Look at those words: “You were called.”
We have considered Jesus Christ in His eternal glory and power. We took note that He is over all things and that all things are held together by His great power and authority. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the heir appointed of all things.
We want to consider the significance of the fact that we have been called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Do you understand how awesome it is to be called by God into the fellowship of His Son?
When I was about 5 years old, my dad joined a fitness club. It was a men’s only club, where men worked out with weights. I was super-impressed with the men that I saw there. Their weights were gigantic, but more impressive to me were their muscles. Some of them had arm muscles that were bigger around than me. I stood in awe as they lifted all of that weight several times. Then they would walk over to a mirror and flex their muscles and walk around looking so strong. They inspired something in me. I walked over to that same mirror and flexed my muscles and felt like I could lift any weight in that place. I walked up to a bar bell and started to pick it up and this man said: “Son, you need to start with this, and he handed me a bar without any weight on it.” I thought HOW EMBARRASSING, but, He insisted and I picked it up. When I did I knew it was a trick because it weighed a ton. The ones those guys were moving around could not weigh that much. I was not prepared for what I was seeing, for I was in the fellowship with much greater men.
1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
We are the people of the call. You need to remember this, “You were called…”
Throughout the Old Testament the call rang out.
In Genesis 6, when the world had become corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence, God called Noah.
God was ready to bring judgment on the whole earth when He called out to Noah and told him to build an ark. After Noah finished building the ark for the saving of his family, God said, “Come into the ark… and the Lord shut him in.”
In Genesis 12:1-3, the Lord God appeared to Abraham and told him to “Get out of your country…. and I will make you a great nation and bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing.”
The God of glory called out to Abram, above all of the god’s of the Chaldees. Abraham heard the voice of God calling and he responded. He found the Lord to be Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides.
Moses was out on the backside of the wilderness.
He had been there 40 years in silent desolation in the wilderness tending sheep. Then one day, Moses saw something he had never seen. He saw a bush that was burning in the desert, but the bush was not consumed. Moses was beholding the God of great glory. When he saw the fire and the bush that was not consumed, Moses said: “I will draw near; I will turn aside and see this great wonder.” (Exodus 3:3) From midst of the burning bush, God called to him: “Moses, Moses.”
Don’t be surprised that God knows you by name.
Moses was just out doing what he had always done when God came down and called him by name. Moses responded to the call and said, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Take your shoes off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
When Moses heard the call, he was certain that he could not do what God was telling him to do. When God calls, He gives us the ability to go. Moses was standing on holy ground in the presence of the almighty and holy God.
God is faithful, by Whom you are called.
Moses had been singled out for God. God knew were Moses was and brought him over to stand on holy ground. When God was finished, Moses brought the hosts of Israel out of Egyptian bondage.
David was out tending his father’s sheep.
Out in the fields watching sheep, David found God’s delivering power. David said God delivered him from the lion and the bear.
2 Samuel 7:8 NKJV The Lord of hosts spoke to David, “I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.”
God captured David’s heart. He was called by the God who delivers from the lion, the bear and the giant.
Isaiah heard God’s call.
Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.
In the days of King Uzziah, God called Isaiah and began speaking to him about the condition of His people. When Uzziah failed, was smitten by God, and died a leper, God Almighty appeared to Isaiah.
In God’s presence, two seraphim were worshiping the Lord of hosts, crying out: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory,” (Isaiah 6:2-3). At that moment, Isaiah was overwhelmed with his own uncleanness. He said: “Woe is me! Woe is me! I am undone…”
Have you ever felt like that? While in God’s presence, an angel of the Lord touched his mouth with a live coal from the altar. Immediately his iniquity was taken away and his sin was purged.
Isaiah 6:8 NKJV I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: “Whom shall I send, And who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”
When all the glory of the world faded, Isaiah said: “I saw the Lord, high and lifted up.” Again he said, “I heard the Voice of the Lord saying, Who will go for Us: Whom shall I send?”
The call came to Isaiah in a time of uncertainty. His world had changed and he felt unworthy, unprepared, and unclean. It was at that moment Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up.
Isaiah was called into the fellowship of God’s Son. In that fellowship, He saw the coming of the Messiah. In the fellowship of the Son, Isaiah saw the Christ of the cross, Isaiah 53. The Son of God was in full view. Isaiah was walking in the fellowship of Jesus the Christ.
Jeremiah heard the call of God.
Jeremiah 1:4-5 NKJV Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
God told him, “I am with you to deliver you.” Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched his mouth and said, “I have put My words in your mouth.”
In the Gospels, Jesus began calling disciples.
They were involved in their daily vocation when Jesus passed by. Jesus said: “Come, follow Me, and they left their nets and followed.” When they received the call, their lives changed.
How can we explain this? All they could say was: “I heard the call, “Come follow Me, and I arose and followed.”
Paul gave the account of his call three times.
He was a rebel when the Lord arrested him. Saul of Tarsus had been given authority to persecute, bring to death and deliver into prison those who followed Christ. When Christ appeared and called him, the power of the Lord was so great he was knocked off his donkey. The Lord said to him: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Immediately he said: “Who are you, Lord? What will You have me to do, Lord?” The call into the fellowship of God’s Son changed Saul of Tarsus so much that he became an Apostle of the Lord.
Paul said, “I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.” Destiny is bound up with his encounter with God.
You are going to have an encounter with this call into the fellowship of God’s Son.
One way or another, the faithful God is going to personally engage and call you into this fellowship with His Son. The Lord God almighty is going to have an encounter with you. The call into the fellowship of God’s Son will change your life. The Lord is passing this way and He is going to get hold of your life. He is able to turn the course of your life around. He can change your destiny. He has a plan to bless your life.
Romans 8:28-30 NKJV And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
You need to get ready for God to do some awesome things in your life. He is passing by. Will you hear His call? Everything depends on your response to Him.He is looking for a particular response from you. You have to get personally involved.
When Jesus walked through the Promised Land those three years, He was involved in the issues and destinies of everyone He met. He listened to those who cried out to Him. No one was overlooked. He reached out and touched everyone who cried out to Him: “Lord, have mercy on us.” Everything changed when they fellowshipped with Jesus.
What is the purpose of the call?
The CALL always involves the fellowship of God’s Son. God Almighty wants to have fellowship with you. He wants to bring you into His presence and change you by the power of Christ. He wants a place with you where He can be present without controversy. He wants a place of rest among His people and He wants a place of fellowship.
The purpose of this call and the purpose for the fellowship of God’s Son is to establish a place for God’s presence. He wants to change the course of things in your life. God is ready to do something with you. He wants to do more than pass by this way. He wants to go to your house. He wants to have a place where He can dwell with you. He wants to impact your life and lifestyle with His glory, grace, and power.
Isaiah 43:1 NASB95 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!
Listen to the message of the call.
God says, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine!”
God the Father and God the Holy Spirit is calling you into the fellowship of Christ. When you enter into the fellowship of the called, you should get ready for God to show you His glory and power.
Look at every example of those whom God called. In every case, God showed Himself to be the strength and help that was needed for their lives. He will show you His glory. He will call you aside and send you out. He will show you that He is high and lifted up and the train of His robe fills the temple. He will call you to the Mount of Transfiguration and reveal His power as you fellowship Christ.
God is calling you into the fellowship of Christ.
Isaiah 43:2-3 NKJV When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God…
You have been called into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
He is the owner and sustainer of the universe. All honor and glory belong to Him. Pay attention to the exceeding greatness of His power. He will supply what you are lacking.
1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
