Be A World-Changer: Outcome
In basic arithmetic 1 + 1 + 1 = 3; but in God’s eternal mathematics 1 + 1 + 1 = 100x – that is, a hundred fold. Your ministry will be more fruitful, and your serving experience more fulfilling, when you invest your spiritual Gifts in serving your Audience to bring about a specific Outcome. Your focus in life will be sharper, your path much clearer, and your decisions much easier when you know your unique, God-given Calling.
The model below is NOT intended as a formula to figure out your calling. That’s not how God works. You don’t find your calling; your calling finds you. However, God makes the following promise: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Isaiah 29:13). But it may be helpful to see a schematic representation of the pattern to God’s calling.
The Life Story of Moses prepared him for the work God would assign him. He grew up in Pharaoh’s home, learning the language, customs, and culture of the Egyptians. Moreover, Moses refined his natural Gift of leadership. As Moses grew into manhood, he began to identify more and more with his Audience, the Israelites. He envisioned a future Outcome – a day when his people would be free from their Egyptian captors. While witnessing an Israelite slave being beaten, Moses stepped in and killed the Egyptian master. After Moses was identified as the murderer, he became a fugitive running for his life.
Moses was literally running ahead of God’s timetable. Therefore, he was an exile for 40 years, tending his father-in-law’s sheep while God molded and shaped his character. When God’s appointed time finally arrived, Moses reluctantly accepted his Calling – to bring God’s people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
What about your own Life Story? What assignment has God been preparing you to undertake? Is there a pattern to your ministry opportunities? As I look back on my years as a Christian, God has repeatedly given me opportunities to teach and preach. It became very clear that my spiritual Gift is teaching.
I noticed that God has given me opportunities to teach all types of Christians – men and women; teens and adults; singles and married couples; newer and more mature Christians; believers in the United States and overseas. It became clear to me that my Audience is all Christians, and not one particular group of people or social issue.
At 40 years of age I desperately wanted God to reveal my purpose on earth. Whenever I had a free moment I thought about this Outcome – knowing my purpose in life. Finally, I spent a day alone with God to ask Him, “What do you want me to do with my one and only life?’ In a defining moment, God led me to John 17:4. “I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do” I realized that my work – my Calling – was to help Christians find their calling. The reason I was so focused on my life purpose is that God was calling me to help other believers find theirs.
In the calling diagram above, my Gift is teaching; my Audience encompasses all Christians; and my Outcome is for all believers to know their unique purpose. So, captured in a brief sentence, my Calling is: “To teach Christian to know and live out their unique, God-given purpose.”
What about you? Your Gift is __________. Your Audience is __________. The Outcome you envision is __________. Putting it all together, what statement captures the essence of your Calling?
© 2013 Designed to Serve®
Dr. Steve Lake is a retired educator with over 30 years experience in the American public schools. He has served in a variety of position, including teacher, elementary school principal, junior high principal, Associate Superintendent, retired from public education as Superintendent of Schools in Lincolnwood, IL. He has his Bachelors, Masters and Doctor of Education degrees from Northern Illinois University. For the past 25 years Steve has attended and been a member of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington and Northfield, IL. At Willow Creek Steve has taught adult classes on spiritual gifts, life purpose, and spiritual disciplines. He has ministered overseas in Angola, Zambia, Honduras, Germany, and Russia. Steve is co-founder of Designed to Serve, a ministry that equips Christians to live out their unique God-given calling. Steve is married and has two adult children who are married.
