Are you a child of God? If you have been born again, then you are called of God. You have a call upon your life to fulfill the specific plan and purpose which God has ordained for you (Eph. 2:10). Even before you became a child of God, that call was there, for God chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). You cannot escape the call of God.
The Bible says the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom. 11:29). That means God will never change His mind about the gifts and the call He has given you. The call of God on your life will be with you as long as you live. And one day you will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account of that call (Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10).
When you stand before Jesus, if you haven't done what He has told you to do, you won't be able to use the excuse, "Lord, I just couldn't fulfill my call." Notice Romans 11:29 says, "the GIFTS and calling of God are without repentance." So whatever God calls you to do, He will also gift you to be able to accomplish. In other words, He will furnish you with the spiritual endowment or equipment to fulfill your call. If you will simply be faithful, God will bless you and make you a success in what He has called you to do.
For example, the Apostle Paul was faithful to the call of God upon his life to the very end. From the moment of Paul's conversion on the road to Damascus to the day of his death, Paul endeavored to fulfill God's will in his life and ministry. Many years later, Paul recounted the story of the Damascus road vision as he stood before King Agrippa (Acts 26:13-19).
In this account of the vision, Paul related what Jesus had said about Paul's call, including the fact that Paul was sent to the Gentiles (Acts 26:16-18). Paul also made another important statement about the call God had placed upon his life: "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I WAS NOT DISOBEDIENT UNTO THE HEAVENLY VISION" (Acts 26:19). Or we could read it this way: "I was obedient to the heavenly call." That should also be our testimony before men!
As we look at Paul's life in the Book of Acts, we can see how he obeyed his call as God led him through different stages of ministry. You see, God never removes the call He has placed on a person's life, but He may add something to that call. He may start a person in one area of ministry. Then after a period of time, if the person proves faithful to what God has told him to do, God may promote that person to another area of ministry.
God can't use us or promote us if we are unsteady or unfaithful. That's why again and again in the epistles, Paul encourages us to be steadfast. For instance, in 1 Corinthians 15:58, Paul says, "Therefore, my beloved brethren, BE YE STEDFAST, UNMOVEABLE, always abounding in the work of the Lord." Throughout his life, Paul obeyed the admonition to be steadfast as he remained faithful to his call. And at the end of his life, he was able to write to Timothy, "I have finished my course." (2 Tim. 4:7)
Paul was faithful to fulfill God's purpose for his life. In the same way, each one of us is accountable before God to discover what God has called us to do by seeking Him diligently. Then each of us must be faithful to fulfill the call of God on our own lives. Personally, I have tried to be faithful to the call of God on my life to preach ever since 1934 when I was raised off a deathbed. In my own experience, I knew all of my life even as a small child that I was called to preach.
You see, the call was still right there in my spirit. God never removed the call during the years I wasn't in fellowship with Him, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom. 11:29). God was just waiting for me to become born again and to obey the call He had placed on my life.
But since then God has added other gifts to my call. Remember I said that although God will never take away the call on your life, He might add to it. Often God may give us some light about our call, but that doesn't mean we will step into the fullness of that call overnight. As I said, God will prove us first before moving us to different stages of our call.
In 1966 we began our tape ministry. Over the years we have produced millions of tapes, sending out forty to fifty thousand tapes each month to people around the world. We had no idea our tape ministry would ever grow to be so large. Also in 1966 we began our radio ministry. We did it because God said to do it, and it was amazing how God worked out the details. Today our radio program "Faith Seminar of the Air" is on 228 radio stations, including two shortwave stations which broadcast our program around the world.
And God continued to lead me into further changes in my ministry. In the early 1970s, the Lord began to deal with me about starting RHEMA Bible Training Center. In 1974 we started RHEMA, graduating fifty-eight students that first year. Since then, more than 12,000 students have graduated from RHEMA - men and women who are trained to carry the gospel throughout this country and the nations of the world.
Sometimes people say, "Isn't it marvelous what Brother Hagin has done?" But I haven't done a thing in the world. Dear Lord, all I've done is just run to try and keep up with what God is doing! The Bible says, "Except THE LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it" (Ps. 127:1). The Lord has built this ministry. I haven't labored at all. I have just enjoyed myself as I have done the will of God and obeyed my call.
Of course, sometimes there are hard times. But I know I am in the will of God, so I just laugh my way through them. I just lay down and go to sleep in peace right in the midst of the storm. And I say to God, "Lord, I'm doing what You told me to do. When You tell me to do something else, I'll do that. So I cast my cares upon You, and I'm not going to spend one minute worrying about this problem." You see, we aren't supposed to carry a heavy load. We are only accountable for obeying the call of God on our lives, and God takes care of the rest.
It's important to understand that we do not all have the same gifts and callings in life. For instance, God hasn't called all of us to the pulpit ministry. But we will all be held accountable before God for whatever He has called us to do and for whatever gifts He has given to each of us in order to fulfill our call. But when you come back to a place of waiting upon the Lord regarding His plans and purposes for you, those stirrings in you will still be there. And when you lie down at night and get quiet inside, you will still sense that quickening in your spirit, for the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (Rom. 11:29).
Don't ignore those stirrings from the Lord; seek God diligently to know what He is saying to you. You are accountable for your call! It's a sobering thought that there may be people in hell because you didn't obey God. A time is coming when each believer will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ to give an account for the call that God has placed upon his or her life. At that moment the only question that will really matter will be, "Were you faithful to obey the call of God on your life?"
Don't be one of those who will come before Jesus with shame and regret. Seek God regarding His call on your life. Start preparing yourself early in life for whatever God has called you to do. Don't forfeit your right to God's blessings and the fullness of life by choosing to walk in the flesh or in the realm of the soul while you are on this earth. Instead, choose to obey the call of God and reap the rewards of obedience!
Be faithful to fulfill God's call, and someday you will enter into God's Presence with an abundance of fruit for the Kingdom of God. You will be able to say to Jesus, "Lord, I have obeyed the call. I have finished my course." And you will have much cause for rejoicing!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications