Dr. Lawrence Butler, The Bridge Church, Pembroke

Have you ever wondered how people came to be “called by God” into some phase of ministry?

Let me share two very different experiences by great messengers of God.

First there was Jeremiah the prophet in the Old Testament. The Lord said to him, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jer. 1:5). Before his birth God planned his calling and ministry. However, now consider the Apostle Paul. He was on his way to Damascus to continue his persecution of Christians when the Lord knocked him to the ground and spoke to him. He was informed shortly afterwards that he would be a witness to Jews and Gentiles alike to bear the name of Christ. Your calling is probably quite different from these men, but as a child of God, you have a place of ministry and will never be satisfied until you find that role.

The command of Jesus was for the church to, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” (Matt. 28:19). Mark stated it similarly when he quoted Jesus as saying, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). This is called the Great Commission, a command to the church to take our testimony of deliverance from sin to all the world. This is God’s method of reaching the doubting and unbelieving people that Jesus really lives and that He can change lives.

We do this best by living in a godly manner before the people we see each day. Maybe you have never felt a strong call upon your life like Jeremiah or Paul, but the call is there through the Great Commission. Will you respond and be a true witness for Christ?