The Call of God

There is a difference between the call of the "wineskins" and the call of the "wine". The focus of our attention is not on the structure (the wineskins) to raise up leaders, but upon the Lord of the harvest (the new wine).

It is extremely important that we direct people to the Lord in seeking God's call on their lives.

The difference between volunteering and being called into God's service

(1 Timothy 1:12  ; 1Chronicles 15:16-19  ; Colossians 4:17  )

1. A volunteer looks upon ministry as another commitment he's been obligated to fulfill, but one called of God looks at ministry as another opportunity to be used of God.

2. A volunteer looks upon any constructive criticism with resentment, but one called of God is grateful for feed-back because he wants to be the best he can be.

3. A volunteer puts in minimum effort, but one called of God puts in maximum effort.

4. A volunteer sits back and complains about this and that bothering him, but one called of God takes personal responsibility to help improve that which needs improvement.

5. A volunteer feels threatened by the gifts and abilities of others, but one called of God feels secure in God's direction of his life.

6. A volunteer does no outside study or preparation (after all he's just a volunteer), but one who is called of God comes to ministry and people as prepared as possible.

7. A volunteer wants to quit at the first sign of adversity or discouragement, but one called of God digs in and perseveres.

8. A volunteer is blind to the needs of this ministry, but one called of God prays over the needs of his ministry.

9. A volunteer is more prone to jealousy of others, but one called of God praises God for distributing spiritual abilities.

10. A volunteer shrinks back from resolving relational conflict, but one called of God seeks to resolve all relational conflict to preserve the unity of the team with which he serves.

11. A volunteer's main source of fulfillment is his gifts and abilities, but someone called of God knows that being used of God is the most fulfilling thing you can do with your life.

12. A volunteer can't handle being put into situations where he's going to be "stretched", but one called of God responds to God's call with humble dependence upon Him.

(Adapted by Marvin Jacobo from "Foundations of a Music Ministry" - Rory Noland)

When someone is serving out of obligation to a leader, when the assignment does not go well, they have a sense of letting the leader down and the relationship suffers. When the person knows that it is the Lord who has called them to a task, and the task is not going well, the leader has great freedom in coming alongside of the person to assist them in carrying out what God has called them to do! There is the camaraderie of getting in the harness together, and freedom that the leader experiences when the focus is on helping the person succeed at what God has called him/her to do.

There is an incredible difference between being appointed by man, and being anointed by God for a task!

In reality, the call to salvation and the call to the ministry are one and the same! We are "saints", those called out by God for special service.

Illustration: Israel was called to be a blessing to all people of the world and yet they chose to enjoy the blessings of God while refusing to carry out their end of the deal. Exodus 19:5-8   Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, 6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites." 7 So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the LORD had commanded him to speak. 8 The people all responded together, "We will do everything the LORD has said." So Moses brought their answer back to the LORD.

It was a conditional promise. If they accepted God's call, then they would be His people. The condition was that they would be priests and a blessing to all peoples of the earth. Though they verbally agreed, they never carried out what they promised God they would do!

They became a "RELIGIOUS PEOPLE". They settled for the presence of God in worship, and did not carry out the mission that God had given to them. They saw that God wanted to bless them, but they failed to do their part and be a blessing to others. They became just like the prodigal son's older brother (Luke 15). They were self-righteous and did not care for anyone else. Their thought is always, "what about me, pay attention to me, throw a party for me....".

So, instead of becoming a people on mission from the King of Kings, they settled for becoming a religious people. They were called to be a kingdom of priests. What does it mean to be a priest? It is a person who represents God to the ungodly. Therefore God called a "New Israel" to fulfill God's mission of redemption in the world:

Matthew 21:43   "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.
This mission is communicated in unity with the salvation experience...

2 Corinthians 5:17   Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

1 Peter 2:5   you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9   But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

HOLY means to be "set apart for God's special use".
The priesthood of the believer! Not only do you and I have direct access to the throne of God in prayer, but we have been called to be priests and a blessing to the entire world. This is INCARNATIONAL ministry. It is the way God desires to carry out His ministry. It is through people like you and I.

The issue presented before us is: how many ministers do we have in this church? When we said to Him, "I give you my life", it means that we desire to carry out what God has called us to do. That we want to obey him and set up his kingdom of those who also want to obey Him. Isn't it kind of crazy that we have to spend our time and energy coming up with ways to entice our members into a program of Bible study and Christian development. Could you imagine a college coach saying, "Please come to practice next week. Last week we didn't have enough to come out so we could scrimmage. We just can't learn to play the game unless we practice, so please come out, please, please, please.

Vince Lombardi - The late legendary coach for the Green Bay Packers made famous the term "Lombardi time". If you did not show up at least 15 minutes earlier than the set time, then you were late. It is assumed by the coach that the reason the players signed up was that they wanted to play to win, and were willing to make whatever sacrifices necessary. The coach does not have to take attendance each day. If a lineman does not show up for a few days, someone else takes his spot. The team immediately knows when a player does not show because the team is totally dependent upon each member for the success of the team. The players check in to communicate if they are sick or going to miss due to some emergency...

For those who are called of God, growth, development and equipping for the ministry are not optional, but essential! For football players to show more commitment to football than many Christians show to the mission of God, is an embarrassment to the Lord God Almighty.

THE CALL TO SALVATION AND THE CALL TO THE
MINISTRY ARE ONE AND THE SAME CALL.

The pastor is not the hired gun. In the old west, when there were outlaws coming into town, the mayor might choose to hire a skilled gunman who would run the bad guys out of town. Some churches think of the pastor in this way. They are paid to do it all in the ministry.

Key: You and I cannot pay some one else to do what God has called us to do! Yes we are to honor God with our resources, but that is the easy part. God wants us to honor him with everything we have. Have you ever thought of tithing your time?

What does it mean when every one of us begin to see ourselves through the week as ministers representing God? It means that there is a minister on location when a tragedy happens in your place of employment.

Illustration: A church where they call their LIFEgroup Leaders "Lay Pastors". When the Senior Pastor showed up, the hospital nurse, said, "how many ministers do you have in your church? You are the 10th minister to show up to see this person..."

In the book Shared Ministry by Joe R Stacker and Bruce Grubbs:

1) All believers are ministers called to serve Christ.

2) Distinctions among believers are according to function and role, not rank.

3) Ministry is the work of the whole church and the responsibility and privilege of each believer.

4) Pastoral ministry is the enabling, equipping, guiding function necessary to make the church effective in ministry.

5) Pastoral ministers should relate to each other and all believers as equals before God and in service to Christ.

6) Pastoral ministers accomplish their work best when they work as servant-leaders.

7) Prominence, authority, and influence come from faithfulness in service not position, role, or function.

8) Ministry, both that of the church and of pastoral ministers, is most effective and fulfilling when conducted according to spiritual gifts and motivated by the Holy Spirit.

9) Relationships among believers and between believers and pastoral ministers are best defined and expressed through covenants.

10) Ministry effectiveness of both the church and pastoral ministers is evaluated by both qualitative and quantitative standards.

11) Interdependency is the nature of the church's relationships both among believers and with other bodies.

"However, in the past, when we have called on the laity for a ministry, in almost every instance, it was for a ministry that was expressed in the church. It was almost as if our major concern was not to penetrate the world with the reconciling gospel. It sometimes seemed that our major concern was to keep the institution functioning.

New Options for personal ministry: Teaching those who cannot read, to read. Adopting a foreign exchange student. Adopting a pro ball player. Adopting families from other countries.

"A primary purpose of the Church is to help us discover our gifts and, in the face of our fears, to hold us accountable for them" (Elizabeth O'Connor).
1 Corinthians 12:7   Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

1 Peter 4:10   Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Exploring the possibilities:

Like Paul, go for the open door.

2 Corinthians 2:12   Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me,

Colossians 4:3   And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

1 Corinthians 16:9   because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.

Though at times it may be Satan who is closing the door...

1 Thessalonians 2:18   For we wanted to come to you--certainly I, Paul, did, again and again--but Satan stopped us.

Use your spiritual gift where you are. You don't have to wait for someone to assign a ministry position to you before you can exercise your spiritual gift(s).
What do you have a passion for? What kind of ministry has God laid on your heart? It may be a new ministry to the church. Get feedback from those who know you best. Each gift is used to serve the body of Christ. Get started serving, and this will help you begin to define specifically what God wants you to do...

Conclusion:

God is more concerned with who you are than with what you do. Like a branch that is abiding in the vine, where the fruit is a natural product, so should the fruit of our ministry be when we are functioning according to the spiritual gifts given by God. There is the pain of pruning that God performs on anyone who bears much fruit. Being in the middle of the will of God does not mean that life is going to be easy necessarily, or pain free.

The Lord's burden is light and well fitting. What is the burden that the Lord wants you to carry? Illustration: Peter Johansen: Former Pastor on the staff. Now in a retirement capacity, he continues to give his best efforts to the work of the Lord. God's call on his life continues whether or not he is being paid to minister. You find out about a person's motivation when they continue serving as unto the Lord. He tutored a young man for 18 months, teaching him how to read. The young man became a Christian, then joined the church, prior to dying in a scuba diving accident. Peter serves faithfully in the Children's Ministry as a trimester worker and loves those little lives. Johansen High School was named after him. He is the first one in the history of Modesto City Schools to have a school named after him as an ordinary citizen. That's the impact he has had on the schools in Modesto. At the same time he has been leading a Bible Study in his home. Several have communicated that if it were not for his leadership and the group they would not be together in marriage today.

Peter is one who, when he believes in something, is going to do something about it!