Living Beyond Sunday - Your Calling, Understood - Part 1
Isaiah 6:8
Here am I!
Send me.
Living Beyond Sunday
In this 12-week series (week 2), let’s peek into topics connecting our Sunday Sermons with what we do in our “9-5”.
Your Calling - We ALL have a Calling. Some of us are called to the pulpit, some to the foreign mission field -
but the majority of us are called to our cubicles.
No matter what you do, your workplace is your mission field and in that mission field you may be the only Jesus your co-workers and employees may ever meet.
Our story. Martha and I met in 1982, but in 1979 (3 years before we met), the Lord was already knitting together our calling. At a youth conference, Martha and I responded to a call from the pulpit to commit our lives to full-time Christian Ministry. We proclaimed aloud Isaiah 6:8
Here am I Lord! Send me.
Did that mean I was to become a pastor, missionary or a parachurch organizational leader? Next week I will tell more of the story.
Here is what we know about calling from scripture:
And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet of the nations
What does this mean?
The Lord calls all of us
We all have a calling
The world won’t understand our calling
We were created by God to do good works
God assigned our calling before we were even conceived.
Things to think about:
If calling is so certain why am I not sure of my calling?
How can I know what I am called to do?
If I am not a pastor or missionary does that mean my calling is secondary?
So what is your calling? What does your unique set of gifts, talents, and abilities tell you about what God created you to do? You have been set apart to accomplish something unique. Don’t waste your days waiting for the workday to be done so you can do your ministry and impact the kingdom.
Your calling is a high one.
No one else has been created to accomplish what you have been created to do. You have been knit together in your Mother’s womb to accomplish the things our Father has set apart in advance for you to do.
About the Author, Jim Brangenberg
Jim's Mission: We are called to be examples of Christ to those around us. With that in mind, Jim is passionate about helping Christ followers connect their faith to their work!