I love the way Mr. Yandian defines calling and separation in his book You Have A Ministry.
A long time ago, I was told by the pastor’s wife that I was to marry a ministry gift (I'm unsure what kind). She said that I needed to start spending time with her so that I could prepare (she, of course, was married to a ministry gift and was willing to share with me what I needed to know). I needed to be separated. So I started attending preparation classes for marriage, but I was so anxious, and when he didn’t come right away (or at least me knowing who it was), I grew weary, gave up, and moved away.
I doubt that the calling can go where I go (out of God’s will), and I’ll always wonder what my life would have been like. That’s why the answer can be yes when asked if we know our calling. But the question should be, are we able to fulfill it? I think most people with a calling are so anxious for it to be fulfilled that they don’t want to wait and prepare for it so that they can serve God’s kingdom to the fullest.
That may be why the body of Christ is in the shape it is now - we don’t want to wait. How many men have been legitimately called by God to be pastors of churches but decided to go ahead of God and start their own churches? How many women have been married to ministry gifts and left them while they went through seminary school, and now another woman is reaping the benefits?
I also loved when Bob Yandian said that you are not promoted if God doesn’t promote you. I can’t promote myself, and you can’t promote yourself. Only God can. That’s why whenever something good happens to us, we praise God. The only thing that man can do for us is have favor on us. I don’t know about anyone else, but God is my increase.
I loved the way Mr. Yandian defined qualification and faithfulness. Many people seem to think that because they have been to seminary school, are called by God (or their daddy), or have been saved for 30 years, they should be first in line to get a promotion.
I looked at the type of personality that a faithful person has according Bob Yandian I realized that my personality fits that, meek or teachable. I was told that along time ago by the pastor’s wife from my Florida church. She said I’m teachable because I don’t have all of the junk from being in a traditional church. Unlike others in the church, they didn’t have to spend years getting out what someone else had put in. I have a teachable spirit.
When I first started attending church, I was a bench warmer (there’s no need for me to lie), but when people love the Lord, they show it by being faithful, doing things for Him, and spending time with Him. It’s just like when a man likes a woman. He’ll do things for her. Sometimes, it’s for no particular reason at all. He may have seen something, and he knew that she would like it. The point is that she was on his mind. That’s how we should be with God: wanting to spend time with Him.
Mr. Yandian gave some reasons for not getting into ministry full-time. One reason was that it looked glamorous. One in 10 people in ministry are in it for that reason. But God will deal with those people when the time comes. The point is that those of us in this ministry should be about God’s business.
Overall, the book opened my eyes to what my calling was.
