Jan 19, 2022
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Subject: What is YOUR service of Calling? The Day You Met the
Lord! The Apostle Paul met the Lord
while on the road to Damascus with a blinding light and a voice
from heaven. Our Lord Called Paul to serve Him and gave him a
Service of Calling. Paul knew his Service of Calling the day of his
conversion as he was told directly by the Lord what he had to do.
Paul accepted his service readily, knowing that he would have to
suffer many horrible persecutions and sacrifice his very life in
the end for God’s Kingdom. Most
Christians vividly recall the day their eyes were opened and the
day they accepted the Holy Spirit into their hearts, but polls show
that many don’t realize that they personally also have been given a
specific “Service of Calling” as a member of the Body of Christ.
Most newly “born from above” Christians realize that they must
follow Christ and His leading, but they understand this in a
generic sense as they now study the scriptures and drink from the
“Milk of the Word.” Eventually, as with children growing up, they
will ultimately need solid food, but unfortunately, many Christians
never grow up. Even Paul had the same problem with some Christians
over 1,900 years ago (1 Cor 3:2).
As with Paul, we are also given a
specific “Service of Calling” by our Lord. Your Service of Calling
is what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has called you
individually to do to serve Him while we are still sojourners here
in this world. It is true that as followers of Christ we all have a
common purpose to walk in Him and be a witness to the world through
the leading of the Holy Spirit but that is not your specific
Service of Calling. After being Born from Above, we are a new
“creature” “Therefore, if any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor 5:17). For true
Christians, our prior life serving ourselves and what we desire has
died and was buried in Christ, and we are now part of our Lord’s
Kingdom instead of the kingdom of darkness in which we were
originally a part. As a new citizen of our Lord’s Kingdom, we are
instructed to grow in the knowledge of our Lord. “And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and
perfect, will of God.” (Rom 12:2) As we grow in the Lord, we
naturally follow the pattern described in 2 Peter 1:2‐8: Grace
and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and
of Jesus our Lord, According to his divine power hath given unto
us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the
knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue … And
beside this, giving all diligence, (1) add to your
faith virtue (2) and to virtue knowledge (3) and to knowledge
temperance (self‐control) (4) and to temperance patience
(endurance) (5) and to patience godliness (6) and to godliness
brotherly kindness (7) and to brotherly kindness charity (God
Love) For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you
that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacks these things is blind,
and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from
his old sins. Look closely at that sequence of seven items above.
Is your walk with our Lord following that sequence? Where would you
say you are in that sequence? Peter says anyone who lacks these
things is “blind”. There are some who never proceed beyond the
first step of “virtue” and think they are a “good person.” How many
times have you heard in your life that this person or that person
is a “good person”. The scriptures tell us that there is not a
single person on earth that is a good person (Rom 3:10). Those
never proceed to study God’s Word as required to obtain knowledge
and hence are “blind”. We are told that God’s people
perish for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6) and that the fear of the
Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov 1:7). We are also told
that God gives knowledge liberally to all that ask: “If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally,
and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in
faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed.” (James 1:5‐6)
Notice that Peter emphasizes that it
is our “minds” that are to be renewed (turned from our own desires
to what Christ desires), and we should grow in the “knowledge” of
our Lord and Savior. We are commanded to study the scriptures (2
Tim 2:15). Many make the grave mistake of reading and studying
mans’ works exclusively which include daily devotionals,
commentaries, sermons, and a variety of books written by a man.
Many spend an hour or more the first things every morning studying
man’s writings instead of following God’s instructions in studying
His Word. If we truly study God’s Word and not man’s writings, our
minds are naturally renewed, and we grow in the knowledge of our
Lord otherwise, we open ourselves up to the possibility of being
deceived even by well‐meaning pastors and theologians.
After Paul’s conversion, he
learned only from the Holy Spirit for around three years in the
wilderness, not wishing to be deceived by listening to any man’s
teachings or thoughts. We likewise should learn from the Scriptures
and be led by the Holy Spirit and not man’s teaching. We are to be
Bereans and test everything we hear against the Scriptures ONLY
(Acts 17:11; 1 Thess 5:21). What is Your Service of
Calling? As a new child in the
Kingdom of Heaven, we start by drinking the milk of the word and
many will drink the same milk over and over again for the rest of
their life instead of growing in the knowledge of our Lord and
partaking of the meat of the Word. The primary reason for this is
that they are following man’s words, sermons, and theology instead
of studying God’s Word for themselves and praying without ceasing
(1 Thess 5:16‐18). We are to have a personal relationship with the
Lord and not a theoretical one. How can you have a personal
relationship with the Lord if you’re only listening to other people
talk about it? Believe it or not, God knew
you before you were born and knew precisely when your eyes would be
open and whether you would follow Him or not. He has also prepared
you throughout your life with everything you need in preparation to
serve Him after your conversion. Your education, friends, family,
job, and even your bad experiences in the past have all been
permitted by our Lord to prepare you for your specific Service of
Calling. God had already placed you exactly where he wants you to
be to serve him after you put off the old man (Eph
4:22‐24). Some think that
they need to change their life after their conversion by doing
something different such as going on a mission or changing their
job. God has already placed you where you need to be, and your
first calling is to witness to those around you. First with your
family, friends, associates, and then with all you meet. “Let your
light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16) God has also
given you gifts as the Holy Spirit chooses
Paul states the way we should all
walk in a concise, beautifully worded summary: “I
therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness
and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one
hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and
Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of
the gift of Christ. Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on
high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.” (Eph
4:1‐7) What are these gifts? In
addition to preparing our lives prior to us serving the Lord where
we are and to our family, friends, and co‐workers, the Holy Spirit
has further provided us with at least one gift to use to edify the
body of Christ. It is your responsibility to use the gift(s) that
the Holy Spirit has given you. I encourage everyone to read 1
Corinthians chapter 12, where the gifts of the Spirit are covered,
and we are told that we each have different tasks assigned by the
Lord. The Lord never gives us a task without also providing us the
means or gift to accomplish the task.
We are to determine that
Service of Calling and serve the Lord with those Gifts; but above
all, we are to have charity or Love for one another (1 Cor 13),
including our enemies as we desire that they all should find Christ
as we have, and it is our duty to witness to them. Paul (1 Cor 13)
concurs with Peter (2 Peter 1:8) that having Love (God‐Love, or
perfect Love) is the final goal we should all obtain. Have you
started your Service of Calling? The
first step is to be serious about following the Lord (Matt 5:48).
This is not a half‐hearted task but one which requires all your
heart, soul, and might. You must study God’s Word and not be
persuaded by listening to man’s flowery sermons or books that might
mislead you. Most importantly, in these end times, determine your
Service of Calling, and witness to your family, neighbors,
co‐workers, and all you meet and be a light to the
world. In these
special last days in which the Lord has chosen to have you live, we
are required to put on the “Whole Armor of God” as there will be a
significant deception that will fall over the entire earth, and
many Christians will be deceived. [The “Whole Armor of God” topic
was covered in a prior email. If you wish a copy, please send a
request to support@onepathpublishing.com] The next more important
thing you can do is pray and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit
and study God’s Word. The end times are upon us, and we must work
while it is still day because when the night comes, no one can
work. (Paraphrasing John 9:4). May God Bless and Protect you, Brent
Miller, Sr. One Path Publishing www.ThePureWord.com
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Causes you to search the scriptures
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The ransom of a man's life is his wealth, but a poor man hears
no threat.
See also Mark 10
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Jokes
What's green and rides a horse - The Lone Pickle
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In
love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through
Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise
of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished
upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery
of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ
as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an
inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of
him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so
that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise
of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with
the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance
until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his
glory.
Ephesians 1:3-14 - https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Ephesians%201:3-14&version=ESV