ANALYSIS OF THE DIVINE TRANSITION: THE CALL OF THE LORD AND

PROVISION: A HEURISTIC STUDY

By

MANDLA KHUMALO

Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

in the subject

DIVINITY

at the

LIFE CHANGING BIBLE AND MINISTRY UNIVERSITY

Supervisor: Professor T.P. Phakathi

June 2023
 DEDICATION

This research is dedicated to the Almighty God who sustained me in the wilderness.

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 DECLARATION

I, Mandla Khumalo, declare that ‘Analysis of the Divine Transition: The Call of the Lord

and Provision: A Heuristic Study contained therein is my own original work and have not

been submitted for any degree or examination in any other University. Due acknowledge

of authors cited in this work has been made and a full list of references is provided.

Mandla Khumalo June 2023

Copyright © 2023 Life Changing Bible and Ministry University

All right reserved

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This milestone has been tough, but glory be to God who sustains, guides and protects. This

work was made possible by His grace. Thank you my Father my King and my Lord. To

Professor T.P. Phakathi my supervisor and mentor, I am very grateful for your guidance

and prayer. Most of all I thank you for believing in me. This research will not be possible

without your constant motivation and help. Thank you so much. I will also like to forward

gratitude to my queen Sindisiwe for your unwavering support and prayer. Thank you for

believing that this work can be accomplished. You were there with me through it all. May

you always receive favor from the King of glory. There were times where I wanted to throw

the towel, but you kept reminding me of who I was in Christ. I cannot forget my England,

United Kingdom family Phila, Phepsile, Londwa Dlamini and the last born. We love you

boMlangeni.

I’m indebted to the participants of this study. Thank you for accepting to be part of this

research. It is difficult sometimes for some people to share their Christian journey, but you

agreed to answer even some questions of a sensitive nature. May God continue to bless

your ministries. Many thanks to others in the Gospel, who listened to me when sharing

about this research and gave me insights into the project. To my brother Vusi Terence

Khumalo and my mother Thuli Ngozo, thank you so much for your support particularly

financially. Every time I was short financially, you always came through for me. May the

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Lord Almighty bless you. I also forward gratitude to Nombuso Khumalo and the kids

Temantungwa, Aphiwe and Majaha. To Hope Restoration Church, my family, thank you

so much particularly Prophet Elijah Fire.

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 ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to explore God’s divine calling and His provision for ministers

in the Christian religion using Heuristic enquiry framework. It argues that God calls

ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to service and provides accordingly for the

sustenance of that call. Firstly He calls them into knowing and obeying Him, that ultimately

leads to service. What does spiritual calling entails? What are the perceptions of God’s call

to his disciples? How does God call disciples into Ministry? These are the three questions

the study attempted to contribute answers to. Data was collected from seven co-researchers

who were between 29 and 54 years of age. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect

the data. The data was analyzed and synthesized using Mostakas (1990) approach and four

themes emerged. These themes were: (i) Connecting with God and finding your purpose

in life; (ii) Discernment of the call of God; (iii) God’s sustenance; (iv) Overcoming

challenges. The results revealed that there are different approaches used by God to call His

people into Ministry. The age and gender are not the prime elements considered in the

calling. The study concluded that a relationship with God is an important factor in the call

of the Lord. Having a discerning spirit and obedience aids in hearing from God. Future

research directions are recommended, exploring both reflective and non-reflective

components which should include other religions besides Christianity.

Key words: Heuristic inquiry, Divine calling, Provision.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ ii

DECLARATION ............................................................................................................ iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................ iv

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... vi

LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xi

LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xii

LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................... xiii

CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 1

1.2 Problem statement ........................................................................................... 7

1.3 Objectives ....................................................................................................... 8

1.4 Research questions .......................................................................................... 8

1.5 Significance of the study ................................................................................. 9

1.6 Limitations of the study................................................................................... 9

1.7 Chapter layout ............................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................. 12

LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................. 12

2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 12

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 2.2 Exploring the calling. .................................................................................... 12

2.3 Perceptions of the ecclesiastical calling of the Lord ...................................... 28

2.4 The divine call of God into Ministry and leadership (ecclesiastical) .............. 31

2.5 Challenges faced by the called ...................................................................... 37

2.6 God’s Provision and Benefits of accepting the call ........................................ 42

2.6.1 Prayer .............................................................................................. 53

2.7 Consequences of rejecting the call of the Lord .............................................. 56

CHAPTER 3.................................................................................................................. 58

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .......................................................... 58

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 58

3.2 Study area ..................................................................................................... 59

3.3 Research design ............................................................................................ 61

3.4 Qualitative Design ........................................................................................ 62

3.5 Research Procedure ....................................................................................... 62

3.6 Sampling procedure ...................................................................................... 63

3.7 Data collection method ................................................................................. 64

3.8 Research Approach ....................................................................................... 65

3.9 Heuristics Defined ........................................................................................ 66

3.10 Data Analysis .............................................................................................. 66

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 3.11 Ethical consideration ................................................................................... 70

3.12 Conclusion .................................................................................................. 70

CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................................. 72

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS .................................................................................. 72

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 72

4.2 Primary researcher immersion ....................................................................... 73

4.2.1 Researcher’s depiction..................................................................... 73

4.3 Participant A’s depiction ............................................................................... 76

4.4 Participant B’s depiction ............................................................................... 79

4.5 Participant C’s depiction ............................................................................... 82

4.6 Participant D’s depiction ............................................................................... 84

4.7 Participant E’s depiction ............................................................................... 86

4.8 Participant F’s depiction................................................................................ 88

4.9 Participant G’s depiction ............................................................................... 90

4.10 PRESENTATION OF THEMES................................................................. 90

4.11 THEMES ANALYSIS ................................................................................ 95

Theme 1: Connecting with God and finding your purpose in life. ............. 95

Theme 2: Discernment of the call. ............................................................ 98

Theme 3: God’s sustenance .................................................................... 103

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 Theme 4: Oveercoming challenges ......................................................... 105

4.12 Creative Synthesis .................................................................................... 108

4.13 Participant’s perceptions on the call .......................................................... 109

4.14 Self reflection ............................................................................................ 113

Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 113

CHAPTER 5................................................................................................................ 115

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ....................................................... 115

5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 115

5.2 Summary..................................................................................................... 115

5.3 Results summary ......................................................................................... 116

5.4 Concluding thoughts ................................................................................... 117

5.5 Recommendations ....................................................................................... 125

Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 127

Appendices ................................................................................................................. 143

x
 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Mostakas (1990) Heuristic Inquiry phases ....................................................... 68

xi
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Map of Mbabane ........................................................................................... 60

xii
 LIST OF ACRONYMS

BM Bachelor of Ministry

CLI Christian Leaders Institute

LCBMU Life Changing Bible and Ministry University

NIV New International Version (Bible)

NKJ New King James Version

PhD Doctor of Philosophy

SBC Southern Baptist Seminary

SD Eswatini

RSA Republic of South Africa

UniH University of Huddersfield

USA United States of America

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

There is increasing interest amongst Theologians to research about the call of the Lord

motif (see for example, Fleischer, 2017; Nus, 2003; Muhlenberg, 2017; Baker, 2008;

Wooldridge, 2008). The general observation is that the Lord still calls His people into

different Ministries. He uses different ways to call people and whether calling people to

repentance or calling ministers to preach the Gospel, there are always different techniques

employed. When He calls people into the preaching Ministry, He gives them different

offices. Some are called to be Apostles, Prophets, Teachers, Pastors and others Evangelists

(Ephesians 3:11). These offices rank the same in His eyes and consequently, scripture

suggests that, there is no superior office and no superior methodology of calling (1

Corinthians 12:8-13, Galatians 3:26, 28). There is a need for a deeper understanding of

what the call of the Lord entails. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is meant to exalt Him rather

than just motivating people. In itself the Gospel has the potential to encourage the broken

and motivate the ones who are in the verge of giving up. However, the Gospel is not

motivational speaking, but it is the Word of God presenting grace to the lost and winning

them to Christ. It is different from just motivational speaking in the sense that it carries

power and brings life (Jakes, 2018). Thus the called ministers do not just present their

thinking, but deliver the Word of God rather than just reciting motivational words.
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There are numerous definitions of a calling in Theology or in general life. On the accounts

of Baker (2008) a Call denotes a divine directive presented to humanity to have harmonious

living with God, His kingdom and nature in general. This definition suggests that there

should be peaceful existence between God, man and the environment. It appears to be a

general definition in light of the purpose of existence. Baker’s further exploration of the

term while citing Calvin seem to advocate that there is an inner and outer call in the Gospel

of Jesus Christ. The outer call references to the ordering of the Ministry of the Church

while the inner call or secret call is something that comes directly to the heart from God.

The church is depicted as the body of Christ, and thus every human being is ordered or

rather invited to join the ministry of the church (Isaiah 55:1). The Lord Jesus liked to use

riddles in his calling of people. In other words his invitations were not direct. In the annals

of Isaiah 55:1 for instance, He appeared to be inviting the thirsty to come and drink from

special water provided by Him. This could not be literal water and it is safe to surmise that

this was an invitation to or calling of people to come Him. Other scholars’ referred to such

a universal call as effectual call (Wooldridge, 2008; Stephens, 1999). Baker agreed with

Wooldridge pertaining the effectual call. He declared a calling as an election and God’s

providential invitation to all through the preaching of the Word of God. It is in essence a

call to all to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. (Baker, 2008). Another interesting

definition explicates a calling as a deep attraction to a particular vocation, type of work and

course of action or life path. This particular definition tackles both the business world and

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the spiritual aspect. This researcher theorizes that the spiritual angle of calling is an

integrative experience that affects many aspects of an individual’s life (Glenn-Burns,

2004).

The intention of this study was to focus on the calling exerted by God to Ministers of the

Gospel. He calls them to preach the Gospel and govern His Church. This is the

ecclesiastical call which is elaborated on in chapter two. However a holistic view of a call

is also critical to explore. There is no doubt that God is still speaking even today and is

calling people into Ministry. He is not only interested in His creation, but also interested in

His people coming back to him through being born again. Additionally he calls certain

people to spiritual transformation or transition, so that they can be leaders of His sheep

(Wooldridge, 2008). Spiritual transformation in the context of this research means to be

renewed through Christ Jesus. Transition or transformation is a life that goes on from

accepting Jesus Christ as the savior, to living with Him and expressing Him. It is in essence

the Kingdom life expressed in numerous passages in the Bible (Matthew: 5-7, Romans

14:17, 1 Corinthians 4:20). A life of living for Jesus Christ. After all. He is "the way, the

truth, and the life" (John 14:6) in which Christians should live, in which they should live

the kingdom life. The called are first called unto Christ and then God gives them an office

to hold. The call as stated by Badal is full of mystery and is solely given by God. The

splendor in the calling is that God calls people out of darkness into his immaculate light

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and He calls them saints (Romans 1:7). He calls people to know and serve Him (Badal,

2016).

Several accounts of God’s call to his people has been recorded in scriptures and also on

accounts of the ones who are still called into Ministry in the present age or time. These

experience the call in different ways. Sometimes the person called may not be aware of the

mission the Lord has for his life. The scripture presents several examples of such

happenstances. Saul was in a mission to find his father’s lost donkeys when the divine

transition or transformation occurred in his life (1 Samuel 9:3). Saul and his father’s

servant whose name is withheld in the scripture went on a quest for his father’s lost

donkeys. It never occurred to him that such a journey was a divine intervention. In their

search for material things Saul experienced a life alternating encounter. In the book of 1st

Samuel 9 it is observed that after the pair had searched for the lost donkeys without any

luck, the servant suggested an intriguing idea to Saul. He recommended that they should

seek guidance from a Prophet of God. When Saul agreed to the servant’s suggestion, they

went in search of the Prophet Samuel. This was a divine appointment, for God had already

told Samuel about the whole picture of what would unfold. It was therefore not a surprise

when Samuel saw them approaching (1 Samuel 9:15-16). Scripture further highlights that

Samuel invited them for a meal and told them that the donkeys they were searching for

were already found. He then presented what would appear to be a mystery in the eyes of

Saul. He told Saul that they must sleepover and that there was an intricate message for him

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from God. The next morning Saul found himself anointed a king. The ways of the Lord are

indeed a mystery and no one can fully fathom them (Ecclesiastes 8:17). This kind of calling

was not only experienced by Saul in Biblical annals. David the son of Jesse’s calling

followed the same pattern (1 Samuel 16:1-4). Naturally when a person receives a call of

the Lord, the first thing that comes to his mind is to seek help, pray and pursue training in

order to accomplishing or able to handle such a call (Barnett et al., 2015).

In the Orthodox Christianity a calling primarily addresses the essential issues pertaining to

who a believer is, his belonging and ultimately that points the believer to his purpose in

life. When a call is received and embraced a critical doorway to service opens up. This in

a large extent helps the believer understand that he has rights and responsibilities as a

disciple of Jesus Christ (Baker, 2008). Baker believes that when God calls a believer and

gives him instructions to follow, that empowers the believer and he begins to do things he

never thought he could do. This is primarily because what the believer does is not

contingent on his knowledge or effort. But the one who called him provides the direction.

Dik and Duffy (2009) agreed with Baker articulating that a calling has everything to do

with divine summons which originate from something bigger than the one experiencing it.

It brings purpose and direction to life (Kennedy, 2016). The call of the Lord is difficult

sometimes to describe. It is one aspect that can only be explained by the one who

experienced it (Barnett et al., 2015). As much as it can be hard to describe at times, it is an

element that is a reality and is sustained by God himself.

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The calling of the Lord attracts Gods provision. Provision in this study has been viewed as

the means of grace that are given by God for sustenance in ministry. When He calls his

people into Ministry he always promises to be with them (Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:6-7).

God provides revelation of Himself which is one of the greatest provisions to believers.

He reveals Himself by directly transferring genuine belief in certain people. He also reveals

Himself as infinite God who is faultlessly virtuous, omnipotent, omniscient on whom

everything finite is essentially dependent. He reveals Himself because He desires

communion with His people (Wahlberg, 2014). The journey of the people of Israel presents

significant accounts of God’s absolute provision for both the man who was called to lead

the people and in the process the benefit thereof to the people. In this account God provided

for His people mostly through the shepherd Moses. The key person was the one called to

be the leader of the sheep. Calling Moses was a platform for provision for the people. It

might not have appeared so at the beginning only to be realized later on in their journey.

The appearance of the angel was a surprise to Moses. He was puzzled by the burning bush,

as he came closer to scrutinize what was transpiring, the Lord spoke in the midst of the fire

(Exodus 3:2).

This was a foreign phenomenon to him, yet he did not run away from the scene thinking it

was potentially some evil spirit. This happened in broad day light was he was tending his

father-in-law’s flock (Exodus 3:1-3). God provided Himself to Moses and the people of

Israel giving him a promise to be with him always. God indeed kept His promise and
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rescued His people from the hands of Pharaoh. Numerous aspects of His provision

discussed in this study confirm Him as the source of all provision and He is an unlimited

supply (Philippians 4:19). In Him believers have wealth, health and prosperity and there is

never any shortage of life if believers abide in Him (Brogden, 2022). The Lord is my

Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me besides

quiet waters, and He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name

sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of

my enemies. You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows’ (Psalms 23:1 -5 NIV). In

this Psalm, David confirmed God as the provider. God provided and spoke in the past; he

speaks today, and he will continue to speak into eternity. Numerous people attest to hearing

the voice of the Lord and the journey is still enduring. The exceptional God who created

all things will forever speak and many are yet to hear his exquisite voice (Wooldridge,

2008). This study therefore tried to prove that God does speak and also addressed the

importance of the calling of God.

1.2 Problem statement

The Lord is calling his people into Ministry and there appears to be a problem in

understanding the full meaning of calling. There also seem to be a lot of people who are

taking office without being called in the ecclesiastical call of the Lord. Some rather than

7
being called by God, they get powers from other sources rather than from God and then

establish Churches. This could lead in the expansion of false Prophets operating in the

kingdom of God. Such occurrences may have calamitous consequences to the ones doing

them and also negatively affect the whole Church. There is therefore a need to uncover

what calling is, get the perceptions of ministers about calling, and also view methods used

by the Lord to call his people into Ministry.

1.3 Objectives

1) To examine the meaning of spiritual calling.

2) To ascertain the perceptions on spiritual calling

3) To explore the various methodologies the Lord uses to call His people

1.4 Research questions

(1) What does spiritual calling mean? An examination of the meaning of spiritual calling

(2) What are the perceptions of God’s call to his disciples?

(3) How God calls disciples into Ministry?

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1.5 Significance of the study

Understanding a calling and accepting it may be very fulfilling and it helps address

questions of meaning, direction and life satisfaction in line with spiritual existence. The

called have the potential to impact positively to societies and families and also have the

prospective to offer peaceful living within communities. As the people hear the Word of

the Lord, a sense of peace is restored in their lives. The work the Church does to

communities also assist in bringing peaceful living in societies which could be frustrated

by a lot of economical outbursts. This study is also significant in that it contributes to the

body of knowledge and hopefully assist the Church to understand the calling of God in

broader planetary. Additionally it is anticipated that the study will assist the body of Christ

to embrace the called ministers. There is a lot of manipulation people tend to exert to the

Word of God to suit their own agendas. They tend to focus on specific scriptures to draw

their Dogma and refrain from presenting the whole grace the Lord presents to humanity. It

is envisioned that this research will broaden the minds of many in light of understanding

the ecclesiastical call of the Lord, the challenges thereof, its benefits and also the

consequences of rejecting the call.

1.6 Limitations of the study

While carrying out the data collection exercise, there were some challenges which included

some of the respondents pulling out at the last minute and the sample size was relatively

9
low. However in the heuristic methodology a low number of participants is justifiable. A

total of ten participants were initially scheduled to be interviewed, however some pulled

out and only seven participants were eventually interviewed and formed part of the

analysis. Another limitation was that the study only focused on Mbabane, thus the findings

may not fully represent the situation of the whole country. The heuristic analysis was

sufficient in addressing the objectives of this research. Some of the participants were

skeptical to respond at first. The researcher suspected that could filter what they say. To

counteract this, the researcher made known, the confidentiality of their information and

also his stand in the Gospel. This made the participants more receptive to the questions.

1.7 Chapter layout

This thesis is divided into five main chapters with the bibliography and appendices

appearing at the end. Care was taken to ensure that each chapter covers all the essential

components and as such;

Chapter 1 highlights the background of the study. It tries to define the call and address the

need to understand the different aspects of a calling. It further provides the research

objectives, research questions and the limitations of the study. The significance of the study

and the chapter layout are also outlined in this chapter.

Chapter 2 explores and critically analyses past literature and ideas regarding the call of

the Lord and his provision. It highlights the critical means of grace provided by God to

10
sustain His ministers. It further explores the ecclesiastical call of the Lord which largely

deals with the call of ministers into the different offices of ministry. Furthermore the

chapter explores the perceptions about the call of God, the benefits of accepting the call

and lastly the consequences of rejecting the call.

Chapter 3 deals with the area in which the study was conducted, sample selection method,

the data collection technique, and the way data was analyzed. All aspects of the chapter are

explained in detail.

Chapter 4 reflects a detailed analysis of the data enclosed in this study. It is intended to

observe how ministers received their call into Ministry, the provision they received and the

challenges they face. This chapter begins by summarizing each participant’s responses.

Four themes emerged and are discussed in detail. The chapter ends with a summary of the

results.

Chapter 5 summaries, concludes and make recommendations based on the findings of the

study.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter explores various literature on the topic of God’s calling and Provision. It tries

to shed light in addressing what God’s calling is and who are the called. The chapter also

addresses the ecclesiastical call into Ministry and how it differs from the other forms of

calling. Additionally the numerous advantages of accepting the call are explored.

Furthermore there is an in-depth exploration of the repercussions of rejecting the call of

the Lord. Finally the investigation of God’s provision is also included in this chapter.

2.2 Exploring the calling.

The greatest thing that the Church can continue to endeavor in is winning souls to Christ.

The purpose of existence is so that the people can reverence God, turn away from their

wicked ways so that one day they can be one with the Father in heaven (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Generally, the call of the Lord is divided into two parts. The first part is about God calling

people unto Himself. The second segment of the call entails God assigning an office or an

assignment to His people (Badal, 2016). The Church has been expanding as people heed

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the call of the Lord since the birth thereof. In the primitive exertion to accomplish such a

mission God has used several strategies to win people unto Himself. In addition to calling

people, He also grants spiritual gifts. Several literature and scripture give guidelines on

spiritual gifts and the appointment of ministers. There are different offices in Ministry

whereby some are called to be pastors, Prophets, teachers, evangelist and apostles as earlier

indicated (Ephesians 3:11). These offices should not fight each other or think of the other

as superior to the next (1 Corinthians 12:8-13). The goal of the different offices should be

to complement each other for the perfecting of the saints and edifying the body of Christ.

Scripture acknowledges the diversity of spiritual gifts, difference in administration,

difference in operations, but the Bible recognizes one Spirit and one God who works in

them all (1 Corinthians 12; 4-6).

Many are times whereby the Church does not fully comprehend what calling entails. The

deeper denotation of the term calling eludes a vast majority of believers. Such

obliviousness has dire consequences in the expansion of the work of the Lord. The broader

calling of the people of God seem to be visible in several scriptures in the Bible. In Matthew

the scripture affirms the broader calling to every human being. Come unto me, all ye that

labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of

me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is

easy and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV). The scripture uses the word come

which is an invitation to all humanity. This falls under the first part of the call. In a nutshell,

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this is the effectual call, a call to salvation. This first part tackles the invitation to all people

to accept Jesus as Lord. This invitation as stipulated in the writings of Mathew 11:28-30 is

a clear indication that God was calling every person and is still calling everyone into His

Kingdom through Christ.

Baker in his thesis also saw a calling as an invitation. His notion was that when believers

receive and clinch a calling a doorway to service is open for them. This is because it aids

believers to appreciate their privileges and responsibilities as disciples of the Lord Jesus

Christ (Baker, 2008). Some scriptures present different approaches the Lord uses to extend

the call to people. In the writings of the book of John the Lord uses different terminology

which equitably amount to the same message. But whosoever shall drink of the water that

I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I give him shall be in him a well of

water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14 NIV). In this scripture the word

whosoever denotes every human being. The Collins English Dictionary (2012) articulate

the word whosoever as a pronoun which means whoever or whatever person. It includes

all humanity. Any person who drinks from the water the Lord stretches shall never thirst

anymore. This verse therefore extends the call to every living being. The very existence of

humanity is to worship their creator and turn away from their wicked ways (Romans 3:23).

This vital phenomena seem to have evaded many and there appears to be other gods people

worship besides the Supreme Being sometimes unknowingly.

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Belief in gods is not new and has been a substantial element in the history of humanity and

numerous recordings of biblical theories also points to that effect. Such belief in gods is

still exercised even in the present times. Whether other people agree or disagree with the

existence of idols does not change the fact that such gods exist and are worshipped by

many. Relationships between humanity and gods holds a great deal of significance for

many cultures worldwide. Different types of gods not only exist, but interact with human

beings in different ways, entering into different kinds of relationships with the mortals of

their separate fictional worlds (Kauza, 2011).

Wealth is one other critical aspect some ministers of the gospel turn to focus on particularly

within the neo-Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. This is often referred to the

prosperity gospel. It is founded on exegesis of biblical promises of abundant life in Christ

Jesus (Baron, 2022). It is difficult to know for sure that God can call people to only deal

with prosperity in their sermons. Wealth has somehow turned into a god which acts as the

ruling factor the world uses to exert respect nowadays. The primitive goal for many has

diminished into wishing for riches, fame and gaining the whole world in the hope of

earning respect. That is observed in the church as well. According to Gifford and Nogueira-

Godsey (2011) respect and fame are earned by ministers of the prosperity gospel if they

are able to perform miracles and prophecy. In such churches the victory attained from the

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blood of Christ is not so much victory over sin and death, but rather over the physical world

and material possessions. This then leads to a lot of fake callings. Through seeking respect

and fame, there has been an increase in pastors and fake prophets with an unclear call of

God (Mujaji, 2021). Chasing fame or gaining the whole world has been labeled by scripture

as vanity and unhelpful (Mark 8:36).

This prosperity Gospel measures the faith of a believer based on the wealth he accumulates.

It focuses on wealth, health, faith and victory. It conceives of faith as an activator, a power

that unbridles spiritual forces and turns the spoken word into reality. The movement depicts

faith as palpably demonstrated in wealth and health. Measuring the spiritual life of a

believer based on wealth and health reduces the foundations of the very Gospel by making

material reality the measure of the success of immaterial faith (Jones, 2014). The focus

has shifted from living a Christian life that is pleasing to God to impelling up worshippers

with the expectation of wealth rather than the promised kingdom of God (Ecclesiastes 2:18-

19, Matthew 6:33). Wealth in itself is not a bad thing but the rich are warned by scripture

not to put their hope in their wealth. Rather put their trust in God who richly provides

everything (1 Timothy 6:17). In all actuality riches are a good gift given by God to His

people and He takes pleasure in the prosperity of His people (Psalm 35:27, 3 John 2). Every

good and unimpeachable gift comes from God (James 1:17).

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According to Wommack (2022) godly prosperity takes a different shape from craving

dubious riches. As much as God desires for His people to be rich, such riches should be

attained the right way and should be shared with others for the glory of the Lord. As God

blesses His people, He also warns the laity not to forget Him as the Saviour and also

cautioned to continue to live lives rooted in Him (Colossians 2:6-7). The author of the book

of Colossians further cautioned against been taken captive through hollow and deceptive

philosophies, which depend on human traditions and elemental forces of this world. This

scripture emphasized the importance of focusing all attention on Jesus Christ (Colossians

2:8).

Wommack seemed to promote the concept of social protection when he revealed that

giving and handling assets like a steward, leads to God’s blessings. The calling of the Lord

attracts numerous blessings and brings about great opportunities and eliminate sorrow.

Treasures that come from God rely on the blessing rather than on the man’s efforts. The

wealth benefit begins when trust is directed to God. Reliance on the Creator brings the

realization that He multiplies the efforts of the righteous and thus should be recognized as

the source of wealth (Wommack, 2022). Some scholars advocate for hard work as the

source of wealth. However hard work without opportunities is in vein. A good idea without

finances is equally as good as the writing on paper. Unless the Lord grants the opportunity

or better still builds the house, the builders labour in vein (Psalms 125:1-2). True prosperity

emanate from God. The end-time Church is automated to prosper exceedingly and it is a

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prosperous Church. However for such a promise to be a reality there is a need for the

calling and blessing of God (Oyedepo, 2012). The registers of Matthew (24:14) notes Jesus

saying "This Gospel must be preached in all the nations and then shall the end come." So

if this is the generation that will preach the Gospel to all nations, then it is the prosperous

generation. After all silver and gold belongs to the Lord of host and His cities through

prosperity shall yet be spread abroad (Zechariah 1:17). Surely if His word has to be

preached in all the nations, His people must be prosperous in order to deliver such a

colossal mandate. God’s intention is to prosper His Kingdom through the unlimited

prosperity of His people and no father takes pleasure in seeing his children living in poverty

(Oyedepo, 2012). This leads to a solemn conclusion that the called shall one way or another

attain wealth as they focus on the things of the Lord.

A different perspective of what a calling entails was presented by different scholars in the

theology space. The elements of people being called to certain ways of lives, acts of

service, specific vocation and also to family life were sightseen by Miles (2001). Some

people seem to think that their work could be a calling or them offering social protection

to communities as their calling in life. In the African spirit world the word calling is also

predominately in use. Most traditionalist claim to have a calling which they attribute to be

from the ancestors. In order to be a traditional healer, diviner or medium, one must have

some sort of calling. The ancestors are assumed to select people in their lineage to continue

a certain tradition that was practiced in the family by the deceased. The ones who had a

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gift of healing emanating from the ancestors would want such a gift transferred to the new

generation. The ancestors then choose someone in the family to continue such a practice.

African traditional theism is still practiced even today and some Africans believe such

traditional spirits have protective powers to their living descendants (Daneel, 1996). Some

researchers of the traditional religions believe that the ancestors make known their call

through dreams, sickness and other misfortunes. When the individual is sent to hospitals,

the doctors would not see the cause of the sickness. Such an individual with the calling

shall then be sent to a traditional healer, medium or diviner who will see the calling and

thus initiate the individual (Anderson, 2004).

The foundations of spiritualism as it relates to the dead or ancestral spirits is founded on

the idea that the living can communicate with the souls of the dead by means of mediums.

Bae and van de Merwe (2008) refute such practices and such callings. They contend that

such practices are unbiblical and unapproved by God. The Bible also supports Bae and van

de Merwe annotation. The Bible clearly disputes any contact with the dead and thus

disapprove of the traditionalist kind of calling (Leviticus 19:26-39). Although this study

recognizes the existence of such spirits it however, stands on the instruction presented in

scripture to refrain from having any contact with ancestral spirits. The existence thereof

cannot be disputed. The fact that the scriptures warn us against having contact with them

is sure affirmation that such spirits exist.

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The encounter of Saul when he beseeched the services of a medium also suggest that it is

possible to contact ancestors. The medium after necessary incarnations saw Samuel and he

spoke with the medium. Such a journey did not end well for Saul (1 Samuel 28:3-25). Such

spirits can be exorcized from the individuals who encounter such a calling. When there is

sickness that cannot be detected by medical doctors the sick person can be brought to the

people of God for prayer. The instruction publicized in scripture is that anyone who is sick

must be brought to the elders of the Church who in turn will lay hands on them in the name

of Jesus Christ our Lord and such stubborn sickness shall relinquish (James 5:14-16).

This study further advocates that the worship of ancestral spirits and the calling related to

such demeans God. The shortfall with such a practice is that it appears to be reliant on man

although in this case the living dead. This kind of action strips God of His supremacy and

that is a concept He is totally against. There also appear to be gaps in the proper guidelines

and foundations of such a system. This study believes in the instruction that was presented

by the Supreme God. As documented in scripture, the firm instruction was that ‘Thou shall

worship no other God but Me’. God is a jealous God who does not want to be mixed with

lesser deities.

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The call of the Lord goes further than just calling people into salvation and Ministry. The

Lord also uses a call to invite His people to return to him and also uses it a warning. A

reflection of such happenstance is recorded in the book of Zechariah the Prophet of God.

It would appear that the ancestors of the people in Jerusalem rebelled against the Lord and

opted for evil ways and practices which were displeasing to the Lord. Seeing that the new

generation was following through their fathers’ wicked ways, the Lord gave a command

for them to return to Him and not emulate their ancestors. The theophany of the Lord in

this instance happened through Zechariah. The appearance of the Lord through the Word

is again observed in this motif (Zechariah 1:1-6).

Pereira (2010) in his exquisite work posits that Theophany is a term initially extracted from

Greek words that mean the appearance of God or the exhibition of a deity. His work

suggests a difference between Theophany and Epiphany. Epiphany refers largely to God

speaking to his people. Most instances in the Bible God appeared and spoke. This in an

outsized sense reflects that God uses both rapports when talking to his people (Pareira,

2010). There are however instances whereby the Lord only appeared or his presence was

known and felt, but he never spoke. This asserts that appearance does not always guarantee

communiqué. The most amicable gesture is that communication cannot happen separate of

theophany. God must be present in any form before he can communicate.

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When leading the wise men from the east who were on their way to see Jesus his presence

was seen when the star led the people to where Jesus was born (Matthew 2:1-12). He never

uttered any words but was there to guide his people. In the furnace of fire where Abednego,

Meshack and Shadrack were set in, the presence of the Lord was also felt by the trio and

also seen by the people who had put them there (Daniel 3:16-28:16-28) The king explicitly

mentioned he saw a fourth man in the fire who looked like a Son of the gods (Daniel 3:25

NIV). This depicts God’s appearance excluding his actual communication. Theophanies

are acts of God and do not happen unless God is willing to show Himself in whatever way

He chose (Pereira, 2010). In the book of Zechariah it is portrayed that the presence of God

was manifest and thus information was given to Zechariah the Prophet (Zachariah 1:1).

The word of the Lord came to Zechariah as a warning to the people of Jerusalem (Zechariah

1:4). The scripture does not specify how the word came. It is unclear whether it was through

a dream, through a vision, through the appearance of an angel or any other way. The

significant aspect mentioned is that the word of the Lord came to the Prophet. Further in

the scripture the Lord again appeared to Zechariah the second time and this time the

Prophet mentioned that the Lord appeared through a vision. During the night I had a vision

and there before me was a man mounted on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle

trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses (Zechariah 1: 8). The

accolades of this second theophany is a result of the people repenting and returning to the

Lord. The Lord then delivered an assurance of restoration to the people. This presents the

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power of heeding the call of the Lord. The Lord guaranteed his supreme return to

Jerusalem. His return was promised to be with mercy because the people had listened to

the Prophet and obeyed the Word of the Lord (Zechariah 1:16-17, Zechariah 1:20). The

Word of the Lord coming to Zechariah advocate that this was a spoken Word rather than

written Word.

The Lord in the latter days predominately speaks through his Word which is the Bible. Just

like in the olden days, the Lord still speaks through a spoken Word even today. The spoken

Word and the written Word cannot be disassociated. The spoken Word breaths the written

Word. The spoken Word could be the Words that God spoke to the Prophets or the ones

whom He called, but also the spoken Word is the Word preached by ministers of the Gospel

drawing it from the written Word which is the Bible (Preus, 2021). According to Reports

(2019) the written Word have the capability of being more specific, but the spoken Words

have a more authoritative effect. The ministers of the Gospel do not just preach what they

think, but they present the written Word of God. They act through the instruction given by

Jesus Christ. It is presented as the measuring instrument used to guide the preaching of His

Word. Preus (2021) in his work presents Jesus as the Incarnate Word. The very Word

which was there in the beginning. That same Word that was with God and also became

flesh (John 1:1-5). Therefore no one goes to the Father without Jesus Christ. He is the

channel given to man that lead to the Father according to the New Testament dispensation

(John 14:6). John presents Him as the way, the truth and the life. In Him there is everlasting

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life which cannot be found anywhere else. In the olden days the Lord spoke mainly through

means of a voice, either directly from God, through visions, through dreams and also

through Prophets. They had no guiding written scriptures, yet they still believed in God

(Reports, 2019). In the past God spoke to our ancestor through the Prophets many times

and in many various ways, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by His son whom He

appointed heir of all things and through whom also He made the universe (Hebrews 1:1-2

NIV).

The general affirmation is that the spoken Word produces the written Word. This written

Word can be spoken or preached again for the edification, correction, direction of the

Church even today. The book of 2 Timothy also divulge that all scripture is breathed out

by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in

righteousness that the man of God may be competent equipped for every good work. His

Word is observed as the ultimate shield which benefits those who take refuge in Him

(Proverbs 30:5). The written Word can never substitute the spoken Word because the

spoken Word is the source or the foundation of the written Word (Mosley, 2016). The

Word of the Lord is the guiding mechanism for all.

It is evident that the Lord can present various callings for various situations. In Haggai the

Word of the Lord is observed to have come to Haggai the Prophet. This was a call to rebuild

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the house of the Lord (Haggai 1:3-7). The Lord instructed Haggai to send a message to

Zerubbabel who was the son of the Shealtiel. Zerubbabel held a prominent position in

Judah and was highly respected by the people. He was the governor of Judah. Holding such

an esteem position has the benefit of the people looking up to you and respecting you

because of that office you holding. The annals of the book of Haggai depicts that the Word

also came to Joshua son of Jozadak. He was also a respected man as the high priest among

the priests in Judah. The Lord was displeased with the people for neglecting His house.

The Word came as a warning and directive to the people of Judah. The neglect of the house

of God brought regress in the people lives. They appeared to be people who were very hard

working, yet their hard work was bearing miniature results. The Word that came revealed

the foundations of such revert in their progress in things and also offered a solution. You

have planted much but harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but

never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put

them in a purse with holes in it (Haggai 1:6 NIV).

It is a harsh thing to be working so hard and see minute results. The revelation in this

scripture suggest that every dark cloud in a person’s life has a foundation or a cause. The

challenges encountered in life are not always as a result of destiny. This study argues that

much of the calamities we face in life could be as a result of our actions or our mistakes.

Not only that, challenges could also emanate from the devil who is the source of evil and

destruction (John 10:10, Luke 22:31, 1 Peter 5:8). However God can also allow His people

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to go through hard times (Job 1:12-22). If that happens, it could be that the Lord is setting

up his people for a promotion. Although the people of Judah were making surmountable

efforts to improve their lives, they found themselves in a stagnant environment because of

their ways. They neglected the house of the Lord. One fundamental reality revealed in

Haggai was that the Lord takes pleasure and is honored in His house (Haggai 1:8). Many

are instances where the temple of the Lord was built and the Lord dwelt in it. This signifies

the importance of the house of the Lord. Dwelling in His temple brings pleasure to the

Lord, but also it brings pleasure to the saints who worship in His house. David said he was

concealed with prodigious gladness when he got an invite to go to the house of the Lord

(Psalm 122:1) The delight was significantly brought about the knowledge that God Himself

would be present and is always present in His Temple. In His presence there is myriad

amount of exquisite joy which cannot be compared with extricates of this world. According

to the annotation of Paul nothing supersedes the splendor of the presence of the Lord found

in His house. If the Father descends pleasure from being in His house, how much more the

mortal being who relies solely on the directives of the one who created all things and have

knowledge of it all. It is a place of praise and worship to the everlasting King of Glory. A

splendid place where the saints call unto Him who promised to answer and show His people

great and hidden things not known by man (Jeremiah 33:3).

The message from the Lord through the Prophet Haggai called upon the people to rebuild

that magnificent house of the Lord. The rebuilding of the house would bring peace and joy

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even to the people and rekindle the initial call unto every man to reverence the Father. As

the praises and worship go up to Him, His glory is manifested, and in the process their own

lives would take a positive turn. Never to fend in vain again, but attain positivity instead

of regression in their lives. This call to rebuild the house was referring to constructing of a

physical building or structure. So the Lord dwells in that structure once it’s dedicated to

Him. The temple on another annotation refers to the body of a human being. This is

discernibly recorded in the annals of 1st Corinthians. The specificity of this recording

surmise that the temple of the Lord is not only a structure but also the vessel that carries

God’s spirit which is the body. Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and

that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy

that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple (1st Corinthians

3:16-17 NIV). As much as God takes pleasure and honored by being in His temple the

structure, He also takes the same pleasure in abiding in the body. These are parallel

concepts which cannot be separated. The structure is sacred place just as the body is.

Haggai’s message could be an invite to rebuild the structure (house), but also this could

amount to a call to repentance and returning to the Lord keeping the body holy but

reconstructing their ways. This is a call that is much critical just like all the calling the Lord

initiated. There is no lesser calling and the methodologies and the callings the Lord did

were a very conscious reason to advance his work, to rebuke, to help His people, to call

people into Ministry or to bring deliverance amongst others. All this was done for His glory

as the Supreme Being and also to benefit His people.

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2.3 Perceptions of the ecclesiastical calling of the Lord

The ecclesiastical call is one of the demanding offices in all of creation. It the second

segment of the call of God. It is a calling into ministry and into an office of service. It can

be so fulfilling and also crippling. This call is not chosen by an individual, but rather

enforced to the person (Laffitte, 2022). According to Laffite such a call is not something

to be taken lightly and is not reliant on human efforts. The head of such a calling is Jesus

Christ. Approaching this magnitude task should not be approached in the parameters of

self-financial gain, desire and emulating someone else. Assurance and confirmation into

such a call is critical for sustainability. When financial gain and personal desire are applied

in pursuit of this call, they lead to a roadway to failure. Reliance on self eliminates the

presence of God and consequently leads to frustration and giving up. It becomes a job

rather than a Ministry. Doing a job one way or another leads to exhaustion (Laffitte, 2022).

An article on Christian Answers (2022) concur with Lafitte suggesting that if God has

called someone into Ministry He equips the individual for the call and sustains the call.

This article also concludes that self should be eliminated from such a call. The ones called

into such a Ministry are highly respected and highly crucified which is why an assurance

and confirmation for the call are critical. The call of the Lord is largely based on

Theological concepts and Theology is the study of God and His Hegemony (SBC, 2021).

Similarly Ware (2022) said the same thing about Theology as the study of God, His

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relations to, purpose for and work within the created universe. It therefore encompasses all

of created reality from the stand point of the Creator who made it all. The assertion by the

SBC is that the pastor’s primary task is to teach the people of God about His concepts and

is assigned to shepherd the people of God (SBC, 2021).

According to Perry (2017) the role of the pastor is not to spoon feed the people but rather

to train them to rely on God. If he spoon feeds them it leads to the people thinking that it

is the pastor who brings change instead of Jesus Christ. The Ministry of the pastor is not

equated to a profession but rather it is a divine institution and devotion. The people belong

to Jesus who changes them and work all things for the good of those who love the Lord

and thus it’s not the role of the pastor to change people (Romans 8:28). Obedience is the

fundamental bases for the call of the Lord. To a large extend God calls the ones who are

obedient to His Word. God does not look at the outside appearance when extending a call

to His people rather more explicitly the heart of the person (Indreiu, 2016).

A person called in Ministry often time senses the call upon his life. As much as the person

can still be working on a normal job, but the eagerness to serve in Ministry never lives the

person (Thurston, 2020). The calling of the Lord into Ministry is not dependent on what a

person can do, but rather what he must do. In order to be sustained in Ministry the calling

must be validated and confirmed upon the person. The person cannot be taught how to be

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a preacher if he is not called. Training without the call is just accumulating information

about the things of God, but does not equate to being called into Ministry (Lawson, 2021).

According to Lawson while analyzing Lloyd-Jones’s work what constitutes a calling is

firstly an inner compulsion which is an attentiveness of some heaviness being brought upon

one’s spirit that he is directed into preaching Ministry? Secondly he highlighted the

importance of an outside influence which largely deals with the confirmation and counsel

of other believers to the calling. This could be another pastor, a Prophet or an elder in the

Church.

Thirdly Lawson revealed that there must be a loving concern for others to the one called.

True calling constitutes a concern for the well-being of others. Fourthly the person called

realizes that he is unworthy for such a holy task and is often times fearful to preach because

of the knowledge of his own flaws. This brings humility in the person and utter dependence

on God. Lastly the person who is called must be observed and tested before he can be

commissioned which is the corporate confirmation (Lawson, 2021). Above everything else

the one who is called must be someone who loves God in order for him to render service

to God and His people. Loving God leads to submission of faithful and genuine service to

God’s people (Jones, 2014). The Bible is viewed as the foundation which pastors should

draw their values and morals from. This will lead them to preach what is scripturally right

and not ideas of their own thinking. When the called take up their rightful positions in

Christ, the problems of the world can be reduced because the problems are predominately

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spiritual (Fleischer, 2017). If the Bible is used as the fundamental instrument for teaching

and counseling, positivity can be eminent in the world. After all the Word of God confirms

the Bible as the guiding book which has no admonition. All scripture is inspired by God

and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness

that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17

NIV).

2.4 The divine call of God into Ministry and leadership (ecclesiastical)

Apart from the open call to all humanity to follow Christ, there is a special call the Lord

extends to leaders in the body of Christ. The above section touched a tad on the different

kinds of offices ministers are called into. This section will deliberate further on the calling

of leaders in the body of Christ. This call is the ecclesiastical call which a call to lead and

serve the people of God. God operates largely in and through the called minister of the

Word. The minister becomes the vessel to deliver the good news of the Lord. At a very

large extend the minister of the Gospel gets his strengthen and confidence through the

knowledge that he is called and thus God’s promises apply to him. He knows that he cannot

deliver such a crucial divine message by himself and reliance on himself will results in a

powerless mortal. The pastor also knows that of himself alone he is a powerless mortal

(Nus, 2003). He is the shepherd to lead God’s sheep. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd and the

minister of the Gospel should emulate Him when executing their duties (Jones, 2014).

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While all positions in the house of God are noble in His eyes, it is a pardonable gesture to

suggest that the vocation of sacred called minister is critical among equals. This is as a

result of none other than the simple fact that the called minister is the only one called the

‘man of God’. The office of the man of God is a fundamental office which allows the called

man to oblige the highest institution in the history of human existence (James, 2016).

Doctor James quoted 2 Timothy (3:17) to support his annotations that the minister is the

sole person to be referred to as man of God. According to Cline (2015) ministers of the

Gospel are potentially the most powerful communicators in the whole wide world because

their message is backed up by the Holy Spirit. They do not just speak empty words that

come from the minds. The words they speak have greater life and bring transformation in

people’s lives. When a Minister heeds the call of the Lord and becomes a pastor, much is

given to him and he serves a paramount institution in human history which is the Church

of Jesus Christ. Such an institution will forever be existent (James, 2016).

Ministers of the Gospel learn from Christ. It was constantly revealed in the writings of

John that Jesus was training his followers to be like Him in life and death (John 4:38;

14:12). This is why the ministers take care of His flock and risk their lives. An element

learned from the Chief Shepherd Jesus Christ who is their master in all things (John 21:15-

23). The risks involved include being despised by many and also being in constant attack

from evil forces. Pastors have to constantly fight with the evil world by casting out demons

from congregates. In the Old Testament God used several approaches to call His people

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into Ministry or leadership. Many were called to serve in different God’s mandated

assignments. The calling of people to service also continued even in the New Testament.

Jesus called different people into discipleship and even today God is still calling his

servants.

Calling of ministers is a spiritual occurrence and one’s response to the call is obedience

(Fox, 1994). It is in itself a gift from God and not necessarily a right as noted by Glenn-

Burns in his work while citing an analogous research done by Palmer (1999). The people

who receive such a gift do not use their own knowledge to expound on spiritual matters,

but they get wisdom from the Spirit of God. The spirit of God is the one that searches all

things and legitimize the deep things of God. Chapter 2 of the book of 1 Corinthians notes

it clearly that the gift and the spirit the ministers receive is not the spirit of the world and

further affirms that such an incomparable spirit comes from God. That spirit is able to make

the called to understand what God has freely given to his people. The insight they acquire

is not taught by human wisdom, but in Words taught by the spirit. Such wisdom is able to

explain spiritual realities using the Spirit-taught words (1Corinthians 2:10-13, Roman

8:10).

Unlike the effectual call which is an invitation into a relationship with God, for everyone,

the call into Ministry or leadership is an ecclesiastical call set apart for the Gospel. Such

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a call is unique in that God appoints ministers to lead his sheep and the Church at large.

Pastors may be called and work at living into their calling, but the remaining parts of the

congregants are also supposed to work hard in the Church and try to be good (Baker, 2008).

The ecclesiastical call comes with broad and challenging responsibility of being in the

forefront of the Church and being exemplary in all respects as noted by Baker. Ways

recorded in scripture God uses to call ministers or leaders vary. Some of the recorded

methodologies include a call through visions, dreams, voice, the Word, through sending

angels and the Lord can also send Prophets to deliver the message. Sometimes it can be a

combination of more than one method as in the case of Samuel. His calling was through a

voice while he was asleep. It can be construed that when God uses a voice, it means He

Himself is present in that milieu as it can be seen in 1 Samuel 3:10. It clearly states in verse

10 that the Lord came, stood and called Samuel. Some may argue that this was a dream as

Samuel was asleep when it happened. Samuel concluded that it was a vision as eminent in

(1Samuel 3:15). His peculiar encounter with the Lord confirmed him a called servant of

God. The Lord from then forth was with him and the people knew he was proven to be a

Prophet. And Samuel grew and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his Words fall

to the ground. And all Israel from Dan even to Beer-Sheba knew that Samuel was

established to be a Prophet of the Lord (1Samuel 3: 19-20 NIV).

The fact that God has a voice is clearly presented in the chronicles of the Bible and even

today many people attest to such effect (Wooldridge, 2008). While citing McManus (2002)

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Wooldridge presents a profound point of view concerning the voice of God. He likened the

voice of God to a temptress who abandons the monotony of life and to begin an adventure.

Such an adventure he posited threatens to leave the temptress in the mundane if she refuses

to risk all that she has for all that could be. If ignored, the voice dims to silence. Yet every

now and again, like a siren, she sings and begins to woo you back. Other prominent

historians who were called through hearing God’s voice or the word include Abraham,

Jonah and Ezekiel (Genesis 12:1-2, Jonah 1:1-3, Ezekiel 2:1). Isaiah’s call was through

seeing a vision and through that vision he had the Lord speak to him (Isaiah 6:1-9).

The call of Gideon was different from that of Samuel. Annals reveal that Gideon was called

through God sending an angel (Judges 6:11-18). The Lord sent an angel to deliver the

message to him. Whatever mechanism the Lord uses does not brand one call more

important than the other. What differs is the service or assignment given to the called.

Moses also had a visitation of an angel of the Lord. And the angel of the Lord appeared

unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked and behold the bush

burned with fire and the bush was not consumed (Exodus 3:2 NIV). In the New Testament

we see Jesus calling a number of people into discipleship. Jesus approached certain men

and instructed them to follow him. When he called his first disciples Peter and Andrew he

gave them a clear mandate. He told them he was going to make them fishers of men instead

of catching fish (Matthew 4: 18). These men were enamored with material things which

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they thought would profit them. Jesus then presented something even better, the call to

service of winning souls for the Kingdom.

James and John on another instance were also called by Jesus instructing them to follow

him while they were mending their nets. This suggest that they were also fishermen. In

both instances the ones who were called never argued with Jesus. Instead they left what

they were doing and followed Him. James and John even left their father and followed a

man who would appear to be a stranger to them. The epitome of this story lies on the

authority that was embedded upon Jesus. The Spirit of God was with Him and gave

authority to his voice (Matthew 4:23). Additionally what gave Jesus authority to call people

directly was because His Father was in Him and He was also in His father. It was revealed

to man even before He was born that he was no ordinary man but of the Holy Ghost

(Matthew 1:20). Similarly Adjer (2003) shared the same sentiments highlighting that Jesus

called His ministers while still on earth by a direct personal call from His own lips. He

commissioned them to spread the Gospel upon all nations of the world and promised to be

with them.

In verse 21 of Matthew the first chapter, the angel explained to Joseph about the

mysterious child Mary was carrying. And she shall bring forth a son, and though shalt call

his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:22 NKJ). The

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archives of the Bible reveal that this had been revealed by a Prophet aforementioned. The

Prophet foresaw the birth of Jesus and mentioned that His name shall be called Emmanuel.

The interpretation of the name Emanuel equates to God with us (Matthew 1:23). The very

deep connotations of the Trinity divulge Jesus as God. In the stance of the Trinity, God is

three in one, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This then bolsters the authority He

had to call people to follow Him.

2.5 Challenges faced by the called

Often times when God called his people into service, He never hid the fact that there would

be opposition. The promise the Lord gave of being always with them granted his servants

comfort. The opposition is inevitable. According to Gordon (2022) facing opposition is a

sign that God desires to use the person going through suffering as a vessel to help others.

In order to render perfect support to others, the councilor should be one who has

experienced more or less similar challenges in his life. The one in trials is most likely to

accept advice from a survivor of opposition than hearing from someone who does not

understand how it is to go through that challenge.

Polycarp was one historian who highly respected God. Just like many others he

encountered numerous challenges in his walk with the Lord. One of the critical things he

stood for was not to deny God whatever the case could be. He was told to bow down to a

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lesser god and he firmly refused affirming his belief in God (Romans 11:4). Although, he

was threatened by death and in a scary environment, he never backed down. He told them

he could not bow down to another god when the Living God had sustained him for years

and years of his existence (Tylor, 1998). He had an encounter with God. The amazing thing

about an encounter is that it assures the man of the preeminence of God. An encounter

signifies to have a personal experience with the subject. Only knowing about God puts a

believer in a vulnerable state. But an encounter cements a strong sense of assurance and

confidence in the believer. Similarly, Susanto also viewed an encounter as essential. An

encounter with the Lord enhances one’s faith in Him. He calls it a ‘divine encounter’, which

is a meeting between God and His people. This meeting originates from God’s initiative

and his love. God is highly capable to meet His people and attend to their needs. This

meeting is initiated by Him and He is mediated and present in Christ. Consequently, He

manifests Himself through His gracious presence and work to save, sanctify, empower,

heal, satisfy, and bless His people (Susanto, 2007:8). An encounter is most learnt through

testimony. God’s people overcome a lot of trials through the words of their testimony.

Often times our knowledge of God is mainly through testimony. His people know certain

vital truths about God and divine things because God revealed them through His word

(Wahlberg, 2014:8). His word says ‘Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in sight’

(Ephesians 1:3-4 NIV). We therefore believe that He is God because His word testifies so.

Ultimately His people have confidence in God when going through opposition. His people

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face their enemies with confidence and give their adversaries an irrefutable argument. They

argue or rather declare that it is God who order their steps and offers solutions to problems

(Lamont, 2004).

When real opposition comes chances of fluctuating one‘s mind are high particularly for

someone without an encounter. Nevertheless for someone who knows without a doubt that

God is with him, chances are high for that Christian, who is the generation which is like

Christ, can stand rough opposition (Acts 11:26). This does not suggest that knowledge of

God is in vain, but simply suggest that an encounter solidifies one’s credence in the one

who called him. If Peter could deny Jesus whom he had walked with when the times were

hard, how much more of a believer who only hears about God. Knowledge about God is

different from knowing God. Giving one’s life to Christ is an amazing thing that all

humanity should do. However accepting the Lord as your Savior is not the end of your

walk with Him. That step and other supportive elements like prayer, reading the Word,

meditation, fasting and fellowship makes the believer personally know the Lord and not

just know about Him (Kennedy, 2016). There is bound to be opposition along the way.

Cloud and Townsend (2005) presented an interesting view to problems encountered by

people. In their book they acknowledge the necessary pain of problems and asserted that

problems must be viewed as gifts from God to enhance His people. They argued that

solving a problem should not be viewed as a problem itself. In trying to resolve problems,

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a Godly perspective should be employed rather than targeting quick injections. God’s

perspective lies in addressing the root of the problem and administering lasting solutions

to deal with the founding derivation of the ailment. When the core cause of the problem is

addressed, holistic curative is attained (Cloud and Townsend, 2005). The firm thing the

Lord instructs His people to do is put the His whole armor so that they don’t fall into

temptation. Temptation itself is an opposing factor to the Christian journey. If a believer

puts the whole armor of God, he or she shall be protected from all the trials and tribulations

of the Gospel. Additionally Jesus disciples went through colossal persecution just for

preaching the Gospel of Christ (Acts 16:25).

Drawing from the epitome of Peter’s encounter, we discover the magnitude of God.

Scripture presents dialects of Peter being incarcerated just for preaching the Gospel. The

pericope drawn from the book of Acts reveals that while Peter was in prison an angel of

the Lord woke him up and led him out of the prison. No guard saw them and the iron gate

of the prison opened up for him (Acts 12:3). This was indeed the doings of Lord, presenting

the miraculous. Similarly Joseph was sold by his jealous brothers at a very tender age. He

grew up being a slave in a foreign land. There were trials he had to face besides just being

a slave. He was lied on by Potiphar’s wife. This led to him being incarcerated for a long

time (Genesis 37:36). But through it all God was gracious to him. In another occurrence,

Paul and Silas found themselves being surrounded by prison walls. They never anticipated

to be imprisoned. Their arrest was nothing but an opposition to the Gospel. They delivered

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a damsel with a divination spirit and the girl’s masters were appalled because of the

deliverance thus got them sent to the magistrates. They blamed them of teaching customs

which were unlawful. Paul and Silas’s noble actions led them into prison. However even

in opposition, God never leaves His people. This is evident on what transpired next while

they were in jail. While praying and praising the Lord, all the prison doors were opened.

This happenstance made a lot of the prisoners and wardens fear the Lord God (Acts 16:16-

26).

Sometimes God himself can allow the devil to tempt you. Often times if that happens, it is

for the purposes of promotion. In order to qualify to hold a higher position you must first

go through a test. Job’s case is one example of such assessment. This encounter seemed

puzzling to Job because he was a man who respected God and was highly blessed. He had

not committed any known sin, but he found himself in such an excruciating pain (Job 1:13-

22). This is a symbol that it’s not always sin that determines our trials and tribulations.

According to Hebrew (12:10-11) sometimes God can use pain to discipline His people and

help them refrain from doing wrong. Pain can also be an instrument God uses to make His

people grow spiritually (James 1:2-4). Pleasure in Ministry is not derived from a pain-free

journey, but in understanding that faith and obedience is more crucial to God than duty and

performance (Barnett et al., 2015).

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2.6 God’s Provision and Benefits of accepting the call

There are a number of benefits acquired through accepting the call of the Lord. To some

He gives the gift of healing. This gift is very helpful in the body of Christ and it assures the

laity of His power. We see different instances of miracles and healing of people recorded

in scripture and God can heal any sickness no matter how long the person has been sick.

Peter and John while going to the temple saw a man who was born lame. This man was

brought to the gate of the temple to seek alms from the people who entered the temple. His

lameness had turned him into a beggar. Peter instructed the man to rise up and walk in the

name of Jesus Christ. The lameness vanished and the man was healed (Acts 31—6). This

is one benefit the called have that of setting God’s people free from any infirmity (Act

16:16-18).

The crucial thing observed in this happenstance is that Peter never laid hands on this man.

He simply commanded the man to rise up and walk in the name of Jesus. After hearing this

command this man rose up and the lameness relinquished. This presents two major

elements that of the power of the spoken words, and also the power in the name of Jesus.

Peter never spoke to the lameness, but rather to the man. Sometimes man become slave to

the infirmity and all that is required are words to the man to quit being enslave. Words

spoken in faith in the name of Jesus paralyzes the infirmity and set the man free. Hagin

shared the same sentiments. In his writings he revealed that Peter did not pray for the man

but demanded that the man be healed. He pointed to an important reality that a believer is

42
not demanding of God when he or she exercises given rights, but the believer is actually

demanding off the devil (Hagin, 1996).

According to Susanto (2007) healing is a demonstration of the reality and power of the

atoning blood of Jesus Christ. This blood which was shared on the cross is demonstrated

to humanity through divine healing of God’s people. While citing Liardon (1999) Susanto

suggests that each part of redemption relates to divine healing, yet the savior of the body

deals with physical divine healing. So for the called Minister, he must have already been

washed by the blood of the Lamb in order to practice the gift of divine healing upon God’s

people. The Minister of God solely relies on the unalterable nature of Christ and His Father

for divine healing Ministry. There were many instances where Jesus showed compassion

and healed the sick. Reliance on His blood and the faith of the Minister brings absolute

healing to the sick (Susanto, 2007).

Another benefit of hearing God’s voice on an ongoing basis is that it results in a changed

life. Remaining in this hearing is abiding in Jesus. Abiding in Christ in faith yields massive

fruits (John 15:4-5). Christianity without faith is inexorably Christianity without

discipleship. And Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.

Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, meditation, solitude, and fasting are biblical means of

grace fashioned to avail of or submit oneself to God’s grace and thus access all the benefits

he promised. Through these means the disciple conjoins with the Spirit of God and God’s
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desire to transform the disciple from one degree of glory to the next which in itself is a

benefit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

Heeding the call of the Lord brings confidence in the one who is called. It cultivates an

assurance that the one who called him shall sustain the work entrusted to him. When trials

and tribulations threaten to distract the call, the minister relies on the promise made during

the call. It is common that when God calls a minister, he gives him directions and promises

that will sustain the call. It is dangerous to self-appoint just because the direction of the

Ministry will be unknown to the minster. All he relies on is knowledge of scripture and

potentially his academic attainments which when practiced alone without the presence of

the Holy Spirit have limitations. Which is why in scripture a number of the ones who were

called by God were skeptical to accept the call. By themselves they felt unworthy of such

an illustrious work. They needed some kind of assurance and better still a sign that the one

calling them was really God (Judges 6:17, Exodus 3:11).

When Moses was called to lead the people of God as earlier indicated, he had no confidence

and was uncertain if he was the right candidate citing his shortfalls (Exodus 2:11). He

understood the magnitude of the work God was entrusting him with. Besides the danger of

dealing with a hard king Pharaoh he also thought about how he was going to deliver the

news to the Israelites. He dreaded rejection from them when telling them of what the Lord
44
has said. It is scary when the Lord only delivers the message to you and instruct you to

deliver it to the people. These are people who had been under oppression for quite some

time. To come and tell them that the Lord has remembered them, when they had not heard

the Lord themselves is quite a challenge (Exodus 2:13). The Words God gave to Moses,

the promises and the signs presented to him brought confidence that surely God was with

him.

The benefit of discernment is critical in a believer’s life. The called benefit a lot from the

Holy Spirit. He gives them the gift of discernment which is essential as the Church venture

into transferences and changes in the new world. Discernment entails distinguishing the

divine possibilities at each moment. It is imperative for Pastors and the Church at large to

have discerning spirit to bring safe guards and proper directions in the Church. The active

presence of God in the world is fundamental to the called (Venter, 2012). With the increase

in false Prophets, the importance of discernment can never be over emphasized. It helps

uproot the corrosion brought about by false Prophets to the true relativism of Christ.

Believers need to hear the unpolluted Word of God and there is no room for filtration. The

Holy Spirit is critical in a life of a believer and is prevalent in the world to comfort God’s

people (John 16:5-7; Acts 9:31). The Spirit helps believers when going through trials and

tribulations. Trusting God in difficulties is crucial and the Holy Spirit guides the saints in

those times. Trials contribute to the welfare of a believer and is, a crucial component of

what it means to live by faith and not by sight (Sabbath, 2012).

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Protection as a staid benefit to the called is considerably promised within scripture. As our

Heavenly Father, His promise is to protect His children against the enemy, against sickness

and diseases and all other ill treatments (1 Thessalonians 3:3; Psalm 3:3). He is our secrete

place of whom we go to in prayer, worship and fellowship. It is the prerogative of the called

to run to Him in intimacy. He guaranteed that he will become a literal place of protection

for his people and His promise is available to all professing Christian. He covers His people

with His feathers, and under His wings they take refuge. His truth then becomes their shield

and buckler (Psalm 91:1 NKJV). Just as Austin Disaster Relief (2022) viewed it, Jesus is

our Righteous Judge and He removes utterly everything that hinders love. He is a strategies

that judge fairly for his people and has great zeal to intervene in oppression and corruption

in a way that He has never done before in order to transition the earth to the age to come

(Zechariah 8:2; Revelation. 19:2). Many unique dynamics will be revealed to the called in

His strategic eschatological plan as He drives evil off the earth forever (Austin Disaster

Relief, 2022).

Noah and his family’s lives were spared because of listening to the call of the Lord. The

Lord was displeased with the violence and corruption taking place in the world and thus

vowed to destroy all the people and animals. He however found favour in Noah and

instructed him to build an ark (Genesis 6:13-14). The Lord divulge clear instructions to

46
Noah on how the ark was to be built and other necessary elements. I can imagine how that

sounded to Noah. The world coming to an end potentially looked like something that would

not happen in the eyes of many. When Noah started building the ark, there were

theoretically haters and those who mocked him. He was the only one who received the

word and others were probably thinking that he did not hear from God, thinking that it was

his imagination. Noah diligently listened to the Lord and built the ark according to

specifications and thus was spared (Genesis 6:22).

Though Abraham was not the first nor the last man, hitherto he found himself given a

prominent position in the future of whole humanity through his acceptance of the call of

the Lord. The Lord instructed Abraham to go away from his country, his people and his

family to settle in a land the Lord showed him (Genesis 12:1). This was a very scary call

and promise. To take up your things and leave the familiar to a place of uncertainty surely

is no easy decision to make. But through the understanding of the one who was giving the

instruction, Abraham had an assurance that things would be alright and he left as instructed.

The Lord promised to bless him and gave him a solemn promise that through him all the

people on earth shall be blessed (Genesis 12:3, 18:18). Through his obedience the Lord

surely blessed him beyond measure. He became very wealthy through chattels he never

worked for. The king of Egypt Pharaoh gave him plenteous livestock, silver and gold. This

was one of the first blessings he got through listening to God (Genesis 13:1). It was

apparent that the blessing of Abraham was not only just spiritual blessings, but also earthly
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material things. He became blessed in everything he did even though sometimes he made

mistakes just like other human beings, yet the blessing of God never left his life

(Wommack, 2022). The paramount reason why Abraham was so blessed was because he

took it upon himself to copiously believe the Lord and His promises (Genesis 15:6). This

proves that if humanity stop projecting their reasoning and accepts what God instructs, then

shall humanity enjoy great ecstasy that lies at the heart of all things (Morriston, 1996).

Many blessings followed Abraham because of his obedience. One of the greatest miracles

he had was to get a son at a very old age. When he was promised a son, the Lord appeared

to him in a form of three men. The records of the book of Genesis clearly reveal that

Abraham saw three men standing nearby. He immediately knew it was God (Genesis 18:1-

2). This is evident because he immediately bowed down to them and he called them my

lord. His spirit must have revealed that these were not just ordinary men. The fact that these

men appeared in the physical form is confirmed in verse seven of the same chapter. He was

seen preparing something to eat for these men and presented the food to them to eat. This

concludes that God can appear to His people physically in a form of man. In this epilogue

Abraham and Sarah were promised a son at their old age (Genesis 18:10).

In trying to comprehend why the Lord had to appear as three men instead of just one. The

quick response would be that the ways of the Lord can never be understood. Also it could
48
be that God was appearing as the Trinity to solidify the promise. God is three in one and

the three man Abraham saw could signify God appearing as the Father, the Son and the

Holy Spirit. However the appearance of the three men is clarified in Genesis 18:22. In this

scripture, it is chronicled that the other two men left heading towards Sodom and Abraham

remained standing before the Lord. This then means that these two men were angels

walking with God. In the annals of chapter 19, it is revealed that when the two men left

God with Abraham, they proceeded to Sodom. This chapter explicitly notes that these two

men were angels. The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in

the gateway of the city (Genesis 19:1). God’s promise of a son was fulfilled and Sarah

became pregnant and gave birth to Isaac (Genesis 21:1-3). Indeed the Lord never lies and

he provides accordingly.

One other prominent provision received from God is riches. God is very rich and

everything belongs to him. He makes others rich so they can help the poor and fulfill

social assistance. The provision of the Lord is limitless and He blesses whoever he

pleases. According to Leviticus, as God blesses others with riches such riches should

be shared with the poor. The prime purpose for enriching people is so that they can in

turn bless others and be helpful to society. The pericope in Leviticus clearly instructs

the rich not to harvest everything from their fields when their crop is ripe and ready for

reaping. Fallen crops should not be picked up when they fall from the tree but left for

the poor to also benefit (Leviticus 19:9-17).

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Scripture seem to promote social assistance which is a way of giving back to society in

thanking God for His provision. Riches are a good thing given to men by God himself

for the benefit of everyone. The Lord executes justice for the fatherless and even

widows giving them food and clothing for He is a mighty and awesome God who

provides for everyone according to his riches in glory (Deuteronomy 10:17-21, 31:8-9,

Deuteronomy 22:6-7). As earlier stated, riches are given as a channel to assist the needy.

The rich therefore should not be stingy and keep all what God has provided to them

(Proverbs 19:17). Riches are given to man to enjoy and not meant to enslave His people

or make them deities. Above just physical riches scripture suggest a more

comprehensive approach to riches. It points to riches in works as the fundamental

aspect, a general spirit and readiness to share. As these good deeds are practiced, the

rich store up treasure for themselves in heaven and this is the prefect foundation for the

future. This will in turn make the rich take hold of what life really is all about (1

Timothy 6: 17-19).

God gave Himself to humanity as an immeasurable gift and He stands in solitude to

Himself (Galatians 2:20). He cannot be compared to anything and He is superlative to

everything. A distinguished unique and unparalleled Saviour. An unprecedented King

who is the loftiest idea in all of literature. Without any doubt the highest personality in

50
Philosophy and He is the fundamental doctrine of true theology (Jones, 2018). Jones

viewed God in light of being the creator of all things and fears no one and nothing. In

the book of Job, God in His response to Job asked questions that got Job tongue tied

and he could not utter any word in comparison to the magnitude of the questions God

was asking. One of the example He presented was referencing to Leviathan and how he

created this powerful serpent that cannot be compared to anything in the world (Job

41:1-4). Leviathan is a fierce sea serpent which breaths fire. Its strength cannot be

compared with any beast on earth and it has terrifying appearance (Morriston, 1996).

He presented an insoluble question to Job pertaining to the account of this serpent

lamenting on how it looks and how big it is.

This serpent as described in the book of Job has a double coat of armor with its back

full of rows of shields tightly sealed together that no air can pass between. Its snorting

throws out flashes of light and from its mouth flames of fire stream out (Job 41:12-20).

The description as detailed in the book of Job further asserts that smoke pours from the

beast nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds. It has the capability to fly from

the waters and there is no hope of subduing it and its mere sight is overpowering (Job

41:9). This suggest that seeing this beast with naked eyes has dire consequences which

may lead to paralysis of some sort. The New International Bible version uses the word

overpowering. This word is para analogous to unbearable. Which symbolizes that the

sight of this beast can lead to psychological problems if not worse. To overpower
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signifies loss of power to the victim. Loss of power leads to weakness which

consequently renders one helpless and unable to defend himself. By and large it means

to be defeated. The sight of this serpent is suggested to defeat the one looking. If the

mere sight of the serpent can cause such damage how much more if it can attack.

This serpent is branded as a king which humbles those who are proud and nothing on

earth is its equal (Job 41:33-34). This could be the reason why some religions believe

or get their powers from water serpents. Supposedly they use such powers to heal others

and prophesy as well. Morriston linked this serpent to the symbol of the chaos that the

Sky god of Near Eastern mythology was supposed to subdue at the end of time

(Morriston, 1996) With all its strength and powers Leviathan is no risk to God because

after all he created it and nothing can stand against Him and everything belongs to Him

(Job 41:11). If he gave Himself to His people, not even the greatest beast can be able to

stand against them and they are safe in his hands (Luke 10:19).

The Bible affirms that God is our absolute supply. He promised to supply the needs of

His people according to His riches in glory. A God who lacks nothing and relies on no

one in His issuance of needed blessings (Philippians 4:19). What more provision can

any man require than drawing absolute provision that emanates from the source of

everything? When God calls His people, He is only calling them unto Himself. The
52
service they render is therefore none reliant on their efforts but exclusively contingent

to the one who called them. The truth is that God frees His people and supply their

needs according to His riches in glory. There is therefore no need to depend upon our

understanding of His preeminence and provision power. Matching one’s feelings with

God power will never yield outright freedom and dependence on Him (Anderson et al.,

2014).

Nothing rival His unlimited supply. Reliance on Him makes one relinquish the daunting

task of Christian performance and thinking that God’s work depends on one’s own

efforts. God is perfect on His own and thus doesn’t require a person’s efforts to execute

his duties in Ministry. All believers need to do is to remove themselves from the picture

and allow Him to use them for His glory. Supplanting the Gospel with psychological

rationalization has polluted the Gospel and thus waned the true believers in Christ. This

in turn has fouled the call and the benefits thereof. God provides more for His people

when they are persecuted. Challenges attract His ultimate provision and holding on a

little longer while oppressed will lead to victory. (Jakes, 2012).

2.6.1 Prayer

Prayer is one vital tool given to the congregation to use to defeat strong holds and it is

one of the greatest provision from God. The accolades of scripture constantly reference
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to prayer as crucial and the laity are instructed to pray without ceasing (Ephesians 6:18).

A praying Church experiences the presence of the Lord in their midst and it becomes

strengthened (Mitchell, 2015:195). The enemy always brings some afflictions to some

people in the Church or outside. It is his way of trying to discredit the power of God.

The role of the Church is to constantly pray for the afflicted and loose the people of

God free. Kilpatrick (2019:) notes that in addition to prayer the role of the Church is

also to offer good deeds to people. Some attacks may require for the Church to pray for

the individual but also give what the person is lacking. If an individual is hungry for

instance, prayer is good, but the person needs food. Wisdom to differentiate what needs

prayer and what needs direct action is fundamental.

Kilpatrick was right when he addressed the issues of assistance to the needy. In his book

he emphasized the importance of sharing material possessions with others. He

suggested that those families who take it upon themselves to open their homes to those

who are facing crisis steadily establish deeper happiness and vibrancy in their walk with

God. Empty religion has no chance when the miraculous provision of God and the

genuine love of Christ are given to those who support the needy through prayer and

material things. With the weapon of prayer rebels can be captured and be brought back

to Christ. It is a strong weapon that has the potential to change the attitudes of even the

hardest hearts and make them obedient to the Lord (Sergeant, 2013). According to

Brady (2021) prayer is an act of communicating with God. It involves both speaking

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and listening with open heart and with sincerity. It can be offered both as an individual

and as a group speaking to God and includes elements of petition, intercession,

adoration, thanksgiving, confession and silence. Silence is necessary when praying.

After praying aloud silence becomes vital and allows one to listen to the voice of God

(Brady, 2021).

Worship works hand in hand with prayer. In the Hebrew and Greek lexicons, worship

is a term that presents the element of physical prostrating oneself before God. Humans

are designed to worship God. Worship is not just an act but a regime which is offered

to pay deference to the Supreme God (Gallagher, 2011). He clearly instruct his people

to render absolute worship only to Him and non-other. In the book of Exodus scripture

stresses that no other god should be reverence apart from the Supreme God (Exodus

20:3-5). Gallagher states that if one allows anything to take preeminence in his life, that

which he adores becomes an idol and God is strongly against worshipping idols

(Gallagher, 2011). Also see Leviticus (19:4). This scripture portrays that turning to idols

or making metal gods for the purposes of worshiping them is detestable to God. God is

jealous and does not want to be equated to lesser entities. When believers worship Him

and seek His face in prayer, He rescues them all the time (Acts 16:25-34). Just like

grace and mercy, prayer is part of God’s superlative provision. The greatest promises

in all of scripture relate to prayer and is an expanse that produces results (Matthews,

2015).
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2.7 Consequences of rejecting the call of the Lord

There could be many consequences of rejecting the call of the Lord. Jonah tried to avoid

the call of the Lord and tried to escape to a different city. He thought he was running away

from God forgetting that God sees all things. A major storm suddenly occurred while they

were at sea which threatened to sink the ship and their lives were in danger. The panic

amongst the seafarers compelled them to pray each man to his god. Jonah was asleep when

this occurred. It was only when the shipmaster awoke him that he realized what was

happening. After casting lots they fell on Johan. Jonah knew that the calamity they were

facing was because of his trying to evade the instructions of the Most High God. Although

he was afraid, yet he instructed them to throw him into the sea. A great fish swallowed him

and he found himself in the belly of the fish for three days (Johan 1:2, 2:10). Now his life

was in peril, but the Lord sustained him. Running away from God always backfires one

way or another. According to Meadows (2022) rejecting the call of the Lord creates a void

to be filled and in an attempt to fill such a void, many find themselves trying to fill it

through the appeasement of lustful hearts. Meadows quoted Romans (1:24-34) a scripture

that addresses the actions of the Lord towards the people who rejected Him. This scripture

highlights that if God is rejected he gives them over to their earthly desires which lead to

destruction.

Curses follow the one who rejects the call of the Lord and curses result into a stagnant

unfulfilling life. God Himself can curse people who reject His call and violate his principles

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choosing to live in wickedness. Because blessings follow those who are called, if they

reject the call they become scourged and neglected by God (Mathabela, 2006). Some

people choose to ignore God and rather put their trust on man. Mathebela submits that if a

man is trusted more than God, a curse automatically follows the person who puts his trust

on a man (Jeremiah 17:5-6). Additionally rejecting God opens up a doorways to torment

from the devil. The devil will make enemies rise against rebel and deaf him. His or her life

becomes a thing of repulsion to all the kingdoms of the earth (Deuteronomy 28:25).

According to Anne (2011) rejecting the call of God results in a heavy burdening such that

the soul cannot be lifted. On the other hand accepting God’s call gives souls a buoyance

that keeps them above waters and they carry truths that cannot be compared with anything.

The benefits of accepting the call prominently supersedes the snags encountered by

rejecting the call.

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

Understanding the ecclesiastical calling can be a challenging endeavor and thus the

appropriateness of the model is key. Thus this study used the heuristic methodology to

analysis the data. The review of relevant literature revealed an inconclusive knowledge of

how the various callings differ in theology. The leads to the lack of full of understanding

of the call of the Lord and His provision. The primary aim of this study was to analysis this

divine transition in a form of the call of the Lord. Holloway & Wheeler (1996) described

methodologies as the groundwork theories and principles that chaperon the methods used

in research. The methodology chosen to guide a research study must be harmonious with

the quest or question the researcher is seeking to understand and answer. As such, the

methodology falls out of the initial exploration of the research possibilities and is revealed

as the study quest is identified. This study applied a qualitative, heuristic research design

utilizing phenomenological inquiry (Kennedy, 2016). In this chapter, the study area and

the methodology employed will be discussed including the stages of the research will be

defined. Additionally a justification of the use of the Heuristic method will be discussed

and also the utility of the analysis of reflective journaling is explained. Lastly the

trustworthiness of the model and the ethical consideration are be explored in this chapter.

The heuristic methodology was deemed appropriate for this kind of research as it takes a

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chronicle approach and provides a structure or guiding framework for the research

(Moustakas, 1990).

3.2 Study area

The study hope to dwell on the broader aspects of the calling of the Lord and not just focus

on one area. However for purposes of analysis, data will be collected in Mbabane, Eswatini

situated in the Hohhot region. The region covers the western part of Swaziland from the

north and running southwards to the centre, Hhohho was named after the capital of King

Mswati II, who expanded the Swazi territory to the north and west, taking in the districts

of Barberton, Nelspruit, Carolina and Piet Retief. These areas were later acquired by what

was the Province of Transvaal and today they form part of the Mpumalanga Province of

South Africa (Swaziland discovery, 2014).

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Figure 1: Map of Mbabane

Source: Swaziland discovery (2014)

Mbabane has a population of around 100,000 people. Located on the Mbabane River and

its tributary the Polinjane River in the Mdimba Mountains, the average elevation of the city

is 1243 meters making for a more moderately humid, subtropical climate. The average

annual temperature is 15°C in July and 22°C in January. Temperatures low enough to cause

frost are rarely seen within the year and the city has experienced snow just three times in

60
over 100 years. The capital derives its name from a Chief, Mbabane Kunene, who lived in

the area when British settlers arrived. The current town dates back to 1887 and the area

rapidly became part of the transport route from the Transvaal to Mozambique- later known

as Ndelakayomi (path never empty) due to such heavy traffic. In 1902, the newly

established British protectorate chose Mbabane as their new headquarters due to it being

cooler than their previous administration in Manzini. Mbabane was founded in 1903 when

Swaziland fell under British protection and the new government opted for the cooler

climate of the Highveld (The Kingdom of Swaziland, 2013).

3.3 Research design

A qualitative methodology of heuristic inquiry was employed in this research study. In

relation to the subject matter, this study explored the spiritual experiences in the

psychotherapeutic process. It was an effort to truly grasp some illustrations of the meaning,

themes and patterns of spirituality, which were derived from the relationship and the

personal spiritual experiences of the participants and the researcher (Ching, 2015). By

using this approach, the essence of experiences that involve the participants’ emotions,

reactions, perceptions of things and relationships were described inherently in detail.

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3.4 Qualitative Design

Theistic conceptualizations of spirituality are contextual, holistic and transcendent in

nature; they inspire spiritual researchers to employ the qualitative research method largely

because it enables the researchers to examine and investigate spirituality in a more effective

way (Slife et al., 1999). Qualitative designs provide a podium for researchers to better

comprehend participants’ experiences, and in the process helping researchers to gain an

insight into the participants’ spiritual perceptions, beliefs, values, desires, emotions and

practices. Furthermore, through qualitative design, researchers understand more fully how

spirituality is entangled with the participants’ emotions and behavior.

More emphasis on qualitative design dwell largely on the process of the research, flowing

from philosophical assumptions, to worldviews and through a theoretical perspective. The

process leads to a true and clear understanding of the spiritual experiences (Creswell,

2007). This study used the qualitative design to describe the phenomenon and the

meanings of spiritual calling that emerged in the participants’ natural settings.

3.5 Research Procedure

An in depth search on the internet and the library was done with the intention to get a better

understanding on the subject matter and to get some information on past research relevant

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to this subject matter. Firstly the researcher obtained a research clearance letter from the

Life Changing Bible and Ministry University. Additionally a consent letter was prepared

and signed by the participants before the interview commenced. The participants agreed to

be interviewed willingly and thus signed the consent letter.

3.6 Sampling procedure

Participants were those who were willing to disclose their calling journey into Ministry.

The research was open to participants of any Christian religious organization in Mbabane,

Eswatini. The researcher approached some pastors of which some where known to the

researcher, to ascertain if they would be interested in participating in this research. This

made the sampling procedure to be purposive. Apart from the purposive approach, the

participants were also selected through snowball sampling in which participants were asked

to recommend others whom they knew who can have an interest in participating in the

study (Ching, 2015). A total of ten participants were initially selected who were between

the ages of 29 and 54 years old. Out of the ten, three tugged out through cancellation of our

appointment for the interview. A total of seven participants were eventually interviewed

face to face.

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3.7 Data collection method

Data was collected through face to face interviews with participants following Moustakas

data collection model. Moustakas pointed out that certain steps be followed when

collecting heuristic data. Such steps are:

1. Gather data during recorded interview with participant.

2. Transcribe recorded interview.

3. Review and code the recorded data.

4. Assemble key themes.

5. Create individual depiction of participant’s experience.

6. Validate key themes with participants.

7. Repeat steps for subsequent participants.

An in-depth semi-structured interview base on a general interview guide which outlined

the set of topics to be explored during the interview was conducted (Kennedy, 2016). The

targeted approach was structured in a way to get the participants’ experiences in receiving

the call, how it happened, challenges, benefits and their perceptions on what the

ecclesiastical call entails. The time allocation was flexible because interviews in heuristic

inquiry are not ruled by the clocked, but by inner experiential time (Moustakas, 1990). The

researcher recorded each interview, but also took separate notes as the interviews

progressed. Participants were allowed to use any language they were comfortable with

between English or Siswati in their responses. Siswati is the official Eswatni language. It

64
the native language and English is used as a second language and is a very important

language in the Kingdom of Eswatini. This is also validated by the fact that English was

made a passing subject in the schooling system. Once a student fails the English language,

such a student gets a fail grade and cannot proceed to the next class, unless the student is

promoted. Most of the respondents mixed the two languages which was also permissible.

The data was carefully transcribed thereafter ensuring accuracy and thus becoming

intimately familiar with the emerging data.

3.8 Research Approach

The exploration approach is categorized into various types for example inductive and

deductive (Thomas, 2006). For this investigation, the deductive approach was used. Such

type of approach was beneficial for this research because of its effectiveness and

appropriateness. It helped to establish links between the objectives of the research and the

findings derived from raw data. According to Woiceshyn and Daellenbach (2018)

deduction is from general to specific arguments based on widely accepted principles, rules

and laws are best expressed deductively. Heuristic method try to bring back the qualities

of exploration and discovery into spiritual and sociological academic research (Kleining

and Witt, 2000).

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3.9 Heuristics Defined

The term heuristics originated from the Greek Word heuriskein that means to find out, or

to discover and can be used in any science, in any research endeavor where the inquiry is

on the cutting edge of new territory being explored (Mostakas, 1990). When there is no

idea of where the researcher or the territory is going (i.e. there is no paradigm established

for the field), then exploratory discovery, rather than testing hypotheses, is the goal. The

inquiry is open-ended. Heuristic research starts with a passion, a desire to learn more about

a particular concern of some significance. This trial-and-error process, this discovery of

what works, is the heuristic. After heuristic discovery, the cutting edge of terra incognito

becomes a part of the field from which other scientists can make hypotheses, conduct tests,

and verify whether their hypotheses can be accepted or rejected (Thomas, 2006).

While Moustakas’ (1990) heuristic research methodology provides a structure or guiding

framework, it is also relevant as the chosen methodology for three other reasons. One,

heuristics requires an autobiographical impetus to the study undertaken. The heuristic

methodology requires participants to allow a full discovery of the essence of the

phenomenon under study which is why the researcher included participants for such an

inquiry. The methodology encourages a narrative outcome in a creative synthesis of data.

3.10 Data Analysis

Descriptive data analysis was employed following the heuristic methodology. The data was

mostly qualitative in nurture. According to Moustakas (1990), the analysis and

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organization of heuristic data during the immersion and incubation process may take any

form. After completing the interviews, the researcher analyzed the data collected from the

initial interview responses using Moustakas’s (1990) approach for analyzing heuristic data.

In order to be fully immersed in the data for each participant, the researcher took time to

review the recorded interviews and transcripts several times prior to beginning the analysis

of the data, often setting the data aside and revising it later. The researcher coded and

themed the data without the use of any qualitative data analysis software in order to ensure

his intimacy with the data. Individual depictions were developed based on each

participant’s experience. The researcher used language and descriptions from the

participants’ transcripts to ensure that the depictions accurately reflected the lived

experience.

After drafting the individual depictions, the researcher revisited the original transcripts to

ensure the depictions did not include or omit essential aspects of the experience. The

researcher completed the analysis by developing a creative synthesis of the collective

experience, which incorporated key themes and elements from each participant’s

individual depiction.

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Table 1: Mostakas (1990) Heuristic Inquiry phases

Concept Phase Key Characteristics

Identifying with Initial “The task of the initial engagement is to discover an

the focus of Engagement intense interest, a passionate concern that calls out to the

inquiry researcher, one that holds important social meanings and

personal, compelling implications. The initial

engagement invites self-dialogue, an inner search to

discover the topic and question” (p. 27).

Self-dialogue Immersion “Once the question is discovered and its terms defined

and clarified, the researcher lives the question in waking,

sleeping, and even dream states. Everything in his or her

life becomes crystallized around the question. The

immersion process enables the researcher to come to be

on intimate terms with the question—to live it and grown

in knowledge and understanding of it” (p. 28).

Tacit knowing Incubation “Incubation is the process in which the researcher

retreats from the intense, concentrated focus on the

question. During this process the researcher is no longer

absorbed in the topic in any direct way or alert to things,

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 situations, events, or people that will contribute to

understanding of the phenomenon” (p. 28).

Intuition Illumination “The process of illumination is one that occurs naturally

when the researcher is open and receptive to tacit

knowledge and intuition. The illumination as such is a

breakthrough into conscious awareness of qualities and

a clustering of qualities into themes inherent in the

question” (p. 29).

Indwelling Explication “The purpose of the explication phase is to fully examine

what has awakened in consciousness, in order to

understand its various layers of meaning. In the

explication process, the heuristic researcher utilizes

focusing, indwelling, self-searching, and self-disclosure,

and recognizes that meanings are unique and distinctive

to an experience and depend upon internal frames of

reference” (p. 31).

Focusing Creative The researcher entering this process is thoroughly

Synthesis familiar with the data in its major constituents,

qualities, and themes and in the explication of the

meanings and details of the experience as a whole. The

creative synthesis can only be achieved through tacit

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 and intuitive powers. This usually takes the form of a

narrative depiction utilizing verbatim material and

examples, but it may be expressed as a poem, story,

drawing, painting, or by some other creative form”

(p.32).

Source: Kennedy (2016)

3.11 Ethical consideration

A clearance letter for this research was issued by the Life Changing Bible and

Ministry University. Additionally a consent form was signed by the participants.

They were assured of confidentiality of the data collected. Their real names were also

not recorded to ensure anonymity. The consent form signed by the participants

explained the purpose of the study, procedures and benefits of the study. All data was

kept confidential and the name of the organization or the Church they belonged to

was also not recorded.

3.12 Conclusion

This chapter pronounced the area in which the study was conducted. The chapter further

covered research approach, sample procedure and the way in which data were collected

and analyzed. The study used heuristic method to analyze data. The analysis and

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organization of heuristic data during the immersion and incubation process may take any

form. The results of the study are well-defined in detail in chapter 4.

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 CHAPTER 4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the call and provision of the Lord in the lives of

selected individuals. A total of seven pastors participated in this research narrating their

experiences and encounters with the call of the Lord. This chapter presents the perspectives

of the participants on what a spiritual calling entails, their own experience of the call, the

approaches God uses to call His people to service and also the exploration of God’s

provision to the called. Ingeniously their collective narratives created an expression of how

the call into Ministry happens, and how the calling affects those in Ministry in the

Christianity perspective. A demographic summary of the participants is included in this

chapter followed by themes that emerged from the analysis of the data. The participants in

this study included six men and one women all between the ages of 29 and 54 from around

Christian Mysticism Churches around Mbabane. Four of the participants attended

Theology College and obtained a Diploma in Ministry, with only one participant who

completed a Bachelor’s degree in Ministry. Two of the participants had no formal training

in Theology.

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4.2 Primary researcher immersion

The nurture of heuristic requires an autobiographic stimulus to the study undertaken and

its start with a passion to learn more about the subject or personal experience of some

significance (Bridgen, 2007:31). The researcher’s use of personal experience was constant

and essential in this study (Kennedy, 2016:33). The researcher immersed himself as a

participant in this study. His usage of self as part of understanding the phenomenon shaped

a lens through which the experiences of the other participants were understood and

ultimately synthesized.

4.2.1 Researcher’s depiction

While starting off his Theology studies in the prime stages of 2016 the researcher felt

content in venturing in such a journey. The researcher has been a spiritual person since the

late 1990s and always fell the desired to be involved in spiritual matters. His initial purpose

for Theological studies was to know more about God, how he uses his people in Ministry

and also the researcher was fervent to know his own purpose in life. A journey the

researcher would always cherish. At the end of his undergraduate studies in Divinity, the

researcher had accumulated fair amount of knowledge to venture into the research space in

Divinity. This presented a different twist in his journey of trying to understand his purpose

in life.

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The author worked as a consultant in one of the consulting firms where he gained

significant experience in the area of research. Having attained a Master’s degree in one of

the social sciences assured the researcher of his capability to venture into Theological

research. The Covid-19 pandemic presented a lot of challenges all over the world. The

researcher was also not prone to such challenges. The part-time consultant work came to

an end due the pandemic and he found himself staying at home for prolonged periods of

time. During this time off work he delved into much obligatory soul searching. He

engrossed his time in studying the Word of God, praying and seeking counsel from other

spiritual advisors. This time also allowed the researcher to focus on his Divinity research

and ultimately attaining a Master’s degree in that field. It was during this time that the

researcher rewired with his spiritual calling which has been affected greatly through the

author’s travelling and staying in different countries.

Having tried to attain secular work to no avail the researcher focused on working towards

this thesis on analysis of the call of the Lord. Finding an appropriate topic for this

dissertation was not an easy task. The researcher took time to pray and read other

researcher’s work in line with Divinity. Eventually the topic was deposited in the

researcher’s spirit for the doctoral studies. During this journey the researcher developed

his own chant which he used to critically view his own experience in the spiritual journey

in line with his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) studies. Purpose, urge and preparation were

the main themes that emerged as he thought and prayed about the calling of the Lord.

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Cohesive into these themes that made up his mantra are the researcher’s own

conceptualization of religious spirituality and calling panoplies.

While preparation predominantly addresses educational and professional proficiencies,

urge and purpose largely reflects how the researcher views himself in cognizant to spiritual

life and contributor to the divine transition in the world. Purpose and urge are what

essentially energies to present calling that will impact the lives of other believers and in

the process become a better person in Christ. Through the strong passion, sense of helping

others, various dreams and confirmations from different Prophets, the researcher knew

there was strong sense of a higher power deep within himself. The researcher knew that his

personal experience will help shape the research questions and fragrantly guide the study

to fruition. This was the primary reason he chose the heuristic methodology for this

research. The researcher viewed spiritual calling as a phenomenon directed by God and He

provides for sustenance of the call in numerous ways. It is an act influenced by God to

guide and shepherd his people. It presents a platform for humanity to converse intimately

with Him. According to Cloud and Townsend (2005) God is a real person in the heavenly

domicile, complete, perfect and has the power to act on behalf of His people. The

approaches exerted for the call vary, but the crucial element is that the call must be broadly

emanating from Him. The participants experiences outlined in this study resonated with

the researcher’s own experiences in many varying ways. Each individual participant

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narrated his distinctive experience delineating the encounter with the Lord to contribute to

the understanding of the subject.

4.3 Participant A’s depiction

Participant A is 35 years of age firm believer in Jesus Christ. His spiritual journey started

in 2010 while he was at college studying for a Diploma in Accounting. Although he grew

up in a Christian environment, he never really considered himself a Christian before 2010.

His focus was on completing his Diploma and find work. The ultimate goal was to later

revert back to school to further his Accounting studies to a Bachelor’s degree in the same

subject. After giving his life to Christ he served in one of the Christian Churches closer to

his college in Mbabane. Additionally he would attend services organized by the college.

He particularly enjoyed praise and worship which prompted him to join the praise team in

his Church. After completing his Accounting Diploma qualification this participant went

on to work for one of the Not for Profit organizations in Swaziland. His career picked up

while also his spiritual attributes strengthened. He continue to serve in the same Church

under the leadership of the senior pastor of the Church of whom he worked closely as a

praise and worship member. The senior pastor respected the praise team and would go with

some them when invited to minister in other Churches around the country. Before he knew

it he was assigned other roles in the Church like leading intercessions and delivering short

sermons while on his intersection duties. In the middle of 2016 when he got married he felt

the call of the Lord upon his life.

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After praying and consultations with his pastor and other advisors in the Gospel, he

concluded that God was calling him into Ministry. The senior pastor started mentoring him.

It was not until he was ordained a pastor that he realize his pastor had been secretly

mentoring him all along after sensing the call upon his life. Being assigned into leading

intercession was one of the strategies his pastor employed to train him. He would also invite

him to his home for lunch and go with him as he went on his preaching mission. This

participant disclosed that he became his pastor service man. This entailed carrying his

Bible, driving him around and also representing him when he was unavailable to visit the

laity in their homes when they were in need of prayers. Eventually he was ordained as a

minister in 2017 and he started attending theology school on a part-time bases while still

employed in the same organization. Immediately after completing his Diploma in Theology

he was assigned to pastor another branch of the same Church. The participant revealed that

he is an evangelist but also has the gift of teaching within him. Pastoring the other branch

has greatly enhance his spirituality and the Lord constantly confirms his call through the

affirmation from fellow pastors, congregants and through His Word.

Just like in everything done in life generally, the ministerial office has its own share of

challenges. He revealed that one of the challenges he faced was being scoffed by his family

members and some of his subordinates at work for being a pastor. They brand being a

pastor appear like an office of the poor. For participant A, this is not necessarily an

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enormous problem, but it sometimes make him feel inferior. He further gets some

comments from other fellow congregates who knew him before he was ordained telling

him that he has developed pride. This participant does not think his attitude has changed

and ascribe their insinuation to jealousy. For this participant it becomes difficult sometimes

balancing his secular career with the work of the Lord. He rectifies this by mostly

dedicating the evenings and weekends for the work of Ministry as his secular work can be

demanding sometimes too. Luckily for him, he gets all weekends off work and thus has the

time to focus on his ministerial duties. Additionally this participate mentioned being judged

unfairly as the major problem in his call into Ministry. His name is sometimes falsely

tarnished by many but to him this is an element he has learnt to leave with and ignore

focusing only on the work of God. The callous attitudes of haters does not deter him from

focus.

God has always provides immensely for participant A. Such provision includes His Word

which is always readily available to his disposal. He draws strength, reprimand and

direction through the Word. It comforts him when he is doubt and going through various

opposition in his journey. This participant further highlighted that the Lord has always

sustained him at work and provided financially for him and his family. He is still employed

and has not felt the Lord calling him into full time Ministry which makes his financial

problems under control. The Lord has graciously provided this participant with the grace

to lay hands on the sick and they get healed. According to this participant, this provision

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grants him an assurance that surely the Lord has called him and cultivates the desire to stay

in line with His Word and he tries to stay attuned to the course although sometimes he falls

short. But His grace has always been sufficient for this participant. His confidence and

God’s provision makes the laity receptive to his Ministry.

Although this participant is content with pastoral office he still desires to further his studies

in Theology and he appeared ardent to learn more about God and his direction in his

Ministry. He concluded that there is always room for growth in the things of the Lord and

there is no one who knows it all. Understanding the call within religious congregations is

paramount and direction must be always inquired from God. Learning from the Word of

God and also from other ministers of the Gospel are vital to this participant.

4.4 Participant B’s depiction

A vibrant 45 years old male who is a senior pastor in his Church in a Church he founded.

Through God’s grace he has groomed two junior pastors who serve under him in the same

Church. This participant is married and serves as an Apostle in the Church. He has been in

Ministry more than 10 years and is confident in his knowledge of God. His spiritual journey

began in the early 2000 when he accepted the Lord as his personal Savior. From then, he

has never looked back. He grew in strength and virtue in the things of the Lord and saved

under different pastors in two different Churches prior to founding a Church.

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According to this participant the call of the Lord is the mandate given to human beings to

shepherd His people. He made the distinction of being called into repentance and serving

God as His child to the call to be a shepherd. In his distinction he was quick to mention

that God calls the shepherd from within the rest of the congregants. However the Lord can

also call someone who is not yet a believer and usher him into Ministry. He made reference

to the call of Paul in Acts 9:1-5. This participant alluded to the fact that there are false

Prophets who use illicit methods to guide their positions in Church. According to this

participant, there seemed to be an increase in such false diviners although it is an

assumption based on non-existence of primitive data to solidify his counsels. He however

stressed the existence of true called Ministers of the Gospel clearly indicating that God still

calls his people to service. For him the call into Ministry happened 9 years after he gave

his life to Christ. He served in the leadership of two prominent man of God. This made him

grow in his knowledge of God. The Lord appeared through a dream while he was asleep

and He instructed him that he was calling him to lead His people. The participant revealed

that the Lord gave him a verse in the book of Jeremiah which instructed him that he was

called to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant (Jeremiah

1:10). He shared his dream with his pastors who supported him and put him under his wing

for guidance. He served under the guidance of his pastor 3 years before opening a Church.

Since then there has been several confirmations through prophesies, congregants and also

fellow ministers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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When he first started his Church, he faced numerous oppositions which amongst other

things included the challenge of soliciting a venue for the Church. Thus the Church started

in his own house with a few believers. Some questioned his purpose for living his current

Church to establish his own. However he persevered in prayer and fasting seeking the

Lord’s help which eventually the Lord was true to His promises. His pastor supported him

and gave him the blessing to follow the leading of the Lord. Currently he has an established

Church with a substantial membership which he accredits to the Lord. Through

correspondence this participant has acquired a Diploma in Ministry and aspires to further

his studies.

This participant revealed that what confirms a man as a called man of God, is the dogma

he preaches which should be primarily focusing on Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior.

The primary element the minister of the Gospel should be seen pushing is the winning of

souls to Christ and preaching the repentance Gospel. This participant is in full time

Ministry in which the Lord has sustained him. The Lord provides for him financially

although he is unemployed. Before venturing into full time Ministry this participant was a

Primary School within the government schools in Eswatini. He utilizes his teaching passion

to do the work of the Lord. Based on the sustenance the Lord has provided to him and his

Ministry he has no doubt that indeed it was the Lord who called him into service.

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4.5 Participant C’s depiction

This participant is a 29 years old male pastor who is serving under one of the local Christian

Churches in Mbabane under a senior pastor. His spiritual journey started in 2013 when he

accepted the Lord as his personal Savior. He served in the same Church as a believer and

later joined the ushering team. He is currently engaged to be married and is in the Prophetic

Ministry. He has been in the Prophetic Ministry for almost 5 years. He was assigned to

pastor another branch of the same Church in 2020 and now has junior pastors under him.

This participant revealed that a calling is something that comes from God and He can use

any method to call His people to service. He believes that most pastors in the Christian

dogma are called but has heard of some stories of the calling of some pastors questioned.

For this participant his calling came as a surprise to him, something that he never thought

about. He was in the ushering team when his senior pastor who is also a Prophet announced

that God said he must ordain him to be a Prophet too. Although he was shocked he accepted

the call and instantly after he was ordained and oil poured on his head he felt his spiritual

eyes open up. He received spiritual strength that he never felt before. From that day on his

life has never be the same. He started searching scripture deeply for revelation and was

able to get messages to preach about. Instantly he was able to prophesy. Almost after a

year and half, he was assigned to a new branch where he is now heading with other pastors

under him.

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Although he is heading this new branch, he still gets a lot of support from the senior Prophet

who is the founder of the Church. According to this participant one of the challenges he

face are people threatening to kill him especially witches because they claim he is making

their work difficult. They claim to put spells to people and the Prophet cast them out and

has brought some kind of fire in the area which distorts their work. This participant revealed

that he further has the challenge of people questioning his powers. He mentioned that he is

not affected by such opposition as it is something expected in Ministry. According to this

participant Prophets go through a lot of fire as compared to other Ministers in the Gospel.

But the Lord always protect His people. The element of protection is one fundamental

provision God grants His people. For this participant the other benefit of the calling is

winning souls to Christ.

What brings joy in the heart of this participant is seeing people giving their lives to Christ.

The healing and prophesies are just a bonus to him. According to this participant one other

challenge is his age. Some people especially older men don’t stay in the Church because

they claim they cannot be led by a young men. This is one challenge the participant has

little control over, but consistently rely on God to bring those men who can submit under

his leadership. He mentioned that people are very receptive to his Ministry and he also

conducts one on one sections. During these sections he prophecies and delivers people from

various infirmities. He feels people are in bondage and they need to be freed and given

direction in order for their lives to take a good shape. Finally this participant averred that

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it is God’s prerogative to call his people into Ministry. He has no formal theology and he

mentioned that he gets directives from God and thus is not planning to go to school any

time soon.

4.6 Participant D’s depiction

Participant D is a 54 years old male pastor who is highly committed to God and His service.

He belongs to the Christianity faith and serves as an Apostle of God. His journey with the

Lord started in the early 1980s when he was about to complete his high school. When he

accepted the Lord he joined one of the Christian Churches and became an active participant

in different offices including ushering, music Ministry and also partook in the outreach

Ministry. After completing his High School he went on to register at the University of

Eswatini where he completed a degree in social sciences. Soon thereafter he got a job in

government and got married. It was not long when he received the call of the Lord upon

his life. He left his job and enroll at Theology College on full time bases to later attain a

degree in Theology. On his return from Theology school he served under his Church for a

short while prior to founding a Ministry. Therefore this participant have been in Ministry

for over 20 years.

He mentioned that a call is a directive from God to a higher office of service. God himself

gives the direction and instruct where the Church should be established. For this candidate

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God appeared in a dream and instructed him to leave his job and go to Theology School in

preparation for the work He was entrusting him with. It was not surprising when he returned

from Theology school that the Lord appeared again to inform him to start a Ministry and

also gave him the name of the Church. This participant heeded the instruction of the Lord

and thus started the Church in 1998 and it has been going strong with branches both local

and in other countries in the region. Being in full time Ministry presented some challenges

of which if it wasn’t for the Lord he would have given up. The challenge this participant

mentioned was financial problems. The Ministry started off with few members and thus

the offering was largely used to pay rent for the premises of the Church. One way or another

the Lord provided for his meals and accommodation. Later on when the Ministry was

established he started a part-time business because he loves doing something for himself.

By the grace of God the business has been growing strong.

People have been receptive to his Ministry and he believes that God was true to His Word.

This participant mentioned that there is no one who knows it all in relation to the call of

the Lord and the ordination of Ministers of the Gospel. Reliance on God is paramount and

everything should be done according to His directive.

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4.7 Participant E’s depiction

Participant E is a 38 years old female Pastor leading a Church together with her husband

and holds the pastoral office. The Christian Church was founded by her husband before

they got married and she was a member of the Church before they got married. She was

involved in praise and worship and also an intercessor prior to being married. Participant

E mentioned that she continued in praise and worship for a while after getting married and

then was assigned to lead the women Ministry in the Church. Her Christian journey began

when she was about 21 years old and was working in retail sector. Ever since she gave her

life to Christ she served under the same Church of which she is co-pastoring. She did

however attend other Churches or conferences organized by other Churches for spiritual

nourishment. This participant believes in learning about God from various platforms. She

also like sharing the Gospel with other people especially her work colleagues and others in

particularly in her community. She did this even before she became a pastor.

For Participant E calling entails being appointed to lead God’s people and to be exemplary

in your leadership. A calling should not be taken likely and should be respected at all times.

According to this participant rejecting the calling of God results in a stagnant life. When

God calls a believer, it’s better to accept the call to avoid the penalties of rejecting the

calling. Participants E felt the call of the Lord when she was already married to her pastor

husband. She mentioned that they prayed a lot in their home and people will also come for

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prayers. Her husband always wanted her to be around when praying for people. She became

strong in intercession and her spiritual life strengthen.

They would read the Bible and share to each other and also have home cells during the

week where she would get a chance to share the Word of God to other people. That’s when

she felt the call of the Lord strongly in her life. She mentioned that her husband sensed the

call upon her life and they prayed together before she was ordained to be a Pastor.

Additionally participant E joking mentioned that there was no lighting or angels that

appeared when she was called into Ministry. It was just a strong feeling in her heart and

reading the Word of the Lord that made her conclude that the Lord was calling her.

People are very receptive to her Ministry and also respect her husband. This she attributes

to God, also to her respect for fellow congregates and her incessant zeal for serving the

Lord. One challenge she mentioned was that of being not fully accepted to preach in other

Churches because of being a woman. There is still that stereotype in the country’s culture

that a woman cannot stand in front of the Church to preach. But her husband tries to go

with her when she is invited to minister somewhere else for moral support. According to

this participant God has always provided for her and husband in numerous ways. She added

that there is a visible blessing in their lives and in the Church as large. All the glory belongs

to God for the continuous sustenance of the Ministry and their family. For this participant

a Seminary education is very vital in Ministry. The interpretation of the Word of God vary
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and although we rely on the Holy Spirit for interpretation, it is equally important to learn

the essentials of interpreting the Word of God. She mentioned that currently she has no

Theology education but will like to acquire it in the near future.

4.8 Participant F’s depiction

Participant F is a 51 year old pastor who view himself as teacher. He has been in Ministry

for almost 18 years and is married with two children. His spiritual journey began in 1996

as a young man who was just starting off his engineering career after completing his

Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. He was employed in the construction sector as a

junior engineer. This is where he befriended one of the senior engineers in the company.

The friendship started off initially because they were work mates, to later evolve to spiritual

partners. His friend was a junior pastor in one of the Churches in the country. So as their

friendship strengthened, this participant liked the way his friend was handling himself and

openly professing his relationship with Christ. His life was an inspiration to many and was

liked by the bosses. He invited him to Church one Sunday where another senior pastor in

the Church was preaching. That is when he decided to accept Jesus Christ and that was the

beginning of an awesome spiritual ride. He joined the Church and served for about 3 years

then joined a different Church particularly because of his work transfer. This participant

became active in the Church organizing events, leading the ushering team and joined the

outreach team as well every time he got a chance.

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For participant F a calling is God’s way of getting a believer involved in His work and

allowing to shepherd His people. It gives the believer more responsibility in the Church

but does not make him better than the rest of the laity. God gives grace and anoints someone

for the task and trust him to be faithful in the office. God’s call makes one humble and

realize that he is nothing without Christ. This participant divulge that his call happened 4

years after he gave his life to Christ. He had a dream where God was showing him standing

in a pulpit preaching to multitudes. This dream became a reoccurring dream. After sharing

it with his pastor the pastor told him God was calling him into Ministry. This was confirmed

by a Prophet who came to their Church to Minister during one of the Easter Services. From

then hence, he was given a platform to deliver a brief first Word before the main Pastor.

Seeing that he was indeed called into Ministry, participant F started studying Theology on

a part-time bases and ultimately completed a Diploma in Ministry.

Soon thereafter Participant F felt led to establish a Church. After much prayer and fasting

the Church was established and he is now a senior pastor in that Church which he founded.

One of the challenges he faces is trying to balance his work with Church work. This

participant still works on a full time bases and manages the Church as well. Another

challenge he faces is dealing with disputes amongst congregates. Sometimes members of

the Church do not see eye to eye and that creates tension within the Church leading to some

of the members leaving. This participant takes time to council members of the Church

when that happens. The other challenge is getting enough funds to solicit land and build a

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Church. The Church is still renting premises to conduct services every Sunday. Sometimes

he encounters challenges with the owners of the venue and they have to change venues.

According to this candidate the Lord has always provided for him, his family and the

Church financially. There are able to afford the steep monthly rent and are able to host

Easter services, end of year services and also host Pastors from other Churches to preach

especially during these special yearly services. The Lord has blessed the Church with a

strong committed praise team and a reliable band. The members are receipt to his teachings

and they have a substantial membership.

4.9 Participant G’ depiction

Participant G is a 35 years old male pastor who serves as an apostle in one of the Christian

Churches. He is married with two children and he firmly believes in God as the Trinity (the

Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit). His Christian journey began in 2007 as he was

struggling to make ends meet in life. He mentioned that he grew up without his parents

around. He grew up living with his grandmother. His grandmother did not have much to

offer him as she was not employed. This led to him leaving school and eventually his

grandmother’s home to try and find work in the city. His quest for employment was not

easy either. He tried searching and searching for any kind of work to no avail. At this time

the participant was staying with friends who tried to offer him food on a daily basis and

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also tried to assist him in search of work. Time and time passed and still there was no

work. His frustrations were intensifying and he even contemplated suicide.

This participant mentioned that one day while he was with his friends in the house, he heard

a voice calling him. This was such a unique voice that he immediately went outside to hear

well as their friends were busy conversing. He knew that they didn’t hear the voice he was

hearing. When he went outside of the house he heard the voice again telling him that he

was being called to lead God’s people and was given a scripture in Romans 10:8-9. This

was confusing to him as he was not even a Christian at that time. So the next Sunday he

went in search of Church closer to where he stayed. When he got to the Church, his spirit

was convicted that he gave his life to Christ. From then on, he became a committed

Christian and started spending most of his time in Church. This led to him breaking up with

his three girl-friends to focus on the things of God. A year elapsed and one night he had a

dream and heard a voice in the dream telling to go to a certain pastor whose name was

mentioned in the dream. He called his pastor to ask if he knew the man of God who was

mentioned in the dream. To his surprise, his pastor knew the man of God and knew where

his Church was. He went to the Church led by this man of God. When he got there, the

man of God immediately confirmed that there was a calling upon his life. This puzzled

him. He left his other Church to join this knew Church and was mentored by the new man

of God he heard about in his dream.

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This participant indicated that his problems were still not solved even after he became a

Christian. This caused him so much frustration that he wondered why God was not

supplying his needs because he was born again. He was still unemployed and still living

with his friends. He used to wake up every morning to pray in the wild. This happened for

quite some time and there was still no answer. One of the day he got so frustrated and angry

with God. He mentioned that it meant that God lied about providing for His people. Thus

the participant made a solemn decision to end his life in the evening of one day. Early in

the morning he went to his usual prayer spot to pray. This was a different prayer as he

decided to tell God that he was renouncing his Christianity and committing his life to the

devil. He went back to the house to wait for the evening. He mentioned that that day a man

came to the house to visit one of his friends who was his relative. After spotting the

participant, the man told him to wake up the following day to speak to the owner of one

respectable shoe shop and told him that there was a job for him there. This shocked

participant G especially because this man didn’t know him and didn’t know he was in

search of a job. He decided to halt his plans of ending his life. Went on to meet the manager

on the following day to speak to him concerning a job. The manager did not immediately

hire him, but inquired who sent the participant to him. He did not really reject him either.

When he got to the house the man called to find out how the meeting went and told this

participant to leave everything to him. In less than a week he was called to start work in

the shoe shop.

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His spiritual life was revived because he knew that it was God who gave him the job. He

was involved in the work of the Church until one Sunday the pastor told him God said he

must be ordained as pastor. Since his ordination he has been serving under the same

Church but also gets a lot of invites to minister in different Churches. Three years after his

ordination he got a job in the army and became a soldier. This new role allowed him to

preach even while at the Army College. He was posted in a faraway place from his Church

to be stationed there. But the Lord did miracles for him because in a space of a year, he

was recalled to the headquarters and was assigned to conduct prayers for the soldiers every

morning. He was also given some light administrative duties to handle. He spends most of

his time at home as he is not needed most of the time at work. This participant affirmed

that this was indeed the doings of the Lord. He mentioned that he almost gets paid for doing

nothing. Although this participant did not finish his high school, through the grace of God

he was enrolled into Theology College where he completed his Diploma in Ministry on

part-time bases. He also developed a passion to learn sign language. Currently he has been

given leave for two years to pursue his sign language studies.

4.10 Presentation of Themes

This study analyzed the participants’ divine intervention in relation to the call of the Lord

to Ministers of the Gospel. While analysis were employed to individual participants’

discussions, the researcher coded the data and four themes were identified and labeled

(Medelyan, 2019). Dependence on the identification of themes as the ultimate goal of

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analysis is prevalent in qualitative research. Themes are features of participants’ accounts

describing actual experiences that the researcher sees as relevant to the research question

(UniH, 2022). They are used to describe elements identified from the participants’

discussions (Bazeley, 2007). The themes that emerged are summarized below.

Theme 1: Connecting with God and finding one’s purpose in life.

Participants held similar beliefs with regards to the importance of repentance and

welcoming Christ in a believer’s life. They cited venturing into spirituality helps in

identifying one’s purpose in life which is key in living a fulfilling life.

Theme 2: Perceiving and discernment of the call.

Participants revealed that it is important to hear from God so that when he calls someone

into Ministry he can sense and be receptive. Hearing from God gives clear directions of

what Ministry the Lord is calling someone into. It also helps avoid the painful

consequences of rejecting the call unknowingly. Participants shared similar theories in

acknowledging that there are different approaches the Lord uses to call His people.

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Theme 3: God’s sustenance

Participants said that there are numerous benefits of listening to God and also He always

sustains his work. The important thing is to accept and go according to his instructions to

realize the full benefits of his provision.

Theme 4: Overcoming challenges

According to the participants challenges are inevitable in Ministry and often rife. But there

is sufficient grace to overcome them. They felt that challenges should not deter the Minister

of the Gospel but make him strong in his walk with Christ.

4.11 Themes Analysis

Theme 1: Connecting with God and finding your purpose in life.

All participants acknowledge the importance of connecting with God through accepting

Jesus Christ as the Lord and Saviour. Participants asserted that through their connection

with God, their purpose in life is revealed which makes them go according to God’s will

for their lives rather than focusing on themselves. Beneficial connection with God requires

that one dies to self and focus on the service of the Lord. According Laffitte (2022) dying

to self produces fanciful adventure in faith and attracts numerous blessings. Connection to

God and dying to self also produces absolute satisfaction and spiritual power which in turn

yields confidence. Dying to self leads to transformation of the heart allowing the individual
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to truly lean on God. This transformation which Wooldridge refers to conversion, leads to

salvation. Salvation which leads to freedom from strong-holds of sinful nurture and its

effects of death is a prerequisite to total transformation (Wooldridge, 2008).

Participants further viewed connection with God as doorway to service and realization of

the gifts within them so they could utilize them for the edification of the Church.

Connecting with God was viewed by participants as the primary mechanism that ushers

one into service within His kingdom. Additionally focusing on God’s work is what

ultimately leads to the realization of their purpose in life. Most participants suggested that

when one finds his purpose in life, and focuses on that purpose, life becomes more bearable

rather than try and era. Immersing oneself to effects which are not part of his purpose in

life leads to frustration and exhaustion. Connecting with God cultivates a desire to

exclusively dependent on Him and eliminate worry. Participants viewed the dependence

on God as faith which brings an assurance of the God who is not seen (Hebrews 11:1-3).

The faith motif kept coming up during the conversations with all the participants. All the

participants thought faith in God was one paramount element of mysticism which has to

be exercised on a perpetual basis.

Oyakhilome (2005) posit that faith is essential in the daily walk with God. The primary

component with faith is that it has to be constantly activated. The focus should be believing

His Word rather than focusing on opposing circumstances in the spiritual journey. Faith
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gives the believer a reason to fully trust that something is his even before he can see it with

the naked eyes. Through faith spiritual battles are first won in the spiritual realm and

glorious victories are first granted in the spiritual realm before they become manifest in the

physical realm (Oyakhilome, 2005). Without faith scripture confirms that it is impossible

to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The archives of the book of Matthew instructs God’s people

not to worry about what they will eat, drink or wear. Additionally in warns against worrying

about tomorrow and acknowledges God as the supreme supply of the needs of His people

(Matthew 6:31-34). Participants B alluded that his connection with God produced

paramount peace in his life. He said,

‘The greatest decision I ever made in my life was to accept Jesus Christ as may

Lord. Ever since I gave my life to the Lord I have realized blessing after blessing

and constant peace in my home. My heart desires to know Him better every day and

there is no turning back. How can I even think of turning back when I know that in

Him I am safe? My life before Christ was a mess, but since connecting with Him, I

have experienced absolute joy’.

Participant D and F also shared the same sentiments affirming that they are safe in His

arms. Connecting with God brings a sense of comfort and safety. The participants revealed

that the connection makes them stop worrying and constantly walking in fear and doubt. If

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produces a peaceful aroma that needs to be shared with every human being. Participant E

reflected on the respect his connection with God has presented to his life.

‘You know there are many benefits I get through my spiritual connection with the

Lord. One of the things I realized is that even in my community I’m respected by the

people. I guess they sense the power of God within me. It’s amazing what the Lord

can do for you without you knowing. My spiritual walk has obviously attracted

favour in many parts of my life’.

Theme 2: Discernment of the call.

One of the important themes that arose during the discussions with participants was on how

to perceive and how the call happened in their lives. This theme aligns well with the

research question of this study. The calling was viewed by the participants as act of God,

leading His people into serving Him in a leadership role. It is God giving the called

direction to shepherd the Church. The data collected from the participants revealed

different approaches the Lord used to call them into Ministry. All the participants felt it

was critical to hear from the Lord as it pertains to the call. Hearing from God could be

directory from him through hearing an audible voice, dreams, visions and through His

Word. Additionally it could be through a third party delivering the message to the one

called. This could be another Pastor or a Prophet of God. Some participants highlighted

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that it normally starts with a strong desire to preach or the desire to help others. Then the

Lord one way or another eventually reveals His intensions when the time right.

Obedience and uprightness were seen as essential in a call. The person who feels called

into Ministry must be blameless and allows his steps to be ordered by God so that He may

delight in his ways (Psalm 37:23). The call of the Lord is not something to be taken lightly

and must not be ignorantly entered into. One must understand that the spiritual excursion

is warfare and thus be prepared to allow God to lead the journey while the called try to be

blameless in His sight (Davis, 2013). God requires His people to be perfect in their vocation

just like He is unimpeachable. If the people thrive for perfection, the panoply of His power

is manifested (Matthew 5:48, Ephesians 4:1). Similarly pastors are urged by God to

demand distinction out of their congregation and the people working with them in Ministry

(Copeland, 2019). Three of the participants mentioned that their calling happened through

receiving a dream from God. He appeared while they were asleep and gave the direction

of how they should lead his people. For participant B, the Lord appeared and revealed His

intentions concerning his life in Ministry. He gave him a guiding verse of which he was

instructed to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant

(Jeremiah 1:10). These are the similar words the Lord used when calling Jeremiah into

Ministry. After sharing this dream with his pastor, he believed him and instantly put him

under his mentorship. Soon thereafter that there were several confirmations through other

men of God. Participant B said;

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 ‘It was one Wednesday night while I was asleep that I suddenly sensed the presence

of a strong force present in my room. Although I was asleep I could tell that someone

or something was in my room. While still pondering what was happening, suddenly

I clearly heard a voice speaking to me. After hearing the voice I sensed this was

God talking to me. The voice told me that I was called to serve God’s people and

that I was receiving power for the task. The Lord through His voice gave me a verse

found in the book of Jeremiah 1:10. All I remember is that I was silent and fearful

for I had never had such a dream before. When I work up, I was overwhelmed with

shock. The dream happened like I was awake. Immediately after waking up I took

my Bible and began to read the scripture. I must say that from that day on my life

has not been the same again’.

For participant E the calling was realized when she felt a strong desire to preach and help

others. She mentioned that there were no angels’ visitation or even dreaming God calling

her. It was solely through strong sense of calling and the confirmation by her husband and

other ministers of the Gospel. Dmin (2020) also experienced a similar call to participant E.

He revealed that for him there was no miraculous occurrences when he was called into

Ministry. He was just convinced in his spirit that the Lord was directing him into Ministry.

As he continued to serve in other leaderships and teaching positions, the Lord confirmed

his calling through other pastors and other laymen in the Churches he served under.

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Thurston (2020) calls this call the progressive call whereby gradual series of events across

the life of the person occur, until it finally emergences on the person that Ministry is what

God wants for him. Through being so fully involved in the things of the Lord and always

praying together with her husband and other saints, Participant E began to sense the

eagerness to preach. She says:

‘I am not sure when and how it happened. I was just too preoccupied with serving

the Lord, the Church and being a good wife to my husband. Before I knew it, I really

sensed a huge desire to venture into Ministry. I always thought I was always doing

Ministry anyway. My husband sense my calling before I did which is why I guess he

was giving me prominent positions in the Church and the saints were not

complaining’. I guess the ways of the Lord can never be fully understood. I have

been ordained now and have received several confirmations in various ways’.

It is evident through participants’ accounts that the Lord uses different methodologies to

call His people into Ministry. For participant C this call into Ministry came when he list

expect it. He was an usher helping out in finding space for people to sit in the Church. His

job also entailed helping the pastor when he was praying for people. He was to hold the

people in case they fell while being prayed for. He was not the only usher in the Church.

This is why he was puzzled when the pastor who is also a Prophet called him out one

Sunday and told the Church that God had instructed him to ordain this participant into the
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Prophetic Ministry. Jacobs (2010:86) says in her book ‘The voice of God’ that many

believers are beginning to experience what she calls a two-way prayer and are hearing the

voice of God. Although this came as a shock to this participant, he embraced it with both

arms and reluctantly went to be ordained. He said:

‘I always thought there were more spiritual people in the Church than I was. I was

just in the growing phase of my spiritual journey when all this happened. When the

Prophet called my name, I remember I was shaking while going to the front. He

immediately spoke some strong Words of ushering me into Ministry before pouring

oil on my head. Afterwards the whole congregation was instructed to stand up and

stretch their hands towards me and pray both in asserting the ordination and also

thanking God for appointing me. I remember when the oil touched my head I fell on

the ground and was instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. I rested there for some time

before I could regain strength to rise up. When I stood up I instantly felt that

something has changed in me. It was like some heaviness had been removed from

me and I felt very light’.

According to Thurston (2020) God sometimes calls people into Ministry strictly through

other Christians before they ever considered it themselves. He calls this the set-apart-by

the Church call. Thurston suggest that God empowers His people to speak on His behalf to

other people. This was observable in the case of David in scripture. God spoke to Samuel
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to go and anoint David as king. This phenomenon was not revealed to David prior or even

to his parents as he was still a young boy. God instead opted to reveal the appointment

through the Prophet Samuel and he poured oil on David’s head (1 Samuel 16:1, 13).

Erstwhile to David, God had done a similar thing with Saul (1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1). For

participant G he heard a voice calling him during the day and the voice told him he was

called to lead God’s people. This happened before he was a believer in Jesus Christ.

Through hearing the voice he started finding out more about God and ultimately gave his

life to Christ. This kind of calling bares the same attributes to the Damascus call to Saul

who was later called Paul in Acts 9. Paul was rife in persecuting the people of God.

Scripture reveal that as Paul approached Damascus, light shone around him from heaven.

He felt on the ground and heard a voice telling him to stop persecuting God’s people. That

encounter marked the beginning of his spiritual journey (Acts 9:3-6).

Theme 3: God’s sustenance

Participants suggested there are a lot of benefits that come with the call of the Lord and the

Lord provides for the sustenance of His work. Most participants suggested that the

challenges outweigh the benefits of the call. The Lord provides financially for nourishment

of His work and also provides the workers to assist the pastor in his duties. Participants

asserted that the greatest provision from God was giving out His only begotten Son Jesus

Christ to die on the cross so there could be washing away of sins. The removal of sins is

one of the merciful acts of His love. Matthevm acknowledges that mercy is what sinners

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need and is God’s abundant provision. Had god dealt with humanity according to their sins,

no one would be worthy of the call of the Lord and consequently no one worthy to go to

heaven (Matthevm, 2015). Additionally participants acknowledged God for giving them

life. It is the greatest gift given to humanity free of charge. Scripture reads; ‘The thief comes

only to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to

the full (John 10:10 NIV)’.

Most participants attributed their Ministry successes and personal wealth to God. If it was

not for the Lord some participants thought they would not have a home nor married with

children. Participant D says;

‘The Lord has really been merciful to me, my family and the Church. I am a married

man with two children and the Church is stable and receptive to my Ministry. This

is all the hand of the Lord. We are able to cover all the Church expenses, have all

the musical instruments we need and I can’t complain. The Lord even blessed me

with a personal business which I ran on the side and its doing well. So the Lord has

always been gracious. Above everything else He provided His Word for me of which

I can always reference to if I’m in problems.’

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Scripture reveals that the Lord shall supply our needs according to his riches in glory

(Philippians 4:19). God in this verse promises provision to His people. It means when you

are joint heirs with the Father, all your needs shall be met both spiritual and earthly needs.

The Lord knows that life requires more than spiritual nourishment and blessings. Therefore

it affirms that He takes an extra mile to provide those earthly necessities needed to sustain

His people in the physical. He is a wealthy God who shares His wealth with the Church

which is His body. The Church should not be seen as a place for the poor but rather a place

of peace and unlimited provision. Even in hard times the Lord never stops His provision.

The book of Romans says that all things work together for good for those who love the

Lord (Romans 8:28). This suggest that all our needs shall be met as we continue to

reverence Him. This means all the areas of the saints’ life shall blossom. The requirement

however is to love the Lord unconditionally and lean not on your own understanding.

Theme 4: Overcoming challenges

All participants perceived the call to be full of challenges, but the benefits thereof outweigh

such challenges. The issue of dealing with disputes amongst members of the Church was

one challenge outlined by most of the participants. Congregates do not always see eye to

eye and that can sometimes lead to conflict. Such conflict may include some congregates

not speaking to each other. It becomes the role of the pastor and the other elders of the

Church to resolve such disputes. Some participants posit that pastors are charged unfairly

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and always blamed for trying to render good deeds for the Church and communities.

Participant E voiced out her challenges as a female minister and said:

“It’s so hard sometimes to be a woman pastor. Some people in our communities still

view women as followers and not as leaders. It is very hard to earn respect

particularly amongst males in the Church. But I have also observed that females

also undermine themselves and each other. They don’t feel worthy to be in

leadership positions. It becomes hard for me when I have to speak as pastor in

community meetings especially in funerals and other community base functions led

by predominately men. The patriarchal society we live in is hard to crack. But

generally at the Church people are very receptive and respect me as their pastor. I

strongly believe that God called me and thus I do His work without fear knowing

that He is with me always.”

The annals of the book of John expose that the world is bound to hate someone who does

not belong to it. The world accepts the ones who belong to it. Once the Christ centered life

is emulated by a believer, it is bound to attract some hate or opposition. Christ is the one

who chose believers out of the world which is why the world hates them as it hated Jesus

Christ too (John 15:18-21). Similarly the Celebration Church (2022) also viewed believers

in Christ as the most persecuted people in the whole world with some nations compelling

them not to publicize their belief in Him. Christianity as highlighted by the celebration
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Church is not for the weak and it requires confidence in Christ and boldness to face

whatever challenge that may come on the way. Opposition makes the beliers more like

Christ (Celebration Church, 2022). The ruler of the world is the devil, and he brings all this

hate to the believers who follow Christ. However the believers are not helpless victims at

the mercy of the devil, but victors. They are not called to rise in opposition to the evil one,

but rather to resist him. As they resist the evil one, he flees from them granting them

absolute liberation and victory (Sabbath Afternoon, 2012).

The Christian journey is one which should be entered to in total reliance to God as the

source of sustenance and not contingent on own religious activities and ethical efforts to

live a life pleasing to Him (McQuilkin, 2007:13). When attention is directed to him, he

begins to reveal great and hidden things to his people (Jeremiah 33:3). He shows Himself

strong on behalf of his people. Reflecting on his word and particularly the work of the cross

would be very helpful in dealing with challenges. The cross provides the opportunity to

comprehend what God can do beyond the normal daily routine of life (Evans, 2017).

Through the cross God deals with any difficult situation just like he invaded Jesus’ tomb

and rose Him from the dead. Similarly, He is able to invade and difficult situation and bring

peace for His people.

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4.12 Creative Synthesis

Creative synthesis is the way the researcher expresses the essence of the experience or

occurrence at hand. A free reign of though and feelings that support the researcher’s

passion, presence and knowledge is view in the creative synthesis. It brings about an

instillation of the research with a personal, professional and value that can be voiced

through narrative, story, poem, work of art, metaphor or tale (Moustakas, 1990). The

researcher analysed the participant’s depictions in detail and discovered that the results are

an influential expression of the experience of spiritual calling. Through the participants’

contributions the researcher drew inspiration to come up with the following narrative as

the creative synthesis.

Savior more than life to me.

You are the joy and air I breathe.

No other lover shall there be.

That makes my spirit shine.

Hold me close don’t let me go.

You are the only friend I ever known.

That is why I love you so.

You are more than life to me (Kirk Franklin).

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4.13 Participant’s perceptions on the call

Participants mentioned that a calling is an act of God ushering his people into service. One

way or the other all the methods God uses to call His people accomplish the desired

outcomes. The results publicized that there are different offices in Ministry and all the

offices are equally important. All the participants pointed to the fact that age in Ministry is

a non-issue, but they voiced out that it is important to be grow spiritually in order to handle

the Church. Spiritual growth as one of the prescriptions depicted in the Bible of how a

pastor should be is significant (1 Timothy 3:1-7). Participants agreed that God can call

anyone at any time regardless of their age and their educational qualifications. However it

becomes the prerogative of the one called to acquire Theological education. A secular

education can help to some extend especially in the governing aspects of things, but a

Theological education is necessary to understand the whole concepts of Gospel. The

paramount concept to be mastered always is that there is a huge difference from preaching

from a source of knowledge attained from Theology school and preaching from a well of

living waters that comes directory from God’s throne of grace (Joyner, 2017:7).

Studying in preparation for service

While there is a visible interest in studying Theology amongst the younger Ministers of the

Gospel there appeared to be less interest amongst the older Ministers. Some posit that when

you are called into Ministry God provides the direction through His Word. Participant C

provided examples of prominent scriptural legends in Ministry who never attended any
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formal seminary but excelled in Ministry. The younger generation believed that an

education helps one to polish his Ministry particularly because there is an increase number

of educated members of the Church who critically analyze the Ministry, the Word and more

particularly the way the Church is governed. Governing the latter Church requires some

Church management knowledge in other to stay attuned to the exaggeratedly changing

world. According to Archer (2021) studying biblical theology helps to interpret scripture

with an eye towards liberal relation and the relating plan of redemptive history. He attest

that biblical theology demonstrate the unity of the Bible, refocuses believers attention on

God as the subject of scripture, provides a better interpretive method and creates categories

for understanding. Studying theology is an instrument for empowerment to help in

witnessing and mission work in the evolving world. It also helps in building up and

releasing gifts within you. Additionally studying stretches ones level of thinking and

understanding. (Stirling College, 2020). A calling to a large extend incites theological

questions making the one called to search for biblical solutions in order to be a good

shepherd of the sheep. Primarily such biblical concepts are found in scripture which lays

the foundations for theology. Therefore the importance of continuous learning nourishes

the leader making him present profound biblical solutions (Badal, 2016)

False Prophets

There appears to be false Prophets who are teaching a different Gospel or utilizing

unbiblical methodologies to win people into their Churches. According to the participants

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such false Prophets solicit their powers from other gods rather than from the true God.

Based on the aggregate rate of unemployment and hunger in the country some people find

themselves drawn into these Churches which promises instant miracles and riches.

Although they use the Bible, they tend to bring their twist to the Word to meet their egotism

behavior and thus misguiding the people of God. Participants further suggested that the

false Prophets promote their scientific and inflated rationalization into the Word of God

and further propel the people’s problems rather than presenting lasting solutions. However

there appears to be no concrete data to give clear statistics in line with the percentage of

false Prophets. Adjer says that there has always been intruders into the Gospel Ministry

originating ever since Jesus Christ commissioned His apostles. Such intruders claim a

calling which they never received. Such intruders are prevalent even today and there will

be such till the end of the world. However in all of this intrusion Adjer attest that God has

His true ministers whom He calls into service (Adjer, 2003:1).

Wining souls

Most of the participants emphasized the importance of winning souls to Christ in the

Gospel. They indicated that the main reason why God called them was to preach the Gospel

especially to the lost so that they may inherit the Kingdom of heaven if they accept Christ

as their Lord and Saviour. Their assertion is line with Heward-Mills (2008)’s position in

light of winning souls. Heward-Mills pointed out that the soul winning was the crucial

element of bringing the unsaved people to Christ. This could be achieved through

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evangelism, Christian literature, crusades, through Gospel music and missionary work.

There are many ways that can be employed to win souls. He highlighted the historic

methodologies of accomplishing such a mission. He posited that one of the olden methods

was winning souls through sacrificing the lives of missionaries who gave themselves for

the salvation of the entire nations and tribes (Heward-Mills, 2008). Preaching the Word of

God on a continuous basis is important in the present world. The reason for this is not

because of the intellectual self-interest but for the sake of the people themselves especially,

the unsaved, the poor and the marginalized. While our focus should be primarily on God,

but also the neighbor should not be forgotten. This is one of the purpose of the Gospel to

bring justice and peace in the world (Hark, 2018).

4.14 Self-reflection

On assessing the themes that emerged it became evident that journeys that lead to Ministry

diverge immensely. The researcher realized that his own journey although closely similar

to some participants journeys, but was unique. Just as the participants experiences were

unique, the call of the Lord cannot be fully comprehended. He has His unique ways of

calling His people of which no way is better to the next. A calling is a calling and the

purpose of every Ministry calling is to firstly served God and also lead shepherd His people.

The researcher learned that for some ministers the call is straight forward. God uses dreams

to clearly direct them to the purpose at hand. For the researcher the journey started with

rough expositions which only led to the revelation later on in the process. His experiences

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resonated with some of the participants experiences. The journaling of the researcher’s own

experience yielded huge results in creating a lens which was critical in understanding and

analyzing the experiences of the participants. The researcher realized that using reflective

writing as a forum to make sense of competing conjectural viewpoints was beneficial.

Analysing these heuristically was an eye opener for the researcher. As noted by O’Connor

(2015) through reflection and allowing tacit knowledge to occur, it was possible for self-

evident truth to emerge one from which all integrative understandings could be joined.

4.15 Conclusion

This chapter presented the results of the analysis of the call of the Lord into Ministry and

His provision. Recorded conversations obtained from seven participants were transcribed

and analyzed using the heuristic method. The results revealed that God uses different ways

to call people into Ministry and he calls both men and women alike. Age appeared to be

not a factor God considers much when calling his people. The results revealed that the

calling often times begin with a strong desire to serve God in Ministry, but sometimes the

call can happened without the expectation of the one called. According to the results the

calling could be through a dream, through God speaking to other pastor or Prophet to ordain

another minister, through hearing God’s voice, through His Word, and through a strong

desire to preach the Gospel. Whatever methodology the Lord uses to call His people, there

must be some confirmation of the call either through another pastor or other members of

the Church as suggested by the results.

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Connecting with God through accepting Jesus Christ as the personal Saviour was viewed

as the primary element that opens up a door for calling into Ministry. This connection leads

to discovering one’s purpose in life and it requires the dying to self and acknowledge the

supremacy of God in one’s life. Dying to self was viewed as a critical factor in attracting

favour and God’s power which establishes confidence in Ministry. Furthermore the results

showed that for sustenance of the call, there has to be total reliance on God and continuous

obedience to his Word. Overall conclusions of the results are included in chapter 5.

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 CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Introduction

The aim of this study was to analyze the occurrence and provision of the call of the Lord

to Ministers of the Gospel. The objectives of the study outlined in chapter 1 were to

examine the meaning of spiritual calling. The second objective was to ascertain the

perceptions of the calling of the Lord. The third objective was to view God’s provision for

sustaining the call. The last objective was to explore the various methodologies the Lord

uses to call His people into Ministry.

5.2 Summary

To accomplish the objectives of the study a literature review was conducted which

addressed the elements of the objectives of the study. The literature review focused on

detailing of what the calling of the Lord entails. It also touched on the ecclesiastical call of

the Lord, its benefits and also consequences of rejecting it. Finally the literature review

elaborated on God’s provision for the sustenance the call. The study was done in Mbabane

the capital city of Eswatini where seven participants were identified and interviewed. Their

conversations were recorded using an audio recorder. The participants were interviewed

on different days and different locations. The time locations were scheduled as per each

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participant’s convenience. Each participant was asked to sign a consent form after

explaining the purpose of the study. By signing the consent form, it meant agreeing to

participate. Both English and Siswati were used during the conversations depending on

what language the participants preferred to use. The heuristic methodology was used to

analyse the data and four themes emerged which were discussed in the results section of

this study.

5.3 Results summary

When transcribing and analyzing the data, four themes emerged as earlier indicated. The

first theme reflected on the importance of connecting to God. Overall participants felt it

was important to accept Jesus Christ as the only Savior who washes away the sins of the

world. When Christ is accepted as the Lord and the liberator of sins, transformation is

received which consequently paves a way for a calling. Participants further surmised that

connecting with God helps believers identify their purpose in life. The second theme

largely dealt with sensing the call and accepting it. This was viewed as essential in that

believer’s life. It was further concluded that it is crucial to hear from God as a believer so

as to be able to sense spiritual gifts and be receptive. This helps to avoid rejecting the call

of God which can lead to disastrous consequences. Several methodologies of calling were

also highlighted in this theme. The third theme explored the benefits and God’s provision

for the ones called into preaching Ministry. Participants suggested that the primary element

was to accept the call and live according to God’s instructions. God in return provides all

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that is needed for the sustenance of the calling. The last theme addressed ways of

overcoming opposition. All participants highlighted that there is sufficient grace to

overcome challenges and such challenges should not deter the minister of the Gospel.

Rather challenges must compel the minister to trust God even more.

5.4 Conclusion

Ministry is without a doubt God’s special gift to His bride which is the Church. This gift

is given for the edification of the Church and guidance. He chooses the one he deems fit

for the service. Ministers of all ages are God’s ambassadors and He gives them power and

equips them for the work. In the Book of 2 Corinthians the Apostles were set in various

places and instructed on how to fulfil their Ministry. The Lord is always making a portrait

of the faithful and true ministers of the Gospel (Adjer, 2003). This study does not claim to

have exhausted all the approaches exerted by the Lord to call His people into Ministry. In

fact the full understanding of the call of the Lord is beyond the scope of this research.

Different approaches were identified as revealed by the literature review and the results.

The first calling observed was the Damascus call which is largely linked with God’s voice

speaking to the person who is summoned. It is also principally associated to visions. In

Acts 9, Saul saw a flash of light from heaven which blinded him, tossing him to the ground.

He was immensely surprised and in the midst of what was transpiring, he clearly heard the

voice of Jesus speaking to Him (Acts 9:3-7). Thurston (2020) refers to the call of Saul as

the Damascus call. Participant G in this study received his call almost in a similar manner

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as Saul. Although there were no flash lights or angels appearing, but he clearly heard the

voice of the Lord talking directory to him.

The second call was the set-apart call which happens through God speaking through other

people. In the set apart call God gives a message to another man of God directing him to

anoint His servant. Participant C received a similar call to the set-apart where his Pastor

told him God wanted him to be a Prophet and had instructed that he be ordained. His Pastor

ordained him and instantly participant C mentioned that his spiritual eyes were opened and

he received supernatural strength. Maines (2022) states that one pattern the Lord uses is

calling and setting apart of worthy members to labour in the Church. Those who hold

divinely given authority issue a call to God’s people on His behalf. This advocates that

God assigns the matured ones in the spirit to ordain others whom the Lord choses. This is

parallel to when God sent Samuel to anoint David as king. This kind of call is not known

or expected by the one chosen. It often times becomes known when the Lord sends the

elder to ordain the chosen vessel (1 Samuel 16:12-13).

The progressive call of the Lord was also observed in this study. This call involves a

gradual sequence of events across the life of a believer until it finally registers that full time

Ministry is what the Lord desires for that believer. It mostly involves a great passion about

loving people and also sharing the Word of God to them (Thurston, 2020). For participant

E in this study, it became evident that her call was a progressive one as she grew gradually
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in her spiritual life mostly because of mentoring from her husband who is a Pastor. They

both spent a lot of time in prayer, reading the Word of God and being involved in other

Church matters. It was during that journey that she sensed a strong desire to serve the

people of God. Her calling was confirmed by her husband who sensed it before she did.

Several other elders and Minsters also confirmed her called into Ministry. The call through

dreams was also witnessed in this study. Two participants notably revealed that their

calling happened through having dreams. The Lord directed them through dreams of what

was to happen in their Ministry (Numbers 12:6). The still small voice is also another

approach God uses. Participant E mentioned that she felt a strong desire and a still small

voice deep within herself and thus she felt led to serve as a Pastor. There is consensus that

God’s voice should be listened to among Christians. One of the ways the voice of the Lord

can be heard is through reading His Word, meditation, fasting and through prayer

(Wooldridge, 2008). Lastly is the direct call which was administered by Jesus Christ to the

apostles while He was still on earth. The transference of the Spirit was additionally

observed. This happens when the spirit in another man is transferred to another. In the

annals of 1 Kings Elijah threw his cloak around Elisha. Instantly Elisha felt the need to

follow Elijah and be his servant. He slaughtered his oxen and burnt the plowing equipment.

The power that he felt through the transference of the Spirit was so strong that he chose to

live the familiar and discard everything to follow Elijah (1 Kings 19:19). The Lord directs

the Prophet to anoint the servant before the transference occurs. God had earlier instructed

Elijah to go and anoint Elisha to succeed him as a Prophet. So when Elijah put the cloak

on Elisha the transference occurred because this was mandated by God (1Kings 19:16).

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5.4.1 Connecting with God and finding your purpose in life.

Participants in this study were attuned to the importance of believing in Christ’s death on

the cross which leads to connecting with God. Jesus death on the cross was the evidence

of the believer’s justification, the cause of sanctification and the pledge of glorification.

His crucifixion was the very hope of eternal and absolute victory that eventually led to

triumph over death. His death led to assurance, communion and eternal life for believers

(Gray, 2019). According to Wilkin, (2020) Jesus satisfied God’s righteous judgment

against sin by dying on the cross. His blood removed the sin barrier between man and God.

Participants believed that the foundation of the call of the Lord is connecting with Jesus

who redeemed His people through giving his life to death. Scripture is so clear, and it

reveals that in order to have internal life, believing in Jesus Christ is vital (John 3:36). This

study concludes and supports that connecting with God through salvation brought about by

Jesus Christ is essential in a believer’s life. It sets up a platform for the preaching Ministry.

God uses people who believe in Him to spread His Gospel to all nations. Jesus told his

disciples that all power had been laid upon Him. All authority in heaven and on earth was

given unto Him. He therefore instructed His disciples to go and make followers of all

nations, baptizing them in name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-

19 NIV).

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Connecting with God and finding the purpose for one’s life brings peace and absolute

reliance on God. According to Jakes (2012) God allows His people to go through the

wilderness to reveal their purpose in life. When He puts a believer through the wilderness

it becomes difficult in the believer’s own strength to survive. He places the believer through

the wilderness to train and reveal His strength. Often times the called would one way or

the other go through the wilderness at some point in their Ministry. David received strength

while in the wilderness taking care of his father’s sheep. Through such strength, he was

able to subdue a lion and a bear. The victories he attained in the wilderness strengthened

his belief in God and his faith was increased. This was the reason why he was never

intimidated by Goliath. Although Goliath appeared as a giant and many feared him, David

knew that physical strength is nothing to God. The power that comes from God supersedes

any physical strength and physical efforts. When God takes a believer through the

wilderness, often times is so that he may get the individual’s undivided attention.

The battle one deals with in the wilderness is one between the old and the new self. God

allows saints or the called to go through the wilderness to kill the old self. It is the

individual’s prerogative to allow the old self to die and open room for the new self. In the

process of letting the old self die, one discovers his purpose in life. The wilderness is a

training ground for the called. It teaches them to rely on God entirely (Jakes, 2012). The

saints are new creations in Christ and should thrive to depend on God so that their purpose

is revealed. Most of the participants in this study revealed that they strongly believed in

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God before they were called into Ministry. Their dependence on Him one way or another

allowed God to reveal Himself to them.

5.4.2 Importance of perceiving or discernment of the call.

A lack of inner sensing of the things of God has danger and may result in one missing the

call. A spirit that is accustomed to the Holy Spirit is necessary in the Gospel. The Holy

Spirit lives in the believers and Jesus assured His apostles that He was not living them

alone, but with the Holy Spirit who is the Helper (John 14:16-30). Consequently, the Holy

Spirit is essential in the Body of Christ because He guides the believers into the truth of

Jesus Christ (John 16:13-14). His role is critical also in directing the believers’ steps into

the plentiful life that Jesus promised and also gives spiritual gifts to the Body of Christ.

The Church functions best through these gifts and is able to proclaim the power of Jesus to

people who are lost. Apart from ministering to the lost the Holy Spirit guarantees believers’

hope of heaven (Berg, 2022). When believers are filled with the Holy Spirit it becomes

easy to sense the call of the Lord in their lives.

This study revealed that the methods used to call believers into Ministry vary and the Lord

uses any method appropriate to Him to choose anybody He so wishes. The salient action

that remains is for the believers to accept the call to avoid the consequences of rejecting it.

The key aspects of the call is that one cannot be talked into it and similarly cannot be talked

out of it. It is one phenomenon that cannot be calculated how and when it is going to

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happen. It requires that one surrenders all selfish agendas and focus on God fully. There is

bound to be resistance to the call in different ways and there should be Godly advisors

confirming it (Schmidt, 2016).

5.4.3 Provision for the call.

Provision in Ministry is guaranteed if a believer is called by the Lord. He can never assign

His sheep on a journey that will put them into the woods then live them to find solutions

on their own. Isaiah says ‘When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when

you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze’ (Isaiah 43:2-3). It means He

provides absolute protection for His people. Participants attested to that effect,

acknowledging His continuous provision in Ministry. The Lord provides for His people

because he called them His witnesses and servants of whom He chose for the work. There

is therefore no deity that was formed or shall there be any like the Supreme God who is the

exquisite creator of all things (Isaiah 43:10). All the participants agreed that God provided

for them in numerous ways while in Ministry.

5.4.4 Overcoming challenges

Challenges were viewed by participants as rife in Ministry. Some of the challenges

encountered should be dealt with physically, some biblically and some through prayer. For

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participant E the patriarchal society makes it difficult for her to function fully a Minster of

the Gospel. Being a woman presents numerous challenges of which she mostly prays to

overcome. Additionally this participant tries to go with her husband when invited to

minister in other Churches. Participant F mentioned that he deals with a lot disputes

between congregates. This requires for him to be knowledgeable in scripture and be full of

wisdom to be able to carefully handle such disputes and unite people who are in

loggerheads. According to Badal (2016) God calls His people to usher His people into

peace of mind through speaking the truth in dark times. There comes a time when the

Ministers and the sheep that they are leading shall face challenges. It is especially during

these trying times when the truth of the Gospel should not be compromised (Isaiah 6:1-8).

God promised to be with His people always. When engulfed with challenges, it always

essential to reflect on his promises which are yes and amen.

Reflection on the participants who withdrew from participating

There is no doubt that the subject of this study can be very sensitive and personal for some

people. The call of the Lord happens in various respects as demonstrated in this study and

thus can be very personal, compelling some to fear sharing their encounter with the Lord.

It could arguably because of the command they received when the call was initiated.

Divulging information before God clearly grants the go ahead could cause serious

problems. In the Book of Luke Jesus healed a man who had leprosy. When the man saw

Jesus, he fell on the ground begging Him for healing. Jesus reached out His hand and

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touched the man and instantly the man was healed. After this encounter, Jesus instructed

the man not to tell anyone about his encounter, but ordered him to go to the priest to offer

sacrifices for the cleansing (Luke 5:12-16). Informing people about God’s call in your is

less important than leaving a life pleasing to him. The calling is revealed as the people see

the power of God in the person and the life lived. Authentic calling requires an outward,

discernible work of faith and genuine Godly affections with inner heart discipline (Thomas,

2014). The other reason could have the lack of fully comprehending the purpose of the

study. Although thorough disclosure of the purpose of the study was discussed, some

participants may have felt skeptical to believe the purpose of the study.

5.5 Recommendations

There are many elements of understanding the call of the Lord which were not included in

this research. The call of the Lord is a mysterious thing which no one can fully comprehend.

Often times the call of the Lord is experienced by the individual concerned. Thereby no

one can fully negate a call. For any call, the study recommends that the Church should

pray for the called and the called should also pray for clear direction from God in their

Ministry. Pastors should not rely on their own efforts in Ministry, but put all their cares

unto the Lord. Through prayer, the Lord shall confirm his people into Ministry. It is not

the responsibility of the pastor to convince people about his/her calling, but God himself

will convince the people as the leader put his trust in Him. There is a need for further

research into this subject presenting different qualitative aspect of the call of the Lord into

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Ministry. Studies could also be expanded to cover a broader coverage of the country to

gain different perspectives. This study mainly focused on Christianity. There could be a

need to also study other religions to get their perspectives on the subject and on how they

confirm leaders into office in their different religions.

This study also recommends that pastors go through training at seminary. This will help

them to expand their knowledge of God. In order to mentor other ministers, the coach must

be first coached himself. The bible says study to make thyself approved of God. Any man

who resist learning brings questions on the kind of call they received. Studying reveal how

serious the minister view the call of God upon his or her life. Additionally, we live in world

which is ever changing and the number of graduates in different fields has greatly increased

over the years. More and more people are attaining their doctorate degrees. In order for the

minister who is called to be relevant, must be trained. That does not mean that the message

has to change. But the delivery mechanism would always be modified one way or another.

With the increase in technology, we see an increase in sermons on social media and other

platforms. The new generation is a generation which enjoys being online through their

smartphones. The ministers have to reach the millennials where they are without altering

the original message of Jesus Christ and the dogma. Additionally, the called ministers need

skills to interpret the Bible and defend the gospel. Ultimately, it is essential to study.

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 Appendix A

SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

Thank you so much for agreeing to participate in this research study. I must mention that

this interview will be recorded so that everything you say is captured and in that way I can

have your full attention. I might take some few notes there and there. But your real name

and the Church you fellowship in are not essential for this data capturing section.

Everything we discuss in this interview is between you and me and I will not mention

anything to your Church. All information is confidential. The purpose of this research is

to get your experience in line with your call into Ministry and your perspective on what

spiritual calling entails.

Kindly note that there are no wrong or right answers in this interview. All I am interested

in is getting your views and your experience in the subject matter.

Do you perhaps have any question before we commence with the interview?

[Interview commences]

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Demographics

1. What religion to you belong to?

2. How old are you?

3. Are you a pastor in your Church?

4. What is your office in Ministry?

5. How long have you been in Ministry?

6. Are you married?

Your understand of calling

1. What do you thing calling entails in Christianity perspective?

2. What is your perception with regards to God’s call? Do you think everyone who

is a pastor is called or not?

The calling experience and governance

1. Kindly narrate to us how you experience the call into Ministry.

2. What challenges have you experienced in Ministerial office?

3. What kind of provision have you received from God while in Ministry?

4. Do you think Theology is important for a Minister of the Gospel?

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The Church?

1. Are people receptive to your Ministry? If not why do you think that is?

2. Do you think the Christian Church is using the right methodology when it comes

to ordaining pastors?

3. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Thank you so much once again for your time. May the Lord richly bless you and your

family?

THE END

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 Appendix B

LIFE CHANGING BIBLE AND MINISTRY UNIVERSITY

LCBMU

Certified member of Association of Independent Christian Colleges and Seminaries

lcbmu2020@gmail.com/ eswatinicla@christianleaders.net +268 7632 9813/+268

3402 3568

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

The aforementioned free Bible and Ministry 100% online institution hereby confirms that

Mandla Khumalo is conducting a Thesis study as a requirement for the fulfilment of a

Doctor of Philosophy in Divinity degree.

We kindly request you to assist him to solicit the data required for this Thesis study to be

a successful project. We also want to allude that this study is only for the fulfilment of the

Doctor of Philosophy degree as well as to help provide information that will improve

Christian Ministry in the area the study is focusing on. Lastly, we confirm that all

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respondents to this study will be treated with a highest degree of confidentiality, for

example names of respondents will not be required or recorded on questionnaires.

Bishop Dr. TP Phakathi

LCBMU President, CLI (SD) Mentor Centre Director, BCU Affiliate, Member of

ACE

lcbmu2020@gmail.com or +268 7632 9813

© 2021 LCBMU free none accredited & correspondence Bible, Ministry & Evangelism

University. Follow & like LCBMU @ lcbmu YouTube channel and facebook.com/life-

changing-Bible-and Ministry-university.

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 Appendix C

INFORMED CONSENT FORM

Analysis of the Divine Transition: The Call of the Lord and Provision: A Heuristic Study.

Researcher: Mandla Khumalo

Email: khumalomandla906@gmail.com

Alternative email: mandlamzilikazi@yahoo.com

INTRODUCTION

You are invited to take part in a research study being conducted by Mandla Khumalo, a

Student at Life Changing Bible and Ministry University. Mandla Khumalo is an

experienced researcher with a Master’s degree in Divinity studies.

You are being asked if you want to take part in this study because you indicated that you

consider yourself to possess a calling from God and are currently serving as a minister of

the Gospel. Please read this form and ask any questions that will help you decide if you

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want to be in the study. Taking part is completely voluntary and even if you decide you

want to, you can quit at any time.

PURPOSE

The purpose of the study is to understand the calling of the Lord and His provision in

Ministry in the lives of the study’s participants. The primary research question guiding

the study is how does the call of the Lord happen and how does he provide for those

whom he call?

PROCEDURES

The total amount of time you will spend in this study is about an hour (60 minutes).

RISKS & CONFIDENTIALITY

1. You may feel some emotional stress/discomfort answering the interview

questions. You are free to skip any questions or stop the interview at any point.

2. To ensure confidentiality, the following steps are being taken to reduce

this risk data files will be maintained on devices with passwords only known to

the researchers.

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 3. The records of this study will be kept private. In any published articles or

presentations, we will not include any information that will make it possible to

identify you as a subject.

4. It won’t be necessary to mention your name or the name of the Church you

attend or pastoring.

BENEFITS

Taking part in this research will not help you directly; however, the benefit to society will

be a better understanding of the participants’ experiences in receiving the call of the

Lord.

COMPENSATION

You will not receive compensation for taking part in this study.

DOCUMENTATION OF CONSENT

If you agree to take part in this study, please sign below:

Name (Print) _________________________

Signature_____________________________

Date ________________________________

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