Sermon:  Summons – Part 1       MP3     Summons Part 2
by Chris Cumming

Several years ago I was back east giving a Bible study to a pretty good sized crowd.  At one point, another minister took over and I went out to the lobby of the meeting hall and encountered an individual leaving the meeting early and wow, was he in a huff.  All I heard him say out loud to himself was, “No minister is going to tell me what to believe!”

I have been thinking about what he said all these years and I have come to an astounding conclusion.  He is absolutely right.  Ministers do not tell you what to believe or think.  Ministers do not tell you what to do.  Ministers preach the Word of God.  God is the one telling you what to do and believe.  God telling you what to do and what to believe began, of course, the day He called you to repentance, baptism and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.

The subject for today is Godly Calling.  Know your Calling.  Stay with your Calling.

I marvel at the times I am contacted by members in the Body of Christ who do not fully appreciate Godly Calling.  It is one of the most neglected and least understood elements of the Word of God and the Salvation Process.  How can we give diligence to make our calling and election sure if we are not clear what Godly Calling is?

I often hear individuals informing me what church they are going to attend.  Some say that all the churches of God are the same or that any Sabbath-keeping church is fine.  Still others relate they float around to a number of different churches of God.  One individual told me he rotates between seven different churches.  Another told me he was going to attend for one year with each of the major groups.  Is any of this biblically justified?  Do these decisions reflect the will of God?  Absolutely not!

Where in the Bible can you show servants of God and firstfruits making a wide variety of choices?  Once one is called out of the world and into the Salvation Process, they belong to God and are used to carry out His will.  They are referred to as servants of God, slaves to Jesus Christ or soldiers in God’s Army.

Let us begin with a survey of questions.  I sent an e-mail to you earlier to be ready with a piece of paper numbered 1-24.

The purpose of this survey is for you to find out just how deep God is involved in your life.  That is, we want to discover what is involved in your calling.  My overall inquiry here, for each question is, “Does God have anything to say about each of these subject areas?”  Does He offer commands, admonitions, guidelines, principles, morals or etiquette in any of these areas?  Therefore when I ask you the question whether you are the one who decides what it is you wear, I am not asking you about  deciding what color to wear or necessarily whether it will be a coat as opposed to a sweater, but whether there are any biblical admonitions that would speak to what you wear and how.  Let us begin.  These are, “Yes” or “No” questions.

Are you the lone decision maker here or does God have something to say about:

1] What you eat?
2] What you drink?
3] What you wear?
4] What you do for a living or career?
5] Where you live and for how long?
6] Where you travel?
7] What you do; what actions you take?
8] What you watch, read or listen to?
9] Who you will have for friends?
10] With whom you fellowship?
11] Where you fellowship?
12] How you treat your family?
13] How you treat your spouse?
14] How you manage and spend money?
15] How you manage your possessions?
16] How you pray?
17] What you believe?
18] How you worship and when?
19] What you do on Holy Days?
20] How you study the Bible.
21] Are you the one who decides to keep the Law and Commandments?

22] Is God only concerned with your spiritual life?
23] Is God concerned with your physical, mental and emotional life? 
24]If you answer was, “Yes” to question 23, then to what extent is He concerned in each of those three areas?

The answer I am looking for here for all twenty-four questions is, “No.”  You are not the lone decision maker.  Your Holy Calling is to Almighty God in all areas of your life, without exception.  You have been given a summons by God and the primary command on that summons is that you will live by every word of God [Matthew 4].

Here is what I found on the definition of summons:

Summons:
1] an authoritative command, message, or signal by which one is summoned.
2] a request, demand, or call to do something: a summons to surrender.
3] an authoritative call or notice to appear at a specified place, as for a particular purpose or duty.
4] to call upon to do something specified.
5] to call into action; rouse; call forth (often. followed by up): to summon all one's courage.

God has summoned you to both Salvation and the Salvation Process.  In that process are many sub-processes that speak to each and every area noted in the 24-question survey in which you just participated.

Let us quickly look at some key scriptures for those 24 questions:

 

As I have been preaching for years now, it is all about Godly Calling.

Earlier I stated the Bible refers to us as servant of God and slaves to Jesus Christ or soldiers in God’s Army.

The word servant is actually “slave”:
NT:1401 - Servant

doulos (doo'-los); from NT:1210; a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subservience):

 KJV - bond (-man), servant.(Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary)

SLAVE
Paul spoke of himself as a "servant," a word sometimes rendered as "bondservant" but frequently also as "slave" (Romans 1:1; Titus 1:1). Christians, especially ministers, are not hired servants but slaves committed to service to Jesus. A slave does not manage his own life. The person who calls himself a slave of Christ acknowledges that the Savior has power over him. --Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary

SOLDIER
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. –2 Timothy 2:3.  See also 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Ephesians 6:11-18 and 1 Timothy 1:18 [See Lesson].

The following are all referred to as servant-slaves of God and Christ:
 

I am giving you this table of servant-slaves for your further study.  Just click on the verses.  Let me share a couple here;

Moses:
Malachi 4:4
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

Paul
Romans 1:1
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.

We are bought with a price and become God’s property.  We no longer have the free choice the world has. Our lives are forfeit for Christ.  We follow commands, take directions and go where He says to go.

For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. –1 Corinthians 6:20

Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God. –1 Corinthians 7:23-24

 Let us take a sampling of the individuals from the above table and see how God ruled their lives.
 

Notice in the cases of David and Paul that they desired to do something but were forbidden by God from doing so.  Why should we think that God would treat and deal with us differently?  We are all given a high calling of God.  Notice…

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 3:14

Now the commentaries…
 

[Of the high calling of God] Which is the end or result of that calling. God has called us to great and noble efforts; to a career of true honor and glory; to the obtainment of a bright and imperishable crown. It is a calling which is "high," or "upward"-anoo (NT:507)-that is, which tends to the skies. The calling of the Christian is from heaven, and to [the Kingdom]; compare Proverbs 15:24. He has been summoned by God through the gospel of the Lord Jesus to secure the crown. It is placed before and above him in heaven. It may be his, if he will not faint or tire or look backward [fall away]. It demands his highest efforts, and it is worth all the exertions which a mortal can make even in the longest life. –Barnes’        

The prize belongs to those who respond wholeheartedly to God's upward call, [away from self and toward new heights of spiritual attainment] in Christ Jesus. –Wycliffe

The Bible is replete with verses demonstrating how God controls our life and decision making.  Here is one:

And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. - Isaiah 30:21

Every aspect of our life is Godly Calling.  Here is one definition I found on Calling:

An inner urge or a strong impulse, especially one believed to be divinely inspired to accept the Gospels as truth and Jesus as one's personal savior.

I want to finish now with the Godly Calling scriptures.  I divide these into two groups:

1] Purposes of God Scriptures Regarding Calling
2] Responsibility to Your Calling Scriptures

Purposes of God Scriptures Regarding Calling
2 Timothy 1:9
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.

Isaiah 46:10 
Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

Isaiah 46:11 
Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.

Ephesians 1:1-12
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

Romans 11:29 
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

1 Corinthians 1:24-31
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

2 Thessalonians 1:11 
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

Romans 1:1-7
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)
3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;
4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:
5 By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:
6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:
7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:12 
That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory.

Responsibility to Your Calling Scriptures
2 Peter 1:10 
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Philippians 3:14 
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 3:1-19
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.
11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;
15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.
17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

1 Corinthians 7:20-24
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.

Ephesians 4:1-7
1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.

Colossians 3:15 
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.

1 Thessalonians 4:7 
For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

1 Timothy 6:12 [see Lesson]
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

So go now and fight that good fight of faith to which you were called.

It’s all about Godly Calling.

Tune in tomorrow at 10 AM, Pacific for Part 2 of this sermon which is all about Fellowship and its relationship to Godly Calling.

Further Study:
See: Godly Calling – who has the power here?
See: Soldiers of Christ – they have no say; they merely obey

See Summons - Part II