SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/13/2021 11:04 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “A
Divine Commission”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
10:5a
Message of the
verse: “These
twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying,”
We are looking at three criterions
to help a believer decide whether or not he is called into the Lord’s service,
and we looked at the first one yesterday.
The
second criterion is the confirmation of the church. When a person feels a strong desire to preach
but does not have the encouragement and the support of godly believers who know
him well, then he should then reevaluate the source of his feelings. The Lord will use other believers to confirm
His call to individuals. The
qualifications for church leaders is given in 1 Timothy chapter three and also
in Titus chapter one. They are standards
by which the church is to measure the suitability of a person who desires to
minister. Such confirmation is
illustrated in what Paul told Timothy: “Do
not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed upon you through
the prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery (elders)”
(1 Tim. 4:14). An example of having the
church being a part of a person’s calling into the ministry can be seen when
Paul was a preacher in Antioch as we read “1 Now
there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and
teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and
Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they
were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart
for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." 3 Then,
when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them
away” (Acts 13:1-3).
Now
the third criterion for determining God’s call is that of opportunity. When a person has a strong desire to minister
and has the encouragement of the godly believers in the church is that God will
open a clear door of service, just as He did for Paul at Ephesus as seen in 1
Corinthians 16:9). “for a wide door for
effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”
John
MacArthur next in his commentary goes back to write about the calling of
theTwelve. “The Twelve were called and
sent out by the direct spoken command of Jesus.
His will for them was specific and unmistakable. Par
angello, the verb behind instructing, had a number of usages in the New
Testament times. As a military term it
represented the order of an officer to those under his command, an order that
required unhesitating and unqualified obedience. As a legal tem it was used of an official
court summons, the equivalent of a modern subpoena, which to disregard made a
person liable to serve punishment. Used
ethically, the term represented a moral obligation that was binding on a person
of integrity. As a medical term it
represented a doctor’s prescription or instruction given to a patient. The world was also used to refer to certain
accepted standards or techniques, such as those for writing or oratory.
“In
every dimension of its use, parangello included
the idea of binding a person to make the proper response to an
instruction. The soldier was bound to
obey the orderst of his superiors; a person involved in a legal matter was
bound by the court’s orders; a person of integrity was bound by moral
principles; a patient was bound to follow his doctor’s instruction if he wanted
to get well; and a successful writer or speaker was bound by the standards of
his craft. In various forms, the word is
used some thirty times in the New Testament.”
In
our next SD will begin by looking at a number of times that this verb is used
in the New Testament.
9/13/2021 11:31 AM
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