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Assignment 2
God's Call
and discerning His will for our lives
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Campo obligatorio
Name:
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Approximate time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
1. Take some time to reflect on these questions and write down some brief thoughts. What have you been taught about God's calling? How do we know what God's will is?
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2. Sometimes, discovering God's calling can feel like walking through a minefield. If you take one wrong step there might be an explosion and God won't bless you anymore. Have you ever felt like this? If yes, describe your experience.
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3. God's will is not a mystery. God gives us freedom and wants us to be full of joy. In the church we have made God's will and God's calling into something complicated, but read these verses about God's calling. As believers, what are we called to?
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Luke 5:32
1 Thessalonians 5:9-10
Psalms 95
1 Peter 4:10-11
Por favor, palomea los cuadros conforme vayas leyendo los pasajes bĂblicos mostrados.
In reality God's will is just one calling with many parts. (To love him, to repent, to be saved, and to serve him.)
4. What was the call like for Moses and Paul?
Read Exodus 3 and Acts 9:1-19 if you don't know or don't remember.
The callings for Moses and for Paul were miraculous, but this isn't normally the case. Even in the bible a miraculous calling isn't normal. About one hundred people in the bible received a clear, direct and miraculous calling, but what about all the other people in the bible? What about us? Sometimes God talks to us through miracles, but the majority of the time that isn't how it works. The problem with waiting for a miracle is that a lot of people believe they haven't been called because they're waiting for a supernatural experience. A lot of people believe that in order to receive a calling from God they must be super spiritual. Because of this, they're stuck, stressed, and joyless, like a person walking through a mine field. We realize this could be a paradigm shift. It's a paradox, also, because we can never completely understand the relationship between our freedom to choose and God's guidance in our lives. Both exist at the same time. Another mistaken idea is that there is only one path, that God's will is always something specific and we need to figure out, or guess, what it is, and if we're wrong we'll be out of God's hands. Sometimes God is really specific, and when He is He'll make it clear. Almost always God gives us freedom and can bless us no matter what path we take. God's calling is always spiritual and practical (even if it doesn't seem like it at first.) Sometimes, it's miraculous, but never mystical (in the sense that it isn't magic and we don't need to run around looking for signs.) Take a moment to reflect on this, talk to God, and write out your thoughts.
Write your thoughts here:
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5. Let's look at the lives of Moses and Paul to see how even though God called them miraculously, he still worked in their lives in a practical way.
Moses:
God protected him from being assassinated (Exodus 1 y 2)
He grew up in the Egyptian culture which prepared him to meet the Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10)
He had the best education, which prepared him for leadership (he was even going to be pharaoh (Exodus 2:10)
He had a passion for justice for the Hebrew people (Exodus 2:11-12)
Being a pastor in the desert prepared him to survive in the wilderness (Exodus 3:1)
Paul:
He was a pharisee and very dedicated to the law (Philippians 3:4-5)
He studied with Gamaliel, one of the best professors of that time (Acts 22:3)
He was a Roman citizen (this was basically a passport to the civilized world) (Acts 22:22-29)
He spoke various languages
He knew a lot of cultures and was able to adapt to them
He was a good writer
How did God work in a practical way in these stories?
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6. When does our calling begin? Read Psalms 139:13-16
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7. Who can serve God best? A pastor or a lawyer? Both!
The Greek way of thinking has affected many minds, including Christians. The Jewish worldview was integral, meaning that God calls a person in his entirety, with all of his gifts, talents, passions, etc. Can an accountant serve God in his work? Or the executive director of a business? A waiter? A cashier? Yes! There is no difference between the sacred and the secular if you are working for God's glory. Pastors and missionaries are important, but they are only a small part of the body of Christ. We can't fulfill the Great Commission with the efforts of only a few believers. God wants to use all of his followers with all of the gifts and talents He has given them to serve.
Read Exodus 35:30-35. How does this passage support this point?
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8. God's calling is the purpose for our life! How then can we know what God's will is for us?
Read His Word
YOUR TIME: How are you going to use your time for God? You've talked about this with your mission coach, but take some time to reflect on these questions and fill our the diagram below, writing down your attributes. We recommend that you keep this diagram and your answers near you, so that you can use them as a helpful resource in your life.
Talents/Gifts- What are you good at?
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Interests- What gets your attention? What do you like doing?
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Experience/Education- What have you studied? What were some of the most life-changing experiences you've had?
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Goals- What do you want to accomplish? What are some of your dreams?
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Passions- What makes your heart beat faster? What gets you excited? What makes you angry?
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Opportunities- What resources do you have at your disposal? Do you have a strategic connection to someone or some organization? What doors are open around you? Where is God working and how can you get involved?
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9.
If we have freedom in our decisions, how do we pray for God's guidance? Talk to God, using this points to lead you:
Pray for opportunities to use your time. For something that you enjoy and that uses your talents, education, experience, etc.
Don't pray for signs, but pray that God will open and close doors where He sees fit, while we keep walking forward in faith.
Don't pray for God to "show you the correct decision," instead, pray for God to help
you
make a wise decision.
OTHER TIPS:
Talk to people who know you well before making a decision.
Don't focus so much on what you're doing, but on how you are showing Christ's love through what you are doing.
10. NEXT STEPS: Investigate at least three organizations on the database. Which one draw your attention?
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Let us recognize Jesus Christ and believe in Him (John 6:40)
Have eternal life (John 6:40)
Be His children (Ephesians 1:5)
Love Him with all of our soul (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Trust Him (Proverbs 3:5-6)
Sing and praise the Lord from the heart (Ephesians 5:19)
Fear Him and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 6:13; Ecclesiastes 12:13; John 14:15)
Let us be imitators of Christ (Ephesians 5:1)
Live to worship His glory (Ephesians 1:12)
Live a life of love (Ephesians 5:2)
Do everything as if for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23)
Be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3)
Be holy and set apart (Leviticus 20:26)
Be generous (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)
Be always joyful (1 Thessalonians 5:16)
Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Give thanks in every situation (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Be joyful during trials (James 1:2; Romans 12:12)
Grow in our knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10)
Persevere with patience in every situation (Colossians 1:11)
Be transformed by the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2)
Be humble (Romans 12:16)
Rejoice in hope (Romans 12:12)
Pray for each other (Ephesians 6:18)
Have self-control (1 Thessalonians 4:4-7; 2 Timothy 1:7)
Use wisdom (Proverbs 2:12-15; 3:13-14)
Run from evil desires (2 Timothy 2:22)
Know and use the Word of God (Deuteronomy 6:6-9; Psalm 119:11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Set apart weekly time of rest (Exodus 20:8-11)
Let us be united as followers of Jesus (John 17:20-21; Philippians 2:2)
Join with other believers in a local church (Hebrews 10:25)
Live in peace and harmony with others (Romans 12:18)
Encourage one another (Ephesians 5:19)
Use the gifts God has given us (Romans 12:6-8)
Carry out our role as a member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-31)
Practice hospitality (Romans 12:13)
Submit to public and spiritual authority (Romans 13:5; Hebrews 13:17)
Let us make disciples (Mathew 28:18-20)
Experience every opportune moment (Ephesians 5:16)
Give fruit through the power of God (Colossians 1:10-11)
Not remain a sinner (Mathew 18:11-14; 2 Peter 3:9)
Practice justice and love mercy (Micah 6:8: Luke 6:36)
Care for foreigners, widows, and orphans (Deuteronomy 24:17; Isaiah 1:17)
Let us recognize Jesus and believe in Him (John 6:40)
Submit