“Good Ideas” Rather Than God’s Ideas

There is nothing worse, in my opinion, than to observe a fellow Christian functioning in a ministry that he or she has not been called to. In other words, many a Christian there is, doing the work of God who have not been called by the God of that work.  It’s obvious, for they demonstrate no grace for the task chosen.  It is my belief also, that local church leadership is to be held accountable for most of this because of the constant pressure they put on their congregation to go and “do something for Jesus” or “find a need and fill it” or “thousands of people are dying and going to hell and what are we doing about it?” 

Too many men and women in church leadership are themselves operating out of “good ideas” rather than God’s ideas.  Motivated by guilt or fear or pride, rather than divine love, these things then all too readily get passed on.  As a new Christian, not fully familiar with what the calling of God on a person’s life for ministry truly meant, I was to witness much striving by some in leadership.  Later on, when I became familiar, and responded to my own ministerial calling, I was simply amazed by the Spirit of God as He revealed to me the way Jesus ministered when here on the earth.

Nowhere in the New Testament do we see the Lord Jesus striving, getting pushy and upset, carrying the whole sinful world’s problems on His shoulders and demanding everyone else do the same, “or you have to question your love and devotion to God!”  We see Jesus, a Man who fully knew God.  Not only that, but He also fully knew that He was in God and God was in Him.  That is why He was able to say that He did nothing other than that which the Father gave Him to do John 5:19.  And as we go on to read and study the plain meanings of Scripture we see that this is the exact same pattern for us, His biblical followers.

So why is it that we have so many Christians (including lots of leaders) expressing strife, haste, guilt, pride, stubbornness and rebellion etc, as they “minister” the things of God?”  Well, some don’t know God, others don’t know who they are in God and others are running from God.  Others operate from presumption, but they call it faith.  Whatever the category, these types of people have no true relationship with God – they do not know the mind of God at any given moment.  But at the same time, they are well schooled in the art of picking and choosing that which suits them from the Bible whilst discarding that which is not understood or palatable to their hearing.

A lady came out of the prayer room one morning before the service, sighing deeply numerous times as she said to me, “Sometimes I feel so inadequate for God.”  She loves to find needs and fill them.  I responded to her statement by saying that was great and that God wanted her to become totally inadequate, so that He could then use her for ministry.  She was offended.  I explained 2 Corinthians 12:10 to her, where the apostle Paul said when he was weak, then he was strong.  She did not want to know about it, but her manner then changed to one ever-so religious as the singing started. 

No longer is that my fellowship, but today this lady is still striving, still feeling totally inadequate, still very religious, still finding “needs” and “filling” them and rather successful at placing guilt trips on the Scripturally ignorant and gullible.  The minister of that church is spiritually unaware of the spirit that motivates her and the harm that it brings to his people.  He himself is “very busy” in the ministry too, but he is always tired – always.  Perhaps somebody who is always tired doing the work of Christ gives indication that he or she has not been called to that work, because whatever we’re called to do, we are graced to do.

Burnout was something I heard a lot about as a new Christian.  It seemed that if a minister needed time off as a result of burnout, it was because he was a hardworking, holy man of God, “dedicated to building the Kingdom of God, hallelujah!”  Today I would question that analysis. I would in turn, ask the man, “Brother, what is that the Lord is saying to you?  What is it that you don’t want to hear from God?”  I know the Scripture tells us that Timothy was sick and almost died, but I would suggest that this is the extreme and not the norm for someone in ministry.  Besides, there’s evidence to suggest he was of a sickly nature rather than a sufferer from burnout. 

Another lady came into that church believing herself to be operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  She would go to certain people among us in the fellowship and tell them, “God said for me to tell you…..” or “God has shown me that you….”  She went to a couple of others and told them she saw demons over them.  Personally, I have no doubt that she was having some sort of encounter with the spiritual realm, but none of it came from the Holy Spirit because it brought fear, confusion and condemnation to those whom she spoke with.  We are called to test the spirits 1 John 4:1 and based on that outcome, she failed that test.  

Sadly, she was one of countless multitudes of people who believe all their dreams and visions as revelations imparted to them from the Holy Spirit and she was most unwilling to submit them to God for testing when it was suggested she do so.  The spirit realm is a fearful one for most church people and fascinating for others, but I have found that those who do not surrender their fascination to God usually go on to bring trouble upon themselves and upon those who get sucked in by them.  Even sadder was the fact that the church leadership did not wish to get too close to the issue either, so she left that place and went to “minister” in another fellowship.  

A man saw himself as a radio preacher, so he joined our radio station.  As he did the training it showed up that he was an unteachable person, which strongly indicated to me that he had called himself into ministry, as so many Christian people do.  When I asked him what God was saying to him about presenting the gospel over the radio he was most indignant.  His first program was not one that exhorted, edified or comforted listeners, neither was the second or the third – in fact none of them.  He had doctrinal hobby-horses by the dozen to push, pulling down certain biblical beliefs and practices, bringing condemnation.

I phoned his pastor who told me that this was the man’s practice among their fellowship, sowing discord wherever he could.  He said, “You’ll have to get tough with that man.”  Clearly we had a tool of the devil abusing God’s word over the airwaves.  When I informed him that it is not our job to pull down that which is controversial, but rather, lift up the Lord Jesus, he asked, “Is this Christian policy or station policy?”  Legalists love policy!  I told him it was not about policy, it was about co-operation.  In the meantime, I went before the Lord about him and within a few weeks he was gone.

One of the signs giving indication as to whether someone has truly been called of God into a ministerial task or not, is to witness their response the moment their will is crossed.  How easy it is for most Christians to say, “Thy will be done Lord, not my will.”  It sounds so spiritual to hear it in a prayer meeting.  And after the prayer meeting, how easy it is to smile, shake hands, say all the right things and look the part, giving all appearances that one is truly an expression of the Holy Spirit.  I have learned, however, that one can never know what a person is truly like – until that will of theirs does get crossed.  But once it does, you begin to find out very quickly.

Whenever arrogance,  resentment, anger, rebellion, spiritual pride and religious masks constantly show up in a person and they refuse to address this behavior, it is more than reasonable to suggest that they have not been called by the God of the Bible, but rather, by the god of their imagination – even more truthfully they have been “called” by the god of this world.  “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of the One Who sent him is true, and no unrighteousness is found in him.”  John 7:18.