‘At
any moment the sudden awareness of this incalculable, supernatural, surprising
call that has taken hold of your life may break through—”I chose you . . .” (John 15:16).
The call of God has nothing to do with salvation and
sanctification. You are not called to preach the gospel [for example] because
you are sanctified; the call to preach the gospel is infinitely different. Paul
describes it as a compulsion that was placed upon him.[…] If a man or woman is
called of God, it doesn’t matter how difficult the circumstances may be. God
orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end. If you will agree
with God’s purpose, He will bring not only your conscious level but also all
the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect
harmony.’ CHAMBERS
Rom_1:1 'Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God'
Rom_8:28 'And we know that all things work together for
good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His
purpose.'
Rom_8:30 'Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also
justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.'
1Co_1:9 'God is
faithful, by whom you were called
into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.'
Eph_4:1 'I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord,
beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,'
This notion of calling can be a little
confusing. Reading the New Testament you
see that the idea of calling does have to do with becoming a Christian .. to
live a life apart from the world. No
longer drawn by the world’s song to indulge yourself and reject God, but rather
to embrace God and reject the world. Many Christians spend their remaining life
struggling as they try to resist responding to that song. Important as that
calling is, that is not what Chambers is addressing. Rather, he is speaking to the specific call
on our lives .. the call to fulfill our purpose in this great story that God is
writing … The pen is Jesus, the ink is the Church and the paper is time.
You have a specific purpose in the Body of Christ …
you have been called to it. Not everyone
has been called to be a missionary to another people, a pastor, a teacher, an
evangelist … but we have all been called to our place in the Body. We tend to look at callings such as being a
pastor as meaning that those people are somehow more important in the kingdom
that others might be. That is worldly
thinking … Everyone is the same to the Father .. the power to do what He calls
us to do is from Him .. not ourselves. We
can’t .. or shouldn’t .. take credit for it.
Apart from God we are spiritually impotent. Incapable of doing anything, in our own
power, that has eternal significance.
We honor men and women who are serving God in some
manner, not because of what they are doing, but because of what they are
allowing God to do through them. That is
not to say that some people are not smarter than other people, more gifted in
music, more eloquent in speech .. but all of that is from God? Those grey cells that they are using … God
created them .. arranged them … So you might be thinking why some and not
others .. or why not me? That would be self-centered
and not God centered thinking. It is so easy to compare ourselves to others and
then look to God and ask why not me? Paul
wrote
Philippians
4:11-13 'Not that I
speak in regard to need, for I have
learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to
abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be
hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through
Christ who strengthens me.'
So the point is that you must know that you have
been called .. and God’s desire is that you be faithful in that calling ..
whatever it is …. Don’t use the world’s standards to judge your value in the
kingdom of God. Let your light shine and
trust God to use it for His glory.
Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)
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