God Wants To Lead You to a Specific Ministry by the Time You Are 30

The thirtieth year seems to be a very significant time in people’s lives – both in the Old and New Testaments.

Joseph was 30 when he became ruler in Egypt.

David was 30 when he became king.

Ezekiel was 30 when he began his ministry. Ezekiel must have submitted to Jeremiah, in his younger days. He must have listened to Jeremiah’s prophecies and studied them as a youth. God Who saw the faithfulness of this young man, decided that Ezekiel would be a prophet and not a priest.

Jesus was 30 when He began His earthly ministry, and the Father spoke these words about Him publicly from heaven, "This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well-pleased." (Mt. 3:17).

Most of the apostles were around 30 when they began their ministry.

Even today, it is probably around that age that God wants to begin to lead his children into the specific ministry that He has for them. But prior to that date, God has to spend many years in preparing us for that specific ministry.

If you surrender to God totally and allow Him to prepare you during your teens and twenties, then you can be ready by the time you are 30 (or 35), for that specific ministry that God has planned for you.

But a lot of young people are impatient and unwilling to wait. I am not saying that you cannot go out and serve God before you are 30 years old. You can start serving God even when you are 16. But in your early years, God has to keep you under authority in order to guide you and protect you. But many young people chafe under such submission to authority and, as a result, are never broken and prepared for the ministry that God has planned for them.

Even Jesus needed that training to submit to Joseph and Mary for 30 years before He entered into His ministry; how much more we?

Pride Can Make an Angel into a Devil

It is written concerning Satan, "How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning (that was his name - the shining one), O son of the dawn" (Isa.14:12)

As the head of the angels, Lucifer was in God's presence constantly. Why did he fall away? The reason is given in the next two verses (Isa.14:13,14) "Because you said in your heart `I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God....I will be like the Most High'.... Nevertheless you will be cast down into hell."

Lucifer was more gifted, more beautiful and had more supernatural abilities than all the other angels. He led the angels in the worship of God - until pride entered his heart. He then began to think, "Only One Person is above me, and that is God Himself. I will rule over Him as well."

That was really a stupid thought that came into his heart. How could he ever ascend above his Creator? But that is how Satan is - quite foolish in many of the things he does and thinks, even though he is so clever!! Many clever people in the world too do a lot of utterly foolish things, spiritually speaking. The more we study about Satan, the more we will see how stupid he is in many of the things he does. Satan was not happy to be where God had placed him. He wanted to ascend to the place where everyone would worship him! He did not say so. He just began to have such thoughts in his heart. We read that in verse 13. But God looks at our hearts, and he looked at Lucifer's heart, and saw what he was aiming at.

It did not take many years for the highest archangel to become the devil. No. Only a moment. He did not fall gradually, step-by-step. No. He came down like lightning, as Jesus said - in a moment (Lk.10:18). One moment, he was the shining one. As soon as he began nourishing the thought of becoming like God, immediately he became the devil.

How long does it take for an angel to become a devil? Not even one second. Just a moment. How long does it take for a really good person to become like the devil? Just a moment. That's all. Remember that.