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Godly Calling – who
has the power here?
MP3
I once gave a sermon about the wrong spiritual attitude of sitting on
the fence. When I gave that sermon there was a practice quite
prevalent at the time of members attending at several different churches
of God at the same time. One man told me that he rotated between
seven different churches every two months. Another told me that he
was going to spend a year in attendance with all of the larger churches
of God.
Is this God's will? Once God calls someone to repentance,
baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, do we any longer have free
choice? Can we do anything we wish? Can we choose what
church we will attend? Can we choose what we will do in the Work
of God? Indeed do we decide in what city we live or what career we
pursue? What does God's Word have to say?
In my sermon, I described a member of the Seattle Seahawk football team.
I asked the question of whether this player could announce to the coach
that he would be playing with the Oakland Raiders this coming Sunday.
Would this be acceptable? Would anyone allow this to happen, be
they team owners, coaches, teammates or fans? I hardly think so.
Next I described a local citizen who works for the Boeing Aircraft
company. Could he announce one day that he was going to work for
Airbus for a couple of weeks? Hardly. Could the President of
the United States announce that he would be ruling Paraguay for a couple
of months as their president? Mankind surely would not allow these
kinds of behaviors in any way, shape or form. Is a married man
morally allowed to spend the night with any woman he desires? Can
a US soldier in Iraq choose to fight on the side of the insurgents for a
couple of weeks and fight and maybe kill his fellow comrades?
Absolutely not!! Therefore why would one think that God would put
up with such choices?
God's calling is Holy and specific. God has never dealt with His
servants in nebulous terms. God did not ask Jonah where He wanted
to go to serve Him. He gave him specific instructions and would
not even allow him to run away. Could David have chosen to be the
king of some other country? God told Abraham to get thee to the
land He would show him. Could he have chosen to go elsewhere?
Did he have a choice?
Paul was sent by God to preach the Gospel. Did Paul choose where
to go or was this the will of God? Even when scripture shows Paul
wanting to go to a specific place, who got the final say?
Notice...
And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for
to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at
Jerusalem. And so were the churches established in the faith, and
increased in number daily. Now when they had gone throughout
Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were
forbidden of the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia,
After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia:
but the Spirit suffered them not.
–Acts 16:4-7
Note: These servants of God desired to make the choices.
They wanted and desired to go and preach in Asia and later in Bithynia
but God forbade them from doing so. God had the power here.
Now read James 4:13-15:
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city,
and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye
know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even
a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this,
or that. –James
4:13-15
"IF THE LORD WILL" is the key phrase here. Not our
will, but the will of the Father in everything. The moment God
calls us [clearly we do not choose to be a firstfruit] we are given such
biblical designations as "soldier" and "slave." Do soldiers and
slaves have any choice? Did you choose the day you were born or
into what family or country? Do we choose the day we die?
God says He counts the days of our lives and appoints the day of our
death. The more you meditate on this subject the more you have to
admit that it is always preferable to have God make the choices rather
than you. Firstfruits actually only have one choice to make:
Obey God or not. If we, as called out firstfruits choose to obey
God, we actually put all other choices and decisions into His hands.
Who better? He guides us through all the decisions we make by the
power of the Holy Spirit. Those who are seasoned veterans of their
calling have come to know the unction of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20).
We are guided by the power of God in all decisions and that guidance is
the expression of His will.
Do you remember the biblical account of the calling of Saul [later to
become Paul] and how God had struck him blind. By what means did
Paul regain his sight?
And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his
hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared
unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest
receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And
immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he
received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
–Acts 9:17-18
Note: God worked His will in the life of
Paul. When it came time for Paul to see again, God called Ananias
through Christ to go to Paul and Paul then yielded to the will of God
and was baptized. We CANNOT resist the will of God.
John the Baptist said, "He
must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30)." Jesus
said, "...nevertheless not my will, but thine,
be done (Luke 22:42)."
Then there is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Did
Philip make some kind of personal choice to go to Ethiopia? What
does your Bible say?
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go
toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza,
which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia,
an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who
had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to
worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the
prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to
this chariot. –Acts 8:26-29
Note: It was not Philip making a
choice but rather God implementing His will through man.
Ask any minister in God's church whether it was their idea and choice to
be a minister of Jesus Christ. See what they say. Actually
God already gives you the answer:
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily
prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings,
helps, governments, diversities of tongues. –1
Corinthians 12:28
Note: Just as God called you to this
specific church, He called the ministry to their work.
Examples:
As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said,
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
–Acts 13:2
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth
labourers into his harvest. –Matthew 9:38
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them
two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he
himself would come. –Luke 10:1
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God
given unto me by the effectual working of his power. –Ephesians
3:7
And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of
God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an
high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I
begotten thee. –Hebrews 5:4-5
The Word of God is absolutely clear. In Godly calling,
God Almighty has all the power.
I continue this thought in the next Notebook piece, "Soldiers
of Christ – they have no say; they merely obey."
See also: "It's All About Godly Calling"
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