Calling #1: For the Kingdom
October 17, 2024 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
As part of my sabbatical this summer, I took time to reflect on God’s calling on my life. I wrote fifteen years ago, “God has given me a passion to communicate the fullness of the glory of the gospel of Christ so that people would be passionate in living for Christ in their local community and throughout the world, drawing others to the beauty of the gospel. I desire to be used by God to build up and equip his saints for the work of ministry and to mentor and train future leaders of his church.” I am thankful to be able to say that my sense of calling has not really changed over these years.
The challenge, however, is maintaining a focus on and commitment to one’s calling. As the old adage says, “Keep the main thing, the main thing.” There are many things in our day to day lives that can distract us from the chief priorities to which God calls us. Therefore, we all need times to reflect and reevaluate our callings and our use of time. Coming back from my sabbatical, I have refined my sense of call into three areas. I want to share these with my church family over the next few weeks, because they, Lord willing, will shape what we do at Oak Hills.
First, I am called to shepherd the flock of Oak Hills to faithfully follow Christ and be used for the kingdom. The primary means to accomplish this aim is to proclaim the fullness of the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The simplified shorthand for this calling is “for the kingdom.” This is a phrase that caught my attention in my reading I did on sabbatical. Of course, we should start with Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount. In his prayer, one petition is “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). The kingdom of God, as revealed in Christ, is the rule of God in the hearts of his people. This comes only through the work of Christ subduing hearts unto himself through the ministry of the gospel. The kingdom of God is a restored relationship with God.
The implications of the kingdom of God coming into the hearts and lives of his people are multifaceted. Spiritual blessings in Christ abound, like joy, hope, peace, and contentment. Personal holiness grows under the leading and influence of the Holy Spirit. Priorities are reoriented from self-centered desires to God-centered and God-honoring desires. The use of time and resources shift towards God’s priorities rather than selfish aims. A passion for evangelism and the growth of the church become more prominent.
Jesus then commands in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” The blessings of the kingdom grow and multiply for those who prioritize God’s kingdom in their lives. Unfortunately, we don’t always seek first his kingdom. We become distracted by other pursuits.
In Dynamics of Spiritual Life, Richard Lovelace contends that living on mission for God’s kingdom is an important element of spiritual vitality. Our spiritual lives may feel lackluster if we have the wrong priorities. He writes, “One cannot help but wonder what the result would be if this mass of lay people could be spiritually released from their servitude in the American success system and reoriented to channel their major energies toward building the kingdom of God” (p. 151). Lovelace is thinking about the impact of the church if the members are living for the kingdom of God. When individual Christians are distracted from the kingdom, how can the church effectively be used to make an impact on the community for the gospel of Christ?
I want to live for the kingdom. I want you to live for the kingdom. This is why Oak Hills exists. Our “longing to know and make known the astonishing grace of God” is for the kingdom. Our hearts’ desire is to see the kingdom come in our own lives and in the lives of people around us. As your pastor, my calling is to shepherd us to faithfully live for the kingdom. May the glory of Christ, proclaimed in the gospel, draw our hearts to “seek first the kingdom of God.”
