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Week One - The Call
The concept of "calling," pursuing your "call," or being "called" by God can be an intimidating one to try and grasp. You know you have sensed the unmistakable draw of God on your life to something "more," something "special," but what does that mean? If you are like many who have surrendered publicly to God's call, you were immediately met with questions you didn't quite know how to answer, questions such as: "What area of ministry are you going into? What will your first move be? Do you want to be a missionary? Are you going to preach right away or are you going to try youth ministry first? Are you going to marry a minister or be a children's minister? What about your schooling? Are you going to change your school/direction/major? Are you going to attend seminary?" Such questions, even from people who love and support you, can be confusing and make you feel as if you should have all the answers. Watching others go through this type of questioning may even intimidate those who would like to surrender publicly to God's call, causing them to keep their commitment quiet, robbing them of the support and accountability that comes with public surrender. The problem with most questions that well-meaning people ask is they seem to point to a what. What area of ministry...What first move...What position...What title...What education, etc. The initial question, instead, for those who are just beginning to explore God's call, is Who? And the answer is Jesus Christ! We are not called to a position, a place, a livelihood, a category or a title. We are called to Jesus! And guess what? We don't have to have all the answers because He does! Read the following scripture and see if you recognize any of the names mentioned: Matthew 4:18-20 As He was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. "Follow Me," He told them, "and I will make you fish for people!" Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. John 1:43 The next day He decided to leave for Galilee. Jesus found Philip and told him, "Follow Me!" Mark 2:14 Then, moving on, He saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, "Follow Me!" So he got up and followed Him. These are excerpts from the "calling" stories of several disciples. Notice any similarities in these stories? What is it that Jesus says to all of these men? Does He sit down with each of them and discuss the perks and drawbacks to joining His team or give them an itinerary of what it is that they will be doing over the next few years? Does He give any information at all? No. It is not necessary because Jesus is not calling them to a task or position, but to Himself! Jesus calls people the same way today, and it is okay not to have all the answers or even to be able to explain what it is that God is doing in your heart. As you walk with Christ, He will reveal His plans for you; and, when He does, you can keep others informed so they can rejoice with you and be a support system to you. For now, simply tell them, "My call is to follow Christ." Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. Describe the moment you told God that your future was His. How did you feel? What were your thoughts? Who was the first person you told about your decision? What was their response? What thoughts did you have in response to today's Bible study?
What did God teach you about calling? Review:
You've read some excerpts of the call Jesus issued to His disciples. Let's take a look at another call Jesus issued. Who is it that Jesus is calling? What is the task for those connected to Jesus? If the simplicity of the task overwhelms you, remain. Stay connected to Jesus in every area of your life. This is not a statement about salvation, it is a statement about intimacy and usefulness. If you want to be useful in the Kingdom of God, remain intimate with Christ. Apart from Him, you can do nothing. Yesterday the heard call was to follow Jesus. This call is similar in that it asks you to also do one thing, stay focused on and connected to Jesus. Does a branch work to stay connected to a tree? No, it is natural for a branch to stay connected. Does a tree work to make fruit? No, the normal result of a healthy fruit tree is that it bears fruit. Some Christians spend all their energy trying to bear fruit for God and trying to be better at everything. But, the first thing a Christian must do is remain in Christ, stay intimately connected to Jesus. When you are remaining in Christ, you will bear fruit. If you get the order confused and work to bear fruit, not remain, then you can and will do nothing. Reread John 15:9-17. Here, Jesus issues a divine call. Whom does He call / appoint to bear fruit for Him? To whom does He call them? Why? Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. Spend some time remembering the counsel you received when you sensed God's call. How was the concept of calling explained to you? What advice were you given? What does it mean to remain in Christ? How do you actually remain in Christ? Record any new thoughts, feelings or emotions that you have as a result of today's Bible study.
What is God teaching you about calling? Review:
Matthew 11:28-30 "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Here, Jesus calls all sinners to Himself. In answering that call, sinners are offered three things: Salvation, Discipleship and Purpose in Life and Ministry. Look at the first sentence. What does Jesus say He will give to the weary and burdened who respond to His call? He offers rest. The rest that Jesus offers is the eternal freedom of salvation. Look at the next sentence. What does Jesus ask of those who answer His call? He tells them to take His yoke upon them and learn from Him. In other words, He promises to guide them and offers them the opportunity to become disciples. In the last sentence, Jesus promises that His yoke is easy and His burden light. A yoke is a neck harness worn by plow animals. Jesus' use of this term to describe a life spent with Him implies that a life of purpose through service and ministry automatically follows an answer to His call. The three-fold calling of Christ must be viewed as such. Christianity is more than the assurance of heaven through salvation, more than the promise of a personal relationship with Christ, and more than a life of fulfilling servitude and surrender. It is all three. Though we may not fully understand the magnitude of God's gift to us through Jesus Christ and the responsibilities that come with it when we accept Christ, all of it is ours at salvation. In religious circles, we often talk about calling, hearing God's call or the call of God when referring to the setting apart of a believer for some type of "special service." "Special service" is a phrase that we often use to describe ministry. Many believers who begin to fully understand God's call on their lives do so after having been a believer for a length of time. The believer begins to understand the need for total surrender to God's leadership and commits himself/herself fully to God for use in His Kingdom. This is the point when many such believers feel a need to make their commitment or surrendering to God's will for their lives public, affording them the accountability before man to remain faithful and the support of other believers to encourage them. They understand that God's plan for them involves service and that it is indeed special, something more than they have experienced before; so, when we present them to their church congregation, we say they have surrendered to ministry or special service, both accurate descriptions of what has happened in the believer's heart. However, not all believers who reach this awareness of God's call on their lives choose to make their decision public, for whatever reason. Because of this, church members witness fewer public commitments to ministry or special service than they do salvation decisions, causing some to believe that a call to ministry:
Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. What thoughts, feelings or questions come to mind when you consider Jesus' call as three-fold? How does it feel knowing that you are awakening to all that Jesus had in mind when He called you?
What is God teaching you about calling?
Christianity is more than the assurance of heaven through salvation, more than the promise of a personal relationship with Christ and more than a life of fulfilling servitude and surrender. It is all three. We cannot divide the calling of Jesus Christ into smaller pieces that we may pick and choose, selecting what suits us and what we feel we can commit to. Throughout scripture, all three areas of God's call are mentioned as indivisible parts, each dependent upon and necessitating the other. Study the following examples: God desires for us to bring glory to Him through service or ministry. In order to do that, we must constantly become more like Christ through discipleship. In order to do that, we must be justified through salvation. Salvation is not the end, it is the beginning of God bringing glory to Himself through us, a plan that He had in mind before He created us. Through Jesus and for Jesus, we received salvation and discipleship so that God can accomplish His purposes in the world through us! God has indeed called you to ministry! He called you to ministry when Jesus called you to Himself! It was part of His plan for you before He ever created you (Psalm 139 , Jeremiah 1:5 ). Your journey toward ministry did not begin the day you chose to surrender to it. It began the day you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior; and through discipleship, you have now discovered part of your purpose! What an exciting time in your life! Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. How does it make you feel to know that God's call on your life has always existed? Think of your personal spiritual journey to this point. What clues can you see now that prove God has been leading you to this point all along? What feelings and emotions are you experiencing as you look toward a future that has been planned for you since before you were born?
What is God teaching you about calling? Review:
It's so exciting to watch God work in our lives, to know that He is leading and guiding us and to know He will use us in an eternal way if we surrender to Him. There are times in our lives that we are keenly aware of His activity and then there are times that we, for whatever reason, may feel as though we have lost a bit of the "spiritual electricity" that kept us going before. It's so important during those times of waning emotion or energy to rely not on what we feel, as it can be so fragile, but to rely on what we know in our hearts and minds to be true: that we belong to God (John 10:27-30 ), that He chose us (2 Thessalonians 2:13 ), that He loves us (John 3:16 ), that He will never leave us (Matthew 28:20 ) and that He will accomplish His purposes in us (Philippians 1:6 ). Over the last few days, you have taken a closer look at "the call" of God and what it entails. Hopefully, you have gained a clearer vision of how God has been working in your life and are excited to see what lies ahead of you as you continue to enjoy your salvation, grow in discipleship and minister according to God's purpose. Hopefully, you have been surrounded by supportive people who want only to encourage you and confirm God's activity in your life; however, it is very unlikely that this is the only type of feed-back you have received following your surrender to God's will for your life. If you have experienced discouragement, take heart! What a compliment to you! Do not allow Satan to rob you of your joy. Instead, recognize his attacks as what they are, the feeble attempts of a defeated enemy to discourage one to whom victory has been promised. (John 10:10 ) Look back at what God has done for you and study to prepare for the future. One of the best ways to prepare yourself for times of spiritual attack is to keep a journal of God's activity in your life, thoughts, feelings, questions, emotions, etc. as you walk with Christ. This is exactly what you have been doing over the past week in response to your daily Bible study. Keeping such a journal will encourage you when you are feeling defeated, redirect you when you have lost your way and help you interpret God's activity in your life over time as you revisit lessons learned, scripture that has helped you and experiences that you have had. In the future, there may be times that you doubt your call, that you have questions or that you feel discouraged. During times like those, it will be helpful to be able to look back at the fresh emotions, thoughts, insights and experiences that you are having right now at this time of surrender to God's will for your life. Make sure you are keeping careful track of such things. If you haven't put much time, energy or thought into your responses up to this point, begin now. Someday you will be thankful you did. Take a few moments and write your thoughts, concerns, and questions in your journal. Allow the following thought suggestions to guide you. Taking Paul's advice, "…think of what you were when you were called (1 Corinthians 1:26 )." Briefly describe your life before Christ. How did you come to understand you needed Jesus? Describe the events surrounding the moment you accepted Jesus into your heart and gave your life to Him. What became yours at the moment of salvation? (Explore this question. Consider things that you may have even been unaware of at the time of your salvation.) Describe the days immediately following your decision. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17 . How did this occur in your life? What is God teaching you about calling? |
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