"IF a man DESIRES the office of Biship he desireth a good work." I have no desire to do anything other than pastor one of the Lords New Testament Churches. God placed this desire with me and I pray I never loose it. The evidence is the desire that can only be given by the Lord. Not just the desire to serve or lead, but the desire to fill the OFFICE OF BISHOP.
I'd say it is an inward evidence of the desire. As to outward appearances, I'm not sure. God calls men everywhere to repent, but many don't. Perhaps He calls many to be preachers who live godly, who don't. Perhaps He calls many to preach the Word in context, who don't. I don't know if there are any outward evidences other than a man's own testimony of that.
I think it might be easier to determine if a man really wants to preach, whether God has called him or not. If his lifestyle is one of rebellion, or heresy, we could perhaps say he does not truly desire to follow God's will for his life. I know this doesn't answer whether or not he is called to preach, but it does answer whether or not he is following God's will.
As to the desire, agreed. I didn't really know what all preaching detailed. I didn't even know the term "call to preach." I was twelve years old, and I knew God wanted me to tell people His Word in assemblies. It wasn't until later I learned the distinction between pastor, and missionary, and associate pastors, and the such like. It wasn't until later I felt a calling to a specific church with a certain vision. But the call initially was just this great, overwhelming desire to proclaim the Word to an assembly, and a desire I could not shake or get rid of (though I'm sure some can.)
"IF a man DESIRES the office of Biship he desireth a good work." I have no desire to do anything other than pastor one of the Lords New Testament Churches. God placed this desire with me and I pray I never loose it. The evidence is the desire that can only be given by the Lord. Not just the desire to serve or lead, but the desire to fill the OFFICE OF BISHOP.
ReplyDelete'MAN! 'SpRITE! C'mON! 'etzGO!
ReplyDeleteI'd say it is an inward evidence of the desire. As to outward appearances, I'm not sure. God calls men everywhere to repent, but many don't. Perhaps He calls many to be preachers who live godly, who don't. Perhaps He calls many to preach the Word in context, who don't. I don't know if there are any outward evidences other than a man's own testimony of that.
I think it might be easier to determine if a man really wants to preach, whether God has called him or not. If his lifestyle is one of rebellion, or heresy, we could perhaps say he does not truly desire to follow God's will for his life. I know this doesn't answer whether or not he is called to preach, but it does answer whether or not he is following God's will.
As to the desire, agreed. I didn't really know what all preaching detailed. I didn't even know the term "call to preach." I was twelve years old, and I knew God wanted me to tell people His Word in assemblies. It wasn't until later I learned the distinction between pastor, and missionary, and associate pastors, and the such like. It wasn't until later I felt a calling to a specific church with a certain vision. But the call initially was just this great, overwhelming desire to proclaim the Word to an assembly, and a desire I could not shake or get rid of (though I'm sure some can.)