Second Calling
Scripture Reading - Romans 1:1 KJV
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
As we stated in the “First Calling” every person on the face of this earth has a “calling” and we (ihlcc) will also say every individual who ever walked the earth has a “calling”. In our last lesson we discussed God’s Will to have everyone in right fellowship with Him. The “first calling” is the voice of the Lord trying to get your attention to be saved. Our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ are both very practical they know it is impossible for you to do to God’s Perfect Will on this earth without (void of) knowing Him. Therefore our first priority is always to get to know God better. The typical process starts by being saved through the shed Blood of Jesus Christ by the recognition of our need to be forgiven of our sins coupled with the public (out loud) confession of Jesus as our Lord. Then we must spend time consistently with God by the pure fellowship of God’s Word (The Holy Bible) for prayer and understanding of God. We also must love God through our commitment to love all people unconditionally. Not just good saints as well as carnal Christians but also sinners alike, not because it is our duty but rather it is our heart’s desire to genuinely help others as God has helped us. All this sets the foundation for God’s Glory but that will not be the end result of your relationship with the Lord. Ultimately the Lord will reveal His “Second Calling” for your life at some point in time. Although God’s gifts and callings are without repentance (Romans 11:29) there is still some effort on our part to want to please God. God’s perfect will (His Second Calling) is not stumbled into by accident and ignorance but rather on purpose and by passion. Generally what happens is as we draw closer to God by spending more time with Him, then the Holy Spirit starts implanting more and more of God into our heart. Eventually the more specific Will of God will be revealed to your heart in due season. Sometimes this is nothing more than doing what you dreamed about doing all your life. However, there are other cases where doing God’s more perfect will (His Second Calling) may not really appeal to you but you know what is right and pleasing in His Sight. We saw in the example of Jesus that doing God’s perfect Will was not that desirable due to the foreseen suffering upon that cross in which He endured being separated from His Holy Heavenly Father for a shout season that we might to joined to God forever.-Refer to Matthew 26:36-42 We also notice that the Apostle Peter went back to fishing after the Lord Jesus was crucified because he fell back into his natural profession.-Refer to John 21:15-19 In the case of the Apostle Peter it was not that he didn’t want to do God’s Perfect Will because he had already been doing it. He (The Apostle Peter) just had to overcome loving doing something else outside of “God’s Second Calling” more than obeying “God’s Second Calling” upon his life. We (ihlcc) believe this to be the more common problem among Christians because we know many saints have a heart for God they just are more comfortable doing what they are used to doing. This “Second Calling” from God will become more real to you when you open your heart for correction (pruning) and growth by God. The Lord Jesus Christ desires openness and honesty which is a sincere willingness to do His (God’s) will no matter what the cost. Although it may seem at times that you are unworthy it is still God’s will that you obey His “Second Calling” upon your life because for this cause were you born into this earth. Yes, we (ihlcc) do know that some people refuse to follow God’s perfect will for fear of failure and/or rejection but it would be better to have God’s acceptance with man’s rejection then to have it vice-versa (man’s acceptance with God’s rejection). The “Second Calling” of God may or may not be a great and glorious assignment but we can promise you this it will be fulfilling when you do it God’s Way. Our Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ love you dearly so they would never even think of calling you into something that goes against the very core desire of your nature. Yes, our Heavenly Father is much too smart for that. Just know that:
Whatever God’s called you to,
He likewise created you to do!
So be humble and open to the “Second Calling” upon your life because that will bring a greater reward in Heaven. Plus, doing God’s “Second Calling” upon your life will generally bring more people into the Kingdom of God so that they too can experience the reality of Heaven. The more we abide In Him (Christ Jesus) the greater the impact we have in this world that we live in every day. Yes, we all now know that God created everyone to do something special in this earth so let your light shine before men in that “Second Calling” that all people who partake of your “second calling” can see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven in the matchless Name of Jesus Christ. Amen!