are not well nourished, we cannot carry out the plan of God."
Responding to the word. Matthew 4:1-4 (NLT) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. 3 During that time the devil came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread." 4 But Jesus told him, "No! The Scriptures say, 'People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
The Call John 4:31-34 (NLT) 31 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging Jesus, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But Jesus replied, "I have a kind of food you know nothing about." 33 "Did someone bring him food while we were gone?" the disciples asked each other. 34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.
Exodus 3:1-10 (NLT) 1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn't burn up. 3 "This is amazing," Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go see it." 4 When the LORD saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied. 5 "Do not come any closer," the LORD warned. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God. 7 Then the LORD told him, "I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. 8 So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey…9 Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. 10 Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt."
GOD'S CALL 1. God calls us in: Relationship John 6:44 (NIV) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. "The calling of God is a drag if you fight it."
Mark 3:14 (NKJV) Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach. 2. God calls us up. Consecration 3. God calls us to. Assignment.
Three ways to recognize the call We don't find a calling, the calling finds us. 1. What do you think it is? 2. What is in your heart? We don't all get a burning bush; sometimes, we get a burning heart!
3. Is it bigger than you?
Arguing with God: 1. We make it about us. 2. We make it about the opinions of others. 3. We make it about our qualifications.
God's calling is not about our ability but our availability.
God wants our yes. Success is measured by our yes. You can quit a job. You can't quit a calling.
Romans 11:29 (NIV) God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
2 Corinthians 3:5-6 (NLT) It is not that we think we are qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant…
The calling is what qualifies. Ephesians 3:7-8 (MSG) This is my life work: helping people understand and respond to this Message. It came as a sheer gift to me, a real surprise, God handling all the details. When it came to presenting the Message to people who had no background in God's way, I was the least qualified of any of the available Christians. God saw to it that I was equipped, but you can be sure that it had nothing to do with my natural abilities. And so here I am, preaching and writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ.
"God takes great delight in equipping the unqualified."
Psalm 37:23 (NLT) The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
