A wonderful thing we see in God’s dealings with mankind is the situation where God calls a man or woman to do His will and those people’s lives are transformed in response to that call.
Many of us are called, the Bible tells us, but not everyone responds to the call.
“For many are called, but few are chosen.” Matthew 22:14
We know, in fact, that everyone is called by God to repent.
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now declares to men that all people everywhere should repent” Acts 17:30
“The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that hears say, Come. And let him that is thirsty come. And whoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17
What I want you to see is the power of God built into God’s call. When God calls us all the power we need to fulfil the call is released in the call itself. When we respond to the call the power of God is released in us to enable that call to be fulfilled in us.
Here is a simple example of what I mean. The Apostle John was worshipping God one Sunday and God called John to “Come up here”, calling John into heaven where John was to receive divine revelation.
“After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard sounded like a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up here, and I will show you things which must yet come to pass.” Revelation 4:1
Now this particular call was a pretty special one, but notice what happens. A heavenly voice calls John to ‘Come up here’. There is no way John can go to heaven any time he wants. He could only do it when invited. But the invitation also contained the power to make the thing possible.
“Immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.” Revelation 4:2
If John had not been called he would not have been transported to heaven. The call and the power to make the call possible were intrinsically linked.
When men in Old Testament times were called to become prophets the very call included God’s power to enable them to be prophets. We see that in the life of the prophet Amos.
“Amos replied to King Amaziah, I am not a prophet, nor am I the son of a prophet; for I am a herdsman and a grower of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” Amos 7:14,15
When God called Gideon to go to war with Midian the promise and power for victory were embedded in God’s call. Gideon took a lot of convincing, putting out fleeces and even needing the enemy to convince him that God had assigned him the victory.
God called Moses to set Israel free from Egyptian slavery and the power to make that happen was released to Moses in that call. Moses resisted the call and struggled through the early days of fulfilling God’s call, until he had seen so much of God’s sovereign power at work that he ended up being bold in God’s service.
Saul was called to be King of Israel, even though he felt quite inferior in himself. Yet he led Israel into battles and won decisively. He was called and anointed as king and God gave him all he needed to fulfil that call.
When we think God may be calling us to do something, we can be like Saul or Moses and try to get out of it. We might well fear the challenges we will be forced to face in responding to God’s call. But remember that with the call comes the power to fulfil the call.
So let’s look at some things that you have been called to do.
You are called to repent, and to love God and love your neighbour and love your enemies.
You are called to work the works of God, even greater works than Jesus did.
You are called to resist Satan and have him flee from you.
You are called to preach the gospel in season and out of season.
You are called to endure to the end and not be weary in doing the right things.
You are called to be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy.
There are many other things God calls each of His children to do.
None of those things is impossible for you, because with each call God is giving you the capacity, even the supernatural release of His power, to make it possible. You can turn to God and say, “If You have called me to do this then I believe You are releasing Your power in me to accomplish what You asked me to do.”
And then there are specific things each of us is asked to do by God, often through the quiet urging of the Holy Spirit within us.
Next time you sense one of those special promptings talk to the Lord and ask Him to release to you the power and grace to do the thing He is asking you to do.
God’s call on us is like God’s call on John to ‘Come up here’. If God is calling you to do it, God must be making a way for it to happen. Look for God’s grace and then go and do what God is calling you to do – in the power of the Lord. And, in view of the grace God gives with each call, you might like to pray, “Call Me, Lord!”
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