ANSWERING GOD'S CALL

In this topic we will talk about:

-What does the call of God mean?

-How to know that God is calling you? (Or How to know that you are called by God)

-How to Say Yes to God's Call

-What are the consequences of resisting or refusing the call of God?

-What are the benefits of saying yes to God's call?

Our base scripture from which we took our theme is Isaiah 6:8

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? And I said, "Here I am. Send me Lord!"

This Scripture speaks clearly to us about the call of God. We read here that God has launched a call, it is a call for the recruitment of an army which must represent him on earth.

But that does not mean that this call is addressed to everyone because God does not call everyone to represent him on earth. He only chooses people who meet his criteria according to himself.

In this scripture, God calls all of his children who are predestined to serve him but who are still distracted by other things. This call is therefore addressed to people who have already been chosen by God from the womb of their mother to accomplish God's mission, but who have not yet done so.

It is therefore the revival of God for all the people who sleep in their bed. God calls you to his work. It's time for you to wake up and get involved in God's work. Through this scripture, God is recruiting the end-time army and He wants you to be part of it.

NB: God is always looking for new people the harvest is bigger there are fewer workers.

Luc 10:1-2

"After this the Lord appointed another seventy disciples, and he sent them two by two ahead of him to all the cities and places where he himself was to go. 2He said to them, The harvest is great, but the laborers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest."

WHAT DOES THE CALL OF GOD MEAN? (OR WHAT IS THE CALLING OF GOD ?)

God's calling means bringing man back to be the person he made us exist on this earth and doing the things he designed for us according to his will before we were born.

This means that when God calls you, he just wants to tell you that what you are doing right now is not what he called you to do on this earth, therefore you are doing the wrong job. This is why he calls you to make you what you are truly called to be on earth.

Bible verses: Jérémie 1:5

"Before I had formed you in your mother's womb, I knew you, and before you had come out of her womb, I had consecrated you, I had established you prophet of the nations."

Bible verses: Isaiah 49:1

"Islands, listen to me! Distant peoples, be attentive! The Eternal called me from my birth, He named me as soon as I left my mother's womb."

Bible verses: Galatians 1:15,16

"But when it pleased him who had separated me from my mother's womb, and who called me by his grace"

Bible verses: Luke 1:15

"For he will be great before the Lord. He will drink neither wine nor intoxicating liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother's womb."

GOD'S CALLING PROCESS:

God will join you when you say yes to your calling. The process of becoming what God has called you to be is a very long spiritual journey during which you will learn new things about yourself and your relationship with the Lord.

Therefore, when you hear the voice of God, you must be ready to journey spiritually with God to fully discover your calling. Traveling spiritually is spending time with God to experience new things and be willing to learn, to improve to become a better version of yourself.

DISCOVER THE REASON OF YOUR EXISTENCE:

When you have answered yes to God's call, God will help you discover the reason for your existence through prayer. That's why sometimes you have to wonder why you were born? What is the main reason you came to this world or this city? Why did God create you and send you to this Earth?

You should know that everything God has created from the beginning of the world until now has a purpose to serve on this earth. Everything he created has a reason to live.

And you yourself, as a person created by God, you must discover by his vocation the reason for your life and your existence.

Bible verses: Acts 13:36

“Now when David had served the purpose of God in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed.

Bible verses: Psalm 57:2

I cry out to the Most High God, to God who is working out his purpose for me.

Example 1:

God can create you and send you to this earth to be the president of your country and you will be the answer for many people who live in poverty because during your presidential term you will create a lot of jobs and you will give people the hope of live.

And if that is your call, you must say yes to God's call and finding out early will help you begin your journey that will prepare you to become the president of your country.

Example 2:

God can send you on earth precisely in your family or your city to use you to fight against the works of sorcery of your family or the sorcery of a city. And that may be the reason you were born. or It can also be the reason why you were moved by God from your city to Manchester in the UK.

Thus, as chosen and called by God, we must understand that even certain migratory movements that God allows in our life are always linked to our call. Because God does nothing or leaves nothing to chance. Everything he does in our life has a purpose whatever path he takes everything he allows has a purpose in our life, And God's purpose is that we can accomplish the mission that he entrusts to us, the purpose for which he sent us to this earth.

I want to tell you whatever the condition in which you were born:

Desirable or undesirable by your parents, official or not, by a prostitute or by a married woman, in marriage or out of wedlock God who allowed your birth has a project and a mission for you. And if you want to live God's plan in your life and become what God calls you to be, it's simple, you have to say yes to God's call today.

EXAMPLE OF THE BIBLICAL CHARACTER ( JOSEPH )

Joseph's calling is a good example that teaches us what a truly called of God should know about the things that can happen in his life because of God's calling on him.

Bible verse:

TWO REMARKABLE THINGS IN THE LIFE OF TRUE CALLED:

Before going any further, I wanted to point out two remarkable things that you will find in the lives of all truly called of God in the world.

NB: And by these two things, the devil can easily identify the true elect of God and target them. Because the devil will be very jealous of you if these two things are on you.

-The first thing Unconditional love: All of God's elect are people loved by God unconditionally God loves them strongly. Even if they fall because of his love, he will do anything to bring them back to him.

In the same way, Joseph was the most loved by his father in their family. So if you are truly called by God, you will experience God's love in your life every day more than the normal person.

The Bible says his father made him a coat of many colors. It was to make him unique in the family. It was already a sign that he was already set apart for God for a special mission.

-The second thing you will see in all of God's elect is a special coat of many colors:

This represents the various gifts he possessed, usually people truly chosen by God are fully gifted, powerful and charismatic.

Biblically Joseph's calling passed through three seasons or periods before it was fully manifested. And these three seasons are a skeletal pattern that all true callings of God must necessarily experience in their spiritual journey or life before fully experiencing the glory of their calling.

THINGS TO LEARN ABOUT THE CALL OF JOSEPH:

The first stage of his calling I have called it the season of dreams, visions and prophecies: From the age of 17, God began to call Joseph by revealing himself in the life of this young man through visions and dreams that showed him what he was called to become in the future. So God through this series of visions and dreams, he shows Joseph the reason for his existence on earth.

We can clearly see by what God made of him later that he was called to be a powerful politician of his generation with special economic knowledge.

Bible verses: Genèse 37:5-11

"Joseph fit un rêve, et il le raconta à ses frères qui le détestèrent encore plus. 6 Il leur dit: «Ecoutez donc le rêve que j'ai fait! 7 Nous étions en train d’attacher des gerbes au milieu des champs, et voici que ma gerbe s’est dressée et est même restée debout. Vos gerbes l'ont alors entourée et se sont prosternées devant elle.» 8 Ses frères lui dirent: «Est-ce que tu vas vraiment régner sur nous? Est-ce que tu vas nous gouverner?» Ils le détestèrent encore plus à cause de ses rêves et de ses paroles."

"9 Joseph fit encore un autre rêve, et il le raconta à ses frères. Il dit: «J'ai fait encore un rêve: le soleil, la lune et onze étoiles se prosternaient devant moi.» 10 Il le raconta à son père et à ses frères. Son père lui fit des reproches et lui dit: «Que signifie le rêve que tu as fait? Faut-il que nous venions, moi, ta mère et tes frères, nous prosterner jusqu’à terre devant toi?» 11 Ses frères se montrèrent jaloux de lui, mais son père garda le souvenir de cela."

Bible verses: Genesis 37:4

His brothers noticed that their father loved him more than all of them and began to hate him. They were unable to speak to him without aggression.

Bible verses: Genesis 37:8

His brothers said to him, “Are you really going to rule us? Will you rule us? They hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.

Thus, because of his multicolored coat and the unconditional love of their father Joseph was already hated by his brothers. And to this are added his grandiose dreams which give them even more anger against him. And because of this his brothers will willfully and consciously premeditate his destruction and physical elimination. And from here the second stage of his call will begin.

The second stage I called it the season of persecution:

NB: In the case of Joseph, the persecution started from his father's house and followed him wherever he went. Even the most generous people in the world persecute him because of God's call, and some of them did it voluntarily and some involuntarily.

The season of persecution is the hardest time in the life of the truly called by God. This is the season when you are pursued by darkness for no reason, not because you have done wrong, but because of God's call upon you.

This is the season when people will hate you for no reason, people will call you arrogant just to try to diminish your value, they will talk badly about you for the things you never did. They will blame you for the things you never did.

This is the season when your enemies seek to physically eliminate you and destroy your reputation so that you become nothing in society. This is the season of spiritual battles and battles of fate.

During this saison you could find yourself sick because your health is in danger, you could also find yourself with serious problems and living in very bad conditions, but as Joseph remains firm in your faith during this time of temptation God will deliver you and he will honor you .

During the season of persecution, you would be betrayed even by your own family people and if you had the wife and children, the enemy may also pass through them to deliver you into their hands. You had to be strong to resist in this harsh season.

JOSEPH FACES HARD TIMES DUE TO HIS APPEAL:

- Hated by his own brothers

- Betrayed by his own brothers

- Thrown into the cistern

-His brothers lying his father he died

-Sold to Midianite merchants

- Sold as a slave to Potiphar,

-Accused of rape by Potiphar's wife,

- finds himself in prison in a foreign country.

- Released from prison by royal decree

-Appointment to the post of Prime Minister in Egypt.

The last stage is the glory season of your calling:

Bible verses: Genesis41:14

"Pharaoh summoned Joseph. They rushed to get him out of prison. He shaved, changed his clothes and went to the pharaoh."

Bible verses: Genèse 41:38-46

Pharaoh said to his servants, "Could we find a man like this, who has the Spirit of God in him?" 39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so intelligent and so wise as you. 40 You will be in charge of my household, and all my people will obey your commands. The throne alone will raise me above you. 41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I give you command over all Egypt.” 42 Pharaoh took the ring off his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He gave her fine linen clothes and put a gold necklace around her neck. 43 He made him get into the chariot that was following his, and they shouted in front of him, “Kneel down!” This is how the Pharaoh gave him the command of all Egypt. 44 He said to Joseph again, "I am Pharaoh, but without your consent no one will lift his hand or foot in all Egypt."

45 Pharaoh called Joseph Zaphnath-Paeneach[a] and gave him Asnath, daughter of Poti-phera, the priest of On[b], to wife. Joseph left to visit Egypt. 46 He was 30 years old when he appeared before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. He left the pharaoh and traveled all over Egypt.

In this season you will experience the good things in your life

-People will like you

-People will celebrate you

-People will consider you

-People will be loyal to you

-Your family will support you

-People will speak well of you

-You will enjoy freedom in Christ

-You will be released from prison by divine decree

-Appointment by your boss to get a promotion

-You will succeed in everything you do.