The God-Called Preacher

The God-Called Preacher - Kindle edition by Dr. Peter S. Ruckman. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like.
Table of contents

Second, there is the external call. The congregation must evaluate and affirm the calling and gifts of the believer who feels called to the ministry. As a family of faith, the congregation should recognize and celebrate the gifts of ministry given to its members, and take responsibility to encourage those whom God has called to respond to that call with joy and submission. These days, many persons think of careers rather than callings.

Product details

But the great promise of Scripture is that God does call ministers, and presents these servants as gifts to the church. Do you sense that God is calling you to ministry, whether as pastor or another servant of the church? Has this call been confirmed and encouraged by those Christians who know you best?

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail albertmohler. Wednesday, May 24, Is My Thought Life a Problem?


  1. How to Study Torah When Youre Not a Torah Scholar.
  2. "The Preacher's Call" by Alfred P. Gibbs.
  3. Sonata b minor K173 - Keyboard?
  4. How to Know if God Called You to Ministry.
  5. Special Fuzzy Matrices for Social Scientists;
  6. High Is the Eagle (The Kane Legacy);

Association of Biblical Counselors. Samuel's word to Saul has a message for each believer: 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. It comes through fervent supplication at the throne of grace to know the will of God for one's life. It is maintained by prompt obedience to the known will of God, as found in the holy Scriptures.

Featured Verse Topics

This, then, is the spiritual atmosphere of the call. It comes usually in the midst of Christian activity, not in monastic isolation. It does not come to lazy Christians. It was while Barnabas and Saul ministered to the Lord that the divine call came: It was while Moses tended his flock, that he was commissioned to be a leader of Israel Exod.

It was while Gideon threshed the wheat, that he was selected to deliver Israel from the oppressors Judg. It was while Elisha was busy plowing, that the mantle of Elijah was thrown on his shoulders and God claimed his life I Kings It was while Peter was busy with his fishing, and Matthew with his business, that the voice came and called each to service for Christ Matt. It is as the believer is doing what already lies to his hand, that the call comes for further service. Prompt, unquestioning obedience to what we know, will lead to further revelations of His will.

Hosea's message should have a voice to each believer: Though the call may come in various ways and under different circumstances, it is none the less distinct. It leaves the believer with the assurance that God desires him for a certain specific work. This, in turn, gives a joyous confidence and a holy boldness to the preacher, as he realizes the authority that lies behind the message and the messenger. It is varied in circumstances.

A study of the ways by which God called some of. His servants for the work He had for them should be a profitable exercise of the soul. Let us look at just a few out of many. This is most instructive, for God had to overcome the reluctance of the one He called. Moses had many objections to offer, but every objection was met with a definite promise, until Moses was convinced that God knew what He was doing in calling him. To this man, God first gave a commission with a promise and then granted him a vision of the One who had commissioned him Josh.

He was a humble man, who was hailed by God as a "mighty man of valor," and who was sent forth to deliver Israel with these words ringing in his ears: Here was a prosperous and energetic young man, who was suddenly called by God, from the midst of a busy life, to leave all his rosy prospects of worldly success for the comparative obscurity of menial service for Elijah, the prophet of the Lord.

For years he was unheard of, until the time that his master was to be translated.

Understanding the “God Called” Preacher

Then his years of faithful service, in secret, was "rewarded openly" and his name became a household word in Israel I Kings The moving description of this great prophet's vision, call and commission has stirred the hearth of the people of God for two and a half milleniums and led many, like him, to say in response to the call of God: This man, naturally impulsive and energetic, was brought by Andrew to the Savior, thus evidencing the value of personal evangelism.

The miracle of the miraculous haul of fish served to provide the circumstances under which his call and commission came Luke 5: While the circumstances of the call were different in each of these cases, for God is a God of infinite variety; yet the purpose and results were the same: Each of these people had an experience that was distinctly his own, and from which he emerged with the conscious assurance of God's call to him. It does not necessarily involve full time service. 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.

The Impossible Calling of the Christian Preacher | Desiring 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 great and the laborers few. William Carey, "the father of modem missions," was once asked what his business was. There is no distinction made, in the New Testament, between so-called "clergy" and "laity. The word 'clergy' comes from the word, "cleros," translated "heritage" in I Peter 5: It thus refers to all the people of God and not to a small section of believers.

The present distinction of clergy and laity, as now seen in Christendom, is purely the invention of man, and doubtless at the Devil's instigation. It has wrought untold evil, for it has blinded Christians to the fact of their gift, and of the necessity to use it for the glory of God and the blessing of others. There are literally thousands of Christians, who ought to be teachers and preachers of the Word but, because of this false theory, remain silent.

It is to be feared that, in many cases, they are sitting under the ministry of unsaved "clergymen" who are attempting the impossible task of expounding the Scriptures. The evils of professionalism in the Lord's work. This cannot be too strongly condemned. The only difference between the whole-time preacher and the parttime preacher, is merely the amount of time which each spends in preparation and preaching and the matter of his financial support. The Lord deliver us from all thought of professionalism in the Lord's work, or the separation of the Lord's people into two classes!

An understanding of I Peter 4: Mark the words carefully. It will be noted there is not even the remotest suggestion of professionalism implied in it: The New Testament clearly teaches the priesthood of all believers. It knows nothing of the priest-craft of a few believers as seen in Christendom today.

Is God Calling Me to Be a Pastor?

The story is told of a young Christian who approached an older believer with the remark: The elements that combine to constitute a God-given call. There are many things that enter in and combine to constitute this definite call of God. There is the inward urge of the Holy Spirit, who indwells each believer, and who desires to "guide him into all truth" John As this "holy heavenly Guest" dwells ungrieved within us, He can impress our hearts and guide our thoughts into certain definite convictions as to the will of God for the life.

This leading of the Spirit is difficult to define and describe. The Scotch have a proverb: This urge of the Spirit must not be confused with a passing whim, or a "hunch," or an idea generated by fleshly enthusiasm, which will soon pass away. Many have been carried away by a tide of mere emotionalism and mistakenly imagined it was God's call to full time service. Some definite word from the Scriptures will serve to deepen this conviction.

The word of God has been given for this very purpose. As we seek to know the will of God, He will leave us in no doubt, for He never leads contrary to the principles He has laid down in His word. God will not leave His people to flounder in confusion, but will guide them, in His own good time and way.


  • So you think you are married ...ten tips on how to live like it..
  • The Glorious Inefficiency of Prayer.
  • The Impossible Calling of the Christian Preacher.

    • Prompt obedience to what we know, will lead to further knowledge. Habbakuk learned the value of this and said: Samuel also was taught this truth by Eli and, in response to God's fourth call replied: The compassions of the heart.