The Call to Ministry: Insights from the Front Lines
**This podcast is taken from our Global Video Report: EMPOWER CONNECT March 2024 Edition**
When God Calls
Scripture: Isaiah 6
JOY:
Welcome to The Unshakable Church, the podcast series that unpacks spiritual truths and lessons learned from over 30 years of working alongside national church planters in spiritual hotspots around the world.
RON:
Hello friends.
Today, I want to take you to Isaiah chapter 6.
This is Isaiah’s call into ministry, and it is one of the most important passages in all of Scripture when it comes to understanding how God calls people.
A Question I’m Always Asked
Wherever I go, I’m asked the same question:
What is the common characteristic of national believers?
What happens in their lives when they are called into ministry?
What does God do in them?
And I’ve noticed something.
It doesn’t matter what country they come from or what background they have.
When God moves in a person’s life, there are certain things that are always present.
A Defining Encounter
I want to share an experience that deeply influenced my understanding of this.
Years ago, I was in Texas teaching at Last Days Ministries, and I had the opportunity to meet Leonard Ravenhill.
He was a well-known evangelist, deeply connected to revival movements, especially in the UK.
When I arrived, his wife Martha greeted me and brought me inside.
Leonard was waiting.
He asked me to sit down and tell him what I was seeing around the world.
A Conversation About Revival
We talked for about three hours.
At first, I was a bit nervous.
But as I began sharing story after story from different countries, I became more confident.
And then Leonard became excited.
He leaned forward and said,
“That’s the way it was in the Welsh revival. That’s the way it was in the Hebrides revival.”
We went back and forth like that for quite some time.
At one point, Martha, who had been quietly knitting, said,
“Leonard, sit back. You’re going to have another stroke.”
He would lean back… then slowly move forward again as we continued.
A Framework That Stuck
Then Leonard said something that has stayed with me ever since.
He said:
“I use Isaiah chapter 6 as the benchmark for a call into ministry.”
He broke it into three parts:
- Immensity
- Intensity
- Eternity
And he said that every true move of God reflects these three realities.
Immensity: Seeing God
In Isaiah 6:1 – 4, Isaiah sees the Lord high and lifted up.
He hears the cry:
“Holy, holy, holy.”
This is a vision of God’s greatness.
And when a person truly sees God for who He is, something happens.
Pride is broken.
Everything changes.
Intensity: Encountering God
In verses 5 – 7, Isaiah responds:
“Woe is me.”
He becomes aware of his own sin.
Then the coal touches his lips.
This is cleansing.
This is the work of the Spirit.
It is not just understanding.
It is encounter.
Eternity: Being Sent
Then in verses 8 – 13, God asks:
“Whom shall I send?”
And Isaiah responds:
“Here am I. Send me.”
This is the call.
Not just to go somewhere far away.
But to be available to God.
To be activated.
What This Produces
Leonard described this as seeing eternity through God’s eyes.
Understanding the eternal reality of people’s lives.
And once someone sees that, they cannot remain passive.
They cannot stay silent.
What I See Around the World
I have seen this in village pastors in India.
I have seen it in underground believers in China.
I have seen it in ordinary believers in country after country.
Once they have:
Seen God’s holiness,
Been touched by His presence,
Understood the weight of eternity—
Everything changes.
Not Just for a Few
This is not for a select group.
This is not for “super Christians.”
This is normal Christianity.
This is what happens when someone truly encounters God.
A Call to Respond
When God reveals Himself…
When He cleanses…
When He calls…
The only real response is:
“Here I am.”
A Final Word
Leonard was right.
This is not about denomination.
This is not about culture.
This is what happens when people meet God.
And when they do—
They cannot stay the same.
