The call of God

By The NewsDay | Apr. 13, 2016 | 6 Min read

The call of God is walking into that which God predestinated for us well in advance. It is walking in God’s plan for one’s life. Every believer is called by God, although not all believers have a governmental calling upon their lives.

Colin Nyathi

Some Christians are called into: ●The fivefold ministry

●Business

●As statesmen

●Professionals

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●Supportive ministry in the house of God.

●Fathers

●Mothers

●Lay people

Things to note about God’s calling

●The calling is initiated by God himself

●No person can call himself into divine service

●The calling requires one to be anointed by God

●No human effort can birth a call of God — it originates in God’s own mind and God’s voice

●The calling was planned before birth

●All great men that God used had a pre-planned destiny that lay ahead of them

Samson — an angel spelt out his ministry before birth. He was to be a Nazarite. Paul spoke of having been chosen before the foundation of the earth. Moses was set apart and protected by God while floating in a basket in the Nile River. With Jeremiah, God ordained him a prophet before he was in His mother’s womb.

●The Lord is the one who does the choosing.

●Those who are with Him are called and chosen and faithful.

●God always exercise that divine choice as regards the calling.

●It was God who chose Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees. It was God who chose Jacob above Esau. ●He often chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

●It is not natural talent, ability or riches that he considers, but often it is the heart.

●The Bible states that God often chooses from the furnace of affliction — pain, tears, hardships, trials — isolation.

All these prepare you for the call of God.

Everyone has a unique calling

●Abraham was called by God at the age of 75 years.

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came. ●Moses was called by God through a burning bush experience.

●Joseph was called by God in a dream (twice).

●Jacob was called through wrestling with God all night and God breaking his hip socket.

●Joshua was called through the voice of Moses… “And Moses said unto Joshua…”

●Samuel’s calling was through God’s audible voice (Samuel, Samuel, Samuel).

●David’s calling came through the voice of a prophet.

●Solomon was called through the voice of his father.

●Paul had a divine visitation on his way to Damascus.

●Jeremiah got his calling through the word of the Lord. Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

●Principles of knowing God’s calling

●God’s call can come to anyone —you are not immune to it.

●Circumstances in life will prepare you for God’s calling. What are you going through right now.

●There will be an ability that flows in you concerning what God has called you to do.

●There will be divine provision. Where there is vision, there is provision. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. ●Common responses to the call of God. The response by Moses when called by God, highlights some of the most common responses by Christians when called by God. The initial response of past failures Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt. And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? Moses’ initial response was who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses was being tormented by his initial experience when he failed to liberate Israel and ended up killing an Egyptian. Forget your past failures and accept the call of God. The initial response of unworthiness Moses felt valueless, useless, inadequate and incomplete. You are somebody. Someone may have told you that you look like an owl… not so with God. The initial response of fear of rejection. And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? He asked God, what if they say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to them? Many people fear rejection. When you are in the will of God, man can reject you, but God will embrace you. The initial response of unbelief And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto thee. Calling needs faith. Sometimes you will have to walk on water to obey God. Initial response of lack of giftedness Moses claimed that he was not eloquent of speech. God does not need your skill, he needs your availability. The initial response of inferiority complex And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.’ Moses appealed to God to use someone else. I often say, possibly the people who are working for God today were not the first choice… others chickened out and God had to find someone else. The call of God will grow from the initial response to something solid as we apply these following principles. ●Use every opportunity you have to serve ●Joshua served Moses. ●Samuel served Eli ●David served Saul ●Elisha served Elijah ●The disciples served Jesus ●Joseph served at Potipher’s house.. etc. Do not look at what you are doing now as less important but begin to serve. Understand that there is a big difference between calling and commissioning and that gap is called “preparation.” God calls you and then prepares you before He commissions you. Understand the law of association

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. We become like people we associate with. Choose your friends wisely. David associated with a future King (Jonathan) and he (David) became king. Establish your priorities Growth priorities must be established in your life. These will be used later in life to form the backbone of one’s ministry. Principles such as… ●Going to Bible school ●Integrity. ●Prayer life. ●Relationship with God. Be part of a team (team mentality) Team spirit is crucial. Safety and encouragement are found in a team. The more one is yoked together with others in ministry the better. Growth will be faster, and you will definitely avoid being a false prophet like many are today.

●Colin Nyathi is a senior pastor and founder of Harvest House International Churches. email [email protected]