Reply To: Pastoral Ministry 2023/2025 Discussion Board 1

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INTRODUCTION
According to the lesson, calling means to be invited or appointed, coming from a root word that means to call aloud, to summon, or to call toward. Separation means to be set off by a boundary, exclude, divide, separate, or sever. It has the dual meaning of separating someone from something while separating them to something.
These definitions reveal important truths about ministry. God’s call is designed to be heard, at least by the one being called. Also, as a person progresses in ministry, there is a greater demand for separation unto God’s purpose and assignment.

CASE STUDY: MOSES
HIS CALLING
The calling of Moses is recorded in Exodus 3:4–10. Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, when he encountered God through the burning bush.
The Bible records that when the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to see, “God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses.” Moses answered, “Here am I.”
God then revealed His assignment to Moses. In Exodus 3:10, He said:
“Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.”
This was a clear divine call. Moses was invited, appointed, summoned, and called toward a particular purpose. He was not called into ministry by personal ambition; God Himself called and sent him.
However, Moses initially felt inadequate. He asked, “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?” (Exodus 3:11). This shows that the call of God is not always based on a person’s personal confidence or natural ability. It is fundamentally an act of God.
HIS SEPARATION
Moses’ separation can be seen in the fact that God called him out of his life as a shepherd in Midian and sent him to a particular place and assignment.
For forty years, Moses had lived in Midian as a shepherd. However, when God called him, his life entered a new phase. He was separated from his life in Midian and separated to the assignment of going to Egypt to confront Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of bondage.
This clearly shows the dual meaning of separation. Moses was separated from something and separated to something.
His separation was not merely to leave Midian but to fulfil a particular divine assignment. He was sent to Pharaoh and to the children of Israel as God’s chosen instrument of deliverance.

DISCUSSING THE CONCEPTS OF CALLING AND SEPARATION FROM THE LIFE OF MOSES
1. THERE IS USUALLY A TIME LAPSE BETWEEN CALLING AND SEPARATION
One of the concepts taught is that there is usually a time lapse between calling and separation. During this time, the key of faithfulness is usually discovered, while qualifications may also be required.
The life of Moses demonstrates this principle. Before his experiential calling at the burning bush, Moses had spent many years in preparation. He was raised in Egypt and later spent forty years in Midian as a shepherd.
His time in Midian was different from his later assignment of leading Israel out of Egypt. When the time came, God appeared to him and set him into that specific assignment.
This teaches us that God’s preparation may take time. The period before separation is not necessarily wasted; it may be part of God’s process of preparing a person for the assignment ahead.

2. AT THE TIME OF SEPARATION, A BELIEVER IS SEPARATED TO A PARTICULAR PLACE OR ASSIGNMENT
Moses was not merely called generally; he was specifically sent to Egypt.
God said, “I will send thee unto Pharaoh.” His separation had a clear direction and assignment.
This agrees with the concept that just as a believer is called to an office, at the time of separation, the believer is also separated to a particular place or assignment at that phase of his call.
Moses was separated to go back to Egypt, stand before Pharaoh, and bring God’s people out of bondage. His separation gave practical expression to his calling.

3. THE TIMING OF CALLING AND SEPARATION IS POSITIONALLY SET BY GOD
The life of Moses also shows that God’s purpose is at work before the full manifestation of a person’s assignment.
Moses’ preservation as a child and the different phases of his life reveal that God had a purpose for him before his experiential separation as Israel’s deliverer.
When the time appointed by God came, Moses encountered God at the burning bush and was sent into his assignment.
This can be likened to when the end of something was set before the beginning. God knows the purpose for which He has called and separated a person, even when that person has not yet entered into the full manifestation of it.

4. THE TIME OF SEPARATION IS NOT NECESSARILY A FUNCTION OF QUALIFICATION BUT MORE A FUNCTION OF KEYING INTO THE GRACE OF GOD
Moses repeatedly expressed his inadequacy. He asked, “Who am I?” and later complained that he was not eloquent.
By human standards, Moses did not consider himself qualified for such a great assignment. However, God’s response was not to focus on Moses’ ability but on His presence and grace.
God said, “Certainly I will be with thee” (Exodus 3:12).
Moses’ separation was therefore not merely a function of his qualification but of God’s grace and purpose. What God required from Moses was a response of faith and obedience.

CONCLUSION
The life of Moses clearly displays the concepts of calling and separation.
From the life of Moses, we learn that separation is to a particular place or assignment; that the timing of calling and separation is positionally set by God; and that separation is not merely a function of qualification but of keying into the grace of God.
Therefore, calling and separation in ministry are not matters of personal ambition. They are acts of God that require faithfulness, obedience, and a willingness to key into His grace and purpose.