THE PURSUIT: WHAT IT MEANS TO BE CALLED BY GOD
Matthew 10 Series
INTRO: 911 CALLS.
I was browsing through the web, and found an interesting list. Because this message is about the pursuit of God towards us, his calling, I looked up some pretty silly calls. And I came upon a list of Top Ten Silly 911 Calls. Here is the list:
A 17 year old called 911 to see if he could disown his Mom for not giving him money.
A man called 911 on a mysterious rolled up carpet he found on his lawn, until he found out his wife put it there.
A woman called 911 after a nightclub refused to admit her, turns out she had forgotten her ID.
A man called 911 for his friend, but the operator heard two guys talking about the removal of their drugs.
A man called 911 when he saw a small lion cross over his yard, ended up being a cat.
A woman called 911 because she wanted to sleep on the other end of her sofa but her BF wouldn’t budge.
A man told 911 that someone had just stolen his car. When the cops found it in his driveway…he said the thieves brought it back.
Police responded to another 911 call when a couple fought over to play the XBOX or the WII.
A woman called 911 after her cat ate her Whopper. She said she wanted another.
A woman called 911 because the snowplow was clearing her street with too much noise.
TRANSITION: Now, I hope we can all agree that these calls are not just silly, they are downright criminal But tonight we want to discus the most important calling of them all—the call from God.
BIBLE VERSE: Mathew 10:1-4
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
DO YOU KNOW THE 12 DISCIPLES?
Quick question, does anyone have it memorized (no, having the 12 disciples memorized does not make you any more of a believer than anyone else). But there are certain things like the John 3:16 and the Ten Commandments that just should be learned (do you know the Ten Commandments?).
THE TOM PAPEZ MEMORIZATION METHOD: Okay, about 15 years ago I set out to memorize the 12 disciples. In so doing, I came up with a pneumonic system. Technically, this is really dumb, but this is how I memorized it so now I’ll give it to you.
JeTS BAMP
What?
Well, the J stands for James, John, James & Judas.
The T means Thomas & Thadeus.
The S means Simon & Simon Peter.
The other letters have only one name each.
B is for Bartholomew.
A is for Andrew.
M is for Matthew.
P is for Phillip.
And the sound BAMP BAMP BAMP BAMP mimics the engine of a jet. OK, I know its dumb, but it works.
MEMORIZE IT TO THE SONG JESUS LOVES ME
Learn a song with the names of the apostles if a rhyme with no melody isn't enough. One song puts the disciples' names to the tune of "Jesus Loves Me:"
Jesus called them, one by one,
Peter, Andrew, James and John,
Next came Phillip, Thomas too,
Matthew and Bartholomew.
Yes, Jesus called them,
Yes, Jesus called them,
Yes, Jesus called them,
He called them one by one.
James, the one they called the less,
Simon, also Thaddaeus,
Twelfth apostle Judas made,
Jesus was by him betrayed.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE CALLED?
Technically, there are 2 calls, an external call and an internal call.
THE EXTERNAL CALL is made up of the presentation of the gospel (Acts 2:22-36), an invitation to repent (Acts 2:37-38), & the promise of forgiveness and salvation (Acts 2:38-39). Note, that this call is extended to ALL because in the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 when the scriptures states for us to make disciples of ALL THE NATIONS.
WHAT’S SAD ABOUT THE EXTERNAL CALL?
(Leaders, I am not expecting the youth to have an answer here, but they may be able to come up with it). The sad thing about the external call is that it can be resisted and it generally is. Jesus calls everyone, but only a few respond. So yeah, it’s sad that more people don’t sing out “yes Lord, yes Lord, yes Lord, yes.”
SO WHAT IS THE INTERNAL CALL?
The internal call is ultimately the external call being answered internally by the Holy Spirit. The difference is that when God calls internally, as described by 1 Corinthians 1:23-24, that everyone accepts. To those who have NOT been called internally, this is where Jesus is referred to as the stumbling block. Technically, the internal call is not just for salvation, but there’s also a call to holiness, to liberty, to peace, to a whole host of things.
WHAT ABOUT THE CALL TO MINISTRY?
Okay, for years we have heard that ministers are called. Okay, we believe that, but how do we know that. The calling of one into ministry, like the 12 disciples of Jesus, comes from 1 Timothy 3:1
BIBLE VERSE: 1 Timothy 3:1
This is a faithful saying; If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work.
*I do need to note though, that just cause a person says they are called to be a minister, it does not mean that they necessarily are called. After a person says they have been called, that person typically needs to be confirmed by other believers. There are some checks on that in the scriptures.
*On the other hand, technically, everyone who answers the internal call, which is everyone who is truly a believer, has been called and has already answered it.
CLOSE: So, in closing which one are you? Are you the kind of person to answer God’s call…or like the man in an earlier 911 call, are you too lazy to get off the couch?
Sources:
Canadian Press. Top 10 Silly 911 Calls: Hamburger Eating Cat, Sofa Disputes, Club Entry Denied, The Huffington Post Canada, first posted 12/29/11, 10:37 A.M. ET.
Cornford, Paul. What it Means to be Called. North Pine Presbyterian Church, 2007.
How to Remember the 12 Apostles | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_8141557_remember-12-apostles.html#ixzz2M9lmpaYp