Today, I want to continue with the theme of not allowing other people to dictate what God has spoken to you.
If Jesus is truly Lord (the one who has authority over your life), then we need to take seriously what He tells us to do.
If the Lord gives you a direction, and someone else comes along—even a pastor—and tells you to do something completely different, you need to know how to handle that situation with wisdom.
But this does not mean that we become rebellious or refuse all correction. We need emotional intelligence (the ability to understand and manage our emotions while also understanding other people).
People can mean well and still be completely wrong.
You are not an island. God has placed people around you for a reason.
There may be people who love you, want the best for you, and sincerely want to help you. But good intentions do not automatically mean that someone has correctly understood what God is doing in your life.
For example, God may put something strongly in your heart.
Maybe your heart is to go out into the highways and byways (places where ordinary people are found) and talk to people who do not know Jesus. Maybe God is giving you a desire to build relationships with people outside the church and introduce them to Christ.
That may be part of your calling (the particular work or purpose God gives someone).
God may then want those people connected to a local church and cared for through proper pastoral leadership.
But sometimes a local church becomes centered almost completely around one person.
Everything is about the pastor.
The books are about the pastor. The teaching is about the pastor. The ministry is about the pastor. Every answer seems to come through the pastor.
A para-ministry (a Christian ministry that works alongside or outside a local church, such as an evangelistic or teaching ministry) may naturally have one primary teacher or leader. That can be normal.
But a local church is different.
When one person becomes the only person through whom everything must flow, you can create a bottleneck.
A bottleneck is a place where everything has to pass through one narrow point.
God gives gifts to the entire body of Christ (all believers who belong to Jesus).
The New Testament teaches that believers have different gifts, different ministries, and different functions.
So if everything must come through one person, the people of God may not be given room to develop and use the gifts God has placed in them.
This is one reason we need to understand the difference between biblical authority (authority that agrees with God’s Word) and unhealthy control.
We should respect biblical pastoral authority.
But no pastor has authority to replace the voice of Jesus Christ in your life.
Some people feel like God is hiding things from them.
But sometimes God is hiding something for you, not from you.
There are things God does that we may not understand immediately.
Look at the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The Bible teaches that God’s plan was hidden from the powers of darkness. If the rulers of this age had understood God’s plan completely, they would not have crucified Jesus.
That was part of the wisdom of God.
God was accomplishing something that the enemy could not understand.
That teaches us something important: not everything God is doing will make sense to us immediately.
Sometimes understanding comes later.
When God begins showing you something about your gifts and calling, other people may try to rewrite the assignment.
They may say:
“You shouldn’t do that.”
“That’s not your calling.”
“You need to do this instead.”
Sometimes they are right. Sometimes they are wrong.
That is why we need wisdom.
If you are young in the Lord (early in your Christian life), and you begin sensing something about your gifts or calling, I strongly recommend talking with your pastor and other mature believers.
But remember something important:
You may know what God is preparing you for, but the actual ministry may not happen for another ten or twenty years.
Why would God wait?
Because you need preparation.
There is a difference between being called and being prepared.
God can call someone long before that person is ready to function effectively in that calling.
Your preparation time is not wasted time.
It is part of the calling.
During that season, God can develop your character, teach you His Word, correct your thinking, develop your relationships, and teach you how to serve others.
This is where some people get into trouble.
They may truly be called by God, but they run ahead of God’s timing.
They want the position before they have developed the character needed for the position.
The New Testament tells us to add to our faith moral excellence (living according to God’s standards of right and wrong).
Another translation uses the word virtue (moral strength and goodness).
Both ideas are important.
God does not merely want talented people.
He wants people who are becoming like Christ.
Paul told Titus that his ministry was connected to godliness (a life that reflects God’s character).
This is a major principle:
If someone’s ministry is making them more proud, more selfish, more dishonest, or less obedient to God’s Word, something is wrong.
The purpose of ministry is not simply to build a platform.
It is to help people become more like Jesus.
We should submit ourselves to the Word of God.
We should also respect legitimate pastoral authority.
But there is an important difference between biblical authority and unbiblical authority.
Biblical authority agrees with Scripture.
Unbiblical authority contradicts Scripture or demands things God never commanded.
If a church leader consistently asks you to violate God’s Word, you should not blindly obey simply because that person has a title.
Jesus is Lord.
The pastor is not Lord.
A pastor is a servant of Christ.
There is another important principle here.
The Bible presents Jesus as the Good Shepherd (the one who lovingly cares for and protects His people).
Jesus said that the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
That means leadership in God’s kingdom is supposed to be sacrificial.
The sheep are not supposed to exist to make the shepherd’s life comfortable.
The shepherd serves the sheep.
This is completely different from a leader who expects the people under him to sacrifice everything for him.
Christian leadership should look like Jesus.
Sometimes people are told, “You need to feed yourself.”
There is some truth to the idea that Christians should personally study God’s Word and grow spiritually.
But pastors and ministers are also commanded to feed and care for God’s people.
A shepherd does not tell sheep, “Go find your own food.”
The shepherd’s job is to care for the flock.
The Bible gives ministers the responsibility of teaching, equipping, protecting, and caring for God’s people.
Ministry should not become selfishness disguised as leadership.
I am an evangelist (someone especially called and gifted to proclaim the gospel to people who do not know Christ).
My particular grace (God’s enabling power and favor for a specific assignment) is directed toward people who are lost.
My desire is to bring people into the kingdom of God and help them understand who Jesus Christ really is.
Because I am also able to teach, I can help people understand the Word of God after they come to Christ.
I can teach them how to overcome the flesh (the sinful desires and tendencies that pull us away from God), how to stop depending only on their own understanding, how to overcome doubt and unbelief, and how to deal with practical problems in life.
But there is an important order to this.
People first need to become born again (spiritually made new through faith in Jesus Christ).
One of the serious problems in the modern church is that we can become focused on getting people into church without asking whether they truly know Jesus.
We can get volunteers.
We can fill positions.
We can build programs.
But do these people really know the Lord?
Do they love the truth?
Do they actually desire to follow Christ?
These questions matter.
Church attendance by itself does not prove spiritual maturity.
Having a position in the church does not prove spiritual maturity.
Having talent does not prove spiritual maturity.
A person can have tremendous skill and still lack the character required for Christian leadership.
The Bible warns us about people who do not receive the love of the truth.
Truth is not merely information.
To love the truth means that we are willing to accept what God says—even when it corrects us.
A person who loves truth allows God’s Word to change them.
A person who only wants Christianity to confirm what they already believe can eventually become deceived.
That is why character and truth must come before position.
Another problem happens when churches promote people simply because they have useful skills.
Maybe someone is excellent with computers.
Maybe they understand websites.
Maybe they are gifted at video editing.
Maybe they are great with technology.
Praise God for those gifts!
But having a particular skill does not automatically make someone a pastor.
A person can be excellent at technology and still not be called to pastoral ministry.
A person can be a gifted musician and not be called to lead a church.
A person can be a great businessman and not be called to shepherd God’s people.
We need to know the difference between gift (a God-given ability) and office or ministry calling (a specific responsibility God gives someone within His work).
Every person has a place to serve.
If you are called to technology, serve in technology.
If you are called to administration, serve in administration.
If you are called to evangelism, evangelize.
If you are called to teach, teach.
If you are called to pastor, pastor.
Stay in your God-given zone.
That does not mean we refuse to grow or learn new things.
It means we understand what God has actually assigned us to do.
When someone speaks outside the boundaries of God’s Word, that becomes a problem—especially when that person is influencing God’s people.
We have a responsibility to protect the flock from spiritual pollution (teaching or influence that leads people away from God’s truth).
Do not be frustrated because your calling has not happened yet.
Do not assume that delay means God has forgotten you.
Your preparation may be part of the plan.
God may be developing your character before He develops your platform.
He may be teaching you how to serve before He allows you to lead.
He may be building relationships, wisdom, patience, and spiritual maturity that you will need years from now.
Trust His timing.
Do not run ahead of Him.
And do not allow another person to take the place of God’s voice in your life.
Ultimately, Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.
Pastors, evangelists, teachers, administrators, musicians, technicians, and every other believer are servants within His body.
We each have a place.
We each have gifts.
We each have responsibilities.
But none of us replaces Jesus.
So listen to godly counsel.
Respect biblical authority.
Receive correction.
Stay humble.
But above all, stay submitted to the Word of God and to Jesus Christ.
If God has placed something in your heart, do not allow another person to simply rewrite your assignment.
At the same time, do not run ahead of God’s preparation.
Let God develop you.
Let God mature you.
Let God open the doors.
And when the time comes, be ready to walk through them.
God bless you.
Peace and love as you continue to follow Jesus and grow in Him.
In Jesus’ holy name, amen.