being called by god
The first thing in the life of a spiritual leader is a calling from God. His work is not a business for him, but a calling.
No one can appoint himself to be a spiritual leader; he must be called by God to do so. No one takes this honor on his own, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was called . This is a principle that cannot be changed. The next verse clearly states that the Lord Jesus also called Himself to be our High Priest
Did not appoint. But God the Father appointed them. If this was the case with the Lord Jesus, then what can we say about our calling?
The sad thing today is that a large number of Christian workers in India are serving only for their own selfish interests. Their service has become a business. They have no calling from God.
There is a lot of difference between vocation and calling. For example, suppose a small sick child is in the hospital and a nurse who works there for eight hours will take care of that child, but will serve him only till the end of her eight-hour duty. Afterwards she will go to her home where she will have to do other work and where she will not miss the child at all. Then she will go for a walk, watch a movie. She will think about that child and take care of him only when she comes to the hospital the next day. But the mother of that child will not work only for that child for 8 hours. A mother cannot leave her sick child and go to watch TV or movies. This is the difference between "vocation and calling".
If you examine your calling according to this example while serving the Christian believers in the church, you will know whether you are a nurse or a mother.
In Paul says, “But among you we showed humility, like a nursing mother tenderly caring for her children. So because of this tenderness toward you we were happy not only to give you preach the gospel of God, and even lay down my life for you, because you have become so dear to us."
Is.of Paul not only gave the gospel of God to those Christians, but also gave his life. Any service that is not done in this way is not truly from Christ. Paul served God in this way because he had a calling to serve. He did not make his service a profession.Why didn't she even talk about him?
What a wonderful thing it is to serve God. It is the highest work in the world, and no work can be compared to this service. But it can only be done if you have a calling for it. Because you cannot treat it as a business.doing changes my mother car you
God called me for full-time service on 6 May 1964. I was then serving as an officer in the Indian Navy. I submitted my resignation to the naval authorities. But being discharged from the Navy did not prove to be easy. For me, it was like Moses asking Pharaoh to release the Israelites. It was only after two full years of trying that I was discharged from the Navy, which happened at God's appointed time.Being called by God brought great changes to my life.
First of all, what does anyone know about me and my service?
He says it does not make any difference to me, because my master is someone else to whom I will have to give my account.
Secondly, whenever I face any difficult trials or opposition in my service, I can trust in God and be assured of His mercy and support. And this is always the case in my life.
Thirdly, it does not matter to me whether I get money or not, or whether I get food or not. If I get money and food, it is very good, but even if I do not get money and food, it is still good for me. I cannot give up serving God just because I do not get food or money, because God has called me.
I cannot turn away from my calling. I am not a salaried worker who can quit my job if she does not get her salary or food. To me it is like the mother and child. A nurse can quit her job if she does not get her salary, but a mother cannot quit her job. She does not get any salary for being a mother. And still she will take care of her child, even if she does not get food and money. The apostles also served God in this way.
What a wonderful thing it is to be called by God!
If you do God's work as a business, you cannot do it according to His will. There has to be a calling behind it, otherwise everything is futile. All other work in the world is like a business
The work of a mother or father and the work of God cannot be done as a profession. All these works are in the form of a calling.
Paul said in Though in Christ you have many teachers, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I have become your father through the gospel." Paul told Christians that even if they had 10,000 teachers, they still had only one Father. Paul was both a spiritual mother and a spiritual father to his sheep. For him it was a calling, not a profession.
Did God say to me, "Take this child and nurse him for me and I will pay you wages" Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay you wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him.
He said I have my own physical children first, then he said I have my spiritual children. When we take care of God's children it is God's responsibility to pay us our wages, not man's. If we serve man we should expect wages from man. But when we serve God we should look to God to meet our needs in whatever way seems right in His eyes, and let Him decide how much we should get each month. A true servant of God has his own dignity.
But it is possible that even though you are a leader, you may Don't feel responsible for people in the church. You feel satisfied conducting Bible study every Sunday. But when the Lord Jesus comes again and tests your ministry, you will be shocked to find that your entire ministry is nothing but straw and wood, fit only to be burned If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, or straw, each man's work will be revealed. The day will show it. Because that day will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test each man's work. Think about the consequences! If you take this warning seriously now, you will not be put to shame on the day of judgment.
When Christ comes again, all of us will be ashamed to some degree about our lives and the way we have served God. But we can minimize that shame by examining our lives. We must examine our service to see what that day of judgment will be like. God says, "Take these children and take care of them for my sake." "Take care of them and I will give you your wages." This wages will not be financial in the first place. I believe that God provides for all our earthly needs, because He Himself taught us to pray for our daily bread, and He has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live by the gospel. So He will provide for all our earthly needs. But there will be an even greater spiritual reward.
Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians that they should follow his
There is going to be joy and crown when the Lord comes again Who is our hope or crown of joy or gladness? Will you not be before our Lord Jesus when He comes? Just as a father rejoices in his children, so they rejoice in them. A leader (who is a spiritual father) rejoices when he sees believers who were once new to the church and have become God's people today. This joy is like the joy of a craftsman who rejoices after shaping an unformed rock into a human form. He has to keep chipping away at that rock for many months and years until he shapes it into a human form! This is the task God has given us too. We should not feel satisfied just by preaching to people in the right way. If the identity of Christ is not seen in their lives, then we have gained nothing.
A worldly father rejoices when his children stand on their own feet. He does not want them to be dependent on him forever. A true spiritual father will be like that too. He will make himself such that his spiritual children need him as little as possible and keep growing towards maturity.
Consider a family where there are twelve children. You will be surprised that a mother can handle twelve children, while it may be difficult for your wife to handle even two children! But the surprising thing is that a mother who has twelve children has to work less than a mother who has only two children.
Yes. That is because a mother with twelve children trains her older children to help her. Eventually the children do all the work and the mother gets to rest! This is what we as shepherds have to do in our churches, that is, share responsibilities.
But what do we see in most churches? Overburdened pastors are getting tired because they have to do everything alone. (Even a mother of twelve children can get tired if she has to do all the work for them all by herself.) Many churches are like orphanages, where hundreds of children lie on the floor and kick each other while sucking on milk bottles. This is the result of ministry done by one man's efforts. Believers never progress because they are not given any responsibility. In the Body of Christ, every member has his own work to do.
The Lord Jesus only discipled twelve people, and I don't think any man could effectively handle more than that at once. So a church with 120 members should have at least ten pastors, (I don't mean full-time ministers,) but brothers with a shepherd's heart to care for the sheep and encourage them.
Today the fields are ripe, but true shepherds are lacking. If you serve God, it is because God has called you to serve Him, and not to earn a living or to gain respect from men.
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