What? Where? How?
Part 2
By Rev. Steven Chriscole KT – Grand Master The Knights Templar Church
What will you do in your service to God and his Kingdom?
Where will you get involved.
How do you know if this is what God wants you to do? How will you go about finding out? How will you be able to get your ministry started?
In the first article in this series, we took a brief look at the “What”, meaning:
- What can I offer?
- What is my calling?
- What do I do to begin my search for my calling?
In this part 2 article we will look at “Where” and by that I mean:
- Where we go to begin our search for our calling?
- Where can we get help to develop our perceived calling?
Before I get to talk about “The Where”, I want to remind you of “The Why”, which is a question that has one simple answer:
“Because Jesus Christ commanded us thus:
Matthew 28:18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
King James Bible
The fundamental part of the scripture above is about teaching everyone the truth that is God, the Son and the Holy Ghost. As you see, this is not a request but a command. It’s not something that should be ignored or ventured into half-heartedly.
The Where
In the first article, I emphasised your connection to God through prayer. I will reiterate that and say again that this should not just be the first thing you do, but it should be a constant thing you do. At every turn or day or circumstance, seeking God must be your primary reference point.
The next place to look is to yourself and what skills you may already have that could be used to benefit God’s kingdom. Don’t limit yourself to the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament. Learned skills and abilities can be great indicators as to your own tendencies. You might ask yourself “What do I do well?” and “Could it be that the Lord has directed my life to learn certain skills that could be put to use in his kingdom?”
Broad Brush Strokes
Now we need to expand our thinking and look at our life, both past and present so that we can try and see how God has worked in your life so far that might indicate a direction for your ministry. Don’t forget, we are assuming at this point, you have no idea what your calling is, and so we must incorporate the widest or broadest picture of who you are and what you have done in your life.
Many people think that to find your calling, that you must wait for some divine spiritual revelation to drop in your lap. In the vast majority of cases, that just doesn’t happen. Invariably you will gravitate towards something that has a profound effect on you emotionally, which then motivates you to engage in activities around it. There’s nothing wrong with that approach, but I would just add a word of caution.
Don’t Run Before you can Walk
You may have decided to go with some direction that grabs you emotionally as I said above. But before you leap, take some time. Go back to the Lord in prayer and wait! You need to be asking God for confirmation, as we said in the previous article. But what kind of confirmation should we be looking for? Where might that confirmation come from? How do I recognise it when it comes?
Open & Closed Doors
These are not easy questions to answer simply because God works in many ways and I couldn’t possibly list them here. What I can say is that I’ve seen metaphorical “doors” closed to things I’ve prayed about. These are clear indications that “that” is not the way God wants you to go. So pray for open and closed doors. Ask God to be specific in his direction to you. That way you have a better idea of which way to go. So pray, then wait! You might have to wait a while, but when a door opens or closes you will know it. For sure by contrast, I have seen God open doors which had previously been closed. We need to be watching and waiting.
One more thing about these doors. The best indication as to God’s direction in this, is that you have no involvement in the decision making. It needs to be God’s divine intervention, working through other people which will inform you. Even then, when something happens that could only be God’s intervention, you still need to check, and maybe even check again!
Seek Advice
Don’t just take my word for any of this. Go and see your pastor. If you don’t go to a local church (and why not?) then either talk to a trusted Christian friend or someone with much more experience of our faith that you.
I will assume for the moment that you attend a local church. Have a sit-down with your minister/pastor/priest/vicar and tell him what you are doing. He should guide you, but not steer you. There is sometimes a temptation for church leaders to steer people into particular ministries. This should not happen. You are there for spiritual guidance, not a job interview!
What you are looking for is in fact a mentor. A mentor should listen to what you have been doing, and be wise enough to remain impartial but also to offer developmental suggestions such as different ways to pray or drawing together things you have explained and showing that to you. At no time should a mentor be telling you what you must do. That is a decision between you and God (and maybe your wife/husband!).
Getting Involved
One of the reasons for attending your local church is to see various ministries first hand. It is almost certain that you will see and hear what others are up to, and you may find inspiration in them. This could be a guide for you both in a positive sense and a negative one.
For example, I knew that my calling was as a teacher (or at least partly anyway) and so I decided to become involved with the English Club in my local church, teaching English as a foreign language to asylum seekers. I had previously already gained a basic teaching qualification and also done a TEFL course, so I thought it would help both the students and the church.
I taught this class for 18 months until it was my time to leave England to go and live in the Philippines. As I look back, yes I was able to teach the students and I enjoyed the work, but was this my calling? Well, as I arrived here in the Philippines, I made contacts with local churches and people there naturally thought that teaching English would be a great thing (and it was their suggestion, not mine).
Of course I prayed about it, and things happened that made it very clear that this was just not going to happen. (I can’t discuss that here, but be assured that God closed that door firmly shut!).
So where do we get involved? Sometimes you just have to try something to see what happens. It might be that God reveals something to you later on which shifts your focus, or clarifies a direction to you. But you can be sure that if you sit idly by, waiting for God to “do” something, then you will probably end up doing nothing. This has been my experience.
And So over to You
Are you seeking God in prayer? Are you getting involved in some local ministry, even just as a helper? Or are you sitting back waiting for God to reveal his plan for your life?
We have some more things to talk about on this subject, so watch out for part 3 of this series coming soon.
May the Lord bless you and keep you.
Knights Templar Church Online 
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