Good morning. Today we are going to begin a new series as we look at some topics that are important to us as Christians. I recently went to a seminar that Dr. Leonard Sweet spoke at. Sweet is a very successful writer, and at this seminar he said that if you go through the Bible and look at certain verses of the same reference, you can learn a lot. So as we begin today we are going to call this our 3:16 series. We will be probing through the Bible looking at what several of the 3:16 are about.
Today since we are in the middle of our youth revival, I wanted to hit on something that is especially appropriate for the younger people here this morning. However, don’t tune me out if you are older, there is still a lot that you can gain out of this morning as well.
Before we get started, let’s open with prayer
Have you ever said something that was taken the wrong way? You said a word that you thought would be clearly understood but somewhere in the translation a different meaning came out? That is one of the problems with the English language. Words can have more than one meaning. For instance, I can tell Nellie, that I love chocolate cake, I love my dog, I love pizza, and I love her. She could then ask the question, “Which does he love more, the dog or me?” Now sometimes that is questionable, but some things tend to mean many different things. In the Greek language there are 4 different words for love. There is an "eros" or physical love expressed by a husband and wife. There is a "fameo"or family love expressed by relatives.
There is a "phileo" or brotherly love that is expressed by friends. This is where the city of Philadelphia gets its name - the city of brotherly love. And then there is "agape" or unconditional love. This is the kind of love that our Heavenly Father has for us. It is not a love based upon performance or with strings attached. "I love you because you do this or that for me..." or "I’ll love you if ..." God simply loves us as we.
Now another word that gets confused is the word “call.” This word is what I want to share with you this morning. Much like the word "love," the word "call" can have many different meanings.
You can:
call back – meaning that you are returning a call
call for - as in summoning someone
call off – call off your dog or call off from work
call up - the Marines call people up to service or you can call up someone on the phone
call on - a friend or pay a visit to someone
call into being - as in creation
call into question – this is to raise doubt
You can make a call :
the umpire makes a call behind the plate - you’re out! The kind you use when hunting deer, turkey, or duck. You can make a call in a game due to bad weather. You make a call to predict a pool shot - 8 ball in the corner pocket. But my favorite call is when I’m called to dinner! That can be an exciting time to be called.
Now the word “Call” is the most common verb in the Bible. It represents over 20 Hebrew and Greek words. As I prepared for this message, I found that the Biblical word “call,” fell into 4 categories.
First, To speak out in the way of prayer
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call on me, and I will answer thee.”
Also, Romans 10:13 says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Second, To summon or appoint
in Jeremiah 1:15 it says, “I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the earth.”
Also in Matthew 9:13 it says, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners”
Third, To name a person or thing
in Genesis 1:5 it says, “...and God called the light day”
Again in Luke 1:35 it says, “...the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Fourth, To reveal God’s will or desire
Ephesians 4:1 says, “I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
And in Romans 1:7 it says, “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.”
In Philippians 3:14, Paul states his desire and goal. Paul’s statement should be ours as well, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” As Christians and non-Christians, that should be our goal, to answer our calling.
As we talk about our calling today I have a demonstration. I need 5 volunteers.
You have all been given the calling to become firemen. As you work at the firehouse however, there are some duties that have to be taken care of. So you are in charge of washing the truck…. You are in charge of rolling up the hoses… You are in charge of cooking…. You are in charge of washing the uniforms… And you are in charge of sweeping the floors.
So, what is your job? (go to each and ask that)
Well, you are all wrong. Your job is that you are a fireman. Yes you have different duties, but you are still a fireman, and your job is to put out fires. As we talk about our calling today, remember not to let the duties in life keep you from seeing what your calling and what your job really is.
Turn with me if you would and we will look at out first 3:16 in our series. Here in I Samuel 3:16 we read about Samuel receiving his calling, and then him answering that calling. Look at this passage with me, and actually let’s look at verses 15-20. Here in I Samuel 3:15-20 it says, “1”
Let’s give some background to this story. Samuel is sleeping in the tabernacle court just outside the Holy of Holies where the Ark was kept. Now that was a very sacred place in the temple. It was in the middle of the night. The lamp that was lit at night and allowed to burn until the oil ran out just before daybreak is still alight. A voice calls out to Samuel and wakes him. He thinks it is Eli his master, so he runs to see what he might want. I guess he would have been used to being called on to help Eli with things that his failing eyesight made difficult to do.
But it wasn’t Eli who had called. So Eli sends him back to bed. This happens 2 more times before Eli realizes that it isn’t just Samuel imagining noises in the night. It must be God calling Samuel and wanting him to respond. So Eli tells Samuel to go back and lie down and if the Lord calls again, to say, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.”
Then, again the Lord came to Samuel and Samuel heard His voice. This time we’re told the Lord comes and stands there and calls: “Samuel! Samuel!” Well, finally Samuel has figured out what’s happening, so he responds as Eli had suggested. Samuel said, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” And so God delivers his message to Samuel. It is a calling on Samuel’s life, and he has to decide what to do about that calling.
After that message was given, Samuel had to decide to accept the message and do what he had been called to, or he could turn his back on God’s calling and never really achieve all that God had planned for him. The choice was his, and today the choice is ours.
We can say yes Lord here I am, or we can go on our own way and never reach for what God has called us to.
What I am challenging you to do this morning is to be a pioneer and not a settler. Let’s define each of these words. First, the word settler. A settler is one who settles in, or one who is sinking to a lower level. You see, when you settle for something, you are giving up on what you really want and you are lowering your standards. It is like wanting a regular coke, and settling for a diet, caffeine free Pepsi. Have you ever settled for something, only later to regret that decision? When you settle, you are giving up on a high desire, and you are being satisfied with a lower standard.
Let’s think of some settlers from the Bible. David settled to stay at home and not go and fight like he should have. Had he done what he should have, he would have never been involved with someone else’s wife. Another example would be with Judas. Judas settled to betray Jesus for a price. He settled for less than what he was called to.
Now I am going to challenge you to be a pioneer. You see, the pioneer has a dream and never gives up on that dream. Look at Martin Luther King Jr. He said the famous words, “I have a dream.” He had a dream, and he did not settle for less than what he had dreamed of.
Here in this passage we looked at, we see that Samuel is a great example of being a pioneer from the Bible. He had a dream, and he knew his calling. He chose to follow that calling, and God blessed him and was with him as he grew up.
So, what is it that you feel that God is calling you to? Perhaps you don’t even realize that He is calling. Well, I want to share with you, that We Must Be Ready To Hear What God Wants To Say To Us, and We Have To Then Submit To That Calling.
In my own life, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life. I knew that I wanted to attend a Bible college, but I didn’t know what I wanted my career to be until I was in my senior year of high school. Finally I decided that I wanted to go into youth ministry. So off to Kentucky Christian University I went to become a youth minister.
Now from the very beginning, the minister at my home church was always telling met that he thought that I should go into preaching instead of youth ministry, but I didn’t feel equip to do such a task, so I stuck with youth ministry. For 2 years of college I was still focused on youth ministry. Then it happed. My junior year of college, God said in a loud voice, I don’t want you to be a youth minister.
It was at a low point in my life that I actually considered giving up on ministry and changing colleges and doing something else with my life.
My classes were out of control, things here seemed to be dragging me down, and there were several other areas in my life that were causing me to doubt my decision to enter into ministry. I was in the middle of dropping out of college, when I was finally willing to listen to God.
It’s funny, I preached at my home church on a Sunday, and I was at school on Wednesday preparing to see what I had to do in order to transfer out to a different college and go into a different career. It was then that I received this letter from Mark, my minister back home. It said, “Letter”
Someone had seen something in me that made them think that I would do good in preaching. Not only that, but they were used by God to affirm my decision to stay in the ministry.
For that semester I decided to take fewer classes and I decided that I would take some preaching classes. It was then that I decided came to the conclusion that maybe preaching was where God wanted me. Follow that, I was given the opportunity to preach here. Now at times I still feel very in-equip and I am not sure if this is the career that God has planned for me. But I know that in scripture God says that He will give us what we need and He will supply us with the ability to do whatever it is that He asks of us.
Richard Parker once said, “God doesn’t call people who are qualified. He calls people who are willing, and then He qualifies them.” God also says that He will never leave us or forsake us. So I know that with Him on my side everything is possible.
And that brings me to the last point. You have to be willing to accept the calling that God has for you. You cannot settle to be less than what God is calling you to. Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, told a story about a goose who was wounded and who landed in a barnyard with some chickens. He played with the chickens and ate with the chickens. After a while that goose thought he really was a chicken. Then one day a flight of geese came over, migrating to their home. They gave out a loud honk up there in the sky, and that goose with the chickens heard it.
Kierkegaard said, “Something stirred within the breast of this goose. Something called him to the skies. He began to flap the wings that he hadn’t used, and he rose a few feet into the air. Then he stopped, and he settled back again into the mud of the barnyard. He heard the cry, but he settled for less.”
You see, when we settle for less than what God is calling us for, it is like settling in the mud, when we could be soaring in the skies. The choice is up to us, but I can tell you from experience, when you submit to God’s will and His calling, things turn out great.
My challenge is that you don’t forget you dream or your calling, even when the added responsibilities get in the way. As we close I want to say, that as Christians, our duties, our responsibilities are to be a teacher, a truck driver, a banker, a carpet cleaner, a doctor. But our job is to save lives for Christ. These other things may be our calling in life from God, but when we become Christians, our new calling is to save lives in His name.
Let’s Pray |
