How To Prepare Spiritually For Ordination Exams -- By: Ryan M. McGraw
Journal: Puritan Reformed Journal
Volume: PRJ 05:1 (Jan 2013)
Article: How To Prepare Spiritually For Ordination Exams
Author: Ryan M. McGraw
PRJ 5:1 (January 2013) p. 222
How To Prepare Spiritually For Ordination Exams
Taking a ministerial licensure or ordination exam must be an act of piety.1 Acknowledging this is the best means of approaching the exam without fearing the men who examine you. In many respects, preparing for licensure and ordination can be one of the best means to prepare for the pastorate; if we would be bondservants of Jesus Christ, then we must not seek to please men (Gal. 1:10). Being examined for the ministry is the first act among many in the ministry where a man must wrestle between speaking his conscience as it is informed by the Word of God, and seeking to tell others what he thinks they desire to hear. How you approach your exams will often indicate how you will approach your ministry. You must prayerfully seek to conduct yourself in your exam in a manner that is worthy of the office that you are pursuing. This means that you must be prepared to confess your faith in Christ and your desire to obey Him with humility, submission, and sincerity, yet with boldness.
A ministerial examination is, above all, a test of the heart. Your examiners can discern what you present to them outwardly, but you alone can search your heart and pursue your exam as an act of worship to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In all of your preparations for the ministry, be sure to keep your heart diligently, for from it flow the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). By the blessing of the triune God, the following considerations will help you to approach your examination as an act of piety.
PRJ 5:1 (January 2013) p. 223
Regard Your Examination As A Public Testimony To The Lord Jesus Christ And The Truths Of His Word.
Through it, you must confess with your mouth what you believe in your heart (Rom. 10:9). This should make your exam an act of worship. If you confess Him before men, then He will confess you before His Father in heaven, but if you deny Him before men, then He will deny you before His Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32-33). If you are confident that Christ is pleased with your answers, then what else truly matters?
Approach Your Exam In Prayer And Faith.
Philippians 4:6-7 asserts, “Be careful for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” There have been times in my ministry w...
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