How To Know If You Are Being Called To Preach

Last updated on: June 20, 2016 at 10:45 am by Jack Wellman

How To Know If You Are Being Called To Preach 2016-06-20T10:45:54-05:00 Jack Wellman

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How do you know whether God is calling you to preach or not? What are some indications that He is?

The Calling

From every place that I’ve read, it is clear that no one calls themselves into them the ministry to preach. It is a clarion call from God. When God called the prophets, they were reluctant at first, thinking that they were either too young or unqualified but God isn’t looking for qualified men to preach…He qualifies them to preach. The calling is not of human origin, just as the Apostle Paul makes clear in the beginnings of his epistles or letters, like in Galatians 1:1 where he writes, “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.” The same holds true in Romans 1:1 where it says that “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” Even in the Book of Ephesians 1:1 is says, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus.” We see all of these (and more) where it testifies to the fact that Paul was called by God and never by man. That is point number one. It must be God that calls or there is no call at all.

A Compulsion to Preach

There is an outward calling by God but there is also an inward calling that is like the proverbial fire in the bosom where Jeremiah once wrote, “If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” there is in my heart as it were a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot” (Jer 20:9) and just as Paul wrote, “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1st Cor 6:19)! This passion compels the person to preach the gospel for they cannot help themselves. God has called them and they feel that calling in their heart and it is so overwhelming as to make it an undoubtable call, just as when the apostles were commanded to not preach about Jesus anymore but “Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19-20).

An Open Door

When God calls a man to preach, He will also open a door for him to preach, just as Paul said before the Jewish Council in Acts 22:21 and said, “And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” On the Damascus Road, Paul encountered the living Christ and Who “said to [Ananias], “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). Paul recalls the account of his calling in Acts 26:16-17 where God told him, “rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you.”

A Heart for the Lost

When someone says that they are called to preach but doesn’t want to witness, there is a problem because there comes with the calling (or at least should) an overwhelming desire to rescue the perishing. The compulsion to preach is also a compulsion to be used by God as a means to save some. They care not about the persecution, hate, name-calling, abuse, ridicule, and in some cases, death. They would rather seek out the lost than wait for the lost to come to seek them out. Jesus was sent to seek and to save those who are lost as He said, “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10) and so too are preachers who are commissioned by God. Paul asks, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching” (Rom 10:14) and as we all know, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).

Conclusion

If you’re unsure whether you’re being called or not, review these specifics so that you can know for sure because when you know, you will know without a doubt. It’s like you would be miserable doing anything else and you cannot but help preach. It’s like a flood of feelings that compel the person to seek out the lost, to reach out to the lost, and to preach the Word of God. A church will often anoint or ordain a pastor who has the inward call, the outward call, and then they are sure when God opens a door for them to preach. By then, it is as Paul wrote, “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1st Cor 6:19)!

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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