A Priest Is Selected By God

No one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God.
–Hebrews 5:4

In addition to offering sacrifices for sin and being sympathetic with the people, an Old Testament priest had to be selected by God. Hebrews 5:4 says, “No one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God.” A priest had to be called by God.

People have asked me, “How did you decide to become a pastor?” I did not decide to become a pastor. God decided that. And I can tell you precisely when He called me to be a pastor. It was the second Friday in June of 1971 at 11:55 a.m. That’s when God called me to be a pastor. And He is still calling men and women to serve in His church. Ephesians 4 says God called some to be pastors and teachers and prophets and evangelists. God’s church is a special place because it was created by Him. The church is God’s design to carry out the Great Commission. And so it is no wonder that God calls people to serve in His church.

Now, when I tell people that I was called at 11:55 a.m. in June of 1971 they say, “Now, wait a minute, Pastor. How do you know exactly when God called you? Was that an audible voice of God you heard?” No. It was much louder than that. But it was the unmistakable voice of God.

If any of you reading this are wondering whether or not you are called by God to serve in a similar function, I want to tell you this: God is still calling men and women right now to serve in ministry. But before you go into ministry, be sure you are called by God. You will save yourself and some church a lot of misery if you will make sure you are called. You do not have to be called the same way I was. God may call you in a different way, but make certain you are called. If you do not feel called by God into the ministry, then there are many other ways you can serve God.

But the Old Testament priest had to be called by God. That is what the Bible says. He had to be selected by God. No priest could just wake up one day and say, “You know what? I think I would like to go into the priesthood. The pay is pretty good. The hours are not bad, and you meet the nicest people. I think I will be a priest.” No. One of the requirements of a priest was that he had to be called by God.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Who Needs A Priest?” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2018.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.