I would like to read a few Scriptures.
Exodus 8:1
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
Romans 12:1
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your intelligent service.
Matthew 9:37–38; 10:1
Then saith He unto His disciples, The harvest indeed is great, but the workmen few.
Supplicate therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He send forth workmen unto His harvest.
And having called to Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, so that they should cast them out, and heal every disease and every bodily weakness.
1 Peter 4:10–11
Each, according as he hath received a gift, ministering it to one another, as good stewards of the various grace of God.
If any one speak, as oracles of God; if any one minister, as of strength which God supplieth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom is the glory and the might for the ages of ages. Amen.
This is the first session of what we call Training for Spiritual Service. We would like to use this time to share with you, dear brothers and sisters, on this matter of service.
This first session concerns calling. Of course, we know that calling is a very comprehensive term. If you look in the dictionary, it will say that calling is an inner urge, a strong impulse. Then it says that it is an occupation, a profession, or a career. If you look into a concordance, you will find that a calling is a way of living.
From the Scripture standpoint, we know that we are called by God to fulfill His purpose in us. Thus, calling becomes our occupation, our vocation, and our way of life. Because calling is such a comprehensive term—we are called according to purpose, and we are called to fulfill God’s purpose—we will limit this training session to the matter of the call to serve.
You know, we are called to be, first of all, and then we are called to serve. We will leave aside that other part, the call to be, and concentrate on the call to serve.
I would like to put before you three questions. As we go on, hopefully by the grace of God, these questions may be clarified:
I think the first question is really very elementary. Why? Because we know that we are all called to serve.
Can God deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt? He challenged Pharaoh through Moses, saying, “Let My people go.” Now why should God’s people go? Why should these people be free? That they may serve Me.
We know why we are delivered and why we are saved. It is not that we may live our own lives hereafter. The reason why we are delivered and saved is because God is calling us to serve Him.
We are a holy priesthood. Every believer is a priest, and the occupation of a priest is very clear: to serve God. So, dear brothers and sisters, let us remember that we are all called to serve. The call to serve does not come to a few; it comes to all of us—everybody, every believer, every child of God. If you are a child of God, you are called to serve.
In Romans 12:1, Paul says:
Brethren, by the compassions of God, I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
You know, in the old days—and I am afraid even now—when people preach on that verse, they usually say, “Well, present your body as a living sacrifice, that you may be a minister. You may enter into the ministry. You may become a missionary.”
But actually, you will find that it is addressed to brethren, to every child of God. Everyone who has received the mercies and compassions of God is exhorted to present his body. In other words, no one who has known the mercies of God should be able to keep himself back from giving his body to God as a living sacrifice, because we belong to Him.
By a living sacrifice, it means that from now on we live for Him, for His purpose, and not for ourselves. This is our reasonable service. This is how service begins.
In other words, if you have not consecrated or dedicated your life to the Lord, you cannot serve God, nor has your service begun. The way to begin our service unto God is to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. This is the basis of reasonable service.
So do not think that only those who are called to the so-called ministry need to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, while the rest of us can hold our bodies back and use them for ourselves. No, that is not permissible.
We often hear people say, “Well, some people are called to serve God full time.” By full-time service, they mean that you do not take up any so-called secular occupation and devote your whole life to so-called spiritual ministry. Then the rest of the people, who have not done so, may be part-time or Sunday service.
Now, this is very unscriptural. Dear brothers and sisters, at the very outset, we would like to set it straight: every believer is in full-time ministry. Every believer is full-time serving God.
All the time belongs to God. Whether you have a so-called secular profession or not does not make any difference. You can be the prime minister of the empire, like Daniel, and yet be full-time serving God. Even the king knew about it.
Brothers and sisters, let us remember that there is no such thing as some people serving God full time while the rest of us are serving God no time, half time, or one-third time. There is no such thing.
If you are the Lord’s and have offered yourself to Him as a living sacrifice, then twenty-four hours a day you are on the altar. You may be working in an office or a factory. You may be laboring in the home, studying in school, or preaching. Whatever it may be, you are in full-time service. That is your vocation.
Whatever you may need to take up, in God’s providence, to make a living is your avocation, not your vocation. Your vocation is serving God. With an avocation or without an avocation, you are serving God nevertheless. This is our calling, our profession, our vocation, our career, and our way of life.
So many are called. We are all called to serve. But, of course, we are not called to serve in the same area or in the same way.
We are all called into that ministry which ministers unto God and unto His purpose. But ministry is very broad. All of us are engaged in it, though perhaps in very different ways.
Whether you are working in a factory, laboring in your home, or preaching the gospel, in the sight of God there is no difference. It is the same: we are serving God.
Oftentimes I hear people say, “If you are to enter into the so-called ministry, you need a special calling.” Now, is it true?
In the Bible, you will find that ministry is a very comprehensive term. We are all called into ministry, ministering unto God and unto one another. Yet, in this comprehensive and all-inclusive ministry, there do seem to be two different areas.
One is what Paul called “this ministry.” In 2 Corinthians 4:1, he says, “Having this ministry.” This ministry is the ministry of the Word of God. Paul was called to be a herald, a preacher, a teacher of the nations, and an apostle.
In Ephesians 4, you find that Christ, after He ascended on high, gave gifts to the church: some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers. These people are the Lord’s gifts to the church for the perfecting of the saints. They are engaged in what Paul calls “this ministry,” the ministry of the Word.
In Acts 6, Peter and the fellow apostles were not only ministering the Word but also serving tables. It became so much that they were unable to do either well. So they chose seven to serve tables, that the apostles might devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and to prayer.
So, brothers and sisters, it is true that there are some whom the Lord has called to the ministry of the Word—to be apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists. They are engaged in the work of maturing the saints, helping the saints to grow up through the Word of God and equipping them to do the work of ministry.
In Ephesians 4:12, why do the saints need to be matured and perfected? It is with a view to ministry. The ministry there is body ministry.
Bishop Lightfoot, a very pious and learned Anglican scholar, said that “with a view to the ministry” there does not refer to those gifted persons and their ministry. It refers to body ministry. In other words, it is not merely a ministry that ministers to the body; it is a ministry that comes out of the body unto the body.
In that body ministry, every member is engaged. Every part, every member, is to do its part for the building up of the body in love.
Thus, in the whole realm of ministry, there are these two parts: the ministry of the Word, into which God may call some, and body ministry, into which God has called everyone.
But the question is this: Do only those who are called into the so-called “this ministry” need a special calling, or does everyone involved in ministry need a specific calling?
I think that we all need both a general calling and a specific calling. Generally, we are all called to serve God. That is general. But each one of us needs a specific calling as to which part of that service God has called us into.
Not only those who are called into the ministry of the Word need this specific calling. I believe those who are in body ministry need it too. If God calls you to be a hand and you only have a general calling, perhaps you are trying to be a foot. Then your service unto the Lord will not only be clumsy, but it may interfere with other members of the body of Christ.
Therefore, each one should be clear before the Lord as to what specific area of service God is calling him or her into: which member of the body of Christ you are, what gift God has given you, and what part you need faithfully to function in.
Now, in this session, we want to be very practical. So we will come to the third question: How does the calling come about?
I would like to go through the Bible with you—the Old Testament and the New Testament. Of course, I do not have the time to do so fully, but I would like to use a few examples from the Old Testament, a few from the New Testament, and then some from the last four centuries. From these we will try to draw some conclusions and principles as to how we enter into this matter of calling.
When you think of serving God, the first one in the Old Testament may be Moses, the servant of the Lord. How did the calling come to him?
Moses was born under the sentence of death. But his parents feared God, so they kept him for three months. When they could keep him no longer, by faith they put him in an ark, a basket, in the river Nile, trusting that somehow God would preserve their child.
By faith, his parents saw that the baby was beautiful. Every baby is beautiful, of course, but why does the Bible say that by faith they saw the baby was beautiful? I believe there was a special beauty there. In other words, the parents sensed that in that child God had a mission. So they tried to keep him alive and trusted God for it.
You remember how Pharaoh’s daughter picked him up, and how his mother became his nurse. After he was weaned, he was brought into the palace and grew up there. He learned all the learning of Egypt and became mighty in words and deeds.
But somehow, while his mother was nursing him, she was able to impress upon that child a sense of God and a sense of destiny. All the learning and luxuries of Egypt could not take that away. It was there, deep in his heart.
When Moses was forty years old, it came into his mind to see the welfare of his brethren, the Hebrews. He went out and tried to use his might in words and deeds to save his people, but his own people rejected him. He fled for his life.
For forty years he was in the wilderness. He unlearned everything he had learned in Egypt and learned to know God. When he was eighty years old, he had given up every hope of ever being used by God. Then God called him out of the burning bush and said, in effect, “Now it is time for you to go.”
So, brothers and sisters, you find in the case of Moses that even from his mother’s womb God had set him apart. He knew it. There was an inner urge, a conviction, a sense of destiny. But he tried to fulfill God’s call in his own strength and eloquence, and God allowed him to fail completely.
Only when he came to the end of himself could God begin. Then God called him to save the children of Israel out of Egypt and lead them into the Promised Land. That is the way Moses was called.
How did the calling come to Joshua? After the children of Israel came out of Egypt, they met Amalek. Amalek was the first people to attack them. Moses chose the young man Joshua to lead the people against Amalek.
We do not know why, out of all the young people at that time, Moses especially fixed his eye upon Joshua. But there must have been something in that young man. Moses sensed that God’s hand was upon him, raising him up as a warrior for God.
Joshua became an attendant of Moses. If you read through Exodus and Numbers, you will find how faithful this young man was. When Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, Joshua was also on the mountain. Moses went to the top of the mountain to receive the covenant, and Joshua probably waited in the middle of the mountain.
We often think of how great Moses was, being there forty days and forty nights without eating and drinking, in the presence of God. But do not forget Joshua. There he was for forty days and forty nights, without eating and drinking. He did not even have the presence of God with him, nor the people with him. Yet, as a young man, he was able to do that.
When Moses moved his tent away from the camp because the camp had become corrupted and defiled, the Bible says that Joshua remained in the tent. He abided there.
After forty years of training under Moses—I wonder if you would want to be trained by Moses—God said, “Moses, call Joshua to lead the people.” That is how Joshua came into his calling: God called him to lead the people into the Promised Land.
How was Samuel called? How did he enter into that calling? It began with his mother, Hannah. God shut up her womb, and she prayed prevailing prayer. Out of that prevailing prayer, the boy Samuel was born.
After he was weaned, Hannah kept her vow. She had vowed that if God gave her a male child, she would give him back to God. So she brought Samuel to Shiloh, to Eli, and left the little boy there to serve God.
In 1 Samuel, you find that little boy faithfully serving. He opened the doors of the house of God in the morning so that people could come in and worship God. Children like to sleep, but this little child got up in the morning to open the doors.
When the voice of God came to him at midnight, he got up and went to Eli three times. In other words, you find that there was something in that boy: he had a heart for God.
Then the Word of God came to him, and God saw to it that every word He spoke through Samuel came to pass. All Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, knew that God had raised up a prophet. That is the way the prophet Samuel was called.
David was neglected by his father and despised by his brothers. As the youngest, he was in the wilderness tending sheep. People thought nothing of him, yet you find that he had a heart toward God.
When God sent Samuel to anoint a king, He said, “Do not look at the outward appearance, because man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart.” God saw in that boy, perhaps sixteen or eighteen years old, a heart after God Himself. So he was anointed.
But after he was anointed, he went back to watch the sheep. You might think that once a person is anointed, he should ascend the throne right away. But that is not God’s way.
God anointed him, and under that anointing he went back to watch the sheep. Probably during that time the lion came and the bear came. God tested him, and under that anointing he tore the bear apart and delivered the sheep. He had a real experience of the power of God.
Then came the time for him to be manifested to the children of Israel. All Israel knew about David: Saul killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands. But that got him into trouble. He became a fugitive for many years, hiding in caves and strongholds in the wilderness.
God tested him. God put Saul in his hand twice, just to test him. Yet David’s heart was tender toward God. Even when he cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe, his heart smote him. He dared not touch the Lord’s anointed. He dared not use his own hand to bring the kingdom to himself. He would wait for God.
That is how God put him on the throne.
How did Elijah come into his calling as a prophet? Elijah suddenly appeared before King Ahab from nowhere, saying:
As the Lord, the God of Israel, liveth, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.
There was no rain for three and a half years. How did this come about? The secret is this: “The God before Whom I stand.” Here was a man who stood in the presence of God. Because he had a life with God, a hidden history with God, he knew the mind of God and was able to act as God’s representative before the wicked king. That is the way he was brought into his calling.
How was Elisha called? God told Elijah, “Your mission is toward the end. Now anoint Elisha to succeed you.” Elijah went to find Elisha. What was Elisha doing? He was not sitting there waiting to be called. He was plowing the field.
Many young people are sitting there waiting to be called to the so-called ministry, doing nothing. They think that if they do anything, they will interfere with that calling. Not so.
Elisha knew in his heart somehow that God had called him to be a prophet. He knew it, because when Elijah came and put his mantle upon him, he immediately said, “I am coming. I am ready.” Yet, even though he knew it, he was plowing the field with twelve yoke of oxen.
He was a diligent young man. Whatever he did, he put everything into it to do it well. God loves that kind of person. God called him, and he left.
Then Elisha became an attendant to Elijah, pouring water upon his hands. When I was in India, that was the way it was done. After eating with the right hand, someone would pour water upon your hands so that you could wash them clean.
Elisha was called to be a prophet. He was fully ready to prophesy, but no word was coming to him. All that God wanted him to do was pour water upon the hands of Elijah. Now think of that. Are you able to do that?
Suppose you feel called to be a prophet, yet God so arranges that you are to pour water upon somebody else’s hands. Will you be willing to do that? That will be a test.
Then, as you remember, Elisha received a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
Let us go to the New Testament. One day our Lord Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee. He saw Peter and his brother casting a net, and He said, “Come, follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
Those two brothers left their nets and followed the Lord. Going a little farther, He saw another two—the sons of Zebedee, John and James—mending their nets. The Lord said, “Come, follow Me.” So they left their father, the boat, and the nets, and followed the Lord.
Here you find the calling: they were called to be disciples. “Come, follow Me.”
Brothers and sisters, unless we answer the call to discipleship first, there is no way to be called into service. “Come, follow Me.” Be disciples of Me. Put yourselves under My authority. Let Me put My hand upon you, mold you, and fashion you according to My will. Then you will become fishers of men. Then ministry and service follow.
He called twelve to be His disciples, to be with Him. In Matthew 9, the Lord saw the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd. He had compassion on them, and He said, “Now you pray. Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send forth workmen, for the harvest is great and the workmen are few.”
After the disciples prayed, strangely, you find that the Lord called them and sent them out as apostles. First, disciples; then prayer; then apostles.
You become disciples of the Lord first. Let Him form you, mold you, and fashion you according to His will. Then He calls you to pray with Him for His interest. As you pray with Him for His interest, the Lord says, “Now you go. I send you out.”
How about Paul? Paul was a special vessel. On the road to Damascus, he had a mission: to destroy the followers of Jesus, those who were in the Way. At that time, the word “Christian” had not yet come into use.
Paul was Saul the Pharisee. He had credentials and letters from the high priest to go to Damascus, a Gentile city, seize those in the Way, bring them to Jerusalem, judge them, and sentence them. He was an enemy of the church of God, but God knew his heart.
He thought he was serving God, but he was doing God a great disservice. God allowed him to go on until, before he arrived at Damascus, at midday a light brighter than the sun shone upon him. It was the glory of God. He was smitten to the ground and heard a voice saying:
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.
He said, “Lord, Who art Thou?” The Lord said, “I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. Rise up, go to Damascus, and wait until thou art told what thou must do.”
God sent Ananias to him. Ananias laid hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Who met you on the road has opened your eyes. He has called and appointed you to be a servant and a witness to the nations.” That is the way Paul was called.
Yet, though he was called on the road to Damascus, he spent three years in Arabia. He knew the Old Testament by heart because he was a Pharisee, but now he had to read the Old Testament in the light of Jesus.
When he came back, he was able to prove that Jesus is the Christ. He was not only the Son of God Who met him on the road to Damascus; He was the Christ, the Anointed One, the promised Messiah. Paul could prove it from the Old Testament.
Paul was a zealous man. He went to Jerusalem and began to argue with people. The church had to send him away because he was too hot. They sent him back to Cilicia, where he remained for a number of years.
Then Barnabas went and found him, brought him to Antioch, and Paul came under the training and encouragement of Barnabas for a whole year. One day, as they were ministering unto the Lord, the Holy Spirit said:
Set Me apart Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
That is how Paul became an apostle.
Barnabas was the son of consolation. He had such a big heart. He sold his land and laid the proceeds at the feet of the apostles in order to care for the needy. He was a man of a large heart.
When the church in Jerusalem heard that God was doing a great work in Antioch, they sent Barnabas there. He was a Hellenistic Jew and could understand those of a Hellenistic background. When he came to Antioch and saw the work of God, his heart was warmed. He exhorted the believers to continue with the Lord.
He tried to serve them with all that he could, but he knew he was limited and unable to do such a tremendous work alone. So he thought of Paul. He went to find Paul and brought him to Antioch to work together with him. Finally, God said, “Set apart Barnabas and Paul for the work to which I have called them.”
How about Timothy? After he was saved, probably under the ministry of Paul, Paul met him in his own city, Lystra. This young man knew the Word of God from childhood through his mother and grandmother.
After he was saved, God began to open the Word of God to him. He began to exhort and minister in the local assembly where he was. He was so profitable that when Paul came again, the brothers and sisters in two assemblies commended him highly. Here was a young man with great promise in the Word of God. So Paul took him out and helped him further in the work of God.
Silas was a leading brother in the church in Jerusalem. He was not an elder or a deacon; the Bible says he was a leader and a prophet. After the council in Jerusalem, when they sent a letter to the churches in the Gentile world, they sent two men with Paul and Barnabas as witnesses. One was Silas.
Silas, being a prophet, exhorted the people in Antioch. When Paul went out again, he chose Silas to be his companion. That is how Silas entered into the work of God.
Perhaps that is enough for the New Testament. Let me relate some examples of people who came into their calling during the last four centuries.
We begin with the sixteenth century and Martin Luther. In 1505, Luther already had a Master of Arts degree and a doctorate in philosophy. He was teaching the ethics of Aristotle and other philosophical subjects. Yet deep down in his heart, he was troubled. He knew that he must be sure of his soul’s salvation.
Two incidents precipitated his decision. His best friend, Alexis, was assassinated. When he heard the news, he asked, “What would happen to me?”
The second incident was when he was returning to college after visiting his father. A lightning bolt struck near him. He was thrown to the ground, and in that instant the anguish and terror of death came upon him.
On his knees, he prayed, “God, if You will save me, I will leave everything to follow You.” He got up and ran back to school. In a strange way, he gathered his friends to his apartment for a party, singing and playing, without telling them what he was going to do. After the party was over, he knocked on the door of an Augustinian monastery, asking to be accepted.
He was searching for the salvation of his soul. How he beat himself, how he scourged himself, how he was on the verge of death, because he wanted to do all these penances in order to earn merit before God and be saved. Until finally, God opened his eyes to see that the just shall live by faith.
Then he became a professor of theology and began to teach in Wittenberg. Circumstances forced him to put his theses on the door of the cathedral, challenging the Catholic Church in its sale of indulgences.
Brothers and sisters, you know the story. One thing after another drove him, as it were, into the work of Reformation to which God had called him.
In the seventeenth century, consider John Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim’s Progress. If you read his autobiography, Grace Abounding, you will find that after he had been awakened for five or six years, he really knew the work of Christ and began to understand the Word of God.
Some older saints, well qualified to judge people’s character and understanding, felt that this young man knew the Word of God and that God had given him the ability to explain it. So they encouraged him to exhort the saints.
With much encouragement, they arranged for him to speak on two occasions in the assembly. He did so with fear and trembling, of course. But when he began to minister, the assurance came to him that God had given him the gift to minister the Word.
So he began to minister the Word of God. Because he would not compromise with the religious world, he was thrown into prison. There in prison, he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress.
In the eighteenth century, consider Count Zinzendorf, whom we call the founder of the Moravian mission and the Moravian church. If you read what he wrote about himself, he said, “All my life, there was never a time when my heart was not toward God. There was never a time when I was not interested in His cause.”
When he was six years old, his tutor spoke a few words with him about the Lord Jesus and His merits—that we belong to the Lord Jesus. Those few words touched the boy’s heart deeply. He wept and decided that from then on he wanted to give himself to God, to Christ Jesus.
Sometimes he sat at the window of his castle, writing on papers, “Jesus loves you,” and throwing them out of the window, hoping people passing by would pick them up. That was the way he tried to serve God.
To make a long story short, when he was nineteen years old he finished college. As a nobleman, he was sent on a tour of Europe to complete his education. Many young men went to Paris and were attracted by its pleasures, but Paris had no attraction for Zinzendorf.
One day, while visiting an art gallery, he saw a painting of the head of Christ, crowned with thorns. Under the painting was the Latin inscription:
I have suffered this for thee; what hast thou done for Me?
He stood there and could not leave. Finally, the curator touched his shoulder and told him that they had to close the doors. He went to his hotel and gave himself wholly to the Lord.
As a nobleman, he was not immediately allowed to serve Christ as he desired. He had to serve in the court, according to his family’s will. Yet his heart was toward the Lord, and eventually the Lord released him.
At that time Christians were being persecuted because of their faith. Zinzendorf opened his estate and welcomed them. At first, he thought they were simply Christians who loved the Lord, but he did not know all the complications among them. God placed a burden on his heart to gather these people with their different ideas and thoughts. They covenanted together, and that was the beginning of the Moravian church.
One out of every four went out as a missionary. Some even sold themselves as slaves in order to minister to slaves.
In the nineteenth century, consider J. N. Darby. He was a brilliant young Irishman studying law. When he was eighteen or nineteen years old, he was saved. Afterward, he felt that his conscience would not allow him to continue studying law.
He had a brilliant mind and important connections in the judiciary. His brother-in-law was the chief justice in the Irish court. Everybody thought that this young man would become a brilliant light in the judicial world of Ireland.
But he felt the Lord would not allow him to continue with the law, because he feared that he might use his analytical mind to defend what was wrong instead of what was right. He went through seven years of darkness.
During those seven years, he said there was only one psalm that comforted him: Psalm 88. The first words, “O Lord, God of my salvation,” sustained him through those years of darkness.
After seven years, God brought him out into brilliant light and into the joy of the Lord. He offered himself as a deacon in the established church. That was all he knew to do.
Then he became a priest. This brilliant young man, highly educated, went to work among uneducated people. He served them day and night. He rode horseback to visit them and served them faithfully.
But the Lord was speaking to him and opening his understanding. He saw that many things done in the religious system were not found in the Word of God.
Finally, when he was required to take an oath of allegiance to something he felt he could not accept, he left the organized church. He stood for the unity of the body of Christ.
He served God faithfully all his life. Whatever you may think of him, you must agree that this man was used by God in a tremendous way. He translated the Bible from the original languages into French, German, and other languages.
You may notice that I use the Darby Bible because it is so accurate. Sometimes he sacrificed the fluency of the language for the sake of accuracy to the original meaning. But God used him mightily. That was the way he entered into his calling.
In the twentieth century—and if you will forgive me—I will mention Watchman Nee.
When Brother Nee was saved, he said it was no problem for him to believe that Jesus was his Savior. But his problem was that he knew if he took Christ as Savior, he must at the same time surrender his life to Christ as Lord. That he found difficult.
He was a capable young man with plans for the future. Finally, after several days of struggling, he capitulated and gave himself to the Lord. So when he was saved, he also offered himself to the Lord.
Without his knowing, before he was born, his mother had made a vow before God that if God would give her a boy, she would give that boy to God to serve Him. Brother Nee did not know that at the time, and he would not have agreed to it if he had known. But God knew.
He began to serve the Lord in his college, Trinity College. He tried to witness for the Lord. He was so zealous that people began to avoid him. After he had done that for some time, nobody had been saved, and he wondered why.
A missionary asked him, “Did you pray?” He said, “No.” So he began to pray. He put names in his book, and finally, one after another, people were saved.
God brought a great revival into that college. The best students and the worst students, from every class, began to go into the streets to preach the gospel. That is how it began.
God spoiled his future, and he knew no other way but to serve the Lord.
Of course, I am only mentioning a few. There are many others: Amy Carmichael, Charles Spurgeon, F. B. Meyer, and many more. When you read these biographies and go back to the Bible, both the New Testament and the Old Testament, how does God’s calling come upon these people?
You do not find a stereotyped way. God is a living God, and when His calling comes, it is living and different in every case.
Brothers and sisters, today we have a problem. We go to a convention or conference. Our hearts are warm, and we do want to serve God. Then the preacher says, “All right, who is willing to give himself to serve God as a missionary, a preacher, or a pastor? Raise your hand.” Of course, you raise both hands.
Then afterward you say, “Well, I promised God that I am going to serve Him as a missionary, as a preacher, in the ministry. Now what do I do? I have been called.”
Now, who called you? The preacher or Christ? “Oh yes, I am called, and I have made my vow to God. Now what do I do?”
You know nothing about the Bible and have very little experience. What do you do? Well, they simply work out a way for you: go to a seminary. God has not necessarily said, “Go to a seminary,” but they say, “Go there and be trained. Then you will know the Bible. Then you will learn all the methods. Then you will become a reverend.”
You know, that is what the word means: reverend means terrible. And you are really terrible! Then you are able to set up a church and be a shepherd of the flock.
Now, is this the way God raises up His workmen? It is true that the harvest is great and the workmen are few. We need to pray that the Lord will send out workmen. But, brothers and sisters, is this the way God sends out His workmen?
From all the examples in the Bible and the experiences of God’s people, perhaps we can deduce four points.
Number one: calling is sovereign. In other words, calling comes from God and from Him alone. He reserves the exclusive right to call you into service, and He has exercised that right already in calling you to serve Him.
He is sovereign in calling, in the sense that He appoints you to whatever area of service you are to serve Him. It is not up to you to make the choice.
When I was called by the mission to go out as a missionary, they told me I could choose where I wanted to go. I chose Mongolia, but I have never been there.
It is not for you to choose how to serve, where to serve, or in what area you are to serve. Perhaps God wants you to be a medical doctor, and in your medical profession you are to serve God. Perhaps He wants you to be a nurse. Perhaps God wants you to be a housewife and serve Him in your household. Perhaps He wants you to be a teacher, an engineer, an executive, or a laborer.
Whatever it may be—or whether God wants you to be a preacher, teacher, prophet, or evangelist—it is up to Him, not up to you.
Calling is sovereign. Therefore, we need to wait upon the Lord to find out from Him what our special calling is.
Again, I want to underline this: there is no difference. Do not think that to be called to be a preacher is more spiritual than to be called to be a laborer. It is the same calling and has the same value before God.
Number two: many are called, but few are chosen. In other words, calling is sovereign, but when God calls, He looks for something in us. That something determines whether we are chosen or not.
That something is faithfulness. What is required of a servant of the Lord? What is required of stewards of the Lord? Faithfulness. Are you faithful? If you are faithful in small things, God will give you bigger things.
As you look back into the lives of these men and women of God, you will invariably find that after they were saved, they set their hearts upon the Lord and began to serve in a small way.
Think of the great preacher, the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon. Everybody wants to be the prince of preachers, with a silver tongue and a golden voice. But after Spurgeon was saved, what did he do? He became an usher. He did not think he could preach; he simply ushered people.
The first time he and another young man were sent out to preach in the countryside, as they walked to that place, Spurgeon said to the other young man, “Well, I will pray for you that the Lord will give you the word.” He did not even imagine that he himself ought to speak.
That is how it all began. If you are faithful in small things, God will give you bigger things.
Some people say, “Well, if I am going to preach, three thousand have to be saved. If three thousand are not saved, I will not open my mouth.” You will never become an evangelist that way.
Be faithful in small things, in the place where you are, in the fellowship with which you are gathered. Try to serve God faithfully as the Lord moves upon your heart. Perhaps you can put out the hymnbooks, open the doors, clean the toilets, or give a few words of exhortation.
Brothers and sisters, if you are faithful in small things, God will give you greater things. He is looking for faithfulness. That is why many are called, but few are chosen.
The reason you are not chosen may be because there is a lack of faithfulness. Faithfulness is always tested in small things. It is easy to be faithful in big things because you feel their responsibility, but in small things, that is where your faithfulness is tested.
Number three: if you are too anxious to serve, perhaps you are not called to that service. Is that not strange?
Some people cannot pass the testing. But thank God, His grace is sufficient for us.
You may be tested by circumstances, and you may be tested by time. Time is a great test. Sometimes we try to jump into something before God’s time, as Moses did, and we have to learn the lesson the hard way.
Time may test us to the degree that we give up. We may have to wait, be hidden, be trained, and be faithful in something that seems very small. But God’s timing is always right.
Finally, do not be so anxious about calling. Be careful about sending.
I think the whole matter is that the emphasis should not be on calling: “Am I called? What is my calling? Did God call me to do this?” Do not be overly concerned with that. Rather, remember to wait until you are sent out.
That is the way it is done. God draws the prophet to Himself and sends him out. The Holy Spirit says, “Set apart Barnabas and Paul.” Then He sends them out to the work.
Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workmen. Never go before being sent.
I think that if you try to apply these four principles, they will help us understand what it is that God has called each one of us to serve.
Again, I say that we are all called to serve. The question is: in what area, and how? Even though we may all serve in different ways and in different areas, we serve the same Lord, and our service is actually one. We serve together. Together, we serve the purpose of God.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do praise and thank Thee that, dust as we are, Thou hast not only saved us, but Thou hast called us into Thy service. What privilege, what honor, what glory.
We just humble ourselves before Thee, Lord. Here we are. Send us. Send us to the work that Thou hast appointed for each one to do, for Thy kingdom and for Thy purpose.
We pray that none of us will be left behind, but that all of us will be chosen. By Thy grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, may we together serve Thy purpose.
For Thee be the glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.