A Tale of Two Callings

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Jonah 1:1–3 KJV 1900

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Ephesians 4:1–5 KJV 1900

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

Ephesians 4:1-

Luke 1:30–31 KJV 1900

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

And then, Mary’s response:

Luke 1:30-

Jonah 1:1-3

Luke 1:38 KJV 1900

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:

The Prophet Jonah

The Prophet Jonah

We know from the studying of the Old Testament of our Bible that in and around the time of Jeraboam, God raised up prophets exclusively to speak His word.

One of those prophets, one of the more well-known, was the prophet Jonah.

Jonah 1:1–2 KJV 1900

Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Jonah 1:1-

“Jonah” = dove.

Body

There are many who believe that the reason for his naming as dove is because “the word of the Lord came unto Jonah” as a dove.

The dove’s first mention in the Bible: Noah’s Ark. The dove was sent out to find land after the flood. And by finding that land, the dove would be bringing a people of righteousness back to a land that had not known righteousness for some time.

Fast forward to now, and there is a city of Nineveh that has not known righteousness for some time. And God says to Jonah:

Jonah 1:2 KJV 1900

Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.

Jonah 1:

And God, when He saw a place that needed to be revived and touched by His word, sent a regular, everyday child of God up against that evil place, because that’s the way our God desires to operate - THROUGH HIS PEOPLE!

I said GOD OPERATES THROUGH HIS PEOPLE!!!

IF GOD FELT LIKE IT, He could have forced Nineveh to be a righteous city. IF HE FELT LIKE IT, God could have made the people of Nineveh live holy!

But He didn’t! In stead, He sent a prophet with the Spirit of God on Him. The dove was a symbol in the Bible of the Spirit of God. And a prophet is someone who the spirit of God has rested upon, that they might speak what thus saith the Lord!

And there’s a vital thing that we’ve got to understand about God today: If He’s going to send His Spirit out to “all flesh” as we know the Bible proclaims, it’s not going to be because He forced the Holy Ghost on people!

It’s not going to be because He made people live for Him. And it’s not going to be because we’ve tailored our church programs to reach a large amount of people.

If He’s going to pour His Spirit out on all flesh, it’s going to be because He sent out some doves - some children of God who have made up their mind that they’re going to walk in the Holy Ghost and fulfill the plan of God as He gives it!

God wants to send out some doves today!!!

Little Ben at our church has blessed me. No one better ever despise what’s on him - it’s of God! HE’S A DOVE!

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE INTELLIGENT TO BE A DOVE.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE WELL-ORDERED AND DIGNIFIED TO BE A DOVE.

YOU DON’T HAVE TO HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER AND CONFIDENT TO BE ADOVE!

YOU JUST NEED TO BE CONFIDENT IN THIS HOLY GHOST THAT GOD HAS SENT YOU WITH HIS WORD, AND IT NEVER RETURNS VOID!!!

I’m so sick of this mentality that Satan has persuaded some with: “I’m just the saint who’s going to stay back in the shadows and nod my head when I get the chance. I’ll let the spiritual ones go ahead.”

That’s not of God!

Ephesians 4:1 NKJV

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

We’ve got to make up our minds today: Are we going to be a spectator or a participator???

Because Paul says, “If you’re going to walk with God, you need to walk worthy of that calling!!!”

I have been COMMISSIONED to tell some saints of God today: it’s time to walk worthy of the calling of which we were called!!!

Jonah, although he was called as a prophet of God, would not initially walk worthy of that calling. He walked away.

Mary’s Response

Mary, on the other hand was approached with a calling to be the mother of Jesus himself.

Luke 1:38 KJV 1900

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:

A Birthing

Now I want to draw your attention to something, so hear me, hear me!

First of all, BOTH of these two people (Jonah and Mary) were children of God, living for God, when God came calling. So that’s you and me.

And BOTH of these two called children of God knew exactly what God wanted to do.

Jonah knew that God wanted to have a revival in Nineveh, just like we know that God wants to have revival in Rector.

And Mary knew - from prophecies many years old - that there was a coming Messiah who would be born a savior to the world, just like we know that there’s going to be ministries and saints birthing in this church, bringing salvation to people!

The Word of the Lord had went out to both Jonah and Mary! They knew what God was promising to do! “There’s going to be revival in Nineveh, and I’m gonna birth a savior!”

But in order to have a revival in Nineveh, I need a prophet to walk out to that place in the Holy Ghost!

I’m gonna birth that revival in Jonah!

And in order to have a Messiah born, I need a godly woman who can give birth and mother that child!

I’m gonna birth that child in Mary!

I COULD FORCE THINGS TO HAPPEN, BUT I’M GOING TO USE MY CREATION! I’M GOING TO USE MY PEOPLE!

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Hear me today - there have been prophecies made and there have been words and promises sent forth by God over this church and the saints in this church.

And though it is often that we hear such things and our first instinct is to get excited and to wait on it all to happen, God is speaking to His church today and saying: “I’M GOING TO BIRTH IT THROUGH YOU! YOU ARE MY DOVE! YOU ARE THE TOOL I WISH TO USE TO MAKE MY MASTERPIECE!”

Conclusion

A Call To Action

Walk In The Holy Ghost (Even Through Attacks)

We Will Be Given Favor

My Job