Just Words:
Calling
Scripture Text: John 1.43-50
INTRODUCTION
Mindin’ his own business! He was minding his own business, …sitting under the shade tree, …doin’ his devotions. That’s-what Nathanael was doing just-before his friend, Philip, came and turned-his-world up-side-down!
Mindin’ his own business! He was minding-his-own-business, …hangin’-out with his good-friends. That’s-what Andrew was doing just-before his friend, pointed to a stranger and said, “He’s-the-man!”
Mindin’ his own business! He was minding-his-own-business, …down-at-the-lake, …cleaning his fishing-gear. That’s-what Peter was doin’ just-before his brother, Andrew, came and said, “Peter! You’ve gotta meet this guy!”
Mindin’ our-own-business, …that’s what we often find-ourselves-doing when Christ comes-a-callin’!
TRANSITION
The second half of John, chapter 1, tells-how the first disciples came to follow Jesus. And, as-you-read-through those events, …it’s-striking how it-all-came-about.
We use this word: “Calling”, …and it’s a word that has-almost taken-on connotations that are bigger-than-life; …it’s almost-got a life-of-its-own! To talk about “calling” seems-like such a heavy-thing. It’s weighted with seriousness. It’s-as-though you have to talk-about-it in hushed tones.
But-although there is a very-serious-side to “calling”, …as I study these passages, …I’ve come to see another tone. And that’s-what we’re gonna-explore this morning. Some of the questions that naturally come-to-mind, on-this-topic, would-be: What does it mean to be “called” of God? What’s involved in hearing and responding to His call? What’s-in God’s mind when He calls somebody like-you, or like-me?
Well… those are just-some questions that you might-expect to come-up in a sermon dealing with the subject of “calling”. But, another question that I’d like to invite you to let-linger is this: What is the tone of God’s calling?... Is it booming, …harsh, …demanding? When God calls, …is He like the drill sergeant who yells, “Jump!”; …and-waits for the enlisted-men to respond with, “How high!?!” What is the tone of calling, when God calls?
BODY
And-what-I’ve-found, …as I read through the calling of Philip and Nathanael, …what-I’ve-found is that the tone of Christ’s call is the tone-of-invitation.
I. Calling Is an Invitation to Follow
And-I-think-that, this is true in almost every case. When God calls, …it’s an invitation to follow. And-it’s-not-just with Philip and Nathanael. If you look earlier in John, chapter 1, …you find the same-kinda-thing with Andrew and Peter. And you see it in Matthew’s Gospel, …when Jesus called James and John, it was, “Come, follow me!” Calling is an invitation to follow.
How often do we use this word (i.e., ‘calling’) …in some-kind-of super-spiritual sense? Maybe we’ve got this picture in our minds of Moses before the burning-bush! Maybe we think-that that’s what a calling is supposed-to-look-like! And-so, we expect a clap-of-thunder, …the crack-of-a-lightning-strike, …or a heavenly-vision of the throne-room-of-God, like Isaiah had.
But I’m coming-to-realize that most-times, when God calls, …it’s a-lot-softer in-tone. And, Moses’-experience and Isaiah’s-experience - …they were the exception to the rule!
In terms of becoming a disciple-of-Jesus, God’s call is an invitation-to-follow. Jesus simply-said to Philip, “Follow me.” Phillip then-went to his good-friend, Nathanael, …and he-said, “come and see”.
The tone, is friendly. It’s conversational. It’s an invitation to follow Jesus. The invitation to follow is the call to discipleship; …but it is also an invitation to discovery and adventure and exploration. In-a-word, …it’s an invitation to a relationship.
Sure, there-may-be a vocational-component to God’s call on your life. Ya-know, …He might want you to become a pastor, …or a missionary, …or a teacher, …or a host-of-any-number of specific-things. But, the-specifics aren’t the heart of what calling-is-all-about. The heartbeat of God’s call on all-our-lives is this-invitation to-follow Jesus.
II. In Order to Follow, We Must Leave
The second-thing to see about God’s calling is: …in order to follow Jesus, we must leave.
When Jesus invited Philip to follow Him, …he had to leave… He left the place where he was. He left the position where he stood. He left the comforts and the familiarity of home, in-order-to-follow Jesus.
In order for Nathanael to follow Jesus, …he had to leave. He left the shade of the fig tree. He left the reputation of-being a highly-respected citizen. He left the comforts and the familiarity of home, in-order-to-follow Jesus.
Thinking of James-and-John, and Peter-and-Andrew ~ …in-order-for each-one-of-them to respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow, …each-one had to leave. James-and-John left their father in the fishing boat. Andrew-and-Peter left their nets on the shore. Each-one-of-them left the comforts and the familiarity of home, in-order-to-follow Jesus.
Now, when a sermon starts using language-like, “leaving the comforts and familiarity of home” ~ …our imaginations immediately-jump to taking that in the literal sense. And our hearts-and-minds start churning with anxiety ~ …possibly-even-fear ~ …at the thought of leaving our families, …moving to some strange city, …or some-foreign-nation, …all-because God “called” us away.
But, instead of focusing on the things we leave, why not focus on the things we gain? They gained greater-understanding, …and a deeper-relationship with Jesus. They found forgiveness and acceptance and a-place-in-God’s-plans for the world. Through these men, …the world was changed! Through these men, …hearts were saved! Through these men, …men-and-women, boys-and-girls discovered the life-changing reality of God’s-redeeming-love. Look-at-what they gained!
Nathanael took the message of Jesus all the way to India and Armenia. Philip was instrumental in taking the gospel to northern Africa. …we could go on-and-on, down-the-list-of-disciples ~ …men who gave-up so-much, …men who left-so-much in-order-to-follow the Lord.
But, God doesn’t intend for everyone of us to go to a different culture, …or to speak a different-language. God doesn’t plan for every-single-one-of-us to become a pastor or a preacher or a seminary-professor. But He does call each one of us to follow Him!
I’m struck, when I read the gospel-stories of how Jesus called those first disciples, …I’m struck by how non-specific He is! He doesn’t-tell the disciples all-that-they-will face, as-His-followers. And-maybe that’s a good-thing! Maybe on-the-front-end of-it-all, …maybe we couldn’t handle knowing what hardships we might endure. Maybe we’d be scared to death and our faith would be paralyzed!
But-then-again, …maybe the point of following-Jesus is not all the hardships ~ …yes, there will be tough times; …and-maybe the point of following Jesus is not all the things that we’ll have to give up ~ …although there are things that-simply get-in-the-way of faithfully-following Jesus; …but-maybe the point of following Jesus is simply leaving-the-old-way-of-life in order-to-find new-life in Him!
Ephesians 4 says this:
I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
The first thing that following Jesus, …(i.e., the “calling” we have received), …the first-thing that it means is, leaving the old-way-of-life. Letting-go of pride and aggression; …letting-go of impatience and bullishness; …leaving the attitudes of hate and prejudice and vengefulness; …setting aside division and self-centeredness.
When we talk about the-fact-that we must do-some ‘leaving’, …in-order-to-do-some following, …these are the things that all followers-of-Jesus must leave! In the old-way-of-life, …these things are far-too-familiar. They are too-comfortable ~ …like an old, faded, thread-bare-pair of jeans. They just-seem-to-fit so-well! And maybe we’ve spent so-much of our lives living-in-those-old-ratty-jeans, …that it seems like home. Pride and impatience are just second-nature. Self-centeredness and vengefulness are familiar territory. But, these things are not in harmony with what-it-means to follow Jesus. In-order-to-follow Him, we need to leave-some-of-the old-familiar territory.
The point of following Jesus is leaving-the-old-way-of-life in order-to-find new-life in Him! And-so, it’s about changing our heart-and-mind. It’s about being transformed from the inside-out. It’s about letting the life-of-Christ re-shape and re-mold us so-that others can see who-we-belong to; …that we are children of the Heavenly Father; …that we are people who’ve been rescued from a futile and fruitless life; …that we are folks who have been given a promise bigger-than this world can imagine or hope-to-attain!
Peter and Andrew and Philip and Nathanael and all-the-other-disciples left family and home and occupations. When I first began to follow Jesus, …I had to leave the old-gang-of-friends, …and old-destructive-habits Many-of-you had to do the same kinds-of-things. But we leave those things in-order-to follow Jesus faithfully! Whether following-Jesus means, …for you, …whether following-Jesus means a career on the mission-field, …or pastoring a church, …or some other specific-thing ~ He’ll make that clear to you on-down-the-road. But, first-and-foremost, …the point of following Jesus is stepping-away-from the old-way-of-life and pursuing new-life in Christ! That’s the point! That’s what’s-at the heart of the call-of-God!... Letting-go of the old-life, …and grabbing-hold of new-life in Jesus!
III. Jesus Is the Center and the Source of Calling
Which brings us to our final-point: Jesus is the center and the source of this calling! He is the focal-point. He is the Voice that we’re listening to. His footsteps are the one’s we are following. He is the One we pursue.
Children imitate parents in so-many different ways. Boys may put-on Dad’s work boots; …girls may try-on Mom’s high-heels. They play house; …and they go out to the garage to tinker-around with Dad’s tools.
When we’re talking about the call-of-God on our lives ~ …and what-it-means to follow-Jesus ~ …so-much-of-it is about imitation. Following Jesus is the act of imitating His character, …His ways, …His heart. There are times-when it feels awkward; …and it’s hard to keep-step with Him.
When you look at the Gospel-stories, …it’s painfully-apparent how-often the disciples missed-the-boat. They had followed Jesus by physically-leaving their homes-and-families; …but, they were still-holding-on to some old-ways, and old-ideas, and old-sins.
The same thing happens to with us ~ …to follow Jesus is to embark-upon-a-journey, …an adventure of discovery… Not-just discovering more-about-Jesus; …but-also discovering more-about-ourselves ~ …what’s buried deep-within our hearts; …what-kinds-of-treasures we’re holding onto, as more-important-than-God;
…what kinds of values we have that don’t fit-in with the values of the kingdom of God. The invitation to follow Jesus is an invitation to a journey of discovery ~ …discovering the awesome heart of God; …discovering the wonderful plans of God; …and discovering who-we-are and what-we’re-made-of!
But, this journey of discovery can only-happen when we remember that Jesus is the center-and-the-source of it all! He is the focal-point. His footsteps are the one’s we are following. He is the One we pursue.
I recently watched a documentary on television. It was dealing with dangerous cults. They talked about Charles Manson and Jim Jones and David Koresh… And-as-the-show moved-along, …it talked about things like “devotion”; …and-a-willingness, on-the-part-of the cult-members, …a-willingness to sacrifice everything; …and it talked about how they would adopt a new-identity, according to their leader’s will.
All-that sounded eerily-similar to the language we use in church!.. Because we talk about “devotion”; …and “willingness to surrender”; …and “personal sacrifice”; …and “obedience”. But, even-though some-of-the-words are the same, …there are very-important-differences! As-I-watched-the-show, I was struck by how these men were able to weave together their evil-imaginations with religious-themes ~ …like Armageddon and the Second-Coming of Christ. And I was perplexed by how these guys were able to convince so-many to do-such-ungodly-things. And-then a profound-sadness came-over-me because I realized that tens-of-thousands (if-not-millions) of people, …are led astray because they put someone else at the center of their life’s-calling!
That’s what happens in the cults: …the leader becomes the focal-point of their life! How many people are-led-astray when they put a pastor, …or a missionary, …or a tele-vangelist, …or a Sunday School teacher,
…or some-someone they have high-regard for ~ …how many people are led-astray when they begin to follow a person rather than Jesus!?!
Jesus invites us to follow Him; …it is Jesus that we are to-follow! Not your pastor. Not your mom. Not Billy Graham. Not Mother Teresa. It’s Jesus! He says, “Come, follow me!” It’s a beautiful invitation. But, it’s an invitation that we each-must-respond to.
What’s it gonna be?... Do you hear Him calling? Will you follow Him?
CONCLUSION
Well… I feel-as-though I’ve gotten-away from the direction that I wanted to go, this morning! You-remember, …I wanted to focus on the tone of Christ’s calling… And it is friendly, …and conversational; …It’s an invitation to follow.
But, we’ve gotten-back to the “heaviness” of the calling. Maybe it’s because we intuitively-see that this word, “calling”… …maybe we just-know deep-down-in-our-gut that “calling” isn’t just-another-word! And-even-though we may not know all the specifics of what-we’ll-face, …or where-we’ll-go – on-down-the-road, …we seem to have this sense that responding to God’s calling is a big-deal!
It is. There’s no-getting’-around-that! But that-shouldn’t scare-us-to-death! And it shouldn’t paralyze-us with fear. And it must-not-leave us sitting on the side of the road because we can’t bring-ourselves to take-the-first-step to following Jesus!
But all-of-us are travellin’-down some road. And all roads have difficulties and tragedies. All roads will demand-of-you sacrifice and surrender. No-matter what road you go down, there will be “leaving”. And, no-matter what road you travel on, you will have things-or-people that you focus on ~ …reference-points, …mentors, …examples. The calling of Jesus ~ to follow Him ~ is simply an invitation to shift focus! And-really, Who or what would be better-to-follow, than Him!?!
We’re going to sing a song entitled, “Empty Me”. It’s a prayer. It’s a prayer that our focus would be on Christ, …and none-other. It’s a prayer that our-hearts and our-minds and our-feet and our-hands ~ ..it’s a prayer that we would follow Jesus with everything that we are. It’s a prayer that we would be faithful to His calling.
And if all-of-this has a “serious” tone to it, …it does because it is! But, remember the tone in Jesus’ voice… …It’s friendly; …It’s winsome; …He’s inviting us to an adventure. To-explore who-He-is, …to-listen to His teachings, …to-imitate His ways. It’s an invitation to follow Him, …leaving the old-way-of-life and discovering new-life in Christ. “Come and see”, and you will see!
