Dcn. Jesse Harris and Haley Harris · Saint Michael’s Church · 2025-07-31 · Watch on YouTube
I. You Are the Hero This World Needs 00:06
Jesse: First of all, I introduced myself already. I’m Deacon Jesse. My wife will introduce herself when she comes up. But one of the key factors that we were considering when we had a young adult conference is this common trope that young adults don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just lazy, and they’re living out of their mom’s basement. I heard that on the news the other day. But I’m looking around and I’m like, nah, that’s not true. I don’t see it. I see a bunch of people who are getting after it, who are working hard. And I truly believe that one of the things God’s speaking right now is that there’s a mantle that’s being taken up by the people in this room, by the people in this conference. And I see it in churches all over the CEC, where young adults are stepping into ministry, stepping into activity.
But today we’re going to talk about how you discern what you are called to do. What is your destiny? And the first thing you need to know (you probably heard it as I talked about Joseph) is that you are the hero this world needs. There’s actually a spot in the body of Christ and in the world that suffers if you’re not there. Each one of you has an actual, real, and legitimate calling in Christ, to bring his kingdom to an area that is yours. That is your contribution.
We’re going to talk more about that, but I want you to think about the fact that before Christ ascended, he said, “It’s actually better for you if I leave” (John 16.7). And his disciples looked at him like, “That can’t be true. How could it be better for us if you, Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, the Messiah, are gone?” And he said, “Because I will send you my Holy Spirit.” This whole conference is about being set on fire by the power of the Spirit. And what he meant by that is that his ministry on earth, his ministry to save the world, he was calling his disciples and his church to walk out themselves. God actually prioritized you being his body on earth more than Jesus doing all the work. His plan incorporated you. Since the foundation of the world, he knew that Victor was going to be sitting here. He knew that Johnny was going to be here. He knew that there was going to be Grace and all these people. He knew that. And he has actually prepared a way for you to walk in your destiny.
So we’re going to talk a little bit about that, but we have to start there, because the one thing you can’t have is too small of a vision. God’s vision for your life is better and bigger than you can imagine. And so God wants to expand our vision today, to be open to the things he’s calling us to do. Okay. So I’m going to have Haley get up here, and she’s going to share her testimony about how that’s been walked out in her life.
II. A Mother, a Maker, and a Teacher 03:12
Haley: Well, hi, everyone. For those who don’t know me (I see lots of familiar faces, but some new faces), my name is Haley. A little bit about me: Jesse and I have been married almost 10 years, in a couple of weeks. Jess and I are going on our 10th year of marriage. I can’t believe it. It’s been almost 10 years. What a ride. I have five kiddos, ages 7 to almost one year old. And I like to describe our household as organized chaos, a little bit of a circus, but mostly under control most days.
As you can tell by Jesse, he’s the big-picture guy. I am not so much the big-picture person. I love to-do lists, graphs, charts. I shared yesterday that I discovered what a to-do list was when I was in third grade, and from there I have been making a to-do list every single day of my life. So I love plans, and I would say that I love control. I mean, who doesn’t like control in their life? And so that’s a little bit of what I’m going to talk about today in my testimony: how do we discern our calling? How do we figure out what we are supposed to do with our lives, when we want to do what we want to do, and we want to be in control of what we do with our lives?
And so I’m going to go back in time a little bit and talk about when I was in college. So a little bit about me: I love art. I have always loved art, since I was a little kid. I remember taking Saturday art classes, and then all throughout high school, any art class that was offered, I was taking that class. And all throughout high school and college, my big dream was, “I am going to be a famous painter, and I want to be an art teacher, and that’s what I want to do.”
And I had a friend in college. She was like, “Haley, I think you really need to come to this college retreat with me.” And I was a little reluctant, but I went, and I had a good time. And I remember one of the sessions: the topic of the night was “Letting go and letting God.” And up until then… I grew up in church. My grandparents brought me, but I didn’t really attend church when I was in high school, and I kind of got back into it in college. And I never really understood what it truly meant to have a relationship with the Lord. I had heard people say, “Oh, I heard the word of the Lord and I wrote it down,” and, “I can hear God. I talk to God all the time.” And I never knew what that meant.
So anyways, at this session, “Letting go, letting God,” I was feeling really frustrated at the time, because how am I going to make a living being a painter, being an art teacher, where those jobs are slim pickings? But I knew that that’s what I really wanted to do, what I was really interested in my whole life. And I was just really driven: “That’s my plan.” And I was stressed. Control: I’m a control freak. And so that’s what I wanted to do. And so I guess that night I was feeling really angry and resentful. I was like, “God, what do you want me to do?” And immediately I felt like the Lord said (and this is the first time I could hear the audible voice of God), he said, “You are going to be a mother, a maker, and a teacher.” And it freaked me out. I was like, “Wow.”
Okay. So I remember I got out my journal. I sat on the floor, with everyone standing around me, and I wrote it down: “A mother, a maker, and a teacher.” And it was this sensation over my entire body, where I’m like, “Wow. I just heard the voice of the Lord for the first time.” It was amazing. Mother, maker, teacher. And I wrote it down. I put it away. But it didn’t really make sense, and it didn’t go according to my plan, because I knew that I didn’t want any children. Growing up in a really tiny family, we just didn’t have a lot of kids around, and kids were kind of like: don’t make noise, can’t be seen, very quiet. So kids were like a nuisance in my household. So I just thought, “Okay, well, I’m not going to have any kids. It’s not part of my plan.” So the mother part was confusing. I heard him so clearly, but it made no sense to my plan.
So you can see here I do have five children, and they are chaotic, as you can see, especially this one. Mother, maker, teacher. So yeah, I can remember Jesse and I were on one of our first dates (I think it might have been our first date, in fact), and I found out, “Oh, he’s the oldest of nine.” And he was like, “I am open to having as many kids as I can.” And I was like, “I don’t want any children.” But you can see I definitely have changed my mind since then.
III. In Every Season 08:33
So this word: I downloaded it, right? “Mother, maker, teacher.” It didn’t give me this grand vision. Just because I got this word, this calling on my life, I didn’t really know what it meant. Like, what am I supposed to do with that? I kept it, and I literally say it to myself, and have said it for the past 12 years, almost every day: “Mother, maker, and teacher.” And what does that mean? So I had to hear from God how to live these words out in every season.
So when I say that, what I mean is, we have specific interests and hobbies, things we like to do, and different passions, things we want to pursue. But what does that look like in the big picture of our lives? What are we supposed to pursue? What does God want us to pursue? So I knew that God called me to be a mother, a maker, and a teacher, and I had to pray a lot about what I could do in each season. So, looking back now, I’ve lived here in California for eight years. I did the art shows. I had art teaching jobs along the way. And at every turn, God has clarified the call, which was simple: a mother and a maker and a teacher. But in every season, I have to come to understand him.
So there have been certain jobs that I’ve had where I knew, “Okay, well, this wasn’t really what God wanted me to do,” because it was a struggle. I had to strive to really make things work. And I had to learn: okay, if I’m struggling and striving so much and fighting my way to make something work, it’s probably not what God wants me to do. And I had to learn that a lot, and I’m still learning that. So in every season, you have to come to understand him. So right now, in my season in motherhood, I’m solely focusing on motherhood, where art has been on the back burner for the past seven years.
And when I share that, I want you to know that there are going to be things in your life where you feel like God has called you to be, or things to pursue, but not all of them can happen at once. There’s going to be an ebb and flow in the seasons of your life. And so a certain passion that you might have, that you feel like God’s called you to do, isn’t always going to be full throttle all the time. And that’s okay. And that’s going to feel like a letdown and a bummer. But it’s an opportunity: in those seasons of waiting, in those seasons when things feel a little heavy or sticky or uncomfortable or stressful, it’s an opportunity to go deeper and to trust what God’s doing, and that you are doing what he wants you to do. And that can give you a lot of peace and a lot of stillness and comfort in those seasons of waiting.
But it’s difficult, and you have to train your brain to trust God. It’s kind of like working out. I would wake up early before the kids and I would say, “Okay, I’m going to have a great day. I’m going to sit and do my devotions.” And sometimes, reading my Bible and praying, I would find… I would tell Jess, “I’m in a worse mood now than I was to begin with.” It’s because I have to train myself to trust God. Just because I’m sitting down and going through the motions of praying and trusting God, it’s not all just going to click. You have to tell yourself, “I am doing what God wants me to do. I don’t understand it right now, but I know that it’s going to work out.” So don’t listen to your fear. Don’t listen to the negativity in your brain, or your own plans for your life. That’s comfortable. Seek and trust God in what he is calling you to do, because I can tell you, I have done that, and I am so happy where I am in my life right now, being a mother and a maker and a teacher.
IV. Called to Teach 12:32
And so I want to give you some examples of those. So, like I shared, when Jesse and I were dating, I did not want any children at all. But when we got engaged, and especially when we got married, I was like, “Okay, I’m open to the idea of having maybe three kids.” But five kids later, I can tell you I am definitely called to be a mother. It’s the best thing I’ve done with my life. It’s so rewarding.
But I want to share about the teacher part. So I originally was certified to teach in public schools, kindergarten through 8th grade, as an art teacher in Massachusetts. But when we moved across country, California was like, “You actually need to take all of your teacher tests again, in reading and math and writing.” And I was like, “Oh, California is so hoity-toity, and nose up in the air.” So I did. And I was so hesitant, and I didn’t understand why I would need to do that, but I did. And then I was certified to teach anything, K through 8th grade, which I thought was ridiculous.
But it all made sense when I was at a rector’s retreat four years ago, and we were praying for the then first grade teacher. She was looking to retire. We were praying: who can take over for her? And I remember the seat I was sitting in, at the end of the oval table with all of these old people. And I was praying, “Who could possibly replace her?”, and God spoke: “You are going to be a part of building this school.” And my notes make me laugh, because my next point says, “Initially equals no.” When I felt like God told me that, I was like, “I am not going to teach at Saint Michael’s. There’s no way.” At the time, I was teaching at an online art school (which sounds really funny, to teach art online), but it was a cushy job. Really nice benefits. I didn’t have to commute. I got to have lunch with my kids when I just walked out of my bedroom.
So when I felt like God said, “You’re going to be a part of building this school,” I’m like, “There’s no way I’m going to teach first grade. I want to teach art.” And so I didn’t tell Jesse. The meeting ended. We go back to our room. Dinner’s later that night, and he was like, “Are you okay?” I’m like, “Yeah, everything’s good. Everything’s fine.” And I got a stomachache, and I was like, “Listen, I’ve got to tell you something.” Jesse was so excited. He was like, “Amazing! We need to call Father Powell right now.” And I still just was like, “Sure, we can tell them, but I’m just not on board. We need to pray about this more, because I’m not going to teach. I am not going to leave my art teaching job.”
Well… forgive me, the images aren’t loaded here. Okay. This is my classroom, and I can tell you I have the best job ever. I teach here at Saint Michael’s. This is going on my third year. And God knew what he was doing, because I go to work every day, and when I turn around and I just look at the kids, or just see what I’m doing with my hands, I’m like, “This is so gratifying.” I love teaching here, and this is definitely what I’m called to be, when God said, “You’re going to be a teacher.” I think this is also another one of the kiddos from my desk. But yeah, God knows what he’s doing. And we just have to trust him in those times where you think he’s leading you to do something and it’s not what you want to do, or it’s not aligning with your goal or the vision that you have. And the path isn’t always going to be straight. It’s going to be windy and curvy, and sometimes you have to back up a couple of times, but it’s all going to make sense. So I want you to trust the process, and don’t force something when it’s not the season for it.
V. Called to Make 16:15
So that goes into the maker part, for me, of being an artist, is what I would call it. In seasons of motherhood, it’s crazy, and working full-time… I’ve always had a passion to pursue art and create something and paint, but it’s difficult with my schedule and my life right now. So when I would try to make the maker part happen, I would wake up really early before the kids, or I would stay up way too late, and I hated everything that I made, and everything just wasn’t working, and I was stressed and tired, and I was just forcing something when it wasn’t the season for it. I know that God has called me to be a maker, but in that season it wasn’t working, and I had to push pause on it. And when I put that on the back burner, so to say, I felt so much lighter. And so that goes to say that those callings are just going to ebb and flow in life.
But I’m excited to say that in the past month, God has told me that it’s time to start painting again. And so I have. And I actually just started a really big canvas. I think I’ve had that canvas for maybe four years, sitting in the garage. So I just opened it, and I’m painting, and I’m really excited with the series that God has. When I paint, I love to pray a lot. And let me share… is this the crazy photo of Margot? Sorry. Okay. So the one with the big hair, that’s her whole personality. That’s Margot when she was, I think, like 2 weeks old. I was in that season of trying to force painting when I had a newborn. And I was so frustrated. I was like, “God, I feel like you called me to be a maker. I have this desire to create, and what am I supposed to do with this?” And I felt like he said, “Haley, I just want you to paint for me, and things that you see as beautiful, for me.” And that gave me so much peace and comfort. And I’ve kept that with me since she was born, and now she’s two and a half. And so now that idea that I got from God is coming out in all these paintings. And I’m really excited about it. So I’m glad that I waited, and I’m glad I didn’t throw out all of those canvases time and time again, when Jess was like, “You can’t throw out the canvases,” and I’m like, “It’s over.”
But yeah, it’s not a grand vision. It’s a daily walk. And the best thing I can leave you with, when it comes to discerning your calling, is: give up your own desires and plans, and just pray.
VI. Three Callings: Family, Church and Vocation 18:45
Jesse: So I want to get really practical now about how to discern your calling, and so we’re going to talk through this real quick. First of all, there are three callings on your life. Everyone here has a calling to their family, their church, and their vocation. Now, occasionally there are going to be people, like Father Scott Looker there, who are called to full-time ministry, where their vocation and their church calling coincide perfectly. They lay on top of each other nicely. But most of us are going to have our church and our vocation on top of our commitment to our family.
So let’s start with the family one. Every single person in this room is called to be a mother or a father. And if you don’t know which one, I can tell you. Come talk to me after. You are called to be a mother or a father. Now, that’s kind of controversial in today’s day and age. But I want you to know this: almost everyone is called to be a biological mother or biological father. There are some people who are called to be a father or mother in the church, and I understand that there are a variety of giftings and callings. But what happens is, we are designed… the first government of God was man and woman leading their household. The first church of God: the man was the priest of his household. All of that was written into creation. And we were designed to lay our lives down for our spouse and our children. If you’re one of those people who is called to be a mother or father in the church, then guess what? You get to lay down your life for the church and for the children that God brings you in the church.
So either way, you need to keep that calling in your mind, because the priorities go like this: God, family, church, vocation. I’m going to put those [church and vocation] on the same level, because depending on where you’re called, sometimes one sacrifices for the other, et cetera, et cetera. But your family calling means you don’t get to be a forever childless bachelor or bachelorette. That is not a calling for anybody. If you’re unmarried, then marry the church. That’s what the church has always had: monks, nuns, priests, all people who laid down their life for the church.
Now, if you’re feeling like, “Whoa, that’s a lot. That’s heavy,” just tuck it away. Let God talk to you about that. That’s great. I say all that to say: if all you ever do (and our world will teach us this way) is look for what your career is going to be, you’re going to miss a big section of your life you should be paying attention to. You guys are adults. You should be paying attention to where God’s calling you to invest in your family, whether that’s finding a spouse or laying down your life for the church. So keep those in mind.
VII. The Work of the Ministry 21:44
Then we’re going to go on to your church calling. Now, of course, when you think of church, you think of pastors, teachers, evangelists, prophets. You think of these superstars of the faith. They’re so holy and so grand. Well, you know what their job is? Let’s jump in to this verse here. I don’t have it on the slides, but Jesus gave… who did he give? He gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers. They must be important, because they’re gifts to the church from Jesus. What is their job? To equip the saints for the work of the ministry (Ephes 4.11–12). To equip you for the work of the ministry. If you are called to be an apostle, evangelist, shepherd, if you’re called to full-time ministry, then guess what? You just join the support staff of the kingdom. Your job is to support the people, to lead the people in the pews into the work of the ministry. Now, I think we get that so backwards, like they’re out there doing the work of the ministry. No, no, no. They’re supporting you, so that out there you do the work of the ministry.
Okay, so we’ve got that clear. So what is our work of ministry, then? What is the work of the ministry of the church? This is what was handed… like I said, Jesus, when he ascended, handed it to his apostles. This is our ministry:
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Cor 5.18–20
Sorry about my voice; hopefully you can hear me. So when you think about this, and you keep those Scriptures in mind: your job is to go be ambassadors for Christ, reconciling the world to Christ.
Which leads us to our third point of calling: your vocation. There is no such thing as a secular job. So I’m not going to use that word, because secular implies the idea that you can separate God out from reality, and you can’t. Everything we do has a nature that is also sacred. Now, there are special things that are set apart. We don’t do plays, we don’t do productions or art shows in this building. This building is for the worship of God alone. It’s set apart, and that’s great. But you know what? The plumber down the road, when he fixes a toilet, is reconciling the world to God. I’m using a silly example, but I’m not being silly. God created the world. There was nothing, and then there was chaos, and God made it in order. He ordered the world to be good and beautiful and right. And when that plumber fixes that toilet, he makes the world a little better, a little more beautiful, a little more right. Everything we do, whether you’re managing people at Staples, whether you’re renting movies at a Blockbuster (okay, to really date myself), whatever you’re doing, you’re actually bringing the world into better alignment with God.
That’s your job. Your job is not your job. That’s part of your job. It’s a subset, job 1.B or whatever. Your real job is to reconcile the entire earth to Christ. And because you are you, a unique blend of callings, passions, skills, abilities, you have a particular place where you can reconcile the world to God in a way no one else can. And you have a special call on your life. And so, keeping that in mind as we talk about discerning our calling: we are all called to full-time ministry. Every one of us.
Now, it is useful to separate out when your income comes from the church. Yeah, we can talk about that. Some of you today, in this conference, are being called to be a priest or a deacon or a worship leader or a Sunday school teacher, whatever it is. And you might be on full-time staff. Great. Reconcile the world to God. Equip the saints to reconcile the world to God. Most of us are going to be called to be truck drivers and plumbers and construction workers and mine quarry supervisor operators. And we’re going to do things that bring alignment and goodness into the world, by our actions, by the way that we relate to one another, all of those things. And that, of course, applies to your family calling as well. You’re reconciling the world to God as you’re bringing up your children in the ways of the Lord and bringing them to know him.
VIII. Gifts, Skills, Passions and Connections 26:55
So how do we discern what our calling is? Well, our calling is at the intersection between God’s purposes in the world, his purposes of reconciliation, and your gifts, skills, passions, and connections. Nobody in the world has your particular blend of gifts, skills, passions, and connections. So your calling is where those things come to meet the purposes of God in your life.
So how does this work? Well, let’s talk about gifts. Let’s face it: not a single person in this room is called to be an NBA basketball player. We just don’t have the gifts. Nobody hit their head on the way into the building. None of us have the natural giftings or skills… let me stick with gifts. None of us have the gifts naturally given to us to accomplish that vision. So that will narrow your focus a little bit.
I will say there are two types of gifts. There are the gifts that are naturally there, and that might be intelligence, or your charisma, your unbelievable good looks. I mean, if modeling called, I’d answer. No. All of those things you are naturally born with, your gifts in the natural, are informative. They can help you determine where you might be called to be. But on top of that, there are spiritual gifts. And if you don’t know your spiritual gifts, we’ve got a Fire Night tonight where you can come and pray to receive your spiritual gifts, to be activated in your spiritual gifts, to discern your spiritual gifts, because I promise you, you have them. Not because you’re cool, but because he is. Not because you’re great, but because he is. He has given you gifts freely that you get to have, and that will help you determine where your callings are. For instance, Haley has a natural gift and a spiritual gift for teaching, especially young children. And so that was part of discerning her calling.
So we look at all of this and we think, “Well, some people have better gifts than me.” Well, Paul had an answer for that. He had no time for that. And he said (and this is the Jesse Authorized Version, so basically my own paraphrase): “We are all members of one body. Can you imagine the horror show if the body were made up of only eyes or only hands? No, we need every one of you, in all your differences. In fact, God placed you exactly where you need to be for the body to function. So don’t get proud if you’re the mouth, and don’t get hurt or upset or jealous if you’re the right butt cheek. It does not matter what part of the body you are; you have a function” (1 Cor 12.12–27). That’s basically what he… I mean, he had other words, but they were basically along those lines. But the point is, your gifts can help you discern where you’re called.
Okay. Next are skills. You may recognize this quote: “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills. Skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you.” Okay, I’ll stop there. I feel like my voice is lending itself a little bit to the Liam Neeson grumble, but I can’t quite hit it. I love what he says in there: “I have a very particular set of skills that I have acquired.” That’s true. That’s what skills are about. Skills are things that you gain through knowledge, experience, training. They’re not gifts. They’re things that you acquire.
Now, I mentioned in my earlier talk that often we gain skills in very unconventional ways that you may not even notice. God likes to Mr. Miyagi us. He puts us in one job, teaches us “wax on, wax off,” and then it happens to be exactly the skill you need when you’re fighting your giant in the ring. God will have you do this particular job over here, and you learn this skill set, and then all of a sudden he calls you into this new place, and they’re like, “Oh, you know how to do that.” And you’re like, “Yeah, I used to wash cars. You know, I can fight.” No, that’s not how it works. But you understand: God leads you, and you can trust your Shepherd to bring you exactly where you need to go. We talked about Joseph. He learned all the administrative skills, the people management, the government, the language, when he was in Potiphar’s household (Gen 39.4), so that when it came time to rule Egypt, he actually had the ability to do it, both by God’s grace and by God’s provision and preparation.
Now, the good thing about skills… I guess I’ll have to change up my example, but my sister Mackenzie happens to be here today, so I’ll use her again. When she decided that she wanted to cut hair for a living, she was not naturally born with the ability to cut hair in whatever pattern they teach them to cut hair in. She was not naturally born with the ability to dye hair with the particular mix of chemicals. She had to submit herself to grueling, long, and arduous training for a long time before they gave her a chair and said, “Okay, cut hair.” That’s acquiring skills. So if you’re called somewhere and you don’t have the skills, find somebody who does and learn from them. That’s pretty good, right, when you’re discerning your calling? But you also may have skills you don’t know about that God might want to use. And so take an inventory. If you’re seriously looking, and you’re like, “I just don’t know what to do,” write these things down. What are my gifts, natural and spiritual? What are my skills? What skills would I need to get to where God’s calling me to be? We can be strategic. In fact, God loves strategy. He loves planning with people. He loves walking things out step by step.
Okay. Then we have our passions. When we look at our passions, of course, none of us are likely to be hired as professional cake testers. I am passionate about cake. It probably isn’t my calling. Now, if the opportunity arises, I will probably go for it. But our passions are both: they’re great signals for where you might want to go, but they often are not a one-to-one understanding. Most people don’t have a passion for bookkeeping in a large business until they actually bookkeep in a large business. Most people don’t have a passion for nursing until they learn how to nurse. But they might have a passion for people. They might have a passion for science. These are signals that are being sent. If you care deeply about something, that might be something God wants to bring out in your career. Now, once again, these are just tools we have for discerning our calling. And I will say, if you get called to a place you’re not passionate about, you can trust God to train your passions, or you can trust God to move you out of that place. But either way, the one common theme in this is that you have to walk it out in relationship with God. You can use all these signals, all these inputs, to understand more deeply where you might be called, but you have to walk it in conversation with God.
Now, finally, your connections. This one’s a really interesting one. It was a lot more common back in the day that you would just be in the family business. That was what you were. You were in a family of plumbers or a family of tailors or a family of cobblers, whatever it is. That was what you learned, and so that’s how you acquired your skills. That’s where your gifts got put to work, and it was because of your connections. That’s okay. God can use that too. Maybe you end up working for your uncle at his shoe factory, and then you discover a passion for fixing industrial shoemaking machines. Who knows what God can do? You can accept the signal from wherever he speaks, but your connections can be another way to discern your calling.
In fact, let’s look at Jesus. Who was he? A carpenter, we say, or a craftsman. Why was he that? Because that’s what his family did. And for 30 years he did that. Was that a waste of time? Was he not reconciling the world to himself while he was making the beautiful furniture and pieces with his dad? No, of course he was. He was doing the ministry of reconciliation in the beauty and the order that he was bringing to the world. In fact, I love this painting (it’s from 2000). You can see this picture, and you see Jesus, and he’s holding the pendulum, the level. And the best part is, up against the wall you see a picture of the universe, as if Joseph was so proud of his son’s artwork that he had to put it up on the wall. And so the God who made the universe in the beginning became flesh and did the ministry of reconciliation by continuing the work of creation, as a carpenter’s son. It’s just incredible.
IX. God Multiplies What You Bring 36:22
There’s no calling that is small. Everything that we are called to do is a part of bringing the world into right relationship with God and right order. And it’s this beautiful idea. Jesus did not waste his time for 30 years being a craftsman or a carpenter. We’re such big fans of ministry people. Well, that was like 10 percent of Jesus’ life, when he was doing public ministry. He was God’s Son. He was perfect. He was doing everything he was called to do for the 30 years leading up to that. So as you discern your calling, keep that in mind.
So when you look through these things, you have to remember that God multiplies what you bring. So you might be sitting here thinking, “Okay, fine. I have a dream. It’s hard for me to talk about because I just can’t see it happening. But I like this thing, and I want to do this thing, or I’m starting to feel called to this thing, but I’m not good enough.” Well, let me say it this way: you need to take your abilities to perform the act and submit them to God’s ability to work through you. Now, there are things we will never do. I will never give birth to a baby. It’s just not going to happen. But there are many things that you can learn to do, either by acquiring those skills, or by praying for the gifts to achieve them through godly wisdom.
We’ve been learning a lot about how we want to work with the inspiration of Christ. I know there was a story about this mechanic. He’d owned three mechanic shops, and he was a great diagnostician. But he said, “You know, I kind of felt bad, because I was like cheating. I was so good at my job because when I got stuck, I’d just ask the Holy Spirit, and he would tell me, and I would fix the car, and then I would charge them for my magnificent diagnostician skills.” God is a resource wherever you’re at. You don’t think he knows? You don’t think he knows the solution to your problem? Ask him. You having a problem with your boss? Ask God for help. You having a problem solving an issue? Ask God for help.
So when we look at this, I do want to say what you bring does matter. It’s not like it’s just God. When the kid, or whoever, offered up the five loaves and two fishes to the disciples to feed that crowd of 5,000 (John 6.9), God didn’t make spaghetti and meatballs. He multiplied what they brought. And when you bring to God your gifts, your passions, your connections, your skills, he multiplies that. He makes you more of who you are, by him. Yeah, he changes your direction sometimes. I mean, Joseph was planning on being a nomadic sheepherder for the rest of his life, and God had to reroute him so he could save the world. But it’s still the lessons he learned as he was helping his father keep track of the flocks and the food and calculating the land and those things, the lessons he learned there in Potiphar’s house, the lessons he learned managing the prison: God multiplied that. So wherever you’re at, work as unto the Lord (Col 3.23). You can actually do that. You can actually say, “I don’t work for you. I work for Jesus, and he told me to submit to you.”
X. When I Run, I Feel the Pleasure of God 39:17
I just want to pull out one more example, and then we can close up. You guys have a little bit of time. I’ll say two more things. First of all, God has given you something unique. There’s this great movie, Chariots of Fire. Most of you probably haven’t seen it, because it’s pretty old. But there’s this great line. His sister is saying, “You can’t run on Sunday, because there’s church on Sunday,” and there’s this whole thing. But as they’re arguing through it, he has this great line where he says, “When I run, I feel the pleasure of God.” And it was this revelatory moment: no, actually, everything that we do can be God’s purposes fulfilling themselves in our life. We could submit everything to him. When I place an order for my warehouse, I feel the pleasure of God. When I deliver material at the job site, I feel the pleasure of God. When I manage the classroom, I feel the pleasure of God. That is the relationship that we’re supposed to have between God and every area of our life. We don’t corner off, we don’t make any part of our life secular, separate from God.
And the last thing I’ll leave you with is this. I often feel inadequate when I get up to talk. Let me say it this way: I’ve seen and heard amazing preachers, and I know how much work and effort they put into their message. And I often have a laundry list of reasons why I didn’t do enough to preach my message well, or I didn’t do enough to bring the word of God in the most persuasive or winsome or anointed way, or I sinned, and so I don’t deserve to stand in front of you and give you the word of God. But what God taught me early on was: “I so desperately want to talk to them that I will even use you. I so desperately want to reach them that I will even use your inadequate offering.”
And so, in every area of your life where you think, “I’m not good enough. I haven’t done enough,” if you give it to God, you realize he so desperately wants to reconcile the world to himself that he will even use you. It’s about his goodness, and not ours. And so as you’re discerning your calling, as you’re going throughout this weekend writing down promises, I just want each of you to run after it. There is only better. There is only more. The more you’re willing to surrender, the more you’re willing to go after the things of God… Let’s not settle for mediocre, boring lives. It’s not what we’re called to. Amen.