Called by God
September 9, 2022
Have you ever felt called to do something? Maybe you have felt called to serve on the local school board, sit on the city council, or the board of some charitable organization. You may have felt called to some profession such as a teacher, doctor, or social worker. Whatever the case may be, there is something that drives us to participate in a variety of functions for a common good.
Some people admit that they are called by God to participate in the ministry of the kingdom of God. But think about this for a moment, we are all called into the kingdom of God. I Thessalonians 2:11-12 says, “11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.” God calls all people to serve Him, and we need to hear that call, not refusing to answer that call from the heart.
The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds and encourages us to remember that our calling to serve God is from the heavenly realms, and to fix our focus on Jesus Christ. Hebrews 3:1 says, “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.”
The writer then goes on to encourage the reader to not harden their hearts and refuse to answer the heavenly call to enter and serve in the kingdom. Hebrews 3:7-15 says “So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.”
According to the Holy Scriptures, there is a consequence to not answering the call. That consequence is that we will never enter the Lord’s rest, meaning we will not make it to heaven. The thought of not making it to heaven should be the thing that drives us to answer the heavenly calling. We are all called by God, into His kingdom, and we must desire to be with God for an eternity more than any other calling in our lives, more than sitting on a board of some organization or having the career we have always wanted.
We invite you to join us at College Hill Church of Christ, 1102 College Blvd, every Sunday morning at 10:30am for worship, or follow us on Facebook at College Hill Church of Christ Alva Oklahoma. We are a fellowship of believers that follow God’s Word and love all who worship with us!
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