I Love Pastor Jim Ewings Bible Studies here is one of my favorites...

Your Particular Calling....

I've touched on this subject in the past, but I wanted to dig just a bit more into it at this time, because I feel that too few Christians today realize that they are unique in God's eyes, and that ministry- both to the Body of Christ en masse and to the lost- is for every one of us, not just pastors, evangelists and missionaries.

We ought never lose sight of the fact that God does in fact have a detailed calling on the lives of each one of His redeemed.
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Please understand that I am talking to believers now.
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I've shared God's Word with the saved and the lost alike, and of course everybody is welcome on this website, but this is a word specifically for the born again Christian, and particularly those of you who may wonder if God has any serious use for you, in terms of going out into the world and making a real difference for the Kingdom.
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 Let's understand then-here and now- that the Almighty God, Creator of all that exists- both seen and unseen, and Savior of the world, has YOU in mind now.

Are you interested in being a precise, specific and effective instrument in the hands of God?.

 Well, if you are, then you must know that you have that interest, that desire, that passion because He has thoughtfully and deliberately placed that desire in your heart....Do you LACK that passion, that sense of Divine purpose?
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 If so, then you most likely have allowed yourself to become a 'victim' of the rough circumstances in which the Lord has placed you.

 Oftentimes a believer will then slowly become bitter and angry, lose interest, and eventually feel that he or she has no real worth as far as God is concerned- and NOTHING COULD BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH!
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You simply need that stony shell (the one you've allowed to grow and cover your heart through the months and years) to be broken- because, believe me- there's a heart underneath that shell that beats, pounds, yearns after its creator!
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He made you that way. You are no exception- We ALL go through pain, hurt and disappointment, and we tend to grow spiritually cold and indifferent as a result, but God resides in your heart, and- yes- he has a purpose for YOU.

As you seek His face earnestly and by faith, He will break that thick, hard, unconcerned shell that covers your God-seeking heart, and replace it with a smooth, silky transparency that will allow your heart to respond quickly and joyfully to His every Holy prompting....
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So whether you recognize His gentle wooing, or are disturbed by your apparent lack of concern, the answer to your situation is the same- Seek His face with all your heart! Psalm 27:8- "When Thou saidst, 'Seek ye My face; my heart said unto Thee, 'Thy face, Lord, will I seek'."

This is what God desires, and this is what He has put into YOUR heart to desire. If you will seek Him in earnest, you will come to a clear understanding of where He has placed you in the Body of Christ, and when that happens, you'll never be shaken from it.....

I spoke with pastor David Sloane some time ago at length about God's calling, and we shared our amazement at how God has called the both of us- David to a powerful prophetic ministry, and myself, to a healing ministry.
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 David, being a prophet, has admittedly faced derision and open nonacceptance (much like Jesus did during HIS earthly ministry) at various places within the Body of Christ.

None of it, however, has squelched or diminished his calling.

Why?

 Because he was called of God, and he could no sooner turn his back on his calling than he could stop breathing (read the apostle Paul's epistles).

That is what the Lord's call will do in the life of a yielded man or woman of God!

I must add that brother David Sloane has also known much effectiveness and success in his endeavors as well (as did Paul).

 I have witnessed the Lord's anointing on his life, on pastor Tilson Shumate's life, and others- and as differently as God will use various people, and as unique and diverse as their callings are, you will recognize that it is the same Spirit working in all of them, when it is in fact God doing the calling.

Whether you are a pastor, a missionary, a real estate agent, a painter, or a mailroom clerk, God is faithful, and He will bring you- as you seek Him with all your heart- into the place which He has had for you since before you were even born.

 Don't doubt that for a moment!

En Agape,

Jim

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This kind of jumped out at me as I read Jim's teaching above.

"...then you most likely have allowed yourself to become a 'victim' of the rough circumstances in which the Lord has placed you."

Just today I heard a teacher on the radio say that the trees that are positionally on the mountain where the storms are the worst tend to be the strongest.

God has a plan and a goal for each life. Not in a robotic sense but in such a way that you retain your autonomy as a person. God the Master Creator nudges circumstances to custom tailor our progress in the Christian life. And it is not always easy.

Joseph finds his betrothed is pregnant and he had nothing to do with it, what would people think. Then he has to go to his home town to register with his very pregnant wife and there is no where at all for them to stay because of the crowds coming in from the surrounding countryside.

 They end up in a cold cave on a hillside with livestock and everything that comes with livestock. One can only imagine what went through young Joseph's mind.

"O man this is not at all what I expected from God, I should have had better accommodations then this."

Moses is told to go back and set his people free and Pharaoh ends up making their lot in life all the more hard. They now, as a result of Moses following God's calling, have to make bricks with out hay or straw.

 Moses surly wondered "Why Lord, Why?

 And then he follows the pillar of fire and ends up in a dead end canyon with a sea on one side and the Egyptians on the other. Not an easy position, and you know there were those who were of a mind that Moses had goofed up big time and their doom was eminent.

So Moses does the only thing he can think of, he drops to his knees and starts to pray. He is suddenly interrupted by the Master Creator Almighty God, "Hey Mo, what are you doing!

Get up man and part the sea, now is not the time for prayer, it is time for action, get going dude!"

John the baptist lost his head because he obeyed and preached in the wilderness.

And let's not forget the apostle Paul. Stoned and left for dead because he obeyed and spread the gospel message. Ship wrecked because he obeyed and spread the gospel message. Bound in chains because he obeyed and spread the gospel message.

God knows what it takes to build up those whom He calls and it is not always what we think it will be like. Things will at first appear to be totally out of control with no seeming solution in sight.

"O God, O God, help!!!"

But you know if we remain strong and of good courage the corner we find ourselves backed into will get rounded by the Lord and we will slip right out. Whishhhh...

Come on, you know the program of God and how it works.

Proverbs 25:4Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.

Isaiah 1:25And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin:

1 Peter 4:12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

I love that, "...as though some strange thing has happened unto you." Is not that what we always first think of when things get out of our control? It is always our knee jerk reaction at first.

You know Joseph at first reacted in the same way when he finds his woman in a state that normally indicated betrayal.

You know that Moses felt initially that things were not right, this is not a great position to be in, between the Egyptians and the sea with no apparent way of escape.

I wonder how many of you out there today are finding yourselves in positions that are uncomfortable and not at all what you expected? Feeling like somehow you 'missed it' and God isn't there.

God is custom tailoring ways and situations that will ultimately result in His plans and purposes. But we do get a part to play. A relational interaction with our Savior.

Sure things may look bleak and stagnant. Sure the checking account is way overdrawn and bills are due and stacking up.

But who is our God? Is He still upon His throne? Is His hand so short that He can not save?

Now I did not say this nor did some slick TV evangelist, Jesus Christ said it and He meant it:

Matthew 17:20And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Mark 10:27And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.

Luke 1:37For with God nothing shall be impossible.

If you are facing some hard things right now.

Things that for you are way impossible with no solution in sight.

Take heart. Jesus Christ is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is all powerful and all knowing. He sees your plight, He knows.

Go to Him, petition Him, and then start to be strong and courageous as you begin to determine that you will now begin to trust in Him and cling to Him like Velcro and rely upon Him to see you through.

Because I know that He can and that He will. Because God is still upon His throne!

David Sloane