Send Me

On Sunday February 10th we had the third English speaking worship service. We had a small group, but it was a nice, intimate gathering.

I had positive feedback from those in attendance of my message from the service, so I thought I would share it.

*Disclaimer: I gave my sermon off of notes rather than a fully written script and this was typed post-service. There may be a few inaccurate phrasings, but the main ideas and points are all the same.

Readings:
Isaiah 6:1-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-1

When I was thirteen, I was in my last year of confirmation class, and my Pastor had the idea that he wanted all of the last year confirmands to lead a worship service. They would be the pastor, assistant minister, acolytes, readers, and ushers. There were plenty of parts for everyone to have something to do.

Before class, my Pastor asked me if I would like to fill the role of pastor. It was a scary and big role to fill, but he felt confident in my ability to do so, so I said yes. That is how I gave my first sermon when I was thirteen.

After the service, I had many members of my congregation tell me things such as “you’re a natural,” “you looked like you fit at the pulpit,” and “can’t wait to see you do this with your future.” I was happy to accept all of the compliments, but I kept saying to myself, I don’t want to be a pastor and I am not going to be one.

This was the first time I began to wrestle with God calling me and me saying no. Th8s was the beginning of a long discernment process for me.

Discernment is the process of figuring out what God is calling you to. Often times, discernment is seen as an internal process. It’s this idea that your heart will feel full and your brain will just know when you have figured out what God is calling you too. Internal discernment is important, and can be felt through the Holy Spirit entering your heart, or God whispering into your ear.

But there are also external factors that can help you discern what God is calling you to. Those external factors could be something like the majority of your congregation telling you consistently for years you would make a good pastor. If people are constantly telling you what they see you being called to, there is a chance God is speaking through them.

Another external factor you can look to to discern are your spiritual gifts as well as talents you have. For example, God gave me the gifts of teaching, enjoying public speaking, being able to read and understand scripture, empathy, and listening skills. All of these seem to be important tools for a pastor. God makes us and gives us talents and gifts to use, so if all of your gifts seem to point in one direction, God is probably calling you that way.

Discernment is a scary process and answering God’s call takes courage.

Simon had courage. After Jesus finishes teaching, he asks Simon if they’ve caught any fish that day. Simon replies tell they haven’t. Jesus tells Simon to let down their nets and Simon does. After catching so many fish they fill two boats, Jesus asks Simon to follow him.

Simon has a pretty helpful external call. He literally has Jesus telling him to follow. But Simon also has external signs that help him to answer the call. Simon hears Jesus teach and sees the miracle of catching the fish after catching nothing all day. Simon is able to recognize Jesus is someone important he should follow.

Simon left everything, his family, his job, and all of his possessions, to follow Jesus. That takes courage.

The first disciples also had to have courage to answer their calls. I believe their calls were internal. Jesus walks by and sees some men fishing and says follow me. And what do they do? Drop everything, leave their families and their homes, and follow Jesus, no questions asked. I imagine God had to be whispering into their ears, “go, follow him, learn from him, he is important.”

Answering a call can be scary and hard.

Take for example Noah. God asked Noah to build an arc in a dessert. And Noah said ok, sure, why not, who doesn’t need a giant boat in a place where it doesn’t rain? Noah was ridiculed and many thought he was crazy. But God called and he answered.

Look at Mary. An angel appears and asks her to give birth to God’s son and she says yes, sounds great. Despite all of the danger she would be facing as an unwed pregnant women, she heard God calling and she answered yes.

I heard God calling me to Hungary, and it was scary. I had never been this far away from home for this long, had never left the USA before, heck, I hadn’t even been on a plane before. But here I am. And it’s no longer scary.

Answering a call can be scary. That is why God gives us a choice. We can tell God no. But God is persistent. You might spend 6 years telling God no.  But God won’t give up on you.

Moses has a call. I classify it as an external call considering he had a burning bush speak to him. God asked Moses to free the Israelites from the Egyptians. Moses gives God every excuse he possibly can. He says he is not good enough, not brave enough, not the right person. For every excuse Moses gives, God answers with a solution. God tells him he is good enough. He is brave enough. He is the right person. God gives him the tools he needs to complete his calling. God tells Moses to take Aaron with him to help in the areas Moses felt unqualified in. God never left Moses alone to answer his calling.

Jonah not only told God no, he ignored God and ran the other way. God asked Jonah to go to Nineveh and Jonah flees. Jonah ends up in the belly of a giant fish. Jonah always has a choice. Jonah can still tell God no. Granted, it’s not a very great choice, but it’s a choice. Jonah chose to answer God’s call to go to Nineveh.

God calls us on God’s timeline. You may be called before you are ready, and spend time ignoring God’s call or not recognizing what it is. You may be asking a God to call you, attempting to discern what you are meant for, and God may not answer you right away.

When you are ready to discern, you need to pray, look, and listen. Pray to God, ask for guidance and tell God you are ready. Look for the signs, look at your talents and spiritual gifts. Listen to those around, to what God may be telling you through others.

And when you do hear your call, do not think you are not good enough to answer it. Both Simon and Isaiah claimed they were too sinful to answer God and be in God’s presence, and both times they were told they are good enough. If God made you so that God purposefully designed every hair on your head, then God designed you to be more than good enough to answer your calling.

When God asked “who shall I send my son to?” Mary answered “here I am.” When God asked “who shall I send to Nineveh.” Jonah answered “send me” When God asked “who shall I send to follow my son, learn from him, and carry on teaching when he returns to heaven?” The disciples answered “here I am, send me.”

So when God asks you “who shall I send to be a teacher?” Reply, “here I am.” When God asks you “who shall I send to be a doctor?” Reply, “send me.” When God asks you “who shall I send to be a lawyer, a businessman or woman, a musician, a writer, a dancer, a missionary?” Answer, “here I am, send me.” When God asks you, “who shall I send to be a pastor?” Answer, even if it takes you a while, “here I am, send me.”

Whatever your call may be, when you hear God calling you, confidently and courageously answer God, “here I am, send me.”