Isaiah 49:1-7 John 1:29-42 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
If you’ve looked at the title of today’s message, you will have noticed that I used the world “call.” We do that a lot in church. We talk about the “call” of God, or being “called” to ministry, or even being “called” to a secular vocation of one type or another. But what does that mean? Most of us who have been in the church for any length of time probably have a feel for what we mean by a call, or a calling, even if we might have trouble writing down a dictionary style definition. At least a part of our problem grows out of us being users of the English language, which is grammatically bizarre, and while it is sometimes scientifically precise, in other cases, like this one, it leaves us with more than a dozen different dictionary definitions, and common usages, for the same word.
I could say that I called someone, and it could mean that I dialed them, messaged them, or spoke loudly so that they could hear me. I could say that I called my dog, Natasha, and it could mean that I wanted her to come to me, or that I was telling you that Natasha was the name that she had been given. If I said that I had called on one of our shut-ins, I might have used the telephone, or it might mean that I had visited them. If we saw that the weather was terrible on Sunday morning, to say that we had called, or called off, the service means that we had cancelled it. To call for an investigation is to demand one, and to call in a card game communicates a similar sort of demand. To call a meeting is an invitation, calling a strike is more of an order, but to call the stock market is to make a prediction. If we say, “I would call it an even dollar,” describes an estimate, the quarterback’s call in a football huddle is a selection, and a military call to active duty is a summons. And if that isn’t enough, most of these have several variations as well.
Are you confused yet?
So, what do we mean when we say things like “the call of God”?
As we consider that, let us begin by reading a bit about God’s call of his prophet Isaiah and his prophecy of God concerning Israel’s coming messiah almost three thousand years ago in Isaiah 49:1-7, where it says:
49:1 Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.”
5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I amhonored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Isaiah says that God had called him, which we understand as having placed a call upon his life, even before he had been born. In calling Isaiah, God gave him the ability to speak powerfully and equipped him to represent God’s kingdom. But things didn’t always go well, and sometimes Isaiah felt as if his work and his labor was all for nothing, but he was content in knowing that the reward for his faithfulness was in God’s hands. But at the end of this passage, God says that having received the call from God, meant that God had chosen Isaiah. The call of God wasn’t and isn’t random. God knows everything that there is to know about his creation and so God’s call upon our lives is thoughtful, deliberate, and individually tailored to who we are and who we will become.
We get some additional insight into the call of God from the stories of John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Peter. We hear that story as John introduces his own followers to Jesus in John 1:29-42:
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.”
32 Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. 33 And I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have seen and I testify that this is God’s Chosen One.”
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”
37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?”
They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?”
39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.”
So, they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
There are several things going on here as it relates to the call of God. First, because the mission to which John was called is ending, when he sees Jesus, he points to him and announces to his disciples, and anyone else nearby, that Jesus is the one that he had been sent to announce. Further, he goes beyond his calling and testifies that he had personally seen the Spirit of God come down from heaven and that it was Jesus who would baptize others with the Holy Spirit. This act connects John’s followers to Jesus and passes their calling from following John to following Jesus. Two of John’s disciples were the brothers, Andrew, and Simon, and when Jesus met Simon, he declared that Simon would be called Cephas, or in English, Peter. In this case, the phrase, “you will be called” is a naming, and not a call of God. However, anyone reading the story would know that God had already placed a call, or a summons, on Peter’s life and that call had just passed from following John to following Jesus, so, at least two dictionary meanings are in play.
Isn’t English great?
And so finally we hear from the Apostle Paul to speaks, not only of his own call, but of the call that God has upon every follower of Jesus, including you and me. We read these words in 1 Corinthians 1:1-9:
1:1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be his holy people, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 For in him you have been enriched in every way—with all kinds of speech and with all knowledge— 6 God thus confirming our testimony about Christ among you. 7 Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. 8 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Paul says that God called him to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and we know that Paul’s conversion story and subsequent call by God, also with a name change, on the road to Damascus was particularly dramatic. But Paul goes on to tell the people of the church in Corinth something about their own call. Paul says that the people of the church were called to be God’s holy people, together with those everywhere who follow Jesus. Paul goes on to say that because God has called them, that they have been enriched with all kinds of speech and knowledge as a means of confirming what they had been taught. Further, the people of the church have been, as a group, been given all the spiritual gifts as they wait for the second coming of Jesus so that they can stand firm in their faith. Paul then repeats his message that the people of the church in Corinth, and thus every follower of Jesus Christ, has been called into fellowship together with one another and with Jesus Christ.
So, let’s review what we have seen this morning about the call of God.
First, God had known everything about us since before we were born, and as such, God’s call is not generic or random but rather, thoughtful, deliberate, and individually tailored to who we are and who we will become. Second, being called by God means that God has specifically chosen you to be a part of his kingdom work in the world in which you live, and among the people that you know, encounter, and interact with every day and he has equipped you to do that work. Third, just a Simon Peter was called to follow John, and then Jesus, the calling that you have today may change. Just as the person you were ten years ago may not be the person you are today, and the skills with which you are equipped, the place that you live, and the people that you know might be different than they once were, what God calls you to do may be different as well. Fourth, you are not alone. Just as Isaiah, John the Baptist, and the Apostle Paul were called, so has everyone, everywhere, who has put their faith in Jesus Christ, though each call is as individual and unique as the life of the person involved. Fifth, because of God’s call, your life had been enriched in every way with all kinds of speech and knowledge, and that enrichment confirms the teaching that you have received from your parents, pastors, and Sunday school teachers. Sixth, along with your calling, God has given each of us spiritual gifts that he intends for us to use as we wait for the return of Jesus Christ. And finally, God has not called you to be alone. This is different from when I said that you are not alone in being called, but that God has not called you to work, or to live, or to live out your calling, alone. God is faithful and not only calls us to do his kingdom work, but he also calls us into community and into fellowship with one another and with Jesus Christ.
And so while our understanding of God’s call overlaps several dictionary definitions, and while the English language doesn’t do us any favors, I hope that our scriptures and our time together today will help us to better understand what we mean when we say that each of us are “called” by God.
And remember, every one of us has work to do, and the work to which we are called is as unique as we are, but none of us are ever called to do that work alone.
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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
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