November 12, 2023 "God Calls Us In Surprising Ways"

ReNew Ames Messages

The calling of the prophet Samuel. I love the honesty in this story. Clearly, Samuel wasn't ready for a call from God. It took him 4 times before he realized it was God calling and even then he had to have someone else tell him what was going on. If we're honest - no one's ever really ready for a call from the divine. Just read through the Bible - the only one that seems close to ready is a young woman by the name of Mary. When's the last time you listened for a call from the divine? Samuel's story shows that the timing of God's call is intentional and always right on time. There was a time in church history when the church had 3 popes. Yeah, it messed everyone up. No one knew who to trust - no one knew where the authority was. Then a dude named Martin Luther showed up. Said that if we want authority all we needed was scripture and each other. The Reformation changed the course of history. And now, in our day, we're reexamining these ideas and wondering if there might be a new iteration of them. God's calling lots of people in our day to be those voices. Another thing about God's calling - sometimes God works outside the normal power structures of the world to get done what God wants done. Samuel shouldn't have been called - there were others in line. But they weren't gonna work. So, God worked outside the normal channels and worked in a surprising way. That leads us to another Martin Luther - the Jr. Martin Luther. He had to work outside the normal power structures to get done what God wanted to get done. God's calling each of us - and maybe all of us together - to be a part of something much bigger than ourselves. Maybe we have a little sense of what that might be. We're never ready for it - but here we are. If we answer that call, maybe we, too, can change the course of history. Speaker: Aaron Vis Scripture: http://bible.com/events/49168299