Who Is Calling?

Ring, ring! “Hello. Who is this?”

The call. How often do we answer calls? They come on the telephone. They may be a letter or e-mail. Calls come in different shapes and sizes. If you have noticed during a baseball game the manager will make the “call” to the bullpen to get a relief pitcher in the game. We have telemarketing calls, phone calls, judgment calls, sales calls, personal calls. In days gone by, some churches made evangelistic calls.

The important thing in each of these calls is “Who is calling?” Think about the call to the bullpen in a baseball game. The manager or pitching coach usually makes the “call.” What if the guy in the bullpen picks up the phone and the batboy is making the call? Is he going to listen to the call? Is there going to be any response to the call of the batboy to the bullpen?

We give more credibility to the caller depending upon their position. If we get a call from someone identifying themselves as law enforcement in the middle of the night telling us a loved one has been in an accident, we listen to them more closely than we would to someone who failed to identify themselves. We pay closer attention to the diagnosis of a doctor than we do the diagnosis of the mail carrier.

What happens when the call comes from God? What is our response then? Sometimes we turn and run away as fast as we can. Other times we embrace the call. The Bible, God’s Word, calls us to several things. It calls us to repentance. It calls us to service of God. It calls us to love God and others. It calls us to a holy life. The big question is “Who is calling?” God calls.

Turn with me to the book of 2 Samuel chapter 5, in the Old Testament.

Read 2 Samuel 5:1-12.

This is the story of how David assumed the position of king of Israel, and how he moved the capital city to Jerusalem. It tells us about the call of God on the life of David.

Israel had been engulfed in a civil war. King Saul was dead, and the last of his surviving relatives, Ish-bosheth, was fighting David and his army for control of Israel. In chapter 4, we find the Ish-bosheth dies, leaving David the man of the hour to rule Israel. We find out several things about the call of God in David’s life. The first is…

I. The CALL of God.

Some twenty or so years earlier, God had chosen David to be king of Israel. To understand the process, we must first understand the events behind Israel getting a king in the first place.

When God delivered the nation of Israel from slavery in Egypt, he was going to be their king. God would be the king of Israel. For a long time, this was the case, but after a while, the people of Israel wanted a king like everyone else. God was not happy about this. So he gave them Saul as their king. Saul was given as a judgment. As Saul went along, he walked farther and farther from God.

Then in 1 Samuel 16, we find that the prophet Samuel goes out and anoints David as king of Israel, but the problem is that Saul is still alive.

A. God CALLED David.

In 1 Samuel 16, we can read the account of how Samuel, under the direction of God, chose David to be the king. In the next chapter, we find David fighting the giant Goliath.

God had called David to be the king, but he had to wait twenty years before he actually became king. Saul knew his days were numbered, and he tried to kill David on several occasions. David, though, had the utmost respect for King Saul. He knew that God had placed a call on his life, and he was patient to wait for God’s timing.

We see that the leaders of Israel said, in verse 2 of our passage, “It was you who led out and brought in Israel.” David had been a great warrior and leader during the times that Israel was having skirmishes with their neighbors.

Verse 10 tells us, “And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.” God placed his call on the life of David, and he remained with him.

B. God CALLS us.

Like David, God also places his call on our lives. Like I mentioned earlier, we are called to several things. We are called to repentance. We are called to service of God. We called to love God and others. We called to a holy life. The call of God is on all who are his followers. Some of us are called to different things. Some are called to pastors and teachers. Others are called to be helpers. We all have the call of God on our lives.