Called - Who to a Do!
August 16, 2020
As followers of Christ, you have been chosen by God, set apart, gifted, enabled, and empowered to fulfill a very unique calling. Last week we were talking about our calling by God. I said your calling is more about who, before you do.
Our starting point was Ephesians 4:1, when Paul wrote --
1 Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. - Ephesians 4:1
God wants you to live a life worthy of His calling. You're considered holy by God. Which means you’ve been set apart and chosen. Church isn't just someplace that we go, it's not an add-on to our lives, you are the church. The called out ones, called to go into this world and to share the power and grace of Jesus Christ. You're called by God to do that. You're His church.
My hope is that we will experience God stirring within us. That we will have a sense of passion for God. That we would recognize, and more than that, we would believe God is empowering us for His calling.
So, the question always comes back to what am I called to do? We think there’s something God has put out there that has our name on it. But I believe there are so many possibilities for us. As I said last week, I really believe we are called to a who, before we go and do.
So, I want to address what we are called to do. And next week, we will look at some of the specifics of our calling.
When you think about your calling, I don’t think we consider it part of our calling. But it’s really the cornerstone. God has called us to salvation. That may seem strange for a calling, but that is our starting point. It has to be.
Before God calls you to a job, before He ever calls you to a ministry, God calls you to Himself. That’s great news! The beauty and power of having a relationship with Jesus is that it really doesn’t matter what your past looks like. It doesn’t matter how bad you’ve been. If God has called you to Him, to be adopted into His family, then once you say YES to God, your sins are forgiven. That sinful past is erased and God now declares you righteous! Isn’t that cool?!
There’s actually a theological phrase for this -- it’s EFFECTUAL CALLING. Effectual calling is one part of the salvation process in which God calls a person to belief.
So, after we’re called by God, and I know I’m moving quickly through this. Once you’ve said yes to God, He now expects you to grow spiritually. God doesn’t expect us to say, “Now that I’m saved, I can take it easy until life ends.” We are called to grow spiritually. There are 2 words to describe this. The first word is discipleship. Discipleship is really the process of learning the teachings of Jesus, then putting those teachings into action, to live them out. A second word is . . . Sanctification. Sanctification literally means “to make holy; set apart as sacred; consecrate.” Both discipleship and sanctification have the same root idea. Change from the inside. The inner change leads us to live differently.
It’s kind of what I spoke about last week, when I said we are to be different from the world. Called to live a holy life. God has called you to be set apart. He’s called us to serve, to use our unique gifts, our spiritual gifts, which we’re going to talk about next week, to make a difference in the world.
We are to be transformed by God. The key component when it comes to sanctification is that we really are changed. Think about it - - it’s the process of becoming more and more holy. We are to demonstrate spiritual growth and maturity.
It’s not to be hidden away in a closet, but shown to the world about who Christ is in our lives. It’s to be able to forgive and be forgiven. To give and to receive. To serve and be served. To love and be loved. It’s so vital to who we are called to be and it’s all demonstrated in our character.
When you read Paul’s letters, he really struggled with Christians who were not growing spiritually. He would tell them you’re supposed to be eating steak, but here you are still on a bottle drinking milk. It’s the call to allow ourselves to grow and be intentional in growing in who Christ is calling us to be.
And even in the midst of all that, Paul acknowledged he still had more growing to do, which is true for all of us. In Romans 7, Paul said -
15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. 18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
I love that statement from Paul. Can you identify with that? Aren’t there things you wish you did, but for whatever reason you didn’t do it. You knew the good you needed to do, but for whatever reason, you didn’t. We ALL struggle in that process of growing in holiness, growing as a disciple and in sanctification.
Yet, we can always come back to the beauty and power of God’s grace and mercy in our lives. That God can and will forgive us when that happens! What a blessing God grants us, even when we don’t deserve it.
So, we start with God’s calling to become a Christ follower. Then we are called to grow in Christ. And as we grow in our calling - - that leads to our doing, as we serve God and others.
As we looked at last week, Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17 -
17 Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. - Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do - which means exactly what Paul said, whatever you, do it for Jesus.
We struggle with this calling from God, because on the one hand, we don’t discern the calling, and on the other hand we don’t believe we’re worthy or equipped to be called. And I want to look at this second part for a little while.
You might believe you're called to salvation, that your sins have been forgiven, but it’s really difficult to believe you’re called to serve God and make a difference for Him. Or you just don't know enough about the Bible - - and what if someone asked you a question and didn’t know the answer.
Or what if you still struggle with anger issues, like someone cuts you off when driving. Or you struggle with forgiving others. Or you don’t like to give your money. Or there are those lingering issues in life. You know . . . those things you do in private that nobody else knows about. Whatever it is . . . you wonder, am I good enough? I’m still a sinner. Yup . . . we all are. Beauty and power of God.
Now, I want you to hear what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1. It’s so vital for us to understand, we weren’t called because of how great we are. We were called despite how low we are. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church -
26 For consider your calling, not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Isn’t that great news!? He’s saying you need to remember where you came from.
Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful and influential, and not many were of noble birth. God chose the foolish. He chose what is lowly and despised in the world. Think about that? What did we have to offer? Not much. But God chose you and I anyways.
This is encouraging because when you look at who God calls to salvation, to sanctification and to service, He calls those who are untrained, those who appear unqualified, those who look unprepared. He calls those that the world would call spiritual nobodies to make a difference in this world.
There’s that saying out there which is God doesn't call the prepared, God prepares the called. This is good news because it’s a reminder we don’t need to have it all together to serve God. We will never have it all together in this world. We aren’t called after we hit perfection, because none of us would ever be called.
God prepares you along the way because you're called to make a difference in this world. You're called to serve wherever you are, whatever you do, you do it for the glory of Jesus Christ. It's not always easy.
Yet, you're called by God. He's calling you to salvation. If you don't know Him, He wants to reveal Himself to you, He wants to show you His love. He's calling you to be different, to sanctification, and He's calling you, specifically, to serve Him.
You might be God's chosen instrument in your neighborhood. You might be God's chosen instrument in your place of work, or at school. You may be the light when you walk into the fitness center.
Serving Jesus, trying to be the light, wherever it is . . . is not always easy. It’s a gift, it’s a blessing; and it’s also a grind. It’s not always fun and easy. It can be a burden. Ministry is exhilarating and it's exhausting. It's not going to be easy. God never, ever promised it would be easy. In fact, I've often believed that the biggest enemy of calling is comfort. Never sacrifice your calling on the altar of comfort. If God calls you, it’s not going to be fun and games. It sometimes is painful, but there are amazing rewards from God.
When we are called, God also promises to sustain us and care for us. Yet, we can’t just lay in bed and expect. We have to participate with God. Listen to what Paul said to the church in Philippi - -
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Sometimes you just have to forget what is behind, forget some of the tough past. Instead, he says to strain forward. To press on toward the goal. To keep on going.
And what is the prize he is working to attain? It’s the upward call of God in Jesus Christ. That’s it!! It’s like Paul was saying “YOU CAN’T STOP ME! I DARE YOU! BECAUSE YOU CAN’T!”
That’s why Paul could finish the race and keep the faith. He understood his calling was not about him, but about serving God.
The starting point - is that call to salvation. That’s the greatest gift we can receive. We can’t earn it AND we don’t deserve it, but it’s a free gift from God. We are forgiven by God for everything! Our slate is wiped clean when we say YES to God!
Again, God doesn’t expect us to sit back and gloat on our salvation. He expects us to grow in who He is calling us to be. We are being transformed. Our WHO is being changed! That’s part of the growth process, which leads us to service. We move from the WHO to the DO.
Right now it can especially be difficult to be a Christian. We’ve been dealing with the corona-virus and all of the uncertainty and sickness and fear associated with that. Not to mention how to worship in the midst of the pandemic. We’ve had racial unrest and social justice issues to deal with. Now we’re in the middle of an election year with a crazy political scene. And if you make comments on social media for Christ, you are liable to lose friends over stating what is biblical.
So, how do you keep going in being called by God?
God's calling is not always easy. It’s not supposed to really be comfortable. But God is always, always faithful! When we are called, God promises He will be there with us. He won’t abandon us. We are bearers of light and hope in the midst of a dark world. We have the opportunity to shine the light of Christ into the world.
Don't allow the current world situations move you from being faithful to God and doing what you are called to do. Don't let the discouraging voices talk you out of what you've been uniquely created by God to accomplish.
You're called to salvation, saved by grace. You're called to sanctification, to live a life worthy of your calling. And you're created by God, uniquely equipped with gifts that He gave you, passions He buried in your heart, to serve Him in a way that only you can.
