The Thirteenth Epistle

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God's Persistent Call
Leads to the Ministry.

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DATELINE: Sunday, January 28, 2001.
By Rev. James R. Bingham

Special to corndancer.com
Posted from Memphis, Tennessee

Job 33:14-17

14. For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
15. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
16. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instructions,
17. That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

As I write this epistle, I am swayed to talk about aberrations, optical illusions, visions, and dreams. Yes, even the paranormal is worthy of inclusion in this letter.

I visited a friend of mine. I identify him as the Rev. Earl L. Terrell, Sr., pastor of Faithful Believers Church of Olive Branch, Mississippi. His association with the Body of Christ is noted as esteemed by laymen as well as clergy.

Terrell is a large statue of a man in his late forties. He stands over six feet tall. His head is graying in just the right areas to give him an air of sophistication. One's first impression is that he must have been a football player, maybe a tackler like a Mean Joe Green, but the impression is misleading. Ne'er a mean spirit comes from this person. He is the epitome of "…the meek shall inherit the earth." He is one of those special men, recognized as a minister whether he is dressed as a pauper or king.

God Prepares Us First,
Then Lets Us Know It's Time.

I visited Rev. Terrell in his office at The University of Tennessee Medical Building in Memphis. We talked about his past and how he had come into the ministry. I began to see the pattern he followed, a spiritual pattern that attests to God's ability to condition and groom us for certain works, then let us know that the time has arrived for us to get on with it.

Expecting a vivid description of great signs, visions, and wonders in the sky, I asked Rev. Terrell about his calling to the ministry. He said that when he first received the calling, he didn't really give in to it. He admits that even though he was certain that the spiritual message he heard was the clear call from God to enter into the ministry, he was skeptical and sought after a sign.

God provided one.

Rev. Terrell was driving home after a night of partying, two years before accepting God's command. He recalled having a bottle of beer in his hand and his girlfriend beside him. While driving, he heard a voice, which directed him to preach the Word of God. Rev. Terrell said he thought the message strange. Preaching, he admitted, was one of the farthest things from his mind.

He noted, wryly I think, that when he heard the voice, he thought he was going out of his mind.

People Would Approach Him
And Ask, 'Are You a Preacher?'

From that night onward, people began to approach him and ask, "Are you a preacher?" He recalled one Robert Steele, a custodian. Rev. Terrell explained that he felt offended by Mr. Steele's attitude toward him. The janitor asked him if he were a preacher. Rev. Terrell said he thought his questioner was delusional.

Others walked up to him and asked, "right out of the blue," if he were a preacher. One or the other would claim that they had to talk to him. They said they needed the counsel of a preacher.

Thrown off balance by such unexpected attention, but urged onward by the gentle pressure of God, Rev. Terrell confessed to his pastor, Rev. Joe Hayes, that he felt he had been called to the ministry. To preach and serve the Lord, he felt, was the right thing to do.

Rev. Hayes responded by telling Terrell that whenever he decided that he was ready, "really ready," he should come to church and speak. Rev. Terrell decided to do just that on a particular Sunday he thought was perfect in the eyes of God.

He waited for the pastor to call him up, but Rev. Hayes never did. The Sunday service drew to a close. Then, just when the disappointed seeker thought his moment had passed by, Rev. Hayes gave the new man of God a chance to address the congregation and announce his calling.

Rev. Terrell described the moment as miraculous. He said when he told the congregation that he felt he had been called to the ministry, they all broke out into tears and joyous shouting.

Not Quite Convinced,
He Asks God for another Sign!

Man can be a stubborn creature. Despite the events of that Sunday, Rev. Terrell was not quite convinced. He asked God to show him another sign. He asked for money. Immediately he was convicted by doubt, believing that his plea for money was the wrong thing to seek as a sign. Nevertheless, it was done and he was going to have to live with it.

To his surprise, during a drive home from a church service in Arlington, Tennessee, something hit the windshield of his Ford Pinto. He heard two quiet thumps, more like pecks. Something had lodged along the edge of his window, on the driver's side. It caught his eye.

It was a penny.

Rev. Terrell, quite nonchalantly, rolled his window down, still driving, and saw that the penny had landed flat on the edge of the rubber seal of his window. He grabbed it, but saw nothing special about the Lincoln-headed penny, dated 1971.

Soon after that, Rev. Terrell visited an old friend. He recalled the year of the visit, 1982. Again a penny showed up along the path. Rev. Terrell picked it up. It was a Lincoln-headed penny dated 1971.

Rev. Terrell would eventually marry the young lady who was in the car with him when he first heard the voice of God calling him to the ministry. He told me about how she had given him an ultimatum when they were dating: she would "save herself" until they were married and members of a church.

The Simple Act of Acceptance.

He related the momentous incident that took him to the end of his path to acceptance of God's calling. While at home with his future wife, taking a bath alone, he found himself literally paralyzed. He couldn't make himself rise from the tub. Lying there, he heard the voice again, this time telling him that he could teach the flock. Only then was he able to lift himself from the tub.

He told his future wife. She suggested that they should go to the church. They did. There he finally realized his calling by the simple act of accepting it.

Since that day, he said, he has never knowingly held another penny dated 1971.

These weren't the only signs sent by God to confirm Rev. Terrell's calling, but they are enough to illustrate the point I want to make. I ask you, did these occurrences happen because Rev. Terrell was attentive and looking for something to convince him of his destiny? Or did they represent an active intervention in his life by God? Were they successive parts of an ongoing vision, unfolding step-by-step, to help Rev. Terrell grow to a point of maturation and act on God's calling?

The well-known Biblical figure, Job, experienced extended periods of trial and tribulation. He agonized in his effort to discern the reason behind the soul wrenching and physically debilitating torture God sent to him. Scripture reminds us that the youngest of the men who spoke to Job reminded him of God's pattern of reaching the receptive heart. (See Job, Chapter 33.)

When He Speaks, Listen.
When He Commands, Act.

God speaks to us in visions and in dreams. He does so more than once. We oft times reject his commands because of our desire to conform to the ways and logic of this world.

What is the fallout from our refusal to obey? God just might stop speaking to one who refuses to act. He may withhold instructions and close one's ears, sending the doubter into a spiritual wilderness to wander aimlessly in search of self. This is true on varied levels of experience.

Is God trying to tell you something?

What is happening in your life that stands out from the ordinary?

Have you dreamed a dream, only to find that your dream is linked all too closely to your waking reality? What if you had reviewed the dream? Could certain events have been avoided?

Don't think your dream life is extraordinary. It is natural. How you interpret your dreams can be valuable to understanding the power of God in your life.

Consider this. A dream is much more than a movie, which is written, directed and produced. A movie is virtually a lie. A dream, however, has no script. It is not directed. There is no such thing as a dream being a lie. How many times have you said, "I had a dream, but it was not a dream. It was just a lie."

God speaks to us through the ether of the universe. Open your heart, mind, and soul to receive Him. The Word of God is no lie. It is the truth. Know the truth and the truth shall make you free.

Give God Some Praise!!!