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all of David’s trials he never resorted to fleshly means to deliver himself. When he could
have easily killed the man that was making his life perilous and who stood in the way of his
becoming king, David did not act in the flesh. He waited for God’s provision.
The minister must learn this lesson of waiting. The minister should do nothing to
bring himself into the position he feels in his heart is his ultimate calling before Yahweh.
He must wait for Yahweh to bring him forth in His own timing. It is Yahweh who exalts men
such as Joseph, David, and Moses, and it is Yahweh who will raise up the men that He has
called and qualified for positions of service today.
I Peter 5:6-7
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you
at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.
It is especially hard for those who are young to wait upon Yahweh. Many have failed
to wait and they have embarked on some course of ministry that they were not yet ready for.
Pride is often the product of failing to wait, and Paul communicated this truth to Timothy.
I Timothy 3:2-6
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate,
prudent, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not addicted to wine or pugnacious,
but gentle, uncontentious, free from the love of money... and not a new convert, lest
he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.
Was not Satan’s condemnation that he attempted to ascend to a position that Yahweh
had not determined for him? Such presumption can be born out of a heart that is zealous
for God and a heart that desires greatly to be of some real service to Him. But true service
has this as its guiding rule, “It is performing the will of the Father in heaven.” Nothing else
qualifies as acceptable service.
Our service will only be acceptable when it is born out of waiting upon the Father to
give us a command concerning what we are to do. Like a soldier under authority, we are to
do that which our Head commands us to do. We are not to strike out on our own and do
whatever our reason leads us to do lest we end up as those whom Yahshua warned his
disciples about who will say to Him, “Lord, Lord, did we not do many things in Your name?”
His answer is, “You did not perform the will of the Father. You are lawless ones who have
become an authority unto yourselves.”
Can any minister operate from such a position of independence and be found pleasing
to God? In the book of Acts we read that immediately after Saul (Paul) encountered
Yahshua on the way to Damascus and was converted, he began to go out and preach the
truth of Yahshua. He was not yet ready to enter into ministry, however. The Spirit led him
to a time of preparation in Tarsus that lasted a number of years (Galatians 1:15-18).
Paul must have been exceedingly eager to embark on the ministry to which he was
called. He must have yearned to build up that which he had formerly sought to destroy. Yet
Paul had to wait until the Spirit signified that it was time for his ministry to begin. This was
made known to the church in Antioch.
Acts 13:1-4
Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there prophets and teachers: