Called – Embrace the Call
Introduction:
Slide 2 NLT – Matthew 22:14, 14For many are called, but few are chosen.
Called – G2822 kletos – invited
Chosen – G1588 eklektos – elect, choses, picked out
The distinction here is between the invitation, and those chosen from within those who
were invited.
Paul in the great Theological masterpiece of Romans declared in his opening chapter
concerning the Gentiles that they “have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.
I believe that every person received a person call\invitation from God to join His
Kingdom!
Abraham – The Call:
Biblical characters and their stories are shared with us not only to reveal to us God’s plan
for humanity, but to teach us faith and wisdom through their examples.
Slide 3 NLT – Genesis 11:27-32, 27This is the account of Terahs family. Terah was the
father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran was the father of Lot. 28But Haran died in
Ur of the Chaldeans, the land of his birth, while his father, Terah, was still living.
29
Meanwhile, Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abrams wife was Sarai, and
the name of Nahors wife was Milcah. (Milcah and her sister Iscah were daughters of
Nahors brother Haran.) 30But Sarai was unable to become pregnant and had no children.
31
One day Terah took his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai (his son Abrams wife),
and his grandson Lot (his son Harans child) and moved away from Ur of the Chaldeans.
He was headed for the land of Canaan, but they stopped at Haran and settled there.
32
Terah lived for 205 years and died while still in Haran.
Slide 4 Abram was originally in the city of Ur in southern Mesopotamia; located in the
southern area of modern day Iraq.
It was an important metropolis of the ancient world situated on the Euphrates River, with
an estimated population of 360,000.
Ur was the capital of Sumer for two centuries until the Elamites captured the city. The
city came to be known as "Ur of the Chaldees" after the Chaldeans entered southern
Babylonia after 1000 B.C.
Abraham lived in the city of Ur at the height of its splendor, which was a prosperous
center of religion and industry.
The Babylonians worshiped many gods, but the moon god Sin was supreme.
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Accordingly, the city of Ur was a kind of theocracy centered in the moon deity.
Ur-Nammu, the founder of the strong Third Dynasty of Ur (around 2070-1960 B.C.),
built the famous Ziggurats, a system of terraced platforms on which temples were
erected.
The Tower of Babel was a seven-story ziggurat made of brick.
It was from there that Abraham’s father Terah actually began the journey to Canaan, but
stopped with at Haran.
Haran was in northeast Mesopotamia on the river Belias, about sixty miles above where it
joined with the Euphrates. It was a trade center on the route from Ninevah to Carchemish
(Ezek. 27:23), and the chief seat of worship of the moon god Sin.
Both Ur and Haran were large centers dedicated to the worship of the Moon god Sin.
According to Joshua 24:2-3, Abraham’s family worshipped idols.
An interesting question is did Terah receive the original call and stop short of Canaan?
It was from the midst of this idolatry and paganism that God called Abraham.
Slide 5 NLT - Genesis 12:1-4, 1The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your native country,
your relatives, and your fathers family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will
make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a
blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with
contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. 4So Abram departed as
the Lord had instructed…
Slide 6 Abraham was 75 years old when he left Haran to follow the call of God.
Once called, Abraham followed God and never looked back.
Slide 7 Leaving Three Things:
1) Country
2) Family
3) Father’s House
Let’s examine these three things.
Leaving His Country:
Abraham’s Country represented the idolatry of this world.
God’s call and commandment was to leave it, get out, forsake it, etc.
God was calling Abraham to a new Spiritual Experience.
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A transition from a monotonous, repetitive practice of religious duties; to an exciting,
walk by Faith Spiritual Journey!
God knew that for Abraham to be successful on this journey would require getting free
from the practice and influence of idolatry.
When God calls us, He demands to be the only God in our life.
Let’s briefly trace the pull of idolatry down through the history of the Old Testament.
Abraham – followed after God and turned away from idolatry.
Isaac – followed after God and refrained from idolatry.
Jacob – followed after God and refrained from idolatry; didn’t even want to be buried in
Egypt because it was an idolatrous nation.
It took 400 years before the 12 tribes of Israel, the descendents of Jacob, cried out to God
for deliverance from Egypt.
God raised up Moses who led them from Egypt, but while Moses was on Mount Sinai to
receive the Law, what did the Israelites do?
They formed a golden calf and began to worship it!
Israel received the Law with it’s Commandments – “Thou shalt have no other gods
before me”!!
God commanded Israel to drive out and destroy the nations that currently lived in the
Land of Canaan.
At the end of the 40 years in the wilderness, God makes a new covenant with them
known as the Palestinian Covenant recorded in Deuteronomy 28 where He promises them
great blessings if they fully obey Him and Worship only Him; and He promises them
great judgment if they don’t obey Him but practice idolatry.
United Kingdom: 1 disobeyed, 1 good, 1 idolatry.
Israel: all 20 in idolatry.
Judah: 11 idolatrous, 7 good, Zedekiah unknown.
Only 8 good out of a total of 42 kings.
In the face of this it is staggering how Israel and Judah refused to follow after God, but
continually went after strange gods and fell into idolatry.
We don’t have the time to look at all the prophets today, but most of them except were
raised up by God to warn Israel and Judah of impeding judgment because of idolatry; but
for most of them their messages were rejected, and many were killed!
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Can you hear the lessons of the Old Testament screaming at us today: don’t allow
idolatry to exist, for it will bring judgment!
In Matthew 23-24, it is recorded where Jesus pronounced the finality of the judgment
upon Israel and Judah because of their refusing to listen to the prophets and living in
idolatry.
When God called Abraham and commanded he leave his country, it was because God
wanted to have a new nation free of idolatry that would serve only Him!
Savior AND Lord!!
You don’t add God to your life; you surrender and God controls your life.
Slide 8 Leaving Three Things:
1) Country – We become Citizens of the Kingdom of God!
2) Family
3) Father’s House
NLT – Ephesians 2:19, 19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners.
You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
Leaving His Relatives:
Let’s read Abraham’s call again.
Slide 9 NLT - Genesis 12:1-5, 1The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your native country,
your relatives, and your fathers family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will
make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a
blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with
contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
Abraham’s Relatives (family) represented his attachments and their distractions; the
objects of his affections.
Notice that Abraham wasn’t fully obedient, but brought his nephew Lot with him.
Abraham obviously had a lot of affection for Lot, especially since his father was dead.
But in doing so Abraham was disobedient to God.
The more God blessed Abraham, the more Lot because a distraction!
Not only was Lot a distraction, but he chose to live in a placed of wickedness.
We are to lay aside weights: distractions and affections!
Slide 10 Leaving Three Things:
1) Country – We become Citizens of the Kingdom of God!
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2) Family – The Family of God becomes your family!
3) Father’s House
NLT – Ephesians 2:19, 19So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners.
You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
NLT – I Timothy 3:14-15, 14I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to
be with you soon, 15so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct
themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the
pillar and foundation of the truth.
NCV – I Timothy 3:14-15, I’m writing…so you’ll know how to live in the family of God.
That family is the church…
Leaving His Father’s House:
When God calls us, He not only wants us to leave behind the idolatry of this world and
the distractions of this world and it’s affections.
Abraham’s Father’s House represented his security and identity.
Slide 11 NLT - Genesis 12:1-5, 1The Lord had said to Abram, Leave your native country,
your relatives, and your fathers family, and go to the land that I will show you. 2I will
make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a
blessing to others. 3I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with
contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.
While in Haran, Abraham was part of Terah’s family; but God wanted Abraham to be the
Father of a great nation.
At Haran, his identity was, “that’s Abram, Terah’s boy”.
But once he left Haran, he was the Father of a Great Nation.
At Haran, his father was responsible to be the ultimate provider and security for the
family.
But once he left Haran, God became his provider and security.
Slide 12 Leaving Three Things:
1) Country – We become Citizens of the Kingdom of God!
2) Family – The Family of God becomes your family!
3) Father’s House – God becomes our Father!
“Our Father who is in heaven…”
When God calls us, it is a type of repentance.
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God expects us to turn from our ways and leave it all behind to follow Him.
Idolatry – nothing is more important than following God
Attachments – willing to lay everything aside in my pursuit of Him
Security/Identity – trusting Him for provision and protection as His Child
The Call is the beginning of our walk with God!
Conclusion & Application:
Slide 13 NLT – Mark 1:16-20, 16One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea
of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew throwing a net into the water, for they
fished for a living. 17Jesus called out to them, Come, follow me, and I will show you how
to fish for people! 18And they left their nets at once and followed him. 19A little farther up
the shore Jesus saw Zebedee’s sons, James and John, in a boat repairing their nets. 20He
called them at once, and they also followed him, leaving their father, Zebedee, in the boat
with the hired men.
There was no hesitation on the part of Peter, Andrew, James and John; they left it all to
follow Jesus!
If you are sitting here today, as with Abraham, I believe you have received the call to
follow after Jesus Christ.
To come out of Ur, a place of idolatry and paganism, into a place of worshipping the One
True God.
The question today is, Are you going to answer the call?
Abraham is known today as a hero of faith, the father of the faithful, the father of the
chosen nation Israel, all because he answered the call and never looked back.
Once called, God became the most important thing to him.
God became the center of his world.
Abraham refused to live in idolatry, but made God the center of his affections, made Him
the reason he lived and breathed by surrendering his will to Him, made Him the focus of
his thoughts and understanding, and acted out his love for God with all his power and
ability.
Abraham received the call and answered it with everything
And although he made mistakes and sinned, He never looked back!
God is calling.
There is no journey I would rather be on!!
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Slide 14 NLT – I Peter 2:9-10, 9But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.
You are royal priests, a holy nation, Gods very own possession. As a result, you can show
others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
10
Once you had no identity as a people; now you are Gods people. Once you received no
mercy; now you have received Gods mercy.
The Parable of the Great Feast:
Slide 15 NLT – Luke 14:16-24, 16Jesus replied with this story: A man prepared a great
feast and sent out many invitations. 17When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to
tell the guests, Come, the banquet is ready. 18But they all began making excuses. One
said, I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me. 19Another said, I
have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.
20
Another said, I now have a wife, so I can’t come. 21The servant returned and told his
master what they had said. His master was furious and said, Go quickly into the streets
and alleys of the town and Slide 16 invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.
22
After the servant had done this, he reported, There is still room for more. 23So his
master said, Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you
find to come, so that the house will be full. 24For none of those I first invited will get even
the smallest taste of my banquet.
We have the invitation of all invitations!
Many are making excuses and allowing many other things to get in the way of answering
the invitation.
Three excuses:
The first guy uses his wealth as an excuse – I just bought some land and I have to go look
at it – it will still be there, but he had to go look at it.
The second one used his work as an excuse – I’ve got to go and plow my field.
The third guy used his wife as an excuse – I just got married.
What excuse are you using for not answering the call?
Lord, let me first do this, then I’ll be sold out to you. Let me first do this, and then I’ll be
all yours.
Let me let you in on a little secret – if you would put God first in your life, He’ll take care
of everything else.
LB – Proverbs 3:6, In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown
your efforts with success.
Everyone wants to be a success.
Here the Bible tells us how: in everything you do, put God first.
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Have you been trying to live a part-time Christian life?
The first question of life is - what does God want? He wants all of you. And any time
you sit on the fence, you lose.
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