Look and Live! The Effectual Calling of God

Scripture Focus: Isaiah 45:22 / Romans 8:30

You are called to look to Christ and be saved!

Introduction: The Conversion of Charles Spurgeon

In January 1850, a snowstorm drove a miserable young man into a small Primitive Methodist chapel. The regular preacher was snowed in, so a thin, uneducated layman took the pulpit. He had no prepared sermon, so he stuck to one simple text: “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth” (Isaiah 45:22).

He didn't pronounce the words perfectly, but he said:

"Young man, you look very miserable... and you will always be miserable—miserable in life and miserable in death—if you do not obey my text. But if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved. Young man, look to Jesus Christ!"

At that moment, the cloud was gone. The darkness rolled away. Spurgeon saw the Sun of Righteousness.

You are called to look to Christ and be saved!

I. The General Call: A Universal Command

When that preacher spoke, he was speaking to everyone in the room. This is what we call the General Call.

The Scope: It goes out to all nations. God commands all men everywhere to repent.

The Reality of the Heart: As the Confession reminds us, others may be called by the ministry of the Word and feel "common operations of the Spirit," yet they neither will nor can truly come to Christ on their own. They hear the invitation, but like those in Matthew 22:14 “14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”” , they do not come.

The Content: You have sinned against a holy God. You are rightly condemned. But God, in His mercy, has provided a Substitute.

You are called to look to Christ and be saved!

What “Looking” Means:

Looking begins with acknowledging God’s reality—treating the invisible God as genuinely real and present, not as an abstract idea.1 But it extends far beyond passive observation. It involves actively turning toward God through prayer, thought, obedience, and reverence—recognizing his presence and engaging with him directly.1 Most crucially, looking to Christ for salvation requires an honest awareness of your lost condition, a genuine desire for his mercy, and confidence that he alone can save you.2

You might think, ‘I’ve tried faith before and it didn’t stick,’ or ‘I’m too far gone.’ This is where we move from the ear to the heart—from the general invitation to the Effectual Call.

II. The Effectual Call: A Sovereign Summons

The Zacchaeus story illustrates this beautifully.

Zacchaeus physically climbs the tree to see Jesus, but Jesus takes the initiative—he looks up, calls

Zacchaeus by name, and invites himself into his home. (Luke 19:1–10)

Zacchaeus’s looking is real and voluntary, yet Jesus came seeking the lost.

(Luke 19:1–10) Zacchaeus looked, but Jesus looked first.

This is the "Golden Chain" of Romans 8. It is God’s appointed and accepted time to pull His people out of the state of sin and death.

It is Sovereign: This call is of God’s free and special grace alone. It’s not from anything foreseen in you, nor from any power you possess. In this, you were wholly passive—dead in your trespasses—until you were quickened by the Holy Spirit.

The Heart Transplant: God doesn't just ask you to look; He enlightens your mind to understand the things of God. He takes away the heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26 “26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

The Mystery of Grace: He renews your will and determines you toward that which is good, drawing you to Jesus Christ. Yet, as the Confession beautifully puts it, you come "most freely," being made willing by His grace. You aren't dragged; you are made to see Him as so beautiful that you cannot help but run to Him.

1 Corinthians 2:14 “14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.”

The Lazarus Principle: Think of Lazarus (John 11).

John 11:38–44 “38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 “Remove the stone,” Jesus said. Martha, the dead man’s sister, told him, “Lord, there is already a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you heard me. 42 I know that you always hear me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so that they may believe you sent me.” 43 After he said this, he shouted with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out bound hand and foot with linen strips and with his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unwrap him and let him go.””

He was —lifeless and stinking.

The Command: When Jesus shouted, "Lazarus, come out!", it wasn't a suggestion. It was a creative word. It was the same power that raised up Christ from the dead now enabling a dead man to answer the call.

Ephesians 2:1–6 “1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus,”

You are called to look to Christ and be saved!

Your conversion wasn’t an accident. It means God’s power is at work in you. This stabilizes shaky faith. Do you wonder if you will last? The one who called you is the one who keeps you.

John 6:44–45 “44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me—”

Trust Christ that the - if you have looked your looking was enabled by God’s prior call. They responded because God made them able to respond. This assures them their conversion is secure.

3. Elect infants dying in infancy are regenerated and saved by Christ through the Spirit; who worketh when, and where, and how he pleases; so also are all elect persons, who are incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word. ( John 3:3, 5, 6; John 3:8 )

III. The High and Holy Calling

Being "called" is not just about escaping hell; it is about a new identity and a new status.

Ezekiel 36:27 “27 I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.”

keep looking—continually expecting growth, strength, and fruit from Christ, with constant expectancy for both time and eternity.

A New Status: We are called "Children of God" (1 John 3:1). There is no higher title on earth—not President, not King—that compares to being a child of the Living God.

A New Walk: Because of this call, we are urged to "walk worthy" with humility, gentleness, and patience.

A New Unity: We are called to one body and one hope. Even those "incapable of being outwardly called" (elect infants or those hindered in mind) are regenerated and saved by the Spirit who works when and where He pleases.

You are called to look to Christ and be saved!

Conclusion: The Security of the Called

If you are responding to this call today—if you are looking to Christ and feeling the darkness roll away—it is because before the foundations of the world, God foreknew you.

If He called you, He will justify you. If He justifies you, He will glorify you. The Father is calling your name today:

Look to Christ and be saved!