Reply To: Pastoral Ministry 2023/2025 Discussion Board 1

[Pchris]

CALLING AND SEPARATION
CASE STUDY – JOHN THE BAPTIST
John was the son of Zecharias a Priest of the division of Abijah, his mother who went by the name Elizabeth, she was of the daughters of Aaron and also a relative to Mary the mother of Jesus.
HIS CALLING
Luke 1:13 – 17
The miraculous conception of John came after long years of barrenness and this happened shortly after his father Zacharias was visited by Angel Gabriel.
It is important to note that everyone’s call and purpose is as timeless as God which means it predates the time of conception. The revelation of John’s calling was made known to His parent’s before his conception . The call of John was quite similar to that of Jesus, by this I mean , he was literally born into his call leaving no room for transitioning or rather what I call a pre-call life. In contrast to the calling of Saul (Paul) , his call was made known to him after many years of persecuting the people he was called to serve. By the reason of his call he had to transition.
The case of John was a unique one and pretty straight to the point because he had a very important role to play in the life and ministry of Jesus.
John was a great prophet , who I like to describe as the last great prophet before Jesus. He was the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan river . By these, he fulfilled prophecies from the Old testament about a messenger preparing the way for the Lord.
HIS SEPARATION
Luke 1:80
” So the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts thill the day of his manifestations to Israel. ” ( NKJV )
The timing of the separation of John the Baptist was positionally set by God right from his mother’s womb .
We see In the above scripture that John grew and became strong in spirit. This talks of building capacity by keying into the grave of God . There is always grace available to everyone called by God .
John lived in the wilderness, wearing camel’s hair and eating locusts and wild honey before begining his ministry . He preached about repentance and baptized people in the Jordan river , symbolizing a cleansing and preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
John the Baptist , also known as the fore runner of Jesus consistently pointed people to Jesus while emphasizing that He(Jesus) is greater than him and would baptize with the Holy Spirit not just with water .
John the Baptist courageously paved the way for for the promised saviour of the world. By the reason of his call and separation, he walked this earth leaving a powerful legacy.
THE CONCEPT OF CALLING AND SEPARATION
This concept is very crucial for every believer to have adept understanding of. This is because there is a widespread abuse of the concept of calling . Many believers and shockingly unbelievers, misuse the actual concept of God’s calling . Many believers hide under the guise of “I am called ” to perpetrate despicable and misleading dogma’s in the body of Christ.
To be called means – to call a loud , to summon, to call towards.
It is important to state that the call of God is designed to be heard at least by the one been called . It is not hidden neither is it whispered .
Every ministry office begins with a call from God. When God calls you, you are first separated to the Word.
To be separated means to exclude, sever , to set off by boundary. It has a dual meaning of separating someone from something while separating them to something.
Calling and separation works in tandem, there is usually a time lapse between the both. The time lapse could be a long or short period, with God being the major determinant ( Galatians 1:15).