Many Christians say that they want to know what their calling is, what their purpose is.  Unfortunately, it seems that most Christians don’t know.  So, we’re going to look at some verses in the Bible to help you figure out your calling.  In your calling you are:

Called to salvation – Mk 2:17 – this is not predestination.  God calls sinners to repentance.  That’s why we deal with people about their sin; so they’ll see their need to be saved.  According to Gal 1:6, God called you to the grace of Christ [Eph 2:8-9].  In salvation, your calling includes hope, an inheritance, a kingdom and glory.  God wants you to know all about these so that your affection will be on things above and not on things on the earth.  

Called to fellowship – 1 Cor 1:9 – but salvation doesn’t stop with simply getting a ticket to heaven and out of hell.  You are also called into fellowship with Jesus Christ.  The tragedy is that many people miss out on this great fellowship with Jesus Christ.  Though you can’t see, feel, hear, touch, smell or sense him, you can have great fellowship with him.  You are called to have fellowship with him.  Imagine that.  He desires to have fellowship with you.  And as you fellowship with Jesus, his light becomes more apparent in your life because he has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light [1 Pet 2:9].

Called to sainthood – Rom 1:6-7 – after you get saved, the Lord calls you to sanctification.  He wants you to clean up and stay clean.  See also 1 Cor 1:2 and 1 Thes 4:3-7.  Your sanctification is the will of God for you.  God doesn’t want to use a dirty vessel. 

Called to unity (in the body) – Col 3:14-15 – we are called to peace which comes when we, through charity, are bonded together perfectly.  This doesn’t happen to Christians who don’t get in the church in which God wants them to be.  1 Cor 12:18 says that God hath set the members in the body as it hath pleased him.  And we aren’t just there occupying a pew.  We are there in the unity of the spirit and in charity which is the bond of perfectness. 

Now you can see why most people don’t know their purpose or their calling.  Many of them haven’t responded to the first things that God has called them to do.  They have gotten saved, but they aren’t in fellowship with Jesus, they aren’t sanctified and they are not charitably and peacefully united together in a body.  God’s not going to call you to a particular ministry if you haven’t responded to his call in these other matters. 

Called to serve – 2 Tim 1:9 – see also Rom 8:28, “called according to his purpose.”  God has a plan for every one of his children.  And his plan is not an after thought.  He knew, even before you were born, what he wanted you to do.  God called Paul to be an apostle [Rom 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1].  He called him to preach to the Gentiles [Gal 1:15-16].  This was his calling all along.  God just arranged the precise timing to save him and let him know.  And Paul answered that call.  Each of us has a “vocation,” [Eph 4:1].  We are to do it and walk worthy of it, no matter what it is.  And we must realize that there is a prize for this high calling in our lives [Phil 3:14].  So, we must press toward that mark.

Called to fight – 1 Tim 6:10-12 – once you answer the call of God to serve, you are going to have to fight the good fight of faith.  There is definite spiritual opposition to your call.  And you will also have to fight the temptation to be covetous, as God blesses what you’re doing for him. 

Called to suffer – 1 Pet 2:19-21 – you have also been called to suffer.  This world is under the dominion of the devil and we are just pilgrims and strangers here.  Therefore, there is going to be a measure of persecution and unjust treatment that you must endure.  

Conclusion: if you’ve been looking for your calling, start with the first four things we discussed in this sermon, and make sure you are doing these things you’ve been called to do.  Then, as you respond to these calls of God, you will certainly hear when he’s ready to call you to serve.