God is Calling You

God is Calling You

The year was 1989, a year full of events that would forever shape and change the course of history. In the Soviet Union, the first contested elections held for the Soviet parliament result in a loss for the Communist Party. In Prince William Sound, the Exxon Valdez runs aground spilling 240,000 barrels of oil. In a meeting with Pope John Paul II, President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev pledges greater religious freedom for citizens of the Soviet Union. In Sydney, Nova Scotia JD Kennedy graduated from the University College of Cape Breton (the institution so great that it is both a college AND a university).

I have to say that I was dreading graduation day. After giving the university 4 years of my life and thousands of dollars they were making you dress up in a gown (something every young man wants to do) where a square hat with a frilly tassel, listen to boring speeches from people I had never heard of, and walk across a stage in front of hundreds of people just to get a piece of paper.

As I sat in the Cape Breton rink listening to yet another speaker tell us that just because we are leaving UCCB that we still could contribute to it financially through the alumni association, I looked at my programme see how much more I would have to endure. “Awards, Prizes, and Scholarship” was next, so I slouched down in my seat, closed my eyes, and hoped I wouldn’t go to sleep.  I am not too sure how much time went by but the next thing I know I am getting poked in the ribs. “Get up b’ye, your name has been called.”

“What?” I said.

“Your name has been called. By the President … for a prize … your name has been called”

I start looking around and all the people around me were looking at me and nodding.

“You won the Credit Union prize for highest marks in social sciences.”

Well, I get up out of my chair, straighten my square hat and start making my way down to the stage. As I reached the front of the stage I heard some murmuring from the people assembled and as I approached the president I could see the smile that had been plastered on his face start to falter and his eyes were darting between me and something behind me. I stopped and turned around to see another guy on the stage walking tentatively forward. I turned back to the president who turned off his microphone and whispered. “Are you James Kennedy?” I nodded. “James MORRISON Kennedy.” This time I shook my head, turned around, and headed red faced back to my seat. I remember all the way back to my seat I kept kicking myself. I wasn’t from Sydney, I wasn’t a member of the credit union, and I hadn’t taken ANY social sciences. Why would I get a prize or award? My name hadn’t been called. I wasn’t good enough. I hadn’t been wanted.

Have you ever struggled with this? Perhaps you remember waiting for a boy to call to ask you to the dance and the call never came. Maybe you remember waiting for the hockey or baseball coach to call you back to let you know if you made the team and the call never came. May you submitted a resume and were waiting for an interview call and that never came. Maybe it hurt when you weren’t called. Maybe you felt like you weren’t good enough. Maybe you felt like you weren’t wanted.

But if that is the case, I want to tell each and every one of you that your name is being called … it is being called by God. If you don’t believe that, just take a look at the Bible.  The Bible is the story of God calling people.  The whole Bible is about God calling Noah; God calling Abraham and Abraham responding; God calling Moses for a purpose in life and Moses responding; God calling Nehemiah who was a builder; God calling Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel and Hosea and Joel; and God calling David and God calling Solomon.  In the New Testament, God calling Peter and Paul and Mary (If you laughed at that you’re incredibly old!)  God calling Paul.  You might say “Well JD, these are pretty special people and I am not. I am just an average person. What does God want with me?” To which I respond that God has a call on every person’s life.

Galatians 1 says this, “God, by his grace through Christ, has called you to become his people.” 

What is grace?  Grace is the fact that God knows every dumb mistake that you have made and still sees your worth and potential. God’s grace is that God will always call our name because He sees the good in us and the good that we can bring to this world.

You might be asking “What is God calling me to do?” What I can tell you is that your job is not your calling. I did a number of different jobs even though God called me to ministry.  At one point I mowed lawns. At one point I was a painter. I worked as a lifeguard. I worked as a Santa Clause. I worked in a lumberyard. I worked in a library. I taught at college. I was a lawyer and today I am a minister. My job has changed many, many times.  But my calling has never changed, regardless of what my job was. Sometimes my career matched my calling. Sometimes it didn’t. You see, calling was from God and my career was just how I was making a living at that point.  A career makes a living, a calling makes a life.  You have a calling that is unique to your life.

What is God calling us to do?  Well the Bible says in Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

This verse is filled with some important truths.  Let’s look at it.

First it says we’re God’s workmanship.  The word there in the Bible in the Greek is the word poema.  It’s the word we get “poem” from.  You are God’s poem.  You are God’s work of art.  You are God’s craftsmanship.  Workmanship.  Many translations of the Bible translate this “You are God’s masterpiece.”

You might be saying, “JD, I don’t think I’m much of a masterpiece.” Then you don’t realize how much value God has put on your life. To God you are precious. To God you are priceless. Don’t let this world devalue you soul, spirit or life. In the eyes of Christ, you are worth dying for.

You are a masterpiece.  You’re God’s masterpiece and it is never more evident than when you are fulfilling your calling.  If you try to be what somebody else wants you to be, you’re going to miss it.  And your true beauty, your true greatness won’t come out.  You are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works. 

Those good works are your contribution to the world.  You were not put on this planet just to breathe and take up space and die.  You weren’t put here to simply be a consumer.   No, you were put here to be a contributor, to make a contribution with your life. 

God is calling each and every one of you by name and God’s calling for each and every one of you is unique. For our parents today it is to fulfill the baptismal vows … to do your best to pass on the Christian faith to your child. First and foremost that that means deepening your own faith, buy getting involved with church, reading your Bible and through prayer, so you can be a role model. For some of us it means being scout and guiding leaders so we provide fun and safe activities in a structured environment to our young people. A place where they can be kids but also learn those intangible things that will help them be good adults as well.

But whatever God is calling us to do He’s going to empower us to do it. Do you remember our Bible lesson where God calls Moses? What was Moses’ response to God’s call?  Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said “Lord, I am 80 years old; I haven’t lived in Egypt in a long time. Anybody who ever knew me is either dead or has forgotten me. I am a nobody. I am not the man for the job.”

And what is God’s reply to Moses?  And God said, “I will be with you.” He said “Moses, you are right … you have a lot of limitations and maybe if you were trying this by yourself you would fail. But you are not doing this by yourself. You will not be in this alone. I will be with you.

My friends, God empowers what He calls us to do.  In other words if God has given us an assignment in life He’s going to enable us to do it, He’s going to equip us to do it, He’s going to empower us to do it, He’s going to strengthen me to do it, He’s going to give me the ability to do it.  God would never ask you to do anything with your life that He doesn’t give you the power to do.

When I was in high school, maybe even younger than that, God placed on my heart a calling to ministry but like Moses I didn’t think I was good enough or worthy enough. I said “Who am I that I should be a minister.” But that call never left me. The Lord continued to call and the call got stronger until finally one day I got down on my knees and I said, “Lord, I don’t understand it all but You keep calling so I am going to answer that call and I will go wherever that takes me.” 

I prayed that prayer.  And as soon as I finished praying that prayer, do you want to know what happened?  Nothing.  No angels came down and flapped their wings.  No blinding light.  No thunder, no lightning.  My hair didn’t turn white like Charlton Heston.  Nothing happened.

But that was the turning point in my life and I have received nothing but blessings ever since.  

So on this day when we commemorate those who have or soon will hear their names called and who will walk forward to get their diploma I will leave with them, who are walking forward to embrace their lives and I leave with you who are a bit more seasoned, the words from Ephesians 4:1 “I urge you to live the life to which God called you.”