Our Calling
2 Timothy 1:8-9
Introduction: Every Christian is privileged to have at least three calls of God on his life. How often we take for granted His calling. How often we turn a deaf ear to His voice. The story is told of years long past when turnpikes were not much more than a country toll road of an old turnpike man in a quiet country road whose habit was to shut his gate at night and take a nap. One dark, wet night, a traveler knocked at his door crying, "Gate! Gate!" "Coming," said the voice of the old man. Then the traveler knocked again, and once more the voice replied, "Coming." This went on for some time, till at length the traveler opened the door and demanded to know why he cried, "Coming" for so long and never came. "Who’s there?" said the old man in a sleepy voice. "What d’ye want, sir?" Then, awakening, "Bless yer, sir, and yer pardon; I was asleep. I get so used to hearing them knock that I answer ’Coming’ in my sleep, and take no more notice about it." Have we fallen asleep to His calls. Consider the call to redemption, to service and sanctification, and the coming call to glorification.
I. We have been called to Redemption
A. Our salvation is the sovereign, saving calling of God.
B. John 15:16a “"You did not choose Me, but I chose you...”
C. Ephesians 1:4 “...He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...”
D. We have been called to salvation before the foundation of the world. There is nothing that we can do to merit God’s gracious calling to redemption. Titus (3:5) tells us that it was “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” There is nothing that you or I can do to be saved. One could do and say all of the right things and still not have earned the privilege of being saved. It is given as an undeserved kindness.
E. Ephesians 2:1 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
F. Longfellow could take a worthless sheet of paper, write a poem on it, and make it worth $6,000 -- that is genius.
Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions -- that is capital.
Uncle Sam can take a sheet of rag paper, run it through a printing press, and make it worth $20 -- that is money.
A mechanic can take material worth $5.00 and make an article worth $50.00 -- that is skill.
An artist can take a five dollar piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth $1,000 -- that is art.
God can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in the blood of Christ, put His Spirit in it, and make it a blessing to humanity -- that is salvation. – Copied and adapted from William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
G. Romans 8:28-30 “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. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
H. A lady was on a lake steamer when her little girl fell overboard, and she was almost frantic. A gentleman on the boat had a large Newfoundland dog. The dog was directed to leap into the water and save the child. He did so and swam ashore with the little girl, part of her dress in his mouth, I suppose. The mother seized her saved child, and kissed her again and again. Then turning to the dog, she hugged and kissed that dog, with a heart full of gratitude to the animal. That’s more than some people have ever done for Jesus Christ, although He hung on the cross to save them from sin and hell. - William Moses Tidwell, "Pointed Illustrations."
II. We are being called into Sanctification and Service
A. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”
B. Called to Sanctification
1. 1 Corinthians 1:2 “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:”
2. Romans 8:29 “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
3. This means that there is to be death to the old life and sin (Romans 6:6-11), a denial of self (Matthew 16:24; Romans 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14), and a life given over to holiness.”
4. The story is told of a young girl who accepted Christ as her Savior and applied for membership in a local church. "Were you a sinner before you received the Lord Jesus into your Life?" inquired an old deacon. "Yes, sir," she replied. "Well, are you still a sinner?" "To tell you the truth, I feel I’m a greater sinner than ever." "Then what real change have you experienced?" "I don’t quite know how to explain it," she said, "except I used to be a sinner running after sin, but now that I am saved. I’m a sinner running from sin!" she was received into the fellowship of the church, and she proved by her consistent life that she was truly converted. - Our Daily Bread.
C. Called to serve.
1. God has personally called, gifted, equipped, and empowered each believer to serve one another in building up the body of Christ to the glory of God.
2. 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
3. God calls us to a lifetime of service. Christ came to serve and we are to serve likewise.
4. Galatians 5:13 “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
5. The church is called to be the salt and light of the world – focused upward to God, inward to each other, and outward to the world around them. We are called to serve in everything we do. We are called to serve, not to be served, and to minister outwardly by doing all things for the building up of the body of Christ. - adapted
D. At one time, Daniel Webster was considered the greatest of all living Americans. He was outstanding as a statesman, lawyer, orator, and leader of men. Twenty-five national leaders attended a select banquet in his honor. One man at the banquet asked Mr. Webster, "Sir, what is the greatest thought that ever entered your mind?" Without hesitation, Webster replied, "The greatest thought that ever entered my mind was the thought of my responsibility to God." As he spoke, he wept, excused himself from the banquet, and went outside to get control of his emotions. When he returned he talked for thirty minutes about man’s responsibility to God. - Carl G. Johnson
III. One day we will be called to Glorification
A. 1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
B. Glorification is the future and final work of God upon Christians, where he transforms our mortal physical bodies to the eternal spiritual bodies in which we will dwell forever.
C. 1 Corintians 15:42-44, "So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
D. In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. On the marker were inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, a seed, covered over by the stones, began to grow. Slowly it pushed its way through the soil and out from beneath them. As the trunk enlarged, the great slabs were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps were wrenched from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree that had pushed aside the stones.
The dynamic life force contained in that little seed is a faint reflection of the tremendous power of God’s creative word that someday will call to life the bodies of all who are in their graves. He will also bring back every person drowned at sea, cremated, or destroyed in some other way. This is no problem to the One who made something out of nothing when He spoke the universe into existence. Unbelief cannot deter the resurrection. But faith in the risen Christ opens the door to blessings that His resurrection guarantees -- a glorious new spiritual body and a home in heaven. In new bodies we will be reunited with saved loved ones to live with Jesus throughout all eternity.
E. Revelation 19:9 “Then he said to me, ‘Write, Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’”
