June 1, 2025

• Welcome and Announcements
• Prayer of Invocation
• Our God
• My Life Is In You
• Scripture Reading: Acts 13:1-3; Ephesians 4:7-12
• Testimony - Seong Kim
• I Know Whom I Have Believed
• Pastor's Message: Called By God
• Laying on of Hands and Prayer
• Take My Life Lead Me Lord

Acts 13: 1-3; Ephesians 4: 7-12

Acts 13:1-3
¹ Now there were at Antioch, in the church that was there, prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
² While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."
³ Then, when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

Ephesians 4:7-12
⁷ But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.
⁸ Therefore it says, "When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men."
⁹ (Now this expression, "He ascended," what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth?
¹⁰ He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)
¹¹ And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
¹² for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;

SERMON NOTES - Called By God

GOD CALLS INDIVIDUALS

• What does the word called mean?
• It means to invite, summon, call someone by name, and with God it also involves His choosing.
• God invites you, summons you, and chooses you for salvation.
• If you are saved it is the result of God's call on your life.
• For what purpose has He called you.
• God called you to glorify Him.
• One of God's overarching purposes in your life is to make you like Jesus.
• Understanding being called by God should not just launch us into theological debate and discussion about doctrine. It should drive us to our knees in humility and gratitude that God did call us and motivate us to live in obedience and service to Him.

GOD CALLS CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS FOR SPECIFIC TASKS

• All Christians are, in effect, ministers, but there are certain people who are given to be equipping ministers and that list includes apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors/teachers.
• In the Acts passage for today, Saul is listed among those who are prophets and teachers. The Bible also says that it was "while they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.'"
• It is significant that Paul and Barnabas were actively serving the local church when God called them to a different kind of ministry. They were being faithful right where they were and God set them apart for a more comprehensive work.

THE CALL OF GOD IS A CALL WITH A COST

• Being a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ can be both the most rewarding and at the same time the most frustrating profession a man can have. It is not for the easily discouraged, the easily offended, or the faint of heart.

THE CALL OF GOD IS A CALL TO SERVICE

• Pastors are called to lead; to shepherd God's flock, but they are to do it with the attitude of a servant.
• Servanthood is not weak and powerless submissiveness that allows people to walk all over you. It is though the willingness and choice to put the welfare of others in front of yours for the sake of the gospel. Jesus was not a weakling who allowed others to take advantage of Him, or a coward who was afraid to engage in conflict.
• The gospels tell a completely different story. He was gentle and humble in heart but He was also willing to confront the religious leaders with their hypocrisy and spiritual blindness.
• The ultimate demonstration of His servanthood was the cross. He laid down His life. No one took it; He gave it. In perfect obedience to the Father Jesus died so that those were lost might be saved.
• "The pastor who is a servant to his flock has an authority and influence unmatched by those who have taken all the leadership courses and read all the books and are able to display all the certificates on their walls. The leader who will serve his people demonstrates Jesus Christ to them, proves his concern for their needs, models effective leadership for those coming after him, and builds a solid structure on a firm foundation. Not all pastors want to serve. Some wish to be known as strategists and pulpiteers, managerial experts and motivational geniuses. But only those who serve are building a church that will last upon a solid biblical foundation. The others are playing their control games." - Joe McKeever

THE CALL GOD IS A CALL TO PERSONAL INTEGRITY

• Love God with everything you have. That is priority number one. With God's love in your heart, love your wife, and your children, your family. Then love the church, the body of Christ, and then the lost world for whom Jesus died.

GOD'S CALL IS A CALL TO THE PROCLAMATION OF TRUTH

• Specifically it is a call to the ministry of the gospel and to the entire word of God.
• The ministry of the gospel means preaching and teaching the truth of God's word whether people like what they hear or not.

THE CALL OF GOD IS A CALL TO FAITHFUL ENDURANCE

• Desire alone does not automatically qualify a person to be in ministry. We don't call ourselves to the ministry of the gospel, God does, and if God has called you, then your call remains in effect until God changes it, or you disqualify yourself though disobedience.