Counted Worthy Of Your Calling

Introduction

Two-thirds regulars, one-third visitors. Never seen anything like it. Welcome to everyone. You may introduce yourself to someone who’s also a visitor this morning. It’s good to have a packed auditorium, and singing has been wonderful. This sermon is actually two segments that could stand alone as sermons and of themselves. I promise it’s not going to go an hour. But they could stand alone in and of themselves, but I’m going to try to tie them all together at the end. Segment number one.

1. Why Are You Here?

I need you to think very honestly about the answer to this question. Are you ready? The question is, why are you here? Long pause. I want you to think. Why’d you come here today? Why’d you set your alarm? I know you could have slept later. I know you wanted to. But you set your alarm and you got up. And you ate breakfast, perhaps. You got cleaned up, put on your Sunday vest, and you’ve made your way to this assembly. Why’d you do that? A variety of reasons can cause us to assemble. Sometimes people show up because they know that others expect them to be here. And so they come to meet the expectations of others, because if they don’t come, then perhaps they’ll get a phone call from a family member, from the preacher, or one of the elders, that people have expectations, and because of those expectations, they come.

For some people, it’s about the way they want to be perceived by others, the way they want others to look at them. This is considered respectable and decent. I’m a God-fearing, Christ loving person, so it’s about my image, the way I want people to regard me. And to want to have a good image is not a bad thing. Proverbs chapter 22 and verse 1. But really, we should want people to regard us because we are indeed truly and genuinely the servants of the Lord, and it’s really about him and not us. Why do you call me good as the rich young ruler came to Jesus with the question, good teacher, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life? He says, Why do you call me good?

There’s none that is good but God alone. Really, this is all about him and not me and the way others perceive me. And let me just go on further to say about perception and image. Even people who have been the most genuine servants ever to walk the face of this earth were regarded by some who were even in Christ as counterfeits and faiths and disingenuous. So, really, how other people regard us is not of the most important significance. Like Paul said to the Corinthians, how you judge me is really a small thing. Or how I’m judged by any human court, the one who examines me is the Lord. So image can be overrated, is what I’m telling you. Well, I’m here because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s been ingrained in me since I was a little kid, and it wasn’t my circumstances.

You go to church on the first day of the week. Assemble with the Lord’s people is probably a better way to say that. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. That’s a verse we know. A lot of us know that. Hebrews 10 25. That’s it’s been ingrained into us. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. It’s the right thing to do. And it is.

To please a demanding God. Some people view this as appeasing God. Here you go, God. It’s what you want. Here it is. It’s the right thing to do. And for others, well, it’s just something I’ve been doing for a long time. It’s a tradition or a habit. My parents did it, perhaps my grandparents before that. My parents brought me up doing this. It’s what we’ve always done. Some never get any further than this. And are not the better for it. Some never get this far. I mean, it never becomes a tradition or a habit for them. They’re hit and miss. They’ve always been that way and always will be. They hardly think upon the impact that this has upon others or the commitment to the body.

Now, let me tell you something about these first four reasons. If you find yourself in one of these four areas, and that’s it, this can become a guilt thing. I show up here because if I don’t, I feel guilty, or someone else is going to make me feel guilty, and I don’t want to feel guilty. Guilty is bad. Actually, sometimes guilty is good when you ought to feel guilty. But I don’t want to feel the guilt. And so I’ll do just enough to keep people off my back. I want to tell you, if you come here because of guilt, that’s not going to result in the kind of character that God wants us to have. And that’s not going to work for you long term. Because you see, your character needs to change, and your perspective and values need to change.

And if all it is a guilt thing, you will not be consistent here on out in your participation among the Lord’s people. It’s got to be more than a guilt thing. Now, here’s the danger of preaching this. If you find yourself in one of these first four categories, you may not be paying attention to me already. You may have already checked out.

2. My Conduit to Fellowship With God

Come back. Everybody come back. Because there are some other reasons. More importantly, what this is. It’s not just the right thing to do, the thing God has instructed us to do. This is my conduit, your conduit to fellowship with God. This is something that should be a reflection of what’s going on in our lives day by day. But this is a corporate expression of worship to God. It is my conduit of fellowship with Him. Obviously, such acts of worship bring God’s people into His presence collectively. The most important thing I need to think about when I come here, the most important thing is what’s going on vertically. Too often we start thinking horizontally. These other people that we’re seeing and interacting with, and we’re enjoying that, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Going to get to that in just a second. Nothing wrong with that. But the most important thing that happens in this building is what’s going on vertically between you and God. Secondly, then, it is indeed an occasion for encouragement. Something very important happens horizontally as a byproduct in God’s design and arrangement. That passage, Hebrews 10, 25, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, the previous verse. And consider how to stimulate one another unto love and good deeds. There’s something about this corporate expression of worship to God that yields something beneficial and encouraging and stirring for one another. We’re in a great battle together. And we are sharing the bonds of fellowship. And we are encouraging each other by being here and participating in these things together.

We are encouraging each other to put on the full armor of God. To take up the shield of faith and the breastplate of righteousness and put on the helmet of salvation and take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

And Jared will be talking to you about that on Wednesday night. It is an occasion for encouragement. It is an outlet for my love for God. It is a time to express my zeal for Him and my gratitude for all that He has done. I am so great a debtor. I could never repay him the debt I owe. I could never fully atone for my misdeeds. I cannot sacrifice enough. I cannot worship enough. I cannot encourage enough. I cannot sing enough. I cannot preach enough or teach enough or think enough or pray enough. The occasion of assembly ought merely to be an extension of my feeling, my feeling for God throughout the week. It must never be the flipping of a light switch. Let’s turn it on for God on the Lord’s day.

We leave the building Sunday night to worship service. And we’re done. Flip the light switch off and go about our secular, self-serving lives.

That is not God’s design. It is instead a springboard. Okay, it’s like if you have a pool and a diving board, you’re jumping up and down on the diving board, you’re springing towards something, which is the dive into the water. This is a springboard. This is just the beginning. This moves us in the direction of godliness and holiness. God focus in our lives. I need this today. I need distraction from the cares of this world. I need to be focused outside of myself, and that’s what worship does. It betters me to focus completely on God and dismiss the temporal from my mind. I need the instruction that is imparted by the Psalms and the teaching that sheds light on the path of wisdom for my life.

3. Walk Worthy of the Vocation

My convictions are emboldened by being here. And I will tell you folks, this is an anchor. This is an anchor for my life. Every other pursuit is inferior to this. And so I’m sort of covering the bottom reasons because I’m telling you need to seek higher things. And higher reasons. Why are you here? Segment number one. Segment number two. We’ve been studying in our class in Ephesians from Ephesians chapter 4. And that familiar text in Ephesians 4 and verse 1, when Paul is explaining what does being in Christ mean in our circumstances. And Ephesians chapter 4, he beseeches them, he pleads with them, and that’s important. He beseeches them to walk worthy. And I might go to the King James here because I want to focus on a word that it uses.

Walk worthy of the vocation. That’s not what the New American Standard says. Walk worthy of your calling. Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you have been called. And the reason why I’m referring to the King James Version is that it’s vocation, not vacation. We focus on rest and repose quite enough. This is our calling. This is our vocation. And a question that we’ve raised concerning this, and Ed and Jared and I have batted this about is can we truly be worthy? I mean, walk worthy of your calling? Can we truly be worthy? Can we do what Paul is saying in Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1? The Greek word here in the New Testament, Axios, is found in many texts in the New Testament. I want to look at some of them with you.

And the versions of this word, axio and anexios, but they’re found in Matthew chapter 3 and verse 8 and Luke 3 and verse 8, when John is talking about the baptism of repentance and forgiveness of sins. And he tells them to bring forth fruits, what? Meat or worthy of repentance. I mean, the fact that you’re coming to God and repenting before Him, what should that look like in your life? What is an appropriate response to that? Bring forth deeds worthy of repentance. In Matthew chapter 10 he uses the same word when he says, He who loves father and mother more than me is not what? Not worthy of me. If I put up, if I put earthly relationships above what is right, above the Lord and His will, Jesus said, You’re not worthy of me.

Well, you’re definitely not walking worthy of your calling if you do that. And if you don’t carry your cross, we are not worthy to be his disciple. Whoever does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Again, it’s not a vacation, it’s a vocation. It’s a calling, it’s a walk. It’s going to require an expenditure of me. I’m going to have to carry my cross, or I’m not worthy of him. In Romans 16 and verse 2, Phoebe, that sister in Christ, the church in Rome was admonished to receive her in a manner worthy of the saints. There’s a right way to receive this sister, a worthy way. In Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27, the church at Philippi is admonished to conduct themselves, just like Ephesians 4 and verse 1, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

And that is further described as standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. So, considering what God has done for us, what kind of behavior should naturally follow from such a beneficent and merciful gift? A couple more passages. Hang in there with me. Colossians chapter 1 and verse 10. I want you to see all these worthy passages. Colossians 1 and verse 10, he tells the church at Colossae, like the church at Ephesus, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God. And then we get to the church at Thessalonica, and I love this. 1 Thessalonians 2 and verse 12.

It’s a couple pages over in your New Testament. So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Do you realize as Christians where we are? That great kingdom that was being talked about in Zechariah 14 in our adult Bible class. We’ve been called into that kingdom, into his kingdom and his glory. Wow. Now, what should you do? Walk in a manner worthy of that. What should that look like? Another form of the word is actually used in 1 Corinthians 11 when we partook of the Lord’s Supper. We so often read these verses. If you don’t take in a worthy manner, you drink judgment to yourself. The word worthy is found there twice in that context.

And he’s saying, you need to discern the Lord’s body and his blood to partake of this in an appropriate, in a manner that is meet with what you’re doing here. And obviously that’s something we can do. And negatively, how much severer punishment do you think he is worthy to receive? Who is trampled underfoot the Son of God? Has considered unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and insulted the Spirit of grace. I’ll tell you what you’re worthy of if you consider unclean the blood of the covenant by which you were sanctified. If you trample underfoot the Son of God by your behavior, what are you worthy of? Severer punishment. The Hebrew writer says. In Acts 15 and verse 38, this word is used of John Mark, actually.

4. What About the Problem of Failure?

Who, because of his desertion of Paul did not deem him worthy to go along for another trip, and that great dissension arose between Paul and Barnabas. And finally, as we see this word used in the New Testament in Acts 13, there’s a quotation in the beginning of this sermon of Paul, where John the Baptist is referenced in his statement that he is unworthy, and that’s the word again, he is unworthy to untie the thong. Jesus sandal. And then later in the context, he speaks of those who, because they reject the message of Christ, judge themselves unworthy of eternal life. So you get the idea of how this word is used in the New Testament. Now, here’s the question. What about the problem of failure? Christians fall short of his glory.

John wrote what he did that any man who hears these things should not sin. But if any man sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Sometimes we find ourselves falling short. We say, that’s our unworthiness. So how do we pursue this worthiness that Jesus deserves and walking in a manner worthy of that and yet recognizing that sometimes we fail. I don’t believe what Paul is saying in Ephesians 4. He’s telling us we are incapable of doing. And there’s another passage that has bearing on that I’m going to refer to at the end of this. In one sense, we can’t be worthy. We could never merit what God has done for us. We’re always going to fall short of that. We fell short of that.

That’s why we needed to obey the gospel and have our sins forgiven. And we’re going to fall short of that again. As James says, we stumble in many ways. James chapter 3 and verse 1. And particularly in the area of the tongue, we struggle. He goes on to say in James chapter 3. And so we realize there are moments of failure in our lives, so we can never be worthy. Like the centurion that had the servant that was sick, and Jesus, he knew Jesus was the answer for his servant’s condition. And he says, Well, I’m not worthy for you to come into my house. Now that had the whole Jew and Gentile thing working there. A Gentile having a Jew coming. He knew that the Jews would have a cow.

If that’s the appropriate term. The Jews would have a cow if Jesus were to come into the house of a Gentile. But I’ll tell you, in many ways, we’re just like him. We’re unworthy. Always will be for what the Lord has done for us. But that doesn’t mean that we cannot walk in a worthy manner. Let me capture what I think is the essence of this. As I was studying this, something hit me. This is the story of the prodigal son. The business of our worthiness. This is the story of the prodigal son. The prodigal son says, I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. I’m going to go to my father and say, make me one of your servants, hired servants. I’m not an heir anymore.

I don’t deserve that status. I’ve really messed things up. He’s come to his senses. I’m going to go back to my father and say, I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me one of your servants. He’s not worthy. And neither are we.

And he feasts with his father. The elder brother’s indignant. That’s another whole part of the story, but here’s the feast. Did the prodigal son deserve that? Absolutely not. But what does the prodigal son do now? The story doesn’t tell us that. But what do you think he does now that he’s come to his senses? He’s going to do the very best that he can for his father. He’s going to give him his ultimate. What kind of gratitude and loyalty and service and diligence should the Father now expect from his son? I’m going to give you something a little bit in this. I want you to take with you something that else came to me in the preparation of this sermon. I want you to take these two verses together, because this is what I think it’s all about.

5. Spend and Be Expended

Surprising in the context of 2 Corinthians, he’s wrapping up his section on giving. And he says, and this is the reason why you can remember this is 2 Corinthians 9.15 and 1215. 9.15 concludes, wonderful statement. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Now, I believe in the context, he’s talking about God working through these believers to take care of the physical material need in Jerusalem and them praying for them, everything associated with this gift of generosity. And he says, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. But I’ll tell you that passage really encompasses all that God has done to make this possible. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Later, Paul talks about his attitude toward the Corinthians. And this ought to be the attitude of every Christian.

And this is why Paul walks worthy of his calling. He said, I would most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. To me, that captures it. The story of the prodigal son, 2 Corinthians 9 and 12. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. Now, what should that look like in my life? I will be spent. I will most gladly spend and be expended for your soul. And I’ll tell you, that’s where we always are. Always. We are always right there. And so when I find behavior that is inconsistent, when I see inconsistent thinking and behavior that’s not worthy of my calling, what do I do? I quit, right? I quit. I give up. No more assemblies. Don’t come here anymore because I failed. I followed her.

I’m not walking worthy in this particular aspect. I messed up, I quit. Where do you read that in the New Testament? Hebrews chapter 4. It says he was tempted in all points as we are yet without sin. And we can go to the throne of grace with boldness and find help and mercy in a time of need. Because he, verse 14, sympathizes with our weakness. He understands our struggle in the flesh. He sympathizes with our weakness. He overcame it. He never failed. But he knows that we do. And if we’ll go to his throne and acknowledge this is not consistent with what he has called me to be, then he will be merciful and we can find grace and mercy in a time of need. Verse 25 of chapter 7.

Because he is our high priest, he is able to save forever. Man, we need him. He is able.

And he ever lives to plead our case. He ever lives to make intercession for us before God’s throne. So I’ll tell you what we’ve got to keep coming back to. If I can come back to Ephesians. This is like a summary of Jared’s whole class. If I can come back to Ephesians and walking worthy of your calling, this is what he’s told them. Where were you? You were lost, imprisoned, alienated, hopeless. Not good. And I’m really going beyond just the fact that we’re not good to the phrase. There is none who does good, no, not one. We’re lost in our sin, Romans chapter 3. And then what happens? He has caused us to be in him. He has loved us. He has lavished upon us. We are his holy temple.

The enmity between us and God has been removed. We’re now a dwelling of the Holy Spirit. We’ve been seated in heavenly places. Wow. What should I do as a result of this? This is where we were. I couldn’t fix this. And again, if I could be good the rest of my days, I can’t fix this. And then look what he did. Look how he brought us out of that. And now look at where we are. And so, what should that mean? How are we going to walk worthy of that? Well, I can never do enough. But I’ll tell you what I can do. I can go all out. I can strive. I can excel. I can give diligence. And I’m going to try, as we see in Ephesians, to mold attitudes and actions.

And I want to tell you, that’s what Christianity is all about. I think sometimes we want to just do the actions. I think that’s why people come for all those inferior reasons. See how I’m tying all this back in? They come for all those inferior reasons because, well, there’s the actions that he wants. Their heart’s not in it. We’ve got to get our heart in this for it to mean something. Just like you have to have your heart in the partaking of the Lord’s Supper to partake of it worthily. You have to discern the Lord’s body. You’ve got to invest something. It’s attitudes and actions. William, that’s hard. That’s harder.

6. Counted Worthy

We could never have gotten here without him. You mean I can be a dwelling of God? Sinner? Like me? Can be a habitation of God in the Spirit. What should that propel me to be? I should strive to please Him in all respects. We cannot be worthy in the sense of meriting salvation, but we can strive toward worthiness. And I’ll tell you what happens. Here’s now the main text of our sermon. We haven’t gotten there yet. I’m not going to spend that long here, but I want to tell you, this is where this goes.

Read with me and we’ll be done. Paul writes to the church of Thessalonica, and he says, We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren. It’s only fitting because your faith is greatly enlarged. Wow. Is that me? Your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another. It grows ever greater. Not all is going to be, but it’s growing. Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of persecutions and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you can be. There it is. So that you can be counted worthy. No, I’m not worthy in and of myself. But as I pursue walking in worthiness, God says, I count you worthy.

Worthy of the kingdom of God. Indicated by their willingness to suffer for it. He says, The afflictions, let me tell you, the Lord’s going to take care of that. He’s going to be revealed in flaming fire with his mighty angels, and he’s going to take vengeance on all those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. What an awful and yet compelling passage. Those who do not know God and obey the gospel, he’s going to have vengeance upon them. He’s going to be glorified in his saints on that day, those who are walking worthy. Then he says in verse 11, to this end. Also, we pray for you always that our God may count you worthy of your call.

And fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power.

Not on the basis of merit, but because of his mercy, because we walked in our believing. Now, I love this passage. Revelation 3. Sardis had a name that it was alive, but it was dead. But there were a few in Sardis who had not soiled their garments. And what did he say about them? He said, They shall walk with me in white in the mist. For they are worthy. As we go all out, as we go all out, he tips the scales in our favor. I can’t do enough to tip them. But he can. And that’s where Ephesians 5 comes to bear. That’s where 1 John 1 7. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin, and we have fellowship one with another.

Conclusion

For the unworthy, the unworthy to pursue walking worthily and then being counted worthy. That’s wow. And that’s why these assemblies are the very least that I could do. Let me tell you what they are. They are simply a vehicle. They are simply a vehicle in the pursuit of our worthiness. Why are you here? We’re about the business of pursuing worthiness by the help and mercy of God so that we might one day be counted worthy. I tell you, our Lord deserves it. And his glorious will, his magnificent, splendid, superb will. What a blessing to be a beneficiary of that and to pursue that with all of my being.

Do you need to begin the pursuit, the great pursuit of walking worthy of the great calling? Do you need to put on Christ this hour to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins? To come out of that mess of where we were and to be in him. And to begin walking worthy of him. If you need to respond to his invitation, come now as we stand and say.