For those not familiar with an Anglican Service; there are four Scripture Readings before the Sermon. The Scripture Readings for this day were: 1 Samuel 3:1-20; Psalm 139:1-5,12-17; 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and John 1:43-51.
In her book, .....A Man Called Peter, .....Catherine Marshall ...tells how her late preacher-husband .....felt a sense of destiny .... a sense of call .....in his life. (Pause)
One dark night, .....Peter, ....then a young man, .....decided to take a Shortcut ....across the Scottish moors.
He knew there was a deep deserted limestone quarry in that area, ..... but he was confident ..... that even in the dark....he could avoid it.
Suddenly, ....he heard someone call, .... (Use A Deep Voice) "Peter." .....There was great urgency.... in the voice.
Peter stopped and responded:..... "Yes who is it?
What do you want?" ..... There was no answer.
He walked a few more steps ....and then heard the voice calling more urgently,.........."Peter!"
He paused .....then he stumbled ....and fell on his knees.
Putting out his hand to catch himself, ......he found nothing there.
He was at the... very edge..... of the abandoned stone quarry.
Just one more step ..... would have meant ....certain death." (Pause)
The calling that night ..... confirmed for Peter Marshall .....that he was clearly ......being called by God ......for ministry.
And I am convinced .......that each of us ....has been called by God .....to fulfill a purpose, ...... to fulfill a spiritual calling ....in this life.
We are called .....to become a part ......of the Masters plan.
Our Gospel text .....and Old Testament reading ... speak to this. (Pause)
Samuel in the O.T.....Philip and Nathanael in the N.T.....were each called by God, .....and in turn ....they responded ....thus....fulfilling God's plan .....for their lives.
This calling ...... this process .....can be divided into ....3 steps:
(1 Finger) the step of discovery,
(2 Fingers) the step of decision,
(3 Fingers) And..thirdly, .....the step of action.
Discover....Decision...Action!
How do these steps apply to us .....as followers.....of the Christ. (Pause)
First ....there is.... discovery:
Samuel heard someone calling him over and over .....and each time .....he was convinced ....it was Eli.
But with Eli's help .....Samuel finally realized .....who was truly calling him , ..... it was God himself.
Samuel ....made .....a discovery.
It was God ....that was calling him.
God had called Samuel 3 times .....and each time Samuel was sure ... he was convinced ...it was Eli.
And....Eli too ....was being utilized by God .....For it was Eli that gave Samuel insight .....in discovering ....the purpose ....of God's call.
Samuel did not know God's voice.....he did not know who was calling..... But Eli did. (Pause)
Philip was discovered by Jesus ......and Jesus also called him ....to follow.
Then Philip found Nathanael ......and told him about this Jesus, ..Philip called to Nathanael...to Come... Come and see!
When Jesus saw Nathanial coming toward him..... Jesus called out to Nathanial ......and proclaimed .....what kind of man .....he was.
Beloved ...... are you beginning to grasp the message...... in the Scriptures this day.
(Slow) The initial calling always .... Always comes from God.
God discovers us ...... as we are.
God discovers us ..... where we are.
And that call .... that discovery ..... always requires Us .............to make a decision.
God acts first ..... God makes the opening call ....to each of us.
And our initial step .....after God's call to us.... is ....to... "Come and See".
The initial step .... The first Step ..... of any undertaking ...is vital.
If you do not start the race ....you cannot finish.... the race.
Having a relationship with God is paramount..... in your calling as a believer.
God comes to you, ..... God discovers you ....God is ....calling you.
There is on old hymn which proclaims this so clearly:
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals ..He's waiting and watching,
Watching for you ...and for me.
Come home, come home,
Ye who are weary come home,
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling
Calling ...O sinner come home."
Beloved ..... Jesus is calling, .....He is calling us into ....relationship .... He is calling us ...to Come and See.
He is calling you ....and he is calling me ....to Come .... To Come and Discover Him.
(1 Finger) So this Discovery ....in turn (2 Fingers) leads to Decision.
We have been called.... into relationship .....with our Lord.
Now....How you respond to that Calling......Is the Decision.
Philip in our Gospel reading.... made a decision ..... A decision .....to follow.
Now Our Gospel text..... does not share any words spoken by Philip .... but his actions, .....make his decision ....clear to us ....... He followed.
Philip made a decision...to follow .....Jesus' call. (Pause)
Remember ..... When God called Samuel the 4th time ..... Samuel heard .....and knew ...the call was from God.
He discovered God's calling, .....and answered with these words,...... "Speak , for your servant is listening."
God is calling each of us ..... to be his own.... To be in relationship with Him.
Are You Listening?
Each of You ......has been called.
You need to make a decision.
What will you do with that call?
You ......must make a decision.
Some liken this time of discovery ......to that of "tire-kickers".
These people ......when they are shopping for a new or used car, ...... will discover the cars, ......and they will kick the tires.....they may kick a lot of tires, ......yet .....they never buy.
There are many tire-kickers, .....who at times .....visit churches; ....they see and hear; ....And even once in a while .... they are moved by something .....in the Service.
But they never ....really intend to buy.
Discovery always leads us ....to make a decision.
If the Decision is to accept the calling .... then there is maturity.....there is advancement .....in your faith.... ....in your spiritual life.
And as you pass from one new beginning to another, .....you realize a greater dimension ....to your life .....a greater dimension in your relationship to and with God. (Long Pause)
One of my favorite acts in a circus ....is the aerial acrobats ....they swing ....from the high ...trapeze bar.
And in my youth ....they did this ....with no net ....beneath them.
I watch in amazement ...as they swing high above ....the Big Top.
Higher and higher, ....then ...in a split second,..... one lets go of that bar.
Performs some sort of acrobatic move in the air ....and then is caught .....in the hands ....of another.
They are always prepared ....to catch the one ....flying though the air.
What does it take, ....for that performer ....to let go of that bar .....and fly ....into the hands ....of the waiting catcher?
What does it take ..... to let go of ourselves, ....to surrender ourselves ... into the hands of Jesus.
What does it take ....to be more than tire kickers .... to be more than ....window shoppers.
What does it take ....to let go of your life ....and let Jesus .....have full control.....total control? (Pause)
(Slow) It takes faith, Faith in God's promise.... to us.
Faith ....which allows us to develop ....a deeper....a richer ...relationship with Him.
Beloved ....The Scriptures are clear .... Christian Faith..... is an Action Faith.
It is not a stagnate Faith.
It is a Faith.......that requires us ......to do something. (Pause)
(Slow) (1 Finger) There is Discovery .... and Discovery (2 Fingers) leads to a Decision .... (3 Fingers) which in turn leads us to Action.
Samuel and Philip put their decision of faith ....into action.
Samuel proclaimed to the Lord..... "I will listen".
Philip asked Nathanael.... to "Come and see... Come and See ....this Messiah."
And Nathanael in his response made a declaration of faith: BIBLE "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" END
Once you have discovered God's calling to you.....
Once you have made a decision of Faith ....to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
Then ...and only then ....will you be filled ....filled with the Holy Spirit.
You will be a people...of action Faith.
James in his epistle puts it this way: BIBLE "Even so Faith without works is dead" END James 2:17
Or it could be restated , Faith ....without Action is Dead.
Some may feel .... That they do not want to engage in Apostolic Action ....until they are quote ....."A Stronger Christian".
These may be the same people.... that would have you believe .... you become a perfected golfer,... skier ...or tennis player... by simply reading about it ..... or thinking about it.
We truly become stronger ... not only in Sports .....but in our Christian walk ....by combining ....Prayer... Study... and Action. (Pause)
Jesus states in the Gospel of John ....that you should Love one another ....as I have loved you.
That makes Apostolic Faith...Apostolic Action ....so much easier.
Love gives us the desire ....to introduce others ....to our Lord and Savior. (Long Pause)
We need to exercise our Faith ....through Action.
And by telling others about Jesus...... We grow.
In his epistle ....James, goes on to state ....that as a result of works... as a result of Action, ..... Faith was perfected.
That is, ..... our faith becomes stronger....it becomes nature..... due to... our Apostolic Action.
Our actions proclaim our faith.. they proclaim..who we really are. (Pause)
I remember a comment that was shared at a parent teacher conference....about my son Justin ...by his high school chemistry teacher.
She said ..... Justin was an exceptional student .... And that he was not afraid ...to work with other students ....that were considered odd... or different.
Justin was a pretty well known kid.... at school.
But he was not afraid ....to be available ...to those that might be looked down upon ...by the rest ....of the student body.
He was not afraid ...of how he would be perceived ....by the rest of his class.
When Justin saw a person in need ..... he stepped forward ....to fulfill that need. (Long Pause)
Beloved I am convinced that the opposite of Love is not Hate, ..... it is Fear!
And....It is fear ....that often keeps us ....from stepping out ....and doing ....the right thing.
It could be the fear.... of how we are perceived by others.
Fear .... that we might be considered.... odd or different.
Fear .... That they will reject our friendship.
When my wife Lee.... shared what this teacher said about Justin ....I felt a tremendous Pride ....in him ....for his courage. (Pause)
We need to be willing........we must be willing.... to step out ....and do Gods work ....even ....in the presence of fear.
Beloved.... Do not let fear.... separate you ......from Gods plan..... for your life.
It has been stated ... though I have not counted .... That The Statement " Fear Not" or "Be not Afraid" ....is in the scriptures 365 times.
One .....for every day of the year.
Beloved "Fear Not"....."Be not Afraid" !
Yield .... Yield to the calling ...of Jesus.
(Sing)
Softly and tenderly ...Jesus.....is calling,
Calling for you .....and ..... for-or me;
See, on the portals ...He's waiting..... and watching,
Watching for you ......and for me.
Come home,..... come home,
Ye who are weary .....come home ,
Earnestly,.....tenderly, ..Jesus . is calling
Calling .....O sinner ....come home."
Amen & Amen!
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I received much insight from the Tim Zengale Sermon "Tire Kickers". I commend this Sermon to you.
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Homily was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings Jeff.
