The Higher Calling: Sons and Daughters of God
April 24, 2022 · 2:25:50 · Watch on YouTube ↗
These notes - summary, key points, and highlighted thoughts - were generated by AI from the recording and are not the preacher’s exact words.
Summary
A visiting young missionary named David, in town with his Bible-school missions team, opens the service by lifting up the name of Jesus (John 14:6) and reminds the church that everyone who believes is sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). From there he names his theme: the higher calling. The highest calling, he says, is not to become a famous evangelist, preacher, or prophet, but simply to be a son or daughter of God (2 Corinthians 6:18).
David tells his own story of a dark past - broken friendships, drugs, depression, and several suicide attempts, including a brutal beating he barely survived. At his lowest moment he cried out, 'Jesus, if you are real, help me,' and God answered. He warns that the enemy attacks hardest the very people who carry a high calling, but believers have authority in Jesus' name and the Holy Spirit as their Comforter. God does not call the qualified, he calls the available, so the real question is: are you available?
The service continues with testimonies from his missions team preparing to go to Tanzania and Nepal, then a closing word from the pastor on Matthew 9:35-38: the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, and Jesus is looking not for ability but for shepherds with compassion. The pastor presses the church toward genuine fellowship, first with Jesus in the prayer closet (1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 John 1:1-4) and then with one another, and calls everyone to open their homes to the Ukrainian refugees who have just arrived.
Key Points
- The highest calling on your life is to be a son or daughter of God, not a title or a platform.
- Everyone who believes is sealed with the Holy Spirit, the guarantee of our inheritance.
- The enemy attacks hardest where the calling is greatest, but Jesus gives us authority and a Comforter.
- God does not call the qualified; he calls the available, so make your heart available to him.
- The Great Commission belongs to all of us: proclaim the gospel with words at home, at work, and among the nations.
- The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few; ask the Lord to send shepherds full of compassion.
- Our true calling is fellowship and closeness with Jesus, which then overflows into real community.
Devotional
Before you ever do anything for God, remember who you already are to him: a beloved son or daughter, sealed by his Spirit. The enemy may press you hardest precisely because heaven has placed a high calling on your life, but the One who lives in you is greater. You do not need impressive credentials, only an open and available heart that says, 'Here I am, Lord.' Spend unhurried time with Jesus today, and let the compassion you receive there shape you into a shepherd for the people around you.
The highest calling is not to be a preacher or prophet, but to be a son and daughter of God.
God does not call the qualified; he calls the available. So are you available?
Jesus, if you are real, help me - and he answered.
