![]() In Lloyd-Jones’ life, he experienced this growing concern for others. ![]() He is constrained to reach them with the saving message of the gospel. The one called to preach feels compelled to awaken them to their need for Christ. What is more, there is a concern that many of these lost souls are in the church. Lloyd-Jones wrote: “The true call always includes a concern about others, an interest in them, a realization of their lost estate and condition, and a desire to do something about them, and to tell them the message and point them to the way of salvation.” This love for others includes the distinct realization that countless people are perishing without Christ. As part of this divine choice, the Holy Spirit imparts a consuming desire for the spiritual welfare of others. God gives to the one chosen to preach an overwhelming compassion for the people. ![]() Third, Lloyd-Jones asserted the one called will experience a loving concern for others. They give insightful affirmation to the individual being called. Those who best know God and most love His Word often can detect who is being set apart for this work. In other words, observant people often recognize the hand of God upon that person before he senses it. When they hear this person speak the Word, perhaps in a class or Bible study, they are often the best discerners of the man who is called into the ministry. It could be the encouragement of another believer. It may be the feedback of a pastor or the affirmation of an elder. The input and counsel of other believers becomes influential to the one destined for the ministry. Second, Lloyd-Jones emphasized there will be an outside influence that will come to the one called. It almost becomes an obsession, and so overwhelming that in the end you say, “I can do nothing else, I cannot resist any longer.” But you reach the point when you cannot do so any longer. You do your utmost to push back and to rid yourself of this disturbance in your spirit which comes in these various ways. Lloyd-Jones recognizes this when he states: Such a strong force lays hold of the man that he is held captive. He explained that there becomes no way of escape. It will not go away nor leave a man to himself. It becomes an overwhelming obsession that cannot be discarded. This divine calling, Lloyd-Jones believed, grips the soul and governs the spirit. It is a holy preoccupation within the soul that causes the one called to step out in faith and embrace the work. He stated there must be “a consciousness within one’s own spirit, an awareness of a kind of pressure being brought to bear upon one’s spirit.” He identified this as an irresistible impulse, as “some disturbance in the realm of the spirit” that “your mind is directed to the whole question of preaching.” This inner coercion becomes “the most dominant force in their lives.” Lloyd-Jones explained, “This is something that happens to you, and God acting upon you by His Spirit, it is something you become aware of rather than what you do.” In other words, the drive to preach becomes a burden upon the heart that must be fulfilled. He believed the same spiritual forces should come to bear on all preachers.įirst, Lloyd-Jones affirmed there must be an inner compulsion within the one called to preach the Word. He himself had felt the gravity of each of these realities weighing heavily upon his own soul. What constitutes this call to preach? Lloyd-Jones identified six distinguishing marks of this divine summons to the pulpit. He realized he was not joining a volunteer army. You will never teach a man to be a preacher if he is not already one.” It was clearly the case in the life of Lloyd-Jones. “Preachers are born, not made,” Lloyd-Jones asserted. If you can stay out of the ministry, stay out of the ministry.” In other words, only those who believe they are chosen by God for the pulpit should proceed in undertaking this sacred task. Spurgeon: “If you can do anything else do it. ![]() Lloyd-Jones often quoted the famed British pastor Charles H. A God-called man, he believed, would rather die than live without preaching. To enter the pulpit, that necessity must be laid upon him. The ministry is not merely something an individual can do, but what he must do. If there is anything else a man can do other than preach, Martyn Lloyd-Jones maintained, he ought to do it.
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