College & Career Session 3:What is my calling?

Brain Storm:

Goal:

To answer the existential questions that haunt young adults.

So often from 18-29 years old, we are trying to find our identity.

This is when there is all sorts of pressure to know who and what we should be and do in life.

What is so often neglected is

What is my calling?

Have you ever asked yourself that question?

Maybe more like, why am I here?

We know that God has formed us in while we were in the womb.

He knew our steps before we were ever a thought in anyone’s minds.

But the question that we want to ask ourselves today, is how do we discover what we were to do in life?

This is a question that haunted me from a very young age.

When I was very young, I was an atheist.

If there is no God then there really is no purpose.

We just make our own meaning.

But we are here, and I am going to assume that we all believe that the God of the Bible exists, and that He has a plan and reason for you and I existing.

The question that we want to ask ourselves today, is how do we discover what we were created for, and what His will for us is.

In doing so, we will find a big part of our identity, and purpose.

If we aren’t walking in what we are called to be, then we are missing our mold.

We often look to our talents, and skills at answering this question.

We pursue things that we are good at.

Sports

Music

Art

Are we worth just our talents?

Most of us would say no, we aren’t .

But deep down that is what drives us.

That is the main influence in what

Mos of us what to do something we’re good at. We want to feel appriciated/ validated

What does the world say about this?

The world, media, most people are going to say that we should all strive to be successful.

This means getting the bachelor’s degree,

The good paying job,

The relationship.

The things that we need to have by certain ages.

I think the problem is that we often don’t look to the Bible for these questions.

This is something we are all guilty of.

We will listen to everyone else, but God for where

Let’s look at our best example in the whole Bible.

Who would you say our best example of anything in the Bible is?

It is always Jesus.

My prayer is that you will always know this and look to Him for any and every example in life.

What was Jesus’ calling?’

We will all say He came for many reasons.

To be the Messiah.

To be our example.

To be our High Priest.

Let me ask you, what did Jesus do for a living?

We believe that He was a carpenter.

Was that His calling?

Was that what God put Him on this earth to do?

No, that was just His vocation.

That is our problem is that we think our calling and our

So often we try and find our value and identity in what we do, but is this what God intended?

I think if we scour the bible, we will see this be more apparent.

We will see that your purpose and value is not what you will do to make ends meet.

Your value is not the status you will acquire in life.

God is not so concerned with what you will do in life, although he knows every single outcome and knows your decisions.

I want to share this verse with you, and is the main verse the Lord has brought me to when I was trying to discover this truth for my life.

Micah 6:8 NKJV

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

All God requires of us, is that we:

Do justly,

Love mercy,

Walk humbly with God.

Does that sound too complicated?

It is so simple, yet so complicated.

To do justly means to just do right.

to have integrity.

to want righteousness.

We live in a world that is telling us that there is no such thing as absolute morality.

There are a lot of gray areas, that can become conveloted.

This really blurs the line for anyone to do justly.

To do justly means to be holy.

You and I were created to walk this earth to be holy.

1 Peter 1:15–16 NKJV

15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”

To love mercy means:

If we all we are concerned about doing is right, we will become judgmental.

We all love mercy when we are in need of it.

If we are giving mercy, then we are in our purpose, because God give us mercy each and every morning.

Lamentations 3:22–23 NKJV

22 Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.

You and I were created to walk humbly with God.

How much have we done this in pushing on to find our meaning and place in life.

Our place, first and foremost is to be right next to God and walking with Him.

Then we will find what He has for us.

Too often, we neglect God in our plans trying to find our place, when He is the one who fashioned it all for us.

We were created to have a relationship with Him.

Colossians 1:16 NKJV

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Al things were created for Him.

That is another reason you were created.

We so often miss this part of our lives.

Here we see that God is not so concerned about what we do as a vocation, but what who we are in character.

2 Peter 1:5–10 NKJV

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

2 Peter 1:10 NKJV

10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble;

In verse 10, Peter is telling us that we can make our calling, and election(God’s choosing) sure.

Peter says that if we seek after these, we will never stumble.

So many people stumble in their life, because they are missing the mark for their purpose.

By adding these character traits, not skills.

virtue

knowledge

self-control

perseverance

kindness

brotherly love.

All of these are things of character and not skill.

They are also all descriptions of who God is.

2 Thessalonians

1 Peter 1:10 NKJV

10 Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you,

2

2 Thessalonians 2:14 NKJV

14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:13–14 NKJV

13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He chose us for salvation and to believe in His gospel.

We were called to give Him glory.

We were called to bring Him glory.

This means it isn’t about us.

It is about Jesus.

Not status.

Not our successes.

Colossians 3:17 NKJV

17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

God gives us the choice in what we do for Him.

All He is mainly concerned with is that whatever path we choose, we to unto Him.

How many of here can say that in everything we do, we give Him glory?

I am a pastor, but that is not the main reason God put me on this earth.

I have to remind myself of this all the time.

That is not my purpose.

That is something I can do, and work two other jobs.

I am a bad pastor if I am not who God has called me to be and becoming more and more in His image.

There is more to life than being a pastor, missionary, worship leader, etc.

I was this way.

Yes I am a pastor, but may not always be a pastor for vocation

This rings true for me now more than ever… I will share something personal and private with you about my current situation.

I am feeling the Lord tell me to resign from my current position.

I don’t know why.

This season is scary, but I feel that is what the Lord is having us do.

We are feeling called closer to Boise.

I am more than likely going to have to get a secular job to provide for my family.

I have to be honest, this is a struggle.

But the Lord has been speaking to me…that is not my calling.

It is a secondary calling.