It's My Job

Introdution

English Standard Version Chapter 6

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

In the Church, we often hear about following God’s call.

God has a call, a special purpose, for your life.

Ministers and missionaries have answered God’s call to ministry.

Somehow, we interpret this to mean that if God has a call for your life, He will swoop down in a mighty voice and say, “I choose YOU to go to deep dark Africa to minister to the headhunting Cannibals.”

Sometimes individuals do get a clear, distinct direction of where to go and what to do.

But this is not always the case.

Today, I want us to look at how to know what God’s call is for each of us.

How do I hear God’s call?

How do I really know that it’s God’s call?

Just what is my job supposed to be in God’s kingdom?

Hearing God’s Call

Hearing God’s Call

Anyone who truly loves God wants to serve God.

Who in this room would raise your hand and say that you are not really interested in serving God?

But as much as we want to serve God, the fact is, that we don’t often think of ourselves as God’s servants.

We pray, and we expect God to take care of us.

How often are we looking for ways to bless Him?

In our prayer time, how much time do we take talking to God, and how much time do we take actually listening?

The fact is, if you are going to hear God’s call, you have to be LISTENING for God’s voice.

He speaks in many ways.

The Bible makes it very clear what God’s will is for us all.

says the Lord requires us to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly before God.

says that we are to make disciples of all nations.

So we are all called to live righteously and to teach others about Jesus.

That being said, God does call us each to a unique way of serving him. That’s when he uses other methods of communicating with us.

He will speak to our hearts.

we will find ourselves thinking about certain things.

We might hear a distinct voice in our spirits.

He will confirm what he is speaking to us.

Through other people.

But be careful of the whole “God told me to tell you.”

Through circumstances.

your circumstances do not determine your call, but God can confirm things you have been sensing from him through circumstances.

When God is calling you, he will usually use more than one way of telling you, because he wants you to get the message.

But you have to be willing to listen!

Recognizing God’s Call

How many would say, “I want to serve God, but I hope he doesn’t ask me to spend the rest of my life in a jungle hut”?

The fact is that we often have preconceived notions about what God’ call will look like, and we have fear that God will call us to a life of misery.

But how many of you have ever met an unhappy missionary?

“I came here today to ask you to support my ministry in China. God called me to China 30 years ago, and I hate it with all my heart, but I guess I’m supposed to go back. So please help.”

No!

I was 10 years old when God called me to the foreign mission field, and it was the most exciting thing I could imagine!

Mom and Dad weren’t as excited about it

But I love my life as a missionary to Croatia!

English Standard Version Psalm 37

Delight yourself in the LORD,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

When you learn to find your joy just in serving God and being in His presence, His desires become your desires.

You want what He wants.

He is the one who designed you.

He gave you your set of interests.

Your skills and talents.

Your way of dealing with things.

He designed you to thrive in the area he is calling you to.

So the first step in knowing what God has called you to is looking at your own interests and abilities and how God can use them to further His kingdom.

Before Moses became the deliverer of the Israelites, God prepared him.

He was raised up in Pharaoh’s household as a nobleman.

Years later, Moses knew all the proper protocols for addressing Pharaoh.

Would Pharaoh have been willing to speak with Moses if he didn’t already know Moses?

He lived 40 years in the wilderness as a shepherd.

After growing up in the Palace, Moses had to learn how to live in the wilderness before he could take his people to live in the wilderness.

He became the son-in-law of the priest of Midian.

This allowed Moses to receive a proper education about God and to become prepared spiritually.

Moses’ life was difficult, and he had lots of frustrations dealing with the rebellious children of Israel, but he never seemed to regret his call.

The fact is that I can only find one instance in the Bible of someone who was unhappy with their calling.

Jonah resisted God’s call to minister in Nineveh, but it wasn’t because he was afraid or worried about what would happen if he went.

The only reason Jonah was miserable with his call is because he hated the Ninevites, and he wanted God to destroy them.

What’s My Job?

So what are you supposed to be doing as a Christian?

Our biggest struggle in determining God’s call for our lives is that we don’t want to face the responsibility of this call.

How will this call affect our lives?

Is it going to be convenient?

The fact is that serving the Lord is NOT convenient.

Becoming a Christian is more than being saved from sin and going to heaven some day.

We call ourselves “Children of God.”

That’s not an excuse to act childishly.

Clara is only 3, but Zenetta and I have expectations of how she should act and how she should participate in family chores.

When you are part of a family, you have a role to play in that family.

God expects us to do our part.

Every day, each of us encounters someone who needs to hear about Jesus.

Every day each of us has an opportunity to encourage and lift up somebody.

Every day, each of us is called to live a life of integrity and to demonstrate compassion to others.

Every day, each of us is called to do our part to take the gospel to the nations.

There have been many times when someone has said to me, “Why do you need to go to Croatia? There are people here who need to hear the gospel.” I try to be nice, but I really want to say, “Why don’t the people in Croatia deserve to hear the gospel?”

I went online and searched for churches in Cuba, MO. I found 20 churches listed for just this town.

In Southern Missouri, we have about 300 Assemblies of God churches—that’s just AG churches!

In Croatia, which has the same population as Southern Missouri, we have 47 churches in our fellowship, and I know of 7 that don’t even have pastors.

People around the world don’t hear the gospel because there is nobody there to tell them, while our churches here are filled with people who are simply embarrassed to talk about Jesus with their neighbors.

If we want people to hear the gospel and come to Jesus, we ALL have to do our part.

So what’s your job in God’s kingdom?

Tell people about Jesus.

Teach them how to follow Jesus and grow in the Lord.

Help those who have been called as missionaries so they can get to their mission field and stay there.

A missionary can stay on the field only as long as they have the finances to do so.

One of the main reasons missionaries come back home early is because they run out of money.

Why do they run out of money?

Because people stop giving.

We each have a call, but that doesn’t mean we have to do our ministry alone. It is a team effort.

As Paul said in and 9, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth... For we are God’s fellow workers...”

Today, if you are struggling to know what your call is, you don’t have to try so hard.

Focus on being obedient in the little things you know you should be doing.

Who are you sharing Jesus with?

Can people see the Holy Spirit at work in your life?

Find ways to serve others.

Then, just learn to listen.

God often directs us by giving us the next step rather than telling the end destination.

He gave you talents and skills that he wants to use for his glory.

As you continue to just serve him faithfully, he will take you the next step.

Just remember, in order to hear him, you have to be willing to listen, no matter what he might say.

Trust that your loving Heavenly Father doesn’t want to torture you.

If he calls you to do something, he will give you a desire to do it.

He will send ways to confirm his calling to you.

But if you have felt a calling and are starting to doubt it because of some struggle, remember this.

Following God’s call is never easy. Satan will always try to stop you.

So you can’t prove your call by your apparent success or failure.

Just because you are struggling doesn’t mean God didn’t call you where you are.

And knowing that you are truly where God called you will help you get through this struggle.

So keep praying, keep listening, and just keep doing.

You are a servant. God has called you to serve, so serve.

Let’s pray.