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The
Power of Your Calling
By Pastor Tim Hodge
In our society we find ourselves in an “earned favor” system.
Our level of importance is in direct proportion to our level of
production. We find people
who are important because of ‘where’ they live in a town or city.
We find people who are important because of the types of vehicles
they drive in the status oriented climate of America.
We find people who are important because of their positions in
companies. We find people who
are important because of titles and all sorts of letters and periods
behind their names. We find
people who are important because of the families they were born into.
But are these things what really makes one eternally important?
What makes YOU important in God’s eternal scheme of things?
Can you climb God’s ladder of success?
Can you gain more favor with God by producing higher levels of
spirituality? Is God locked
into the same system of ‘importance’ as is our society?
No. What makes you
important to God is the calling He has placed upon your life.
What does this “calling” mean?
Two things are found in the scripture concerning the calling of
God. First, there is the
general calling into the body of Christ.
Romans 1:5,6 informs us that we are “the called of Christ” and
“called to be saints.” If
you have accepted Christ as Savior then you are “called to be a saint”
(note: the word ‘saint’ means ‘to be holy’).
This determines you to be “called” of God to be set apart for
Him.
Secondly,
the “calling” upon your life will take you beyond the first general
calling and it will bring specifics to your life.
Some are called to be Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors,
Teachers, Ministers of Helps, Encouragers, Counselors, business men,
doctors, etc.
The
Apostle Paul understood the power of God’s ‘calling’ upon his life.
If there was a man who could stake his claim to fame on his
heritage, works, education, etc. it was Paul.
However, we notice Paul staked his claim to authority solely upon
his “calling.” Romans 1:1
states, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God” (KJV, emphasis mine).
Paul’s authority was not a politically gained authority.
Neither was it an ‘earned’ position bestowed upon him by other
church leaders. Paul’s
authority of everything that followed in his letter to the church at Rome
was based solely upon his ‘calling’ as an apostle.
It
is very important that every believer in the body of Christ be aware of
his/her specialized calling. For
centuries the powers of darkness have attempted to deplete the church of
its human resources by negating the power of God’s ‘calling’ upon
every believer. Through the
gap between the priesthood and the laity we see billions of Christians
complacent in allowing the spiritually elite do all the spiritual
functions of the church. How far from the truth.
Jesus never intended for there to be a ministerial difference in
the body of Christ. We are
all part of the ‘royal priesthood’ (1 Peter 2:9a).
When someone falls into the trap of not fulfilling their
‘calling’ they find themselves void.
The supernatural will rarely take place in their lives because
their ‘authority’ is in their ‘calling.’
A lack of pursuit of our calling equals a lack of fulfillment in
our authority.
Jude
verse 1 shows us a very important aspect of our calling.
“Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them
that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called”
(KJV, emphasis mine). Jude
gives three important listings here of the believers to whom he is
writing: (1) those who are sanctified, (2) those who are preserved in
Christ, (3) those who are ‘called’.
As much as we understand the importance of being sanctified (set
apart unto Christ) and as much as we understand the importance of our
being preserved in Christ (guarded by Him) we must also understand our
‘calling’ is listed as being equally important.
One
aspect of the New Apostolic Reformation is the renewal of what I call
“BODY MINISTRY.” We will
see the church in America turn away from a one man show or even the body
revolving around a small group of spiritual elitists.
Body Ministry is when everyone in the local church is encouraged to
learn and operate in their calling thereby fulfilling their destiny in the
earth. The believers learn
their spiritual giftings and their leadership, aware of these giftings,
seek to train these individuals and place them in circumstances where they
can minister in the “authority of their calling.”
This unleashed body of believers, aware of their importance and
authority in their ‘calling’, will shake the earth like it has not
been shaken since the days of the early church.
The
very tactic of the adversaries of God to rob the believers of their
understanding of their ‘callings’ is about to unravel.
As it does we will see Christians arise in the might of the Spirit,
with boldness being motivated by their ‘calling’, and with the passion
of Christ they will RESTORE (put back) the concept of “BODY MINISTRY”
to the church and to the earth. There
is coming a new liberty of multiplied aspects of ministry in the earth
through this reformation of “BODY MINISTRY.”
Understand
this: Your calling has nothing to do with you… it is God’s appointment
upon your life. Your calling
was planted into your spiritual DNA in your mother’s womb.
God told Jeremiah, “Before you were formed in your mother’s
womb I called you to be a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5,
emphasis mine). God is
looking for faithful servants and He does reward those who diligently seek
Him. As you grow in the
understanding of your calling you will find yourself more faithful and
diligent in all areas of your walk with God… especially your specialized
calling.
The
question may be asked, “How do I learn my calling?” Gaining understanding of the calling of God upon one’s life
is not an overnight thing. It
is, in essence, a lifelong unfolding which comes in seasons as we grow in
the knowledge of Christ. One
reason, and I state this facetiously but also seriously, is because we
would probably have our pants scared off us if we saw the plans of God for
our life in one sitting.
Your
calling holds your importance and your authority. When you understand you are called you can face anything that
comes against you. Romans
8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose” (KJV, emphasis mine).
One
of the last pictures we see concerning the importance of being called is
found in the book of the Revelation as Christ is about to embattle the
armies of the anti-Christ. “These
shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is
Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called,
and chosen, and faithful” (Rev. 17:14, KJV, emphasis mine).
Know the power of your calling!
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Pastor Tim Hodge