Men the verse that I want to point out tonight is in verse 29 where the Bible
reads and Moses said unto them envious thou for my sake would God that all the
Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them and
the title of my sermon tonight is myths about the call to preach myths about the
call to preach now this verse here is something that I want you to keep in
mind as we go into the sermon and as we think about this subject just as a good
starting point just get in your head here what Moses said would to God that
all the Lord's people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit upon
them now flip over if you were to first Timothy chapter number three the title
of the sermon is myths about the call to preach myth number one is that you have
to be called to preach that's myth number one right you can't preach or you can't
be a pastor unless you're called to preach brother you got to be called you
don't want to be one of these mama called preachers you know you got to be
called of God and you know I grew up hearing in my whole life as an
independent fundamental Baptist this sort of spooky thing of the call to
preach and you'll have people that will say I was called to preach on June 25th
2003 you know they'll have a date and a time and a place and some of them even
get really crazy with it and tell fantastical stories like a preacher that
said that the whole room lit up with the Shekinah glory of God and you know and
he heard a voice that said Jack I want you to preach you know and and so you'll
hear these kind of crazy stories like that and everything just trying to have
this I don't know myth about it or or this mystique about it and then and then
you know ordinary Joe is kind of sitting there like nothing like that ever
happened to me maybe I'm not called to preach I didn't hear any voice I didn't
get any tingling or burning in the bosom you know maybe I'm not cut out to be a
pastor or preacher and so forth now let me start out by saying this as I grew up
an independent fundamental Baptist there was a big emphasis on being called to
preach there were the altar calls the invitations where people would come down
for salvation come down to get right with God or they would come down to
surrender to preach if they're being called to preach they'll come down the
aisle and and that was one of the things that they did now that never set well
with me and I never bought into that now I have wanted to be a preacher my whole
life when I was a little tiny child I wanted to be a preacher I especially
wanted to be a missionary to a foreign country and when I became a teenager and
we went to some liberal churches I lost sight of that goal but then when I got
back into a fundamental Baptist Church at the age of 17 then I wanted to preach
again then I wanted to be a pastor again because I had a better role model at
that point then in the liberal church down the street so I've always wanted to
preach but whenever they would talk about being called to preach and come
down the aisle surrender to preach I never participated in any of that
because I I didn't think that it was biblical and something didn't seem right
about it and I didn't want to get all carried away in the emotion of it and so
what I want to look at tonight is the Bible and dispel some of these myths
about the call to preach the first thing I want to talk about is being a pastor
because usually when we think about being a preacher we think about being a
pastor now you don't have to be a pastor to preach I mean would to God
that all God's people would preach amen and that God's Spirit would come upon
them but we're talking specifically right now about being a pastor look at
1st Timothy chapter 3 verse 1 the Bible says this is a true saying if a man
desire the office of a bishop he desireth a good work there's no mention
of a special calling there's no mention of a supernatural experience there's
just a desire to be a pastor that's where it starts if a man desire the
office of a bishop he desireth a good work and notice what it says a man any
old man that desires the office of a bishop not the man not some special type
of man but just a man who desires the office of a bishop he desireth a good
work a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife and then no that's
not one wife at a time the husband of one wife vigilant sober of good behavior
given to hospitality apt to teach so if someone desires the job and if they have
the qualifications that's it that's what it takes to be a pastor you've got to
have the desire and you got to meet the qualifications now one qualification in
particular that I want to point out though is the one that says apt to teach
in order to be a pastor you do need to have some aptitude or ability to teach
and preach some people have no ability to teach or preach so obviously that
disqualifies them from being a pastor so I'm not saying that everyone should be a
pastor tonight but what I am saying is that everybody who wants to be a pastor
and meets the qualifications should be a pastor calling or no calling if you'll
want to do it and you meet the criteria then do it then do it the Bible and you
know what I've heard most of the greatest preachers and many of the
preachers that I admire say this well I wasn't called I just volunteered I've
heard that from the mouths of many humble righteous men of God and then I
heard the stories about the whole room lighting up and everything and by the
way the guy who told that particular story is in federal prison right now for
being a statutory rapist Jack Scott okay but anyway the Bible says in 1st
Timothy chapter 3 verse 3 not given to wine no striker not greedy a filthy
lucre but patient not a brawler not covetous one that rule as well his own
house having his children in subjection with all gravity for if a man know not
how to rule his own house how shall he take care of the Church of God not a
novice this is a word that's thrown around a lot and let me just stop and
explain what it means novice is thrown at people as an insult and it's the
dumbest insult in the world and people just need to stop using it as an insult
if there's a preacher they don't like he's a novice pastors that preach false
talk always a novice there's nothing wrong with being a novice a novice
should never be an insult novice simply means new it means you're a beginner
okay in sports for example I grew up with my dad being into riding
motorcycles and so in motocross there was the novice class and then there was
the amateur class and then there was the professional class of motocross racing
so novice just means you're new you're a beginner now there's nothing wrong with
being a novice and that's why it should never be thrown out as an insult because
everyone starts out as a novice everyone starts out as a beginner there's nothing
wrong with being a beginner it's just that you shouldn't be a pastor if you're
starting out so somebody who just got saved last year or even a couple of
years ago should not be a pastor because they're too new they're a novice they're
a beginner they need to get some experience they need to get a track
record that's all that means right there and it says not a novice less being
lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil you see when
you take a novice and you just put them in a position of authority right away
you put them in a top leadership position right away that could go to
their head and make them prideful and so that's the danger with a novice you know
I've often thought about the fact that when I started the church here back in
2005 when I was 24 years old the church did not grow very quickly you know the
first year we averaged about 10 people second year we averaged 20 the third
year we averaged 30 now at this time our church is big and our church is growing
quickly and our church is one of the largest independent Baptist churches in
Arizona and I'm glad though looking back that it grew slowly because I can see
the danger in a young 24 year old man starting a church and then the thing
just starts growing and getting huge and millions of people are listening in you
know that could go to somebody's head that could be a danger so perhaps the
Lord allowed me to pastor a small church for many years why because getting up
and preaching to 10 people every week makes you humble preaching to 10 people
20 people you know what if I would have started out and I'm just running a
hundred after the first year and then next thing you know we're running 500
you know I don't know would that have gone to my head the Lord knows but we
need to understand that young people and beginners need to pay their dues and
work hard and serve and not to just be thrust into the limelight and thrust into
positions of authority one of the the biggest cases of this is where you'll
see a pastor just put his son behind the pulpit at age 18 or or have him
pastoring a church when he's 20 years old or put him in charge of the youth
department when he's 18 or so you know that's false there's a video of my son
Solomon preaching on YouTube it's from a preaching class where he got up just as
a kid and preached as a class and and people have gone on there so you know
why are you putting this child by the pulpit look we'll never put children
behind the pulpit to preach in church and let me say this the last person I
would ever put behind the pulpit and start giving opportunities to preach as
a young man would be my son's and I'll tell you why because this isn't some
hereditary dynasty where the pastor's kids just are put in these positions of
authority and leadership in the church they will never be on the church payroll
let me just go on the record right now none of my sons will ever be on the
church payroll period why because of the fact that they need to pay their own
dues they need to work their own job they need to do their own thing in life
and not have everything handed to them I don't want them to be bad people I want
them to be good men of God that know how to work and and make it in the real
world and not have everything handed to them by their parents so that's the
thing about a novice I would hate for one of my sons to just be lifted up in
pride then I'm not saying that they would but there is a danger of that
isn't there the Bible says the novice can get lifted up with pride you know
what I thank God that even though I worked hard and strove for growth in
2006 2007 2008 I'm thankful that the growth was slow because you know what
that was obviously God's plan I was working hard and God had a plan and now
we see the fruition of that plan and I'm sure that God has greater things for us
in the future amen but I'm glad that God kept it humble in the early days so
that I would not be lifted up with pride and fall into the condemnation of the
devil is there a lot of pastors out there who get lifted up with pride and
they start to teach what people want to hear because they start liking the big
love offerings when they preach what people want to hear and they start
liking the the appearances on TV and not my kind of appearances on TV but the
kind where they actually like you not the kind where they're condemning you on
TV but they start to like the accolades and the status and being the big name
guy the big shot right we don't need any more big shots in the ministry so we
don't need any novices now that's nothing against the novice he just needs
to put in his time pay his dues and earn it moreover he must have a good
report of them which are without lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the
devil flip over to Titus 1 what are we talking about tonight we're talking about
myths associated with the call to preach myth number one is that you have to be
called to preach you have to be called to pastor I've had people ask me this
brother were you called to preach and I tell them no I wasn't
oh well that explains a lot yeah no I wasn't called to preach you know what I
volunteered to preach I desired the office of a bishop I met the
qualifications I was approved of my local church and I started the church
and I'm a pastor and I'd knows no calling no Shekinah glory thank God
since Shekinah is a false god but that's in marching design but anyway Titus
chapter 1 verse 5 here's another clue look we're looking at scripture tonight
what does scripture say if you desire it you meet the qualifications do it Titus
1 5 for this cause left I thee and create that thou should have said in
order the things that are wanting that means lacking and ordained elders in
every city as I had appointed thee if any now that's a keyword any if the one
that we called is that what he says no he says if any be blameless the husband
of one wife vigilant sober of good behavior given to hospitality apt to
teach so if we look to the Bible we see that anybody who meets the
qualifications and wants to do it should do it they should go for it amen
not given to wine no striker not greedy a filthy lucre but patient not a brawler
not covetous one that rule as well as own I'm sorry I'm reading the wrong
chapter aren't I let me go back to time I slipped into 1st Timothy 3 there okay
where are we 1 verse 6 if any be blameless the husband of one wife having
faithful children not accused of riot or unruly for a bishop must be blameless
as the steward of God not self-willed not soon angry not given to wine no
striker not given to filthy lucre but a lover of hospitality a lover of good
men sober just holy temperate you notice that there are a lot of qualifications
1st Timothy 3 had a lot Titus 1 has a lot they're pretty much both saying the
same things in just different wording but it's a lot to live up to so again
it's not for everybody but it's for everybody who wants to and meets the
qualifications that's what we ought to be emphasizing why don't we emphasize
the qualifications why don't we emphasize that because instead they
emphasize the calling and then you know what they pull out later when the pastor
disqualifies himself well the gifts and calling of God are without repentance
they pull that out well if he was caught we know he was called to preach so he's
got to keep on pastoring even though he's on his third wife or whatever
holding fast the faithful word as he had been taught that he may be able by sound
doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers for there are many
unruly and vain talkers and deceivers especially they have the circumcision
that's another sermon all right myth number two that I've heard is this flip
over you would Amos chapter 7 the the little minor prophet book of Amos
chapter number 7 here's myth number two if you can be happy doing anything else
you're not called to preach who's heard this one before if you can be happy do
it a couple people I have several people if you can be happy doing anything else
then you're not called to preach men have asked the question how do I know if
I'm called they hear all these stories and they they don't know and they ask
well how do I know if I'm being called well son if you can be happy doing
anything else you're not called now that is a myth and in fact I'll go further
than to say that it's a myth I'll say this it's the exact opposite of the
truth and in fact I'll take it a step further people who cannot be happy doing
anything else are bad people if you can't be happy doing anything else than
being a pastor or a preacher then you're a bad person there I said it now you
know why I say you're a bad person because a good person is willing to
serve in any capacity they just love the Lord they just love church they love
serving God and they're totally happy being a church member being a servant
being a helper being an assistant just being part of the team amen that's the
right attitude they said well I can't be happy doing anything else except being
the top dog that's a bad person that's the type of guy who needs to stay out of
the ministry that's the kind of person we don't need as a pastor somebody who
just has to be a pastor that's bad let's think about some guys in the Bible were
they happy doing anything else how about Moses see Moses was a great leader a
great man of God there's no question that he was called by God since God came
to him in the burning bush and specifically told him to go to Egypt and
preach and bring the people out of bondage okay let's ask this question
could Moses be happy doing anything else he spent 40 years happily doing
something else and when God came and told him to preach and to go and be a
prophet he said send somebody else okay and the Bible says that Moses was the
meekest man on the face of the earth and you know that's who God picked that's
who God liked that's who God used not somebody who couldn't be happy doing
anything else okay how about King Saul now there's a guy God picked out of all
the children of Israel God could have picked anyone he wanted and he picked
Saul to be the king of Israel now forget the fact that later in life he messed up
his life that's his fault God still chose Saul for a reason you know why God
chose him because he was little in his own sight that's when he chose him and
when he chose Saul was Saul happy doing something else well he hid himself he
hid himself among the stuff he didn't want to do it okay how about Peter was
he able to be happy doing something else he was happy to go fishing you know
Peter was fishing and and Christ had to pull him away from fishing literally
three different times right three different times he had to tell him to
leave fishing to leave his secular job and to be a preacher he said depart from
me Lord I'm a sinful man no you've got the wrong guy he was happy doing
something else wasn't he he was happy to be a fisherman how about Amos I believe
that Amos was happy to do something else he was a herdsman he was a gatherer of
sycamore fruit but you know what God commanded him to do it and so he did it
look at Amos chapter 7 verse 12 also Amaziah said unto Amos oh thou seer go
flee thee away into the land of Judah and eat their bread and prophesy there
now I've had governments tell me this same thing too I've had different
leaders and presidents and kings tell me the same you know go flee away from here
go preach somewhere else but prophesy not anymore at Bethel for it is the
king's chapel and it is the king's court then answered Amos and said to Amaziah I
was no prophet neither was I a prophet's son but I was an herdman and a gatherer
of sycamore fruit and the Lord took me as I followed the flock and the Lord
said unto me go prophesy unto my people Israel this is a profound verse verse 15
the Lord took me as I followed the flock now literally he's talking about
following his own literal flock because he's a herdsman but you know what
there's a symbolic meaning here you know God will take you as you follow the
flock and he will make you a preacher but you start out by being what humble
you start out by serving you start out by being a part of the team and if God
allows you to preach if you meet the qualifications if you have the desire so
much the better but can you be happy doing something else I believe the name
is could have been happy following the flock and doing something else but the
Lord said in him go prophesy unto my people Israel now therefore hear thou
the word of the Lord thou sayest prophesy not against Israel and drop not
thy word against the house of Isaac therefore thus saith the Lord thy wife
shall be a harlot in the city that's pretty hard preaching right there and
thy sons I mean when this guy got banned he he fired back amen he said oh yeah
buddy well your wife shall be a harlot in the city that's pretty harsh and thy
sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword and thy land shall be divided by
line and thou shalt die in a polluted land and Israel shall surely go into
captivity fourth of this land let me just point out something here a lot of
people have this attitude that says well hey if they don't want you there then
shake the dust off your feet and go somewhere else you know what I agree
with that if the people don't want you there I mean if I went to a neighborhood
a country a town an Indian Reservation and the people did not want us there the
people did not want to hear the gospel you know we'll shake the dust off our
feet and never come back we have no interest in preaching the gospel to
people who don't want to hear it when the whole world's full of people who do
want to hear it amen here's what I have a problem with what I have a problem
with is one guy in Botswana who rumor has it's a closet homo himself he's
definitely a homo lover but one guy the president threw us out but Garrett did
the people want us there people loved us there I mean everybody we talked to
loved us we got along great with everybody and we were seeing multitudes
of people saved people are getting saved people are receptive people wanted to
hear the guys that's not Botswana not wanting us there that's one guy not
wanting us there and you know what when the protesters came and protested
outside of our church plant there in Botswana not even one of them was black
and I got a news flash for you everybody in Botswana is black okay I mean Botswana
everybody's black you hardly now when you're in the main city you'll see some
people that aren't black but guess what they're from somewhere else because the
Botswana people are black people so we had six protesters how many of them were
black zero bunch of white people from sodomite loving left-wing countries that
had just traveled there to protest or they're at the godless University
studying there and they're protesting but the people of Botswana themselves
they were receptive to the gospel and they wanted to hear the truth and they
liked the hard preaching in general obviously not all of them but the vast
majority that you know that's a place that I want to go back I want to go back
you know once that president's out of office let's go back okay now you know
other other situations besides a country doing this to you would be like for
example apartment complexes and HOA's you know we go so winning an apartment
complex some manager rides up on their little golf cart you guys can't be here
here's the thing about that they're like you're trespassing as private property
no because of this the people who live there are leasing that property it
belongs to them because they live there and it's their choice whether they want
to talk to us or not now look if I go up to an apartment and the person says not
interested I'm gonna turn around and leave as fast as I can why would I want
to talk to somebody who's not interested I have better things to do
than to waste my time talking to somebody who has no interest now it's so
stupid I've tried to explain this to people over and over again and this is
what they keep comparing it to they compare it to a private individual who
has a fence around their property with a sign that says do not enter no
trespassing not the same thing because that is that guy's private property if
he wants to fence around it and put up a sign that says no trespassing and not
even allow anyone to even enter his yard that's his prerogative because it's his
house but some office worker doesn't have the right to decide for 200 people
none of these people want to hear the gospel and you know what people criticize
us for soul winning in the apartment complexes even though it's not allowed
and even though they try to throw us out or call the police but you know what we
get somebody saved every single time we get so go whine about it all you want
but you know what we get people say why because there are people in there who
want us there so we are there to talk to the people who want us there and the
people who don't want us there it's just hey have a good day next door and if we
were to not knock the doors of homeowners associations and apartment
complexes that have these rules then we would literally be knocking less than
half of the doors in Tempe literally less than half and you know what I'm not
interested in knocking 30% of the doors or 40% of the doors hey I want to knock
100% of the doors amen let's preach the gospel to every creature yeah and we're
gonna run out of doors if we don't knock every door including the apartments and
the HOA's because we're knocking so many doors and we want to knock everything so
you know we knock the doors and and look do they call the police rarely they call
the police but even more rarely do they show up in time because usually the
police have better things to do and you know as the saying goes when the second
when seconds count the police are only minutes away so we you know they call
the police and usually we're already done by the time the police show up
we're already leaving we've already moved on or if the police do show up no
one from our church has ever been arrested no one's there okay we've been
arrested but not for doing that not for soul winning in an apartment complex or
an HOA I mean cry has someone been arrested for doing that I've never seen
it has anyone ever been issued a citation and had to pay a fine here no
no one in our church has ever so it's just it's all just a lot of huffing and
puffing and you know what they can go ahead and find me and you know what if
they find you the church will pay your fine how's that how's that money back
guarantee if I'm so winning I'll make sure your fine gets paid but we've never
been fine we've never been arrested but these churches are too timid the other
soul winning churches someone were too timid they won't even go in those
neighborhoods they won't even go into those apartment complexes and and they're
just they're they're leaving a lot of souls unharvested there that need the
gospel so that's our stance at our church we knock the doors in the
apartments we knock the doors in the gated communities we knock the doors in
the HOAs and if somebody doesn't want to hear the gospel we're more than happy
never set foot on their property but we don't let one person decide that for a
whole apartment or a whole community all right I'm getting a little off track
here in my sermon let me get back on track
Psalm 84 10 you don't have to turn there but the Bible says this for a day in
thy courts is better than a thousand I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of
my God than to dwell in the tents of wickedness you know what the righteous
person is happy just to be a doorkeeper in the house of God the righteous person
is happy being an usher the righteous person is happy being a song leader a
piano player a guitar player the righteous person is happy being a soul
winner being on the cleaning crew going on the Indian trips going on a missions
trip the righteous person is happy to serve and be a part of the team in any
capacity they don't have to be the pastor or the leader to be happy so this
myth of if you could be happy doing anything else it's not only unscriptural
but it's also very dangerous because you're actually now recruiting the worst
kind of people into authority people that have to be in that position and
what's the danger of this the danger is that then when you have these guys
getting unqualified like they divorced their wife or their wife divorces them
or they're caught in the very act of adultery what do they do they keep on
pastoring why because they can't be happy doing anything else and as I've
said before I'll say it again you mark my words God forbid if my marriage were
ever to end in divorce God forbid it but if it were to happen I will step down
immediately somebody said you don't know what you do in that situation oh yes I
do and I'm going on the record right now that I will step down if I am
divorced either if I divorced her or she now that would never happen but I'm just
throwing it out there because it's a principle that matters myth number three
so what was myth number one is that you have to be called to preach no God
specifically says in the New Testament that if you have the desire and if you
meet the qualifications you're good if any the Bible said myth number two if
you can be happy doing anything else do that instead wrong we see a lot of
examples of that in the Bible myth number three is that God calls single
women to be pastors wives or wives of full-time Christian servants now this is
another thing that I've seen in church a lot women coming down the aisle teenage
girls coming down the aisle saying I've been called to be a pastor's wife I've
been called to be a youth pastor's wife I've been called to be a missionary's
wife or I've been called into full-time Christian service let me just start out
by saying that this thing of full-time Christian service is an unbiblical
concept anyway why because you're not any less of a Christian because you're
not in full-time Christian service I mean look I was not full-time as pastor
until January of 2014 and we're in January of 2018 right now so for the
first eight years of being the pastor of this church was I somehow less of a
pastor because I wasn't full-time because I had an outside job no I mean
was Paul the Apostle not full-time Christian service because he made tents
on the side no so this idea of somehow having two classes is a false idea where
you elevate one group of people as full-time Christian service like it's
somehow a higher calling or a higher position when it's really not there's
nothing wrong with working a secular job and serving the Lord in whatever
capacity and full-time Christian servants are not better than or greater
than laymen being a layman if that's the life that you choose and that God leads
you into is great and you can serve God and you can earn the rewards and be a
great Christian you're not less than a pastor or missionary or anything else
for that matter but I've seen this attitude where you know these girls
they're not even married they don't even have a boyfriend and so I'm only gonna
marry a pastor you know the attitude says and because of a call of God you
know one of their experiences that they have in these emotional services the
implication there is that someone is somehow lesser if they're not one of
those things and I you know I said to a pastor one time I said you know what all
I want for my kids is I want my children to grow up and marry a Christian and I
want them to be a faithful church member and I want them to be pure on their
wedding day and stay faithful to their spouse that's what I want for my
children and if they if they're just a soul winning church member and if they
stay pure and if they stay faithful to their wife or faithless that's fine I
don't need them to be a pastor I don't need them to marry pastors or anything
it means nothing to me I will be happy as a clam if my ten children all grow up
and none of them are in full-time Christian service and they're all just
pure and married and go to church and go soul winning that's enough and hey if
they all go in if the if the boys all become preachers and the girls all marry
preachers great but you know what I couldn't care less either way is fine
with me that's not what's important to me you know I love my children for who
they are if they're not a preacher I love them anyway and and and guess what
they can still do great works for God without ever being a pastor there are
all kinds of people who God uses in all kinds of ways that are not any kind of a
full-time Christian servant and never have been and never will be and that
this pastor that I said that to he said well I have a higher you know standard
for my daughter she's committed she's only going to marry a preacher well you
know I don't think that's a higher standard I think it's just a different
standard and it's just an unbiblical standard and I mean I've seen a young
lady who you know was dating a godly man a godly young man a righteous young man
a dedicated zealous young man but then he told her he said well you know I
don't think I want to be a pastor I think I'm just gonna be a layman and
she's like oh well I'm gonna find someone else then you know and we took
this girl aside and said whoa there you know you got a good thing going here I
mean if you don't like the guy you don't like the guy but don't let it be over
that because that is meaningless he doesn't have to be a pastor to be a
great man to be a godly man to be an important person you know and then it
made sense to her after that you know but people have some weird ideas this
is totally unbiblical show me in the Bible is what we should say to these
things show me in the Bible women being called to be the wife of a full-time
Christian sir now if it didn't come from the Bible where did it come from I'll
tell you where it came from the desire to make money now where you say pastor
and what in the world does this have to do with money well there's this thing
called Bible College and it's a big money-making scam and this thing of all
right everybody your head bowed and eyes closed as the piano begins to play
there are some young men here that God's dealing with about the call to preach
right now is it you son is your heart beginning to pound a little fat God is
calling you to preach you need to get up out of here and this is what they call
it surrendering to preach now what does surrender me it's like you're putting up
this fight or battle and you're like okay I'll do it right so they surrender
to preach so they they get up there and they beg you come on come on surrender
surrender surrender okay I'll do it and they come down the aisle and they're
called to preach and then here's what they say after that now you better stick
with that commitment that you made to preach and it all starts with what it all
starts with Bible College son you surrendered to preach time for you to go
to Bible College right because that's the next step so it's all about this
whole high-pressure emotional call to preach surrender to preach business is
just that it's business to recruit you to Bible College so that they can make
money off you and then they recruit all these girls to get them to surrender to
full-time Christian service or to be married to a full-time Christian service
well where are they gonna find that at Bible College right so that's really
what it's about it's about recruiting you to Bible College by getting you to
make some emotional decision that you're called to preach or called to be a youth
pastor's wife or whatever I remember I was in church and the the pastor's wife
gave a testimony about how when she was in Bible College she she was dating her
now husband who was our pastor and he wanted to be a youth pastor and she
really wanted to date him but she's like I can't because I've already surrendered
to be a pastor's wife and you're only gonna be a youth pastor you know and
then she went back and forth back and forth back and forth but then finally
she ended up marrying him and then the happy ending is he became a pastor so
she was able to upgrade in their mind right but you know what it's not an
upgrade because we're all serving and it's the pastor is not better than the
janitor then the then the landscaper then the plumber then the electrician
right why because we're all serving God in whatever the capacity and one is not
better than the other I mean is that is the nose better than the ear is the hand
better than the foot no we're all part of the same body and we all have a
function right the pastor has a function that's more prominent but other functions
are just as important so this whole attitude downgrades the rest of the body
of Christ by by putting a premium on being the full-time Christian servant
and then lastly I'm running out of time but myth number four is that God will
lay a certain geography on your heart that makes no sense okay so myth number
one is that you have to be called to preach in the first place that's a myth
you you volunteer folks did God specifically call people in the Bible
yeah he came them an audible voice don't expect that okay in the New Testament
number two the myth if you can be happy doing anything else you should do it
wrong if you got the desire and you got the qualifications man we could use some
more preachers amen we could use some pastors we could use some some men of
God okay no myth number three is that God would call single women to be
pastors wives or wives of full-time Christian servant totally unbiblical
totally made up it's just a recruiting tactic to get them to go to Bible
College and then myth number four is that God would lay a geography on your
heart that makes no sense okay what am I talking about well you know I just
believe God's calling us to XYZ country and you hear it all the time so why do
you want to be a missionary to Germany why do you want to be missionary to
Botswana why do you want to be a missionary to Morocco well God called us
there I mean I can't count how many times I've said so why this country well
God called me really what's his number because I want to talk to him about some
see God called me God did not come to them like he came to Amos or Isaiah or
Moses or Peter and say to them I know you're Chinese but go to Morocco he
didn't say that so what are they talking about God called me what they're talking
about is they just have like a feeling right like they just had this burden
they'll say so this is what they'll then say their own imagination will cook
something up about some country that they think is cool and then it's like
God's God gave me a burden for this God's calling me to this place now I'm
not gonna repreach my sermon called common sense missions but if you
haven't heard it definitely download it and listen to common sense missions
God's not calling you to a place where they speak a language that you don't
speak I know that sounds really basic but can somebody explain that to
thousands of missionaries God's not calling you to a place where you don't
speak the language unless you're gonna learn the language yourself on your own
dime I mean it's sort of like this mission strip that we have coming up to
Mexico here in June right we're not gonna pay you to learn Spanish you have
to learn Spanish then we'll pay for your vehicle your food your hotel you know
that the the the old missions mentality would just be well let's just bring a
bunch of people down there let's pay for everybody to go down to Mexico and then
when they get there they can be like all right let's learn Spanish now and then
some of these people turn out to have no aptitude for foreign language because
you know some people have more of an aptitude for learning foreign languages
than others so you get these guys that God's called me to Germany and then
they get there and they're like Ishbin and V gates and and then you know God
called me to to Paraguay and it's like como estas muy bien you don't have any
aptitude you got the wrong number buddy that's not God calling God will not lay
a geography on your heart that makes no sense let me show you a biblical example
of this here's a great example from the Bible the Apostle Paul go to Romans 9
and then we're gonna go to acts 22 let's look at Romans 9 because the Apostle Paul
had a great burden on his heart for a certain group of people did that mean he
was being called to those people no just because you look at pictures and
get teary-eyed doesn't mean that God wants you to go to China even though you
don't speak a lick of Chinese okay I mean I remember I I you know that I
talked to this teenage boy one time and he was the son of a missionary and in a
Scandinavian country and he knew that language well because he was born and
raised on the mission field and he wanted to be a preacher he wanted to be
a missionary and I said yes so you're gonna come back here right you know
after you're done at Bible College you're gonna come back and and be a
missionary here you already know the language I mean it's gonna be great
you're gonna be able to preach fluently he said no no you know God's calling me
to go to Israel oh no that's the one place that we know for sure no one's
being called that's the one look the New Testament doesn't tell you go to
Botswana go to Germany go but you know where it tells you go everywhere except
Israel is where it tells you to go okay he's like well God's calling me this I'm
like why would you want to go to Israel I'm like that's the most unreceptive
possible place and I said you know it's not even legal to go soul winning there
why don't you reach the people here with the tool that you've been given with the
language he's like well God's coming so I spent like an hour basically preaching
to him the movie marching design before there ever was a marching design because
this is like ten years ago so I'm just showing him scripture that Jews are not
God's chosen people you you know all this stuff so I spent like an hour and a
half and you know his dad probably believed the Jews were God's chosen
people because that's what most independent Baptist believe but he
didn't interrupt me at all because he liked the fact that I was telling his
son to go to Scandinavia and not to go to Israel so he just kind of sat back
like listen son you know so I'm like I smell like an hour just preaching to him
about no Israel don't do it and thank God that guy is a missionary today in
the right place not in Israel okay so let me ask you this is it biblical that
somebody just has a burden or a desire to reach a certain group of people and
that that equals God's calling me it's not biblical look at Romans 9 tell me if
Paul had a burning desire tell me if he had a burden for a certain group of
people Romans 9 verse 1 I say the truth in Christ I lie not now we know that
Paul is writing by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so he must really be
saying the truth and he must really be lying not my conscience also bearing me
witness in the Holy Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in
my heart listen to this burden for I could wish that myself were accursed
from Christ for my brethren my kinsmen according to the flesh who are Israelites
so he says right there he doesn't say he does wish himself a curse from he said
why I could so he what's he saying I mean I could wish even to go to hell
that's pretty bizarre to even say that but I mean this is an over-the-top
desire to reach the Israelites I mean does this guy have a I mean this guy's
called brother I mean he says who are Israelites to whom pertain at the
adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the law in the service
of God and the prophets look you just can't stand the fact that the people who
should have been the most likely to accept Christ the people who should have
known they knew the Old Testament you know it's like why don't they just get
it and he really wanted them to be saved so badly and he just could not accept
the fact that they weren't interested in most of them he said in verse 6 not as
though the Word of God had taken none effect for they're not all Israel which
are of Israel that's what I explained to that young man neither because they are
the seed of Abraham are they all children but an Isaac shall thy seed be
called that is they which are the children of the flesh these are not the
children of God but the children of the promise are counted for the seed see he
starts out in Romans 9 saying man why don't they just get saved I could wish
myself a curse from Christ for them I just want them to accept it but then he
starts to explain how actually though it turns out they're not even God's people
because they're not all Israel which are of Israel and it's actually the
people who believe in Christ that are Israel whether they be Jew or Gentile
and that's he explains in chapters 9 10 and 11 if we read the whole thing last
place we'll turn acts 22 let's see what God said so what did Paul say Paul said
man I desire to see these people saved and he was telling the truth he really
did but did that equal the call of God on his life no look at acts 22 verse 17
and it came to pass that when I was coming into Jerusalem even while I
prayed in the temple I was in a trance and saw him Jesus saying unto me make
haste and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem why for they will not receive
thy testimony concerning me now look this is the same old story all
throughout the book of Acts we're just looking at one scripture we could look
at scripture after scripture after scripture where all of the Apostles they
just want to keep going soul-winding in Jerusalem let's just keep going in
Jerusalem let's just go to the Jew and then finally when he gets them to go to
other countries they're like all right where's the synagogue no it's so
frustrating to and God every time God speaks he tells them no and then you'll
see Paul three times in the book of Acts get angry and say that's it I'm done
with the Jews I'm going to the Gentiles and then a few chapters later it's like
well let's try the Jews one more time and then he's like and they realizes
they don't want to get saved and he's like that's it I'm done three times he
said I'm done he just keeps going back why cuz he's wrong because he's wrong
you know God specifically told the 12 possible into all the world go teach all
nations and what do they do they told Paul hey we're gonna go to the Jews you
go to the Gentiles all right buddy all right go to the Gentiles wrong you're
all supposed to be going to the Gentiles they just would not obey they wouldn't
do it and God had to keep saying the persecution and scatter them I mean God
has to come to Paul and tell him again because Paul keeps going back to
Jerusalem and prophets come to him and tell him don't go to Jerusalem he goes
anyway he won't listen what does God tell him get out of here quickly leave
go somewhere else why cuz they're not gonna listen now look why would you want
to be a missionary in a place where they don't want to listen you hear about
these missionaries all ten years on the field without a single convert are you
stupid or something I mean look there's people dying and going to hell every day
and you're spinning your wheels for ten years getting nothing done I'm sorry but
that's not cool and I'm sick of these hero glorifying stories of all this
missionary he was there for 20 years and then he got his first convert isn't that
great the dedication no the stupidity because he wasted 20 years of his life
he should have been bringing forth 30 60 or 100 every year so there's 2,000
people right or 600 people that could have been saved that didn't get saved
because he's beating his head against the wall somewhere where nobody's
interested and God tells Paul I don't care what burning desire you have to see
your people Israel saved that's not the plan buddy because they don't want to
listen you need to go to the Greeks because they're gonna be receptive and
so he tells them I mean look at look I suppose I just wonder do people just not
read this in the Bible I mean it's on every page but people are just obsessed
with reaching the Jews aren't they in Israel he said no no get get away from
here they will not receive my testimony concerning me and I said Lord he's
arguing with the Lord like Moses and I look and I said Lord they know that I'm
prison that beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee and when the blood
of thy martyr Stephen was shed I also was standing by and consenting unto his
death and kept the raiment of them that slew him oh okay you're right just stay
in Jerusalem then is that what he said no and he said unto me depart for I will
send thee far hence unto the Gentiles he's like buddy you get as far away from
Jerusalem as you could possibly get I'm sending you far away so a lot of these
people they get all God's calling me they get this burden God laid it on
their heart you know what if it if it doesn't make sense though don't do it
do something that makes sense go to a receptive place where you speak the
language and that's my sermon common-sense missions I'm not gonna
re-preach that you know God wanted the Apostle Paul to go to Spain I don't know
if he ever made it to Spain you know he said in Romans when so ever I take my
journey into Spain you know I want to come by and see you in Rome as well you
know I don't know if he made it to Spain but I bet you if he would have
quit goofing around in Jerusalem he would have been more likely to have made
it to Spain and then maybe Spain wouldn't be as screwed up as it is right
now where Spain is filled with Roman Catholicism and false doctrine you know
maybe if Paul would have got in in there in the first century AD and started a
bunch of red-hot soul winning churches in Spain and just said hey the Jews had
their chance you know why because for three and a half years Jesus and the
Apostles went to every town and village in the whole nation of Israel and they
finished the job they finished it and then God had a plan for them to stay in
Jerusalem just until Pentecost and then in Pentecost there was one last hurrah
for the Jews right and then it was like okay now it's time for you to leave but
they were slow to follow that and then what happened they didn't make it to
Spain maybe he did make it to Spain there's no record of it in Scripture
probably never happened but where else could he have made it we could have gone
north or eat just anywhere far from Judea is where he belonged right that's
what the Bible says so anyway I hope that helps dispel some of the myths
about being called to preach let's get the emphasis off the call let's get the
emphasis on the qualifications and the desire and the aptitude and on living a
life that makes sense and living a life that jives with Scripture not with
feelings and burnings and and emotions let's brides have order prayer father we
thank you so much for your word Lord and we thank you that the gospel reached
unto us Lord and that we are saved and Lord God I thank you for allowing me the
privilege of being a pastor and I pray that many other men that are under the
sound of my voice right now will one day be pastors Lord but I pray that those
who are not going to be pastors would realize that they are not second class
they are first class as long as they love you and serve you every day and in
Jesus name we pray amen