Call of God or a business of man?

One of them is Moses who heard the voice of God in a bush and then perceived that the Lord was calling him for a ministerial life in order to lead the people to the promised land that emanated milk and honey. Moses lived until the day when the Lord allowed and could have lived much longer if it were not his disobedience. A man when called by God receives power and authority to exercise what the Lord has assigned him. We see Moses being victorious in his struggles simply because he was called by the Lord God of Israel.

The prophet Isaiah is another who was called by the Lord to live a great ministry. Isaiah carried out his ministry with great success because it was approved by the Lord. I firmly believe that Moses, Isaiah, David, Peter, Paul and many others were really called by the Lord to exercise a ministerial life; some for pastors, others for prophets, others for evangelists and others for doctors (Eph 4.11).

I know many men of God who were called by the Lord Jesus Christ to take care of their church in these last days here on earth. Men who have a ministerial life very blessed by God and who are examples for many who want that life. I have already heard many of them relate their calls to that ministry. Once one of them told me that she had many dreams working in the mission field and one beautiful day she was invited by the Pastor of her church to be part of the body of Pastors of her denomination. He has been a pastor for several years and has watched over that work. When the ministry is given by the Lord Jesus Christ, we see that lives are blessed and not mistreated, as we see in many churches where we walk.

Unfortunately in our day, we see men negotiating ministries. When I speak of ministry I am not speaking only of a pastor; I also speak of evangelists, deacons, priests, cooperators, missionaries and many others that exist in the churches. Many times I have heard what charges have been negotiated in pizzeria tables, restaurants, church secretaries, convention halls and in the middle of streets.

All the men that God called were through a broken heart and a life filled with the Holy Spirit. Today we are seeing many people enter the ministry just because they are good speakers, they have an academic background, they are sympathetic to their leaders, they have financial conditions for being entrepreneurs or also why they are children of Pastors or church leaders. This has caused a real detriment to the church of Christ. I am not against the person having an academic education, being an entrepreneur or the son of a pastor; which in part even helps in the ministerial life. What is unacceptable is that this person will exercise a ministry in the church without having a call from God.

Many believers are suffering because of people who do not have the call of God and are being leaders, pastors, evangelists or church missionaries. As much as that is not justification, there are many people moving away from the churches because they were hurt, slandered, accused of sins.

There are churches that are twenty, thirty, forty years old and can not advance in growth because of those ministers who do not have the Lord's call for ministerial life.

I conclude by saying that, if you do not have that ministerial call, never accept it just because you were found beautiful or rich or because you are the son of a pastor. If you really have the call ahead, then the Lord will take care of everything. He is the owner of the work. Do not be an evangelist, pastor, deacon, presbyter, missionary just to please your leader, unless God has called you for a ministerial life.

---