The Call of God - Part 4

Briefly in Part 1 we discussed the general call of God in the life of the believer. This includes a call to peace, a call to be saints, a call to be Holy, a call to Light, and a call to suffer..

In Part 2 we began to look at the specific call of God. We ued biblical examples and applied them to the everyday life of the Christian.

In our last chapter, we looked at the six stages of the call, and the three elements of the call. Because there is much to cover we will not go into more detail since we already covered these topics. So . . .

.What happens if we do not follow our God-given call? Simply put, we will never be all God meant us to be. We will have short-changed our purpose here on earth. God has a perfect will for your life. His goals, His desires, His plan for the ages is wrapped up in your call. You, and you alone can fulfill that part of His plan.

We all fit into the overall plan of God in some way. We are each responsible for living out that plan in our daily lives. We each have a responsibility to ourselves, to each other, and certainly to God to be in touch with His purpose for our lives. It is a privilege to be called of God to a specific station in life.But with each wonderful privilege comes pressing responsibility.

Life is full of struggles in case you have not figured that out yet. You will fall from time to time, but there is an important distinction we must make; the difference between falling and failing. We may fall many times, but that does not mean we have failed. We only fail when we - quit. It is okay to take a blow from the enemy. At least you are in the battle.

We read of Peter walking on the water in Matthew 14:28-30, " And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me."

The Apostle Peter fell. He let down his Lord. His faith wavered. His testimony was shaken, but did he fail? I do not think so. He went on to be one of the greatest preachers in history. What about the other disciples? Not one of them attempted to move beyond the bow of the ship. Not one of them attempted to move toward victory. And then. when Peter began to sink - I can just hear them criticizing Peter's decision. There will always be someone against you. Someone will always be unhappy with your decisions or your stand. Stand anyway.

It is always the ones at the bottom of the pit that jeer at the one standing above the pit, ready to help them out. You can be insulted by their crude and rude remarks, or you can stick it out and struggle with them to get them out of the pit. The world is looking for a change-maker. It may as well be you.

The waters may toss and turn. The waves may crash on every side, but get out of the boat. That is where the victory is. Proverbs 24:16 gives us this thought, "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Would you allow me to paraphrase this verse? So you fell down. Get back up! If you do not, worse things will happen.

Let us look at the call of Moses. In Exodus 3:3, we see God calls Moses from the burning bush. The call begins simply by getting Moses's attention - "And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt." It is a curious thing to think that the God of the Universe, the Creator of all that exists, chooses to use man to do His will. That is exactly what God does in verse 10 - " Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." That is still how He operates today.

Now notice the three elements in verse 10; when - now; where - Pharaoh's palace; what - bring forth the children of Israel.. What a privilege God was giving to Moses. Out of all the ones on the earth, God chose to use Moses for the great task of freeing God's people. But Moses also felt that burden of resposibility that comes with every privilege, and so Moses objects - not once, not twice, but five times. Do you sometimes object to God's work? Moses begins by claiming he has no natural ability.

Verse 11 tells us, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?" But Paul writes in the New Testament, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Moses claims in Exodus 3:13 that he has no message. Paul has the message for us today in I Corinthians 15:3, 4. Moses again chides with God telling God he has no authority (Exodus 4:1), but Jesus Himself tells us in Matthew 28:18-20 that "All power is given unto me . . . Go ye therefore . . . ."

Moses recognized his lack of natural ability. He claimed no eloquence of speech in Exodus 4:10. God answers this objection in verse 11 and 12, ". . . Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go . . . ."

Verse 13 is telling. Moses simply had no inclination, and this probably was his most honest excuse - "And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send." In other words, "Lord, find someone else." Moses forgot, "it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Know that when God calls He meets every need.you have. You cannot accomplish what God has called you to do. Remember, "t is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." He will direct. He will empower. He will guide because it is His work - not yours. He has created you just the way you need to be to fulfill His will for your life.

God's will does not happen by chance. Even though it is His work, you still have a responsibility. That is to fulfill the Call. The only way you can fulfill the call is be completely dependent on the Lord. Patiently go through the doors He opens, or patiently wait for them to open ("For a great door and effectual is opened unto me - I Corinthians 16:9). If you truly are trusting God, you will be willing to wait for the open door. it is not your place to pry a door open. it is your place to wait until He throws it open for you.

The neat thing about Moses' call is that once he accepted the call, he could not be shut up. He freely spoke the words of God with power and conviction. He had the ability. He had the message. He was given the authority. God overcame his lack of eloquence. Now he was even inclined to perform the will of God.

So where does that leave you? Maybe it is time to get out of the boat just as Peter did, and accomplish the impossible for Jesus. Maybe it is time you face your own burning bush, and answer the call of God for your life. Maybe it is time you diligently seek God concerning exactly what it is He would have you to do. Wherever you are in relation to God's claim on your life, it is time to get busy and follow.

"Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it (I Thessalonians 5:24).