For the next few weeks we'll be looking at stories regarding God's Call, and attempting to apply particular aspects of the story to our own lives. This week we discussed the "simple" task of hearing God's Call and discerning it. We spent some time looking specifically at the story of God calling Samuel (Samuel 3:1-10), where Samuel repeatedly hears God's Call, but mistakes it for the voice of his mentor Eli. We also looked at Jesus' calling of Philip and Nathanael found in John 1:43-51, where Jesus calls Philip who in turn delivers the call to Nathanael.
I introduced our sermon with a story of a young man who spend a great deal of time praying and even pleading with God at a prayer service one evening. The young man seemed to be almost pained in his prayers, and was still up front praying after nearly everyone else had left the service. As he was up front praying, another pastor, whom I knew, came to me and mentioned having to speak with the young man. I thought he was going to talk to "Dan" about lingering up front for so long, but to my suprise the pastor approached "Dan", once he had completed praying, and the conversation went like this:
Pastor: "This might sound strange, but God's told me to say this to you...are you sure?"
"Dan": "Yea...I think...Yea...Yes, yes I'm sure."
Pastor: "Then the answer is 'Yes'"
I later asked the pastor what the young man was sure about, and he replied he had no idea. I then asked "Dan" and he explained that he'd been asking God if he was meant to go into the ministry or not, and had been asking for a sign.
This story is obviously not the norm for most of us. I've never before heard of or witnessed such an example of God's Call being discerned so clearly for a person. Having said this, God speaks to each of us in different ways and through different means. A brief glimpse into scripture reveals God using a burning bush for Moses, a talking donkey for Balaam, a still small voice with Elijah, prophets for the people of Israel, Jesus Christ for the Apostles, being struck blind and a vision for Paul, and the list could go on. The point being that God does not limit Himself when it comes to communicating with the people of God.
Many would suggest that God does not speak so freely to people anymore, that the word of the Lord has become rare. I am going to instead suggest that God has not ceased to speak, but that we have ceased to listen, or do not listen to the right things! In order to hear God's Call, we must first ask God to speak to us. It seems simple, but many of us expect God to force Himself into our lives, to interrupt what we are doing to make His will known to us. Such examples are the exception not the rule. Instead the first step in hearing and discerning God's Call is to ask God into our lives, to seek God's voice, wisdom and guidance.
The next step is much more difficult. Once we've asked God to speak to us, we must be silent and patiently wait. For many of us patience means a few moments or maybe a few days. It seems that for God, patience might refer to a few months or even years! This next story illustrates a more typical way that God calls us, and makes His will known.
My call began while still in highschool. A friend of mine felt called into the ministry at Annual Conference one year, and so he went up front to be prayed for by all in attendance. Being a good friend I went up front with him, to pray by his side. Upon seeing me making my way to the front, my pastor immediately thought I was feeling called into the ministry and hurried to the front. When he arrived, and I told him I was up there for my friend not myself, he looked disappointed, but still prayed with one hand on my friend, and one hand on me. This got me thinking how a man who'd seen me misbehave in a multitude of ways during church could possibly think that I should or could become a pastor myself. Later that same year, I heard a pastor speaking about how wonderful being in the ministry is, and how it essentially is being a Christian (in every sense of the word) and getting paid for it. Much of what he said resonated with me, and furthered my feeling that maybe God was calling me into the ministry. I graduated highschool and attended college, still unsure of God's Call for my life, still seeking clarity, and still pleading with God to give me a clear sign or some assurance. I began taking classes to prepare me for ministry, declared myself a ministry major, and even began serving a church as their pastor, and still nothing! I was beginning to wonder what God was doing, and why I hadn't heard anything. It wasn't until I had been serving a church for nearly a year, until I had completely committed myself to this call, and received ample affirmation from other people that God finally assured me that I was in fact called to be a pastor.
I am convinced that often this is the case with God's Call in our lives. Whether God is calling you to a career, to a job, to a church, or just to hold a door open for another person, assurance often doesn't come until after you have completely committed yourself to that call.
This brings us back to the reality that God Calls each of us differently. For some, God speaks most clearly through prayer, for others it's Scripture, for others still it's other people, and for others yet it's Creation. Whatever way God speaks to you the best, I would encourage you to ask God to speak to you, to reveal His Call for your life, and then spend time patiently listening. The coolest thing about God's Call in our lives, is that for many it starts as that still small voice that Elijah heard, but once you begin to listen, and grow accustomed to the voice you're hearing, it becomes louder and clearer until you are continually hearing it liking a beautiful song that goes with you everywhere.
God has not stopped speaking. We have stopped listening. Ask God to speak to you, seek His Call for your life, and as you patiently listen for that still small voice, God's Call will be made known to you. As you commit yourself more fully to that Call, the voice will become stronger and easier to discern with each new day!
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Sermon Sampler (January 11th) - Claimed by God
This past Sunday, being the Baptism of the Lord Sunday, we spent our time first talking about Jesus' baptism and then about baptism in general.
Mark 1:4-11 contained the story of Jesus' baptism, and also included a brief description of the baptism that John was giving people. It illustrates that the primary reason John was baptizing was so that those being baptized might repent and receive forgiveness of their sins. It is somewhat difficult at first to understand why Jesus, who was without sin and therefore had no need to repent, came to John to be baptized. Of course as we read on, it was clear that the baptism of Jesus was not for repentance but for Jesus to be claimed/marked out for who he was (the Son of God).
Our other scripture passage, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, finds the Apostle Paul dealing with divisions (seemingly linked to baptism) in the Corinthian church. Paul rightly points out that who baptizes a person should in no way matter, because baptism is not about who performs the act, but in whose name the act is performed. The same is true in the United Methodist Church, where infants, children, youth, and adults all can be baptized by a variety of methods including sprinkling, pouring, or immersing. Unfortunately baptism is still a divisive issue for many Christians today and likely will remain so.
The main drive of our message this week, was not to fully discuss baptism and all it's theological implications (although some of that was done). Rather this Sunday's message was to explore all the different places and times in our lives when we are claimed. I will use myself as an example of this:
--As a young child, I was claimed by my parents with phrases like "that's my boy!", but when I misbehaved the phrase went more like this "look what your son did!"
--As a teenager, when involved in dating relationships, I was claimed by the young ladies I dated, but when things went sour, no longer was I claimed by them, but rather several terrible things about me were claimed about me!
--As a young man I worked for a company that claimed me as their employee, until the day I was greeted at the front door and escorted to my locker to remove all my possessions.
--As a father I am proudly claimed by my daughters as "my daddy", but know that inevitably someday the phrase will shift to "I don't know that guy"!
The list could go on, and inevitably several of you are able to relate to these four examples and likely all of you could think of more. The point here is that in life we are constantly being claimed by this person or that group, but almost always the way we are claimed ends or at least shifts over time.
Just as Jesus was claimed by God through his baptism, so you and I are also claimed as sons and daughters of God's through our own baptisms. The difference between the claiming that occurs in baptism and that which we experience throughout our lives, is that God's claiming of us never ends, never decreases and never shifts. God's claim on our lives, God's claim to love us always, God's claim as our loving Parent remains!
So today, as you're reading this message I would remind you that if you've been baptized, whether as a child or an adult, with lots of water or only a little, whether you remember it or not, you have been claimed by God and you forever will be a beloved son or daughter of His. If you have not been baptized, know that God is longing to claim you as a beloved son or daughter too! Baptism is a sacred gift given freely to anyone who would accept it, so reach out and take hold of what is openly offered to you.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
Mark 1:4-11 contained the story of Jesus' baptism, and also included a brief description of the baptism that John was giving people. It illustrates that the primary reason John was baptizing was so that those being baptized might repent and receive forgiveness of their sins. It is somewhat difficult at first to understand why Jesus, who was without sin and therefore had no need to repent, came to John to be baptized. Of course as we read on, it was clear that the baptism of Jesus was not for repentance but for Jesus to be claimed/marked out for who he was (the Son of God).
Our other scripture passage, 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, finds the Apostle Paul dealing with divisions (seemingly linked to baptism) in the Corinthian church. Paul rightly points out that who baptizes a person should in no way matter, because baptism is not about who performs the act, but in whose name the act is performed. The same is true in the United Methodist Church, where infants, children, youth, and adults all can be baptized by a variety of methods including sprinkling, pouring, or immersing. Unfortunately baptism is still a divisive issue for many Christians today and likely will remain so.
The main drive of our message this week, was not to fully discuss baptism and all it's theological implications (although some of that was done). Rather this Sunday's message was to explore all the different places and times in our lives when we are claimed. I will use myself as an example of this:
--As a young child, I was claimed by my parents with phrases like "that's my boy!", but when I misbehaved the phrase went more like this "look what your son did!"
--As a teenager, when involved in dating relationships, I was claimed by the young ladies I dated, but when things went sour, no longer was I claimed by them, but rather several terrible things about me were claimed about me!
--As a young man I worked for a company that claimed me as their employee, until the day I was greeted at the front door and escorted to my locker to remove all my possessions.
--As a father I am proudly claimed by my daughters as "my daddy", but know that inevitably someday the phrase will shift to "I don't know that guy"!
The list could go on, and inevitably several of you are able to relate to these four examples and likely all of you could think of more. The point here is that in life we are constantly being claimed by this person or that group, but almost always the way we are claimed ends or at least shifts over time.
Just as Jesus was claimed by God through his baptism, so you and I are also claimed as sons and daughters of God's through our own baptisms. The difference between the claiming that occurs in baptism and that which we experience throughout our lives, is that God's claiming of us never ends, never decreases and never shifts. God's claim on our lives, God's claim to love us always, God's claim as our loving Parent remains!
So today, as you're reading this message I would remind you that if you've been baptized, whether as a child or an adult, with lots of water or only a little, whether you remember it or not, you have been claimed by God and you forever will be a beloved son or daughter of His. If you have not been baptized, know that God is longing to claim you as a beloved son or daughter too! Baptism is a sacred gift given freely to anyone who would accept it, so reach out and take hold of what is openly offered to you.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor John
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