1

Called 1: Called to Flourish Ephesians 4:1-6 When Albert Einstein was a small boy, his father gave him a compass. Albert was mesmerized by the power that seemed to emanate from within--the magnetic pull of the compass. He would write years later, "I can still remember … that this experience made a deep and lasting impression on me. Something deeply hidden had to be behind things." As a teenager, the intrigue and wonder of physics crept into Albert's dreams. One night, he dreamed he was sledding down a hill faster and faster, until he approached the speed of light. The stars radiated a broad spectrum of colors. He was entranced. When he awoke, he knew he had to understand the dream. In, later years he said that his entire scientific career was a meditation on that dream. i Einstein had a dream that you could say became a calling, a direction and a plan for how he would arrange his life and focus his energy—to make sense of the mysteries of the physical world. I think that for many of us that kind of calling is appealing. For others it might be a little frightening. But for many more there is simply the feeling that “I probably will never have a true calling like that -- something that is so important, so meaningful that it gives focus and direction to my life, and that will make a difference in the world. That kind of calling is for special people. ” And so, even in the church, we see Pastors and other workers who receive a call to serve at a church. And we say “that’s not me.” We know people who feel a call deep in their hearts to serve in special ways, and have rearranged their lives to serve in other ministries. And we say “Great for them, but that isn’t me either. And, we hear of missionaries that have been called to go overseas and share the gospel in foreign lands, and we say “I’m really glad that’s not me.” Because those are all special people, right? God calls special people, not people like me. I have a feeling that is how Moses felt when God met him in the wilderness, and talked to him through the burning bush. God was ready to bust his people out of slavery and he told Moses, “I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” It’s no wonder that Moses started out by saying, “Who am I?” and he tried every excuse he could come up with to tell God that he was calling the wrong guy. He should go find someone more special. You Have A Calling

2

Well, the truth is that God only spoke to one person from a burning bush. Not everyone is called to full time ministry, or to do astounding things for God. But--and this is a big and important “but”-- every Christ follower has a calling from God. And what is more, your calling is not any less important or less holy to God than anyone else’s—that includes Pastors and missionaries. ( You can tell Pastor Mark and the rest of the staff that I said that.) So let’s start out by establishing the primary point of this message. Will you say this with me? “In Jesus, I have a calling” The apostle Paul writes to the disciples in Ephesus and to all Christ followers, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. . . There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1–6, NIV) In his letter, Paul has just written about how in Christ we have been made a part of his faith community, and that Jesus’ grace and power now are living and working in us. Now he says, it is time to live according what Jesus has done for us and is doing within us. Now is the time to recognize our calling and act accordingly. Everyone who has faith in Christ has received the same amazing and fundamental call. We are called to be in Christ and to live in Christ. At the same time we are called to be a part of his body, we call the church. Our calling is always in connection with Christ and it is always in the context of community. Here is the beauty of it. We have this shared calling, yet as individuals that calling will be particularly defined and lived out in widely different and wonderful ways. In our culture this idea of calling is often seen as an individual pursuit. So a person seeks to find herself, what makes her feel good and alive—or a guy tries to figure out what he just has to do to be happy. But Biblically speaking our calling is not so much about the individual as it is about the one who is doing the calling. Mark Labberton writes in his book, Called, which this message series is based on, that his book is not about fully maximizing the “real you” and it isn’t a step-by-step manual on ‘knowing the will of God for your life’ in the very individualized way many pursue. Rather, it is about recognizing our identity and calling from God through his church. ii And so this series is not about finding and going after our dreams. It is about learning how God wants to fulfill our lives, by leading us into the calling for which we have been made and redeemed, the calling for which He has been preparing us. Called to Flourish In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes this great promise, “ I have come that they (that includes you) may have life and may have life to full.” Your call begins with the truth of what we just celebrated last weekend. Jesus came into our world, gave his life on the cross, and on the third day rose to life again! He did it all for you, to give you a

3

new life, a full life in right relationship with God, right now. This is the exciting part of this whole idea of calling. In the process of faithfully following Jesus, we actually become more and more alive! Labberton describes it as being called to “flourish.” Our lives are fulfilled by seeking and following the call of Jesus. This is what makes Peace’s Mission Statement so compelling to me. “Peace Church guides people to fully live as followers of Jesus.” We are about working together in community to help each other discover our calling, our flourishing life, in Christ. Let’s say this out loud again, “In Jesus, I have a calling.” Primary call Alright so let’s take a closer look at some of the basics of the shared call we have, which we will call our “Primary or Core Call.” Then in upcoming weeks we will start to unpack some concepts on how you can begin to clarify how your personal call works out from there. Jesus, taught us about our primary call when he spoke of the two great commandments, which can be summarized as “love God and love others.” Your primary call then, like mine, begins with you and your relationship with God. That relationship is so crucial that Jesus gave everything to repair it, and now He calls us to attend to it. In our last message series we spent a lot of time with this, as John Ortberg puts it we are concerned with “keeping our souls,” so that our relationship is strong healthy and growing. The second part of the Primary call then moves us outside of ourselves toward loving others like God loves them. We are called to develop God like eyes and heart when it comes to how we see and interact with the world and especially people. Paul, gives us additional perspective on this when he tells us that the goal is to be like Jesus. “and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:2, NIV) John also teaches that we are to live as Jesus Lived. (I John 2:6) At Peace we talk about it using 5 “Life Marks.” Take a look at these marks of someone, who is flourishing in their life with God. Called to Believe Jesus -- I trust in Jesus as my Savior, receive from him every spiritual benefit, and live in a vital, empowering relationship with him. Called to Pursue Jesus-- I pursue Jesus by finding ways to be with Him, to learn from Him, and to grow in my love for Him. This pursuit involves the active practice of spiritual disciplines. Called to Live Like Jesus -- As I follow Jesus, I learn to live like him. I learn to live according to the will and word of God, so that I produce good works in his name. When people know me they recognize that Jesus is at work in my life.

4

Called to Love like Jesus—Together with my fellow Christians I seek to share the love of Christ in a broken and hurting world, just as Jesus did by unconditionally loving a sinful and rebellious people, by laying down His own life. Called to Risk Like Jesus -- I go beyond my comfort zone to live for Jesus. So when Jesus calls me to do things, that will be uncomfortable, or scary, or beyond what I think I have the ability to do, I don’t chicken out. Instead, I trust that He knows what He is doing and follow the call. Notice the Life Marks also reflect the idea that becoming like Jesus starts with our relationship with Him, but Jesus quickly moves us beyond ourselves, into our relationship with others. The world needs Jesus’ love and so the world needs us to be his agents of love. It is our shared calling, and yet each one of us will have specific ways that God calls us to live these Life Marks out. So that we don’t forget, let’s say this one more time. In Jesus, I have a calling. If you don’t think the world needs you to follow your calling. Just take a moment to think about how difficult it is to navigate the mess that we live in – disease, poverty, competition & comparison, anger & hatred, wars and terrorism. Everyone needs to find a way to manage life in the midst of all this. And so many people who are without God and his direction are lost. Sure they find a way to cope, but they are missing out on the abundant life that Jesus died to give them. From God’s perspective they are floundering rather than flourishing. Labberton has some interesting categories for the kind of lives people are substituting for the full life that Jesus offers. •

•

•

• • •

Free floating life – With no need to for meaning, purpose or serious direction, these people just go with the flow. They choose to be unencumbered by external values or traditional obligations. I am reminded of a fishing bobber broken off its fishing line floating away free and easy in the waves but where will it end up? (snagged) and what good is it doing ? (not what it was made to do) Vertigo Life—Is also characterized by lack of order and direction, which becomes dizzying and causes anxiety or fear. The individual seeking any anchor point to stave off the feeling of falling, reaches out and grabs for anything, however unstable it might be, which eventually leads another dizzying fall. Pinged Life—Life through the internet contains and endless set of unordered pings. Lives can easily become the story of how we respond to this endless set of prompts. The comment that “Google makes us stupid.” May refer to this state of life, which fosters a diminished capacity for sustained attention, careful listening, and reflection. Imposter’s Life—For a person caught up in this life, what matters most is what we appear to be. No one really gets to know who we are. But it’s all good, as long as I present a good front. Consumer Life— We’ve hit this one before and it is somewhat self-explanatory. The Fearful Life—some experience this as a general daily baseline of fear, others have triggers and flashpoints that regularly set them off. I believe that this is readily observed in the current political climate. So many people are afraid and looking for

5

someone to bring some sense of control and security. And I have to say that when you are living a fearful life, you cannot think clearly and you cannot flourish. iii Here are a couple of concerns that I have as I reflect on this. First in many ways we Christ-followers find ourselves caught up in any number of these approaches to life to some extent. When we forget our identity in Christ and our calling it is easy to be influenced to approach life like those that don’t know Jesus, and we cease to flourish as God has planned. This leads to the second concern. When we fall short of our call the world suffers. The people of God are a primary way He has chosen to bear witness to his love, justice and mercy in the world. When we miss that calling to bring these gifts of God to bear on floundering lives, we leave them lost and struggling. As Labberton puts it, “When we fail to live out our call, we bury the Gospel.” iv Mark Labberton writes about a “Life-changing” moment for him, as he watched a video of Joshua Bell, a world renowned violinist, leading a small orchestra in playing Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. All of the musicians were dressed in street clothes that reflected their personalities and backgrounds. Visually it was kind of a frantic flurry of motion. Yet each played their instruments with skill and vibrancy that very few people can. Each played an essential role. And while each part in itself had a beauty, intensity and integrity of its own, all of them came together in an amazing way that captured and moved him beyond what he could have imagined. All of it lead and held together by the master musician , brilliantly playing his part. This is an expression of human flourishing. Using our distinctive abilities and gifts as together in the church we live out the call of God. It is about the individual and about the collective, what is unique and common. It is about following and leading. It is about life-giving creativity, and changing lives. v My guess is that most us will never have dreams with psychedelic stars that lead us into a calling that changes the way everyone thinks about the world. And there likely won’t be any more calls issued from burning bushes. But God has made it clear in His word that in Jesus Christ, we all have a vital calling and role to play as part of God’s church, and I am not just talking about Peace here, but the larger body of Christ in the world. And in fact that calling is to be world changers. We are recipients of the most life changing power in the grace and truth of Jesus, the one who died and rose again to set our world right again. And now you and I are called be about his restorative and reconciling business. This is a call that is worth meditating on for a lifetime—worth exploring and seeking to put into action every day. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to flourish in as a redeemed and called follower of Jesus.

6

Next week, we will start to look more at how you might begin to gain more clarity on your calling. For now, let me ask you to take time to reflect on your Primary Calling using the five Life Marks and simply consider what you feel your calling is in those areas right now. (time for reflection, followed by prayer)

i ii

Mark Batterson and Richard Foth, A Trip Around the Sun (Baker Books, 2015), page 78 Mark Labberton. Called. (Intervarsity Press, 2014) p. 38.

Mark Labberton. Called. (Intervarsity Press, 2014) p. 20-21. Mark Labberton. Called. (Intervarsity Press, 2014) p. 23. v Mark Labberton. Called. (Intervarsity Press, 2014) pp. 12-13 iii

iv