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LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD - Highlights From Genesis - "When God Calls" - July 5, 2015 - Senior Pastor Scott Christenson -

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St. Paul's Lutheran Church Orange, CA

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Genesis 12 verse 1 the Lord said to Abram leave your country your full your father's household and go to the land I will show you  theologians call this a call I got isn't just talking with Abram he's calling him and one of the things you discover as you walk with add through life is that all people of deep Faith seem to have a strong sense of God's calling  they don't just whatever they want to do they live with a strong and sincere belief that they are doing what God wants them to do and that's what I want to talk with you about tonight I want to talk with you about this today because I fear that our understanding of the pause God is becoming lost in the church today I think many people mistakenly think that calls come to pastors they don't Abram wasn't a pastor I think also that even many pastors are losing their understanding of God's calling this is an important topic for us so let's start with a a definition what's if you weigh and I like to invite you to take a look at the inside of the back cover of your bulletin you'll see there's a place there were you can take some notes along the way and fill in blanks as I preached it is I'll help you kind of track with me okay first of all you see their what's a call and these these verses are helpful to me first Spin Six says you are not your own you were bought at a price therefore honor God a believing in Pauline means believing in a selfless life Jesus died for you he gave his life you he bought you back from death and hell and therefore Jesus owns you  and so when you belong to Jesus your life is not about you anymore and what you want it's about him and what he wants  this is Jesus himself viewed his Earthly life UC and John 638 Jesus says for I have come down from heaven not to do my will not to do what who want but to do the will of him who sent me the father  that's the language of a person who understands calling  underneath that you'll see there's number of blanks that you can fill in about the call of God there's some things that we can save for certain about the calling of God first of the call of God is for everyone  it's not just for certain people not just for pastors it's not even just for leaders every Christian can and will be called by God if you have been baptized into God's family you will be called by God sooner or later this is what 2nd Peter 1 tells us to those who the righteousness of God of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours make your calling and election again that's not just pastors that's all of us  second are we have to say that the call of God is always compelling that's the next blank it's always compelling  another words when it comes you feel like you absolutely have to do it  it's not an option  you may not even want to do it but you have to calls from God grip you and they won't let you go  here's a couple of verses to illustrate and acts 2022 you see the Apostle Paul what's to the Ephesian elders and now compelled by the spirit I am going to Jerusalem not knowing what will happen to me there  please. in Acts 19 21 it says Paul decided to go to Jerusalem passing through Macedonia nakeya after I have been there he said I'm visit Rome also  must you see that compelling nature of the call of God he just has to do it here's another key lesson about calling next the call of God is always to something another words God never just calls us away from something it's always to something else  are you heard it in the story of Abram play Genesis 12 verse 1 the Lord said to Abram go to the land I will show you  and this is exactly what you see for example in Jonah chapter 1 the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of amittai go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against their many other examples in the scriptures got always calls people to something  so in other words if you play quitting what you're doing right now but you really have no idea what you're called to  that's probably not a legitimate call from God you're probably just discouraged and you need to persevere and what you know God has called you to so the calls God is for everyone it's compelling it's always to something but in some ways it's easier to describe what the call of God isn't then to describe what it is so here's a few additional lessons for you first the call of God is not always singular that is to say that most people are not called to only one thing at a time take a look at this for the First Corinthians 7:17 says never-the-less each one should retain the place in life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him are the contacts to your was a question that arose in the early church about a person coming to Faith and should should a Believer who is Mary to an unbeliever leave the marriage and marry a believer in and Paul says know they should stay in the marriage because maybe they'll win them over the point for us here simply to see that he calls marriage a calling also  so for me for example I I just called by God to be a pastor I'm also called by God to be a husband and a father to my kids and called my to be a song I'm called to be a neighbor I called to be a friend  and those calls are just as important that's my call to be a pastor this man here is a great reminder of this lesson I don't know if you know this man his name is Bob she was the founder of World Vision fantastic Mission organization that serves people in extreme poverty all around the world Bob Pierce is the one you see they're who famously said let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God what a great expression and Bob Pierce did great things for God all around the world  but he tragically forgot that God had also called him to be a father and a husband is well-known now that Bob Pierce horribly neglected his own family as you serve the Lord all over the world fact he liked to say that he had made a deal with God he said he made a deal that I'll take care of God's helpless little lambs over see if he will take care of mine at home for me  korsgaden never asked if to do that fact at one point his daughter called him on the phone and said Daddy I need you  I need you right now I need you to come home  he had been away for months and months but Bob could not come home because he had work to do for the Lord he had a point to keep  and even after his daughter attempted suicide Bob still didn't come home to be with her and finally she attempted suicide a second time and was successful a horrible tragedy Bob Pierce forgot that the call of God is not always singular most of us have multiple callings from God our life and every one of them is important  next this is a strange one the call of God is Not always clear  this is I think one of the strangest versus in all of the New Testament Paul is on one of his missionary Journeys here's what happens Acts 16:7 says when they came to the border of miss ya they tried to enter Bethania but the spirit of Jesus would not allow it two  that is a strange verse I mean why would Jesus do that  why would it ever be the wrong time to go somewhere and preach the gospel  and the answer is we don't know it's a mystery to us but that's important to see the call of God isn't always clear it doesn't always make sense to us next this is a very important one to the call of God isn't always comfortable I can check out Genesis 12:1 the Lord said to Abram go from your country your people and your father's household to the land I will show you now think of how what's that saying God told Abram he had to leave behind everything familiar to him leave his country his fan play his people his homeland  God was not calling Abram to an easier life but to a more difficult one  you did not call him to become more comfortable but to become more committed  the friends got off and does the same thing with us making us comfortable is not God's primary concern and if you want to live a called life God is going to put you into uncomfortable position time to time to test your commitment to him  here's another important lesson next to call of God is not always unchangeable  another words just because you've been legitimately called by God to something does not mean that that call is for John 21:18 Jesus says to Peter when you were younger you dress yourself and went where you wanted but when you are old someone else will lead you where you do not want to go  Peter's calling changed as he got old put the best example of this is not even Peter but the Apostle Paul one of the things that's fascinating to do is is to trace the life of Paul drop the book of Acts and watch how Paul's calling changes along the way  at first he's called by God to preach only in the synagogues  when God leads him to preach only to the church  when God calls him to be evangelist in the community then as he gets older he's called to Mentor young pastors  and of course by the end of his life primarily called to be a writer as he writes what we now know of as the New Testament most of it clearly God's call is not unchangeable and therefore your calling is something that needs to be periodically reviewed more on that in just a moment but first one more critical lesson about God's calling that is largely overlooked the next blank is the call whose God is not always about doing something  check out these verses Galatians 5:13 says you my brothers were called to be free  enemy Ephesians 1:18 Paul says I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order they do you may know the hope to which he has called you some people apparently are called by God to a Reaper experience of the freedom and hope that only God can give a leader in the New Testament Peter even talk what about suffering as a calling in 1st Peter 2 he says this but if you suffer for doing good and you endure it this is come edible before God to this you were called because Christ suffered for you leaving you an example that you should follow in his stop  we could point out many more verses like this there are lots of versus like this which is somewhat for us because we act like there aren't any like this see this is so important because whenever we talk about God's calling they're always be some people who will leave this discussion and say yeah but I don't know what God wants me to do maybe your calling isn't about doing anything maybe it's about becoming something your call from God right now is about to character development not about a task you need to perform so we talked about what a call is and what it's not always let me also just say one thing that it never is  the call of God is never For Your Glory  it's always an only about glorifying him a John 3 hears is where Jesus comes along in the huge crowds that were once following John the Baptist are now going after G what's an John's disciples are sort of freaking out about this because of course John is losing his popularity  and John give perfect response of a called person you says you're in John 3:30 he must become greater I must become less and that's how all called people are supposed to think  this isn't about me getting notarized key or fame or attention or blessings this is about honoring Jesus Christ and bringing attention to him until you can say that and really mean that you really not ready for a call from God but if you read all of that in your still don't know what your calling is honey how you figure it out how do you discern God's call playing in your own life will you find if you read the Bible there are actually some very clear steps laid out and Celeste fill those in also there on the next how do you discern a calling from God  step one is you set a time  you saw the sign a period of time time and you tell God I'm asking you to reveal your calling to me this what Jesus himself did in Matthew for right after his Bat he spent 40 days this set time in the wilderness  and after that was done then he went to work he called his disciples and on he Step 2 is to pray if you want to discern God's calling in your life you've got to pray about can ask God to reveal it to you  this is what the disciples did in Acts chapter 1 when they went to replace Judas they prayed law do you know everyone's heart show us which of these two met and you have chosen to take over this Apostolic Ministry show us that's what they prayed step three is you listen to God  and you do that of course by meditating on God's word Psalm 119 105 does your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path God promises that he will guide and direct our lives and clarify our callings through his holy word  except for is you listen to others  Utah two other believers and you tell them that you're seeking clarification on God's call on your life and you listen to what they say Proverbs 15:22 says plans fail for lack of counsel but with many advisers they succeed sometimes God fixtures most clearly through others  step 5 is to watch you watch  you watch 4 signs of God's working  and I noted there the whole book of Esther is a great example of this I don't know how familiar you are with the book of star but do you know why Esther is such a unique book in the Bible  it is the only book of the Bible that never once mentions God  and that is such an unusual thing  that if can't possibly be what's the dental  because as you read through the story of Esther over and over one little coincidence after another happens and so many turn that you finally have to conclude that maybe these coincidences are not really coincidences after all these are signs of the hand of God at work and see when we talk at to God and we will take time to watch for God sometimes we see him working like that in our who lives through remarkable ways  then finally step 6 you decide and go another words you make the best decision you can when that set aside time is over and you don't look back you said God okay I think you're showing me to do is this so that's what I'm going to do and if I'm wrong then I'm asking you to redirect me  I noted Psalm 138 there here's what it says the Lord will accomplish what concerns me  I love that first what a great promise word will accomplish what concerns me reminds me that my calling and yours is not dependent on you and me figurine everything out correctly God will accomplish what he wants with us  we can stat  and no where do you see that better Illustrated than in the life of Abram  because when God called him he said to these words and all peoples on Earth will be blessed through you Etsy we know now that would God meant by that was that someday he would send the Messiah Jesus through the line of Abram  put never knew that  God was doing so much more in and through Abrams calling than he ever realized and that's true for all of us as well  God is doing more in your life  then you will turno  and that's exactly why we want him to lead us and direct us call us I want to close the day with this wonderful quote about God's calling my brother-in-law Jim actually I wrote these words and when I was sidering my call about a year ago now to be St Paul's the next senior pastor these words actually spoke very powerfully to me  and I that they will speak for powerfully to you tonight as you try and discern God's calling in your own life let's take a look at them Jim says part of our human condition is that We crave security  because security gives us the illusion of control  when feel secure then we are confident in our ability to handle things whatever that might mean  predictability gives us sense of security but he says a life of faith is unpredictable it feels insecure it begins with an openness to the Lord's leading in your life whenever and however that may come in and ends in places we would never expect a life of faith means that you will need to be satisfied with a different kind of security the security of knowing that the law what is with you and that is quite simply enough  he is what you lean upon instead of the security of your job or family or bank account or retirement fund  this might mean that you will spend long stretches of time living in the mystery as a missionary colleague of mine likes to say referring to the mystery of not knowing where all this is leading what is coming next or if you're doing the right thing a life of Faith he says has no promises to grasp old of except this one I Am With You Always to the very end of the age at the end of the day a life of faith demonstrated by your willingness to say yes to God above all else let's bow our heads pray and ask God to help us with that  Father in heaven  and we thank you that you have how old is everyone of us and I pray Lord that you would give us all Clarity on our callings are individual callings help us Lord to discern what you are asking us to do and to be so that we can follow you and not just do our own plans what fulfill your plans for us we thank you for your promise Lord that all this does not depend on us that we can try that you will accomplish the things that concern us  so Lord we pray for that accomplish your desires in US Our Lives we pray in Jesus name

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LIFE IN THE REAL WORLD - Highlights From Genesis - "When God Calls" - July 5, 2015 - Senior Pastor Scott Christenson -

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