Living Up to Your Calling

Ephesians 4 1;4-6

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family[a] in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

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If this helped, continue to use it and I asked that you share it with someone else. I want to share my story of the prayer I had on Yesterday (Saturday) morning. How I recalled all the things from the week and my mind had something else to say and I wasn't repeating something over and over just in a different format.

Why is this prayer so important? We need the inner strength of the Holy Spirit to do what our topic is saying today. Living Up to Your Calling

That spirit needs to manifest itself from our inner core. I shared with you the text from Isa. 55:8-9

Isaiah 55:8–9 NLT

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

The apostle Paul put that need first in the prayer in order of priority and for the next two Sundays, we will refer back to this prayer. So let me start you out with a scenario,

If you buy a new car, what’s the first thing you do? Do you sit down for an hour and read through the manual, to make sure you know every little detail about it before you take to the road? Or do you at once get behind the wheel and go for a drive, enjoying all the things the car can do and not worrying about the details, at least for the moment? I suspect that most of us give the second answer. In the same way, it’s notorious that when people buy a new computer they tend to operate it first and read the instruction manual afterwards. The trouble is, of course, that things go wrong with machinery. They may go wrong even quicker if you don’t read the instructions. But most people will at least keep the instruction book handy and refer to it from time to time to see how the machine was meant to behave, what the fundamental instructions were, and what needs to be done to ensure that it remains at maximum efficiency. Not only that your car will let you know when something is going wrong. It provides you with warning signs.

In this section, which opens the quite long second half of the letter, Paul takes his readers back to the fundamental instructions on living the Christian life. He reminds them how they began and what it was all about. There are three things that emerge as basic:

1. The meaning of their call to follow the king;

2. The grace which has equipped each of them to play their part in serving him;

3. The unity they already have, but which they must make every effort to guard.

Of these, the first is the one which Paul stresses, and the one we are most likely to forget. This is the basic manual for living the Christian life, and we need to go back and read it regularly. What then is this ‘call’ or ‘calling’ which he speaks of at the start of his appeal in verse 1, and returns to in connection with Christian hope in verse 4? He isn’t referring here to the specific ‘calling’ or ‘vocation’ that different Christians have – this one to be a teacher, that one to run a small business, someone else to be a nurse, and so on. He is referring to the even more basic ‘calling’ of the gospel itself, summoning people to believe in Jesus as the risen Lord and king and to give him complete and undivided allegiance for the rest of their lives.

the first is the one which Paul stresses, and the one we are most likely to forget. This is the basic manual for living the Christian life, and we need to go back and read it regularly.

Ephesians 4:1 (NLT)

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.

What then is this ‘call’ or ‘calling’ that he speaks of at the start of his appeal in verse 1, He uses the word twice to emphasize the importance of this calling. This calling he is referring to he will make the connection to Christian hope in verse 4? He isn’t referring here to the specific ‘calling’ or ‘vocation’ that different Christians have – this one to be a teacher, that one to run a small business, someone else to be a preacher. He is referring to the even more basic ‘calling’ of the gospel itself, Gathering people to believe in Jesus as the risen Lord and king and to give him complete and undivided allegiance for the rest of their lives.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 (NIV)

“Encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

2 Peter 1:10-11 (NIV)

“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election.

But we fail to continue the scripture in which says:

For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

That’s what we are talking about “Living a life worthy of your calling”

now let me add the other part to this look at Eph.4:4-6

Ephesians 4:4–6 NKJV

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

A key part of this calling is the Christian hope, which works like this. Because King Jesus has conquered death itself, all who give him their faithful allegiance are assured that the same victory will be theirs as well. This is the ‘calling’ to which they must ‘live up’. At every moment, in every decision, with every word and action, they are to be aware that the call to follow Jesus the Messiah, and give him their complete loyalty, takes precedence over everything else.

In particular, this must lead them back again and again to celebrate their unity, to maintain and guard it. They are, after all, members of the same body and sharers in the same spirit. They possess the same hope. Above all, they have the same Lord, the same faith, the same baptism, and the same God – the true God, the sovereign one, who stands over against all other gods and goddesses as the rising sun does to man-made candles and torches.

Now let me make it even clearer.

Our job is to teach the gospel and not a ministry

Ministry: The act of serving others in a religious, spiritual, or humanitarian context

Gospel: is the message that is served to others.

turn your bible to I corinthians 1:26-31

Have you ever heard somebody say “I was called to preach” Have you ever bought something that you later realized it was not for you or your reasoning for buying was not true. Better yet you say that I’m going to keep playing the lottery so that I can donate money to the church. When in reality that is not your true reason. We don’t pick our spiritual gifts, our spiritual gifts pick us. And those gifts are to strengthen us to keep the unity in Christ Jesus.

Look at 1 Corinthians 1: 26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[d]

If people fall in love with your ministry and not the gospel, you have done something wrong.

If people fall in love with the preacher and not the preached word I have failed you and God.

Make sure Your Ministry boasts on the right message.