A sermon
preached by the Reverend Scott Dennis Nowack on February 5, 2012
at First
Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.
Responding
to the Call
Genesis
12:1-9
Matthew
9:9-13
Consider this your last confirmation class, your final lesson in a journey that began many years ago in church school, choirs and worship services. My final word to you is this: Respond to the Call. The God of the universe wants to do extraordinary things in your life and in the world through you as his disciple. It’s the call that defies logic and reason that requires a faithful response from you and me.
And God is calling you right now because God can call and use anybody God wants to use; anybody of any age, gender, race, creed God calls to live for him. Who is God calling you to be? What will your response be?
The Bible is filled with story after story of people from all walks of life who faithfully responded to the call of God. All sacrificed something to follow God’s call. All gave up something for God.
We read today about the call God had for Abram and Abram’s faithful response to God’s call. While living in Haran, Abram hears the call of God to get up and move; to leave the familiar and comfortable and go somewhere new and unknown. If you’ve ever shown up someplace new and unfamiliar such as a new summer camp or a new school, you know how scary and risky it is: strange surroundings, unfamiliar people, and unknown expectations.
I remember driving to Muhlenberg College, my alma mater, for pre-registration all by myself. I was terrified! It was pouring cats and dogs. I was hydroplaning on the highway. I found myself all alone in a strange, dark dorm room, praying to God to keep me safe through the night. Even though this was very hard at the time, I still went. I didn’t let my fears get the best of me. I trusted that I was doing what I needed to do in spite of the risk.
Despite the risk involved, Abram, without saying a word to God, immediately moves his family and belongings to an unknown land call Canaan. Abram completely trusts in God’s promise. He doesn’t linger or argue or bargain with God – he simply obeys. This is why Abram is the Father of the Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims everywhere.
We also read about Matthew: a Jewish tax collector for the Romans, a government bureaucrat, despised and hated by his own people, ostracized by the community, an outcast and a sinner. His response is very much like Abram’s. Jesus says “Follow me” and Matthew immediately left his lucrative government job to follow Jesus. With two words, Matthew’s faithful response was to give up the familiar and comfortable, in order to follow Jesus as one of his twelve disciples. That’s how powerful and effective Christ’s call is!
Dr. Donald Bloesch of Dubuque Seminary says, “Faith is not an achievement of humanity, but a gift from God…an inner awakening given to humanity by the Holy Spirit by which one is moved to give of oneself in trust and surrender to Jesus Christ.”
The Good News is that it doesn’t matter who comes to Christ or how we come to Christ, it just matters that we come. We are to respond to God’s call just as we are. It doesn’t matter whether you are an old man from the Ancient Near East living thousands of years ago or a former government bureaucrat of the Roman Empire turned disciple. It just matters that they responded to the call of God.
From age nine or age ninety-nine, it doesn’t matter how old you are for God is calling you. It doesn’t matter whether you have a college degree or not. It doesn’t matter whether you are a new Christian or have been a Christian your whole life or you’re still not sure what you believe. Rich or poor, smart or dumb: it doesn’t matter. God accepts us as we are and is able to make us who we are called to be.
Who is God calling you to be?
Unless I’ve missed my guess, there is someone here today who’s been looking for love in all the wrong places, trying to find a hero to take their problems away. Over and over again you are disappointed, hurt and left feeling hopeless and unloved. You’re right back where you started. You need to know that you are not alone. You need to know you are loved by the great God of the universe. You need to see that our God turns our mourning into dancing; our weeping may last for the night, but joy comes with the morning. You need to understand that there is nothing, absolutely nothing in the entire world that can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Who is God calling you to be? What will be your response?
When the people of God come together to serve and love each other and those around us, the Bible says there is nothing God can’t do, for nothing is impossible with God. I pray for the day when each of us can say that we gave our lives serving others. I pray for the day when each of us can say that we tried to love somebody. I pray for the day when each of us can say that we tried to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, build homes for the homeless, to care for the sick, bring hope to the hopeless, and faith to the faithless. I pray for the day when each of us will hear God say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Victor Hugo once said that there is nothing more powerful in the entire world than an idea whose time has come. My friends, our time has come! Our time has come to fight for justice and peace in our world. Our time has come to provide low-income housing for the working poor, to build relationships with churches in Pakistan to fight terrorism and in Africa to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS. Our time has come to work to end of all forms of slavery found in nations all around the world. My friends, our time has come! The time to act is now!
God is calling you right here, right now! What will be your response? What will it be?
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