"When God Calls Your Name"

Let’s pray before we begin.

As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? I had the chance to look though my old baby book recently. Those of you that have one know what these are. This is a book that parents use to collect memories and treasures form their children’s past. The information contained in them is brought up at mostly inopportune times, such as wedding, or when friends are over. Many parents here may have one for their children. I do.

Anyway, looking in mine, it was interesting to see what was in it. There were pictures, sports stuff that I did, and unfortunately copies of my report cards. Also, every year there was a section that listed what I wanted to be when I grew up. There were times when I wanted to be something heroic, like a firefighter or a police officer. For the longest time, my overriding career ambition in life was to be one of two things: Batman or Spider-Man. As I got older, I grew out of that phase, and many potential careers were pointed out to me by the people around me. For instance, my grade 8 teacher pointed out a possible occupation after one particular school trip. He reminded me of the outstanding skill I showed in getting my class lost on a scavenger hunt, and suggested that since I showed great ability to lead people in circles that I should consider being a politician. For the longest time, I even had the dream of playing football. I would set up an old barrel in the back yard, and practice throwing the ball into it. Later, I would snap the ball between my legs for fun. Little did I know back then that I would end up getting paid for something I loved doing for fun.

In looking at it though, isn’t that what a lot of us want? I think if we were all honest about what we want out of our careers, we’d all be doing something that we would find enjoyable. We would be doing something that makes us jump out of bed and say, “I can’t wait to get to work.” Sadly, for most of us, that simply isn’t that case.

More often than not, what we want to accomplish and what we end up doing are two different things, and we settle for a life less fulfilled. Think of it this way. There was a commercial on TV recently that showed sayings that you rarely hear children say. Things like:

• I want to be in a dead end job working in a cubicle dying daily from the emissions coming from the fluorescent lights.
• I want to be used as a stepping stone for others to use as they climb the corporate ladder.
• I want to work in a job that is so menial that I spend my life thinking that I missed something and end up a lifeless husk so that come retirement so that I spend my remaining years trying to find myself. Usually in a bright red sports car.

We spend an awful amount of time consumed with our careers and jobs, don’t we? And yet for most of us, we derive very little enjoyment or contentment from our chosen professions. To illustrate this, Marcus Buckingham, the author of First Break All the Rules, lists an interesting number of statistics that relate to workers satisfaction with their jobs. In a Gallup poll conducted in August 2004, US workers were asked to rate their satisfaction levels with their chosen careers and current jobs, a full 50% indicated they were completely dissatisfied with their careers. Not mildly disappointed. Not somewhat irritated and annoyed by their careers. Not even mildly disgruntled. 50% said they were COMPLETELY dissatisfied. However, in the same study, respondents were asked to indicate “what makes you content?’ The results were surprising but not unexpected.

Anyone want to take a guess what the top answer was? It was relationships. 67% indicated that Family and friends were what made them content. Anyone want to guess where career landed? 3 rd from the bottom. Only 26% indicated that their careers made them content. Now from my observations, that’s pretty much what I expected, but I had to ask myself this question; if career ranks so low on the contentment list, why do we spend the majority of our time at our jobs and on our careers? Why do we spend a great deal of time and energy trying to find the right one, or to advance our careers? We spend a great deal of time on developing “career plans” and “managing” our careers. And yet, in the grand scheme of things it really matters little. Why do we derive so little contentment from that which we spend most of our time on?

We expect that our careers deal mostly with the practicalities of life. Money from our jobs will make it possible for you to pay your bills, take care of your family responsibilities, and provide a certain standard of living. You probably also expect it to provide certain less-tangible rewards as titles and social standing. Now contrary to what I have been saying, some of us here do derive a certain amount of satisfaction from our careers, but I think the danger is when those jobs define who we are, and our lives become centered on being the best (fill in the blank) we can be, rather than being who we are

Don spoke a couple of weeks ago on fear, and trust, and Dean spoke last week on following your dreams. Today I am going to expand on those areas a little bit more. But what I am going to focus on is what to do when you feel that yearning to do more in our lives, to do more than just exist, to earn a paycheque. What do we do when God calls our name, and asks us to be who were meant to be and serve Him? Another way to ask this question is; do you have a calling?

When you hear the term “calling” what come to mind? Now most of us would associate this with becoming clergy, or working with within the church at some ministry. A calling involves a clear sense of being commissioned by God for some task. It is your pursuit of the sovereignty of God over who you are and what you are doing with your life. It is the sense that God’s hand is on you and that he has a sense of genuine pleasure in what you are doing. And, it is different for everyone. Bob Buford is his book Halftime stated that God not only wants His work done within the church, but it needs to be done out in the world as well.

I have found interesting recently is that there seems to be a certain restlessness in our society today. I think that can be illustrated by the number of messages Dean received at Christmas regarding career issues. Today in our world, a great deal of focus is not just on success in our careers, but also SIGNIFIGANCE in our careers. For some of us, we have discerned that God has a certain purpose in our lives, and wants us to make an impact in our communities.

This is something I have struggled with over the past year. Last January, I was hired to work on Lakeview’s capital campaign, and I was here at the church full-time. My chosen career at that time was as a consultant in the area of fundraising. Now, my career was one that was, well, OK. I was fairly good at it, made a decent wage, and had a great deal of flexibility and prestige attached to it. It felt pretty good to be able to tell people “I am a consultant!” I’m important. To be perfectly candid, there is a level of arrogance that is attached to that kind of thinking. It can best be summed up in the phrase “I know more than you do, so you better listen to ME!”

However, I believe God put me here on staff at Lakeview for a reason. You see, as I spent more time here, my business outside the church took a nosedive. In the course of 2 weeks last March, 10-15 good solid prospective clients vanished, and I was left with simply no business to go to once I finished here at Lakeview. I was out of business. More importantly, there was this growing sense of dissatisfaction in what I was doing. I derived little enjoyment in fundraising, and had felt that I needed to do more with my life. This was where I found myself last spring. A very scary place to be sure. Fear took hold pretty fast. If you consider what was at stake, there may be some good reasons to be fearful; I had a family, mortgage, debt and bills to be paid. What would happen?

I was frustrated, confused and totally at a loss. I wasn’t sure what to do next. I was simply spinning, and I felt that God wasn’t there. There were a few time when I just looked up and screamed at Him “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?”

Then this gentle nudging started. It started out as something that popped into my head, and it stayed there. It grew more and more each day, and as the tugging at my heart grew I know He was at work. He was calling me to something more. It was as if God was saying this:

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out--plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

Jeremiah 29:11 (The Message)

And I had to respond. It was very clear. I thought’ “God you are calling me! I know you are. I can hear you!” I thought this was great, what an experience. But, then confusion set in again, and then I had to ask’ “... What is it you are calling me to do?”

A lot of you may be able to relate to this experience. However, let’s be clear on something first. There are certain connotations to being called by God. Who here thinks that responding to a call from God means we will have to go on some kind of mission to Africa? Who here thinks a call from God means getting involved in ministry or in clergy here at the church? You see, my perception of hearing God’s call was to respond to that call to ministry, and I truly felt that must mean I need to be a pastor. And so, I began an exploration to determine the course of my life with God.

Do we all have a calling? Is there something that we are meant to do with the life God calls us to experience? What do we do when God calls us up off the bench, and wants us in the game?

Firstly, I think we need to understand what the difference between both a career and a calling. I found a chart on Christianity Today’s website that is pretty clear on the difference. You will find a copy in your bulletin today:

You see, a calling has nothing to do about WHERE you fill your calling; it’s about fulfilling the purpose in the way which God has created you for. It’s about becoming who God made you to be. Earlier this month we completed a series on the Purpose Driven Life, and this is simply an extension of that idea. To take that thought further, God’s ideal is that both your career and your calling be merged into one. Frederick Buechner, in his book Beyond Words, puts it this way:

The kind of work God calls you to is the kind of work that a) that you really need to do and b) that the world needs to have done. For example, say you love your job doing advertising, but you do it for the tobacco industry or a producer of pornography. Most likely you have fulfilled a) but are missing b). On the flip side, say you are a doctor working at an AIDS mission in Asia. You are helping those people, but are totally miserable. So you probably are hitting b), but missing a) and probably not helping your patients much either.

Buechner goes on to write:

The place where God calls you is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

When you fulfill God’s purpose, when you respond to that call to something of significance THAT is when you see true fulfillment. That fulfillment comes when your career and your calling are merged into one.

What does that look like? How do you find where that is? This is the process I went through to determine that purpose, that true sense of calling.

Firstly, you have to know God and his will. Psalm 119:105 states:

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.

You see, we must get to know the will of the one who is calling us. You must immerse yourself in His word and understand what God’s purpose in life truly is. We have covered a great deal in our previous series on the Purpose Driven Life, so I will summarize it by saying this: It’s not about us. It’s not about getting rich or being happy, or experiencing pleasure. It’s about serving HIM. That’s the bottom line. It’s about meeting His purposes in our world. It is very counter culture these days to not try and focus on ourselves, but that is what we are asked by God to do.

Secondly, we must get a handle on what our aptitudes and abilities are in order to basically determine what we are good at, what works with our character, and what our passions in life are. Dean talked about this last week. God made us all differently, with unique strengths and weaknesses, to meet God’s purpose. We are not supposed to be the same and we need to realize that we can all make unique contributions.

Another way to look at it is like this. 1 Cor 12:4-7 states this:

Now there are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service in the church, but it is the same Lord we are serving. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church

Primarily, we must understand that God has given us specific talents and abilities in order to meet the needs of His church. There is a place for each of us in His plan, but we need to recognize what those gift and abilities are. The danger though, is to filter that discernment, that recognition, with what we want to see rather than what gifts we actually have. This was a problem that I had in my exploration.

You see, I had this inkling that I was destined for something really big, that I would be a big shot, a recognized leader and pillar in the community. And I was sure that my gifts would reflect that. I took the Ministry class here at the church, mainly for confirmation, I thought. And sure enough, my gifts were along the line of leadership, and wisdom. But in there were things I had not expected; gifts such as creative communication and teaching. Where did those come from? Also, there was a very low indicator of evangelism. Now I ask you, don’t you think when you are going to be pastor that the ability to actually bring people to Christ is kind of important? That was a bit of a wake up call for me, and it forced me to look deeper and further to find out what God really wants me to do.

Thirdly, we must identify where that fit is, and this is where your passions in life come in. Life has a way of drawing us to that which meets our deepest longing, which raises our spirit and fills us with such joy that it consumes our thoughts. If you recall a couple of weeks ago, Don told us a story about Jack the Water Rat, where Jack just seemed to belong in the water. It’s that kind of fit that I am talking about. It’s when you seem to be at your very best, doing what you love to do, and there is a sense that you were meant for that activity or job or purpose.

In the book of Daniel, Daniel, Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego, (Rack, Shack and Benny for you Veggie Tale folk), we selected by King Nebucadnezzar. Briefly, here is how the story goes:

Daniel 1:3-4, 6-7, 17

Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- 4 young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king's palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.

Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

As the story of Daniel continues, Daniel and his friends are used by God in many wonderful ways.

The point though, is that once we have understood God’s word, and identified what our gifts are, the next step is to understand where those gifts fit into His plan. Is there something in your life that seems to pull at your heart? Is it a hobby, or a pastime that you have done in the past, and wish to do again? Is there a job that you once did that met this longing?

That is the Holy Spirit working in you. Once God has a place in your heart, his Spirit will pull in the direction which you should go. Proverbs say this:

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

Now to be perfectly candid, this can be a very confusing time. For me, I didn’t know what to think or what to do. In all honesty, I was a mess. The questions I would ask myself were, Am I supposed to be a pastor? If not, then what? Where do I go for help? What do I do?

I believe God works in interesting ways. My wife had a co-worker whose spouse did Christian Career counseling. His name was Mike and he offered to counsel me. I am now sure this was God’s way of clarifying the situation. Mike, as it turned out, is a pastor, but in a past career, developed a career counseling service that has helped hundreds of people find their calling.

One of the first things Mike reminded me was that in 1 Peter 4:10 it states (New International Version)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms

1 Peter 4:10 (New International Version)

So that begged the question, where do I go from here? I had my own ideas what that looked like, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to hear what anyone had to say. However, the good thing that Mike did was to tell me things that I didn’t want to hear. The first and foremost is that because of my abilities and gifting, it was unlikely that I would cut it as a pastor. However, that did not mean that I could not serve God.

One of the things that has always been tugging in my heart is the desire to coach sports, and specifically football. I have often told people that if money were no object, I would be coaching football for a living. I have also felt a need to teach people, specifically in the areas that would develop character and in areas that would explore the human condition, and allow us to experience God’s grace. And ultimately, I realized that I would need to teach English. You see, to understand that, you must understand that I love to read, and I believe literature has the ability to teach us about ourselves and our world, and what God has in store for us. And so my direction was now clear; I had to become a teacher.

I am now certain that God used Mike to make me understand the one big thing. We can all make an impact for God. Another way of stating it is that we can all make a “Kingdom Impact.” And ultimately, that is what I want to do. And I can do that in the classroom and on the field. You can make that impact too. God is calling you to make an impact in this world for His purposes. He even made us to fulfill that calling. Not sure about that? Well, He even stated:

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 (New International Version)

This tells us that through our relationship with Jesus Christ, and by allowing the Holy Spirit to grow in us, we can understand what God made us to do. We can understand our purpose much clearer.

Our culture plays games with us and uses a variety of ways to pull us away from God’s call. Consumerism is one way. Buy this, get that, acquire, save, spend, spend, spend! We are fed messages that we need to keep up with the Joneses, and define ourselves by our positions, or possessions. We are also taught to climb the corporate ladder, look out for number 1 and don’t concern yourself with your fellow man. But by listening to the Holy Spirit and heeding God’s call, you are meeting such a greater need for this world and His Kingdom. And you are fulfilling a greater purpose than just the shallow trappings of a job.

Let move on. After we get a sense of where we fit, it is important to get a confirmation of some type. This is accomplished through your closest friends, family and allies. This is a really important step. Scripture says:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

For me, that crucial person was my wife. She indicated very clearly that she could see me more as a teacher than a pastor especially when you throw in the coaching part of it. As I told more and more people about it, many people stated the same thing. What you will find is that people will recognize not only a fit with your gifts, but your identity as well.

A couple of cautions though. Firstly, you need to find people that will not just tell you things you want to hear, but give you the straight goods. It is important to have an honest assessment as you go through this journey. Secondly, you must do a bit of research into the area where you think you will be called. For me, it meant that I looked into the teaching profession, what that entails and what the availability of positions actually are. Thirdly, test your findings. A way to describe it is to do some “low cost probes.” Volunteer in your area of choice, find an interning program or take some time to shadow someone in your chosen profession. For me, I needed to get back to coaching, which I did in the form of coaching my son’s touch football team. You know what I found? I missed that game so much. I had an absolute blast coaching that team. When I went on the field, I became immersed into the game and it didn’t matter what else was happening around me. I had a blast devising plays for the team, and it was so much fun that I would laugh as I would putting this stuff together. It was so bad that my family referred to me as the mad scientist. Lastly, be prepared for some form of temptation to draw you away from your calling. God is not the only player in this exercise. Satan is also working to thwart God’s plan, and will do anything to upset that. For me, the temptation came in the form of another position. I was offered the position of Associate Pastor with the FM church in Barrie Ontario. Now some of you may be asking yourselves, why would that be bad? Well, consider that being a pastor was not where I was being called, and that I would not have the type of impact that God wanted by trying to shepherd a congregation. In fact, I am convinced that I would not have done very well had I accepted that position, because it was not meeting God’s purpose for me.

The last thing you need to consider is that when you have confirmed where God wants you to go, you simply need to trust and obey. This is really hard sometimes, especially when there are people in your life that cannot see what you are doing. For me, I got some pretty interesting looks from people when I told them I wanted to get into teaching. Some in my current profession thought I was crazy, because literally, I will be taking a 50% pay cut. But living the Godly life and obeying His will was never going to be easy. But the outcome is so worth it. Scripture even tells us,

“keep your eye on what you're doing; accept the hard times along with the good; keep the Message alive; do a thorough job as God's servant.”

2 Timothy 4:5 (The Message)

There will be suffering, there will be hardships, and this process is not easy. There is no one ever created that can avoid this. But there is no better model on how to handle it than Jesus Christ himself.

You see, Jesus understood his purpose, which was to save all of us from a lifetime of sin. He knew God’s will, understood what was expected of Him, and willingly gave himself up for our sins. He even asked to be spared. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He pleaded to the Father to let Him go from his appointed task. But Jesus then responded, as we are all asked to;

My Father, if there is no other way than this, … I'm ready. Do it your way." (Matthew 26:42 Msg)

And ultimately, that is what we are asked to say. Lord, I’m ready. Let’s do it your way! And I felt that I had to let go and say; You are in control, and I am going to endure this sacrifice because of my love for you, and my desire to do your will. I will trade the trappings of what I want to do to do what you want me to. I don’t want to settle for a small insular little life that would focus only on me. I want to take part in the adventure that is Your Kingdom, and embrace that which is so much larger than anything this world can provide.

In ancient times, Hebrews performed a ritual known as the Nazarite Vow. It is a complicated set procedures and instructions for this vow, but the principle is that it is a period of sacrifice and hardship. And, it is one that they would perform willingly. People would give up what would amount to 10 years wages to follow this calling. They would set themselves apart, not taking part in any cultural event, which is absolutely astounding if you know the Hebrew culture, because of their vow. Why you may ask; because those performing the vow gave themselves entirely to God. They responded to God in a way that said:

I am willing to give up this ($, Power, Prestige) for THIS, for something holy something greater something more wonderful, something beyond understanding. I am giving up this, for YOUR KINGDOM.

They were interested in giving up something that was material, tangible and an indicator of status, for something more valuable and eternal. And I know that is what we, as Christ-followers, are called to do. To give up our hold on things that are small, and meaningless, turn our eyes to heaven and say with confidence.

I am ready Lord…let’s do it your way!

Lets Pray:

Father God, thank you for your gift of your Son, Jesus Christ. We are a people that are simply in search for something greater, and that is your purpose in our lives. Help those that are searching for your call, help them hear your voice. Help them understand your plan for them, and comfort them in time of struggle. You have told us repeatedly in scripture that you will never leave us or forsake us. We know we can trust that, and we know that you will guide us to your glory.

May the Lord bless you and keep you. May he smile down upon you. May he show you his kindness, grant you His mercy and give you His peace. Amen.