BEING APPREHENDED BY THE CALLING OF GOD

The story in Luke 5:1-11 tells us about Jesus teaching to a multitude while on a boat in the lake of Gennesaret. He commanded Simon to launch out into the deep water and to cast down his nets for a catch. Simon had done so and they caught a great number of fish.

The story ended with Jesus calling the four fishermen to become His disciples. These four fishermen at this point had already heard about Jesus Christ and had accompanied Him on several of His preaching tours, but they were still doing their own thing. They were too busy working with their livelihood, but in the sovereignty of God, Jesus Christ came and said to them, "FOLLOW ME".

There also comes a point in one’s life when Jesus just appears and turns up with a calling. But what exactly does it mean when we say or hear the word "calling"? 

As described by Bob Yandian in his book, Calling and Separation, it is the will of God for our lives, the work God wants us to accomplish while we are here on earth. It comes from the greek word "kaleo", which means to call aloud, to summon or to call toward. Every believer has his calling.

Galatians 1:15 tells us that we already had our calling even when we were still in our mother’s womb. We could not earn or deserve our calling. It is only by the sovereignty of God that we receive our calling.

What do we need to do?

We must recognize the call of God. We need to pray for revelation as to what God has called us to do. "Lord, what is my calling?", "Lord, what do you require of me?" What God requires of us will be revealed to us in judgment time so we need to earnestly seek Him for our calling for us not to live our lives aimlessly. We need to ask God to show us His purpose and plan for our lives.

We must accept the call of God. We must realize that the calling of God is custom-fit for us, and that we cannot walk in another man’s calling. We cannot compare ourselves with others. Sometimes the struggle is not how high and costly the call is rather our inaccurate perspective of ourselves.

We feel we are not ready or prepared enough to live out the call. We think we are unworthy of the call just like Peter. In Luke 5:8, he said Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord! But Jesus said Follow Me! The Lord saw something in Peter as He sees something in all of us. He sees beyond what we see.

He doesn't call the qualified but He qualifies the called. For Peter, the Master’s voice is enough.

When Jesus said Follow Me, the fishermen immediately left their boats and followed Him. No hesitations. No calculations. Like Peter, God will also take us to that point of brokenness wherein our sins, nothingness and unworthiness are revealed. When we are convinced that we cannot make it on our own, He convicts and humbles us. When we are out of our usual prideful self, that is when we will hear him say, Come, follow Me".

We must walk the call of God. Ephesians 4:1 tells us I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called".

Is it that simple to walk the call of God in our lives? Certainly not. Life has made itself complicated. We have life’s entanglements. They are not necessarily evil things, but they can keep us from answering and walking the call of God. They can be our family, possessions, work, time or even ourselves.

Unwise decisions or not consulting God can also be impediments to our call. Jesus called the disciples and said, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men. One of the most important things that we need to know about our calling is that we need to know and hear the voice of God calling us. We cannot rely on people hearing God and telling us what we are called to do. We need to hear the voice of God ourselves.

Faith comes from hearing the Word of God. For us to have the faith and grace to walk that calling, we need to hear the voice of God. The sovereignty of God is the all-determining factor in the timing of one’s call. We can desire to serve the Lord, but we cannot enter the ministry until we receive the divine call.

In Luke 9:57-58, a man wanted to follow Him but Jesus said "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head". In other words, Christ was saying that the price to follow Him was too great for that man.

Therefore, we can only enter the ministry when we are sovereignly called by God. When Jesus called the disciples to full-time discipleship and ministry, they forsook all and followed Him immediately. Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me". In this verse, we realize that our call has a weight. Our call has a price.

What caused the disciples to forsake everything and follow Christ?

The disciples were apprehended when they heard the call of God. They were apprehended because they loved God, and the voice of the Lord gave them the grace and faith to obey and follow Him. When the call of God apprehends us, it seizes us and causes us to voluntarily give up our rights to fulfill our calling. Our love for God enables us to give our all to Him and become His bondservant.

One important thing that we need to do to do the call of God in our lives is what Phil. 3:12-14 tells us, forget about our past and reach forward to the things that are ahead.

What can we do with our calling?

We can ignore our calling just like the lazy servant. In Luke 12:42-48, Jesus spoke of a servant who thought that his master was delayed in his coming. Thus, he beat his fellow servants and spent his time recklessly. Jesus says that the master of such a servant will come at an unexpected time and cut him in two. Jesus warns that servants who do not prepare or do the will of their master will be punished.

We can run away from it just like Jonah. Jonah 1:1-3 tells us that God commanded Jonah to preach His word in the city of Nineveh. Instead of obeying, he went in the opposite direction and would have fled to Tarshish to get away from the Lord if it were not for His intervention.

We can forsake it just like Demas or Judas who loved the world more than they loved God. (2 Timothy 4:9-10 and Matthew 26:14-16)

We can apprehend the call – or rather, allow it to apprehend us just like Paul. (Philippians 3:12-14)

When do we respond to God’s call?

The Scriptures say that the disciples IMMEDIATELY left their boats and followed God. The disciples followed Him without delay. God wants the same thing from all of us.

Will we be willing to respond to our call? May we be like the disciples who forsook all just to follow the call.

References:
Yandian, Bob. Calling and Separation. Oklahoma: Harrison House Publishers, 1991.
Bailey, Brian. The Life of Christ. New York: Zion Christian Publishers , 1998. E-copy.