Today we will talk a little bit about callings.
Christianity is different from all other religions – in all others, humans seek to transcend, they seek a greater being, a god, but in Christianity God reveals himself to man and connects sinful people back to God through his son Jesus.
He became flesh and dwelt among us. He died on a cross and rose again so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life.
This God calls us for eternal life, He calls us to become children of God!
From the moment you begin your Christian walk on, there are some more callings or invitations from God for your life and we must follow them with joy and love.
General Callings
Holiness
I Peter 1:15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;
We are called to be holy pure and blameless, we are called to make a difference in this world, set apart from sin for God.
Philippians 2: 14-16. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[a] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labour in vain.
It is very important that we develop the character of Christ, we must allow God to cross-examine and perfect us, we must allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and transform us.
Prayer
I Thessalonians 5:17 says pray continually and in Mt 26. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
I read a book in Portuguese called “The sin of not praying” based on a book by Dr. John Rice. Lack of prayer is straight up disobedience to the Bible.
We should pray to the Father in the name of Jesus, to present all our anxieties to Him, but especially to worship Him, to be grateful, to intercede for missions of our church, for our fellow brothers and sisters, and our family. The more we forget about ourselves when praying, the more God cares for us. It takes discipline to separate a time and place at home to be alone with God in prayer. But the truth is, the more things we have to do, the more we need to pray. It would be very bold for us to assume we can leave the house without praying. It is as if we were saying, “I can manage by myself today. I do not need God.” Prayer reminds us and shows us how dependent we are of God!
Keeping God’s word
Joshua 1: 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
We must meditate on this word day and night, feed ourselves with it, and follow all that is written on it. There are countries where people do not have the same freedom that we have and where people cannot even own a Bible. While we don’t value the Bible and just let it sit there gathering dust at home, there are people who were arrested and even killed because they had this book on them… May we value the word of God, this treasure which was given us. May we walk on its path all the way to eternal life.
Witnessing
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
We are to be ambassadors for the kingdom of heaven on earth, RM 8,19 says For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. God has given us this great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility. Mt 5:16 Our good deeds testify to our faith and glorify the Father, how often do we worship with songs and words, but what about when we leave church? Do our attitudes glorify the Father?
These are general callings for every single Christian to follow: we are called to be holy, to pray, to obey the Word and to be a witness of Jesus.
As we advance in our Christian walk, we are called to bear fruit, to serve God with our abilities and our gifts, so then we get to the specific callings.
Specific calling
Sensible invitations
Acts 11: 25-26 Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch.
Paul was qualified to teach, so he was called and led to Antioch.
You may start receiving invitations as you stand out in something or if have the ability to do something. Do not think that you have nothing to offer God. John 5: 9 that boy or teenager only had five wee loaves of bread and two fish but he gave it to the Lord, and from that humble seed God made a great miracle flourish. Surrender your seeds to the Lord as an offering. Give your life to Him as an offering… You may think this is too little or even worthless to God but He will make great miracles through your life! Accept the invitations to help the church, to help with school work, social services and allow God to use your life wherever you are.
Specific callings
God’s Supernatural Direction
God speaks and acts so that we recognise his specific callings, and this call is confirmed by his leadership and the church.
Acts 13; 2 And 3, While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.
We should have a life of fasting and prayer and being mindful of the Lord’s direction.
Acts 18; 9 – 11 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
This Direction of God can come by the means of a vision or a prophecy, but it should always confirm what God has already been doing in your lives and what He has been speaking to your heart.
Testimony Vision of Ireland.
To finish up, I want to talk about Jonas.
Jonah 4. 1 to 8
God called Jonah on a mission, but he did not want to go on this mission and we all know how the story went… He tried to flee and was swallowed by a large fish and ended up in the land where God wanted him to go.
If we want to do anything for God, love is indispensable! Without love, nothing you do is worth anything!
God invites us to love him with all our heart and to love our neighbour, he invites us as he invited Jonah to have mercy on people who walked in darkness without knowing the light, but oftentimes, just like Jonah we value material things more since they bring us comfort, security, and we do not want to obey God.
Hospital Testimony: Speak more.
And the result of this is when we don’t obey God’s calling, our life has no reason and no purpose, it’s as if we were in the belly of a big fish… Knowing that there is light out there, and that there is a lot to be done, but we prefer to hide away… We are asking God to die because we are only looking at our problems. How many Christians are in despair, lost without seeing a sense or purpose for their life! God created us for a purpose, we have something very valuable to do, may we be able to say yes to the call of God today and obey him in love.