The Red Pen #5 - June 14, 2009

The Red Pen #5
The Distortion of Calling-Part 2

Proverbs 22:6 (New International Version)
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Ephesians 4:11-16 (New Living Translation)
Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
Romans 12:6-13 (New Living Translation)
In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.
How do I find my calling?
1. Make your life about seeking God.
Matthew 6:33 (New Living Translation)
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
• How do I find my calling? it starts with this kind of seeking…
2. Remember God’s Kingdom is the point.
Ephesians 4:12 (New Living Translation)
…Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ…
We often confuse this reality…
3. Our Calling Defies Physics…
1 Corinthians 4:13-18 (New Living Translation)
But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.” We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory. That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
Conclusion:
A Calling is not:
• God’s Will
• A Spiritual Gift
• Vision
• Balance
Also:
• It is not a task
• It is not and excuse to not get involved somewhere
• It is not a forced agenda – “I have to do ________”
• It is not limited to what is available – God may be trying to start a whole new thing through you.
A Calling is:
• Wired into us by God from birth
• A “natural talent” or bent
• A motivation or underlying reason for doing a task
• To be used for God’s glory
• Found by looking backward, not forward