I used to enjoy this TV show called Burn Notice. The storyline wasn’t particularly unique but I really enjoyed the characters. It was about a CIA agent who is trying to clear his name after he gets blacklisted by the Agency. Of course, in the process of trying to clear his name, he ends up helping all kinds of other people whom he has the unique skills to help. A part of each episode was his team running through the plan to help whomever they were helping that week. Inevitably, each week there would be some hiccup as they were executing the plan, and the main character would always say, “Stick with the plan, it’s a good plan.”
That is good advice. Understand the plan and then, even when things don’t go exactly as you might expect, stick with the plan.
I believe God has a plan for your individual life. I would call that plan God’s Purpose for your life. God has created you for a unique purpose.
If you want to live out God’s purpose for your life, you have to be intentional about understanding that purpose and then intentional about stepping into or living out the unique purpose He has for you.
The title of today’s sermon is Purpose on Purpose: Living Out God’s Calling
I know that the idea of discovering God’s purpose for your life may sometimes seem like a mystery. We ask all of these questions about what God wants us to do. What job should I take? Where should I live? Where should I go to school? Who should I marry?
I’ll try to give you a little insight into how to answer some of those questions. Ultimately, however, living out God’s calling in your life is between you and your Heavenly Father. But I can give you some parameters and guardrails when it comes to making decisions and answering the question, “How do I live out God’s calling in my life?”
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God’s purpose for our lives is divided into two distinct categories. There is His General Will and His Specific Will.
- God’s general will has been shown to us in Scripture.
- It is His heart and His desires for His entire human family.
- God’s specific will never conflicts with His general will. In other words, God will never tell you to do something that conflicts with something He has already told you in His word.
- It answers, in a general way, every question we might have about God’s purpose for our lives.
For example: Who should I marry? God’s general will, shown to us in scripture, gives us a general answer.
2 Cor 6:14-15 (CSB)—Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What agreement does Christ have with Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
Belial was a name for evil personified. It was often used as a name for Satan.
Paul warns against partnering with someone who does not follow Christ. Why? Because when you do, it’s like two animals who are harnessed together but don’t work well together.
Imagine two horses pulling a cart. One horse wants to go fast, but the other wants to go slow, or one horse tries to go left, but the other continues to pull straight. When that happens, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Paul goes on to explain in detail why being unequally yoked with an unbeliever is detrimental in your relationship with Christ and in your life in general. For two animals yoked together to be effective, there needs to be a good pairing.
Who should I marry? As a general guideline, it should be someone who also follows Christ so that you will be equally yoked. You’re both headed in the same direction, you have the same goals, and you value the same things.
Does that mean if you are married to someone who isn’t a Christian, that you are doomed? No, absolutely not. God can work in and through your marriage, and who knows how He will work in your spouse as you live your faith in front of them.
But if you are thinking about getting married. Look for someone who believes, God says.
“Well, I know a lot of believers.” That is where God’s specific will comes in.
This pattern is repeated throughout all of Scripture. Sometimes God’s general will addresses a particular subject, like the marriage example. Othertimes, God’s general will comes from simply understanding God’s character.
Becoming more like Jesus means doing the things that Jesus did. Demonstrating love and grace and mercy, but also pursuing righteousness, holiness, and justice. All of these are a part of God’s character, shown to us in His Word, and the Father wants us to reflect His Son, Jesus.
If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.
—Billy Graham
Living out God’s calling begins with understanding His general will shown to us in His Word.
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The second part of understanding God’s purpose for your life and living out your calling comes from understanding God’s specific will for you —the purpose that God has uniquely designed for you and your life. Understanding God’s specific will must begin with prayer.
God’s Specific Will
- Begin with Prayer
When Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, the first thing He tells them to pray for is God’s will to be done.
Matt 6:10 (CSB)—Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Begin with prayer.
When we pray, “God, show me your purpose, show me your will,” and then we anticipate the answer with a willingness to go wherever and do whatever He has for us, we will begin to understand His specific purpose for our lives.
That’s number one. Next, we need to understand the difference between these three things: Our Identity, our calling, and our assignment.
- Our Identity
Who are we? In its desperate search to answer that question, our culture has boiled identity down to things like sexual preference, the color of your skin, ethnicity, or political affiliation. But who we are is not based on the ever-changing opinion of the world, but rather on what God says about us.
Identity is understanding who you are, because of Jesus. This is foundational to understanding God’s purpose. That’s why it’s one of our four values here at New Hope.
When you begin a relationship with Christ, the Bible says there are some general things that are true of everyone who follows Him. You are now a son or a daughter of God; adopted as His child. You are an heir of Heaven and a co-heir with Christ. You are a new creation, created in Christ Jesus to do good works. There are a slew of things scripture says about who we all are when we choose to follow Christ.
But a part of your identity is also the uniqueness with which you have been created. Look at what God says in Psalm 139:
Ps 139:13 (CSB)—For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
All of Ps 139 is about the uniqueness with which you have been created.
You are not random. You are not a sample of humanity. You are you by God’s creating and providential design.
—John Piper
In Exodus 4, when God calls Moses to go to Pharaoh to tell Him to let the Israelites go, Moses protests and says, “I don’t speak so good. You should get someone else.” Here is God’s reply:
Ex 4:11-12 (CSB)—The LORD said to him, “Who placed a mouth on humans? Who makes a person mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say.”
You are uniquely created by God. He knows your heart, your thoughts, and your needs.
In Matt 10, Jesus talks about God’s attentiveness to your needs. Look at what He says:
Matt 10:29-31 (CSB)—Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent. But even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
You are God’s child, knit together uniquely by Him. And He knows you, individually.
You are you by God’s design. Who you are is also a result of your unique experiences.
I have talked to many people over the years who carry a lot of shame about their past. They remember things they’ve done, people they’ve hurt, and the sin they’ve participated in and they think there is no way God could ever redeem those things. They think there is no way God could have a calling on their lives.
That is a lie, from the pit of Hell, designed to keep you ineffective in your walk with Christ. It simply is not true. I once heard someone say:
It’s not who you are that holds you back; it’s who you think you’re not.
All of those unique experiences are a part of who you are. They are a part of who God is making you. Embrace your past as a part of the story that God is writing in your life. There may be shameful things that are a part of that past, but God will take those things and use them for His purpose. Don’t let the enemy keep you from seeing what God is doing in you.
It could be things like abuse, or addiction or even incarceration. Instead of allowing those things to cancel out God’s calling on your life, allow God to take them and use them for His glory. That’s what God does: He takes broken things and makes them new. Your story is unique to you, it is a part of who you are. Your identity.
The next part of God’s specific will is
- Our Calling.
First, you should know that God doesn’t only call Pastors and Missionaries. If you are a follower of Jesus, there is a call on your life to do something in His Kingdom.
One of the problems with discovering your calling is that many people confuse their identity with their calling. They are related, but not the same. There is a difference, you see, between who you are and what you are created to do. Identity is who you are, but calling is how you express that (are you with me so far?)
One popular definition of calling is this:
Calling is where your deepest passions and your greatest strengths intersect.
That may be simplistic, but it’s true. It’s a good place to start. If God has uniquely knit you together and is actively writing your story, then it follows that the things you are passionate about are also uniquely you.
One sign of God’s calling is passion.
Passion is when you ache to do a certain role, accomplish a certain goal, or help certain people. The desire is so strong that you can’t let it go. You think about it. You pray about it. You dream about it.
A great example of this is Rod Bragatto. Rod has been doing ministry in Hermiston for a lot longer than I’ve been here. Rod has always been passionate about reaching students with the gospel and seeing them grow in their relationship with Jesus. That passion led him to establish Campus Life and now the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
We often think passion should feel like fireworks or loud applause. But sometimes it feels like quiet resolve and sweaty, unglamorous work.
—Brene Brown
Passion is stronger than normal desire. Passion might periodically wane, but it won’t go away. You feel like you “just can’t not do it!” When Rod left Campus Life, I wondered what in the world he would do. A few months later He’s building FCA. They guy is passionate about reaching students.
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In Matt 10, it says that Jesus didn’t just teach His disciples—He sent them out! He gave them on-the-job training! This is the only way to explore your calling.
It’s one thing to talk about being called to something, it’s another to step out try it.
You will miss your calling if you’re waiting for clarity. Calling comes with commitment, not certainty.
—Brene Brown
Often, people think they need absolute clarity about their calling before taking any steps forward. They worry about making the wrong decision. But getting experience is important for understanding God’s calling.
You’ll never know whether God is calling you if you don’t take the first steps and give it a try!
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After God ignites your passion and you’ve taken the first steps, don’t give up. At first, the going might be tough. After all, you’re developing new knowledge, skills, and relationships.
A calling is about doing meaningful work, but it doesn’t mean the work will always be joyful. Sometimes, doing what we’re called to do is excruciating because it demands that we grow.
—Brene Brown
After a while, if this is God’s calling, there will be fruit. You’ll discover you’re good at it, and you really do like it, and you want to do more. God will probably even transform people through what you are doing.
Yes, you’ll make mistakes, and you might even face opposition. But the overall result will be confirmation through fruitful results.
For me, understanding my calling didn’t come overnight. It was lots of trial and error. It was lots of learning and growing. It was lots of stepping out of my comfort zone.
Thirty years ago, I wrote my calling statement. It has been on pretty much every resume I’ve ever sent out. It has given me direction for those 30 years.
I want to be a man who leads his family, friends, and those around me to be fully devoted, lifetime followers of Jesus.
Ever since I was in high school, even though I couldn’t necessarily articulate it back then, that has been my passion.
That calling has led me to my assignment. This is the third part of understanding God’s specific will in our lives.
- Our Assignment
My assignment is the context in which I carry out my calling. Right now, my assignment is New Hope Community Church in Hermiston, Oregon. There are many places I can lead people to become fully devoted, lifetime followers of Jesus. It could be as a volunteer in a ministry. It could be while working at Amazon.
The context for you living out your calling is really limitless. You don’t have be a Pastor or a Missionary to live out your calling.
As I was putting this together, I was remembering Nadalie Cannell because Stacey and I have been praying for her. If you don’t know Nadalie, she is a gifted golfer. She hit a hole-in-one at the Campus Life Tournament last year. I was lucky to even find the green. She just received a full-ride scholarship to play golf at a Christian College in Texas. Golf is Nadalie’s assignment right now. God is using something she loves and is gifted at to be her assignment right now.
Your assignment could be as an actor, a professional athlete, an artist, an electrician, or a stay-at-home mom.
Your assignment is the practical application of your calling.
Again, identity, calling, and assignment are all different, even though they are related. Where we get into real trouble is when we start mixing these things up. Your identity never changes. Your calling mostly doesn’t change. But your assignment definitely changes. Many of us frequently confuse our identity or our calling with our assignment.
I see this all the time in Pastors. A guy may be a pastor most of his life but then something happens, maybe he retires of has health problems and has to leave ministry. Because being a pastor has been his identity for so long, suddenly he faces this huge crisis. He doesn’t know who he is anymore because he isn’t a pastor.
I see this in many parents, especially moms. You’re raising kids and taking care of children for so long that it becomes your identity. One day, the kids leave. How dare they! And now, because your assignment as a mom changes, you lose your identity and you don’t know who you are apart from being a mom.
Some day, Nadalie may not be able to play golf, but that does not change who she is or her calling.
When you confuse identity and assignment, it quickly leads to lots of frustration and anxiety. Who we are and what we do, even though related, are very different. God’s heart is that we know who we are and then use that to influence what we do.
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Understanding God’s unique calling on our lives and living it out is not optional for those who follow Jesus.
We find our purpose when we look for it on purpose. We are to be stewards of this unique life that God has created in us.
God has placed a unique call on your life. In other words, He has created you with a unique set of passions and gifts, and He has designed you to find purpose and fulfillment when you deploy those passions and gifts to do something.
Eph 2:10 (CSB)—For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Do you know your calling? Can you articulate it?
This week, I would challenge you to write a calling statement.
How has God been leading in your life? What are you passionate about? If your calling is where your greatest passions and your greatest strengths intersect, do you know your greatest strengths?
Something that might be helpful is taking a personality inventory. DISC or the Meyers Briggs or the Enneagram. There is another inventory called Strength Finders that can be helpful. Here are some links to help.
But before you do any of that, begin with prayer.
https://discpersonalitytesting.com/free-disc-test/: Purpose on Purpose: Living Out God’s Calling https://www.truity.com/test/type-finder-personality-test-new: Purpose on Purpose: Living Out God’s Calling https://www.truity.com/test/enneagram-personality-test: Purpose on Purpose: Living Out God’s Calling https://www.gyfted.me/personality-quiz/strengthsfinder-test-free: Purpose on Purpose: Living Out God’s Calling
Chris Hankel 
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