Going Up

Philippians 3:12–16 NKJV

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. 16 Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.

In the 1930s many people considered Winston Churchill washed up. A dinosaur. A relic from a previous era. Irrelevant to the new world order. And being that he was in his sixties he could have simply retired to the countryside to do painting or pouting. He could have complained or been angry or just given in to the opinions of others.

But he didn’t. He stayed engaged and involved in politics. He wrote and warned of the upcoming Nazi threat under Hitler. And though he was no longer in power he kept focused on what he knew was right and what he felt was his duty.

And, as history records, his finest hour on the world stage had yet to come.

What do you think the world would look like today if he had given up or quit on what he knew he was called to do? Who would have stood up to and resisted the evils of Hitler and the Nazi push for world domination?

I want to talk to you about pursuing and fulfilling the upward calling of God on your life.

You and I may not be called to be a Winston Churchill in the face of the Nazis but we are called to make a difference, liberate others, and leave a lasting legacy.

It is unfortunate that even though we are all called by God and appointed for good works not every one of us are responding to that call and walking in them (cf. Ephesians 2.10, John 15.16).

There is significant power and life change for us and for others when we step up in faith and go toward God’s upward call for our lives.

Called Beyond

God’s purposes and plans for us do not changed based on our feelings. They are according to His design and perspective.

Sometimes we don’t understand, or even think we agree with what He is telling us to do. We don’t know what He knows. We don’t see what He sees. We don’t have His perspective.

Yet due to fear or pride we decide that we will do things on our terms or make excuses why we can’t do what He calls us to do.

The problem with this is that our calling is not purely about us. It is about God wanting to use us to bring about His kingdom. It is about God’s desire to bring good into the world and redeem and restore fallen creation.

If we don’t walk in our calling we are limiting our legacy and are potentially robbing others of their blessing and God of His glory.

We need to decide to go up towards the high calling of God that we have received in Christ Jesus.

Going towards the upward call in Christ only requires faith and obedience. There are other people, even generations, that are depending on you to respond to God’s call.

The good news is that if God calls you to it, He enables you to do it. The only thing is that you have to choose to do it.

Pressing Toward the Goal

The brief book and story of the prophet Jonah offers us a contrast of someone who was much like many of us today. Jonah wasn’t perfect and still God used him. Jonah started off in God’s presence with a call and an assignment and then ran from it.

And yet, God didn’t write him off. God still used him. He is not a heroic figure in many ways and yet through him God spared a nation and brought revival.

Jonah is like a lot of us. Unable and imperfect. But God is still committed to His call on our lives and despite Jonah’s mistakes still used him.

Brief summary of the story of Jonah

Here are some lessons we can learn from and apply to our lives from the example of Jonah.

Embrace Your Call and Don’t Run From It

Jonah 1:1–3 NLT

1 The Lord gave this message to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are.” 3 But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish.

The opening to Jonah begins with his call and assignment. He is called to speak for God. He is being sent to the people of Nineveh.

In today’s culture we have left the idea of calling behind. It has been replaced with the idea of “expressive individualism” as author Robert Bellah wrote in his book Habits of the Heart. The idea that he is expressing is that Americans have elevated the sacredness of the individual to the point that they have been lifted out of the society as a whole. In other words, they are no longer attached and connected to the community and society they are in and a part of.

Tim Keller points out that the author’s conclusion near the end of the book is important to take note of.

“To make a real difference … [there would have to be] a reappropriation of the idea of vocation or calling, a return in a new way to the idea of work as a contribution to the good of all and not merely as a means to one’s own advancement.”

If he is right, then a step towards redeeming society is to recover the idea that work is more than just a job and that instead it is a calling. In fact, our word vocation comes from the Latin word that means “to call.” According to Keller,

“A job is a vocation only if someone else calls you to do it and you do it for them rather than for yourself. And so our work can be a calling only if it is reimagined as a mission of service to something beyond merely our own interests.”

Here we have God calling Jonah to serve Him and the people of Nineveh. And instead of Jonah moving toward the calling of God on his life, he went in the opposite direction to get away from it.

We need to respond to the voice of God and embrace His call on our lives. Because the One who is calling you is God.

Illustration: Mom calling you in a crowd and not responding. There are consequences because of who is calling.

We can choose to ignore God’s call or embrace it. But it is God who is calling us to do it (1 Thessalonians 2.12). He is the one sending us on mission and service to something beyond our own interests.

Respond to the call of God. Walk worthy of the calling to which you have been called (Ephesians 4.1). Don’t run from it but embrace it and move toward it.

Engage Your Assignment and Don’t Reject It

Jonah 4:1–4 NKJV

1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. 2 So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” 4 Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”

This dialogue between Jonah and God helps us understand why he ran from his calling. He didn’t like the assignment. He did not want to see God’s grace and mercy to be revealed to the Ninevites. He wanted judgment. He wanted wrath.

Because the assignment wasn’t the one that Jonah wanted, he rejected it.

The thing about your assignment from God is that it isn’t about you. It is about the purposes of God to bring glory to His name and blessing to people.

The assignment that was given to Jonah was not for him to do what he wanted or liked. It was so that the Ninevites might have an encounter with God and experience repentance and revival.

Illustration: Sometimes you are in a place not because of what you can get out of it but because God placed you their for what He can do through you for those people. Mature people in church are sometimes placed in positions because of their ability to bless more than their need to be blessed.

Engage your assignment. If God gives it to you it is for a purpose. And often that purpose is more about God’s glory and other people’s good than short term reward. There is a reward of faith and a victor’s crown waiting for those who run the race faithfully. But you won’t receive that reward if you don’t do the assignment God has given to you.

Enter Into God’s Presence and Don’t Retreat From It

Jonah 1:3 NKJV

3 But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Notice that Jonah began in the presence of the Lord and then retreated and ran from it. The Message translation says that he went “as far away from GOD as he could get.”

There is a progression that we experience when we don’t move toward God’s presence: down.

Jonah when down to Tarshish.

Jonah went down to the lower deck of the boat and went asleep (consider that Jesus said that Lazaraus was asleep when he was dead).

Then he was thrown down into the water and swallowed by the fish and went down into the deep.

If we want to walk in our calling and carry out our assignment and make a difference in the lives of others we must go up to the presence of God. We must maintain our place in His presence so that we can find grace and empowerment through the Spirit.

After going down so far, Jonah realized his mistake and went back up.

Jonah 2:7–9 NKJV

7 “When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to You, Into Your holy temple. 8 “Those who regard worthless idols Forsake their own Mercy. 9 But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the Lord.”

Immediately after he went back toward the upward call of God he was returned to his assignment. And when he preached to the Ninevites there was revival.

Conclusion

When you engage God’s call, embrace His assignment on your life, and enter into His presence, what happens? Revival happens. God’s presence is near. We are equipped and empowered and helped by God to accomplish what He called us to do. And as a result, lives are changed and God is glorified (cf. Matthew 5.16).

Sometimes we start by going the wrong way, making the wrong choices, and end up finding ourselves in the dark and discouraged. But if we start to make the move to go up towards God and His work for our lives great things happen.

Respond to God’s call. Receive your assignment. Remain in His presence. And let revival come in Jesus name!