WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: FIVE REASONS GOD CALLS US
“For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: ISAIAH 65:12-14 “THEREFORE WILL I NUMBER YOU TO THE SWORD, AND YE SHALL ALL BOW DOWN TO THE SLAUGHTER: BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED, YE DID NOT ANSWER; WHEN I SPAKE, YE DID NOT HEAR; BUT DID EVIL BEFORE MINE EYES, AND DID CHOOSE THAT WHEREIN I DELIGHTED NOT. THEREFORE THUS SAITH THE LORD GOD, BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL EAT, BUT YE SHALL BE HUNGRY: BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL DRINK, BUT YE SHALL BE THIRSTY: BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL REJOICE, BUT YE SHALL BE ASHAMED: BEHOLD, MY SERVANTS SHALL SING FOR JOY OF HEART, BUT YE SHALL CRY FOR SORROW OF HEART, AND SHALL HOWL FOR VEXATION OF SPIRIT.”
The thought that God laid on my heart was, “When God called, He didn’t get any answer.” I wonder were you available when God called? The biggest mistake we make as Christians is not being available when God calls. I try to compare it to when we go home. The first thing we want to do is run and see who left us a message on the answering machine. I don’t believe God leaves messages. I believe He wants you there when He calls. God speaks to everyone of us. Not only Christians but to the Lost. People need to learn to take heed to the voice of God. More so for Christians because Jesus said, “I am the good Shepherd and I know my sheep and they know my voice and they follow me.” Christians ought to be able to follow God in everything they go to do. They ought to know the difference between God’s voice and the Devils voice. I know the devil is a deceiver and sometimes he can plant a pretty picture and we have to watch out for that. I believe the number one important thing for Christians to do is to pray, seek God’s will in our life and seek God’s face. So many times we just want to get down and pray just one time a day or a couple times a week. But we ought to go around on our knees in prayer all the time without ceasing. Asking God to bless the church, the people, our families, to save the Lost. But so many times we want to do everything else and leave out the prayer. Let me tell you how you can hear God better--Pray more! I found that out a long time ago. The more you pray, the better you can hear God.
In this verse God said He called and nobody answered and he spake but they did not hear. Is He speaking to you tonight? I wonder is He calling upon you tonight? I thought about some things in the word of God that God laid on our heart. Different reasons why God calls us. But before we go there I want to share HEBREWS 12:25 “SEE THAT YE REFUSE NOT HIM THAT SPEAKETH. FOR IF THEY ESCAPED NOT HIM THAT REFUSED HIM THAT SPAKE ON EARTH, MUCH MORE SHALL NOT WE ESCAPE, IF WE TURN AWAY FROM HIM THAT SPEAKETH FROM HEAVEN.” He spoke to them here on earth. He spoke to his disciples and they followed him and everytime he spake they were there with him and they heard him. They understood him and knew what He wanted. As they began to follow him they began to grown and prosper. That’s why it’s important to come to the house of God. There’s a lot of Christians in the world today that aren’t even accquainted with the Lord Jesus Christ. They don’t know a lot about Him but He knows everything about you.
Now I want to turn to Matthew. I’ve got about five reasons why God would call you. You children can listen to this just as well as the adults can. A lot of the men and women God spoke to were young. I remember reading about one of the Kings in the new testament that was around seven or eight years old when God called him. Little David was young when the Lord called him. He did a great work too and you know why? Because he heard God. What about the Apostle Paul. He was a very young man on the road to Damascus when He heard God. A lot of the people that day said they heard a voice but they didn’t see the man.
Here’s the NUMBER ONE reason why God might call you. To SALVATION.
Now look at MATTHEW 9:12-13 “THEY THAT ARE WHOLE NEED NOT A PHYSICIAN, BUT THEY THAT ARE SICK. BUT GO YE AND LEARN WHAT THAT MEANETH, I WILL HAVE MERCY, AND NOT SACRIFICE: FOR I AM NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT SINNERS TO REPENTANCE.” So God calls men, women, boys and girls every day, I believe God is knocking on someones hearts door, somebody that’s dying and on their way to a devils hell, God’s speaking to them. He’s telling them that if they died right now they’d bust Hell wide open. God is calling them right now to Salvation. Let me say this: If God has never spoken to you: you’re Lost. He said no man cometh to the Father but by me. You cannot get saved unless there’s some repentance. That’s what the word of God says. When God spoke to me I fell down on my knees and began to beg God to forgive me and I didn’t even know what I had done wrong. I just knew I was sorry I was a sinner. I knew I was on my way to Hell and I needed God’s help. You can’t get salvation without repentance towards God in faith in Jesus Christ. There’s a lot of people trying. If you can’t remember a time in your life when God has ever spoke to your heart to let you know you were Lost then you haven’t been saved. I believe you have to know you’re on the wrong road before you can get on the right road. God could be speaking to someone right now telling them that they’re dying and on their way to Hell. He speaks in that heart of yours. He said, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and sup with them and they with me.” He said that one day it would come to pass that all that were in the graves shall hear his voice. Let me say this, if you’re lost tonight, you’re in the grave. Where was Lazarus at when God called him? In the grave. He was in that tomb with the grave clothes wrapped all around him. He was a representation of a lost person dying and on their way to hell. Thank God, God called him before then. God said, “Lazarus come forth.”
NUMBER TWO: He calls us to be SAINTS. 1 CORINTHIANS 1:2 “UNTO THE CHURCH OF GOD WHICH IS AT CORINTH, TO THEM THAT ARE SANCTIFIED IN CHRIST JESUS, CALLED TO BE SAINTS, WITH ALL THAT IN EVERY PLACE CALL UPON THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, BOTH THEIRS AND OURS.”
In other words He don’t call you to Salvation just to sit on the stool of do nothing, When you get saved by the grace of God you become a new creature. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. He wants us to know we’re God’s people and He calls us to be Saints. Let me tell you what the Bible says about saints. It says that we’re a peculiar people and we’re a Holy nation. There’s something special about a Saint of God whose repented toward God, got faith in Jesus Christ, been saved and sealed in the Holy Spirit of Promise, have their names written down in the Lambs Book of Life. God calls us to be Saints. God don’t save you to live some old sloppy life. We have enough Christians slipping and sliding every day. God wants us to live a good life and it takes work. When somebody asks you what you what you do for a living what do you tell them? Do you say I share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. The Bible says that’s what our profession is. The profession of our faith is sharing the gospel with lost people. We’re called to be Saints and saints have a lot of ability, growing capacity, work that needs to be done. We’ve got a lot to do and a little time to do it in. We’ve got to be willing to stand up to the cross of Calvary and not deviate from God’s message.
NUMBER THREE: He calls us to HOLINESS. 1 THESSALONIANS 4:7 “FOR GOD HATH NOT CALLED US TO UNCLEANNESS, BUT UNTO HOLINESS.”
God calls us in separation. Jesus said to come out from among the world be ye separate, thus saith the Lord. You say, preacher, we’ve all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That’s true but we have to be like Paul said. We have to press toward the mark in the high calling of God which is in Christ Jesus. We cannot live like everybody else lives. We can only live the best we can by the way God wants us to live. Some preacher take the scripture wrong when it says to be ye separate. They’ll excuse themselves from the world, never getting around the lost, never going out to witness or share the Gospel. The Bible says if you’re ashamed of Him, he’ll be ashamed of you before His Father which is in Heaven. God is telling us not to ignore those lost people but to live different from those people. This world was created and you and I were born in this world that was created by God. But I’ll say this: before this world was created, Jesus was. He was in the beginning. In the beginning was the word, the word with God, the word was God and the same was in the beginning with God and all things were made by Him and without Him were not anything made that was made. Christ was there with us. The most times I’ve ever suffered was times I told people I was a child of God and I didn’t live it. If you’re saved by the grace of God and you’re not living right, God is going to come to you. There’s a lot of Christians that are saved and their not living right and they think it’s okay and it’s not. The Bible tells us not to envy sinners. Do you know what that means? I means don’t look at sinners and wish you could have what they have or do what they do. They never have to go to church, fight with traffic. They do what they want to do. The Bible says not to envy sinners. The Bible also says because He suffered, we shall also suffer. I wouldn’t throw away my salvation for nothing. I’d rather live a Godly life and be with Christ Jesus than to be with a bunch of sinners in this world.
NUMBER FOUR: He called us in the SERVICE.
1 CORINTHIANS 7:22 “FOR HE THAT IS CALLED IN THE LORD, BEING A SERVANT, IS THE LORD’S FREEMAN: LIKEWISE ALSO HE THAT IS CALLED, BEING FREE, IS CHRIST’S SERVANT. YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE; BE NOT YE THE SERVANTS OF MEN. BRETHREN, LET EVERY MAN, WHEREIN HE IS CALLED, THEREIN ABIDE WITH GOD.”
I believe we’re called to serve Him. We’re not here to please man. Jesus said, “I came not to be served but to serve.” We’re not here to be served. We’re here to serve Jesus Christ with the Gospel. Jesus said if you give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones you will in no wise lose your reward. How many times have you given a cup of cold water to the lost? I’m not talking about drinking water. We’re talking about the living water, the gospel. The water is the word of God. There’s a lot of people that aren’t serving. You get your cup filled up on Sunday and you’ll be able to serve Him during the week. The more you stay out of the house of God; the more you lack in the word of God, lack in prayer, lacking in all these other things and you can’t serve God like you’re supposed to. How do I know? Because I’ve been there. Couldn’t preach it if I hadn’t been there. I’ll never forget the times when a young preacher friend of mine who had been preaching six or seven months came to church for a revival meeting. The Pastor was calling preachers off the floor. He came that night and he was wearing a Tasmanian Devil tie. I walked up to him and said, “Good Lord man, what are you doing?” I could say that to him because he was my friend. I said, “What are you doing wearing a Tasmanian Devil tie to the house of God?” Here’s what he said. “I figured if I wore this tie the Pastor wouldn’t call me off the floor to preach.” I said, “Well didn’t the Lord call you to preach?” He said, “Yes.” and I said, “Then why wouldn’t you want to preach?” He said, “I haven’t been studying and I haven’t been praying and I sure they don’t call me up to preach.” Isn’t that sad? The Bible says to be instant in season and out of season. You have to be ready to go. I’m telling you the honest to God’s truth, we got in that meeting and knelt down to pray before serve and when we got up the Pastor stood and looked over at my friend and said, “Brother Chuck, come on up.” He was trying his best to get that Tasmanian Devil tie off. He got up there and didn’t do anything but cry. Then he confessed to the people that he had not being studying or praying and asked the congregation to pray for him. If you’re going to be in serve for God you better be prepared. Listen, you can’t study for a Sunday school lesson on Saturday night and expect it to be effective for God. After God gives me the verses for a sermon, I don’t always know what I’m going to say but when I stand God’s spirit pours over me and he shows me what to say. God blesses us for it.
NUMBER FIVE: He called us unto the MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB.
REVELATION 19:9 “AND HE SAITH UNTO ME, WRITE, BLESSED ARE THEY WHICH ARE CALLED UNTO THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB. AND HE SAITH UNTO ME, THESE ARE THE TRUE SAYINGS OF GOD.”
One day He’s going to call my name and I’m just going to be called up. Jesus said, If any man believe in me he shall never die, believest thou this. You think death is something to be scared of? I’m more scared of Hell. The Bible says even thou we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, fear no evil for thou art with me. He comforts us during death and there’s nothing to be scared about unless you’re lost. He’s going to call you out one day and it don’t have a thing to do with how old you are. A friend of mine died over the weekend and this woman was 32 years old. She left behind two children, a two month old baby and her husband. She just fell off her bed and died of a heart attack. Death has no respecter of persons.
Listen to these verses before we give the altar call. Remember these five things. God calls people because He wants you to be saved. Somebody said something last week about the age of accountability and said they thought it was twelve years old. I beg to differ. I don’t believe the Bible specifies. I believe the age is when God starts speaking to you and you hear Him and understand Him and you understand right from wrong, I believe you’ve reached the age of accountability. A time when you get saved and you will stand accountable for your actions. I was 11 years old when I heard God call my name.
I wonder tonight, has He ever called you unto Salvation or are you just trying to have religion?
He calls us to be Saints. To be like Him. He calls us to Holiness to be separate. He calls us to service. We have to serve Him, not just on Sundays but every day of the week and He calls us to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. One day He’s going to call us home.
1 CORINTHIANS 1:24 “BUT UNTO THEM WHICH ARE CALLED, BOTH JEWS AND GREEKS, CHRIST, THE POWER OF GOD, AND THE WISDOM OF GOD.”
2 PETER 1:10 “WHEREFORE THE RATHER, BRETHREN, GIVE DILIGENCE TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE: FOR IF YE DO THESE THINGS, YE SHALL NEVER FALL.”
You better be sure you’re saved by the grace of God. You better be sure it was God talking to you and not the Devil. You better be sure when it comes your time to go, where you’re heading
ROMANS 8:28 “AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE GOD, TO THEM WHO ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.”
I wonder, is He calling you tonight? Is He calling you to Salvation? Is He calling you to Separation, Is he calling you to Service? Is He calling you to be a Saint? Maybe you’ll walk out of here tonight and He’ll call you to the marriage Supper of the Lamb. One day he’ll say you’re work down here is through. When Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross, he said, “Father it is finished.” When you’re work down here is finished, whether you’re ready to go or not, he’s going to call you home.
If you’ve heard God speaking to you tonight, would you come?
PRAYER FOR SALVATION: Father, I have come tonight in your presence to ask your forgiveness of my sins. I am repenting Lord, of all the things I have done wrong and I am asking you into my heart God as I have heard you knocking upon my hearts door telling me that I am Lost. I believe in you. I believe in Jesus Christ and that He came and died for me and sinners like me, I believe He arose on the third day and ascended back up into Heaven where He now sits at your right side interceeding for me. I pray this in Jesus Name. Amen
PRAYER FOR SAINTS: Father, having been saved by your Grace, I haven’t been living a Saintly life. A life that you called me into and I ask your forgiveness and pray that you will lead me to the right course. Help me to have the desire to pray more and to read my Bible so that I might grow closer to you and be able to hear you better. In Jesus Name. Amen
PRAYER FOR SERVICE: Father, I have not been doing what you have asked me to do. I have gotten lazy and set in my ways. I know Lord, that my purpose here is to tell others about you and to share the good Gospel so that others who are lost might be saved. I pray Lord you would forgive me and I ask you Lord to lead, guide and direct my paths. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen
PRAYER FOR HOLINESS: Father, I have gone astray and have not been in your will. I have been among the sinners and have begun to live like them. I pray Lord, you would forgive me and help me to get back on the right road. The road that leads to you. Give me once again the desire to read my Bible daily and to pray without ceasing. Bring me back into the fold. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen
