United Church of God

Our Mission and Calling

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Our Mission and Calling

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Our Mission and Calling

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A life without a mission is set adrift much like a boat without a rudder. It will move at the flavor of the winds of life and will move everywhere without reaching any particular point except by sheer chance. As a favorite book title puts it: "If you don't know where you're going, you'll probably end up somewhere else." Where do you want to end up?

Sermon Notes

A partial set of notes and Scriptures: 

 

Are we living our calling and mission in life?  Are you living YOUR calling and mission in life?
Joh 6:44  No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. 
wHEN God called you it was not a capricious choice.
Eph 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 
Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 
He placed some traits in us and others, based on the former, He wants to see developed as we grow IN THE WAY.

So we should be living a definite personal MISSION.

What is a life that is driven by a purposeful walk within GOD's LAWS?
HOW are God's Servant's supposed to be, live, act and DO?

WHAT are some of the Traits of a TRUE FOLLOWER OF GOD?

TODAY I have 5 that I want to talk to you about:

 

1 -  The Servants of God are DEEPLY LOYAL TO GOD.
The Bible tells us GOD is a Jealous God!
GOD loves us and often all He gets back is UNrequited Love... just like some wives and husbands get from their mates.
1Ki 18:21  And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 
1Ki 18:22  Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 

Clearly Baal was nothing but a figment of the people's imagination.
There is no fence sitting with the True Servants of God.  Got to get off the fence.  GOT to get INVOLVED in the Church.

Joh 5:19  Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. 
Joh 5:20  For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. 
Joh 5:30  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 
DEEPLY LOYAL to the FATHER!  He set the example to all servants on a Mission.
Joh 13:21  When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. 
Joh 13:22  Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake. 
Joh 13:23  Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved. 
Joh 13:24  Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake. 
Joh 13:25  He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it? 
Joh 13:26  Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. 
Joh 13:27  And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly. 

Therefore we must make sure that our HEART IS RIGHT when we partake of the Passover; if NOT we could find ourselves in the troubles of Judas...

 

2 - A servant of GOD follows instructions.

Abraham, the "Father of the faithful" followed instructions. 
Test of Isaac... GOD wanted Abraham to feel like what it was to LOSE his son...  just as GOD would lose His in the far future.

HE concluded that GOD would raise Isaac from the dead.

Forrest Gump... mentally challenged... 
The whole movie basically he is always "falling" into great accomplishments.  One thing so very patient, when being decorated... "HOW did you accomplish all that?  'Lt. Dan... I just did what you told me to do' "
We are all a little bit like Forrest Gump... just have to do what we are told to do.

It seems for the last 6000 years man has mostly decided that GOD does not know what HE is talking about.

1Sa 15:1  Samuel also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of the LORD. 
1Sa 15:2  Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came up from Egypt. 
1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 
Most vulnerable time in the migration of Israel. God judges and orders the sentence executed.
1Sa 15:3  Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. 
... why? Because of the way that culture was developing, growing...  just like today in the ME how the madrassas are constantly teaching children terrible things about Israel and Christians.
1Sa 15:26  And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee: for thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD hath rejected thee from being king over Israel. 
1Sa 15:27  And as Samuel turned about to go away, he laid hold upon the skirt of his mantle, and it rent. 
1Sa 15:28  And Samuel said unto him, The LORD hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee this day, and hath given it to a neighbour of thine, that is better than thou. 
1Sa 15:29  And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent: for he is not a man, that he should repent. 
1Sa 15:30  Then he said, I have sinned: yet honour me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my people, and before Israel, and turn again with me, that I may worship the LORD thy God. 
1Sa 15:31  So Samuel turned again after Saul; and Saul worshipped the LORD. 

David obeyed GOD and fulfilled HIS Instructions.
1Ki 13:1  And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. 

1Ki 13:2  And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. 
1Ki 13:3  And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 
1Ki 13:4  And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. 
1Ki 13:5  The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. 
1Ki 13:6  And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. 
1Ki 13:7  And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. 
1Ki 13:8  And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: 
1Ki 13:9  For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. 
1Ki 13:10  So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. 

1Ki 13:11  Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. 
1Ki 13:12  And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. 
1Ki 13:13  And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, 
1Ki 13:14  And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 
1Ki 13:15  Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. 
1Ki 13:16  And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: 
1Ki 13:17  For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. 
1Ki 13:18  He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. 
1Ki 13:19  So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 
1Ki 13:20  And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: 
1Ki 13:21  And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, 
1Ki 13:22  But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. 
1Ki 13:23  And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. 
1Ki 13:24  And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. 
1Ki 13:25  And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. 
1Ki 13:26  And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. 
1Ki 13:27  And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. 
1Ki 13:28  And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. 

Joh 17:4  I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 
Joh 17:5  And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. 

 

3 - A servant of God on a mission and who has a calling is diligent in fulfilling his duties.

Joseph, very diligent young man who rose to Second in command in Egypt. He was a "go-getter" { "The Go-Getter"  Peter Kyne  } 
Daniel, very diligent from the beginning.
Christ, focused from the beginning, at age 12... 
LEADERS are Go Getters!!!!
HOW CAREFUL ARE YOU ABOUT THE USE OF YOUR TIME?????
Are you making the most of your calling?

 

4 - The servants of GOD on a mission, kept themselves from BEING CORRUPTED by the World and those around them.

Gen 6:8  But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. 
Gen 6:11  The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. 
Gen 6:12  And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 

Joh 17:14  I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 
Joh 17:15  I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 
Joh 17:16  They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 
Joh 17:17  Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 

Jas 1:27  Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. 
OUR children often get corrupted in the colleges they go to... 
WE must teach our children what is the TRUTH... 
or... they get corrupted right under our noses...  watch also what you watch with them on TV.  IF WE FILL our childrens' minds with garbage... what can we expect?

 

5 - Servants on a mission and on a calling, endure the mission and pursue its accomplishment to the end without being deterred.

Talking to a gentleman on the gym.. he walks a marathon every day.  When he started he was pretty heavy but he gets thinner every time I see him.... 

Over the years so many with HUGE amounts of talent just came and went and passed through and are gone.


I Intend to endure to the END and hope you also pursue that course of action.

 

ONCE we embark on this mission there is NO Middle Ground. Must pursue and endure to THE VERY END.

1 - Servants of GOD are loyal to GOD, the Laws of God, the Church and one another.
2 - They follow instructions.
3 - They are Diligent in fulfilling duties.
4 - They actively Flee corruption from the World.
5 - They Endure to the end.

 

1Pe 2:5  Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 
1Pe 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 marvelous light: 
1Pe 2:10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. 

These are some of the most Exciting times in the entire History of Mankind. GOD has called you for a Mission and a Calling. He called you, HE will preserve you to accomplish it and enter His Kingdom.
THAT is why you were specially selected.  LIVE YOUR MISSION AND CALLING!!