09.16.13 - The High Calling

The High Calling

1. 1. 1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light KJV

Monday, September  16, 2013

1:38 PM

God first calls us to His Kingdom, then He places us within His Kingdom.  Our placement or ministry in the Kingdom of God NEVER supercedes our calling to be like Christ.

1. 1. The Call - To Be Like Christ 

1. a. Paul writes in Philippians 3 of his desire to be like Christ, to have a personal relationship with the Lord who saved him. Consider his words:

1. i. "that I may win Christ"

1. ii. "and be found in Him"

1. iii. "that I may know Him"

1. iv. "being made conformable unto His death"

1. v. "but I follow after"

1. 1. Notice that these statements are in reference to relationship with Christ, and not Paul's calling to be an apostle.

1. b. Phil 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. KJV

1. i. The "mark" that Paul was referring to was not to be a better apostle, but to be more like Christ.  This was his first calling, his first priority.  Paul knew that no matter what ministry he was called to, no matter where life took him, no matter how great or how abased he was, that it was his High Calling to be like Christ Jesus.

1. c. Matt 5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good for  nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. KJV

1. i. Our first priority as a Christian is to be Christ-like. We may be told as a Christian we need to stop doing this, start doing that, wear this and don't wear that, say this and stop saying that.  We need to go to Church, we need to pay our tithe, we need to reach the lost and all of those things may be true, but our first priority is to be like Jesus.  When we set our hearts to be like Jesus, to win Him, to know Him, to be made conformable to Him, we cannot help but to become more like the Lord.  

1. ii. When we just "do" what we think the Lord would do and do not actually become like Him, we are like the salt in Matthew 5, we loose our saltiness, we loose our passion. There is a danger of becoming lukewarm if we are only imitating Christ and not becoming like Him, there is a difference.  Actors on television can move our emotions with they well played parts on the big screen, but in reality, they are still just actors.  

1. 1. How can we tell if we have lost our saltiness?

1. 2. If we are salt and light as the Bible teaches us (and we are) what happens when we lose our passion, when we begin to NOT be like Christ?  

1. 3. What does it say to the world we are trying to reach if there is no "salt" and "light" in our lives?

1. 2. The Call - Kingdom Placement

1. a. 1 Cor 12:18 But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him. KJV

1. i. God has a divine placement, a wonderful assignment, a job for each of us.  Ephesians teaches us about apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists and pastors.  God will place us in the Body of Christ, in His Kingdom, as He chooses.  Our effectiveness in ministry does not come from our title, or how many people we can influence or who knows our name, our effectiveness in ministry placement comes from understanding that our High Calling comes before our ministry calling or placement. Paul was concerned about reaching people with the Gospel, but his greater concern was that he become conformed to the image of Christ.  In becoming conformed to the image of Christ, he in turn reached more people with the Gospel.  Had he sought the latter first, he would not have succeeded in either to the extent that he did.

1. ii. We can become so enthralled with a title or position that we can forget why God put us there in the first place.  It is not about us, it is about Him.  We are where we are for a reason. To be like Christ.  The stars did not have a voice to argue about where God put them in the night sky, their job is simply to shine.  We have a voice, we can argue and disagree and not understand, but at the end of the day, our job is to shine where He has placed us .  We are to lift Him up by being like Him.  

1. iii. When God used Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, many did not make it to the promised land because of grumbling and complaining.  When we loose focus on our High Calling (to be like Christ) and our Kingdom placement (to shine where He puts us) we may stumble around in the wilderness for year and years

1. 1. Have you ever been frustrated or unsatisfied with a situation that you "forgot to shine?"

1. 2. To many times we try to "do" our calling instead of just being like Christ.  Ministry will flow from who we are and not what we do.  If we are Christlike, ministry will happen, His way.

1. 3. Do you know what your calling is?  If not, how can just being like Christ grow the Kingdom and glorify Him?