Don't Give Up on God's Calling

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Don't Give Up on God's Calling 9:00AM EDT 5/29/2013 GEORGE D. WATSON

 

Each one of us is to believe that we have a place in the mind of God and in His creation, separate and distinct from every other creature, and that He loves us with a private, personal love. He has assigned to each of us a special mission and service which no one else can do in just the way that God wants us to do it. If we do not believe this, then we do not believe that God is the Infinite One whom the Bible reveals, and we do not believe in our destiny as revealed in Scripture.

The Bible contains numerous passages proving that each person has a special vocation in the providence of God and that if he or she is yielded in obedient faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, that special vocation will be carried out. We are told that "the stars in their courses fought against Sisera," from which we learn that God appoints to every star a special circuit along which it is to move.

Then we read that God appoints every man to his work (see Mark 13:34). And again, that John the Baptist fulfilled his course.

Before Jesus died, He prayed to the Father, "I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do" (John 17:4). Paul said he wanted to finish his course with joy. We are each one told to "run...the race that is set before us" (Heb. 12:1).

The Bible is full of this thought, that for each one of us there is a course, a race, a work, an individual life to be lived. To this end we have been created and redeemed, and for this purpose there is ample provision of grace and inspiration.

Let's look at our personal vocation from God's side. Our relation to God must come first of all.

The reason we are created and the significance of all our labor, trials, difficulties, successes, failures and in fact everything that belongs to us must be looked at first of all in light of our relation to God. It is certain that because He formed us and redeemed us, He must take more interest in us and have a greater regard for us than all other creatures combined. And again, it is evident that God has given us a mission to fill in His own mind that is in proportion to our special makeup and that He foresees for each of us possibilities that we do not see and that our fellow creatures would never suspect.

Most of the lives in the human race are lived in obscurity and never known beyond a circle of a few acquaintances. Of the millions on Earth, only a small percent ever come into public notice or form a part of recorded history.

Of that number most live only for self and sin and amount to almost nothing in the purpose of God, and are total failures, perhaps, on God's side. In fact, it is likely that the number of human beings who are known in public life and to history are just as few in proportion as the number of water-drops that are visible in the sea. Hence it is certain that God has not made all the human souls as a mere parade but that they are made for Him, to love and serve Him, to fill a private mission in His love and will which we do not understand.

Many wonder what God gave them an existence for, as they are so obscure, so helpless, so hedged about. But if such souls could only know enough to abandon themselves to God's will, they would see that they are capable of living unto God and glorifying Him with a private worship and obedience that will satisfy the divine purpose in their creation. And in the end they will find that they filled the sphere of God's plan for them.

If one soul fails to do its part in the purpose of God, He will miss that work from His universe. It is said of a certain musician who was conducting a great orchestra that when one instrument failed to strike one note in the program, the master's keen ear detected the absence of that one note in the performance.

God is so infinite that if one little soul living in obscurity in some hid-away place fails to fill its mission, He will miss that note in the vast orchestra of the universe, which is perpetually sounding forth His praise. It is not any mere action that God would miss so much as the love and confidence of some trusting soul.

The highest mission any creature can fill is to love the Lord with all the soul, mind and will. And this secret mission to which we are called takes rank above all outward action, public history or splendid performance in the eyes of our fellow creatures.

We must also look at our vocation on the man side, or in relation to our fellow creatures. God has arranged countless threads of relationship between each one of us and all other creatures, and so multiplied, so intricate are they as to be beyond all our calculations. In one sense we may say that God is weaving out a vast fabric in human history and that each soul forms a thread or a stitch in the enormous pattern.

God is using us creatures in our life-work to touch thousands of others and influence them, as well as to have thousands of others touch us by word or influence or personal presence. Thus creatures are blended with creatures in a tangled maze of ministry for help or for trial, for joy or for sorrow, for happiness or for disappointment, so that our special mission is related to the special mission of others, in order to make one whole, and yet not interfere with each of us filling our appointed place.

As every creature that walks or crawls on the earth leaves its print in some form or other, so every responsible soul in passing through life leaves an imprint on other souls. But that imprint can only fulfill God's will when such souls are living under the guidance of His Spirit.

In many ways that would not be according to our choice, we need the ministry of our fellow creatures, and God often uses them to wound us or correct us or disappoint us to serve a purpose in our lives. And then again He will use others to encourage or comfort or instruct us, so that could we see our life mission in the clear light of faith, we would receive all things that come into our lives as designed for our good and accept all things as from God to us. It is evident that our life mission must be interwoven with those of our fellow creatures for the benefit of all parties in ways unknown to us.

In the next place, we should seek to discover what our life mission is. There are some who from childhood have a strong intuition as to what their vocation is to be, and this applies to people of the world, as well as to those who are Christians.

But I speak now with reference to the children of God, who are living mainly for life in the future world. And those who live mostly for the future life are the ones who live best in the present life and who best fulfill their vocation in this world.

It is an inspiration to any soul when he has a clear view of his special life-work and an ideal vision of what God wants to accomplish in and by his life. There is a peculiar thrill when we even suspect some special mission God has for us. But when it becomes a settled conviction as to what our work is then our heart runs out in the work, if we are willing and obedient, and everything in our lives from that time on becomes tributary to that one supreme vocation.

In order to do our life-work in the best way, we must have a clear apprehension of it, and then we must love it and put all our heart in it and watch God's dealings with us in relation to it. The most significant things in our lives, such as our dreams, our meditations, our inspirations, the peculiar leadings of God's providence, will come to us right along the line of our special vocation.

Oftentimes other people will be led to speak to us words of special import or encouragement along the line of our life work. For instance, when God designs a child to be a preacher of the gospel, that child will have premonitions of it, and along in his life other persons will speak to him on this matter. And as life goes on the various providences and the various incidents, both in his mind and outer life, will all seem to point in that direction.

This same truth will apply to any other vocation. People who have no definite view as to their life-work are apt to beat the air. They work at random; they run like the man in Scripture, without a message; they waste a great deal of energy in doing nothing.

You may ask, "How shall I find my special vocation?" I answer, "By a life of prayer." Not by simply saying prayers, but by living a life of continued talking with God, by a perfect surrender to Him through Jesus, a perfect willingness to give up your own thoughts, plans, and prejudices and being willing for God to possess you and lead you in the way He chooses for you to go.

You are to believe that God loves you with an eternal love, that God has a place for you and a mission for you to fill. Then, on the basis of His Word, plead with Him to open up to your mind your special mission, whether it be in the private or public forum, and feel sure from the teachings of Scripture that it is God's will to give you such a sufficient insight into your vocation as will satisfy you. With that insight there will come a loving ardor and a tireless zeal to accomplish the task.

Sadly, there are many Christians who miss their true mission in life. Although they may be saved in the end, yet because of lack of perseverance or the influence of other people's opinions, they frustrate the special vocation to which they were called. They have been gifted in many ways and evidently have been called of God for various kinds of service or usefulness or holy character and have been sidetracked, or have given up their work, and thereby frustrated the plan of God.

To be faithful to our calling in life is the greatest thing in all human character. It is not so much the size of our abilities, or the conspicuousness of our life-work, but that hidden, deep, settled obedience to God, that humble faithfulness to His calling day by day, moment by moment, in the place where we are that will tell in the ages to come and mark our rank in the kingdom of God when the crowns are distributed.

George D. Watson (1848-1923) was a holiness evangelist and the author of several books, including Bridehood Saints, from which this excerpt was taken.

Blackpool Rocks, A Perspective on Pastoral Ministry

 I decided after a few tough weeks, that I needed a change of scene and considered what I could do, I did consider several options:-

1.   Visiting Chester

2.   Visiting Blackpool

3.   Staying at home and watching TV  etc

I decided eventually to go to Blackpool, which as the seagull flies or indeed the crow flies, Blackpool is some 11 miles from Southport, however because of the unique geography of the North West of England Coast, unless you can travel by Sea, to get from Southport to Blackpool you have to travel via Preston which is a distance of some 31 miles.

On Monday, I decided to read up on Blackpool and read the Wikipedia Article, the Visit Blackpool Website and the Blackpool Gazette Website,  it would have  easy for me to read about Blackpool and because I have read about it to consider reading about it  to have the same value of visiting there.

I had several options how to get from Southport to Blackpool,  these included walking, going by bus or going by train,  I don’t drive, so driving was out of the question,  and I know of another church here in Southport who have an annual sponsored cycle ride from Southport to Blackpool.  I don’t have access to a bicycle so cycling was also out,  it would take to long to walk,  so this left travelling either by Bus or Train, so it came down to cost,  the Train would have cost some £17.00 or the Bus would cost £7.00.

So, I found myself just after 9.00am on Tuesday, at my local Tesco Express taking money from the Cash Machine and then buying some refreshments for my journey, and then walking to the Bus Stop to wait for X2 Stagecoach Bus from Southport to Preston, then I had a choice to make I could either travel by the 61 Stagecoach Bus from Preston to Blackpool via Kirkham or the 68 Stagecoach Bus from Preston to Blackpool via Lytham St Annes.  When I’ve travelled previously to Blackpool via Preston I had opted for the 68 Service which seems to take ages.  I decided to opt for a change and when for the 61 Service which went via Kirkham.

 It was interesting going a different way to reach my destination rather than going in a familiar or expected way, yes I still got to Blackpool but I got there in a way that I hadn't considered until after  I had arrived in Preston.

On my journey to Blackpool, I had to travel via some interesting places such as Kirkham and Marton, because of various reasons such as the heat and the traffic,  it could have been easy to get off before Blackpool and explore these places, but they weren’t my destination,  I knew what was my destination, because I could see the Blackpool Tower in the distance, and I know what I was heading for.

 I had to rely on the Bus Driver and I did wonder why when there were so many signs saying Blackpool, the driver seemed to ignore them and carried along on his journey, but despite the driver ignoring these signs the buses' destination was still Blackpool!

I could have got off the Bus when I saw a sign that said Blackpool and said I have seen  the sign that says Blackpool so I must be there, but the sign pointed me in the direction of Blackpool and it wasn’t my destination, it just showed me the way to go.

On my way to the Blackpool Tower,  there was  a lot if traffic congestion because of roadworks and building work being done, although I could see my destination of Blackpool Tower. I could have been frustrated by circumstances and decided to get off before my destination and called where I got off my new destination, eventually the Bus stopped near to  Blackpool Tower, and I realised that I had arrived, it seemed to take longer than I expected and there had been delays but I was there.

In my childhood days, my parents and my grandparents would take my sisters Becky, Abby and myself to see the famous Blackpool Illuminations for the day by train excursion, one particular trip comes to mind, on the 2^nd and final family trip to Blackpool, it was just my parents, my sisters and myself this time and being October it was raining, my mother decided to take us to see a show on one of the piers and she mistakenly thought she booked for us to see Camberwick Green,  but had booked us to see the Grumbleweeds instead!, and after we had left the show, my mother who was slightly shocked by what she had seen,  reminded my sisters and I “don’t tell your grandparents!”

Since I’ve moved to Southport,  I’ve made 3 journeys from Southport to Blackpool, in many ways it’s so near,  yet so far!  Blackpool has a certain reputation and tends to attract a lot of stag and hen parties, there is a lot of need and in ways it is quite a deprived area, and Blackpool Council and other parties are making financial investments into the communities of Blackpool.

On my  trip to Blackpool last year, I made several observations and the Lord bought a scripture to my mind

Matthew 9:35-38 New American Standard Bible.

35 Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.

36 Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He *said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Following on from that Scripture

John 4:35-38

35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest. 36 Already he who reaps is receiving wages and is gathering fruit for life eternal; so that he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this case the saying is true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you have not laboured; others have laboured and you have entered into their labour.”

We, the Church are the visible representation of God’s Kingdom Rule and Reign here on Earth, we are his messengers of hope, healing, love and compassion, salvation & restoration, the people we see every day are the people for whom Jesus died on the Cross for, we are the ones who are to bring hope and healing to our communities.

Isaiah 6:8-9 New American Standard Bible

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go, and tell this people:

Romans 10:14-16 New American Standard Bible

14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Like a majority of you who read this blog,  I'm not a  Christian Leader and/or Minister, however that doesn’t disqualify us from being a messenger or messengers to our community or  our surrounding communities.

We see in Ephesians 4:11-16 New American Standard Bible

11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; 3 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Some 2,000 years ago, our Lord and Saviour Jesus choose 12 Ordinary Men, that weren’t the most educated, or the brightest or indeed the best, many people including themselves would have taken one long look at themselves and thought who are these Men, Jesus can’t use us  or these!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 New American Standard Bible

26 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.

The Lord has called people to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers to equip us all for works of service.

An extract from Kingdom Dynamics from the New Spirit Filled Life Bible.

, “Shepherding amid the Supernatural, Ephesians 4:11ff teaches us that all leadership gifts are given by Christ the Lord of the church to “equip” (that is to mend, prepare and enable to function) the whole body of the congregation............ , true supernatural ministry at work in the church begets vital, spiritually functional people throughout the whole church family. The body is to be built up by the mutual efforts of all members supplying their contribution to the whole.  The call to empower people requires mentoring, training, imparting and discipling/discipleship - all aimed at preparing the body for stability and increase.”

Jeremiah 33

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Restoration Promised

 ³ ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ ⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken down to make a defense against the siege ramps and against the sword, ⁵ ‘While they are coming to fight with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden My face from this city because of all their wickedness:

 ⁶ Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. ⁷ I will restore the ^[c]fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild them as they were at first. ⁸ I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which they have transgressed against Me. ^9 [d]It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

¹⁰ “Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say, “It is a waste, without man and without beast,” that is, in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, ¹¹ the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say,

“Give thanks to the Lord of hosts,
For the Lord is good,
For His loving kindness is everlasting”;

and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the ^[e]fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

¹² “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a ^[f]habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks. ¹³ In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,’ says the Lord.

Word Wealth, also from The New Spirit Filled Bible

Ephesians 4:12 equipping,  katartismos, Strong’s  #2677

“A making fit, preparing, training, perfecting, making fully qualified for service”

I believe that the more time we invest in spending with our Ephesians 4:11 leaders, the more we embody their divine gifting, and their lives and ministry equips us to reach our communities, for example if we spend time with Apostles the more Apostolic we become,  and again the more time we spend  with a Pastor the more Pastoral we become.

Another word for Pastors is Shepherd, I’m going to refer again to Word Wealth from The New Spirit Filled Bible

Matthew 10:2 shepherd, poimon, Strong’s #4166

“a herdsman, sheepherder, one who tends, leads, guides, cherishes, feeds, and protects a flock. The New Testament uses the word for a Christian pastor to whose care and leadership others will commit themselves.”

I believe that we the church are to be pastoral or shepherding to the people in our communities,  some of us are called to the Ephesians 4:11 ministry of Pastor, their role is to equip us to be pastoral to our communities. A pastor or shepherd has the shepherd heart of Jesus, and that could be to the Church he pastors or the community they pastor or shepherd.

If you have time, I suggest you read John 10,  to close I’m going to quote

John 10 New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

The good shepherd and his sheep

10 ‘Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. ² The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. ³ The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴ When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. ⁵ But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognise a stranger’s voice.’ ⁶ Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, ‘Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^[a]They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.’

¹⁹ The Jews who heard these words were again divided. ²⁰ Many of them said, ‘He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?’

²¹ But others said, ‘These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?’

Further conflict over Jesus’ claims

²² Then came the Festival of Dedication^[b] at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³ and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The Jews who were there gathered round him, saying, ‘How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.’

²⁵ Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.’

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, ‘I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?’

³³ ‘We are not stoning you for any good work,’ they replied, ‘but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.’

³⁴ Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I have said you are ‘gods’”^[d]? ³⁵ If he called them “gods”, to whom the word of God came – and Scripture cannot be set aside – ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, “I am God’s Son”? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.’ ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

⁴⁰ Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptising in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹ and many people came to him. They said, ‘Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.’ ⁴² And in that place many believed in Jesus.

 1 Peter 5:1-3

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Serve God Willingly

5 Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, 2 shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; 3 nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.

Although this speaks of  eldership being pastoral to the Church they lead, I believe that we are also responsible to the Lord to shepherd the communities we live in.

Rise up O Church

My place is here in Southport, and God has called me as part of His Church here to pastor my community, but I can pray for Blackpool and other places.