” I want to bring you my postulate that most present-day Christians live sub-Christian lives. As a result, Christianity has been watered down until the solution is so weak that if it were poison it would not hurt anyone and if it were medicine it would not cure anyone.

Most Christians are not joyful persons because they are not holy persons, and they are not holy persons because they are not filled with the Holy Spirit, and they are not filled with the Holy Spirit because they are not separated persons.

The Spirit cannot fill whom He cannot separate, and whom He cannot fill, He cannot make Holy, and whom He cannot make holy, He cannot make happy.

My postulate further insists that the average modern Christian is not Christ-like. The proof of this is apparent in the disposition we find among the children of God. They have moral weakness and suffer frequent defeats. They have a dulled understanding and often live far below the standard of the Scriptures and thus outside of the will of God.

To be honest, let us admit that the application of the gospel is being pulled down to the standard of the most carnal, the cheapest saintling hanging on by the teeth anywhere in the kingdom of God.”

Mr.Tozer has been with the Lord for over 50 years! Imagine what he might say were he able to observe the churches of today! By trying to be “relevant” we are indeed compromising the Scriptural standard to be comfortable for “the most carnal” among us. We don’t call sin sin, we don’t speak against abortion or the homosexual life CHOICE, we glorify the numbers of lukewarm seekers any gifted presenter can gather as proof of the “success” of his church, and justify materialistic living as proof of God’s blessing. We have lost our influence in the public square and are being gradually marginalized out of existence following our European forefathers path.

I wonder what A.W. would have to say today?

The wise man will simplify his life by going to the center of it. He will look well to the foundations and, having done that, he will not worry about the rest.

Life as we know it in our painfully intricate civilization can be deadly unless we learn to distinguish the things that matter from those that do not. It is never the major things that destroy us, but invariably the multitude of trifling things which are mistakenly thought to be of major importance.”

Romans 8:28

Calling. God’s calling. What is it and what does it mean to be called according to His purpose? And how what does it mean specifically in our lives as 21st century believers?

Let’s start by a general discussion and definition of “calling.” Calling is often thought of as something that only happens when a Christian “surrenders” to the “call” to the professional ministry. Ie. to be a pastor, missionary, etc. This is a cultural misunderstanding of the term. While it does apply to the offices within the Church (Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher – Eph 4:11) it is by no means limited to them. It may be that no other misunderstanding of God’s Truth has so handicapped the work of Christ and held back the Kingdom of God in the Earth. The fact is that EVERY believer is “called” to full time ministry in the Church. (Church = The Body of Christ)

In this sense “calling is destiny.” We each have a destiny in God.

Each person is a unique design, specifically created to do very specific things that are intended to contribute to the completion of the wonderful Plan that God has had in His mind since before He created the Earth. (Eph 2:10) Every one of His children who respond to His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation in Jesus Christ is born again, not only to inherit eternal life with Him in heaven, but also to do meaningful and specific things in His Kingdom building on Earth. The true “calling” of God is to “Come, follow Me.” To follow Him in the work that He has set aside for each of us to do, to “run the race that is set before us. (Heb.12:1) Notice that He picks the race. He picks it and calls us to follow Him in it.

Life’s highest honor and definition of success is to obey and to fulfill His purpose and “calling.”

Life’s greatest challenge is to find that purpose and live it out faithfully.

Our greatest enemy is the Deceiver whose sole purpose in the life of a believer, since he can’t steal our salvation, is to obscure, deflect, discourage, or if possible, prevent our understanding God’s call and block the fruit that would be borne within it. Our call and the fruitfulness potential within it is only realized in the center of God’s will for us. This is at least true in the sense of maximum potential. God will use us even when we are not centered in His will but the fruit produced in any other place will never be all that it could be. That’s why the Deceiver works so hard to deflect us. If he can’t steal our salvation he will try to steal our fruit. And he will steal just as much as we allow him to, even causing some to end their race barren and beaten.

The Deceiver offers his distractions in many forms. He knows our weaknesses in our flesh and he plays on them incessantly. His offerings always appear to be attractive but they all have in common that they deflect us from God’s call and lead us on a different path. He often uses money, either the hope of getting some or the fear of loss of some.

God doesn’t make junk! He doesn’t make or design any person without specific purpose for that life. Each and every piece (life) is designed to fit perfectly into His Eternal Plan.

He gives perfect gifts, talents, abilities, and provides perfect training and preparation for each one to follow His calling and to participate in His plan.

He will provide every thing each of us needs to fulfill His plan and calling in our lives. He must or He is not the Sovereign God. God will meet every need of one living within His call.

His calling is always accomplished within His order, never contrary to His Word, and always produces His fruit.

Some characteristics regarding God’s calling:

1)      Finding and fulfilling it will require faith. (Heb 11:6) Finishing in it will require endurance.(Heb. 10:36)

2)      It will require sacrifice and may fly in the face of worldly wisdom or custom. (Phil. 1:28,29 -  I Cor.1:26) It is very possible that following God in His calling will not be the most financially rewarding thing that we could do. It very well might mean that others will not appreciate us or what we do. We will be asked to walk by faith and not by sight. (Habakkuk 2:4)

3)      No matter how it may appear to the flesh or the world, it is in the center of God’s will and in fulfilling His call that the highest fulfillment in life, the greatest peace, joy, and purpose are found. (I Peter 1:1-7)

4)      Our commitment to God’s calling will always be tested by adversity. Often it will be challenged to the very point of breaking, the point where there is nothing left to hold on to except the knowledge that God has called and is able. (I Peter 5:8,9 – 4:19) There is a storeroom in Heaven where the forfeited rewards lost to those who have been deterred from pressing in to God’s calling rest, wasted to them forever, waiting to be passed to those who have faithfully persevered. (Matt 25:28,29)

5)      God desperately wants us to know His will and in it to fulfill His calling! He does not play games with us or try to confuse us. When confusion comes it is not from God. (I Cor.14:33 – Romans 12:1,2 – II Chron. 16:9)

6)      Once we know our calling we can’t not do it and have peace. (James 4:17) Sin destroys peace.

Are you “called?”

If you aren’t sure you are called, at least not yet, pray and fast if necessary but waste no more time. Do what you have to do to get on God’s agenda and stay there. Here, there, or anywhere. Just get there for your sake and for the Kingdom!

You give the first 10th or more of you gross income away for Christ’s Kingdom

You have a daily “quiet time or have read the Bible every day for 5 years or more.

You have ever shared your faith with a stranger. Even more with a friend.

You have not done something that you really wanted to do simply because Jesus said “Don’t do it.”

You believe that the gifts of God’s Spirit still work.

You believe in miracles and look for them.

You’re starting to think that heaven might be actually better than earth.

You would rather have the approval of God than man.

You think that ministry is your job and your pastor’s is to teach you how to do it.

You know that God is the source of all you have and that you’re a steward of all of it.

You believe that you can’t separate your faith from your public life.

You know that abortion is murder and marriage is between one man and one woman.

You have enough “stuff.”

You know and accept that you are in the minority in the church and don’t really care.

You are willing to call sin sin and not mistakes or bad choices.

If you’r a radical, rejoice! If not, repent!

The evil one has implanted such distortion in our perception of reality! We need to step back and refocus, rethink, and in many of our lives redirect our energy.

One step in that process might be to spend some time learning about our true home, heaven. If you resonate with the brief introductory challenge you might well find the following outline helpful and actually very exciting. The more we learn of what our real home is truly like the less we will feel the need to hang on to this sin-scarred place. For your eternal blessing:

Heaven

What is heaven like?

Physically –

1. Beautiful beyond imagination – 1 Corinth. 2:9 – Rev. 21-22
2. A place where our home will be – John 14:2
3. A place with no night or day, lighted by the presence of God and Jesus – Rev.21:23

Emotionally – What won’t be there?

1. Hunger or thirst – Rev.7:16,17
2. Tears – Rev 21:4 – What causes tears?
3. Death – Rev 21:4 – What causes death?
4. Sorrow – Rev21:4 – What causes sorrow?
5. Crying – Rev 21:4 – What causes crying?
6. Pain – Rev 21:4 – What causes Pain? (3 kinds of pain – Physical. Emotional. Spiritual.)
7. Curse – Rev 22:3 – no more curse – What are the effects of the “Curse” – (Gen. 3:15-24)

Relationally – If all of the above is true, and all those things and all that causes them are gone, what kind of relationships will exist in heaven? What things hinder or hurt relationships on earth as we experience this temporary physical experience?

1. selfish agendas
2. love with strings
3. jealousy, envy
4. manipulation
5. bitterness
6. dishonesty
7. unforgiveness
8. disappointment
9. comparison, competition

What would a perfect relationship be like?

1. no strings
2. no hang-ups
3. no jealousy
4. no competition or comparison
5. total acceptance
6. total transparency
7. no hidden or selfish agenda
8. other…

In heaven we will have nothing less than or other than perfect relationships. Not only that, there won’t even be the possibility of any thing that hurts!!! How much time and effort do we spend now in trying to protect ourselves against those things that hurt?!!!!!

Who will we relate to/with in Heaven?

1. God, our Father, Jesus our Savior, The holy Spirit, the angels, the Saints who are our brothers and sisters – Our ultimate family!

What will I be like in Heaven?

1. I John 3:2
2. Luke 24:16 & 36-43
3. John 20:16 – John 20:27
4. Luke 16_19-31
5. I Cornith. 15:35-49

God created us to be human. Why would He save us to be something totally different? We will be a new and changed us, not a different kind of us. A new car is still a car.

What will we do in Heaven?

1. a. We will reign with Jesus – II Timothy 2:12 – Rev 3:21 – (reign – The exercise of sovereign power)
2. We will rule over “many things” – Matthew 25:14-21,23 (rule –

1. to exercise control, dominion, or direction over, to govern)

2. governing power or its possession or use; authority

3. to dominate by powerful influence

4. to decide or declare judicially or authoritatively; decree

5. to be in total control or command, exercise supreme authority.)

1. c. We will “have authority” over cities.” Luke 19:17-19 (authority – the power to enforce laws, exact obedience command, determine or judge; power assigned by another, authorization)
2. d. We will serve Jesus – Rev 7:15 – Rev 22:3 (serve –
   1. 1. To work for
   2. 2. To be a servant to
   3. 3. To give homage and obedience
   4. 4. To be employed as a servant
   5. 5. To act in a particular capacity
   6. 6. To meet requirements or needs

What about rewards? Are there rewards in Heaven?

1. Matt.6:1-19 – Matt 10:41,42 – Matt 19:21
2. Hebrews 11:6
3. Luke 14:12-14 –12:33 – 18:22 – 6:21-23
4. John 6:27
5. Mark 9:41 – 10:21

What are rewards? Define: Something earned or attained by or for specific performance, behavior, actions.

The law of rewards: Our faith determines our eternal destination. Our behavior determines our eternal rewards.

Works = what we have done with our resources (time, energy, money, possessions, reputation, etc.).

What determines rewards? The “Bema” judgment of “works.” “Things done in the Body”

1. Matt. 16:27, Luke 12:48
2. John 5:28,29
3. Matt 7:24-26
4. Rev 20:22-15
5. II Corinth. 5:10
6. Romans 14:12
7. Matt 12:36
8. I Corinth 3:11-15
9. John 15:1-8

What is “fruit?” Eternal fruit = Lives turned toward God Fruit is the result of “good works.”

What does God say about works?

1. Titus 1:15,16 – 2:7 – 2:14 – 3:14
2. Matt 5:16
3. Ephesians 2:10
4. I Timothy 2:10 – 6:18,19
5. II Thessalonians 2:16,17
6. Rev. 14:13 – Rev 2:2 Rev 2:23 Rev 19:7,8
7. II Peter 1:10,11
8. II Timothy 3:16,17 – I Timothy 5:254

How then shall we live? Our answers will demonstrate our true values and create the basis for our eternal experience.

Think friends, please think!

We are in a unique condition as we read this material, a condition that is temporary but very significant, a condition that, in all of eternity, we shall only experience once. We are as we are because God has created us to be so. He has chosen to create us to be, at this moment, spirit beings that temporarily inhabit a human body. We will not be forever as we are now. A day will come when each of us will end this human life experience and we will go on to another experience of life called eternal life. But, for the moment, we are living in the human experience of life.

During our human experience we have spiritual experiences because we are spirit beings in our essence. The part of us that really matters is our spirit.

There is now a part of us that says with God, “I AM.” We could go on, but our point today is not to do deep theological exposition on the subject, although we pray to have piqued some interest along the way that may lead to deeper study, but to lay the groundwork for establishing a different way of seeing the mundane of life. After all most of what we do appears to be mundane. Perhaps by lifting our eyes to the infinite we can learn to see the mundane differently. And if we learn to see the infinite in the mundane, then the mundane will never be truly mundane to us again.

Our great need is to see God in the mundane. Our failing is that we tend to only look for Him in the extraordinary or the obviously spiritual realms of life. Because we do, we miss so much!

God uses the ordinary circumstance of life to reveal His extraordinary glory and grace.

Where is He when we spill our coffee? He is there, telling us to laugh at ourselves, that it is no big deal. He is using the circumstance to build the character of Jesus in us, to conform us to His image. Circumstances reveal our inner selves. Our reactions to them allow God to show us our need for Him and to experience our unity with Him, if we will let Him.

Where is God in a demanding customer? Why doesn’t He just handle it when we need Him to? Why does He allow us to hire brothers-in-law who He knows won’t work out?

Can you begin to get a sense of the difference it would make if we could learn to see the glory of God in the moment?

The basis for all discontent and all unhappiness is unwillingness to be content in the present moment.

Joy, peace, contentment, love, happiness and every good thing exist only in the moment. Life in this human form is composed of a series of frustratingly variable trials and problems, interrupted by momentary respites of serendipitous glimpses of grace. No one gets a pass. The rain falls on the just and the unjust and the sun shines on wicked and good alike.  Most days are a combination of problems and trials galore with God always present, and His glory always just a choice away.

Victor Frankl was a Jewish man sent to the Nazi concentration camp at Aushwitz during WW II. He made a profound discovery during the horrible trial of deprivation and torture that he experienced there. He realized that he was helpless at the hand of his captors in all ways save one. They could take away everything material, they could torture his body, and they could kill him if they chose. But they could never take away his freedom to choose his response to what they did to him. He survived, and after the war taught others about what he learned to call the moment between action and reaction. It is in this moment, he taught, brief as it may be, that we choose our reaction. We own that moment. No one can take that moment from us.

Now, if Victor Frankl could use that moment to choose his reactions to the brutality being forced upon him and survive, could we learn to use it to see the glory of God in our moment in the midst of the tests and trials of this human life? We can, indeed we can. And as we do, life is transformed, changed in an instant from mundane to sublime.

Practice taking God into the present moment. For the next week or so, stop in the middle of something and mentally realize that, at this moment, you are One with God. You in Him and He in you. Let His glory overcome the circumstance and capture the moment. It’s all we have and He is all we need.