activity.
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It does not come to lazy Christians.
Barnabas and Saul were ministering to the
Lord when the call came for them to be
missionaries to Asia and Europe (Acts
13:2).
Moses was tending his father-in-law’s
sheep when he was commissioned to lead
God’s people Israel (Exod. 3:1-2).
Gideon was threshing the wheat when he
was selected to deliver Israel from their
oppressors (Judg. 6:11).
Elisha was busy plowing when the mantle
of Elijah was thrown on his shoulders (I
Kings 19:19).
That calling does not come in isolation in
some monasteries or in the solitude
of one’s room.
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Peter was busy with his fishing, and
Matthew with his tax collecting when the
voice came and called them to service
(Matt. 4: 18,19; Luke 5:27).
As the believer is doing what already lies
on his hand, the call comes for further
service. "If any man will do His will, he shall
know," said Christ (John 7:17).
Prompt, unquestioning obedience to what
we know to be urgent fulfills the call. Hosea
says: "Then shall we know, if we follow on
to know the Lord" (Hos. 6:3).
7. The preacher’s call is
definite.
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Though the call may come in various
ways and under different
circumstances, it is nonetheless
distinct and definite, assuring the
believer that God desires him for a
certain specific work.
Be moved by events and look for
opportunities. The God of heaven is
also the God who moves events and
causes them to happen, providing
you the opportunities to do missions.
Preacher’s call comes when
opportunities come.
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The events mentioned below provide us
with opportunities for change of careers, or
change of our life directions:
Loss of opportunity to sell properties. One
man I know converted his unsold house
into a meeting place for the church.
Loss of a secular job. One man made an
inventory of his assets, and decided to trust
God alone and became a preacher.
A death in the family. A son was moved by
his mother’s death and decided to go to a
preaching school.
Preacher’s call comes when
opportunities come.
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A life-threatening accident. One person
who met an accident became afraid of the
future, and decided to work with a church.
A life-threatening sickness. One man got
converted while in a hospital. After he got
out of the ICU he decided to offer his life to
God’s cause.
A simple question about life and death
answered by a preacher made one young
man decide to become a preacher too.
Being imprisoned. I know of one preacher
in North Cotabato who was imprisoned for
killing his wife, but while in prison he
established a congregation.
Preacher’s call coming as a
result of the realization of the
urgency of the message.
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This call, in turn, too gives one a
joyous confidence and a holy
boldness, as he realizes the
authority that lies behind the
message and urgency for the
messenger to fulfill the need of the
lost for salvation.
“For if I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to glory of; for necessity is
laid upon me; for woe is unto me, if I
preach not the gospel” (1 Corinthians
9:16, ASV).
8. The call varies in
circumstances.
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God is a God of varying
circumstances; yet the purpose and
results are the same:
The purpose is for the glory of God.
The result is for the blessing of the
ones called.
The overall benefit is for those to
whom the preacher was sent with
the message of salvation.
The call varies in
circumstances.
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God may call you to start a preaching
ministry while you are on your way to
church, or on your way home.
God may call you while you are tending
your cows or carabaos in the mountains.
God may call you while you are plowing a
field, or while you are threshing your newly
harvested rice.
God calls you when a friend who has
undergone a changed life invites you to
have a study.
God may call you while you are in the
battlefields of Mindanao, or anywhere.
God may call you after you have married a
Christian.
The call varies in
circumstances.
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God may call you while you are busy
fishing in the river or in the sea.
God may call you while you are busy
collecting scraps, or after you are done
selling your wares for the day.
God may call you after you have been
praying, or after your father has
become a Christian.
My call came when a Baptist woman
gave me a portion of the Bible and
when a church of Christ-minister invited
me to lunch and a visit in their meeting
place.
The call varies in
circumstances.
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Hosea says: "Then shall we know, if
we follow on to know the Lord" (Hos.
6:3).
We have cited to you examples of
opportunities when God calls one to
the ministry.
To answer that call requires
obedience on your part.
Not just any kind of obedience. It is
a PROMPT AND UNQUESTIONING
OBEDIENCE.
9. The call is a full time service
supported by secular
employment to pay expenses.
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The great need today is for Christian
preachers or teachers who can
support themselves by secular
employment, and devote their spare
time to the preaching and teaching of
the word of God.
Thank God for the noble army
already thus engaged, but there is
plenty of room for more, for the field
is large, the need is great and the
laborers are few.
The call is a tent making ministry.
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Paul labored with his hands—by making
tents— to support his ministry.
William Carey, “the father of modern missions,”
was once asked what his business was. He
replied: “My business is to preach the gospel,
and I cobble shoes to pay expenses!”
Our work in Africa was begun by a carpentermason who came from New Zealand.
The work in Pongpong, Sto. Tomas, LU, was
begun by a Leyteno who visited his Ilocana
wife teaching in Pongpong during weekends.
The work in Bacolod City was begun by a
former Baptist preacher who became a public
school teacher.
10. The call comes through the
advice of godly Christians.
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Let no one belittle this. Older believers
have seen some evidence of a gift for
preaching in a Christian's life and will seek
to encourage that young person by their
advice. This advice is based on the
following:
An older Christian’s riper knowledge of
God's word.
His longer experience in God's work.
A more mature realization of God's dealing
with themselves.
A more mature knowledge of God’s dealing
with others of like-minded spirit.
The counsel of godly
Christians.
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This counsel should be valued as a
contributing factor in God's call to preach the
word. Let no one despise the godly counsel of
experienced Christians, for even Paul did not
neglect this (Gal. 2:2). The older Christian’s
superior discernment in the things of God aids
him in giving this godly counsel.
It was an older Christian who advised me to
study at ZBC. I had no idea what I would
become, but on my part it was a faith
experience of sorts.
Look for other preachers’ stories too and listen,
and you will find one commonality among
these: Older Christians have had a role in
convicting their hearts to listen to the call of
God and join the missions of saving souls!
The call comes through the
advice of godly Christians.
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Apparently this was one contributing
element of Timothy's call to full time
service. (See Acts 16:1-3). God had
gifted Paul with discernment, and Paul
saw in Timothy one who would become
profitable to the ministry.
We should be grateful to those older
brethren, who will take younger men
with them and allow them a little part in
the meeting, encouraging them to
develop their gift. Many of our great
gospel preachers started out this way.
2 Tim. 4:11.
11. The call is based on the
right motives.
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If you feel you have been called because
you think you can make much money in
planting the gospel than in planting
cassava, it is time to examine your
motives.
Souls will suffer because of your wrong
motives, because you will leave the church
and the work that doesn’t pay much.
If you make much money by preaching,
you too will also suffer because of your
wrong motives; for the love of money is the
root of all evils.
The call based on the right
motives.
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Welcome to the club of people who
sacrifice their lives and their careers that
others too may live, the preachers’ club!
May each of the called ones be led to seek
humbly, sincerely, perseveringly, trustingly
and obediently the will of God for him to
become a preacher.
This requires prayerful dependence on the
power of God, obedience to the leading of
the Spirit through the Word, yielding to His
will, being diligent in one’s study of His
Bible, and actively engaging in His work.
FINIS
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Thanks!