You have no items in your cart.
The Call of God – Week 21 / May 19th
“But The Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel
of Mine to bear My name before the Gentiles, Kings, and
the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things
he must suffer for My Name’s sake.”
Acts 9:15-26
No doubt one of the great privileges of life is to be called into the “Five-fold” ministry of the ascended Christ. These are not people with gifts but they are themselves the gift of Jesus to His Church in the world. Paul defines these people in his letter to the church at Ephesus as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. (Ephesians 4:11) While they do have gifts of the Spirit and unique leadership skills they are chiefly called to beautify the church. That is, their focus is to bring every believer under their sphere of influence to the fullness of the stature of Christ. This is not an easy task and those who embark upon it have to themselves demonstrate the life of Jesus before they can call others to embrace it for themselves.
This high calling means that the servant of Jesus will have to walk the way of the cross and this in turn means embracing the way of suffering and trial. ( 2 Corinthians 3:7-11) To assume that Jesus can be implanted in people’s lives apart from this road is foolishness. Paul’s calling was great but to achieve it he had to face a journey punctuated by intense suffering. Jesus had to have His way with Paul since Paul’s ministry required a vessel so committed to Christ that He could impart to the world through him much of the New Testament. I once heard a great man of God share his testimony and then, in the question time afterwards, a young man commendably stated that he desired to be like him. The man of God looked lovingly at him and replied, “Young man make sure you are willing to pay the price before setting out to follow me.” That’s it exactly! We need men and women who are willing to embrace the road of suffering as well as the one of blessing. I fear that the latter has been over emphasized in recent years.
Of course Jesus will never ask you to bear more than you can handle since He knows our limitations but the calling to serve Christ requires resolve and determination. Jesus made this plain time and time again. Also commitment to the heavenly task imparted to one is also required from the servant of Jesus. Paul knew that he was called as an Apostle to the Gentiles and therefore he made this his lifelong focus and commitment. I know some remarkable men who have dedicated their lives completely to a heavenly calling. They were never distracted from the calling that they knew was theirs in Christ. Very often their road was a lonely one and even a misunderstood one but they held to it and never gave up.
The call of God is a precious thing and we all have it in one way or another. To let it manifest in our lives we must welcome the work of the Holy Spirit in us that weakens our flesh by trials and difficulties. It is only by this weakening process that we become the life giving bread that Jesus desires to give to the world. (2 Corinthians 1:8-10) The truth is, we must welcome Christ fully into our lives and then accept all and everything that comes our way. He will work it together for our good and make us a blessing to the Body of Christ and the world. Who is sufficient for these things?
Malcolm Hedding.
2016Devotional 2016Devotional Blog