Imagine you’re meeting someone new. What is the first question you usually ask? What do you do for a job?

I totally do it, guilty as charged, almost every time I meet someone new. 

I ask because I’m interested in how they fill up their week and then human nature rightly or wrongly joins the dots to make assumptions that what we do can say a lot about who we are.

I assume someone who is accountant likes numbers and is detail orientated – where I am not.

I assume someone who works with kids is caring and fun and likes short people.

I assume someone who is a builder is practical and can build stuff.

Essentially the bigger question behind “what do you do” is who are you and what do you do – what are you living for – what’s important to you – and deeper still – what is your purpose.

We are in a space and time when it is very easy to emmesh what we do with who we are.  Our identity can be wrapped up in our job.  We are more than what we do but what we do is a very vital part of who we are.  Think about it.  We have 168 hours in the week.  If we’re blessed we’ll sleep 56 of them.  We might spend about 15 hours driving to and from work, to and from activities and places.  We’ll spend some of the eating, showering, walking the dog, patting the cat – we’re an equal opportunity church here – spending time with our loved ones, watching Netflix, scrolling social media….  We 100% encourage some of those hours to be here at church weekly and at home spending time with God.  And we have on average – 40 hours a week working.   Our work hours take up a huge part of our time.  It makes sense then that what we do is important and becomes part of our identity. 

You can see why work is important and to be in the right job or career makes a difference to our overall sense of wellbeing and life satisfaction. 

But does God have a purpose for my day job?  Is there such a thing as being called to a secular job?  Does God call pilots?  Policemen?  Politicians?  Physiotherapists?

This morning we’re asking the big question.  Has God called me? 

And if the answer is yes – by the way its not a trick question – the answer is YES – what is the unique purpose that God has given me on this earth?  What does our mission field look like?  What has God called us to do and how are we living that out?

I have always put calling into 2 categories.

The first is the general calling of all believers to into the world and make disciples

I hesitate to use that word general in case it minimalizes the value and the urgency and the importance and the individualness of this call to go and make disciples.  It’s not the job of special people with a special calling, it’s the job and responsibility and privilege of every one who has experienced the reality of God and His grace to pass it on.  If we believe in Jesus and He is our saviour and Lord then this call is for us – there is no opt out clause or its for special people only.  We are all called to go into the world and be a disciple who makes disciples.  We are all called to show know God and make Him known. 

Then there Personal calling which defines what our world looks like and how we make a real difference in it.  It is the unique tailor made designed with you in mind on purpose with purpose that God has for each of us.  Again, not just for special people but for every single one of us. 

Identity and calling isn’t something you create but something that receive from your Creator, it’s not something you make up it’s something you discover as you follow Jesus.

Somehow as Christians we’ve flipped the script on God and said that you’re only called if you’re called to full time ministry.  You only have purpose if you’re a pastor.  You only matter if you’re a missionary.

I have a test that we call do right here right now that will 100% tell us if we’re called or not.  100% guaranteed to tell you that you have a calling – a unique tailor made just for you designed purpose.

Take these two fingers – everyone show me your two fingers – now put them right here – do you have a pulse?  Are you breathing?  You passed the test.  You are called.

We’ve narrowed the personal call down to one small part of God’s big world and said that a real call means you’re called to leave your nets, your jobs, your families to leave everything and follow Jesus and that you’re going to be a pastor or a preacher or a missionary and that very small box is what a real call looks like.

But nowhere in the Bible does it say that the only calling there is is to ministry.  No where in the Bible does it discriminate between spiritual and secular.  No where does God think like that or put calling into a box or put any limitations on how and where and through who He can move through.

Let’s begin and look at the call of the disciples though because it gives us insight – even though we’re living 2000 years after them – as to what OUR call is – both the tailor made personal unique calling to make a difference in our world and the general go into the world and make disciples call.

In Matthew 4 we read about Jesus calling some of his first disciples.

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus CALLED them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

In Matthew 9 we read about Jesus calling Matthew.

9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “come Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

Come follow me.

We think what Jesus said was a unique and personal phrase but this is actually like scripted coded language in jewish culture – come follow me is what all rabbis said when they invited someone to come join his programme and his training school.  A rabbi is a religious leader and in jewish culture at that time it was the highest of high honours.  It was the dream job.  It was the life goal.  Instead of growing up dreaming of being all blacks or doctors little boys grew up dreaming of being good enough to be a rabbi.

All Jewish boys started in this education system with the goal of becoming a rabbi.  To become a disciple was a lifelong journey of learning and study.  Jewish boys by the time they were 11 had memorized the first five books of the bible.  Memorized.  If they passed the test they would go on to the next level. 

They weren’t disciples yet, their life goal was to become a disciple. 

They pointed their life and their time and their energy and their learning in that direction.  

If they failed the test they were sent home and they got a job or learned the family business. By the time they were 17 they had memorized not the next five, but the next 34 books – all of what we know as the old testament.  If they failed that, they also went home and got a job or learned the family business.

But if they did that – memorized all 34 books of the old testament – and passed the test then they would approach a rabbi and apply to be chosen.  They would tell him of their accomplishments and their test scores and their big brains and big habits and big commitment.  Then the rabbi would say these words – every time.  This was the official ask.

Come follow me.

You were now counted as a disciple.  You were called. You’re hired.  You met the grade.

Disciples went where their rabbi went. They slept where their rabbis slept. They ate what their rabbi ate. And largely, they shared their rabbi’s passions and beliefs.  The big idea was that they be with their rabbi.  Become like their rabbi.  Do what their rabbi did.

You can see how wild it was then when Jesus approached Peter and Andrew, James and John, fishermen working for their dad, Matthew a tax collector and all the other disciples.  None who were “professional disciples” learning from a rabbi.  All who had failed the test at some point and gone home and learned the family business. 

Jesus called them from their life into a new way of life.  They left their nets and their tables and followed Jesus.  They reorientated their life around being a disciple.  They were to follow Him, to be with Him, become like Him and then do the things He did.

While we today can’t physically follow Jesus like the disciples did,  he’s not asking us to book a one way to bethleham, we cant go camping with Him, or walk around town with Him, we experience Him in a supernatural spiritual way, the Bible  makes it clear that the invitation is still valid and the invitation is still the same.  

Come follow me.

Come be my disciple.  Come be with me, become like me and do the things I did.

This is the mission for every single Christian.

Winding the clock back again, when a disciple – in the official job title of disciple – had served his rabbi and learned from his rabbi and being with his rabbai and become like his rabbi, when he had matured and learned enough and passed all the tests – the rabbi would again use a formal statement – he would say scripted words, to take things to the next level. 

The disciple was ready to become a rabbi. 

The rabbi would say – and when I first heard this – it made my heart sing and made me so excited and nerd out – this is wild – the rabbi would say to his disciple when he was mature and ready for that next level – go and make disciples.

So you pass all the tests, you memorize all the old testament, you get called to be a disciple, you pass more tests and be with the rabbi become like the rabbi and do the things the rabbi did and then you can become a rabbi.  You can now go and make disciples.

See how amazing it is that jesus rocks up to fishermen and tax collectors and ordinary people, people who failed the test and calls them to come follow me and then sends these same people who in a way still aren’t passing the tests to go and make disciples.  He is flipping the system on its head.

In the same way Jesus flips the system on its head when He calls each one of us to come follow Him and then to go and make disciples.

This is our mission.  This is our call.  Be with Jesus, become like Jesus, do the things Jesus did.

We are called to be disciples who make disicples.  We are the chosen ones.  It’s a crazy plan – this is the most important mission on the earth – and God said tag you’re it.  Represent me.  But then it makes sense right?  We’ve seen the rise of the influencer, where someone tries a product or goes to a great café, or watches a great show and then they want to tell everyone about it and now its super easy, they just make a tik tok and boom they’ve influenced and told the world and things go viral.  God is calling us all to be influencers and to make Him go viral.  He invites us to “try the product” – amazing grace – eternal salvation – a relationship with the creator of the universe – and then to influence those around us to try it too.   Jesus doesn’t need PR people but He’s set it up that we join with Him on mission – to help people see Jesus for real.

Every single one of us if we say we believe in Jesus are called to know God and make Him known. 

In our every day lives, in our world, in our circles of influence.

In matthew 28:19  -known as the great commission – the great mission –  Jesus says go into all the world and make disciples.

Our personal call is the world in which we will be a disciple who makes disciples. 

It is the unique tailor made designed with you in mind on purpose purpose that God has for each of us.    It gives us context and people and places to be.  It gives us things to create and order and do with our time, energy and gifts.  All given by God on purpose with a purpose.

Go into your world, into your spaces, into your 168 hours, into your lives, into your groups, into your staff room, into your office, into your class, into your school, onto your building site, into your world and make disciples. 

Did you know that the first time that the Bible says that the Holy Spirit filled someone for a special purpose was a craftsman and builder – He was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered to create and build and lead a team of Holy Spirit filled creators and architects and tradies.

Yes there were calls to be prophets, preachers and pastors, but equally important are the calls to be nurses, plabotemists, plumbers, builders, architects, engineers, sales people, mechanics, landscapers, rock climbing instructors, supermarket workers, accountants and all the things in between.

God does not live here in the 4 walls of this building. 

God does not limit His calling and His purposes to this place.  The whole world is His and filled with mission potential and possibility.

A better way to look at calling is what are you created to do.  What are you hardwired by God to do. 

Calling begins with realizing we are created on purpose with a purpose. 

It’s not something you create but something that receive from your Creator, it’s not something you make up it’s something you discover as you be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do the things Jesus did.

In Genesis 1 God introduces the concept of calling and work.

27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;  male and female he created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

God created Adam and Eve.  On purpose with a purpose.  In His image.  He then sent them on mission to be fruitful and increase, to rule over the land and to rule over the creatures. 

These can be familiar words.  In the beginning.  Go forth and multiply.  Yada yada yada. 

And you might think yeah that worked in the garden when it was just a garden and the only jobs were zoology and biology.  Here today we have suburbs and malls and medical centres and schools and 7 billion more people. 

We’ve left the garden and we’re in the city.

But the mission is still the same.  His Kingdom, as in heaven, here on earth.  To look after this world we’ve been given.  To look after the people around us.  To know God and make Him known.  We are all on mission in our world. 

That can look like being an IT specialist, being a doctor, being a sparky, selling shoes and jeans.    It can look like building roads, counselling, managing an office, being a sports coach, being a stay at home parent.

When you see your work as your calling as a genesis 1 mission from Creator to created to rule and subdue and be fruitful and multiply it gives it a different lens. 

When you see your work and calling as an extension of God’s work to you as God’s work through you – that’s a game changer.

Being the most excellent plumber – fulfilling the call.

Being the most awesome manufacturer – fulfilling the call.

Being the most amazing teacher – fulfilling it.

Being the most amazing stay at home mum – fulfilling it.

Now I can hear some gears turning that some of us here might be thinking I hate my job.  I don’t feel like I am being fruitful and ruling the earth.  I feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled and I don’t know what my calling is and if it is THIS then stop the bus I want off now…. So how do we find out what that unique person tailor made designed calling is? 

Discovering your calling is a journey that sometimes takes a lifetime.  Some of us are lucky to finish school and know what we want to be when we grow up right away.  Some of us try something and then try something else and then add another ingredient or go up the ladder.   

Calling is often a process of unfolding revelation. 

There are the rare few individuals who know at the age of 8 what they want to be and chart out a roadmap to follow.

When I was 8 I wanted to be a brain surgeon and Madonna.  Until I realised I don’t like needles or blood at all and that my greatest fear was singing in public.  That killed that dream.

Think about Joseph.  In Genesis 37 Joseph, who is 17, has a dream of his brothers and family bowing down to him.  He’s dreaming of big things.  His dream was a literal while he was asleep dream but it was a dream and a calling.  But notice.  In his dream he didn’t get a road map as to how that would happen.  He didn’t see the pit his brothers threw him into.  He didn’t see being sold into servitude at Potiphers house.  He didn’t see the prison or the palace. 

The calling unfolds as we continue to be faithful to God in our here and now.   Faithful in the season and the roles God has us in now.  

Joseph was faithful at Potiphers.  Faithful in the prison and it led to the place and political positioning.  And yes, his brothers did come and bow down, literally.

Be faithful in the job you have now but you’re dissatisfied, maybe that’s a sign to begin to explore a new chapter.  It’s okay to have different chapters and seasons.  Talk about it, with the right people, think about what you’re good at, what you love, what you are wired to do.  Do personality tests.  Talk to a career coach.    Ask God who created you – where am I meant to be?   Find the purpose in what is put before you. 

Always love giving some practicals around our topic so this morning here are 4 ways live called – on mission in our world

Be intentional

We’re not just doing a day job – we’re in the mission business – uniquely called and positioned in our world to make a difference and to be someone who does the things Jesus did.   When we realize that part of our life is viewed by from God as sacred and meaningful and not just something we do to fill in time between Sundays… or until we get a real call (which we know is the life you’re living right now) then not just our mind shifts to be more intentional but our behaviour and our connections.  Pray on the way to work – God, help me be the most excellent whatever I am, help me to have your wisdom, your peace, your presence, your purpose in what I do.  God help me to see the people around me not as projects, and not as collegues but as people you love and died to rescue and that me being here is part of the rescue mission. 

    Be real

    I think sometimes we hold back from being on mission in our work places is because we’re worried we’re going to stuff it up.  What if we say the wrong thing, or someone asks a really hard question, or something human happens at work and we think oh man now they’re going to judge God because of what I did or they’re going to judge me because I’m a bad Christian.  Jesus didn’t pick perfect people in the first place and he doesn’t call perfect people now.  None of us have it all together.  We are all real people who have real problems and real lives – and a real God with real answers.

    Be the answer to someones prayer

    My parents live in the south island and a number of years ago dad was really unwell.  He one day, just casually dropped into conversation that while he had been doing his job, a client asked if they could pray for him.  I had been praying for God to send people into his life who would show him that God was real and loved him and was there for him.   Right now someone is praying for the person you share an office with.  Someone is praying for your office manager.  Someone is praying for your intern.  Someone is praying for your boss.  That person is someone’s mother, father, sister, brother, friend.  And that person is someone that God loves so much that He gave His only son so that all who believe in Him will receive eternal life. 

    Romans 10: 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? 

    We are sent.  We are called to share with them.  We are the one to help them hear.  We are the one to help them believe.

    Here’s a challenge:  2 out of every 5 teens in the US claim no religion.  These are sometimes referred to as THE NONES.  This category includes atheists and agnostics.

    But 2 in 3 NONES would consider coming to church if someone invited them.  God has positioned you in your world on purpose and we just need to sometimes be brave to step out and see God step in.

    Be like Jesus

    People aren’t interested in how much we know.  In this post modern world truth is relative.  I’ve got my truth and you’ve got your truth and follow your truth but Jesus is the way the life and the truth.  Show people Jesus with your life.  Show people how Jesus would love them.  Show justice like Jesus did.  Stand up for people like Jesus did.  Care for people.  Think about how would Jesus speak to your workmates or classmates?  How would He speak about them when they’re not in the room?  Show them a real God with real answers and real peace.  Be Jesus with skin on here on earth.   

    This week, in the 166 hours you are not here, remember you are on mission in your world.  You are the sent one.  You are the disciple.  And the beautiful thing is that God has positioned you on purpose in your world for this reason.  Be with Jesus, become like Jesus and do the things Jesus did, in your world.