Where Do We Go From Here
We have been focusing on basic principles that guided Jesus’ ministry and that should guide our own lives and ministries as well:
• Most significant ministry opportunities happen outside of church meetings.
• Many divine appointments come our way as interruptions, in between scheduled events, as we go about our daily business.
• Focus on the needs of individuals who cross our paths.
We’ve highlighted an example in Heidi Baker of someone who is actually Doing the Works of Jesus and is living the life of a Disciple Who Loves.
This is just the beginning!
Church leadership must be committed to providing support to help us prepare to minister in the same ways.
• Equipping
• Training
• Practice
But even if church leaders don’t provide all of the support we need, God can provide these things if we ask Him. He can become your personal mentor and trainer, as He was for Samuel, Moses, David, Elijah, and so many others!
“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”—Mother Teresa
The next step is to prepare, and then move into God’s high calling as individuals and as a church, developing skills and confidence, and making ourselves available for ministry.
Will You Accept God’s High Calling?
Now that you see what God is asking for, His question to you is “Will you accept the Call?”
You are at a crossroads. You can either accept the higher calling that God is offering you or you can go on with business as usual.
The verse that you need to be aware of in this hour is 2 Chronicles 16:9:
“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” (ESV)
The Lord is searching the whole earth to find someone who will accept His high calling. If you accept His high calling, the Lord is standing by to strongly support you in it. If you decide to go on with business as usual, the eyes of the Lord will move on to look for someone else, and He will take this offer to them.
How do I know that? Because Scripture gives witness that this is God’s way. In Scripture, the Lord gave us stories of individuals and groups of people who rejected His high calling, and decided to go their own way instead.
When the children of Israel rejected God’s high calling and instead demanded to have a king and be like all the other nations, God told Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.”—1 Samuel 8:7 (ESV)
Then later, God had to leave King Saul and move His anointing on to David.
“Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul…”—1 Samuel 16:14 (ESV)
Jesus warned the church of Ephesus that they were in danger of losing their place in God’s perfect plan if they did not change their ways and return to what they knew was best:
“Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.”—Revelation 2:4–5 (NKJV)
The Apostle Paul fully realized that his place in the plan of God was assured only as long as He continued to walk in obedience and submission to God:
“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”—1 Corinthians 9:27 (ESV)
What we’ve got to realize is that God’s plan is much bigger than we are. He is offering us an opportunity to be a part of His overall plan of the ages. We can accept His offer or reject it, but if we reject it, He will move on because His plan must be accomplished.
Next time we’ll look at the bigger picture of what God is moving toward in church history, and where we fit in His plan.
