Lesson 3 Calling and Separation

Lesson 3 Calling and Separation (By Bob Yandian)

One

Calling & Separation - Defined

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

-Romans 1:1

In this first verse of Romans, Paul declares the two-fold aspect of ministry: calling and separation. Because the New Testament tells us that Paul and the other apostles are our examples, if we can

understand Paul's calling and separationinto the ministry, then we can understand our own.

The apostles were no better than we are, nor did they operate by a different set of rules than we do today.

In 2 Thessalonians 3:9, Paul said that he had made himself an example for us to follow. Although we may not stand in the offices that he stood in, the keys that made him a successful minister are the same keys that will make us successful ministers.

Galatians 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace.

This verse says that both our calling and ourseparation are by the grace of God. Obviously, if they were given to Paul while he was in his mother's womb, how could he work for, earn, or deserve them?

Ephesians 1:3-14 says that God had a plan for your life from before the foundation of the world. You are so special that He mapped out a course for you before you ever existed. Therefore, you can see that both your calling and separation are given by grace, because you weren't around before the foundation of the world to do anything to earn them!

1 Corinthians 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Ephesians 4:7 But unto every [each) one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

What is a "Calling"?

Paul was "called" to be an apostle (Romans 1:1), and the Greek word for called comes from the root word kaleo, which means to call aloud, to summon, or call toward.

If you have been born again, you have a calling, because a calling is simply the will of God for your life. It is the work God wants you-to accomplish during the time you are on earth.

Every believer has a calling on his her life, but whether or not that calling is fulfilled depends on several factors.

First we must recognize the call, and second we must accept it.

To recognize the calling, or to know the will of God for your life, you begin with prayer. Ask God to show you the purpose and plan for your life.

When you know your calling, one of the most important prayers you pray in the Christian life is the prayer of consecration and dedication. This is when you open your heart to God and become willing to do whatever He asks.

Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.

This verse refers to our calling as our "vocation." Just as there are natural vocations such as carpenters, businessmen salesmen, or school teacher there are spiritual vocations.

When we are' born again, our spiritual vocation may or may not be compatible with our natural vocation.

For instance, some believers are called to work at an office, factory, or school and to be witnesses through these vocations. But others are called to leave a natural vocation because their spiritual vocation is a full-time position, such as pastor, evangelist, or missionary.

Whether we are called to be witnesses in a natural vocation or are called to full­ time ministry, we can only have the supernatural peace of God when we accept His will for our lives and stop trying to force our will on Him. We can never be happy by putting ourselves into a ministry or a natural vocation by our own will. But when we seek and accept our calling from God, then our lives become fuller and richer than we ever dreamed possible.

What Does Being "Separated' Mean?

The word we translate "separate" in the original Greek is aphora, which means to set apart by boundaries, or to sever. It has the dual meaning of separating someone from something, while separating them to something.

The period of time from when we are called until our point of separation may be short or long. The calling can be recognized and accepted, but separation, or the fulfilling of that call, has not yet arrived.

For example, a man gets saved while he is working as a carpenter. Shortly after that the Holy Spirit reveals to him that he is called to the mission field. He accepts the call, but has no peace about quitting his job.

This missionary may drive nails and saw boards for many months or even years before the mission door opens up. How­ ever, when he feels released to leave his job, God is separating him from his carpentry position to the mission field.

Later on, while he is serving as a missionary, God may speak to his heart that he will pastor a church someday. The call on his life is becoming more refined, but he continues on the mission field. Again, even though he has accepted the call to pastor, God has not yet separated him to the pulpit.

One day, as he speaks at a certain church, he senses that this is where he will church, .

tor. Through a series of events, he is asked to take the position. God then separates him from the rmss1on field to the office of pastor.

An important point to mention here is that God has a calling and a point of sepa­ ration for every believer, whether they submit to His will for their lives or not. I believe many Christians are miserable and will die frustrated because they never sought God for or accepted the calling and/or separation He had for them.

This is very sad. God knows of our calling and separation in His foreknowledge. Revelation comes to us when we recognize and accept what God has known from eternity past. He has already set our course, and He is waiting for us to choose to follow it. Therefore, we must conclude that He is waiting

on us, rather than it being we who are waiting on Him!

From Damascus To Antioch

God had a calling for the Apostle PaU] in his mother's womb (Galatians 1:15). However, before that calling could be ful­ filled, a series of events had to take place, and Paul had to make certain decisions.

First of all, since only a believer can be

called, Paul had to accept Jesus as Lord. This occurred on the road to Damascus when Jesus spoke to him from a blinding light (see Acts 9). At that moment, Paul submitted to the call of God without knowing what it was. He asked, ''Lord, what wilt thou have me do?" And when Jesus answered, ''Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (v. 6), Paul obeyed.

God used a common believer named Ananias, who was mentioned only briefly in the Word of God, to reveal what Paul's calling was:

1s u • hne is a osen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel:'

16 for I will show him great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

(Acts 9:15-16)

God knew Paul's calling long before it was revealed to Ananias or Paul, and He also knew the point at which He would separate Paul for the work of that calling. But Paul's separation to the ministry oc­curred many years later.

More than fourteen years elapsed be­tween the call on the road to Damascus and the time when the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul and Barnabas at the church in Antioch:

1 Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which hat been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.

2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.

(Acts 13:1-2)

Notice the verb tenses used by the Holy Spirit in the second verse. "Separate me" is present tense, and "have called" is past tense. What we are seeing here, again, is that h re is a period of tim be,: tween the moment we are called to minis­ ter and the moment we are separated to do the work of that iilinistry.

Soon after Paul accepted Jesus as Lord on the road to Damascus, he experienced the urging of the Holy Spirit to leave his former lifestyle and to prepare himself for a ministry to the Gentiles. Although no doors for actual ministry opened for many

years, Paul knew what God had called him to do.

What was it that brought Paul to the point where the Holy Spirit sovereignly and supernaturally opened the door and sent him out? This moment was so dra­ matic in Paul's life that it was markedb

a u?ernatural manifestation of the Ho;; rrit heard by all who were present (Acts

- -2). What happened in Paul's life

durmg the fourteen years between D

mascus and Antioch? a-

Many people recognize and accept a call to the ministry, but never reach the point of separation. Is there a key on our divine key ring that will show us the way from calling to separation?