For the Sake of the Call

Hallelujah! We worship You, Lord. We give You thanks together, Lord. Hallelujah. Thank you for Your love. Thank you for Your call. Praise God, praise God.

Remain standing, as I want to read from the book of Colossians, chapter 4. And let me just say, Brother Calhoun, we appreciate you and your wife, your leadership of the Bible college. Thank you for the invitation to be part of this school year, the beginning of the year. Amen.

In Colossians 4:17 — the closing words of this small epistle to the church at Colossae — there's a statement to someone who's otherwise unknown to us, mentioned only here and in Philippians: a little aside, you might say, but it's part of inspired Scripture, so I think there's some instructive value for us. In Colossians 4:17: "And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." And I want to speak for a little while tonight: for the sake of the call. For the sake of the call. You may be seated.

Now, I want to just make a few remarks about ministry, and then tell you why this verse is so significant to me. When the Bible speaks of ministry, the actual word means service. We use "ministry" in a technical sense to mean a preacher, usually, but in the Bible ministry is not limited to preachers. Actually, everyone should have a ministry. That's right — everyone should have an identifiable place of service in the body of Christ. When you read Ephesians 4:11–12, you find five offices that are often called the fivefold ministry: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. And we would probably say these are the equivalent — in the United Pentecostal Church International terminology — of credentialed ministers. These are the kinds of people we would give ministerial license and ordination to. But we sometimes think these are the only people who are doing ministry. But if you read that passage carefully, it says the job of these leaders is to train the saints — who are the people of God — so that the saints can do the work of ministry. In other words, so all of God's people can work together, and the result is the body of Christ is edified, or built up.

So we sometimes think — and this is a holdover from the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church, where the priests did all the preaching, the priests were the ministers, the priests were the mediators between God and men — they even preached in a language that nobody understood, so you weren't even supposed to participate. You were just supposed to show up and let the priest do it for you. You weren't even supposed to talk to God for yourself; you were to talk to the priest and give your sins to him, and he would forgive you. You weren't even supposed to read the Bible for yourself; you were supposed to let the priest read the Bible, he would tell you what to say. And so we still have that holdover: the preachers do all the work, the saints show up. But actually, the preachers train the people so the people do the work of the kingdom of God. The people do the ministry. And when everybody is fulfilling their role, the body of Christ grows.

Now, I'm presuming, to all of our students: you have a ministry, and you sense a call to ministry. Now, many of you may feel a call to preach, but whether you feel a call to preach or not, you must be here because God has placed on your heart that He wants to use you in His kingdom. And one of the best ways you can be used is to train yourself and devote yourself. And so I believe you're here because you have a call. I'm not saying every one of the 45 or 50 is called to preach, or called to be a missionary, called to be a pastor, but every one of you — as well as everybody else who's listening in — you are called of God to do a work for God. God has a plan for you. And just as the song that my wife sang indicates, everyone has a unique form of praise that God appreciates. So it's just like: I have three kids. If two of them show up for Christmas and say how they love me and they appreciate our family, and the third one never comes, I don't say, "Well, two out of three is not bad. That's two-thirds majority, that's pretty strong." No — I want each one of them. I want the love and involvement of each one, because each is unique and different and makes a contribution. And just as God wants your praise and my praise, so God has a place for you in His kingdom that nobody else can fill. You say, "Well, if I don't do it, someone else will." Well, that's not exactly right. Many things are left undone because someone doesn't do them. But even if someone steps in that place, still God wants your involvement. Your voice, your prayer, your praise, your witness, your personality, gifts, and talents are unique — a unique blend. There is no one in the universe that has your exact voiceprint, that has your exact fingerprint, that has your exact eyes. Of seven billion people on planet Earth, no one is your exact duplicate — which indicates you have a ministry that is unique to you, and that God is calling you to fulfill.

And so this man Archippus — we don't know who he was. If you piece it together from the scanty information that's found in Colossians and in Philemon — because Philemon was a man in the church in Colossae — it appears that, of course, the Apostle Paul was kind of the overseeing or advisory apostle. Epaphras was probably the pastor or the regional leader. And Philemon and Apphia — we're assuming by the male and female names, they were probably husband and wife — and it seems that they were the host of the church in Colossae, or at least one of the churches; they had a house church. And the way it's described, the way they're mentioned together, it could be that Archippus was their son, and perhaps even the leader of their house church. He might have been a pastor, or a pastor in the making. We don't really know. But Paul admonished him: God has given you a ministry — take heed that you fulfill it. It's not a ministry you chose. It's not a career path. It's not something you maneuvered yourself into. It's not something you politically arranged so that you would get elected to this position in the church. God has given you a special place of service. God has called you to do a certain work. Take heed — take it seriously — that you fulfill what God has called you to fulfill.

And so the purpose of coming to Bible college is to take seriously your ministry, to take seriously the call of God. And once again, I'm not restricting ministry and call to preachers and pastors. I'm saying we need workers of every kind in the kingdom of God — both men and women, both young and old, both preachers and those who will support the varied ministries of the church in various ways. But it's not just a career. It's not just a life choice. It's not just what you're doing when you don't know what else to do. But God has a purpose and a plan. It may unfold in ways that will surprise you. I've learned this: God doesn't usually give you the plan for the next twenty years. We really would like to know it, but He doesn't work that way. If He did, some of us would be so overwhelmed by the trials and difficulties, we'd just go ahead and backslide. And others would be so exalted and egotistical, they'd backslide over that. So God just gives us a little bit ahead — just enough. God gives us what we need to know, when we need to know it. We face a decision — like, when you graduate, what are you going to do? "I wish God would give me the next five or ten years; it'd make planning so much easier." But I've learned: usually He waits until I think it's almost too late — but it's always in time — and He shows me the next step. But in order to get to that next step, you've got to prepare. So even when you don't know what God is calling you to do, you have to prepare. And that's why I tell people about college and other forms of training and experience. What is God going to do in your life twenty years from now? You really don't know. It's like building a house: you don't know how big that house is going to be. You don't know if it's going to be one story, two story, three story. So you need to lay a good foundation, so that no matter what kind of house God wants you to build, that foundation is big enough and strong enough to sustain it. Since you don't know what your ministry is going to be twenty-five years from now — since you don't know where God is going to lead you in ten years, or fifteen years, or twenty years — you need to invest quality time and effort to build a strong foundation of Word and Spirit, so that you are available and ready for whatever God has in store for your future. And so I challenge you: what will you do for the sake of the call?

Now, let me just speak personally to you for a while — this is why this particular verse stands out to me. It was in the summer of 1980. And just so people don't have a hard time with mathematics here: I'm getting ready to turn 60. Okay, I'm 59 years old, but I'll be 60 in November. So of course I realize that makes me rather old, but it also means I have some experience. So in 1980 — well, I'll back up. I graduated from high school in Korea in 1974, at age 17. I came back to the United States to go to college, went four years, and then I felt God was leading me to law school. Well, that was certainly a challenge then, because I did not know hardly anybody who went to college that was Pentecostal, and then going to law school was beyond the pale. I did not know any Pentecostal lawyer. I'm sure there had to be some somewhere that got converted late in life, but I did not know any Pentecostal young person who decided, "I'm going to go to law school and be a lawyer." And so, in fact, when I said that, I had many people say, "You know, the Lord's going to come back before you finish school. And you're supposed to be a preacher; you're supposed to be a missionary like your parents; you're supposed to be a soul winner. Why would you waste all your time going to school when you could be out there winning souls?" And then, of course: "You can't even be saved if you're a lawyer. Lawyers have to lie and steal for a living. You can't even be saved." So I did take the road less traveled. But I went through law school — it's a three-year program. So the summer after my second year, I was hired by a law firm in Beaumont, Texas. I was going to law school in Austin, which is the capital of Texas, but I was hired by a law firm for the summer of my last year, and their purpose was to kind of try me out and see if they would make me an offer for being a lawyer full-time. So I moved to that city for the summer, really not knowing anyone. And so I decided, "I'm going to go visit the churches." There were several churches in that area, and I thought, "Well, I'll visit them, because if I do end up working here after I get out of school, I need to know where to go to church."

And so, I had been very involved in the church in Austin, and even before, in my undergraduate work, I'd been very involved in the church in Houston. I taught Bible studies. I was involved in Sunday school, youth ministry, nursing home ministry, campus ministry, outreach of all kinds. And I taught a lot of Bible studies. And even the church in Austin — the pastor had asked me to teach, in the midweek service, a ten-week series on teaching a Bible study, so the people of the church would know how to teach Bible studies. So I'd had a lot of experience in that. So I went to Beaumont, I was trying out churches, and one pastor said, "Well, you've been through college and now you're in law school. Would you talk to our youth group about college and career choices, finding God's will? Can you do a presentation?" So I said, "Sure, I can do that." And so I spoke at that youth group. And then a church across town heard about it, and they said, "Well, can you come to our youth group and talk to us about that?" So I said, "Sure, I can do that." And I spoke at that church. And so the pastor said, "Well, look, I'd like you to preach Sunday night." I said, "Well, I'm not a preacher." He says, "Well, you did a good job for the youth; would you just come speak to our church Sunday night?" I said, "Well, sure — you know, if that's what you want." And another pastor — he'd heard that I taught Bible studies — he said, "Well, the time you're here, would you do the ten-week series on Wednesday night, of teaching our church how to teach a Bible study?" So I said, "Sure, I'll do that."

And so I was there for eleven weeks that summer. And my last night, I was getting ready to head back to Austin to go to school, finish law school, pass the bar exam, become a lawyer. And so I was praying: "Now, Lord, if they make me a job offer, should I accept it? Is this where I'm supposed to come back? Or what am I supposed to do?" And so I was praying, studying the Scripture, and this verse came to me: "Take heed to the ministry that you've received in the Lord, that you fulfill it." I realized — you know, people tried to call me to preach, and I always resisted that. People tried to call me to missionary, and I always resisted that. Because I knew: if you're really going to be a called minister of the Gospel, or preacher, or missionary, there's a lot of commitment, there's a lot of sacrifice. It looks good on Sunday morning, but to really do God's will, there's a lot of commitment. And I knew what my parents had gone through as pioneer missionaries. And thankfully, they never tried to push me into the ministry. They never tried to call me to preach. They never promised me — of course, they weren't in a position of being able to promise me a large, nice position in a big church; they were missionaries. And so they just supported me: "Whatever you want to do, we support you. We just want you to serve God, and be faithful in church, and support the kingdom of God." That was their attitude. And so I'd always resisted these people trying to tell me what God's will for my life was. But I felt, as I studied and thought about it, prayed about it — I realized I was here in this town, that I knew nobody, for eleven weeks, and I had preached or taught twenty-one times. I didn't come to town saying, "I'm a preacher — use me." I came to town saying, "I'm a lawyer." And I found myself every day going to the law firm, doing all the work, rushing home, changing clothes, going to church, speaking. And then I realized: this was not man's idea — this is God's idea. God was the one who was doing this. And then I realized: you better take heed to the ministry that God has given you, that you fulfill it. It's not so casual that you're just trying this out, or you're just doing this. God has a plan for your life. God has a purpose. You better take heed.

Well, at that point, I didn't feel like I should drop out of law school, so I went back and finished, passed the bar, became a lawyer. But from that point, my goal was full-time ministry. So I turned down all the other job interviews — I didn't even go to them. The one law firm — I was wondering, "How am I going to tell them when they call me and they make an offer, and I'll say, 'Well, thank you for employing me all summer, giving me a really nice salary and giving me an apartment and furnishings and all that, but you know, I'm not interested. I'm not even going to be a lawyer'?" Well, I got the call, and they said, "We're very sorry to tell you, but our plans were to expand the firm with a new lawyer, but circumstances have changed. We're not going to be expanding. And we're very sorry that we implied to you that we might have a job, when we've changed our plans. But there is another law firm across town that's expanding, and we'll be glad to recommend you to them and support you in getting a job there." Well, that was my answer. The door was closed. And so that last year of law school, I just pursued full-time ministry.

Now, perhaps I was naive, but as I said, I didn't even do any more job interviews, because I felt, "God's called me to preach; He's called me to go to full-time ministry; I've got to take this seriously." Well, I'll give you a little more insight. So, about December — I was graduating in May — I got a call from a prominent pastor of a large church. He said, "I want you to come speak for our youth group." So I came and spoke. He said, "I want you to stay over for Sunday services." So I stayed over for Sunday services. He said, "My youth pastor is getting ready to resign, and I want you to consider this full-time position." So I thought, "Isn't that just like the Lord? Praise God — I made the commitment, I made the sacrifice, and out of nowhere here's this amazing opportunity." That was in December. I never heard from him again. As it turned out, the youth pastor had changed his plans and didn't resign, so nobody ever told me. So I waited a few months, wondering, and never heard back. And finally, through the grapevine, I figured out what was going on.

But in the meantime, I'd started dating the young lady who was to be my wife. And it took me six months to get the first date. She kept turning me down. And I finally found a way to go out. It was a very clever way: it was when I was teaching those ten-week series — I had someone — I had to get the notes typed up. She was a volunteer for the church, so I asked if she would type up the notes. And at the end of that, I said, "You know, the least I could do is take you out to dinner and repay you." So she felt obligated — so I won. So I took her out, and she got sick on that date — so she won. And so she said, "You're going to have to take me back home, you know." So that was the short end of that wonderful date. And so that took me six months to get that far. It took me two years to get the second date, so you can ask her about all that. But anyway, by that time we were on good terms. And so we got engaged in January, and I was supposed to be graduating May 13th, and we got married June 6th. And I didn't have a job, and I was called to be full-time in the ministry. And long story short, April 30th I got hired at Jackson College of Ministries. And so we got married, had our honeymoon, and a week later we moved to Jackson, Mississippi. I was 24, my wife was 20. And I became the dean of students, and I became the main theology teacher — taught sixteen hours: systematic theology, church history, Romans, you know, those lightweight courses. And we had a great time. And I could tell you more about that story, but that's how I entered full-time ministry.

So this verse of Scripture has always meant a lot to me, because I felt like God spoke. It wasn't a human being who called me to preach. It wasn't really a human being who directed my steps to that place of ministry. But I felt like God had His hand over my life. Yes, I had to respond. Yes, I had to be faithful. Yes, I had to work hard. Yes, I had to study. Yes, I had to prepare myself. But I had this feeling: my life and my ministry, my career so to speak, is not at the whim of a human being — it's in God's hands.

And believe it or not, the morning I was elected General Superintendent — I didn't know what was going to happen. I won't go through all the story, but the ministers there would know: I was encouraging people to vote for someone else. And the morning — early that morning — I woke up, which was very unusual, and I began praying and thinking, and this very same verse came to me: "Take heed to the ministry that you've received in the Lord, that you fulfill it." So when my wife woke up, I told her, "I don't know what's going to happen today, but I feel like God has said: whatever takes place, just accept it. Just do what I've asked you to do." Because not only was it a big decision for the conference, it was a big decision for our lives, and for our family, for our church. We're in the middle of a big building program; my daughter was a senior in high school; and on and on. But somehow I felt the Lord speaking to me, saying, "You just need to do what I have given you. You don't need to pursue something of your own device. You don't need to try to plan your grand strategy and make it happen. You simply need to fulfill what I call you to do."

And so I'm talking to Bible college students, but really I'm talking to everybody else too, because it's not just for twenty-year-olds and twenty-four-year-olds. I found: I was 52 when this happened again. I had my course set for the rest of my life, and God changed my direction completely. It's a great honor and great blessing, but at the same time it was a huge change of my life goals — what I thought we were going to accomplish, what I spent eighteen years working for, to start a church and build it to a size that we can make an impact upon our city. I found that periodically God will bring you back to that place of original consecration. Even if you're a very successful business person, making good money, or a successful pastor with a lot of influence, periodically God will bring you back to a place of decision and say: "Are you willing to do whatever I ask you to do? Are you willing to sacrifice? Are you willing to commit? What are you willing to do for the sake of the call? What are you willing to do for the sake of your ministry?"

Now, I know I'm not preaching a shouting message tonight, but I'm just trying to get us to think: God has a plan for our lives. God has given us a ministry. Let's take heed that we fulfill God's call. So I know in school there are many decision points along the way. Trials come. Sometimes finances are the obstacle. Sometimes it's easy to turn back. I know when I was teaching in Bible college — I was there for five years, and we grew from 163 students to 292 students. I could tell you a whole lot about that. But I remember some of those freshmen coming, all excited about the call of God — God spoke to them — and a month later they're homesick, their financial plans hadn't worked out, they're ready to go home. I'd say, "Wait just a minute. I don't think God changed His mind so quickly. At least He probably wants you to finish the semester, so you get credit for what you started. You know, don't blame God — 'Well, it's just the will of God for me to go home.' Well, wait a minute: did God really — you stay long enough to figure out why God brought you here in the first place." So sometimes it's not easy. Sometimes it's not convenient. Sometimes you go through trials. Sometimes there are hardships. But hold on: God has a purpose in your life. God has His hand upon you. What is God trying to accomplish — not just what are you trying to accomplish, but what is God trying to accomplish in your life? What are you willing to do for the sake of the call? What commitment are you willing to make?

As I said, all of us are called — all to serve. In Matthew chapter 20, Jesus made a statement that sometimes is hard for us to fully appreciate or understand. The disciples — you know, they had a habit of arguing over who's going to be greatest in the kingdom of God. At least they really believed in Jesus; they really believed He was the Messiah, and He was going to establish His kingdom. And so, but yet they weren't so spiritually minded — they would argue over who's going to have what position. And so Jesus stopped them. In Matthew 20, verse 25: "But Jesus called them unto Him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister" — i.e., servant — "and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" — another word, literally slave — "even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto" — He didn't come to be served — "but to minister" — but to serve — "and to give His life a ransom for many."

Have you come — well, maybe there are many reasons why you come, and it's not always bad to have various motives. Some people don't know what else to do. Some are trying to get their act together. Some are trying, maybe thinking they'll get married. All those things are not bad. But there's got to be an overriding call: "I'm here to do the will of God. I'm here to serve God. I'm here to serve God's people." Everything else is secondary and will fall into place if I will serve. I don't come to attain greatness; I come to serve. And when I serve, I'll attain the place that God wants me to have, and that will be great in His kingdom.

There was a rich young man in Mark chapter 10 that came to Jesus. In Mark 10:17: "When He was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to Him, and asked Him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments: Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto Him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow Me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

Now, that's a very interesting story. I don't think it means we have to sell all of our earthly belongings, but I do think it means we've got to get our priorities straight. And whatever is more important to us than the will of God — that's the very thing we've got to surrender to God. Now, this young man — if you look at him, he was admirable in many ways. He came running to Jesus. That's zeal. I mean, he was energetic, he was zealous. He was a worshipper, in a place, a time, when many people are lackadaisical, they're apathetic. I mean, this guy was on the front row. This guy was standing up and worshipping. This guy was on time to church. He was zealous. That's commendable. And he's probably on time to class too. I mean, it's amazing. Number two: he kneeled before Jesus. He was humble. He wasn't arrogant, he wasn't boastful. He didn't think he was God's gift to the world, or to the school, or whatever. He came humbly. Number three: he said, "Good Master." And Jesus said, "Wait a minute — when you're calling Me good, the only One who's truly good is God. So do you want to take it back? Are you willing to acknowledge it?" He didn't take it back. In other words, he was recognizing — I don't know how much he understood of Jesus, but he was recognizing Jesus is a man of God, Jesus is anointed by God, Jesus is the revelation of God. And again, that's commendable. Here was a man who was spiritually sensitive, in a day where many people just don't get it — they don't care, they don't understand, they're spiritually dull. But he was spiritually sensitive. He was discerning. He recognized deity. And then when Jesus said, "Well, you need to live a good life, you need to obey the word of God," he said, "I've done all that." He lived a good moral life. Well, think about it: this is an exemplary NCC student, Brother Calhoun. If you had a student who was zealous, humble, spiritually sensitive, and lived a good moral life — I mean, all they need to do is pay tuition and they're going to graduate. I mean, that's great. That's everything you'd want. I mean, you'd let him pastor a church pretty quick, Brother Brewer. What is missing? But Jesus said, "You lack one thing." What was the one thing? Full surrender to God. He refused to answer the call. And when he was directly confronted, he turned away sorrowfully. He wasn't willing to make the commitment.

So what are you willing to do for the sake of the call? You may have all the right qualities on paper. You may be an ideal saint — your pastor gave you a great recommendation. You may be an ideal student, and your teacher will give you a great recommendation. But between you and God, what is God telling you? Are you willing to make the commitment? Are you willing to make the sacrifice? It's not about what your peers are doing. "Well, I'm doing better than they are. I'm more committed and more consecrated than they are." Wait a minute — it's a one-on-one relationship. It's not about what your peers are doing or not doing. That can be deceptive. Jesus said, in the same context: many that are last shall be first, and the first shall be last — Matthew 20. You know, we look at the outward appearance: "Well, here are people who are excelling, here are people who are just doing great" — and they're cutting corners; maybe they're not really obeying God's word, but yet they're so blessed. Well, God is merciful. But you do not know what the judgment will reveal. Some of those that are seemingly so far advanced may not be rewarded nearly as much as some who are seemingly humble, taking the back seat, and a lesser achiever — because God doesn't evaluate the way we evaluate. So you might say, "Well, Brother Bernard, he's up there preaching, he's got this big position, you know, he's going to be so rewarded." But what about maybe the grandmother or the widow that's praying faithfully for me, or for her pastor, that never gets any recognition? But the Bible indicates that if you receive a prophet in the name of the prophet, you receive a prophet's reward. So that faithful saint of God, or that faithful assistant, or that faithful worker behind the scenes — that faithful person who's in a second place of ministry, or third place of ministry — in God's eyes may get the same or greater reward than the person we see visibly up front. So the question is not, what does everybody else think? The question is: what are you willing to do for the sake of the call? What is God calling you to do? Are you willing to fulfill the call?

And I will hasten to say: there is a reward for the faithful follower. The Apostle Peter blurted it out — and of course, he so often says what everybody else is thinking — he says, "We have left all to follow You. What about us?" He said, you know, "This rich young man — he wasn't willing to follow You. He wasn't willing to forsake everything to follow You, and he walked away. But — well, what about us? We have done that." And Jesus said, "Don't worry about it — you'll be rewarded." Everyone who forsakes father or mother — he goes on to list family, and lands, and possessions — for My sake: whatever you have to sacrifice, even if it's not what your family wants for your life, even if it's not the most glamorous, even if it's not the most financially rewarding — whatever you give up for the sake of the call, he said, you'll receive a hundredfold in this life. That's really amazing. And I can honestly say to you: yes, I could have pursued a career as a lawyer. I went to my thirtieth class reunion of law school, and I've got classmates who are federal judges, who are in federal government, who are in state government, who are in the educational system, who are prominent attorneys for national corporations. But you know what? I can honestly say: I am blessed in this life. I have peace of mind. I could go to bed at night and feel good about my life. I've got a wife and children and grandchildren who love me. We have a strong family, a loving family. And even if some of my physical family were not in church, I've got a spiritual family that sticks with me, who loves me. I have brothers and sisters in the Lord. I can honestly say I've got a hundredfold blessings in this life. Whatever I've given up to serve God, or to do God's will, I am blessed in this life. And then he said, "with persecutions." I have to be honest with you: there are trials, there are tribulations.

See, the thing about it is: the devil paints the false picture, and he gives you the best up front, but it's all downhill from there. You know, so like when you look at advertising for, let's say, you know, alcohol or cigarettes, just to give a simple example — you know, the devil never paints — they don't put in the advertisement the drunk driver in the car wreck. They don't put the guy in the cancer ward. You know, that's not the advertisement. The advertisement is some cowboy riding in the mountains, or some immodestly clad woman sitting by this late-model car. It has nothing to do with the product, but it sells it. It's a false image. So if you choose the devil's path for your life, you better really enjoy the advertising, because that's the best it's ever going to be. It only gets worse. And the eternal results are pretty bad. But if you choose God's call, He paints the worst picture up front. He's not trying to lie to you; He's not trying to deceive you. He says, "It's going to be a sacrifice. It's going to be a commitment. You're going to have to give up everything. You have to sell everything you have and give to the kingdom of God, and be willing to do whatever I say." That's true. But that's the worst it can ever get. It only gets better from here on out. When you say yes to God, you start getting blessed. For every friend you lose, you get a hundred new friends. For every family member who turns away from you, you get a hundred family members. For every dollar or every possession you walk away from, God supplies your needs. You might not get rich, but one day you'll be walking on streets of gold. You'll be in a city that's so wonderful — the worst part about it is gold. Think about it: down here we pave the streets with things like dirt and asphalt and concrete, the stuff that we least value. In heaven, the worst part of heaven is better than the best we have here. The good part of heaven can't be described. We can only describe the worst part of heaven, and that exhausts our vocabulary and our ability to understand. We have to say, "The bad stuff in heaven is gold." The good stuff of heaven — we're not smart enough to explain. So if you serve the Lord, it only gets better from here on out. Yes, you will have trials. You will have persecution. You will have sacrifice. You will have misunderstanding. But just look: one day you'll walk on streets of gold. One day you'll inherit eternal life with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. It only gets better as the days go by. It only gets richer as the years go by. I'm saying: what will you do for the sake of the call? It's worth doing whatever is required. It's worth any sacrifice. It's worth any commitment. It's worth any challenge that you face, for the sake of the call.

Let's stand together. Matthew 25:21 — the parable of the master and the servant. The servant that did his master's bidding — the master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Now, if the rewards in heaven were, "Here's the pastor of the largest church in New Brunswick" — whoever that is, only one person gets that. "Who is the best singer in the Atlantic District?" — whoever that is, only one person gets it. But when it says, "Well done, good and faithful servant," that means every one of us can qualify, because we're not being measured by some artificial standard, or by somebody else. We're measured by what God has called us to do. And if we're faithful with the gifts and callings of God, then we receive the reward. I want you to think about it: when the Lord comes, and when He reaches His arms out to you — and if you've had a lot of trials along the way — when He personally wipes away the tears, it's going to be worth every tear. When the Lord personally takes you in His arms and wipes away the tears, you're not going to be bitter. You're not going to say, "Well, Lord, I have a list of questions I've always wanted to know." Maybe after a few million years we'll bring out the questions. But you know, I think in His presence the questions kind of become irrelevant. I mean, why bother? There's the Answer, here. When the Lord Himself says, "Well done — you did a good job" — whatever your name is, fill in the blank — when Jesus Christ says, "Hey, John, you did a good job. You did what I asked you to do." "Hey, David, you did a good job. You did what I asked you to do." I think that's going to be worth more than whatever we could attain on earth, in business, in society, even in the church. It won't be "Well done, great district superintendent," or "great general superintendent." When He calls your name and says, "You are a faithful servant. You did what I asked you to do. You fulfilled the call. You fulfilled exactly what I had in mind when I created you. You did it." Oh, that is going to mean more than anything the world, or even the church, could say — when the God of the universe says, "You did just what I wanted. I knew you could do it. I had you in mind all along. Yes, you fit the role perfectly. You did exactly what I created you to do." It's going to be worth it all.

So I challenge you: what will you do with your call, and what will you do for the sake of your call? I believe the Lord is speaking to some people right now — maybe calling you, confirming the call, maybe giving you insight into why you're here. And if you want to respond, I want you to come to the front. Kneel here, or stand here. If you feel like the Lord is drawing you, would you come right now? I haven't tried to play on your emotions, but I've tried to appeal to you: God has a purpose in your life. God has a call for your life. Respond to the call of God. What will you do with your call, and what will you do for the sake of the call? Who will go and preach? Who will go and win souls? Who will be My worshipper? Who will be My prayer warrior? Who will be My soul winner? Who will be My missionary? Who will be My preacher? Who will be My faithful saint? Who will be the supporter of pastors? Who will be the friend of preachers? Who will do what I've called you to do? All across the building, if you don't come, at least take a moment where you are, or maybe pray with someone nearby, as I turn this over to the college staff or the worship team leaders. Let's respond to the call of God.