We have lecturers and facilitators who are not just good at what they do, but are also men with reputable character. Peter, speaking in Acts 6, told the early church that it is not reasonable for us to leave the word of God and serve tables.

He instructed that men of honest report, who are filled with the Holy Ghost, should be appointed over such affairs, while the leaders of the church would give themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word. The word here is the vehicle through which we fulfill our calling.

There is no such calling that will not require sound doctrinal balance and sound homiletical ethics for its fulfillment. Your doctrine as a minister doesn't just affect your message, but it affects the quality of your life over time. Paul, in Ephesians 4, refers to ministry as a vocation: Ephesians 4:1 - I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

As we carefully observe the epistles of Paul, you will see that ministry was often seen and referred to as work, which means training is needed to be able to handle such a sacred vocation and discharge such duties correctly. There is a time to be called, and there is a time to be sent. In Mark 3:14, Jesus called the twelve disciples to be with Him, and then He might send them forth.

When you begin to perceive the call of God upon your life, it is not a validation to storm out. It is an invitation for intimacy with God and deliberate training in the direction of your calling. Ministry is work, and every minister must treat it as such. See to it that you focus on the work that has been committed into your hands and fulfill it.

Dear minister, be careful not to be distracted. Give yourself to the ministry of the word and prayer. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you now and always. Amen.