Authority Comes from Calling

As embarrassing as this is to admit, I regularly go through struggles relating to my calling to full time ministry. In one of these crisis moments this morning, I desperately needed some reassurance and some direction from the Holy Spirit. So I poured out my heart to God this morning. Maybe this comes naturally to you but for me it’s hard. I’m not by nature an overtly emotional guy…dramatic maybe, but not emotional. I won’t get into all the details of what I prayed this morning, but it was one of those God moments where you just get overwhelmed by his presence. Even typing this now, makes me emotional. After a lengthy “snot on the floor” session as Pastor James calls them, I picked up a Bible with no idea where to start. I had no desire to read the Old Testament today, so I started in Matthew and flipped through the pages until God stopped me on Romans. It was exactly what I needed this morning. After I finished reading, I walked over to my house to regain control of my emotions and grab a Diet Dew out of the fridge. My wife’s Bible was sitting on the kitchen table open to Romans chapter 1. That was more than enough confirmation for me that that was what God wanted me to hear. Cue the waterworks…again. As I read exactly what I needed this morning, I decided that I wanted to blog through this entire book. My hope is to be transparent through this blog and I wanted to do it publicly, so I would have some accountability. My plan is to take a couple verses at a time and work my way through this book that is frankly way over my head, study it, and write a personal commentary. I have no idea if anyone will read this and frankly I don’t care, but if you do I welcome your comments and I hope that this can bring some encouragement to someone out there.

Let’s get started.

Romans 1:1-6

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

Being called is one thing. We’re all called to fulfill the great commission. We’re all called to live like Christ. Being set apart however is something special. Paul is identifying himself as the author here, but it’s not just a formal greeting. He’s making a point here to establish his authority in Christ because of the special calling that God has placed on his life.

I needed to be reminded that God created me to fulfill a purpose. He not only called me to serve him, but established a blueprint for my life as part of his plan to reveal the gospel to the world. Discouragement happens when we determine our value based on something other than our status as children of God. Though I can play off the “arrogant” personality very well, I have huge insecurities. I hate it when people don’t like me, and my feelings toward myself are often reflective of how I am received by others. Paul derived his authority and value in the fact that God had appointed him to be an apostle for the gospel of Christ. I’m sure there were times of discouragement and depression in his life. Nobody is throwing rocks at me and I get discouraged.

Pastoral ministry is hard, and sometimes I feel like I have no business doing it. There have been several times this summer where I’ve really wondered, “What I’m doing here?” What God spoke clearly to me this morning is that he has called me to what I do and nothing can detract from that calling. Verse 6 spoke into my heart as I read it, and I hope it speaks into yours as well: You also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. I’m making a point to really seek the heart of God for these next couple weeks and really hear from him.

If you’ve made it through this incredibly long blog, I’d ask that you pray with me for direction. Our community really needs a move of God and I’m asking Him to start one in the Middle Schools and High Schools in our area. Pray that God would give me favor with the school leadership. Pray for the team of leaders that work with me, because I will be asking a lot of them in these next couple months. Pray for our students, that God would began to raise up in their hearts a desire to see the lost won and for their hearts to fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ.