Realize your Calling
Although we are strangers and sojourners, scattered throughout ,
we are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
by the sanctifying work of the Spirit,
to obey Jesus Christ
(1 Peter 1:1,2)
AN URGENT PROPHETIC WORD
Do you ever feel worn down and worn out? Your spirit is so downcast that you wonder if you will ever be able to get up again? Do you just feel like crying from spiritual, emotional and physical exhaustion, sometimes? Perhaps, you have tried everything you know to do and yet you hunger for some relief?
This is for you.
For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands.
There are times that we grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh – but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us – Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.
So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by faith and not by sight.
Yes, we are fully confident, even though we would rather be away from these earthly bodies so we would be at home with the Lord. But, whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please Him.
For we know that we must all stand before Christ to be judged and we will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
It is good to know this, but, knowing it alone is not enough. We must understand it. We must put it on. It is our calling.
We Are God’s Ambassadors
“Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.
“So, are we commending ourselves again? No. But, we are giving you a reason so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.
“This may seem crazy, but it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for everyone’s benefit.
“Either way, it is because Christ’s love controls us.
“Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that, we too, have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive His new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
“And all of this is a gift from God, Who brought us back to Himself through Christ.
“God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
We Fix our eyes on what is Eternal
“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” (Taken from 2 Corinthians, chapter 5)
1. Our present journey through life is temporary – but as a Christian, it is with a great purpose.
2. We may long to be home with God, but, we have a task, a calling, now, in this life.
3. We do not live or work for ourselves but we live for Christ and His Cause.
4. We are working to persuade a few that God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ
5. We see things and people from a heavenly perspective – that is, from God’s point of view.
6. Our task is to reconcile people to God through Christ.
7. We are Ambassadors for Jesus, pleading with others to, “Come back to God” through faith in Jesus.
We must take our eyes and our minds off of ourselves and earthly matters and spend ourselves on The Call of Christ. The things which ensnare us also hold us captive. If you want to be free, give yourself away to Him.
Your Brother and Friend
Mike Young
Whitestone Fellowship 