By Pastor Greg
You don’t need to read too much of the
Bible in order to realize that God is a calling God. God called Adam and Eve to draw near while He
walked through the Garden. God called
Moses and David to accept leadership responsibility, even when they didn’t feel
worthy. God called Isaiah and Jeremiah
to teach and preach. Even Jesus called. He called people follow Him. And out of those followers Jesus called twelve
to be His Apostles. It’s pretty clear
that God is a calling God. And since
that is true, in just seems to make sense that His church would call people as
well.
Look through the book of Acts and you
will see this calling trend continue. After
Jesus ascended to heaven, the apostles called Matthias to replace Judas as a
leader in the church (Acts 1:26 ). When the church was birthed, these Apostles
continued to call people; they called them out of the world and into the Kingdom of Heaven Acts
6:1-6 ).
I don’t want to get caught up in the
reason there was a problem. That’s for
another sermon. But the point is that
the church faced a problem. And in order
to solve that problem, the church selected qualified men to address the
problem. There was a need, and the
church looked within and found seven men who would be the answer to that need.
This calling of people is one of
the foundations of the church. Church is
not about creating a religious experience.
Church is a place where disciples are trained; a place where a believer
can grow in Spirit and in Truth, preparing them for the day they too are
called.
There are many ways a person can be
called, and many different ways a person can be used by God. And it all begins with a calling. But somehow it seems the church has lost its ability
to call people into service. Today it
seems the church has excelled at creating spectators; men and women who are
believers in Christ, but who seem to be willing to stand on the sidelines. They want to know God and to be known by
God. They worship Jesus in Spirit and in
Truth. They have truly called Jesus both
Lord and Savior. But when it comes time
to accept a calling, they seem to run and hide.
I don’t know what has caused
this. Maybe it’s because the church has
failed to help believers grow in Spirit and in Truth. Maybe it’s because the church elects people
instead of calls people. Maybe it’s
because leadership within the church has failed to help people hear a calling. I’m not exactly sure why. But maybe the problem is not just with the
church. Maybe there are far too many
believers who are hiding behind things instead of listening to God.
Like Moses, many believers are hiding
behind things. Moses was a classic
hider. Standing before God he hid his
face. He hid behind his weaknesses. He hid behind his past. He even hid behind his brother who was so much
more gifted than he was (see Exodus
3-4 ). And yet God
persistently called.
I think the same thing happens
today. I think most believers hide
behind their weaknesses. They hide behind
their past. They hide behind others who
are so much more gifted. Some people
even hide behind their schedules, in effect telling God that their calendar is
more important than He is. Some people
hide behind past failures. Oh, they
served once, but never again. Not after
what happened the last time. This hiding
seems to be the greatest hindrance to calling today. And even though a church continues to call,
believers continue to hide.
For a long time in my own life I
hid. I hid behind my past. I hid behind my weaknesses. I hid behind my mistakes. I used them as an excuse why I could not
serve; why I should not be called. I was
consistently hiding while God was consistently calling. But after about 10 years I crawled out of my
hiding place, completely in shock that the church agreed with God’s calling. I remember one saintly lady sighing “What
took you so long?” It turns out that my
church saw this in me for years. That’s
why I was being asked to serve on the Board or teach Sunday school. I found out that the church had been calling
for years, and I had spent all that time hiding.
The lesson here is that a church has a
responsibility call people out of the world and into the Kingdom of Heaven
I love the story of Barnabas and Saul
in the book of Acts. It’s a testimony of
how the church continued to call people to serve. The Spirit was working in the hearts of
people in the city of Antioch (a city in modern
day Turkey , about 300 miles
north of Jerusalem Jerusalem Jerusalem
heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch Acts 11:22 ). There was a need, and the church called. The church felt Barnabas was the right man
for this task. When Barnabas saw the
great revival taking place in that city, he went and called Saul. “Then Barnabas went on to Tarsus Acts 11:25 ). Through Barnabas, Saul the Pharisee is called
to help minister in this place. Their
work is so effective that it was in Antioch
If you find that your church
consistently calls you to serve in some capacity, it’s because they see
something in you that you refuse to see.
Your church is asking you to stop hiding behind things, and accept the
work God is calling you to do, even if you don’t feel worthy or even if you are
unsure about yourself. Your church has
seen what the Spirit is doing. And
realizing that they need help, they thought of you. Your church is calling. When will you stop hiding?
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