Untitled Sermon

ME

Good morning/afternoon everyone! My name is Austin Norlin and I work at Westside King’s Church down by Ambrose University as the Grade 4/5 Coordinator and Generational Assistant. It is an absolute pleasure being here today, it honestly feels so weird being on this side of the stage and not sitting in those seats! Before I start I am going to tell you a little bit about myself! So I grew up in a family of four, my parents and my sister and I. My dad was a worship pastor then left church ministry to take over the company my grandpa started. I have 4 amazing nieces and nephews, Nathaniel who is the oldest at 2.5, then Liam and Lillie who are 1.5 and then Charlotte who was born in February. I started going to HCA when I was in Kindergarten through grade 3, then I was homeschool from grades 4-10 and then came back for grades 11 and 12 where I would graduate in 2016. I was apart of the choir, jazz band, and a number of sports teams and also coached the grade 7/8 boys basketball team. Then once I graduated I moved to Edmonton to study and Vanguard College to become a pastor. I am currently working on my fourth and final year online while I am working.

GOD

Let me tell you a story, once, in history, there were these men that had a fishing business, rather successful at that. If we were to view these men in our context today, they would be small businessmen. They had families to provide for but since it was a rather small business, they made enough to take care of their necessary needs and then have a small amount left over to save or spend. Where they would fish had plenty of fishes to never worry about running out. They would sell these fish at the local market which was in an area that had a lot of traffic from locals and also travellers who were just passing by, and since fish were so popular and a common meal, people always wanted what they were selling. But their line of work was hard work but also dangerous work. Then on top of that, their lives were relatively secure and safe but it was hardly luxurious, they didn’t really have the best of anything. But then there was one day that a man came along and said one fascinating statement and that was, Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people! This man, called these two fishermen from on the shore while they were fishing to be fishers of men. But what made this even more interesting it says that they Left at once to follow him. They did not put a second thought into the fact that they were going with a man that they had never met, but they trusted him to lead them in the right direction

The names of these men were Simon, who would later be named Peter, and Andrew. These men left their family business to follow Jesus. But one thing we sometimes look over is the fact that they left everything they knew to follow the call that Jesus put on their lives. They left their only source of income to go around Israel to preach the Good news or Gospel to people. They left their family business that was most likely a job that their families had for generations to follow a man they had never met before.

You

Now think, how do you think you would respond in this situation? Would you be hesitant or would you be willing to go without a second thought like Peter and Andrew?

Why should this story apply to you in 2019? Because God has put a specific calling on your life! A typical response to this is that someone does not want to go into the ministry, and that is completely okay! Maybe you’re called to be a teacher, a professional sports player, musician, hairstylist, politician, or maybe just called to pass school first and then figure it out! No matter what the case may be, God has a plan for each and every one of you just like Jesus had for Peter and Andrew in this story. Jesus did not just choose random people for the position He was looking to get filled, he knew exactly who and exactly where they would be. Everything was timed perfectly, and God has a perfect time and a place for you no matter what stage of life you’re in! And sometimes it may not always be the most pleasant thing in our eyes or we may not even know where God is calling us.

We

And if I am completely honest, it may be because we just shut our ears and don’t want to hear. I remember when I was in highschool I was just so saturated with scripture and God, everywhere I turned and everywhere I went was about God. I thought that doing devotions in school every day and youth small group was good enough. But it was actually the opposite, it actually made my journey harder because I had a minimal personal relationship with God and i barely listened to his Spirit. But sometimes we may actually know where we are supposed to go but we run away from it the calling rather than take it head-on and roll with it like Jonah. says this “The gifts and call of God are irrevocable.” God does not reverse, or repeal, or cancel His call.” We need to take off our blinders and open our hands and eyes to what God has placed on or lives. Like it says in Psalms, we need to “Take delight in the Lord because he will give us the desires of our hearts”. I remember growing up and hanging out with kids younger then I and that has continued into the calling that I have pursued. All it takes is some vulnerability in asking someone to pray with you. God loves every single one of you and wants to journey down the path of your calling with you. It has not been an easy road getting here for me, a lot of speed bumps and obstacles that almost made me give up and turn away such as the death of someone very close to me but even in the darkest moments of my life God never left even if I didn’t see Him. I had to take off my blinders to see the work he was doing in my life. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” So as we think about the topic for this year of One, Paul calls us to live a life worthy of the calling we have received and the way to do that is to stay in step or one with the Spirit. The Spirit speaks to us all in different ways, we just have to be willing to take the step out of the boat and our comfort zone to follow what the Spirit is guiding us to do.