Lesson 3: Discipleship 103 (When Am I Called and How Do I Live Out My Call?)
But Jesus replied, "My Father is always working, and so am I." So Jesus explained, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does." For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished. John 5:1, 19-20 (NLT)
"WHEN AM I CALLED?"
I. Knowing the Call
What is Happening in John 5:17, 19-20?
- Jesus said that it was the Father who is always working.
- Jesus was always working also.
- The Son (servant) does not do nothing by himself but rather He does only what he sees the Father doing.
- The Father shows Him everything he is doing.
- The Son joins the Father and it is then that the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man.
This same pattern is true for how the Father involves us in His work today. He will show us where He is working. When He shows us His work, we must be quick to join Him and in turn, become workers together with Christ.
The example of the life of Christ reveals that it may be costly to join God as He reveals His work. Yet, the end results always glorify God and His purposes.
- Jesus went to the Cross (Hebrews 5:7-9)
- Amos was the man God chose to take His message to His people (Amos 7:14-15)
- Jeremiah, God spoke to His people through Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a youth and did not feel qualified. (Jeremiah 1:4-12)
God is not looking for all of your qualifications or abilities; He is looking for your obedience. He will give you the words, the opportunities, and the ability. He wants you to give Him your trust, faith and willingness to serve.
Focus/Challenge
- Has God called you to an assignment where you have felt inadequate to serve? What excuses have you been using to stop you from obeying?
- God only wants your heart and availability to Him. He can and will shape you for the assignment, but He needs you to step out and allow Him access to fashion your life for His eternal plan.
II. A Daily Walk, Thoroughly Rearranged
When God sees a growing, loving and responsive relationship of trust in Him by one of his children, He continues His call on that person's life. He usually does this in the midst of a person's daily routine. Through this daily routine, God calls a person to a special relationship with Him. He will also provide you with whomever and whatever you need to accomplish the task given.
III. Completely Enabled
The greatest of God's provisions is His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God Himself, present and active, enabling every believer to do whatever God commands. He would always let them know the Father's will for each of them (John 16:13; I Corinthians 2:9-16). He would guide them into all truth, teach them all things, and bring to their remembrance everything Christ had commanded them (John 14:26, John 16:13-15). He would also help them when they prayed (Romans 8:26), something that would be so much a part of their relationship to God and His will in their lives. And, the Holy Spirit would work the Scriptures into their lives as a "sword" (Ephesians 6:17-18).
IV. Necessity of Functioning in the Body
Each member in the body functions where God places him or her in the body, and each assists the other parts of the body to grow up into the Head, which is Christ. Paul constantly affirmed his need of other believers to help him know and carry out the call of God in his life.
For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. (Romans 1:11-12 NLT).
Focus/Challenge
- Has God placed able people around your life to walk alongside of you as a source of help and encouragement? If so write their names on a separate sheet of paper of how God is using them to strengthen your life. If not, make this a matter of prayer until God brings some of His people around you to walk with you.
- Read Colossians 2:9-10 and Philippians 1:6. How do these Scriptures shape your understanding of God's equipping for your ministry?
- Pray about how your life can encourage others in their faith.
V. Complete Affirmation
Through love, God affirms His presence and His call in your life daily. The heart that seeks Him, finds Him; the life that asks Him receives; to the one who knocks, God opens a door (Matthew 7:7-11).
- The heart (life) that is earnestly seeking Him will spend time DAILY in God's Word.
- The person with a heart seeking after God will also spend much time in prayer.
He has affirmed not only His presence but also His will toward your life. Sometimes God uses friends or family or person in your church to give you affirmation for your call. For example, someone will share a Scripture with you that is the very same Scripture
that God gave you that morning. That is God's affirmation! There are no coincidences in the life wholly yielded to God! God is completely involved in the life of the one He calls. If you see NO affirming presence of God in your life or ministry, you need to stop and see if you are out of God's will for your life. The lack of affirmation could be due to sin or rebellion in your life.
"HOW DO I LIVE OUT THE CALL?"
Dear Friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:12-13 (NLT)
I. Desire to Follow the Call
God places within the heart of every believer the deepest desire to experience the strong presence and power of His working in and through them. God WILL NOT override your heart or your will, but He will thoroughly influence your life toward His will and His call.
As you live out your life, God will cultivate a deep desire within you to follow Him and allow Him to accomplish is plan through you. This is the activity of God in your life causing you to want to to do His will.
II. Bearing Witness to the Call
When we bear witness to the call of God then live out the call among God's people, it will serve as an encouragement to others to step out in faith to serve God. It is important that we testify to how God is causing us to live out His call on our lives. Paul was careful to share his life and call with the early church to encourage them, to set an example, and to stir them to follow the call of God in their own lives. Many times people around you have a desire to follow God but are afraid to step out in faith. As you follow God, share how God is working in your life so that it will serve as a source of encouragement to others who may be hesitant to release their own life to God.
III. Daily Living
How do you live out the call of God in your life? It begins and is sustained in your daily relationship with God, from the beginning of the day to the end of the day! In your quiet time, when you are alone with God, He will speak to you and guide you to understand and know what He is planning to do through your life. It is not what you can do for God, but what God is doing in you! In your quiet time, the Lord will bring His full assurance that whatever the Father has in mind, He (Jesus) will be present with you and in you to provide all the resources you will need to see the Father's will fulfilled.
Once God has spoken to your heart, it is as good as done. For God has never spoken to reveal His will and not Himself guaranteed the completion of what He has said. This will be as true for you as for anyone in biblical history.
IV. The Joy of Living Out the Call of God
So often we look at the call of God on our lives and tend to focus on the work ahead or the sacrifices involved. While there is much labor involved and many sacrifices along the way, these things do not compare to the joy that comes from following the call of God. When we follow God's leading in our life and submit ourselves to His will, the result is that we experience the joy of Christ in our lives.
Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. (John 17:13 NLT)
Focus/Challenge
- Read Psalm 63. What words does David use to describe the way He sought the Lord? When did David meditate on God? What were the reasons David sought after God from early morning to late into the night?
- Read Isaiah 55: 6-13 and Numbers 23:19. Write down how they describe God and how He fulfills His Word and completes His work. Ask God to apply their Scriptures to current events and decisions you are facing.
This concludes Lesson 3. We pray that you have been blessed and know your call and how to live out your call. Hallelujah! You can experience the joy of Christ in your life by following God's lead!
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