The Christian's Call to Contentment, Part 5

Best week ever. It not even over yet. Just wait till it's over. If you don't have one of these, you might want to get one. It's an outline for this evening. They're out in the back. Tables in the back on both sides. In case you want to follow along, we have outlines for you. If you don't want to follow along, we still have outlines for you. But thought you could at least look at those. It'll be a lot easier to follow me as I review.

As everybody gets up and leaves, where are you guys going? They're walking out on me, Jack. Just they get up and walk out, just like that. I stand up and they all get up and walk out. But you're still here, right? All right. Okay, so anyway, we want to begin our time in prayer tonight, asking the Lord to bless our time in the word. So's pray together.

Father, we thank you for today. We just thank you, Lord, for all the things that you do. We realize that you are a great God and that, Lord, you're in charge of everything. And we realize that as we gather together this evening, we have the opportunity to spend time in the Word of the Lord and to be able to grasp some of those great truths that will help us understand more of who you are and what you expect of your people. And our prayer, Lord, is that as we study your word, you'd enlighten our hearts and minds to your truth, and that we'd be excited about following you. We'd be excited about the opportunities before us to represent you to a lost world.

We realize that during the last days, Lord, perilous times will come. And we have a great responsibility to proclaim the truth of the gospel. And our prayer is that we be faithful stewards of the ministry in which you've entrusted to us, and that we be effective ambassadors for the kingdom of God, realizing, Lord, that there are people all around us that are on their way to a Christless eternity. And we have the answer that they so desperately need in terms of the truth of the gospel. And so we're just asking that tonight as we study your word, you do a mighty work in every single one of us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

1 Timothy chapter 6 is where we're at. 1 Timothy chapter 6, coming to understand exactly what the Bible says concerning contentment. And hopefully, you're going to learn a lot about that this week and in the weeks to come. You know, some of us more than ever need to learn to be content. Especially in light of the election or wherever the election is going to end up, and trying to come to realize that our Lord wants us to be content with whatever the results may be.

If you recall, during the summertime, we spent 16 weeks on abolishing anxiety. And I told you that time that if you weren't anxious then, you will be anxious in the future. And maybe this is the week you're going to be anxious. And that's why we spent 16 weeks looking at what the Bible says concerning anxiety and how to abolish anxiety in your heart and in your life that you might live for the glory and honor of the Lord. And so we want to be able to help you understand the essence of contentment, what that means for you, what it means for me. As we look at what Paul says to young Timothy, helping him learn to be content in whatever state he is in, so that he might be a leader of the church at Ephesus in a way that helps other people understand contentment.

So, if you've been with us, we have gone through six different points to help you understand as we go through 1 Timothy 6, verses 6, down through verse number 19. And the first point was this: that you need to recognize the ultimate reality of your coming and going. That's in verse number 7. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.

And then point number two was simply this: to rejoice in the sufficiency of each day's provision. Verse 8 says, If we have food and covering with these, we shall be content. But, he says, Those who want to get rich fall into temptation, in a snare, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and destruction. That is, you need to reject the tyranny of money, love, and material lusts.

Listen, if you know that you brought nothing in to this world and you're taking nothing out of this world and you're able to rejoice in each day's sufficiency, you can reject the tyranny of money love and material lusts. And then, number four was to realize the inability of the world to satisfy. That's verse 10. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. So many griefs. Simply because they were not content with the things that they had, but they always wanted more. Not realizing that the world never, never satisfies.

And then, of course, last week, resist our innate carnality with true spirituality when Paul says these words in verse 11, but Flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. If you're going to be a man of God, you can't be a man that pursues money. You need to flee the love of money. Need to flee youthful lust. Flee those things that detracts you from the truth of God and pursue something, hunt down something, such as faith and love and perseverance and gentleness, trying to help you understand what those spiritual virtues are.

Tonight, we want to move on and look at verse number 12. And in verse number 12, we have two principles. The first one is this. You need to resolve, resolve with tenacity to fight the good fight of faith. Paul says it very simply in verse 12: fight the good fight of faith. And so you're going to ask yourself the question: how does that help me learn contentment? How does fighting the good fight of faith help me learn to be content in whatever state I am in? How does that help me understand that godliness with contentment is great gain? How does fighting the good fight cause me to be content?

Simply this. All of us are fighting for something. We're agonizing for something. We're striving for something. And the word for fight used twice, agonizo, is the word that means to contend, to struggle, to agonize. And every one of us in the room have a tendency to really contend and struggle and fight for things that really don't matter. We fight and struggle for our finances. We struggle and fight for our families, for relationships, for friendships, for everything that really pales in comparison to the one thing you need to really agonize about, and that is the good fight of faith. Very, very important.

And if you're doing that, you then become preoccupied with those things that really matter, and then you'll learn to be content with the things that don't matter. But you must really be involved in striving, agonizing, over the faith. Because the definite article is in the original text, so you fight the good fight of the faith. That is, the body of truth that is real, that is absolute, that you can hold on to. There is a battle that we engage in.

In fact, Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 3 would say these words: Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. Paul wants Timothy to understand that he's involved in warfare. He is a soldier. And then he says these words: No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.

So in Paul's last letter to Timothy, having already told him he needs to fight the good fight of the faith, tells him that you need to suffer hardship with me as a good soldier because you're involved in combat. You're involved in warfare. And if you're agonizing to fight for that which is true, you need to realize that when you get up in the morning, you put on your armor, you're going to battle. You're going to war. Very, very important.

So, Paul is trying to instruct Timothy: listen, don't let down for a minute. You can't afford to let down. You have to fight the good fight of the faith. You have to exert every ounce of energy you have for the truth. Because the truth is that which truly matters. And because we're called to be soldiers, we're called to engage in combat. We're called to contend for the faith. We need to realize that every day we are fighting this battle.

It's a battle for truth, especially in a post-modern era where truth is no longer absolute. That whatever your truth is and whatever my truth is is true. So we can have two truths or three truths or four truths. It doesn't make any difference because truth is no longer absolute. Everything now is relative.

So if you come to me and say, well, this is my truth, and therefore I must believe it's true because it's yours. But it's not the objective truth. We live in a world where we can say, well, you know, life doesn't really begin in the womb. It doesn't begin until the baby comes out. So we can kill every baby we want to kill because it's okay, it's in the womb. It's really not true that life begins at conception. It's, I guess, true when the baby comes out. But what's the Bible say?

If it's true that I can change my gender to any identity I wanted to change it to, then if I want to be a girl, I can be a girl. If I want to be a boy, I can be a boy. Whatever I want to be, I can be because it's my truth.

So, Paul tells Timothy, look, you need to contend for the truth. There's a battle going on. It's a battle that's becoming more and more stringent the longer we live. And if you and I are engaged in the right battle, we can learn to be content in whatever state we're in because we're fighting for that which really matters. We're fighting for the eternal word of God.

We are good soldiers fighting for our Lord, and we don't entangle ourselves in the affairs of this world because we want to ultimately please our commanding officer. We serve a great general that we follow after. And so when Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:3, no good soldier entangles himself or becomes so inundated by the affairs of this world, that doesn't mean sinful things. That means you become so busy doing things that don't really matter. That you forget that you're involved in combat, that you're really a soldier, a soldier designed to fight for the truth.

That is just so incredibly important. This is what makes your workplace so important. Do you know that you were never designed to find meaning in your workplace? Did you know that? Your place of employment is not a place where you find meaning. If that's the case, you're going to switch jobs every other week. Your place of employment is a place where you bring meaning to that arena. You bring meaning to your job. I don't care what your job is. You can't find meaning in it. You bring meaning to it.

How do you bring meaning to whatever job you have? I mean, you can work for anybody. You can work doing anything anywhere if you understand that you are coming to bring something to that place of employment. And what are you bringing? You're bringing truth. You're bringing absolute truth. You're bringing the truth of the gospel. And when you bring that to the place of your employment, what you're doing is you're helping that arena understand the Christ. That's what caused you to live a life of contentment.

And then you begin to fight a battle for that truth because the battle is a never-ending battle. Paul was telling Timothy 2,000 years ago to fight the good fight of faith. The battle is going on even today. No matter where you work, no matter what school you go to, no matter what team you play on, no matter what church you attend.

Because in the church, what kind of battles do we face? We face the battle of heresies, do we not? We face the battle of apostasy, we face the battle of lethargy, we face the battle of duplicity and hypocrisy. There's a battle every day in the church. Just because you go to church doesn't mean you don't fight a battle. No, you're always engaged in warfare. Because there's always a battle for the truth.

And Paul helps Timothy to understand: listen, if you are fleeing sin, flee the love of money. In your following after spiritual virtues, you need to fight for your Savior. And you're fighting for the scriptures. You're fighting the truth of God's holy word. So incredibly important.

So, how do we do that? How do we resolve with tenacity to fight the good fight of faith? How is it we do that? Well, very simply this: we are those who are contenders for the faith. We are the ones who are standing strong on the truth. And how do we do that? Well, first of all, you do it faithfully. Faithfully.

Remember, God in the book of Deuteronomy, 32nd chapter, is called the God of truth. Jesus is the truth. The word of God is the body of truth. The church, 1 Timothy 3, is the pillar and foundation of the truth. And Pilate would ask Jesus, what is truth?

Remember over in John chapter 18 when the Lord stood before Pilate. When Christ said these words, my kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews, but as it is, my kingdom is not of this realm. Therefore, Pilate said to him, So you are a king. And Jesus answered, You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Jesus says, I came forward for this purpose, to testify to the truth.

The truth about what?

The truth about God.

The truth about Jesus.

The truth about heaven.

The truth about hell.

The truth about salvation.

The truth about life, the truth about death, the truth about sin, everything the Bible speaks of, he has come to testify, to be a witness of.

I came forth to testify to the truth.

Well, the Lord says in John 20:21, as the Father has sent me, so send I you.

As the Father has sent me to testify to the truth, so now I am sending you to testify to the truth.

Because my Father sent me into this world to speak truth, to live truth, to honor truth, because I am the God of truth.

And so, therefore, I am sending you, as the Father has sent me, to give that same testimony, to be that same kind of witness.

And there wasn't anybody who lived a life of contentment more than Jesus did.

And that's because he was always standing and contending for the truth.

So when you do it, you do it, number one, faithfully.

You have to always faithfully contend.

That's why the Bible says over in 2 Timothy 4, verses 6 and 8.

Paul says these words: For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

In the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul says, I have faithfully kept the body of truth.

I have faithfully fought the good fight of the faith.

I have given my whole life to this.

And we, as Christians, need to give our whole life to contending for that which is true.

Speaking forth that which is true.

When you are in that realm, when you understand that as a mother, as a mother, you are contending for the truth at home.

As your children are being raised and they hear all kinds of things on the outside.

Whether it's from television or from movies or from school or from their ball teams, and they're bringing that stuff back home, you are contending for the truth.

You're helping your children understand that truth that they might be strong in that truth.

When you go to work, you're going to work listening to what everybody says, knowing that you hold in your heart the truth of God's holy word, and you're able to speak forth that truth so you can contend for that which is the truth of God's holy word.

And so Paul says: if you're going to do it, do it faithfully, Timothy.

Not only do you do it faithfully, but you must do it fully.

Fully.

Over in the book of Colossians, the first chapter, Paul says these words in verse number 28.

He says, We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

Paul says, I am fully doing this to every man, for every man, with every man.

For this purpose also I labor, striving according to his power, which mightily works within me.

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at Laodicea and for all those who have not personally seen my face that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself.

I strive, Paul says, so that Christ be formed in you, that you understand who Christ is.

Listen, think about it this way: you go to work tomorrow with one purpose in mind.

To help people understand who Christ is, you go to work tomorrow with this understanding in mind: that you believe in a sovereign God who rules over everything.

That is, he rules over the election process.

He knows who's to be our president because whoever he puts in office is the best thing for us.

It's the best thing to promote his plan.

And so you go equipped with that truth to help people at work understand what God is doing.

Listen, if you can't do that, then what good are you to the people you work with?

You should be able to do that.

Explaining to them the sovereignty of God, that God rules over all, that God's in charge of everything.

God is going to use either President Trump or President-elect Joe Biden, whoever it is, as he used Nebuchadnezzar, as he used Herod, as he used Antiochus Epiphanes.

As he's going to use the Antichrist, as he's going to use the false prophet.

He's going to use them all to accomplish his purposes.

And so we don't worry about how God's going to use them, when God's going to use them, because we know that God is in the process of using them.

Psalm 76, verse number 10.

God uses the wrath of man to praise his name.

He does that.

And God's in complete charge of everything.

And so you go and contend for the truth when you go to work.

Why?

Because you know what God's word says, and you contend for the truth faithfully, fully, and number three, fearlessly. Fearlessly. I love the book of Acts when you go back and you begin to read about how these men were used by God. Remember way back on the eve of the crucifixion? When all the disciples left the Lord and fled, Peter would say, You know, Lord, if all men deny you, not me, I'll be with you. But the very first opportunity he got, he left.

Now, remember in the garden in John 18, when they came to get Jesus, Peter would draw his sword and cut off the earlobe of Malchus' ear, the servant of the high priest. Because he felt emboldened while he was in the presence of the Lord Jesus. But the Bible goes on to say in Mark's gospel that he followed Jesus from a distance. You know, whenever you follow Jesus from a distance, you're not very strong. And Peter wasn't. Because when a little girl began to accuse him of being one with the Galilean, he crumbled. He couldn't stand. Because he followed Jesus from a distance instead of following close, intimately with him. When he stood side by side with the Christ, nothing, nothing scared him. But as soon as he was outside the presence of Christ, he could see him from a distance but not be up close, even a little girl could cause him to compromise the truth.

But when you come to the book of Acts, Christ told them that He's going to send His Spirit, and with that Spirit would come power. And sure enough, when you read about Peter, James, John, all those disciples, no longer were they afraid because Christ would dwell in them. Christ would reign in them. And when you see Peter being threatened in Acts chapter 4, when they were told they could not speak any longer about this one who is of the name.

They summoned them together. And Peter said, Whether it's right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge. For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard. And when they had threatened them further, they let them go, finding no basis on which to punish them on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened. For the man was more than forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing had been performed.

And when they had been released, they went to their own companions and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them And when they heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord and said, O Lord, it is you who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. Who, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our Father David, your servant, said, Why do the Gentiles rage, and the peoples devise futile things? The kings of the earth took their stand, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against this Christ.

For truly, in this city, There were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate. Along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your purpose predestined to occur. See, they recognized that the death of the Messiah happened under the direction of the Lord God of Israel. In other words, Lord, we know that it was your hand that directed Pilate and Herod and the Gentiles to do whatever you decided you wanted to have happen. We recognize that.

And so it says, And now, Lord, take note of their threats. Lord, because you know everything, we're asking you to take note of those who have threatened us and grant that your bonds may speak your word with all confidence while you extend your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of your holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness. They were more emboldened than before. In fact, the more they were threatened, the louder they spoke.

So when you go on to Acts chapter 5, it says in verse number 40, they took his advice and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for his name. And every day in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. Even though they were flogged, even though they were beaten 39 times on their backs, they were unafraid. They were fearless in proclaiming the gospel.

You go to Acts chapter 7, what do you have? Stephen. Unafraid to preach the gospel. And they dragged him out of the city and stoned him to death, but he was unafraid. Then you have the conversion of the Apostle Paul, and he becomes emboldened with the truth as he begins to speak not just the Jewish people, but the Gentiles, because he was unafraid. He was fearless. That's how we're to be. We're to contend for the truth faithfully, fully, fearlessly.

And then, number four, factually. Factually, that is, we must know what we're saying, right? Paul says to Timothy: Preach the word in season and out of season. Always be ready to promote the truth of the gospel. 1 Peter 3, verse number 15, we are to be ready always to give an answer about the hope that lies within, that every man will know why it is we believe what we believe. 2 Timothy 2, verse number 15. We're to study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. We need to proclaim the gospel and preach factually, that is, we know who Jesus is. We know what he came to do, and we know how to proclaim that truth to those who so desperately need to hear that truth. And so we contend faithfully, fully, fearlessly, factually.

And then, number five, fervently. Jude 3. Contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. There's a fervency that's there. There's a contending for the truth.

And then you do it forbearingly. 2 Timothy 4, verse number 2. We're to do it with all long-suffering and with all patience. You do it forbearingly because when you preach the truth and you stand strong on the truth, not everybody gets it right away. And so you have to do it with long-suffering and patience because you want to walk them through the gospel. You want to walk them through the truth. Just don't think because you're standing fearlessly with the truth that everybody's going to respond. They're not. So you do it forbearingly.

And then you always do it fearfully. Fearfully, in the fear of God. Always do it in the fear of God. Why? 1 Peter 1:17, let all you do be done in the fear of God. Matthew 10, we're not to fear the one who kills the body, but only the one who kills body and soul in hell. So there is a fearlessness by which we contend for the faith, coupled with a fearfulness by which we contend because we want to please our commanding officer. We want to stand strong for him because we fear only him. And that's the way we should be.

So when we're doing that, there is no time for our minds to be consumed with the things around us. Because one thing is uppermost in our mind, fighting the good fight of the faith. And Paul wants Timothy to understand that. It's the key to contentment. It's the key to being satisfied with what God is doing. It's the key to being able to understand that I am dependent upon my God, but I'm independent of everything around me. And therefore, it's the peace of Christ that suffices. And therefore, I trust in him alone for all that I do. I am consumed with God and his kingdom. I am consumed with presenting the truth.

You see, we tend to think that the preacher is the only guy who does that. Let me tell you something. The real minister in the church is you, not me. You're the ministers. You're the servants. You're the one that God wants to equip and use to proclaim the gospel. You're the ones going out to the highways and byways. You're the ones going out to all the different places that you work and play and meeting all these people that need to know Christ. More so than I am. God wants to use you in that category for His glory and for His honor.

So, if you want to learn contentment, resolve with tenacity to fight the good fight of faith. And then, number seven. Revere eternity as your most treasured prospect. Revere eternity as your most treasured prospect. Listen, you need to think so much about eternity. Listen to what Paul says. He says, second part of verse 12: take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. And you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Paul says, Timothy, you need to get a grip on eternity. Get a grip on eternity. Take hold of eternal life.

He would say to those in Colossae, in Colossians 3, verse number 1: set your affections on things above and not on things below. He would say in Philippians 3, verse number 20, that our citizenship is in heaven. So therefore, everything about the hereafter or the eternal life is what we should grab a hold of. So, Paul tells Timothy, as a pastor, you got to get a grip on eternity. You've got to take hold of eternal life, the life to which you've been called. Very important phrase. It's a life to which you've been called.

Let me tell you: the number one reason people don't get a grip on eternity, and that's because they're not sure about their calling. They're not sure they've been called by Christ. Listen, if you've truly been called by Christ, eternity means more to you than anything else. Going home to be with the Lord is absolutely supreme in your heart and mind because you've been called by God. That's why the Bible says over in 2 Peter 1, verse number 10, make certain about his calling and choosing. You make certain that you've been called by God. Make certain you've been chosen by God. He says. Or Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse number 26, for consider your calling.

I wonder how many times we have sat down and began to consider our calling, or to even consider whether or not we have truly been called by the living God, been chosen by the living God. The Bible says in 2 Timothy 1:9, we've been called with a holy calling. Hebrews 3, verse number 1, we've been called with a heavenly calling. In Philippians 3, verse number 14, we've been called with a high calling. The calling from God to us is a holy, high, heavenly calling. And we need to understand what that calling is. And to consider whether or not we have been called by the Lord. So let me help you understand how you've been called. If you're going to get a grip on eternity to the life you've been called, you've got to make sure you've been called.

The call of God is, number one, a personal call. It's a personal call. Over in the book of Acts, the ninth chapter. It talks about the Apostle Paul when the Lord is telling Ananias to go and to work with the Apostle. And he's a little afraid knowing about Paul's background, Saul at the time, but his background that he was the one who persecuted the Christians. And the Lord says, This, go, verse 15, Acts chapter 9, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. Go. Why? Because he's a chosen instrument of mine. Do you realize the richness of that phrase? That we are chosen instruments of God. We are instruments in the hand of the Master of the universe. We've been chosen by Him. We've been called by Him.

Make sure, make certain your calling and choosing, or the fact that you've been chosen by the true and living God. Over in Acts chapter 7, it talks about Abraham, Acts 7, verse number 2. It says these words And he said Hear me, brethren and fathers. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia before he lived in Haran. And said to him, Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you. The Lord of glory appeared to Abraham. This is God's call to Abraham. He was on the other side of the river. He was in Ur of the Chaldees. And that's how we get the name Hebrew. It means to cross the river. When God called Abraham, he was an idol worshiper. He was a pagan Gentile. But God called him to him and was going to use Abraham to bless the nations of the world. Through the seed that would come the Messiah of Israel. But God personally chose Abraham. Didn't choose anybody else, could have, but he didn't. He just chose one man, Abraham, to be the father of the Jewish nation.

To know that God is personally involved in choosing you and me to be a part of his kingdom should help us to want to consider the great calling upon our lives that we might serve our Lord with a clean conscience and a pure heart. But not only this, not only the call of God is a personal call, it is a predetermined call. It is a predetermined call. It was predetermined in eternity past. We know that Ephesians 1 says that we are chosen in him before the foundation of the world.

Over in the book of Jeremiah, listen how the Lord God speaks to the prophet. He says in verse number 4, chapter 1. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. And before you were born, I consecrated you. I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Just think about that. God says to Jeremiah, Look, I got a great plan. The plan is so great that before you were born, I knew you. I set you apart in your mother's womb. You're going to have a great ministry. Listen, nobody's going to respond to your ministry, but you're going to have a great ministry because you're doing it for me. I've chosen you. I've called you. It's a predetermined call. It's a very personal call. And I'm going to use you to be my prophet to my people. They're not going to listen. But you're going to speak forth the truth.

And that's what kept Jeremiah going week after week, month after month, year after year, because he knew that God had predetermined his ministry, God had called him from eternity past, and all of a sudden, now he was used by God in a mighty way. Think about this: God has called you. Predetermined his choosing you. There's nothing you did to gain approval from God that would say, you know what, I think I'm going to use you in my kingdom. You are such a talented person. I'm going to use you in my kingdom. Come, I'm going to call you. No. It was all predetermined in eternity past. It was all a personal call when he called you to him because he wanted to use you for his kingdom. He wanted to use you as his representative, as his ambassador. So important. Understand this about the call of God in your life.

The call of God always commences with Him, right? You did not choose me. I chose you. John 15:16. So clear, so simple. If left to ourselves, we would never choose God. Why? Because we are separated from God. Romans 3 says, No man seeks after God. We would never seek God if it weren't for the fact that He would choose us. The call of God commences with Him, and it comes only through the gospel. Faith cometh by hearing, hearing by the word concerning the Christ. Psalm 19, verse number 8. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.

So the call of God commences with God, comes through the gospel, and is conceived by grace. Over in Galatians 1, verse number 6, Christ called you by His grace. And then it's always clarified by good works. Titus 2, 11 to 14. Tells us about how the grace of God teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and live righteously and soberly in this present age. If you've been called by God, that call that commences with God is always clarified by good works. It's always accurately seen in the works that you are doing for the glory of his kingdom. And you know what? The call of God always compels us to be grateful. Paul said in 1 Timothy 1, I thank Christ Jesus my Lord, who's called me for the sake of the gospel. And then it's always, always commissions us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. How great is that? We have to stop thinking that we don't have an impact in this world. We do. Not because of who we are, simply because of what the Lord has done in our lives. He has called us.

It's a personal call.

It's a predetermined call.

And number three, it's a purposeful call.

The Lord told Ananias, you go, you go to this man, Saul, and you tell him that he is going to bear my name before kings.

Can you imagine that?

You tell him he's going to bear my name not just before Gentiles, not just before Jews, he's going to do it actually before kings.

And he did.

King Agrippa, Acts 25, Caesar, 2 Timothy 4, and then in Philippians 1, he proclaimed the gospel before kings, God says, I have a purpose.

I'm calling him to be used by me.

Same thing God has for you.

The personal call, the predetermined call, is a purposeful call.

And what's the purpose behind God calling you?

That somehow you might present the gospel.

Not just to Jews and Gentiles, but maybe before presidents and princes and kings and governors.

Who knows?

But you are that spokesperson because there's a purpose behind everything that God does.

And God doesn't call you just to sit you on a shelf and say, well, Hope to see you in eternity, bye.

No, He calls you to be used by Him every single day.

And when you resolve with tenacity to fight the good fight of faith, then you can get a grip on eternity and the call of God upon your life to be used in a very purposeful way for His glory and for His kingdom. Every man in the room has a purpose to proclaim the gospel, has a purpose in God's kingdom. Every woman in the room, every child in the room, called by God. Is called in a very purposeful way to fulfill the plan of God in your life. So when Paul tells Timothy, Timothy, take hold of eternal life to which you were called, in which you made a good confession. Maybe it was in your baptism, maybe it was your ordination, but you made a confession before others that you were called by God. Well, if that's the case, get a grip on eternity. Because your calling, your calling is a personal call. Your calling is a predetermined call. It is a purposeful call.

It is a precious call. Romans chapter 8, verse number 28, says very simply that we are called according to his purposes. Paul was told that he was a chosen instrument. That's very precious because God could have chosen anybody. But he chose you. God could have chosen another wife for you as a man, or another husband for you as a wife, but he didn't. He chose you to be the husband for your wife, the father to your family. He chose you in a very purposeful way because your calling was very precious to him. Don't think for one moment that our calling isn't precious to the Lord. It is. We are chosen instruments of His. We've been called according to His purpose. That's how we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose. We know that God is orchestrating his perfect plan, and he's using me to do that.

Also, understand this: that your call is a perfect call. It's a perfect call. The Bible says in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, verse number 24, these words. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse number 24. He says, Faithful is he who calls you, and he will also bring it to pass. Paul would say in Philippians 1, verse number 6, being confident of this very thing that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. In other words, it's a perfect call. The call is to move you from a place of imperfection amidst all of your sins and all of your iniquities. To move you ultimately to a place where you're completely glorified in the presence of Almighty God perfectly, spotless, blameless in His presence. Right now we are clothed in his righteousness, but ultimately we'll be in his presence perfectly before him. It's a perfect call.

On top of that, it is a permanent call. It's a permanent call. Romans 11:29. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. It's permanent. God doesn't say, you know what? I'm going to call you to myself. And then say, you know what? I'm done. The call is over. I'm going to call somebody else now. You failed. No. Once he calls you to himself, that perfect call, that precious call, is a permanent call. It's forever.

It's also a powerful call. Paul would say, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. For it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Over in Colossians 1:13, the call is so powerful that it translates you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

But you also understand, it is a painful call. It's a painful call because Paul was told by Ananias through the Lord God of Israel. You tell him how much he must suffer for my name's sake. You tell him that. You tell him he's a chosen instrument of mine. You tell him he's going to proclaim my name before kings. But you also tell him this: how much he's going to suffer for my name's sake. All those who live godly in Christ Jesus, they will suffer persecution. We can expect in this life to have a call from God, that doesn't exclude some kind of persecution, some kind of pain, some kind of adversity and affliction, because it comes with it. Christ said, if they persecuted me, they're going to persecute you, right? That's what he said.

And you know what? As time goes on, you and I will see that more and more in this life. As time moves to the coming of our Lord, there'll be greater persecution, greater adversity towards those of the faith, which really is a good thing. Because it will ultimately purge the church from all the phonies and all the pretenders and whittle it down to those who are truly committed to the Christ, those who have truly been called by the Christ. And therefore, Paul was reminded by Ananias that the call upon your life is going to cost you. That's what Christ said. If any man come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. It will be a cross-bearing kind of life.

But because you've been called by God, you can get a grip on eternity. You can see eternity for what it is. It's your greatest, most treasured prospect. That's where you're going. And that's what keeps us going from day to day, right? We know that glory is in our future. We know that heaven is in our future. We know the presence of God is in our future. Once we get a hold of that, wow, we can fight the good fight of faith. And we can live in light of eternity.

Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you for tonight. And a chance to spend a brief moment in your word. And my prayer, Lord, for all of us, is that, Lord, we would stand strong in the truth. Realizing that you've called us to yourself, and you're going to use us in a very powerful, in a very meaningful kind of way. Every one of us brings meaning to every relationship we're involved in. We bring meaning to our marriage. We bring meaning to our family. We bring meaning to our workplace. We bring meaning everywhere we go because we are children of the living God. Our prayer, Father, is that you'd help us to fight the good fight of faith. And as we get a grip on eternity, knowing that we've been called by you to speak forth that truth, that we live in the light of your coming again. And until you come again, Lord, may we always live with our eyes looking upward. Knowing that you could come at any moment. And for that, we long. We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.