God’s word says:
“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest. He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”
Hebrews 3:1-4 NIV
You need to be rest assured that the pathway to discovering your true ministry may be cumbersome. You are going to face many trials, tests and temptations; but your focus must always be on Jesus, as you pass through every phase in the process of fulfilling your call into the ministry. You must be found faithful in Christ Jesus and to the calling of God over your life. God is the builder of all things. He’s the One Who has called you out. He anointed and gifted you with everything to fulfill your calling. Be rest assured that He will complete what He has started in you.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit with your calling
Just as the call is important, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, that God has blessed you with in fulfilling that call are important as well. You can’t really function fully and effectively in your calling without the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And the gifts of the Holy Spirit can’t flow, without the anointing of God over your life. It is how you function with the gifts in your calling, that you are positioned into the office, which God has assigned for you within the body of Christ.
As the scriptures declares:
“A man’s gift makes room for him, And brings him before great men.”
Proverbs 18:16 NKJV
For every call of God there are spiritual gifts to go with it. You can’t fulfill your call, without the necessary gifts of the Holy Spirit to go with it. A calling without the necessary spiritual gifts to go with it, is what creates a dead religion with the legalistic tendencies in that calling. That’s why you must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
The gifts of the Holy Spirit can’t make room for you, if you are functioning with your calling under the law. The letters alone without the Spirit, will make you legalistic with the call of God. And being religious or legalistic doesn’t impart life to anyone. It is what has made some people religious, without the fire of God in them.
But these spiritual gifts are of the Holy Spirit; just as we are born again of the Spirit of God. They are given so that every believer may be able to use them in doing the works of God.
Paul reminded the Church at Corinth:
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
2 Corinthians 3:6 NIV
The nine gifts of the Holy Spirit are life givers. They are given to us so that we may use them, to stand strong and steadfast in the calling and ministry, which God has given to us. We then become competent and established, as Ministers of the gospel. In other words there is no functional ministry without them.
Therefore seek to get acquainted with each one of them (1 Corinthians 12:1). They will promote you and lift you up. Learn how to use them by being quick, to obey the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. The gifts are given to you, through the manifestations of the Holy Spirit who lives in you.
But then you must rely more, on the inner witness from the engrafted word of God, that you have deposited in your heart. The engrafted word of God in you will always witness to you, in agreement with the leading and guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s why you must always be equipped for the ministry, by constantly studying your Bible. If you are not constantly studying God’s word, it can not get engrafted within your heart (John 8:31-32).
It is also a very dangerous habit for you to get too busy, working with people and doing other businesses of the ministry; but rarely or barely to have no time in studying God’s word. That’s the trap and the ploy of the enemy, to take your eyes off Jesus and His word.
Some have actually become too spooky in the ministry, as they become totally dependent on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, without a strong and solid foundation of faith in the word of God. There always has to be a healthy balance in the spirit, concerning these spiritual things. The Lord will always give you the wisdom, about walking through the narrow path, for you to become fully established in the gifts.
That’s how you can expedite your spiritual growth with them. You can’t be solely reliant on the spiritual gifts, without your faith functioning in the word of God. That’s the mistake which some often make. By being over reliant on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Devil finds it easy to manipulate some of them, into doing weird things in the spirit. God’s word living and abiding in you, will establish you firmly with the gifts of the Spirit into the ministry.
Be humbled. God will exalt you, and not men
But remember that any office (see Ephesians 4:11) within the body of Christ, is always greater than the person who stands in it. The offices of the apostle, evangelist, pastor, teacher or the prophet are bigger than the persons in those offices. That’s why you must always be humbled, because it is God who is working through you and in you. Remember that Christ humbled Himself till death on the cross (Philippians 2:5-11). That’s why God exalted Him, and gave Him the name above all names. Jesus received honor on the earth from the Father, because He was humbled before the Father.
Remember that you are just the vessel of God, with whom people can easily relate to; because they don’t see God or hear Him as you can. By walking before God with humility of heart, the gifts in your calling will establish you in your office within the body of Christ. God will establish you firmly in that office, in the presence of those whom you have been called to serve. Faithfulness to the office in which you stand, will then promote you into your ministry.
Just because you are in the ministry doesn’t means that, you will not need the same gifts, which got you there anymore. God will never change His decision to call you into the ministry. He will add to your gifts; but He will never take anything, that has been given to you away from you. Any addition to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in your ministry, is a higher calling into greater responsibilities in the Kingdom of God. You must remain humbled, even with these additions. God will test your faithfulness to Him with those additional gifts.
You may be failing in certain areas of your spiritual life right now; but the One who has called you and gave you the gifts, in establishing you where you are now is faithful. He will take care of that mess, that you are struggling with, as you remain faithful and committed to your calling. Many have been called, but very few have been found faithful in their callings. They failed during their tests, trials and temptations. The fire of God had passed through them, and they got burnt up.
The calling and the gifts are irrevocable
About the gifts and your calling, Paul once told the Romans:
“For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].”
ROMANS 11:29 AMP
We need to note the use of the word “gifts” here by Paul. It is different from the word “skills” in meaning, yet some have often confused the two with one another. A skill is a particular ability to do something effectively with expertise. That expertise may come through training, persistent application of what has been learnt or an expertise directly imparted by God.
A gift has the same meaning as the word “endowment” or (charisma). It is a quality that a person can be possessed with or inherit from the Holy Spirit. The word “possession” here suggests something, that has the ability to direct a person’s actions; in doing what they have been endowed to do. To be filled with the Holy Spirit literally means, to be possessed by the Holy Spirit. It is literally the opposite in meaning, when we say someone is possessed with demons. It is obvious that nobody wants to be possessed by demons. That’s why it’s so important that every believer in Jesus, should be filled with the Holy Spirit. And wherever the Holy Spirit is, the gifts are present also.
The gifts therefore empowers you to function in the calling of God. They both (the calling and the gifts) always go together. If you do have a calling, God will endow you or empower you with the gifts for that calling. There is never a calling from God without a gift. And these gifts are essential for you to do miracles, signs and wonders as you function in your Office.
It is important to note that God is not going to take his gifts and calling away from you, just because He sees you struggling in unrighteousness. Don’t worry. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. Never allow the enemy to make you, take your focus off from Jesus. That’s what the Devil wants you to do. He knows that when your focus is off Jesus – you will loose.
Always keep your focus on Jesus, and never on men
You can’t stand and be victorious in living righteously before God, if you are not always considering Jesus. He is the author and finisher of your faith. So learn how to strengthen yourself, in the grace of God with your calling and the gifts. Use the gifts and the calling over your life, to strengthen yourself. If you are not standing with them now, then you will never be able to stand at all with them.
To be called of God therefore signals God’s favor and goodness towards you, as you receive that call. It also means that God has a blessing awaiting you, as you step into your call by faith, in obedience to His voice. Everything that God has called you to do, He will cause His favor and goodness to always go before you, in making His provisions available for you to do it. He will never allow you to look up to the hands of men for help in doing it, because He does not ever share His glory with men.
The Devil is the one who will always make you look up, to the hands of the men of flesh and blood; because that’s the easiest way for him to make you disobey God. He does not want God to take the glory, for what He’s doing in your life. But all of Heaven’s resources has been made available to you in fulfilling that call. Just release your faith and take what the Father has in store for you.
When we started Bible Vision International Ministries one word that the Lord gave to us, that has always kept us strong in Him was that; everywhere He sends us to go, He has already made provisions available for us right there. And He has never failed us. We have always seen Him manifesting in ways that we never expected or can explain. The Lord has always been making His divine provisions available, from places that we never knew before, in doing what He has called us to do.
There has never been a time when He tells us to go somewhere or to do something, that we ever even thought about how we are going to get there, or how we are going to do it. When the Lord calls you to do anything, be reassured that His provisions has already been made available for you, before He tells you to do it.
Don’t even think about how, who, why, when or what of this and that? Such questions will hinder your faith walk into your calling. Just step out in faith and do what He tells you to do. As long as you’re walking in the call of God for your life, then you are in His perfect will. God has you protected in that perfect will. There are many times that He had showed up for us at the last moment, or after we had obeyed Him. But He has always showed up. At B.V.I.M we don’t look up to men. No, we’ve always trusted in God, and He has never failed us.
Your delayed obedience to God is actually disobedience, because you are dragging your feet to obey Him. You may be looking out for some other signs, when you do know that you will never get any. His voice to you is the only sign that you will ever get. And He has spoken already. So just step out by faith into your calling. Just do what He tells you to do, without considering anything.
What you are concerned about, is already known to God before He spoke to you. He will take care of it. Your only consideration should be Jesus, as you step out in faith to do the will of God. Your faith in His word that was spoken to you when He called you will guarantee the fulfillment of His promise to you. Faith in God is all you need to fulfill that call.
You don’t need to be putting pressure on people either, to help you in fulfilling your call. Those who apply pressure on others to do what God told them to do, are already calling God a liar by their faithless actions. You don’t need some marketing techniques of the world either, because what He asked you to do can’t be done in the wisdom of men.
Your God is faithful. He will do exactly what He says He is going to do. You should be putting pressure instead on His spoken promises to you, by meditating on it day and night; so that you may be careful to do exactly what He told you to do. And once you have finished doing what He told you to do; just keep standing in your calling by faith, doing the same thing over and over again, until He tells you what to do next. And before you know it, you will be riding on high, with God carrying you on His wings, into His purpose for you on this earth in your ministry.
