Preparation

Here is a word of truth that came to me in my email this morning, and it's a word that is never heard today, and we need to hear it, especially those young men who have answered the call of Jesus to minister to His people. It's one thing to be called by Christ, another thing to answer the call, yet another to know what the call entails—preparation—patience, willingness to let oneself be formed and prepared to fulfill the call, waiting on the Lord as He fashions us into "the tool in HaShem's hand" that He wants us to be. So you have been to seminary and graduated? Does He call you to be a priest, or a prophet, to a life of safety or a life of ultimate risk? This is not for us to choose, but for Christ, who says, "You did not choose Me, I chose you…" (John 15:16)

A Splendid Example of a Young Man Who Responded to God’s Call
at the Age of 30
by Pastor Zac Poonen

Ezekiel was the son of a priest who was training to be a priest (Ezekiel 1:3). But when he was 30 years old, God suddenly called him to be a prophet (Ezekiel 1:1). We may plan for a certain ministry, but God may call us to something totally different. And then we must be willing, like Ezekiel, to drop everything and to accept whatever God calls us to.

The life of a priest is actually much safer than that of a prophet.
Priests were not usually killed but the prophets invariably were. A prophet also has a very tough time, because not only does he suffer at the hands of the people, but God’s hand also is heavy on him most of the time. Ezekiel would not have undergone all that, if he had been a priest.

There are certain ministries in God’s kingdom that involve more suffering than others. The Lord told Peter, “When you are old, someone will take you where you won’t like to go” – indicating how Peter would suffer for the faith. But Peter immediately, pointing to John, asked the Lord, “What about him? Will he also suffer like me?” But the Lord replied, “That is none of your business. You just follow Me.” (John 21:18-23).

If God calls you to a ministry which involves suffering, don’t look at anybody else. Don’t worry about whether they have an easy time or not. That is none of your business.

Ezekiel responded immediately. Thank God he responded. If he had not responded we might never have heard of him. If Hudson Taylor had not responded when God called him to go to China, if C. T. Studd had not responded when God called him to go to Africa, if Jim Elliot had not responded when God called him to go to South America, we might never have heard of these men. But they responded as soon as God called them.

The thirtieth year seems to be a very significant time in people’s lives – both in the Old and New Testaments. Joseph was 30 when he became ruler in Egypt. David was 30 when he became king. Jesus was 30 when He began His earthly ministry. Most of the apostles were around 30 when they began their ministry. And Ezekiel too was 30 when he began his ministry.

Even today, it is probably around that age that God wants to begin to lead his children into the specific ministry that He has for them. But prior to that date, God has to spend many years in preparing us for that specific ministry. If you surrender to God totally and allow Him to prepare you during your teens and twenties, then you can be ready by the time you are 30 (or 35), for that specific ministry that God has planned for you.

But a lot of young people are impatient and unwilling to wait. I am not saying that you cannot go out and serve God before you are 30 years old. You can start serving God even when you are 16. But in your early years, God has to keep you under authority in order to guide you and protect you. But many young people chafe under such submission to authority and, as a result, are never broken and prepared for the ministry that God has planned for them.

Even Jesus needed that training to submit to Joseph and Mary for 30 years before He entered into His ministry. How much more we? Ezekiel must have submitted to Jeremiah, in his younger days. He must have listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies and studied them as a youth.

God Who saw the faithfulness of this young man, decided that Ezekiel would be a prophet and not a priest.

One day, God opened the heavens over Ezekiel and gave him visions of Himself and a message for His people. “The hand of the Lord came upon him” - that expression occurs seven times in Ezekiel. It meant that Ezekiel could not do what he wanted to do. It was like God saying to him, “Now, you have to go where I want you to go.”

We can all live like this all our lives, if we want to, with the heavens open over us all the time. That will be easy, if you allow the hand of the Lord to be upon you, if you keep your conscience clean, if you humble yourself and fear the Lord!

At times, we are told that when the hand of the Lord was upon him, Ezekiel went “in the rage of his spirit” (Ezekiel 3:14). He did not feel like going, but he went because he had submitted his life totally to God.

A true servant of God does not live by his feelings.
It’s not a question of whether he feels like going, when God calls him to go. Those who serve themselves live by their feelings. But those who serve God go whether they feel like going or not.

They move because the hand of the Lord is upon them.