Taken As You Follow

The Bible is rich with practical examples people who trust in God can identify with.  As I read through the book of Amos the other day, I truly identified with the prophet.  My call to ministry echoed his own, and God's clear involvement helped Amos stay the course despite hardship.  Becoming a pastor and teaching the Bible was never my intended plan for my future, and being a prophet was not the idea of Amos.  He said in Amos 7:14-15, "I was no prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet, but I was a sheepbreeder and a tender of sycamore fruit. ¹⁵ Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, and the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.'"  The fact neither Amos nor his father had a background in prophetic ministry was strong evidence of the authenticity of God's call upon his life.  He didn't start prophesying because he had received professional training, but God singled Amos out for His service.

As a pastor, I am comforted by the fact I never once imagined being a pastor as a child or youth.  It was only when I sought an open door to teach apprentices my trade of mechanical insulation I sensed God shutting that door and opening a door to teach His people:  "You will preach, and you will be sent."  I had already been teaching a Bible study, but a pastor?  It seemed incredible and challenging to believe.  Now I find myself a minister in Australia, and I know it is God who took me, called me, and will faithfully enable me to do His will.  I am not a passive pawn in some divine game, but a beloved son and servant of the Most High.  Like a soldier I have enlisted to serve God through faith in Christ, and it is required among stewards they be found faithful.  As Joseph said I say humbly, "It is not in me:  God will give an answer of peace."  God does not need man, yet God freely chooses to use men and women who trust and obey Him.

The call of God is not answered by looking for it or guessing what it could be, but by simply following the flock.  I did not draft a "wish list" of what role I would like in the Body of Christ or what gifts I wish to operate in.  This is the role of the Holy Spirit, as it is written in 1 Corinthians 12:11, "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills."  Even as God formed the first man from the dust of the ground, He knits each person together in the womb.  After being born again God places all people who trust in Christ in the Body of Christ according to His flawless design.  You will discover exactly where you fit in the Body as you follow Jesus Christ in the flock of God.  Amos was a devout man of God, and his trades were breeding sheep and farming sycamore fruit.  As he followed the flock, God took him and called him out of his profession.  He put words in the mouth of Amos and placed a burden on his heart to speak, and God used Amos as a prophet - even though he hadn't been trained as a prophet.  Walking with God provides the best training, and being filled with the Holy Spirit trumps training by itself.

Too many people sense a call of God upon their life and make a grave error:  they leave following the flock of God before God takes them and establishes them in their new role.  They know God has called them, and impatiently seek to bring their call to fruition.  They want others to recognise their calling too.  Many of these people - likely anointed and called of God to minister - eventually leave ministering and return to breeding sheep, farming, working in sales, and back to the tools.  There is nothing wrong with being a lay-minister like Paul who supported his ministry through manual labour.  But even in prison Paul didn't stop ministering.  Ministry ramped up!  David was called and anointed as king over a decade before he actually became king.  As the oil dripped down his face and soaked his clothes from the prophet Samuel's horn, he knew what it meant.  What David didn't know at the time was for years God would permit the mad king Saul to pursue him with only a step between him and death.  The LORD took that humble shepherd as he followed the flock, like Amos, and established him as king over all Israel.  It will be the same for you and me as well.

Does this mean we all will be given an opportunity to rule?  No:  today Jesus Christ the KING OF KINGS is the rightful ruler.  We are called to take the lowest place, for Jesus provided His followers the example of being the servant of all.  Those given authority in ministry must remain under God's authority.  Our lives are lived in the confines of time, and one of the great lessons we must learn is God is not in a hurry.  Jesus allowed Lazarus to die and be buried instead of rushing to His immediate aid.  For forty years Moses lived in Egypt, and then forty more years tended his father-in-law's herds before God took him and used him to deliver the Israelites from bondage.  Joseph spent years in an Egyptian prison after being wrongfully accused before he was made second to Pharaoh and save the nation from famine.  God allowed David to sleep in caves for years before he lived in a palace.  Amos was trained for the ministry while he followed the flock.  God called me as a pastor when I had been trained to insulate pipes and worked in the industry for over a decade!  Looking back I can say with complete contentment:  God knew what He was doing all along.  God uses the daily grind to refine our faith.

Leave your role and the timing for your ministry to the LORD.  It is all God's ministry, and He redeems the time.  He will take you as you follow Jesus Christ, faithfully serving in obedience right where you are.  Do you seek great things for yourself?  The LORD forbids this (Jer. 45:5).  Instead of despising the days of small things in your estimation, today seek to better serve and magnify our great and glorious God!  Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.