Simple Steps to Answering Your Call
As a pastor, I often receive questions from people who want to know how to walk in their divine purpose. In my recent message, “Simple Steps to Answering Your Call” I share about the unique calling that we each have in our lives, and how to go about answering it.
The hard truth is this… YOU are solely responsible for answering your own call. While it is my job to train and equip you, only you, and you alone, can answer the call of God on your life.
I’m serious about this, and to reiterate my point I share several notes from this message…
- “Only you can answer your call.”
- The first step is saying, “I will answer my call.”
- “Only you can develop your call.”
- Move into spiritual maturity through the washing of the Word. We cannot remain ignorant.
- “Only you can protect your call.”
- We must choose to protect the asset. The asset is your calling. We each have a great responsibility not to discredit our calling through misbehavior. We must protect the asset of our witness.
- “Only you can align your call for success.”
- The problem is most people want to attend church, but so many do not want to be aligned with a ministry who will challenge them to take the next step in their call. They want a place to belong and fellowship… but iron must sharpen iron.
- “Only a few choose to answer the call.”
- We must get over the popularity contest. Even if we walk alone, we must come to a place where we decide that we WILL answer the call.
- “HE empowers those who answer the call for great exploits.”
- Why? Because honor is the currency of Heaven. The more you honor God with your life and your resources, the more resources you’ll have. This is more than just about money. This is about networking, relationships, anointing, power… etc.
- Are you one of the few who are willing to pay the price of self-sacrifice?
- We must constantly be in a training process with the Lord, taking our lives to higher levels of holiness. If you want to walk in real power. People need to know that you’ve been with Jesus. Others want to know that there is something different about this person.
The best witness we have is how we respond when we are in prison. It’s an attitude of the heart.
“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”—Ephesians 4:1-6
Paul explains here to other Believers, that conduct is the best sermon anyone is ever going to preach.
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, running down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, descending upon the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forevermore.”—Psalm 133:1-3
Unity is the responsibility of each and every Believer, and we are to pursue that unity with all zeal in the Holy Spirit. It takes only one to come into agreement with disunity and that subsequently can begin to effect the power and authority of the ministry as it operates in the courts of Heaven.
There is only one Holy Spirit. So, when we begin to operate in the gifts, it should be in the same nature, timing, and seasons of the Lord. When people operate in the flesh, a Jezebel Spirit tends to move in, and they will begin to misfire, particularly in areas of timing. The reason we need apostolic leadership is for confirmation… we should be confirming one another.
It is not always easy to create a healthy spiritual environment. You can never quit. We must stay in constant maintenance in order to keep the atmosphere pure.
Being a leader is not always easy because we are oftentimes misunderstood. In saying that, it is important that we do not throw the baby out with the bath water by attempting to control the Holy Spirit. We must continually walk in the discernment of what spirit is at work through wise counsel—making decisions from there.
In order to protect our culture… we must first protect our values.
“He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things. 1And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 1that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”—Ephesians 4:10-16
What does this mean? Yeshua had to descend to Hades in order to ascend. This is a picture of us as we answer the call. So, let me say this, once you get saved… you are going to hell! I say this to not to shock you… but it is true. The things of hell in our character will not ascend to Heaven.
How do we find our areas of weakness? They begin manifesting as we begin to answer the call, and we think that some sort of angelic hosts will offer spa therapy … No, it’s not going to happen like that. When you answer your call… you are going to hell. No, don’t send me cards and letters… I don’t mean literal hell, but you get what I’m saying? The weaknesses in your character WILL BE TESTED… I can guarantee it!
When my wife and I were in the world we both cussed profusely. When we became Believer’s… that stopped! However, occasionally, I get the garden hose kinked and words pop into my head… I don’t come into agreement with those thoughts… but every once in a while this happens. The point? My character is still tested regularly.
The key is to deal with it. Repent… and move forward.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”—1 Peter 2:9
Like I said before, my job is not to put you into ministry… only your gift can do that. My job is to equip you for that call. It’s your choice to either go through the training, or not.
“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”—Exodus 19:5-6
There needs to be a conscious effort in the Body of Christ to mature in the Lord. Why would you waste 30 years of your life to be a control freak, a whiner, and a complainer? Why would you operate in doubt and unbelief and then put a demand on the Church to try and perfect you to operate in power?
How long can that go on? We see so many people who are codependent upon the Church, expecting us to answer the call for them. How long do they get to be the victim? We must understand that when we accept Yeshua into our lives, whose name means rescuer and deliverer, that we will become mature in the Lord. If not, how are we ever going to be able to help those in need? Isn’t that why we wanted to become like Yeshua in the first place?
However, there is good news! Recently within my own congregation I’ve begun to see an increase in maturity levels. This is very important… Why? Because the nations are coming! The challenge is that so many of those from other countries have had to struggle to maintain their faith because of the persecution they have faced. This means they are often at an extreme level of maturity in comparison to those of us who have lived in the Western world with little to no persecution. They know how to worship, how to pray, and how to fast…
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