God Called Me?

God Called . . . ME!?!?

January 18, 2009

For the past two weeks we have been talking about the church and what God is calling us to do and to be.

Two weeks ago we looked at the scripture when Joshua was leading the Israelites into Israel. In order to cross into the land they had to cross the Jordan River while it was at flood stages. The priests had to walk into the water before the water would begin to recede. The question I asked was about our willingness to risk, not in a foolish manner, but to risk for the sake of building God’s kingdom. I asked people to stand if they were ready and willing to move forward for God, and it was amazing to see so many people stand and say “YES” I’m ready, let’s go.

Last week we looked at THE CALL of Moses and how God calls us to serve Him not always in the manner we think we should be called and not always doing the things we would like to do. But when we are obedient to God’s call and that is really the key, obedience to God’s plan of action, we gain a passion and commitment for THE CALL.

So, let me ask you, have you ever had one of those surprising phone calls? Not the one that says you’ve won $10 million with good old Ed McMahon coming to your door.

It’s that phone call from an old friend, someone you’ve maybe thought of over the years, but you’ve just never connected with them. Out of the blue, they call you and you strike up a wonderful conversation and reminisce about the good old days.

Or maybe your at a store, trying to finish your shopping and you see someone you have not talked to in years. You talk and go out for coffee and enjoy that time together.

You see, we often find God’s call in our lives in some astonishing way. It comes as a complete surprise. We’re floored when we realize what God wants us to do, but I don’t think that is the way God has planned it for us. God does not want us to search and search and search and be so exhausted from this searching that we lose sight of what He really wants us to do.

There are so many potential ministries we can be involved in, so many opportunities, yet, so many people come to church, leave church, and really don’t get involved, yet God considers each one of us a minister.

Now, that may sound a little strange to you, because many people believe it is only the pastor of the church who is the minister. The pastor of the church is a minister vocationally. But when we read the Word of God, we must realize each of you are also ministers.

Ephesians 4:12 refers to "the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." When the Scriptures mention the words saints, it is not referring to those Christians who have gone to heaven. It is about the Christians who are alive right now who are supposed to carry out the will of God. Folks, you are the saints being referred to here. We are the saints and ministers. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter even goes to the extent of calling us a "royal priesthood."

In his book, Doing Church as a Team, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, wrote the following:

"Every member is a minister. God calls us to be full-time ministers! Full-time? Yes! Not just on Sundays, not just at Bible studies, but full-time. Do we love God just part-time? Do we serve Him just part-time? We are all full-time citizens of heaven with a commission and an assignment to accomplish during our stay here on this planet.

Before you are a businessman, you are a minister. Before you are a homemaker, you are a minister. Before you are a student, a grandparent or a CEO, you are first a minister. Some may protest, ’But I don’t work for the church! I work for the state (or the police department, a construction company, the department of education, a manufacturing firm). My company pays me, not the church! How can you say I am a full-time minister?’ (Doing Church as a Team, 37-38).

Isn’t that great?! You might not like what Cordeiro is saying because it means you need to move out of your comfort zone, but the fact is sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that we can just come and worship for an hour, leave, think good thoughts, but never really fulfill what God has designed us for. We miss the mark, and folks missing the mark is the definition of the word, sin. We end up missing our purpose, our plan for life, and when we miss it, we never attain the true joy and satisfaction God had planned for us all along.