Called to a People, Not Just a Purpose

Ephesians 3:1-2 (NKJV) "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you."

Paul knew he was called and equipped to share the gospel. But notice, it was not a general calling. It was specific. He says in 3:1, "the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles." In 3:2, "given to me for you." In 3:13, "my tribulations for you." Paul knew who he was called to.

 Sometimes we begin to serve out of guilt or out of negative emotions. We think we are such sinners that we just need to serve and get rid of our guilty conscience. But Paul does not say that. He says that first this grace was applied to my own soul, then through me to someone else, and finally to a specific group.

 When I gave my life to Jesus Christ, I was 14-years-old at a summer camp. The next year, at 15, God called me into the ministry. He spoke to my heart in a way so unique that I have not really shared it much. It is too personal. But I'll never forget, with tears streaming down my face, knowing that I know that I know that I know God had called me into ministry. I did not know what it would look like, but I knew God wanted me to serve Him with my gifts and talents.

 Then, from age 18-20, after high school, God was working on my heart. I had no real opportunities, just a little Bible study here and there. Then God, by His grace, spoke to my heart, not an audible voice, but a voice so strong in my heart it was as if it were audible. Not just to preach, not just to be a minister, but to be a minister to a particular group, to be a youth pastor at a particular church. And I said "yes". My gift and calling was to a particular group and place.

 God gifts us with certain spiritual gifts, but He also applies them to a particular people. I remember when my wife, Lydia, and I both worked with teenagers. I was asked to preach the Sunday sermon to the congregation during the worship service, so I asked her to fill in for me with the teenagers' Sunday school class. She is certainly gifted to teach. At that point, she had taught children for years, so she said, "Okay." I remember after Sunday School, Lydia came to me and said, "Don't ever ask me to do that again." I said, "But you're a teacher; this is your spiritual gift." "Don't ever ask me to do that again." You know what I recognized? Just because you are gifted as a teacher does not mean God has not also given you a specific group. God not only gives us gifts, but He also directs those gifts to a specific people. God had called Paul to a people. He said, "For you."

 So, who has God called you to? You say, "That's just for preachers." No. In Romans 12:3-5 says, "For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another."

God's grace has been given to each of us. We all belong to each other, and all of us have been given a spiritual gift by which we serve other people. The Living Bible of verses 4-5 reads, "Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we each have different work to do. So we belong to each other, and each needs all the others."

The question isn’t if God has called you - He has. The real questions are: where? to whom? And are you willing to go there?

 Find that niche group, that specific corner of the harvest field with your name on it. And then go further, all the way to where it can be said of you that you are a prisoner of the Lord for someone else.

 Reflection Question: Who is the specific group God has shaped you to reach, and are you willing to go there?

 Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for applying Your grace to my own soul and then calling me to serve. Free me from serving out of guilt, and help me serve out of the joy of being Yours. Show me the specific group You have shaped me to reach. I'm willing to be Your prisoner so someone else can come into the kingdom of God. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out: "Staying Positive in a Negative World": https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/d6xvd3t/11-staying-positive-in-a-negative-world-eph-3-1-13