I once did a New Testament word study on the word “called.” The books of 1 Corinthians and Romans are written to people who are “called to be holy people” (NIV–1 Corinthians 1:2 & Romans 1:7.) That means all the members of the body of Christ are called to be holy people. We are all called to serve, follow, and obey the risen Jesus–to be led by the Spirit. (Romans 8:14.) However, when people enter into religious hierarchies then competition, coercion, and control begin to take over.

The book of Revelation calls the body of Christ “a kingdom of priests” and Peter calls Christians “a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” From this and “sola Scripture” Martin Luther saw the doctrine of “the priesthood of the believer,” that all Christians are priests. Biblically Christians are not divided into clergy and laity. All are called to be holy people!

Jesus’ mother describes ministry. She told the servants at the wedding in Cana, “Whatever He (Jesus) says to you, do it.” I seek to stay sensitive to Jesus’ presence and then to say, write, and/or do whatever He prompts me to, whether I want to or not.

Often Jesus tells me to say, write, or do something that lowers me in statue. One of my best friends says that I want people to like me, but I say, write, and do things that make a lot of people uncomfortable, and they distance themselves from me. That’s because that although I want to be liked by people, I’d rather please God than man. For us to minister at the level of Jesus we must deny ourselves and follow Him as we let Him continually lead and direct us from the inside out. “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

We can’t follow Jesus
If we won’t let Him lead us.