Answering The Call (Part I)
The Open Door
John 4:
35 "Do you not say, 'There are still four months and then comes the harvest'? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!
36 "And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
37 "For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.'
38 "I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors."
We have heard the promises that those who wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, and the many passages that encourage us to wait on God. However, the church as a whole has lost its vision and therefore we have also lost our understanding as to what it means to wait on God. We are not called to wait on God to spur us into action. We are commanded to go and reach the world and be an impact in our communities for Christ. We are waiting while the harvest spoils. When we are not going, our faith will begin to fade. When the gospel is theory, it is exciting for a while, but then it begins to fade with our emotions. It is when we see God working through us that the theory becomes reality and God’s word becomes alive! Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth, but if salt loses its flavor, it is good for nothing. If our faith loses its flavor, we will have no impact on our culture and our faith is good for nothing. Salt adds flavor and acts as a preservative. That is what our faith should do as well. When follow God’s call, we will be alive and will draw others to the gospel we live out as and God uses our lives to preserve the moral climate of our communities. If our faith is alive, our families are impacted, it will then reach out to our communities and circle of influence. If we reach our communities, we will impact our nation and world outreach is a natural product. However, if we withdraw from reaching out, we remove the moral preservation to our nation and it will begin to decay; our communities will begin to decay and our families, churches and personal lives will begin to be contaminated by the moral decay around us. We cannot withdraw from our world and expect to remain godly. We will either be an influence in our world, or our world will influence us.
To wait on the Lord assumes we are already on the move. God will allow challenges to come in our path. When God calls us to follow, He will test our faith. It takes no faith to walk with God when everything comes easy. It is when the mountains block our path that the testing of our faith stretches us and grows us. It is when we know what God has called us to do that we learn what it means to wait. There will be times when a roadblock stands in the way and we have tried everything we know to do that we often take matters in our own hands and blow it. Will we use desperate measures, give up and abandon the call, or will we wait on the Lord? God uses these obstacles in life to shape us. Sometimes trouble redirects us when we are getting off course or missing what God is trying to show us. Other times, God uses hardship to teach us to depend on Him. If I could do it all, the work of ministry would quickly become mine and I would forget that the power comes from God. When I learn to wait on Him; He renews my strength; He gives me the ability to mount up with wings like eagles; He empowers me to run and not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31). If following God makes me weary and I am not renewed while waiting, then He is not my strength – I am.
To wait on the Lord is not to wait on God to give me something to do. He has already provided the mission and commanded me to go. We wait on God when the door is closed. To paraphrase what Jesus said in John 4, don’t say we will work when everything falls into place or the invitation is given. The call to come has already gone out; the invitation is already given; the world is ready and you already have the command to go. Go and pray for others to go with you. Not only are the fields ripe, but they are white with harvest. The grain is falling off the stalks. Each day we wait, opportunities are lost.
Revelation 3:
8 "I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.
When we look around, we see the door is open. When God opens the door, only He can shut it. The problem is not that the opportunities are not available, the problem is that we are not willing to go through the open doors. We tend to refuse the doors God opens and to beat on the doors God has closed. Being sensitive to God’s calling is vital. Because it is God who opens the door, we must be walking with God to see the opportunity. I can’t open the door. I can go out and be active without following God’s plan for my life, but I will not be successful. The power comes when I am walking in the center of God’s will, I am seeking His face, and focused on His call and not focused on my works. God will lead me to opportunities. If I get ahead of God, I will get frustrated. If I drift away from God, I will be ineffective or will become apathetic.
Growing spiritual and doing His works are inseparable. If I focus on works and am not spiritually focused, the works will become my religion. Works can’t produce faith and works cannot produce righteousness. However, faith in Christ always produces works because faith is active. If I have a form of faith but its only purpose is to serve me, it is not faith at all. It may be religious, but it is not of God. James said that if you believe in God, you do well, but so does the devil. Faith that does not have works that follow is dead. Faith is active and alive. If I really trust God, I will obey and follow Him. My focus will be on Him and by default, I will act on what I believe. This is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. I can believe in my head that Jesus died for my sins but that means nothing. However, at the moment I truly believed with my heart, I was moved into action. I didn’t only believe, but I trusted what Jesus did for me and I took the free gift of my salvation. I exchanged my life for His; my sins for His; my dead works for His completed works and His righteousness. It was when I truly believed that what I had was valueless in comparison to what God was giving me that I was moved into action. Until then, I didn’t really believe. True faith is when I put my trust in Christ. I believe God and put my trust in Him.
Faith makes us grow. Even nature teaches us that when something quits growing, it begins to die. If we as Christians quit growing, we begin to die spiritually. There is never a time in this life when we can say, “I have arrived” or “I did my job for God”. When I begin to stagnate, I have to become refreshed or I will pollute. It is dangerous to drink out of a stagnate pond, but we can be refreshed by rivers. God pours into us what He expects us to let flow out. If you soak it all in, but never let God flow through you, you will stagnate. We all must have spiritual intake before we can give, but typically we take in and in and in, but never let it flow out. That is why most people reach a certain level of spiritual maturity and then level off or decline. They never seem to grow beyond the infant stage into spiritual adulthood. I believe that is by design. God establishes us in His word and commands us to go. Jesus taught his disciples and then sent them out. They returned rejoicing and He continued the teaching process. Jesus did not start a training program that needed to be completed before they could go. He sent unqualified people out to do a work that was beyond their own power and abilities. They were stretched and they grew from it. This is a lesson the church has forgotten. If we wait until we are spiritually mature before we take hold of our part in the ministry, we will never mature. It is not possible to mature without following God’s call. Most people have been sitting in churches for years and decades that have never done anything but study, yet they don’t understand the basics of the Christian life. Each one of us will be in the same position unless we take that step of faith and allow God to use us with our inadequacies. If you wait until you are ready, you will never be ready.
What it means to serve
What does it mean to serve? Many have the misconception that the ministry is for preachers, missionaries and other high profile positions. The Bible tells us that God gives each person a ministry based on their personal abilities. We are judged based on our calling and our faithfulness to that calling. In the church, we often adopt the world’s measurements for success. We lose focus on the upward call and seek the upward status. God doesn’t measure us based on status. Look at 1 Corinthians 12:
28 And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues.
29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Are all workers of miracles?
30 Do all have gifts of healings? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?
31 But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.
The first three duties God appointed in the church is to establish the authority of His word. Without a solid biblical foundation, God will not acknowledge our works. Even atheists do good deeds. It is not the works that directs our focus, it is the Word of God. Without God’s word being known and understood, we will quickly get off course. The end result should not be the works, the end result is that lives are transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Healing a disease means nothing if the person healed dies in their sins. There are several local ministries here that feed the hungry but never share the love of Christ. I know a church that has provided homeless meals for over 2 years and has not had one person come to Christ. That is a ministry focused on works and not Christ. It has been my experience that feeding the hungry and meeting people’s needs opens the door to the gospel. Feeding the hungry is important, but feeding someone’s empty soul is more important. Filling someone’s stomach is not the end result. Filling someone’s physical needs is the bridge that we build so that we can reach the end result of sharing Christ and making a disciple who can then reach out to others.
Another symptom that we are focused on the works rather than Christ is that we fall into the trap mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, we desire the ‘best’ gifts instead of desiring to fulfill God’s call. By the world’s standard, those who have the public recognition have the best gifts. God does not use this standard of measurement. We are going to be shocked when we give an account before God and administrators and background helpers receive as much or more honor than some of the great evangelists in history. We need to understand that role does not equal worth. In our culture, authority and material success means greater worth. The most valuable player is the one who is able to accomplish the greatest personal achievement. But God measures based on faithfulness. Are we doing what God has equipped and called us to do, and are we doing it faithfully? In our human nature, we covet the best gifts that all men see, but the more excellent way is to desire to follow God’s calling for us.
Even though those who proclaim the word are listed as first in the church, it does not reflect on the value of these position. What position is more valuable than the ones who enable others to proclaim the word? Organization skills are my weakness. One of the ministries I am involved in provides discipleship and groceries to lower income families. It takes time to prepare the sermons and discipleship material, but it takes just as much effort to gather the food, administrate the ministry, store and bag the groceries, and all the other background work that is essential for this ministry to function. There is not one single spiritual gift set that is not utilized in this type of ministry. There is not a single role that is not essential. If the chain is broken at any point, the whole ministry suffers. The person who bags the groceries is just as vital as the person preaching the sermon. We struggle to grasp this concept and many people feel inferior because they are doing ‘little’ things. In reality, God honors the little things as much as the ‘big’ things.
What we need to realize is that God does not judge our faithfulness based on our abilities. Our abilities, talents, and gifts are given to us by God. We have no control of the abilities that God gives us. God distributes these according to His will. Our role is not the measurement God uses – it is our faithfulness. What position we hold is not our concern. If we try to fit into a role that God has not called or equipped us to do, we are working against God’s calling and rejecting His will. These are the works that God will not honor. To say that God’s choice of my role is not acceptable to me is a great error. There is nothing wrong with having special gifts that are not publicly known. In fact, God has promised that if we work as though it is for Him, when He sees in secret, He will reward you openly. Opposite to this are those who seek the praise of men. That praise is the extent of their reward. When we seek to public gifts outside of God’s calling, we are not seeking God, but public recognition. I would much rather have my works go unnoticed so God can reward me than to have everyone notice me and miss God’s blessing.
The Faithful are those who seek God’s glory
Everyone needs a sense of value and significance. This is healthy when we draw our sense of value from God. What the Bible warns against is making this our motivation instead of focusing on God’s glory. A self-seeking person will always struggle spiritually. Look at Matthew 25:
14 " For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.
15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.
16 "Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.
17 "And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.
18 "But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money.
19 "After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
20 "So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, 'Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.'
21 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
22 "He also who had received two talents came and said, 'Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.'
23 "His lord said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.'
24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25 'And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'
26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27 'So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.
28 'Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
29 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
30 'And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
There are a few key things to notice in this passage. Those who prospered were seeking the benefit of their Lord. The only one who failed was the only one who was looking solely toward his own self interest. Why do we sit when God calls? It is always for selfish reasons. The failing servant was afraid of what it would cost him. He was afraid that the task would require a personal sacrifice. Both of the faithful were praised and rewarded. The abilities were not the measuring factor. The failing servant did fail because he lacked ability, but because he was self-centered. There are many talented people who will also be underachievers. It is better to have a helper that is inadequate and faithful than someone with confidence and ability that is not faithful.
Part of discipleship is giving the ministry away. Jesus provided this example and called us to do the same. What I can do means only a little, but God provides people to disciple that He will equip. My most important task is to equip others to go where I can’t go and do what I can’t do. Letting people struggle and find their confidence in God is 90% of what our ministries should be. What I have found is that it is easy to get people excited about ministry and willing to get involved, but it is hard to find those who are faithful. This is why I believe that discipleship and ministry are inseparable. It is important to get people to turn their gaze away from their self-interest and toward God’s calling, while at the same time, draw them into involvement in the ministry. We are all ministers of God if we have Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Someone who is self-focused may be eagerly to get involved and may have the ability to perform. However, as the excitement fades and the emotions drain away, you find out who is serving for their own feelings and who has their eyes set on running the race with an eternal perspective. When the emotions fade and work remains, they will begin to be inconsistent and will fall away. It is the goal that gives us the passion. If my goal is to feel fulfilled, when God’s call begins to cost me, I will lose heart. The lazy servant was not willing to apply himself when it might cost him. In the end, it did cost him greatly, but because of the shortsighted goal he had, the eternal was sacrificed for the immediate temporary comfort. David refused to give to God without personal sacrifice. He said, “I will not offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing”. When we gain that eternal perspective, we will be willing to pay the price. When we surrender to God’s call and take ownership in the ministry He has given us, it will be our passion that will keep us focused when we face struggles. The prophet Jeremiah had that kind of passion. When his critics condemned him and the struggles seemed overwhelming he decided to cease from God’s calling. But his passion for God renewed his passion for his calling. He said, “But His word was in my heart like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, And I could not”. You will never be satisfied until you are where God wants you to be and answering the calling God has equipped you to fulfill.
When we begin to follow God’s call, we will be stretched. Almost always I hear people say, “I feel inadequate”. We are inadequate. It is when we think we are adequate in ourselves that we are on shaky ground. Even if I can do wonders by my own strength and not accomplish anything for God’s glory. It is God who produces the fruit of our works. Look at John 15:
1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
If this passage was all we had to go by, we would understand works if we understand this passage. If my relationship with Jesus is weak, I can’t produce good works. I can work my heart out, but all of my efforts done in my own power are filthy rags when compared to God’s holy standard (Isaiah 64:6). It is not my works that count, but what God is producing in my life. All good things come from God. Anything I produce falls short of the glory of God. Only the righteousness of God invested in my life is acceptable to God. Only what is as holiness of God is counted worthy by God. The same is true for the fruit of our works. If works are what we have done, our works are dead. Good works are what God is doing through us. Our focus always should be to find God’s will by growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ. To abide is a relationship that does not end or separate. It is true intimacy with God. The moment we lose sight of Jesus, we begin to focus on something else. When we unplug from Him, we try to produce our own righteousness and good works. But ‘the branch cannot bear fruit of itself’. Our concern is not the fruit of our labors. Our concern is to abide in Christ and nurture the priceless relationship we have been given. It is a promise, “He who abides in Me (Jesus Christ) bears much fruit”.
If your heart is right with God and you are walking by faith, you will see God producing fruit in your life but there must be a continuous walk with Christ. The moment we run off on our own, we are no longer abiding. The moment He goes where we don’t want to go and we fall back, we are no longer abiding. Fulfilling our calling is profoundly simple, but overcoming our selfish desires is the most difficult part of life. We usually want to pray that God will come with us. We go our own way and pray for God to bless then we become discouraged when He doesn’t. Our prayer should be focused on finding where God is going and asking God to equip and lead us to where He is blessing. To find the open door, we must be in that abiding relationship while keeping in mind that our focus is on the relationship and the goal of conforming to His image, not on the works. God has called every single person to have an abiding relationship with Him. Out of that relationship, we are giving spiritual gifts that are unique to how God has created us individually while working toward a common goal with those God has united together. When God begins a work, many people come together with the same heart and focus but very different skills. Without different gifts of the Spirit, we would be ineffective in the ministry. This is one of the weaknesses of the church today. Because people are not willing to submit to the roles God has chosen them for, others stand in the gap. Standing in the gap is often a necessity, but I can never effectively minister in a role God has equipped someone else to fill.
