Samuel — When God Calls Your Name

Well, good morning, church family. In 1 Samuel chapter 3, we read about a young boy named Samuel, and the Bible tells us that the word of the Lord was rare in those days. And here’s Samuel, this little boy, and he’s asleep in the temple where he’d been serving, and he hears someone calling him. So Samuel gets up and he goes to Eli the priest. He says, “Eli, I’m here.” And Eli says, “I didn’t call you. Go ahead and go back to sleep.” So he goes and lays down. Then again he hears his name. He gets up and he goes back to Eli. He says, “You called me.” He said, “No, I didn’t call you. Go lay down.” And a third time this happens — and by the way, last night as I was telling this three times during this moment, somebody’s phone went off.

But Eli realized what was happening, that it was the Lord himself who was calling to Samuel. And I think for so many of us, isn’t that actually what we desire? Wouldn’t you love for God to just call your name, and you could audibly hear it with your ears, and then to say, “Lord, here I am,” and then for God to just lay it all out for you and say, “Here’s what I want you to do — here’s all the things.” You could write this little list and you could check them off as you go on your way. Wouldn’t that be nice? And so often we have this deep desire to hear from God in that kind of direct way, so that we could have some direction, we would know what God wants us to do.

But we can’t neglect the fact that God has given us His word. He has spoken, and this is direct to us — it’s right here. I’m not going to hear it with my ears necessarily, but I could read it and see in it what God actually has for me. God has spoken to us; He has called us, and He has a unique calling for each one of us.

The Calling Series — Jesus Is Calling You

We’re in a series right now called “The Calling.” In the first week of that series, we looked at Jesus as He called His twelve disciples, as He called these twelve men to follow Him during His earthly ministry. And then in the second week, we looked at how Jesus called to the crowds. He spoke to large groups of people, and yet the Scripture tells us that many are called but few are chosen. And then last week, Pastor Joel walked through a passage in which we saw that Jesus not only spoke to the crowd, not only spoke to the twelve, but Jesus actually went after individuals. He went to individual people and He called them to Himself. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing.

And this morning I want us to answer this question — because Jesus is calling you: What is it that Jesus is calling you to? What does He have for your life? And to answer that question, we’re going to take a look at a passage out of the book of Revelation today.

I’ll give a little context to the part of Revelation that we’re going to be in. In Revelation 1:19, the instructions given to John, who was writing this, was: “Write therefore the things you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this.” So as we look at Revelation, there’s some really good context given right there in those instructions — that John was going to be writing some things that are, meaning things that he was seeing that were taking place in the time that he was alive, some things right in front of him, as well as things that were going to be taking place after this, meaning the future. So as we look back at this book, we look back at some things that took place during John’s time, and that’s this section that we’re going to take a look at.

In this section at the beginning of the book of Revelation, John gets to hear seven letters that were to be given to seven churches in that area, and those letters were from Jesus himself to these churches. And that’s an amazing thing when you think about it, because as we’re reading through the Bible, you read the book of Romans and here’s Paul’s letter to the church in Rome; you read Ephesians and it’s Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. And here within the book of Revelation you’ve got these many letters, and each one you could almost take and stand it on its own as its own book, because it’s Jesus’s letter to that church. And so we’re going to be taking a look at Jesus’s letter to the church in Laodicea. You could call this the mini book of Laodiceans — that’s what we’re going to take a look at this morning.

But our key verse is Revelation 3:20, because in verse 20 this is what Jesus says as part of that letter, and it’s the part I really want us to focus on this morning. Jesus said: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” What does it mean that Jesus is standing at the door? What does it mean that Jesus is knocking? Jesus is inviting you to something this morning. Jesus has something that He wants from you; He has something for you; He has an invitation for all of us today.

So today we’re going to look at four callings that Jesus has for your life. And I want you to know that these callings — they’re for you, and they’re for you, and they’re for you. Jesus’s calling is for each one of us. And so this morning, as we walk through this text, I don’t want you to be thinking about anybody else. I don’t want you to think about the person sitting next to you; I don’t want you to think about the person who’s not in the room. I want you just to think about yourself, and would you be open to what Jesus might have for you today?

And so let’s read through this passage together, and then I’m going to pray, and we’re going to walk through Jesus’s calling for our life. Revelation chapter 3, starting in verse 15. He says: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Let’s pray together. Father, as we walk through this text together and we look at these different pieces, Lord, help all of us, Lord, to be open to what You have for us. Lord, would we be challenged? Would we be open and honest with You, Lord, about where we’re at in our life and our faith? And Lord, would You have the space to move and to work in our lives? And so, Lord, we surrender this time to You, and we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Lesson from Conducting Class

When I was in college, I was studying music composition — that’s what I got my degree in. And as I was doing that, every now and then I would have the opportunity to conduct a piece of music that I wrote. And when I took conducting class, my professor said all of conducting boils down to really just three things. A conductor, for all the fancy moves that they make in the air, can really only communicate three basic things. One, they can tell you when to start and stop. Two, they can tell you to go faster or slower. And three, they can tell you to get louder or softer. That’s really it; everything else is just fluff. Now, when you’re a musician, you realize there’s so much more to it than that, but it really does all kind of boil down to three simple things — there’s just a lot more layers beneath the surface.

What I want to do today with this passage is suggest that Jesus really calls us to three simple things. There’s a lot more beneath the surface, but you can kind of distill it all to these three ideas — and then I have a fourth bonus one at the end.

Calling #1: Put It Down

And so the first call that Jesus has for our life is the call to put it down. To put it down; to leave behind the things of the past; to leave behind your old ways; to leave behind who you were. It’s to put it down. In Matthew 4:20, we see as Jesus called those first disciples, it says immediately they left their nets and they followed him. They literally put down their nets. They dropped everything and followed after Jesus. So many of the first followers of Jesus left everything behind to follow him. There was an incredible sacrifice made to be able to follow him. Fishermen left behind their nets and their boats. Tax collectors left behind their riches. Young people left behind their families. But most importantly, sinners left behind their sin. The book of Hebrews, in chapter 12, verse 1, tells us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us. Our sin can just hold us back and weigh us down, and we’re called to throw those things aside, to lay it down and to follow after Jesus. Prostitutes left behind their lives of sexual immorality. Pharisees left behind their lives of hypocrisy. To follow Jesus is to hear His call and to lay it down and to leave it behind. And Jesus is calling us to leave our old self behind — our old way of thinking, our old way of living — and that means we have to become totally dependent on Him and not dependent on ourselves.

So let’s look again in Revelation 3, as Jesus is talking to this church in Laodicea. He says, in verse 17: “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing.” We see several examples in Scripture where people wanted to follow Jesus, but they had to make a choice between Him and all the things that they valued, all the things that they saw as important. The Laodiceans were content with their stuff. They felt like they were wealthy; they felt like they didn’t need anything. They were happy relying on just what they had. But what happens when the things that you have are stolen, burn in a fire, wash away in a flood? Then you can’t rely on those things anymore, and we find that we’ve placed our faith in things rather than the Creator of everything.

How much are you relying on your stuff? It’s amazing how much stuff we acquire over the years. Every time I have a garage sale, it’s amazing to look around and go, “There was a moment in time when I bought this for who knows how much money because I really needed it, and now I’m bartering between five and ten dollars.” And you say, “You know, if you got a quarter, I’ll throw in this over here too, right?” It’s amazing how that stuff devalues over time. Stuff can often get in the way.

Jesus encountered a man like this and told him to sell everything that he had and give it to the poor. And what was this man’s response? He went away sad, because he had many things. Is Jesus calling us to sell everything we have? No. But I think He is calling us to examine: What are the things that are most important to you? What do you value most? And are you willing to give that up to follow Him? What are you willing to exchange in order that you might follow Jesus and follow Him more closely? Would you be willing to leave it behind?

And if you’re not sure what you could give up to follow Christ — to put it in perspective, just think about what Jesus gave up for you. He gave up His throne in heaven to come to earth. He gave up His life for us. He gave up everything. What are we willing to give up for Him?

A person from history I often return to is a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer. And Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a pastor, and he was running a seminary in secret in Nazi Germany during World War II. He wrestled with what to do as a Christian when confronted by the evil that he was seeing in his own country. Ultimately he decided to become a double agent, and he was a part of a plot to assassinate Hitler. In fact, this plot has been turned into several movies. His attempt failed, and he was eventually arrested and later executed. Long before he knew what his fate would be, he wrote this. He said: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” For him, to be a Christian was to be willing to lay down your life for your faith — to lay down your life for Jesus Christ. Are you willing to give it all for Him?

The hardest part, I don’t think, would be leaving your family, or leaving your career, or any of those things. But the hardest thing each of us has to do is the thing that we carry with us everywhere: to leave behind our sin. That’s the hardest part. And Jesus, as He’s calling us to put it down, He’s calling us to repent from our sin. He said to the church of Laodicea, in verse 19: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.” They were so satisfied with what they had and where they were in life, and Jesus was calling them to repent — to turn away from their things and to follow after Him. And He’s calling us to do the same; He’s calling me to do the same.

And that phrase, “put it down” — for some of you, that might be a literal phrase you have to say to yourself. You might find yourself with a bottle in your hand and have to tell yourself to put it down. You might find yourself with your phone in your hand and say, “You know what, I need to put it down.” You might find yourself with a hand raised or a fist ready and say, “I need to put it down.” Jesus is calling us to leave our life of sin behind, to repent, and to turn after Him and to follow.

So take a moment right now and consider: What is it in your life right now that Jesus would want you to put down, so that you could follow Him more closely? Take a moment to consider that.

Calling #2: Pick It Up

So now that you have your hands free, we’re ready for the next part of Jesus’s call. Because after Jesus tells us to put it down, the next thing He says is to pick it up. Not to pick that up again — but He’s got something else for us to carry. Really, I see it in two ways. One is that Jesus has some good things that He offers us, that He wants us to take, that He wants us to receive as we follow after Him. Jesus has good things in store for our lives. It is better to follow Jesus than to follow after the world.

As Jesus spoke to the church of Laodicea, in verse 18 He said, “Buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich” — and remember, they said that they were rich; they felt that they were rich, but they weren’t really. Jesus says, “Buy gold from me — He’s got something better to offer.” He says, “And white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” The people thought they could see, and Jesus says, “No, I’m going to make it where you can really see.” Jesus had something better to offer. Take it; pick it up. Jesus has something to give. Following Jesus means experiencing the better things that Jesus has for your life. There’s incredible benefits to following Jesus. Jesus offers us real peace; Jesus offers us real joy. The world only offers fakes — it doesn’t offer the real thing. Jesus gives the real thing. What Jesus has to offer is way better than what the world can offer. I’d rather eat one crumb from the table of Jesus than a feast set by the world. Jesus wants to give you something — are you willing to take it?

C.S. Lewis, another one of my heroes — when he was a child, he had this experience of true joy from the Lord. And then, as a child, his mother passed away. And C.S. Lewis had prayed that God would save his mother, and she ended up dying, and he really wrestled with that for a long, long time. And he was on the run from God and wanted nothing to do with Him, but he still found himself trying to get back to joy, trying to find joy. And so he looked in all these other things. He wrote that his whole goal was “to get it again.” He said, “To get it again became my constant endeavor — while reading every poem, hearing every piece of music, going for a walk.” But all those things that he was looking in couldn’t provide what he was looking for, until this moment. He describes it like this. He says: “You must picture me alone in that room, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In 1929 I gave in and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed — perhaps that night the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England.” And here was this moment that he finally just surrendered his life to God, and that’s when he experienced real joy — the thing that he was looking for everywhere else, he found in Him. Because God gives us something real. To follow Jesus is to take from Him real joys, to take from Him the things that He wants to give us, that we’re searching for all throughout the world, but He offers in the best possible way. Jesus wants you to take it. Have you received what Jesus has offered you? He’s got something for you to pick up.

But not everything Jesus asks us to pick up is going to be easy; not everything is going to be simple. Because Jesus also said this, in Luke 14:27. He said, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” So part of what we pick up is not just the good things, but also the hard things. To follow Jesus is to bear your cross. It’s to follow after Him through the difficulty, through the challenge. Everything is better with Jesus, but not everything is easy and happy and painless all the time. It could be difficult to follow Jesus.

I know Christians in other countries who’ve had incredible difficulty and still have incredible difficulty following Jesus. I know a man who got home one day to find armed guards in his home — soldiers with weapons — and they were only there because he claimed the name of Jesus Christ. I know someone who every day walks two hours to get to a place where they can go to a Bible study. I know people who cannot worship out in the open, in public, for fear of their life. And I didn’t say I know of these people — I know them; I’ve dined at their tables. There are brothers and sisters in Christ for whom, to be a Christian and to bear the cross, that’s something difficult that they deal with every single day. For us as believers in this country, we have incredible freedom, but sometimes that freedom can make it pretty easy to be a Christian. I can read my Bible just about anywhere I go. I can wear a shirt that says I’m a Christian without any fear. It doesn’t mean it’s always easy. But let me ask you: when things get hard — and they do; your faith is tested — how do you respond? Do you stand for Jesus? Do you boldly represent Him to the world? Or do you find yourself backing down, or remaining silent, or walking away? Jesus has a high calling for our lives. It’s to pick up your cross and to follow Him. It’s to boldly go where Jesus leads, no matter the consequence. Are you willing to do that for Him?

Picking up your cross means doing something for Jesus. What are you doing for Him? What are you doing for Jesus? As Jesus spoke to the church of Laodicea, He said, “I know your works.” He saw what they were doing; what they were doing wasn’t for Him. Look at what He says in verse 15: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” As He looked at the church of Laodicea, He’s telling them: do something; be useful for me. And by the way, whether hot or cold, either one is good. Think about water: hot water feels great in the shower; it’s great for cooking; it’s useful. Cold water — it’s refreshing on a hot day. Jesus is just telling them, “You can’t be in the middle. Choose something. Do something for me. I see your works — work for me. Put yourself into action.” That’s what He’s calling us to. Jesus is calling us to work — to work for Him, to work for the sake of the gospel. And that’s going to be hard at times; it’s going to be heavy at times; but it’s going to be worth it, because He has gone before us and He is with us. Pick it up. When you see the opportunity that Jesus places before you, pick it up; take it. When you see the opportunity to serve, take it. When you see the person at church that you need to encourage or talk to, take it — don’t rush out of here; look for the opportunity to serve. When you hear about the mission trip, and you hear about how much it’s going to cost and how much time it’s going to be and how difficult it’s going to be — take it. Take the opportunity to serve and work for Jesus Christ, because it’ll be worth it.

So when Jesus calls us, He calls us to pick it up. So again, take a moment and consider: What is it in your life? What’s the opportunity that Jesus has put before you that you need to take? Consider that.

Calling #3: Put It On

The third call is the call to put it on. The call to put it on. Jesus calls us to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. There’s a change that takes place. We leave behind our old life; we pick up our cross; we follow after Him. And immediately, when we give our life to Jesus, we are clothed in His righteousness. When the Father in heaven looks at us, He sees His Son. We’ve put on Jesus Christ. Romans 13:14 says: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” The call to follow Jesus means stopping some things, but it also means doing some other things. But it’s not just about what we do; it’s about who we are. And Jesus begins to transform us from the inside out. He changes us. Yes, the Father, when He looks at us, He sees His Son. But when others around you look at you, what do they see? Do they see Jesus in you as they look at your life? We’re called to put on Christ. Ephesians 4:24 says: “And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” We’re called to live lives that are righteous; we’re called to do the right thing, to follow after God according to His standard. And we’re called to a life of holiness, that we would be set apart and different from the rest of the world. Those are the things that He calls us to do. And so daily, I have to put on Christ. I have to focus my attention and my heart on Him and being like Him each day. Romans 13:12 says: “The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.” There’s been a great exchange. Those things that we did before, the works that we did before, were just worthless rags, and we take those and we set them aside, because we’ve been given something new — the armor of light — that as people who represent Jesus to the world, we go in His armor out into the places where He calls us. He’s called us to be clothed in Christ. Instead of pursuing sin and the things that are worthless, we pursue Jesus and the things of heaven. That’s what He calls us to.

And then He gets specific. In 1 Peter 5:5, Peter writes: “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” And so Peter says, “Here’s one attribute of God you need to be clothed in this: clothe yourself in humility.”

What I would challenge you to do this week: the New Testament is full of great lists — lists of attributes of a Christian. And what I would challenge you to do is read through some of those lists and identify: is there one word on that list — and maybe there’s one coming to your mind right now — is there one word on that list that you would say, “This is what I need to be clothed in this week. This is what I need to focus on if I’m going to grow and take a step forward in my faith. Here’s the one thing I need to do this week.” Maybe it’s patience. Maybe it’s self-control. Maybe it’s honesty. Maybe it’s righteousness and holiness. What is the one word? What’s the thing? Maybe it’s integrity. Maybe it’s prayer. What is the one thing that Jesus wants you to take a step forward in this week? Clothe yourself with Christ.

And then we get to ultimately, one day, enjoy the clothes of eternity. Earlier in the chapter, in verse 5, Jesus says: “The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” In this life, we have to work to put on this clothing every day, but there’s a moment that we will be clothed in white, that we will be, on the outside and inside, a true representation of Jesus Christ, because our sin will be completely done away with and we will be made completely new. That’s what we’re looking forward to. That’s the culmination of all of this.

But as Jesus is writing to this church and He’s challenging them, He says: “I stand at the door and knock.” And I have to believe that for each one of us, Jesus is standing at the door of our heart, and He’s knocking, and He’s waiting patiently. Will you let Him in? Will you allow Him to work in your life? Will you allow Him to challenge you to grow and to take steps in your faith as a disciple? Jesus is calling you. How will you respond? What is it that you need to put down? What is it you need to leave behind? What is it that you need to pick up as you follow after Him? What is it that you need to put on as you look more like Him?

Calling #4: Pass It On

But then there’s a fourth call. We’re not going to spend a lot of time on this, but there is a fourth call, and the fourth call is to then pass it on. Once you’ve left everything behind and you’ve followed after Jesus and you’re growing in Him, the next thing is to pass it on to somebody else. It’s to pass it on. And the next four weeks — this is the name of our sermon series — it’s going to be all about how we do this. We’re going to be passing it on tonight as we gather to pray. We’re going to be praying about: who are the people in your life that you can pass it on to?

When I think about my own life, I think about many, many people who passed on their faith to me. My grandparents; my parents; my whole family. When I was a junior higher, a man named Jim Vistas — that room right next door — and his intern Scott Stubber. As I got a little older, college pastor named Jeff Pishney; another college pastor named Sean Stuts. These are men who passed it on to me. As I served in the junior high ministry with this crazy junior high pastor named Joel Boone, he passed it on to me. As Joel and I shared an office in what is now the Welcome Center, he passed it on to me. As I got into ministry, these other pastors — John Byron, Chuck Miller — so many others; they passed it on to me.

God has placed people in your life — people at work, people in your family, people you see at the grocery store, people you cross paths with all the time. He’s placed people in your life that you can pass it on to. Who’s it going to be? So I invite you: tonight, six o’clock, right back here, we’re going to have a night of prayer. And that’s one of the things that Pastor Joel is going to lead us in — a time praying about who you’re going to pass it on to. Very practical application as we look at being a disciple, and now, pass it on — being disciples who make disciples who make disciples. It’s going to be a great night. Pray for us.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You, because Lord, You are good. And Lord, we are so unworthy, and yet in this place of being unworthy and being sinners, Lord, You looked at us and You loved us and You called us out of the darkness and into Your marvelous light. Thank You for the calling that You have for each of us. Lord, there are things about our callings that we all share in common, but Lord, there’s also things that are individual to each of us — things that only You know. But Lord, wherever You call, we want to be faithful to answer and respond in a way that brings You glory. I pray for each person: Lord, if there was anything that You’ve laid on their heart today, Lord, that they would respond to Your call; that together we would take steps to grow as we follow after You. And we pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Well, church family, this morning I’ll be out in the Welcome Center, and out here in the lobby we’ve got the Redwood Family Center as well — one of our REACH partners — and we’d love to see you and say hello. And be blessed this morning. Have a great day.