This morning we continue our series entitled, “Refined Focus”, with an emphasis on “Focusing on God’s Finished Work”. We have been looking at the life and call of the Apostle Paul for a few days now. You know his background by now. Today I want to highlight his call and speak to it. Once again, this is what Paul said about his call in his own words: “But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles.” (Gal 1:15,16).
Paul was born to Hebrew parents in the city of Tarsus, which is found in modern day Turkey. In Paul’s day Tarsus was the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. This meant that Paul had dual-citizenship. He was both a Roman and Hebrew. While his Roman citizenship gave him special privileges, he was without question raised as a Hebrew. He studied under the best teachers of the Law of Moses and he spent his entire life, prior to coming to Christ, climbing the Jewish religious ladder.
When Paul was Born-Again you would think that God would use him to reach those he was closest to. Paul had access to the Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul could easily get an audience with the Sanhedrin. Paul could have gone to these men and told them of his encounter with Jesus. He could have visited key Jewish leaders and shared the gospel with them. Simply stated, Paul could have used his connections. However, if you look at Paul’s statement about his call you see that God did not call Paul to the Jews. God called Paul to the Gentiles.
God called Paul to reach people he normally had no dealings with. Paul was an exceptionally learned man in all-things pertaining to the Law of Moses and the Levitical Law. However, God called him to people that knew nothing about the Law. So who did God call to reach the Jews? Who did God select to reach the most educated men in the Law? Well, a fisherman, of course. That was Peter’s assignment. God called a man with no Jewish education to reach the most educated and He called the most educated man to reach people who knew nothing about the Hebraic Law. Why does God do this? To get you out of your comfort zone; to force you to rely on His finished work and not your ability.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- God called one of the most educated men in the Hebraic Law (Paul) to reach people who knew nothing about the Law and He called a common fisherman (Peter) to reach the most educated men in the Law. God does this because He does not want you relying on your ability. God calls you out of your comfort zone so you can rely on Him.
- What you feel most comfortable doing may be what you WANT to do for Christ. However, God knows that if He allows you to do what you feel most comfortable doing, then you will most-likely do it in your own strength. See, when you are doing what you already know how to do, most of the time you don’t involve God. So God calls you to do things you are NOT comfortable with. He calls you outside of your comfort zone. He calls you to operate in realms beyond your education, to pursue deals that exceed your bank account, and to connect with people you don’t know, so are you forced to rely on Him to do what you cannot do.
- God loves it when walk into a situation and your total reliance is on Him. Because at that moment your focus is not on your work, but rather on His finished work; on what God planned before the world began.
- God wants you to accept the fact that He called you by grace, not because you are qualified to do it. He wants you to rest in the fact that He has already prepared your success. He wants you to pursue your assignment by faith, knowing that your faith will tap into His grace along the way. And God wants you to believe that He will give you the words and perform the work as you walk out your life’s assignment. Living this way may not always be comfortable, but it is the life of faith we are called to.
- To live by faith you must get comfortable with a certain level of discomfort. Because God will not allow you to rest in your ability. God calls you to people, places and projects that force you to rely on Him and His ability.
Closing Confession: Father, this is a season of refined focus for me. I bring my life into focus in 2016. I die to self. I give myself over to You. I rest in what You have called me to do. I don’t fight against my assignment. I don’t rely on my own strength. You call me to do things I cannot do, to connect with people I do not know, to go to places I have never been, and to work on projects I do not have the money to fund. So I simply rely on You Father. I rest in Your finished work. If it is Your will, then it is Your bill. My eyes are squarely on You! I will get it done; not by my power, but only by Your grace. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
