Called to Teach
In this writing I want to convey some things I have learned and come to understand through my walk with the Lord. Perhaps I didn’t say that well… A better description would be during my “training up.” Yes, just as the Scripture says in Proverbs 22:6, Train up a child in the way that he should go and when he is old he shall not depart from it.
I was called to teach the Gospel of the Word about two and a half years ago. Just as my Salvation was at age thirty-five, this calling was a very big event and contrary to my personality.
If you were to ask anyone that has known me for several years, they would tell you that I would be one of the last ones on their list who would become a writer, yet here I am. I write one or two teachings a week and have for about two years.
Had it not been for the prompting of my dear friend and Pastor, I doubt I would have ever written a word, but I was compelled to get my teachings out to the people.
I’m sure this writing will be continued under other titles in the future. As a matter of fact, I can’t imagine that it wouldn’t. Why? Because as I learn or as more is revealed to me, it will be shared.
It has to be shared for knowledge to belong to no man! I believe it to be a sin to not share valuable knowledge gained, and to teach the application of that knowledge if it is understood. We Christians are all called to Go and teach and make Disciples of all Nations.
Why I was called to teach is a question I asked myself many times, and I have concluded that the answer is this is what I was trained up to do.
God knew that all my life experience, dedication, and tenacity would be used if I accepted the calling, and He knew that I would accept! I have never been one to do things halfway. If I commit, then I am committed 100%. I become completely mission-oriented/dedicated to that commitment, without exception.
I have discovered that many great blessings come with a calling, and many challenges also.
Challenges are good and treasured because they provide opportunity and make great gains possible. Adversity will either make a person stronger or expose weakness. I personally view adversity as a Spiritual culling method, separating the weak from the strong.
The Scripture says that “many are called, but few are chosen”. Many don’t understand this verse, but one way to understand it in this context is that many are called to be saved, but few are chosen to Preach and Teach.
Maybe this can be more clearly understood by the parable of the harvest, but first let me explain the harvest is in two parts. Scripture teaches that in the first part of the harvest, the wheat and the tares are not to be separated while they are growing or the wheat will be uprooted (I believe this is the separation of the saved from the unsaved).
The parable speaks of the tares being burned up (eternal Hades) in the second part of the harvest (the separation of the wheat from the chaff).
You see, once the wheat has been harvested, a single kernel can be planted and grow another wheat plant that will produce more wheat (the saved Christian sharing the Gospel).
Some of the wheat must become food and in order for that to happen, the chaff must be separated from the berry of the kernel. For this to happen the wheat must be flailed or beaten to remove the husk so that it can be made into flour.
Then it must be ground in a mill and water added. Then and only then can it be baked and eaten (this is the Preacher and Teacher). The “chosen” must be processed into a usable state, but once that happens it can become life-sustaining nourishment.
If you think of it as the Holy Spirit being the baker inspecting the flour and adding just the right amount of water before it is worthy to be used, then you can begin to understand the verse “many are called but few are chosen”.
What does this mean to the saved Christian? It means that the Preacher and the Teacher will be spoken to differently by the Holy Spirit because more is expected from Preachers and Teachers.
They will see, understand, and gain wisdom from the Word; more deeply and with the wisdom God intended it to be known.
Their life experiences will be used to gain a deeper grasp of God’s Word so that it can be conveyed in the spirit in which it was written. And if your Preachers and Teachers are being obedient to their calling, their entire focus will be to please God in their service, and not man!
“To whom much is given much is required.” If God has called a man into a Ministry, there are great requirements placed on his heart.
A dear Pastor friend of mine said when God has called a man to the ministry, then that man can’t do anything else. It will consume his mind and his heart and he will never be satisfied doing anything else (I’m paraphrasing.)
I know this to be true because that is how it’s been for me since I was called. To be called into a Ministry is not a conscious decision.
No, it is in fact a compulsion in the heart and mind that this thing must be done! Ephesians 2:10 says it this way: 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
I’ve told people this but it bears repeating, if you find that a message preached or taught becomes convicting to the point it begins to offend or anger you, your place is not to be in front of the Preacher or Teacher complaining.
Your place is to be on your knees before God repenting and seeking spiritual guidance! Your Preacher or Teacher is bound by a divine duty to God and not by an obligation to please or tickle the ears of men! An obedient Christian will seek God and Godly counsel before complaining of a convicting topic.
The philosopher Plato said “no man is more hated than he who speaks the truth”, and a man truly called by God will speak the truth!
In closing, I hope this has given some insight on what being called is like. I write from my personal experience and conversations I’ve had with other God-called men.
May the Lord bless you and keep you in all your days.
Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple