Jeremiah—

⁶ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me, 

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; 

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, 

and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 

⁸  Do not be afraid of them, 

for I am with you to deliver you, 

declares the Lord.” 

There are lots of problems with believing in a specific calling.  Unless you audibly hear directly from God it is hard to determine what is God’s call on your life and what you just think would be a good thing to do.  There are so many things out there to do, so many people out there to minister to.  How do we know what our calling is? 

How big is your calling? Is it big enough God has to be involved? If not it’s probably not your calling, it’s probably what you want to do.  You don’t find a lot of examples in the Bible of times when God showed up and called people to live a comfortable life where they are called to reach their one friend in math class.  If you think that is your calling, what you were set apart for, then your view of God is too small.  That might be part of it, that might be the start of it even, but that is not the whole thing. 

Are you scared of your calling? Jeremiah was. There are lots of examples of people who resisted their calling because of the magnitude. That might be a clue that it is indeed God calling you.  If it makes you uncomfortable when you think about it, that is usually a good clue. 

But look out!

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, 

and desperately sick; 

who can understand it? 

There have been a lot more people who somehow feel like God is calling them to minister to rich people then poor people.  There are more people that feel called to lead and be on stage then who want to follow and serve. 

The heart has a way of tricking us and talking us into all sorts of things.  It’s even more challenging to decipher between our sinful hearts and God’s calling when the options all seem like things that are good. 

There is usually a difference between Godly calling and doing good things.  Godly calling is fueled by God’s ambition to glorify Himself and it born in the heart of God.  Our goals and ambitions are often cluttered with our own ambition and are born in our own heart.  

It is hard to tell the difference sometimes, go with the one that gives God glory and keeps you out of the picture, that is the one that is God’s calling. 

Be careful to make sure that you are following a calling, not just being driven to accomplish something good. A driven man is consumed with his own needs and desires.  A called man is committed to God more then anything else.  A driven man is ambitious and driven not only to succeed but to be considered successful..  A called man is only worried about obedience.

Driven men measure their success based on the outcome, called men measure their success based on their obedience and nothing else. 

We are not tempted to do bad things as much as we are tempted to try things God has not called us to do.

—Richard Exley

One of the hard things to manage when you are trying to figure out God’s calling is just that.  Do we end up taking a compilation of things that God has called other people to do and mash them together into something we like or are passionate about?

One of the dangers of following a call is pursuing a calling that is good, just not God’s. The other danger of following a call is pursuing a calling that is good, just not yours. 

God set YOU apart for HIS plan.  

Some questions to ask yourself:

Is there a certain person or group you feel God is calling you to reach?

Are certain people or groups drawn to you?

Do you know what God is calling you to do but are making excuses as to why you can’t do it?

Is your calling God sized, or you sized?

Is your calling specific to you, or are you stealing someone else’s calling?

Pray that God will show you HIS call for YOUR life.

⁴ Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

God chose Jeremiah before he was born to be not only a prophet, but also His son.  The word “knew” is referring to salvation.  Jeremiah was elected by God to receive the gift of salvation.  He was also consecrated, which means set apart.  God had a specific job for him and made him capable of accomplishing that goal.  He was set apart and equipped for a specific task. He was chosen to be a prophet to the nations.  You might not be a prophet to the nations or an apostle who starts the church but…

You were chosen by God to receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith. God knew you before you were born and picked you to be His child.

You were consecrated, set apart, and equipped to do something special for God.  While it may not be as dramatic as Jeremiah, it is important, otherwise God would not have made you the specific way that He did.

God has a plan, a call on your life.  It may not be to a specific country or person but it is specific to you.  God has made you and placed you in a specific time and place and wants you to minister to those He is calling you to.

God calls those that are already following Him.  God is answering people who are asking, “God what are you calling me to do?” He may take people in a different direction then they were planning, but they are usually at least headed in a Godly direction when they are called.

Are you asking God to show you what He wants you to do?  So many young people are clueless about what they should do but aren’t praying and asking God to show them.  You need to be asking God to show you what He wants you to do.

Could you hear God if He called you?  Most young people don’t pause long enough or ever become quiet enough throughout the day to hear God if He was talking to them.

Some questions to ask yourself:

When is the last time I asked God to talk to me, and then listened?

Am I serious about doing what God is calling me to do?

Am I living a life of someone that God would call to do His work?

Am I not asking because I am scared of what God will call me to do?

Take a couple minutes and ask God to speak to you.  Ask Him to show you what He made you for.

Read Psalm 139:13-16

Be quiet for a couple minutes and listen.

whether we know it or not, we are all looking for this kind of purpose that could drive us to the point of extreme suffering and yet know that its worth it. 

over the next 5 days we invite you to join us on a journey in discovering your calling. Brian has put together an incredible guide for us to keep us thinking and praying the right way. today is day 1. GO!!! 

first, i want to say what a joy it has been for me to be alongside you guys as we have learned and experienced what the scriptures have to say about the disciples lives. we have so much to learn from the people that were closest to Christ as He walked this earth. the following verses are an incredible example of one of the experiences that the disciples had that shaped who they were.

“a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:31-35 ESV)

go back to earlier parts in this chapter and you will find Christ performing an act of love for His disciples that is so unexpected and unthinkable that it almost seems wrong. you will find Christ washing the disciples feet. the same disciples that He knows are about to betray and deny Him completely.

He says to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. “(John 13:14, 15 ESV)

going back to the first set of verses we looked at, i want to point out an interesting choice of words that Christ chooses. He uses the word “commandment” in regards to the love that we are to have for each other. if we had our way, we would change that word choice to “suggestion” or “this might work for you but if not don’t worry about it”. but still Christ chooses to use the word “commandment.” He does this because He knows what is riding on this principle. He knows that people who aren’t His disciples will know who is a follower of Christ by this one idea. that they love each other. but not just love each other in general… its that they love each other like Christ has loved them. its that they love each other enough to wash each others feet. its that they love each other enough to serve them in any way possible no matter how humbling it might be. we often are satisfied with loving each other enough to just have good feelings about them or maybe enough to say something nice to them. that kind of love is fine, but really anyone can love like that. the disciples of Christ are commanded to love far beyond what the world knows of love. we are commanded to intensely and humbly serve each other.

i’m not sure if this was a quote from Brent or not but in the description of the current “big church” series it says, “love simply defined or explained doesn’t have the same impact as love experienced or lived. “
that is SO true. we can talk about loving each other all we want, but no one will see that. they need to experience it and live it to fully understand the depths of the love of Christ.
so… all that to say, i’m calling us out. this love is not suggested, or encouraged, it is commanded. and it may be our best tool for reaching a world that is broken and hurting and dying for true love. its up to us to show them where that love is at.

-Brantley