Answering Your Divine Calling

Preacher: Joao Ahlin, ICC TV Montreal, "7 to 9" gathering, Wednesday prayer time.

Introduction: you did not arrive on earth by accident

At the heart of this time of prayer, Joao Ahlin opens the Word around a simple conviction: God has a plan for you. This is not a motivational line thrown out to stir up a crowd, it is a biblical reality. The whole creation groans as it waits for the children of God to rise up and take their place. You and I were not placed in this generation to simply tag along with everyone else, but to carry a response that no one else can carry in our place.

This sermon presses you to hear the call, to understand it, and above all to answer it. Because when we do not answer, it is never neutral: we frustrate the purposes of God and leave our descendants to endure hardships that never had to exist.

Outline of the message

1. You are a unique instrument in God's hands

The apostle Paul writes: "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). And a little further on: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

Everything that exists was created for a purpose. You are not here by accident, in this era, in this city, in this family. God, in his sovereign counsel, decided that you would be here to fulfill a specific purpose he prepared in advance. There are works that must carry your name before you leave this earth.

2. Creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God

Paul says it again: "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it" (Romans 8:19-20).

When Adam handed his authority over to the devil, the entire creation fell under the rule of futility. Since then, everything keeps deteriorating: families, medicine, politics, education, agriculture, the media. But creation is groaning, and what it is waiting for is not new human systems, it is for the children of God to rise up. The Church is the solution God sent to the earth.

3. The systems of the world are not neutral

In Genesis 4, after killing Abel, Cain withdraws from the presence of God and builds a city. His descendants give rise to the great systems of our world: Jabal, the father of those who dwell in tents and raise livestock; Jubal, the father of those who play the lyre and the flute, entertainment, culture, media; Tubal-cain, the forger of bronze and iron tools, technology, industry, weapons.

These systems were born outside the presence of God, in rebellion. They are not evil in themselves, but they were shaped without God, and they continue today to impose their own laws. God calls his children to enter them, to climb to the top of them, to bring his influence back into them, not to get lost in them, but to restore balance.

4. Refusing your calling is never neutral

There are two major reasons to seek out your calling and fulfill it. The first: whoever does not answer their calling frustrates the purposes of God and, as a result, serves the purposes of Satan. There is no third option. God's plan is like a great puzzle: if you do not put your piece in place, part of the picture is missing, and the pieces around it cannot fit together.

The second reason: when you do not answer, you and your descendants suffer hardships ahead of time. Laws get passed, systems take hold, families break apart, because those who were called to stand in the gap did not go there. Remember Saul, called to kingship, but whose heart did not follow God: the Lord had to raise up David in his place.

5. "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"

This is God's cry in Isaiah 6:8. And this cry still echoes today. Whom shall I send into broken families? Who will go to restore ethics in artificial intelligence? Whom shall I send into agriculture, into finance, into fashion, into entertainment, into politics? Who will go?

Isaiah's answer remains the model: "Here I am! Send me." God is not first looking for talented people; he is looking for available people.

6. The calling begins in prayer and is confirmed through small acts of obedience

To discover your calling, you must first take refuge in prayer. On your knees, ask: "Lord, what do you expect from me? What is the mark I must leave in my generation before I go?" Do not settle for just a job, a family, a Sunday life. There is more.

And expect the calling to be confirmed through small acts of obedience. God rarely calls by writing on the walls. He calls through an invitation you could easily ignore, a door you could easily walk past. When you obey in the small things, God opens up the big ones: he always brings provision in step with the vision, one stage at a time, one step at a time.

Key takeaways

• You are a unique instrument: no one else can bring the response God is waiting for from you.
• Refusing your calling is not neutral, it frustrates the purposes of God and serves those of the adversary.
• Creation groans for the manifestation of the children of God, not for better human systems.
• Every sphere of society (family, education, economy, culture, technology) is waiting for Christians who are sent.
• Your calling is discovered on your knees and confirmed through small, repeated acts of obedience.

Personal application

• What burden has God placed in your heart that you have long set aside?
• In which sphere (school, business, neighborhood, art, politics, family) do you sense God is sending you?
• What small, postponed act of obedience can you carry out this week, without waiting for a spectacular confirmation?
• Who do you need to ask forgiveness from (God, your family, your church) for having stayed away from your calling?
• Who around you can pray with you to discern and confirm the calling you carry?

Verses cited

• Ephesians 1:11 : Predestined according to the counsel of his will.
• Ephesians 2:10 : Created for good works prepared beforehand.
• Romans 8:19-21 : Creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God.
• Genesis 4:17-22 : The origin of the world's systems (Jabal, Jubal, Tubal-cain).
• Isaiah 6:8 : "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?"
• 1 Samuel 15 : Saul set aside, David raised up.

FAQ

How can I know if I have a calling from God?

Every child of God has a calling, as Paul affirms in Ephesians 2:10. The question is not whether you are called, but to what. Withdraw into prayer, ask the Lord what he has prepared for you, and pay attention to the burdens he places in your heart, the doors he opens, and the people who confirm it to you.

Is everyone called to pastoral ministry?

No. God's calling covers every sphere: family, business, school, culture, politics, medicine, agriculture, technology. God is looking for Christians sent everywhere futility is doing its damage, not only behind a pulpit.

What should I do if I feel too unworthy or too far behind to answer my calling?

As long as you have the breath of life, it is not too late. Start by asking God's forgiveness for the years of avoidance, then take the next small step of obedience. God always leads one stage at a time: provision follows vision, not the other way around.

Conclusion

The earth groans, systems are shaking, and God is still looking for those who are sent. Do not let your life shrink down to a job, a family, and a Sunday at church. There is more. Tell your Father tonight: "Here I am! Send me." Then rise up and fulfill, in your generation, the purposes that only he has prepared for you.