God Does Not Call the Qualified, He Qualifies the Called

I spent the next several months after the youth mission trip to Mobile Alabama debating with God.  He was calling me to youth ministry and I was trying to convince Him that I was the wrong guy.  I promise I had more excuses that Moses’ ever dreamed of having.  At times, I would think to myself; “I can do this.  All I need to do is be more like this youth pastor or that youth pastor.”  I was always looking at the ministries of other pastors trying to figure out how I could mimic their gifts, talents, abilities, and methods.  However, I would always come to the same conclusion; I cannot be that person.  Then I would say to God "see I told you so."

Sunday February 14, 2010 is the day it all came to a head between God and I.  I was sitting in the front pew of the church waiting for the morning services to start.  Everything seemed routine and normal; there was nothing out of the ordinary.  All of the sudden I began to hear in an audible voice "Are you, or are you not going to surrender to ministry?"  I know it was not an audible voice that others could hear, neither was it an audible voice I heard in my own ears.  It was however an audible voice I could hear coming from within my soul.  I cannot explain it, but I just know it was audible and it came from my heart not my head.  I tried to tune the voice out and ignore it, but I could not. 

Worship music started and I began to sing.  The louder I sang the louder the voice inside my soul spoke.  Again I tried ignoring it, but I could not.  My heart began to pound in my chest and my voice began to quiver as I was singing.  It got so bad I could not sing any more.  When I could no longer sing and all I could do was listen, the music began to fade. Then, God said something different.  I heard this; "The answer is either yes or no.  If yes, I will do great things in and through you.  If no, I will be finished with you and I will ask no more."  Immediately tears began to stream from my eyes and I said "yes!" 

After saying "yes!" to God, I walked over to our pastor Brother Steve.  The worship music was still playing but that did not stop me.  I told him I was surrendering my life to ministry.  Brother Steve smiled, patted me on the back and said, "It's about time."  At the end of the service, I went before the church and made my profession of commitment to ministry public.  I never felt so excited about my faith before than like I did that day.  God was not looking at my qualifications all He wanted from me was a simple yes.   Yes meant that I would surrender all my trust upon Him.  He would do the qualifying for His calling on my life. 

The excuses I had were all about me and not about what God could do.  Ministry should never ever be about the pastor or leader; it should always be about God.   God created us in His image and we try to recreate God in our image when we try to justify God by our qualifications.  How sinfully wrong we are in this thought process.  God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called.  Therefore any ministry built apart from God’s qualifying abilities is a failed ministry.  May I go as far as saying that any ministry built apart from the qualifications of the living God amount to nothing more than idolatry. 

The picture is CHAGY the Clown ministering and sharing the gospel with some kids in Nicaragua.  If you know anything about clowns, they can act pretty foolish.  CHAGY is one of the most God qualified evangelists I know.  

I Corinthians 1:25-31 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ’s love!

Encouragment is LIke Adrenalin and Endorphins for Your Faith:

Trying to live the life of a Christian can be discouraging. I know it often feels like an uphill battle. In spite of this, we have comfort in knowing that our savior Jesus Christ has proclaimed that the battle is already won. He understands discouragement and he has called us to encourage one another daily. Sadly, most of us fail at encouraging others making our battle appear to be uphill.

I always knew the Christian life could, would and will be discouraging. Being a youth pastor can feel even more discouraging at most times. Satan likes to get in your head and attempt to convince you that you are failing the great commission and your efforts are futile. He wants you to feel all alone. The people you hope would encourage you do not say a word. If they do, it is usually some form of criticism.

I was talking to my grandpa the other day on his 93 birthday! He went on to tell me how proud he was of me. I told him "Grandpa, I miss you and wish I had time to come see you." He said, "You keep doing what you are doing and if you make a difference in one person's life it is all worth it, besides our day will come when we will have plenty of time to see each other." He went on to tell me how proud he was of me with the work I have been doing for the LORD. Just like clockwork he always finishes by saying, "Who knows, you may become the next Billy Graham." That is encouragement my friends.

I am going to be honest, I need encouragement in my walk of faith and I need it in the ministry that God has called me. Encouragement is like the adrenalin I need to keep running and fighting when I feel tired and worn. It is like the endorphin that takes away the pain of discouragement. Encouragement spurs people on like nothing else. I am sure you have heard the saying "a pill a day keeps the doctor away." A little dose of encouragement a day keeps satan at bay.

Yesterday, I was in that place of discouragement. Repeatedly I just kept saying to satan, "get behind me, shut up, you do not have in mind the things of God." He would throw back at me "If you had in mind the things of God people would notice and say so." I just kept assuring him that I did have in mind the things of God and I was not backing down. After that, throughout the day I began to get encouraged. Randomly I started getting messages on facebook, twitter and google+ about how much my life has encouraged people. People I do not even know personally.

Those little words of encouragement built a raging fire within me. I know that if a fire is not kept stoked and even little bits of kindling are not added, then it will die down. Spiritually it is the same thing. We need to be stoked and kindled and one easy way is encouragement. May I challenge you to be an encourager? Encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ at home and abroad. Do not ever forget the ones god has blessed you with as pastors and leaders. Being a shepherd is a tough calling and probably the most discouraging of all.

Encouragement can and will build unquenchable fires. Be an encourager for Christ! And let us spur one another on. In doing so we will put satan behind us so that we can keep in focus and in mind the things of God.

 

 

the picture is of my son, my grandpa, and me!

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!