Am I Called - Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Last week, we asked this question, “Am I Called?”
We were able to see that in some sense, we are all called to serve; we are all called to share the Gospel; we are all called to be salt and light. These are not leadership principles… these are Christian principles. We all share in those responsibilities.
But then we moved on to the idea of being called into leadership.
We looked at 1 Cor 12, where Paul outlines how it is the Holy Spirit who distributes the gifts as He sees fit, and He does so perfectly and without mistake. He knows what each of us are best suited for. He knows where we can best be utilized within the context of the body to make the greatest impact for Christ.
We also looked at how several different people throughout the Scriptures received their calling through some kind of divine encounter with God. It was several. But we also looked at how the church is commanded to raise up leaders form within as well. Paul raised up Timothy and Titus and then commissioned them for service, and Paul also commands Timothy:
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
So with this idea of calling, we see two principles at work:
On one hand, it is God that does the calling and commissioning.
On the other hand, we are commanded to watch closely those who are within the membership for signs of God’s giftedness upon them, and then train them up into leadership.
Somehow we have to reconcile these two things together. And I will be the first to tell you that there is no perfect process for this that I have seen.
There will be times when we fail to see God’s hand upon an individual and therefore miss the opportunity to pull them into leadership. There will be other times where we mistake natural talent for spiritual giftedness and pull people into leadership who shouldn’t be there. There will be some who say that they have received a divine encounter with God and know that they need to be in leadership, or the ministry, and we will take them at their word only to find out 3-5 years down the road that this was probably not the case. There will be others who most definitely have the hand of God upon them for leadership, but don’t receive some kind of clear moment with God telling them to move in that direction, so they won’t.
We are not perfect, and figuring these things out is much harder than simply evaluating where someone is comfortable to serve, what their gifts or talents are, or discerning whether someone has truly received a “Calling” from God.
But with that being said, I do believe that our Heavenly Father, and the creator of the Church, has not left us empty handed. I believe that if we look closely enough at the Scriptures, He has left us an outline of what this should look like. It may not be exactly the same for every person or every situation, but I believe it should serve as a baseline in most cases.
Desire
Pursuit
Examination
Recognition & Appointment
Servant Leadership
Desire
Desire
Let's turn to 1 Timothy 3:1, where Paul writes,
1 This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
Notice what Paul does not say. He doesn't say, "If a man is voted into office," or "If a man is talented enough," or "If a man's family has a long line of preachers behind him." He says, "If a man desires." Before anything else happens — before training, before appointment, before ordination — there is a desire. And that desire is not something a man conjures up on his own initiative like he might decide he wants a new career or a new hobby. This is a desire that the Holy Spirit Himself plants in the heart.
Think about that word "desires" for a moment. In the Greek, it carries the sense of stretching oneself out toward something, reaching for it with the whole of one's being. This isn't a casual, take-it-or-leave-it kind of interest. This is a longing that stirs a man from the inside, that won't let him rest, that keeps drawing him back to the Word, back to prayer, back to the people of God, back to thoughts of how he might serve. Paul calls it "a good work" — not a good title, not a good position of honor, but a good work. That tells us something about the nature of this desire. It's not a desire for recognition. It's a desire to labor.
Now here's where I want us to slow down, because this is foundational to everything else we're going to talk about tonight. If desire is the starting point, then the very first question any of us must ask is not "Has the church asked me to serve?" but "Has God stirred something in me?" Friends, God does not typically call men and women into service by skipping over their hearts. He doesn't usually tap someone on the shoulder who has absolutely no inclination whatsoever toward the work and say, "You're it." Instead, He works from the inside out. He plants a seed. He creates a hunger. He gives a burden that a person cannot shake, no matter how hard they try to shake it.
I want you to think about your own life for a moment. Is there a stirring in you? Maybe it's toward teaching the Word. Maybe it's toward shepherding people, toward the pastorate, toward deaconship, toward missions, toward some form of service in this body. Do not dismiss that stirring as pride or presumption. Paul doesn't rebuke the man who desires the office — he commends the desire itself as a "faithful saying," a trustworthy statement, something we ought to take seriously rather than brush aside.
But let me also give a word of caution here, because desire alone is not the full picture — we'll see that as we move through the rest of our points tonight. Desire is the seed, not the harvest. Not every desire that rises in a human heart is from the Lord. Some desires are rooted in ambition, in wanting to be seen, in wanting a title or a platform. That's why Paul doesn't stop with desire — he goes on to lay out character qualifications in the verses that follow, because desire has to be tested and proven, not just assumed to be valid because it feels strong.
So here's the application I want you to sit with before we move to our next point. Ask yourself honestly tonight: Do I sense a genuine, Spirit-given longing to serve the Lord's people? Not a desire for status, not a desire to be noticed, but a genuine ache to see God's Word taught rightly, His people shepherded well, His church built up? If that longing is there, don't quench it. Don't talk yourself out of it because you feel unworthy — none of us are worthy in ourselves. But also don't rush past it as though desire alone qualifies you. Desire is where God starts the work in a man's heart. It is not where the process ends
Pursuit
Pursuit
If desire is the seed, then pursuit is what happens when that seed begins to grow roots. Turn with me to 1 Timothy 4:12-15. Paul is writing to young Timothy, and he says,
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
13 Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.
15 Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.
Notice the verbs Paul uses here. "Give attention." "Do not neglect." "Meditate." "Give yourself entirely." These are not passive words. These are words of active, deliberate pursuit. Timothy had already received a gift — verse 14 makes that clear — but a gift that sits idle does no one any good. Paul is telling him, in essence, "You have something God has placed in you. Now go develop it. Go stir it up. Don't just sit there waiting for it to happen to you."
This is where a lot of people get stuck in the process of discerning a call. They feel the desire we talked about in point one, but they never move beyond feeling it. They wait for some dramatic sign, some voice from heaven, some undeniable moment of clarity before they'll lift a finger. But that's not the pattern we see in Scripture. The pattern we see is a young man who has a gift, who has a stirring, and who is told to give attention to it — to read, to study doctrine, to practice exhortation, to grow in godly character, and to let his progress be evident to others over time.
Real desire, brothers and sisters, does not sit still. If God has truly placed a longing in your heart to serve, that longing will show up in your habits. It will show up in whether you're opening your Bible on your own, whether you're seeking out opportunities to teach a class or lead a small group or serve in some capacity, whether you're asking older, more mature believers to speak into your life and hold you accountable. Genuine calling doesn't wait around for the church to hand you a title before you start living out the substance of the work.
Think about it this way. If a young man says, "I believe God has called me to preach," but he never opens his Bible outside of Sunday morning, never volunteers to teach, never seeks correction or growth, what are we to make of that claim? Words are cheap. Paul tells Timothy to give himself entirely to these things — reading, exhortation, doctrine — so that his progress would be evident to all. In other words, pursuit is visible. It shows up. Other people can see it happening in a person's life over time.
This is also where personal holiness enters the picture directly. Paul tells Timothy to be an example in word, conduct, love, spirit, faith, and purity. Pursuit of a call is never separated from pursuit of Christlikeness. You cannot chase after ministry while neglecting your own walk with the Lord. The gift and the character must grow together, side by side, or the gift will eventually outrun the character and cause great harm — both to the person and to the church they serve.
So let me press this home. If you sense that stirring we talked about a moment ago, the question now becomes: What are you doing about it? Are you pursuing growth, or are you waiting for someone else to hand you an opportunity before you'll lift a finger toward godliness or service? Are you meditating on the Word, giving yourself to it, so that your progress is evident — evident to your family, evident to your small group, evident to the elders of this church? Desire that never turns into pursuit will wither. But desire that moves the feet, that gets into the Word, that seeks out chances to serve in small ways now — that is desire being confirmed. Don't wait for the calling to feel complete before you start walking in the direction it's pointing you.
Examination
Examination
Now we come to a point that, honestly, can feel uncomfortable to some people, but it is absolutely essential to the biblical process of discerning a call. Turn to 1 Timothy 3:10. Speaking of those who would serve as deacons, Paul writes,
10 But let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, being found blameless.
And look also at Acts 6:3, where the apostles instruct the church
3 Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;
Do you see the pattern here? "Let these first be tested." "Seek out men of good reputation." Notice that the testing and the seeking are not things a man does to himself. This is the church's responsibility. Calling is never simply a private matter between an individual and God, kept locked away in his own heart and mind. If it were, we would have no safeguard against pride, deception, or simple self-delusion. Instead, God has ordained that the body of Christ — the local church — plays an active role in examining and confirming whether the desire and pursuit we've talked about are genuinely from Him.
Think about why this matters so much. The human heart is capable of tremendous self-deception. A man can convince himself that he is called because he enjoys the sound of his own voice, or because he craves influence, or because he simply wants a change in his life and ministry seems like a noble direction to go. Left entirely to private discernment, calling becomes whatever a person wants it to be. That is precisely why Scripture builds in this step of examination. The church — elders, mature believers, the gathered body — watches. Not to be harsh, not to be suspicious for suspicion's sake, but because love requires honesty, and the stakes of leading God's people are too high to leave unchecked.
Notice too what is being tested. It's not primarily gifting or eloquence. In Acts 6, the qualification was "good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." In 1 Timothy 3, the testing precedes the description of a blameless life. The church isn't looking first at whether someone speaks well in public. The church is looking at character over time — at how a person handles conflict, how they treat their spouse and children, whether their private life matches their public profession, whether they can be trusted with money, with people's trust, with the reputation of Christ's name.
This is why examination cannot happen quickly. Character is revealed over time, not in a single interview or a single impressive sermon. A man might perform wonderfully under a spotlight for thirty minutes and yet be entirely unfit for the daily, unglamorous work of shepherding people through years of joy and sorrow. That's why the church watches a life, not just a moment.
Now here is where I want to press the application, and I suspect this might land differently for different people in this room. For some of you, this word is a challenge to actually submit yourself to this kind of scrutiny rather than avoiding it. There are people who claim to sense a call, who talk about pursuing ministry, but who quietly resist any real accountability. They don't want anyone examining their marriage, their finances, their temper, their habits. But brothers and sisters, if you truly desire this work, you should welcome examination rather than fear it. Being tested is not an insult — it is a gift. It is the church loving you enough to make sure what you believe about yourself lines up with reality, before you're placed in a position where your blind spots could harm others.
For others of you, this is a call to actually take seriously your role in this process. If you're a member of this church, part of your responsibility is to watch — not with a critical, fault-finding spirit, but with a loving, discerning eye — the lives of those who desire to serve. Are you praying for those in this process? Are you honest with elders about what you observe, good or bad? The church cannot examine well if its members are silent or indifferent. Examination is a shared work, not something we outsource entirely to a pastoral staff.
So let both sides hear this tonight. If you sense a call, don't run from being tested — run toward it, because testing is how a genuine call is confirmed and a false one is mercifully caught before real damage is done. And if you're simply a member of this body, take seriously your part in watching, praying, and speaking honestly into the lives of those pursuing this work.
Recognition & Appointment
Recognition & Appointment
So far, we've seen desire rise in the heart, pursuit begin to demonstrate that desire, and examination test whether what a person senses internally is actually being confirmed externally. But there is another step in this process. Eventually, if the desire is genuine, the pursuit is evident, and the examination confirms the character and gifting of the individual, the church must be willing to recognize what God is doing and appoint that person to serve.
Go back with me to Acts 6, but this time let's look at verses 5–6. After the apostles instructed the congregation to seek out qualified men, Luke tells us:
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,
6 whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid hands on them.
Notice what has happened. These men didn't simply stand up one morning and announce, "God told me I'm supposed to be a leader, so here I am." Neither did the apostles randomly choose seven men because there were seven positions that needed to be filled.
There was a process.
The need was identified. Qualifications were established. The congregation looked among themselves. Men whose lives already demonstrated those qualifications were recognized. They were brought before the apostles. The apostles prayed over them. And then they were publicly appointed to the work.
That is significant because it shows us that biblical calling has both a personal and a corporate dimension.
There ought to be something happening in the heart of the individual — that's desire.
There ought to be something happening in the life of the individual — that's pursuit.
There ought to be evidence that can be evaluated — that's examination.
But eventually there ought to be recognition from the body of Christ that says, "We see this too."
And I think that is an incredibly important part of discerning God's call.
If I am the only person who sees leadership ability in me, that ought to give me pause. If I believe I am gifted to teach but nobody who has ever heard me teach recognizes that gift, I need to listen. If I believe God has equipped me to shepherd people but mature believers who know my life see serious deficiencies in my character, I shouldn't dismiss them by saying, "Well, I know what God told me."
Could the church be wrong? Absolutely. We established that at the beginning. Churches are made up of imperfect people, and sometimes we fail to recognize someone God is preparing. But the possibility of the church getting it wrong does not give us permission to ignore the role God has given the church in recognizing leaders.
There ought to be some measure of agreement between what I believe God is doing in me and what God's people can see God doing through me.
And notice something else about Acts 6: the appointment doesn't create the qualifications.
These men weren't appointed and then expected to become "of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." Those qualities were already present before they were appointed. The church simply recognized what was already there.
That means a title does not make someone a leader.
Ordination doesn't magically create character.
A vote doesn't produce spiritual giftedness.
A position doesn't manufacture maturity.
The church's responsibility is not to make someone into something that God has not equipped them to be. Our responsibility is to recognize what God is already producing, help develop it, examine it carefully, and when appropriate, give that person an opportunity to exercise it.
And that changes the way we ought to think about leadership development in the church.
We shouldn't merely ask, "Who wants the position?"
We shouldn't merely ask, "Who is available?"
And we certainly shouldn't wait until we're desperate and say, "We've got a hole to fill — somebody has to do it."
We ought to be constantly watching the people God has placed within this body and asking, "Where is God at work? Who is growing? Who is serving? Who is demonstrating faithfulness? Who is showing spiritual maturity? Who appears to have been gifted by God for greater responsibility?"
And when we see it, we ought to encourage it.
Maybe there is someone sitting in this room tonight who has never considered himself or herself a leader, but other mature believers have begun saying, "I see something in you."
Don't dismiss that too quickly.
Sometimes God's confirmation of what He is doing in your life comes through the people He has placed around you.
And for those of us already in leadership, this means part of our responsibility is to look behind us. Who are we developing? Who are we encouraging? Who are we giving opportunities to? Who are we preparing to do what we're doing someday?
Remember Paul's words to Timothy: "The things that you have heard from me... commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also."
Healthy churches don't simply have leaders.
Healthy churches raise up leaders.
So when desire has led to pursuit, pursuit has survived examination, and the church can clearly see the hand and gifting of God upon a person's life, there comes a time when the church should recognize that work and say, "We believe God has equipped you for this. Now go serve."
But that brings us to one final point.
Because once a person has been recognized...
Once they've been appointed...
Once they've been given the title, the responsibility, the opportunity, or the authority...
What exactly are they supposed to do with it?
And Jesus' answer turns the world's entire understanding of leadership upside down.
Servant Leadership
Servant Leadership
Turn with me to Mark 10:42–45.
Jesus calls His disciples together and says:
42 But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.
43 Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
44 And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all.
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
If there is one passage that ought to sober every person who desires spiritual leadership, it may be this one.
Because Jesus makes it unmistakably clear that leadership in His Kingdom operates completely differently from leadership in the world.
The world says leadership means people serve you.
Jesus says leadership means you serve them.
The world says leadership means climbing higher.
Jesus says leadership means stooping lower.
The world says leadership gives you authority so you can get your way.
Jesus says leadership gives you responsibility so you can give yourself away.
And then Jesus points to Himself as the ultimate example: "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."
Think about who is saying that.
Jesus Christ.
The Son of God.
The King of Kings.
The Lord of Lords.
If anyone who ever walked this earth had the right to demand that everyone around Him serve Him, it was Jesus. And yet He says that the purpose of His coming was not to be served, but to serve.
So if our understanding of leadership makes us more important than the people around us, we have misunderstood biblical leadership.
If our understanding of ministry means people should accommodate us because we're the pastor, the deacon, the teacher, the leader, or the person in charge, we've missed something.
Jesus says, "It shall not be so among you."
That statement needs to govern every leadership position in the church.
Leadership is not primarily a privilege to enjoy.
It is a responsibility to carry.
And this is where I think the entire process we've talked about tonight comes full circle.
Go all the way back to where we started: Desire.
What did Paul say? "If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work."
Not a good title.
Not a good office.
Not a good platform.
A good work.
So maybe one of the greatest tests of whether our desire for leadership is actually from God is this: Do I still want it when I understand what it really requires?
Do I want to lead if leading means serving people who may never thank me?
Do I want to lead if it means carrying burdens nobody else knows I'm carrying?
Do I want to lead if it means putting someone else's needs ahead of my convenience?
Do I want to lead if it means being criticized by some of the very people I'm trying to help?
Do I want to lead if there is no spotlight?
Do I want to lead if nobody knows my name?
Do I want to lead if the work is difficult, inconvenient, exhausting, and sometimes completely unnoticed?
Because that is where calling gets real.
The question is not merely, "Do I want to preach?"
The question is, "Do I want to serve?"
The question isn't merely, "Do I want to be a deacon?"
It's, "Do I want to serve?"
The question isn't merely, "Do I want to lead a ministry?"
It's, "Do I want to serve?"
Because in the Kingdom of God, leadership and service cannot be separated.
And maybe this is where we sometimes get calling wrong. We think the destination of calling is appointment. We imagine that once someone has been examined, recognized, ordained, elected, or placed into a position, the process is finished.
But appointment isn't the finish line.
Service is.
Everything before this prepares you for the work. Desire moves you toward it. Pursuit develops you for it. Examination determines whether you're ready for it. Recognition and appointment entrust you with it.
And then you spend yourself doing it.
That's biblical leadership.
So let me leave you tonight with five questions that follow the five principles we've considered:
Desire — Is God stirring my heart toward this work?
Pursuit — Am I actively developing what God appears to have placed within me?
Examination — Does my character withstand the scrutiny of God's Word and God's people?
Recognition & Appointment — Do mature believers within the church recognize God's hand and gifting upon my life?
Servant Leadership — Am I willing to use whatever responsibility God gives me for the good of others rather than the advancement of myself?
And maybe that final question is the most revealing of all.
Because if what I really want is recognition, I probably won't be satisfied with a towel.
If what I really want is authority, I probably won't be satisfied with washing feet.
If what I really want is a platform, I probably won't be satisfied serving where nobody sees me.
But if what I really want is Christ...
Then I should be willing to follow the example of Christ.
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve."
So, am I called?
Maybe the answer doesn't come from waiting on one dramatic moment when heaven opens and God announces our assignment.
Maybe, in many cases, God gives us something much more ordinary — and much more measurable.
A desire that will not go away.
A pursuit that becomes evident.
A life that withstands examination.
A calling that is recognized by the church.
And a heart that would rather serve than be served.
When those things begin coming together, I believe we have good biblical reason to stop merely asking, "Am I called?"
And begin asking:
"Lord, where would You have me serve?"
