Donate

The Caller and The Called Part 1

Living Proof with Beth Moore

January 5, 2021

27:29

Awaken to your divine calling.

Closed captions

The Caller and The Called Part 1

Show timecode

Hide timecode

We get so much securityfrom sameness.
00:00:01.383 --> 00:00:05.254
"I want to knowit's going to be the same."
00:00:05.287 --> 00:00:06.755
Never mind,that we've gotten bored,
00:00:06.789 --> 00:00:08.891
and been boredfor ten solid years.
00:00:08.924 --> 00:00:12.761
Never mind that he moved onout of it,
00:00:12.795 --> 00:00:16.465
not out of usbut out of that work.
00:00:16.498 --> 00:00:19.168
We're just serving right there.
00:00:19.201 --> 00:00:20.969
No anointingof the Spirit with it
00:00:21.003 --> 00:00:23.238
because he's like moved downthe road where he said,
00:00:23.272 --> 00:00:25.741
"You know, I'm waiting on you.Just whenever."
00:00:25.774 --> 00:00:28.110
♪♪♪
00:00:28.143 --> 00:00:35.117
♪♪♪
00:00:35.150 --> 00:00:41.190
Here's the beauty of the Wordand you know it
00:00:41.223 --> 00:00:43.158
because if you havesome seasoned time
00:00:43.192 --> 00:00:46.128
in the Scripture,you have this in your history.
00:00:46.161 --> 00:00:49.231
You have experienced this overand over again, that somehow,
00:00:49.264 --> 00:00:52.668
no matter how many timesyou've seen a passage,
00:00:52.701 --> 00:00:55.604
it will jump out fresh to you,
00:00:55.637 --> 00:00:57.906
that it becomes somethingthat you may have studied
00:00:57.940 --> 00:01:00.109
over and over again,and all the sudden,
00:01:00.142 --> 00:01:03.612
it just takes fresh life to you,
00:01:03.645 --> 00:01:05.714
jumps off of that pageand it is a Word
00:01:05.747 --> 00:01:08.650
that becomes now to you.
00:01:08.684 --> 00:01:11.386
And that was this Word for me.
00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:13.856
2 Timothy 1,we're going to zero in
00:01:13.889 --> 00:01:17.126
when it gets downto around verses 9 and 10.
00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:20.262
But I want to startfrom the top.
00:01:20.295 --> 00:01:22.131
It's brief Scriptures anyway.
00:01:22.164 --> 00:01:23.699
2 Timothy, this is Paul,of course, talking to him.
00:01:23.732 --> 00:01:26.335
"Paul, an apostle of ChristJesus by God's will,
00:01:26.368 --> 00:01:30.506
"for the sake of the promiseof life in Christ Jesus.
00:01:30.539 --> 00:01:33.775
"To Timothy, my dearly lovedson, grace, mercy, and peace
00:01:33.809 --> 00:01:40.315
"from God the Father,and Christ Jesus our Lord.
00:01:40.349 --> 00:01:43.652
"I thank God, whom I servewith a clear conscience
00:01:43.685 --> 00:01:45.921
"as my ancestors did,
00:01:45.954 --> 00:01:47.823
"when I constantly rememberyou in my prayers night and day.
00:01:47.856 --> 00:01:53.328
"Remembering your tears,I long to see you
00:01:53.362 --> 00:01:54.997
"so that I may be filledwith joy.
00:01:55.030 --> 00:01:56.999
"I recall your sincere faiththat first lived
00:01:57.032 --> 00:01:59.568
"in your grandmother Loisand in your mother Eunice,
00:01:59.601 --> 00:02:01.870
"and now, I am convincedis in you also.
00:02:01.904 --> 00:02:05.507
"Therefore, I remind youto rekindle the gift of God
00:02:05.541 --> 00:02:09.178
"that is in you throughthe laying on of my hands.
00:02:09.211 --> 00:02:11.079
"For God has not given usa spirit of fear,
00:02:11.113 --> 00:02:15.384
"but one of power, love,and sound judgment.
00:02:15.417 --> 00:02:19.521
"So do not be ashamedof the testimony
00:02:19.555 --> 00:02:21.089
"about our Lordor of me his prisoner.
00:02:21.123 --> 00:02:24.326
"Instead, share in the sufferingfor the gospel,
00:02:24.359 --> 00:02:26.695
relying on the power of God."
00:02:26.728 --> 00:02:28.564
Here comes 9 and 10.
00:02:28.597 --> 00:02:30.065
"He has saved us and called uswith a holy calling,
00:02:30.098 --> 00:02:36.004
"not according to our works,
00:02:36.038 --> 00:02:38.273
"but according to his ownpurpose and grace,
00:02:38.307 --> 00:02:40.209
"which was given to usin Christ Jesus
00:02:40.242 --> 00:02:43.712
"before time began.
00:02:43.745 --> 00:02:46.181
"This has now been made evidentthrough the appearing
00:02:46.215 --> 00:02:48.217
"of our Savior Christ Jesus,
00:02:48.250 --> 00:02:50.352
"who has abolished deathand brought life
00:02:50.385 --> 00:02:54.489
and immortality tolight through the gospel."
00:02:54.523 --> 00:03:01.430
I truly believe that overthe course of the 20th century,
00:03:01.463 --> 00:03:05.400
the church in America settledinto a lifestyle of faith
00:03:05.434 --> 00:03:11.273
that resulted in a woefulmisrepresentation of calling.
00:03:11.306 --> 00:03:17.646
For starters, we conflatedsomewhere along the way,
00:03:17.679 --> 00:03:21.883
salvation with churchattendance, that we just--we're
00:03:21.917 --> 00:03:26.555
Christians, if we went to churchif someone said,
00:03:26.588 --> 00:03:29.458
"Are you in Christ?"
00:03:29.491 --> 00:03:30.993
"Well, of course I am.I go to such and such a church."
00:03:31.026 --> 00:03:36.198
And it all got conflatedtogether that really
00:03:36.231 --> 00:03:39.167
what it takes to knowChrist personally,
00:03:39.201 --> 00:03:41.870
to have eternal lifesecured in him,
00:03:41.903 --> 00:03:44.906
is you just go to church.
00:03:44.940 --> 00:03:48.577
And if you really wantto make sure you're saved;
00:03:48.610 --> 00:03:51.546
you go to churchon a regular basis.
00:03:51.580 --> 00:03:55.050
And all of this wasa reconfiguration
00:03:55.083 --> 00:03:59.721
of what Scripture taughtbased on a settling in,
00:03:59.755 --> 00:04:04.793
to a very prosperous lifestyle
00:04:04.826 --> 00:04:07.496
in comparison to muchof the world,
00:04:07.529 --> 00:04:09.965
that gave us a gospelof convenience.
00:04:09.998 --> 00:04:15.937
If we're good,God will be good to us.
00:04:15.971 --> 00:04:19.241
If we're bad,God will be bad to us.
00:04:19.274 --> 00:04:22.144
And that became our convenientgospel because somehow,
00:04:22.177 --> 00:04:28.183
you can control that.
00:04:28.216 --> 00:04:30.118
If I could just causemy behavior
00:04:30.152 --> 00:04:33.422
to cause God to acta certain way in my behalf,
00:04:33.455 --> 00:04:37.926
then I am still in control.
00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.429
And I'm God,and he is my servant.
00:04:40.462 --> 00:04:44.366
And this became,generally speaking--is it okay?
00:04:44.399 --> 00:04:49.738
I mean how many exceptions,generally speaking,
00:04:49.771 --> 00:04:53.475
this became the American gospel.
00:04:53.508 --> 00:04:56.645
Secondly, we equatedcalling--this will be very
00:04:56.678 --> 00:05:00.449
important to us this weekend.
00:05:00.482 --> 00:05:01.950
We equated calling, certainlythis was true in my day
00:05:01.983 --> 00:05:05.821
when I was a childand a young woman,
00:05:05.854 --> 00:05:07.823
we equated callingwith vocational ministry.
00:05:07.856 --> 00:05:12.227
In other words,you had a calling on your life
00:05:12.260 --> 00:05:15.364
if you were going to beor you were a preacher
00:05:15.397 --> 00:05:18.633
in a local church.
00:05:18.667 --> 00:05:20.669
You would also have a callingif you were an evangelist
00:05:20.702 --> 00:05:23.805
that traveled aroundand preached.
00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:26.375
You would have a callingif you were a missionary
00:05:26.408 --> 00:05:29.644
on a foreign field.
00:05:29.678 --> 00:05:30.979
I can remember even learningthat there were
00:05:31.012 --> 00:05:33.048
North American Mission Boardmissionaries and I thought,
00:05:33.081 --> 00:05:36.184
"How odd, that we would stillcall them missionaries here?"
00:05:36.218 --> 00:05:39.421
Because you know it wouldjust seem like
00:05:39.454 --> 00:05:41.022
what really made you legit wasthat you went across the seas
00:05:41.056 --> 00:05:45.360
to the other side of the earthand then you had a calling.
00:05:45.394 --> 00:05:48.830
And needless to say,the only calling a woman
00:05:48.864 --> 00:05:51.433
could possibly ever have wasgoing to be on the other side
00:05:51.466 --> 00:05:54.169
of the earth, as far awayas she could get from home
00:05:54.202 --> 00:05:57.239
because all she could dois be a missionary.
00:05:57.272 --> 00:05:59.908
Now, I love missions.
00:05:59.941 --> 00:06:01.510
I was raisedto love foreign missions.
00:06:01.543 --> 00:06:03.612
But every bit of thisis a skewed concept
00:06:03.645 --> 00:06:07.382
of what is our divine calling.
00:06:07.416 --> 00:06:11.219
Those things might be a callingwithin the divine calling,
00:06:11.253 --> 00:06:15.857
a specific directionwithin the divine calling,
00:06:15.891 --> 00:06:19.461
maybe not even for the enduranceof the lifetime.
00:06:19.494 --> 00:06:23.064
Maybe for a short time.
00:06:23.098 --> 00:06:25.100
But it's not the divine calling
00:06:25.133 --> 00:06:27.602
that he's talking aboutright here.
00:06:27.636 --> 00:06:29.704
It's not the divine calling
00:06:29.738 --> 00:06:31.473
we would see referencedin places like Romans chapter 8
00:06:31.506 --> 00:06:35.911
and through the bookof Ephesians.
00:06:35.944 --> 00:06:38.246
You and I are lockingin on divine calling.
00:06:38.280 --> 00:06:42.451
Because here's the thing, ifyou're calling was simply--it
00:06:42.484 --> 00:06:46.388
was only if you were calledto preach,
00:06:46.421 --> 00:06:49.124
or you were calledto evangelize,
00:06:49.157 --> 00:06:51.126
or you were calledto the mission field,
00:06:51.159 --> 00:06:53.061
that's means the rest of us,
00:06:53.094 --> 00:06:55.230
and that would be millionsof us mind you,
00:06:55.263 --> 00:06:57.799
were basicallycalled to be insignificant.
00:06:57.833 --> 00:07:01.503
We were fillers.
00:07:01.536 --> 00:07:04.172
Anyone understandwhat I'm saying?
00:07:04.206 --> 00:07:06.174
There were the church pillarsand there were
00:07:06.208 --> 00:07:08.543
the church fillers.
00:07:08.577 --> 00:07:12.581
There were the honoreesand the pewees
00:07:12.614 --> 00:07:17.986
but there was nothingin between.
00:07:18.019 --> 00:07:22.557
And somehow,this became our idea of calling.
00:07:22.591 --> 00:07:27.929
And let me tell you something,it not only is inaccurate,
00:07:27.963 --> 00:07:32.434
but it underminedthe gospel witness
00:07:32.467 --> 00:07:36.638
out in the everyday worldwhere God intended to send us,
00:07:36.671 --> 00:07:43.144
into every kind of workplace,
00:07:43.178 --> 00:07:46.047
every possible sphereof influence.
00:07:46.081 --> 00:07:48.850
But we got the idea even thoughhe said go into the world,
00:07:48.884 --> 00:07:53.889
that everything God was doingwas in the walls
00:07:53.922 --> 00:07:58.126
of the local church.
00:07:58.159 --> 00:08:00.595
Now, I've already told youI am a church person.
00:08:00.629 --> 00:08:02.898
I believe in the local communityof believers.
00:08:02.931 --> 00:08:07.669
I don't knowwhat I would do without it.
00:08:07.702 --> 00:08:10.272
But we got to get some clarityon what our calling is
00:08:10.305 --> 00:08:13.975
and we're going to try to dothat this weekend.
00:08:14.009 --> 00:08:16.311
In the late 1700s,the great British reformer
00:08:16.344 --> 00:08:20.015
and abolitionist,William Wilberforce,
00:08:20.048 --> 00:08:23.318
he would come to the faithin at about the age of 25.
00:08:23.351 --> 00:08:27.822
His first impulse,after he came to the faith
00:08:27.856 --> 00:08:32.561
was just to set aside and ditchpolitics because he assumed,
00:08:32.594 --> 00:08:38.300
"Listen, as muchas I'm coming to love the Lord,"
00:08:38.333 --> 00:08:41.536
I'm putting thisin my own words,
00:08:41.570 --> 00:08:43.305
"I must be called to preach."
00:08:43.338 --> 00:08:46.575
And so, it was just like throwpolitics to the side,
00:08:46.608 --> 00:08:49.878
and I must be calledinto some kind of ministry.
00:08:49.911 --> 00:08:53.848
And it was John Newtonwho first came to be used of God
00:08:53.882 --> 00:09:00.822
to talk the man out of it.
00:09:00.855 --> 00:09:03.291
And what he said to him,and I'm quoting here,
00:09:03.325 --> 00:09:05.327
"It's hoped and believedthat the Lord
00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:07.862
has raised you up for the goodof our nation."
00:09:07.896 --> 00:09:12.968
And then so here's what happens.
00:09:13.001 --> 00:09:15.170
He takes time of course,intense time to pray.
00:09:15.203 --> 00:09:18.640
He comes to the determinationthat Newton is exactly right,
00:09:18.673 --> 00:09:21.843
and he is supposed to stayjust where he is.
00:09:21.876 --> 00:09:24.713
He perseveres.
00:09:24.746 --> 00:09:26.214
At one time, I mean it waslike everything
00:09:26.247 --> 00:09:29.217
and everyone was against him.
00:09:29.250 --> 00:09:31.553
It took years, and years, andyears and years of the works
00:09:31.586 --> 00:09:35.390
that God had called him to do,for him to have breakthrough.
00:09:35.423 --> 00:09:39.260
But he is one of the greatestreformers that ever lived.
00:09:39.294 --> 00:09:43.164
I want you to try to wrapyour mind around that.
00:09:43.198 --> 00:09:45.166
Championing the oppressedas a direct call of God,
00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:49.738
he fought for the oppressedas a parliamentarian.
00:09:49.771 --> 00:09:55.010
I want you to let that sinkin for a moment.
00:09:55.043 --> 00:09:56.745
I love this because it says,I'm quoting out
00:09:56.778 --> 00:09:59.681
of his journal in 1788.
00:09:59.714 --> 00:10:03.685
So, this is him talking.
00:10:03.718 --> 00:10:05.787
"My walk is a public one.
00:10:05.820 --> 00:10:08.156
"My business is in the worldand I must mix in the assemblies
00:10:08.189 --> 00:10:12.193
"of men or quit the post
00:10:12.227 --> 00:10:14.429
which providenceseems to have assigned me."
00:10:14.462 --> 00:10:18.400
Whole different take on it.
00:10:18.433 --> 00:10:20.702
Because his assumptionis what became
00:10:20.735 --> 00:10:22.804
the American assumptionin the 20th century.
00:10:22.837 --> 00:10:27.208
If you've got a call, it mustbe somehow within the church.
00:10:27.242 --> 00:10:31.312
Then everybody elseis just filler.
00:10:31.346 --> 00:10:37.318
But you and I are studyingthe caller and the called.
00:10:37.352 --> 00:10:40.188
So that we can wrap our mindaround this thing
00:10:40.221 --> 00:10:43.091
we call the divine callingin this century.
00:10:43.124 --> 00:10:47.062
Nominal Christianity in the Westhas completely unraveled.
00:10:47.095 --> 00:10:51.666
And our culture is officiallycategorized as post-Christian.
00:10:51.700 --> 00:10:57.338
And you know what?
00:10:57.372 --> 00:10:59.007
There are lots of reasonsto say good riddance to that.
00:10:59.040 --> 00:11:01.209
Because I'm going to tell yousomething,
00:11:01.242 --> 00:11:02.544
I don't think it is
00:11:02.577 --> 00:11:03.878
because we have so fewerbelievers in Christ
00:11:03.912 --> 00:11:08.283
as it is that a lot of peoplethat just came to church
00:11:08.316 --> 00:11:11.653
to come to church,
00:11:11.686 --> 00:11:13.722
and simply tookon the label Christian
00:11:13.755 --> 00:11:17.025
as that being their world view.
00:11:17.058 --> 00:11:19.661
They came to a pointwhere it just to them,
00:11:19.694 --> 00:11:22.964
was useless to goto church anymore
00:11:22.997 --> 00:11:25.734
and they never did havea real relationship with Christ.
00:11:25.767 --> 00:11:30.839
I think what you're seeing nowfor those of you
00:11:30.872 --> 00:11:33.174
who are locked intoa local church,
00:11:33.208 --> 00:11:36.311
when you go to churchthese days
00:11:36.344 --> 00:11:38.780
and you look around youin the parking lot
00:11:38.813 --> 00:11:41.015
with people pulling in,
00:11:41.049 --> 00:11:43.084
and you look aroundyour congregation,
00:11:43.118 --> 00:11:45.120
and you pass by those women thatare keeping all those babies,
00:11:45.153 --> 00:11:48.990
and you pass by eithera community group
00:11:49.023 --> 00:11:51.493
or a Sunday school room,I mean you can bless the Lord
00:11:51.526 --> 00:11:55.296
because those people have madea decision in a culture
00:11:55.330 --> 00:11:57.832
where it has become veryuncool, very, very yesterday,
00:11:57.866 --> 00:12:03.505
very, very archaic,if not ignorant to the world.
00:12:03.538 --> 00:12:07.876
These are people going,
00:12:07.909 --> 00:12:09.377
"I'm just going tell yousomething,
00:12:09.410 --> 00:12:10.812
I want to know Jesus,and I want to serve Jesus."
00:12:10.845 --> 00:12:15.583
This is a beautiful development.
00:12:15.617 --> 00:12:20.488
And these are daysfor the powerful spreading
00:12:20.522 --> 00:12:25.059
of the gospel across the globe.
00:12:25.093 --> 00:12:28.696
Hi, I'm Natalieand this is Selena.
00:12:29.197 --> 00:12:31.299
I know we all need something newto look forward to.
00:12:31.332 --> 00:12:34.202
Beth and her daughter, Melissa,have written a dynamic study
00:12:34.235 --> 00:12:37.806
called "Now that Faith Has Come,A study of Galatians."
00:12:37.839 --> 00:12:41.709
(Selena)This seven-week study
00:12:41.743 --> 00:12:43.044
will walk youthrough Paul's letter
00:12:43.077 --> 00:12:44.546
to the New Testament church.
00:12:44.579 --> 00:12:46.381
The material iswildly interesting
00:12:46.414 --> 00:12:48.483
in its original context,
00:12:48.516 --> 00:12:49.818
and relevantto our present world.
00:12:49.851 --> 00:12:52.253
We need our minds stayedon Christ like no other time.
00:12:52.287 --> 00:12:56.925
Living Proof Ministriesis so excited
00:12:56.958 --> 00:12:59.460
to present this study
00:12:59.494 --> 00:13:01.129
that we hopewill fully engage you
00:13:01.162 --> 00:13:03.364
in every word Paul wroteto the Galatians.
00:13:03.398 --> 00:13:06.801
(Selena)Visit BethMoore.org
00:13:06.835 --> 00:13:08.536
to pre-order your copy today.
00:13:08.570 --> 00:13:10.538
The workbook will releaseJanuary 2021.
00:13:10.572 --> 00:13:13.908
If you don't already have plans
00:13:13.942 --> 00:13:15.243
for getting into the Scripturesthis new year,
00:13:15.276 --> 00:13:17.779
join us as we diveinto the study of Galatians.
00:13:17.812 --> 00:13:20.882
♪♪♪
00:13:20.915 --> 00:13:27.822
(Beth Moore)I gotta tell you,
00:13:34.262 --> 00:13:35.563
we have all been through a lotin the last years,
00:13:35.597 --> 00:13:38.867
and I have never in my life,I say to you,
00:13:38.900 --> 00:13:42.670
I have never had more confidence
00:13:42.704 --> 00:13:45.673
in the pure gospelof our Lord Jesus Christ.
00:13:45.707 --> 00:13:50.545
♪ O my soul ♪
00:13:50.578 --> 00:13:51.880
♪ Lift up the nameof the one who saves ♪
00:13:51.913 --> 00:13:55.116
♪ He reigns forever ♪
00:13:55.149 --> 00:13:56.751
♪ O my soul ♪
00:13:56.784 --> 00:13:58.219
♪ Lift up your praise ♪
00:13:58.253 --> 00:13:59.954
♪ I will riseand bless the Lord ♪
00:13:59.988 --> 00:14:02.657
♪ O my soul ♪
00:14:02.690 --> 00:14:05.593
♪ O my soul ♪
00:14:06.060 --> 00:14:08.596
♪ O my soul ♪
00:14:09.230 --> 00:14:11.866
♪ O my soul ♪♪
00:14:12.500 --> 00:14:15.203
Let me tell you something.
00:14:17.105 --> 00:14:18.406
He's come to speak in powerto us this weekend,
00:14:18.439 --> 00:14:20.942
because his Wordis fresh and alive.
00:14:20.975 --> 00:14:24.045
That's the miracleof the Scriptures.
00:14:24.078 --> 00:14:26.881
(female announcer)Come join us in a city near you.
00:14:27.882 --> 00:14:30.385
I got to tell you, there isthis great conditional clause
00:14:32.887 --> 00:14:37.191
that is in John chapter 4,and its verse 10.
00:14:37.225 --> 00:14:40.328
And it's in the scene,
00:14:40.361 --> 00:14:41.896
many of youare familiar with it,
00:14:41.930 --> 00:14:43.231
perhaps, of Jesus havingthis encounter
00:14:43.264 --> 00:14:45.767
with the Samaritan womanat the well
00:14:45.800 --> 00:14:48.069
in the middle of the day.
00:14:48.102 --> 00:14:50.171
And he says to her something.
00:14:50.204 --> 00:14:51.506
It turns over in my mind again,and again,
00:14:51.539 --> 00:14:54.309
and again and again.
00:14:54.342 --> 00:14:55.677
And it says it word for wordlike this,
00:14:55.710 --> 00:14:57.812
especially in the NLT,
00:14:57.845 --> 00:14:59.213
you'll see some measureof it in any translation,
00:14:59.247 --> 00:15:02.016
but I love it just like this.
00:15:02.050 --> 00:15:03.451
He says, "If you only knewthe gift God has for you,
00:15:03.484 --> 00:15:08.189
and who you are speaking to,"if you only knew.
00:15:08.222 --> 00:15:10.992
I want to tell you something,call me crazy.
00:15:11.025 --> 00:15:13.594
I've thought about thisall week long
00:15:13.628 --> 00:15:16.364
because I am convincedthat the reason
00:15:16.397 --> 00:15:21.002
why most people in the faithare not actively engaged
00:15:21.035 --> 00:15:27.775
daily in the mentalityand in the connection of calling
00:15:27.809 --> 00:15:32.280
is because they don't knowwhat it is.
00:15:32.313 --> 00:15:36.451
And maybe, I'm naïvebecause I have to think
00:15:36.484 --> 00:15:43.091
that if we really got this,
00:15:43.124 --> 00:15:45.727
there would be no other wayto approach life.
00:15:45.760 --> 00:15:49.263
I just don't thinkthere would be.
00:15:49.297 --> 00:15:51.499
There's nothing,there is nothing in your life
00:15:51.532 --> 00:15:54.535
that can compete with this.
00:15:54.569 --> 00:15:56.471
Absolutely nothing.
00:15:56.504 --> 00:15:57.972
There's no approach to dailyliving that matches this.
00:15:58.006 --> 00:16:01.676
There's nothing out there thatthe world can do that compares
00:16:01.709 --> 00:16:07.615
to the kind of approach to life,to our daily living,
00:16:07.648 --> 00:16:11.486
our daily driving, our dailystopping at a stoplight,
00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:14.856
our daily pulling into a Starbucks,
00:16:14.889 --> 00:16:17.792
our daily pushingthrough the grocery store,
00:16:17.825 --> 00:16:21.429
picking up the kids at school,
00:16:21.462 --> 00:16:23.531
taking care of thatelderly parent,
00:16:23.564 --> 00:16:26.901
going to work everysingle morning of the week day.
00:16:26.934 --> 00:16:31.005
Whatever it may be, there isnothing that compares to this.
00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:36.577
I believe two things.
00:16:36.611 --> 00:16:38.246
I believe that most peoplein the faith are probably
00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:42.950
not fully engagedin their spirits
00:16:42.984 --> 00:16:48.489
with the call of Christon their life.
00:16:48.523 --> 00:16:51.492
And the second thing,I am convinced
00:16:51.526 --> 00:16:54.429
I'm absolutely convinced,
00:16:54.462 --> 00:16:56.697
if they understood what it was,there would be
00:16:56.731 --> 00:16:59.100
nothing to stop them.
00:16:59.133 --> 00:17:00.701
Nothing, nothing,
00:17:00.735 --> 00:17:02.036
'cause there is nothinglike this.
00:17:02.070 --> 00:17:03.504
There would be no demon in hellthat can stop you from this.
00:17:03.538 --> 00:17:07.175
Nothing, nothing,could stop you.
00:17:07.208 --> 00:17:09.844
So, what I'm hoping is that Godjust breaks in
00:17:09.877 --> 00:17:13.948
with a fresh awefor this this weekend.
00:17:13.981 --> 00:17:15.917
Anybody up for that?
00:17:15.950 --> 00:17:17.351
That somehow, we'll go,"This is what I want.
00:17:17.385 --> 00:17:19.420
"This is howI want to live.
00:17:19.454 --> 00:17:20.888
This is how I wantto approach life."
00:17:20.922 --> 00:17:22.390
This is the mindsetof what I am in Christ,
00:17:22.423 --> 00:17:25.093
but I want to understandwhat this is all about
00:17:25.126 --> 00:17:27.028
because this is what I wantto do with my life.
00:17:27.061 --> 00:17:32.233
So here is the goal that everyperson here will either awaken
00:17:32.266 --> 00:17:36.671
or reawaken to a senseof divine calling.
00:17:36.704 --> 00:17:41.075
So, I mean if you'venever had it,
00:17:41.109 --> 00:17:42.577
you don't even know whatwe're talking about, awaken.
00:17:42.610 --> 00:17:44.679
If you've been serving himfor years
00:17:44.712 --> 00:17:47.315
or if you've had this mentalityfor years,
00:17:47.348 --> 00:17:48.850
I believe there's somethingreally fresh God wants to do.
00:17:48.883 --> 00:17:52.019
I believe there's a new seasonahead for arrival
00:17:52.053 --> 00:17:57.058
of a holy calling or a revivalof a holy calling.
00:17:57.091 --> 00:18:01.762
Let me tell you,there are people who will hear
00:18:01.796 --> 00:18:03.264
their calling for the first timein this sermon,
00:18:03.297 --> 00:18:05.299
and I'm talking about hearing itnot in an audible voice
00:18:05.333 --> 00:18:09.370
but through the Spirit.
00:18:09.403 --> 00:18:11.539
Not as a response to anythinga human being can say
00:18:11.572 --> 00:18:13.841
but in responseto the Holy Spirit himself
00:18:13.875 --> 00:18:18.579
reaching into the heart.
00:18:18.613 --> 00:18:19.981
I believe thatthat could happen,
00:18:20.014 --> 00:18:21.616
but it also could be that whatyou need in your calling
00:18:21.649 --> 00:18:24.986
or what I need in my callingis some clarity.
00:18:25.019 --> 00:18:29.991
Maybe it's like everything's sovague right now I have no idea,
00:18:30.024 --> 00:18:33.461
Lord, where youreally want me focused.
00:18:33.494 --> 00:18:35.696
Maybe somebody needssome clarity
00:18:35.730 --> 00:18:37.698
where there's been confusion.
00:18:37.732 --> 00:18:39.800
It may come as a fresh unction,"Man, I want that."
00:18:39.834 --> 00:18:44.672
Maybe, there's beenjust a dullness of heart
00:18:44.705 --> 00:18:50.778
or maybe more than adullness of heart,
00:18:50.811 --> 00:18:52.680
maybe there's becomea hardness of heart.
00:18:52.713 --> 00:18:57.418
Maybe you're mador offended at God
00:18:57.451 --> 00:19:00.021
and it's been like,"You know what?
00:19:00.054 --> 00:19:01.722
"I'm cutting you off.
00:19:01.756 --> 00:19:06.527
I'm clipping that cord."
00:19:06.561 --> 00:19:10.298
Whatever it may be, it may bea deep dive into the ditch
00:19:10.331 --> 00:19:15.403
that it's been that kindof a season
00:19:15.436 --> 00:19:18.005
and this weekend wherethe fresh voice of Christ go,
00:19:18.039 --> 00:19:24.612
"Come and follow me."
00:19:24.645 --> 00:19:29.016
It may be a fresh directionof calling.
00:19:29.050 --> 00:19:32.453
I want to tell you something.
00:19:32.486 --> 00:19:33.788
I'm so convinced of--thishas been where a lot
00:19:33.821 --> 00:19:37.225
of sustained passionhas come from in my life.
00:19:37.258 --> 00:19:41.295
One of the things that Goddid for me--I want to use
00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:44.865
any part of my story,any part of my experience
00:19:44.899 --> 00:19:48.302
if it would be of any helpto you.
00:19:48.336 --> 00:19:50.137
I don't have a lot of whatsomeone would need
00:19:50.171 --> 00:19:53.641
if they were earlier ona struggle in an area
00:19:53.674 --> 00:19:56.344
of their calling,
00:19:56.377 --> 00:19:57.678
but what I have iscompletely yours.
00:19:57.712 --> 00:19:59.513
But one of the thingsthat happened for me,
00:19:59.547 --> 00:20:01.215
and I'm so glad it did
00:20:01.249 --> 00:20:02.650
because I wouldn't havewrestled through the way I did
00:20:02.683 --> 00:20:04.952
if it hadn't, I was 18 years oldwhen I really knew
00:20:04.986 --> 00:20:10.124
there was a senseof calling on my life.
00:20:10.157 --> 00:20:12.226
Now, I wouldn't have understoodthat when I was a child,
00:20:12.260 --> 00:20:14.528
I would've received that then.
00:20:14.562 --> 00:20:17.331
But this trulywas that direction,
00:20:17.365 --> 00:20:19.934
that calling within the calling
00:20:19.967 --> 00:20:21.602
because I truly was headedto what was--would be,
00:20:21.636 --> 00:20:24.872
and it was all vernacular tocall it in our faith tradition,
00:20:24.905 --> 00:20:28.409
vocational Christian service.
00:20:28.442 --> 00:20:29.844
Now, this is whatI'm telling you,
00:20:29.877 --> 00:20:31.312
this all got conflated together.
00:20:31.345 --> 00:20:33.080
But this would havebeen two different things.
00:20:33.114 --> 00:20:34.815
I would've been saved as a childbut at this point,
00:20:34.849 --> 00:20:37.918
it became clearthat whatever profession
00:20:37.952 --> 00:20:40.821
I was going to be in,it was going to be
00:20:40.855 --> 00:20:42.857
some kind of ministry.
00:20:42.890 --> 00:20:44.492
Now, you've got to understandsomething,
00:20:44.525 --> 00:20:46.294
from my faith tradition,
00:20:46.327 --> 00:20:47.862
there was nothing for womanto do.
00:20:47.895 --> 00:20:52.199
And so, it was completelyconfusing.
00:20:52.233 --> 00:20:55.603
I was headed to finish outmy political science degree,
00:20:55.636 --> 00:20:59.674
I wanted to go on to law school,
00:20:59.707 --> 00:21:01.542
I wanted to go oninto government
00:21:01.575 --> 00:21:03.844
and it was just likeeverything stopped.
00:21:03.878 --> 00:21:06.480
I finished out my degreebut if you want--nothing
00:21:06.514 --> 00:21:09.116
is more uselessthan a poli-sci degree.
00:21:09.150 --> 00:21:12.820
Nothing, when you don't goon to a law school.
00:21:12.853 --> 00:21:15.790
And that was me.
00:21:15.823 --> 00:21:17.124
Got my teacher's certificate.
00:21:17.158 --> 00:21:18.559
I did everything I couldpossibly do to the thing, well,
00:21:18.592 --> 00:21:20.628
I don't have no idea whatthis is going to look like.
00:21:20.661 --> 00:21:22.897
And so, what happened for methat I want to speak over you,
00:21:22.930 --> 00:21:27.068
if this really resonateswith you,
00:21:27.101 --> 00:21:29.203
is that I surrendered to Jesusinstead of a certain work.
00:21:29.236 --> 00:21:34.909
And so, it has been everythingto me.
00:21:34.942 --> 00:21:37.678
Now, I do believe there arepeople that he's calling to
00:21:37.712 --> 00:21:40.114
surrender to preach, that thatis what they're going to do,
00:21:40.147 --> 00:21:42.850
and they do it for a lifetime.
00:21:42.883 --> 00:21:44.919
But I'm going to tell youwhat can also be a very common
00:21:44.952 --> 00:21:48.289
experience for the believerin Christ.
00:21:48.322 --> 00:21:50.424
And this is where I've gottenso much life along the way
00:21:50.458 --> 00:21:53.627
because I didn'thave that mindset.
00:21:53.661 --> 00:21:55.930
I didn't know whatI was going to do.
00:21:55.963 --> 00:21:57.832
I still don't exactly knowwhat I'm doing,
00:21:57.865 --> 00:22:00.534
and I certainly don't knowwhat I am going to do.
00:22:00.568 --> 00:22:04.004
But what the Lord and I havedone for all of these years
00:22:04.038 --> 00:22:08.409
since I was 18 years old is,I've just ridden wherever
00:22:08.442 --> 00:22:12.780
he seemed to be going.
00:22:12.813 --> 00:22:15.015
And didn't try to thinkthis is how it has to look.
00:22:15.049 --> 00:22:19.787
And in a lot of ways becauseI didn't borrow on that
00:22:19.820 --> 00:22:23.457
and think it's alwaysgoing to be this,
00:22:23.491 --> 00:22:27.928
then we've just sort of hadan adventure
00:22:27.962 --> 00:22:31.165
and let it developas it developed.
00:22:31.198 --> 00:22:33.234
And looking at the future going,"What do you want to do, Lord?
00:22:33.267 --> 00:22:36.470
What do you want to do?"
00:22:36.504 --> 00:22:37.805
I thought I knewwhat was going to happen
00:22:37.838 --> 00:22:40.074
in the future of Living Proof,I really did.
00:22:40.107 --> 00:22:43.677
I thought, well, when I passaway or when I retire,
00:22:43.711 --> 00:22:47.114
it will just close.
00:22:47.148 --> 00:22:48.482
Well, God's bringing methese young woman,
00:22:48.516 --> 00:22:50.551
these young communicatorsto the ministry,
00:22:50.584 --> 00:22:52.620
and suddenly I'm like,"What in the world
00:22:52.653 --> 00:22:54.221
are you doing, Lord?"
00:22:54.255 --> 00:22:57.224
Maybe it doesn't stop here.
00:22:57.258 --> 00:23:00.327
Maybe I just move out.
00:23:00.361 --> 00:23:04.865
To be on the adventure with himand not tell him
00:23:04.899 --> 00:23:08.402
what he's going to dowith our lives.
00:23:08.436 --> 00:23:12.807
"The Spirit is like the wind."
00:23:12.840 --> 00:23:14.375
It is not like concrete.
00:23:14.408 --> 00:23:17.144
And what happens is the Spiritwill go like--now I'm just
00:23:17.178 --> 00:23:19.447
giving you a metaphor here,so get excited
00:23:19.480 --> 00:23:23.250
because once his Spiritcomes to dwell in us,
00:23:23.284 --> 00:23:25.753
he remains with us.
00:23:25.786 --> 00:23:27.087
But think in terms of the cloudypillar that would dwell
00:23:27.121 --> 00:23:30.758
over the topof the Holy of Holies
00:23:30.791 --> 00:23:33.327
in the tabernacle.
00:23:33.360 --> 00:23:34.662
So, they're movingthrough the desert,
00:23:34.695 --> 00:23:37.264
taking 'em 40 solid yearsto do it
00:23:37.298 --> 00:23:39.433
and here was what God told themthat when the cloudy pillar
00:23:39.467 --> 00:23:43.704
was settled on topof the tabernacle,
00:23:43.737 --> 00:23:45.973
they would remain there.
00:23:46.006 --> 00:23:48.008
And then when that cloud got upand started moving,
00:23:48.042 --> 00:23:51.045
the whole companyof the Israelites
00:23:51.078 --> 00:23:52.480
were to get upand start moving with it.
00:23:52.513 --> 00:23:54.882
And so, this is what they did.
00:23:54.915 --> 00:23:56.717
And so, think of it justas a metaphor for us
00:23:56.750 --> 00:23:59.286
because what will happenis God will move on
00:23:59.320 --> 00:24:01.589
and we're just like stayingright here.
00:24:01.622 --> 00:24:03.324
We're just goingto stay right here
00:24:03.357 --> 00:24:04.925
because this is what Godcalled me to do.
00:24:04.959 --> 00:24:06.327
No, no.Jesus said, "Follow me."
00:24:06.360 --> 00:24:08.062
"Well, no, I'm going to stayright here
00:24:08.095 --> 00:24:09.396
because this is whathe told me to do."
00:24:09.430 --> 00:24:10.898
And especially, especially,because we love,
00:24:10.931 --> 00:24:14.869
we get so much securityfrom sameness.
00:24:14.902 --> 00:24:18.839
"I want to knowit's going to be the same."
00:24:18.873 --> 00:24:20.341
Never mind, that we've gottenbored and been bored
00:24:20.374 --> 00:24:23.377
for ten solid years.
00:24:23.410 --> 00:24:26.413
Never mind, that he moved onout of it, not out of us,
00:24:26.447 --> 00:24:31.519
but out of that work.
00:24:31.552 --> 00:24:33.020
We're just serving right there.
00:24:33.053 --> 00:24:34.555
No anointing of the Spiritwith it
00:24:34.588 --> 00:24:36.891
because he's like moved downthe road where you said,
00:24:36.924 --> 00:24:39.393
"You know, I'm waiting on you.Just whenever."
00:24:39.426 --> 00:24:41.328
You know, sometimes I feel thatwhat he wants to say to me is,
00:24:41.362 --> 00:24:43.797
"The thing about it, Beth,the thing about it is
00:24:43.831 --> 00:24:46.367
"I have all the timein the world
00:24:46.400 --> 00:24:49.503
"because I'm eternal.
00:24:49.537 --> 00:24:51.071
"It's you running out of time.
00:24:51.105 --> 00:24:54.642
"You want to sitin your disobedience
00:24:54.675 --> 00:24:56.010
"for five years,go right on ahead.
00:24:56.043 --> 00:24:58.646
"But you're wasting your time.
00:24:58.679 --> 00:25:01.382
I got plenty of it."
00:25:01.415 --> 00:25:03.250
I want you to hear whatOs Guinness says.
00:25:03.284 --> 00:25:06.020
I've got it up on the screenand here in my notes
00:25:06.053 --> 00:25:07.955
but it's out of this book,The Call.
00:25:07.988 --> 00:25:10.724
Listen to this, this is himdefining the calling.
00:25:10.758 --> 00:25:14.261
"Calling is the truth thatGod calls us to himself
00:25:14.295 --> 00:25:19.700
"so decisivelythat everything we are,
00:25:19.733 --> 00:25:25.272
"everything we do,and everything we have
00:25:25.306 --> 00:25:30.411
"is investedwith a special devotion
00:25:30.444 --> 00:25:34.548
"and dynamism lived outas a response
00:25:34.582 --> 00:25:38.018
to his summonsand service."
00:25:38.052 --> 00:25:40.888
It's like the whole person.
00:25:40.921 --> 00:25:43.657
It's not--we've got in our headsthat calling is a specific work.
00:25:43.691 --> 00:25:50.130
It involves specific works.
00:25:50.164 --> 00:25:53.467
There are works that have beenforeordained for us
00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:56.236
according to Ephesians 2:10.
00:25:56.270 --> 00:25:58.272
I mean literally set in timefor us.
00:25:58.305 --> 00:26:01.775
You literally, were timedfor this particular generation.
00:26:01.809 --> 00:26:05.779
You're very much a part of thepredetermined calendar
00:26:05.813 --> 00:26:11.285
that puts you on this earth
00:26:11.318 --> 00:26:13.554
at this particular timein this area of the world
00:26:13.587 --> 00:26:17.257
that we'd findin Acts chapter 17.
00:26:17.291 --> 00:26:20.461
We'd be able to findthat supported in many,
00:26:20.494 --> 00:26:23.664
many places in the Scripture.
00:26:23.697 --> 00:26:25.232
But what he's telling us here,and this is what
00:26:25.265 --> 00:26:28.202
I'm wanting you to seein Scripture,
00:26:28.235 --> 00:26:29.837
is it's just likethe whole person.
00:26:29.870 --> 00:26:33.007
Like when the disciplesfollowed Jesus,
00:26:33.040 --> 00:26:36.443
I mean they camewith their whole person.
00:26:36.477 --> 00:26:39.279
It was just like, "We're in.
00:26:39.313 --> 00:26:41.382
However this goes,however this looks, we're in."
00:26:41.415 --> 00:26:46.220
♪♪♪
00:26:46.253 --> 00:26:53.260
Here you are, some of you justare getting ready to retire.
00:26:54.294 --> 00:26:59.700
You got no idea that whileyou're gearing down,
00:26:59.733 --> 00:27:03.771
he's going, "No, actually,I'm calling you back.
00:27:03.804 --> 00:27:09.410
I've never let you go, andwe've still got work to do."
00:27:09.443 --> 00:27:14.415
If you're still breathing,there's calling on your life.
00:27:14.448 --> 00:27:18.919
(female announcer)If you don't already have plansfor getting into the Scriptures
00:27:20.187 --> 00:27:22.890
this new year,join us as we dive
00:27:22.923 --> 00:27:25.559
into the Study of Galatians.
00:27:25.592 --> 00:27:27.928
And we look forwardto seeing you next week.
00:27:27.961 --> 00:27:30.990

Menu Top

The Caller and The Called Part 1

The Caller and The Called Part 1

Video Keywords

Menu Top

The Caller and The Called Part 1

The Caller and The Called Part 1

Video Keywords

Stay Up to Date With Our Newsletter