YOU HAVE A CALL!
Acts 29 #4
Pastor Dennis Clanton
Woodland Church
Sunday, October 26, 2025
Every follower of Jesus Christ has a calling that joins God’s heart, your heart, and the world’s need in joy.
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” –Fredrick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC
(Acts 13:22–39, NLT) “David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’ “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel!” … “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! … We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do.”
1. I am called to follow Jesus Christ in His mission of redemption
(2 Timothy 1:9, NIV) “He has saved us and called us to a holy life – not because of any-thing we have done but because of his own purpose and grace.”
2. I am called to follow Christ wherever that great adventure leads
“God wanted you to be, so responding to his call is the secret to making the most of life, the key to the deepest relationships, the surest road to self-knowledge and unfolding purpose, the most challenging, enthralling, and natural way to live life, … God’s call is at the very heart of God’s good news, the best news ever.” –Os Guiness, The Call, Finding and Fulfilling God’s Purpose for Your Life, p VII
(1 Corinthians 1:8–9, Message) “God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. … He will never give up on you. Never forget that.”
3. My calling is eternal
(Hebrews 9:15, CEV) “Christ died to rescue those who had sinned … Now he brings his chosen ones a new agreement with its guarantee of God’s eternal blessings!”
a. My sins do not cancel my calling
(1 Timothy 1:12–13, NASB) “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief”
LAP – GRACE RESTORES WHAT SIN TRYS TO DESTROY
b. My failures do not cancel my calling
“Failure should be our teacher not our undertaker. Failure is delay not defeat. It is a temporary detour not a dead end. Failure is something we can only avoid by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing.” –Dennis Waitley
(Romans 11:29, NLT) “For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.”
(Proverbs 24:16, NLT) “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.”
LAP – WHEN YOU STUMBLE, GOD’S CALL STILL STANDS
4. God’s call gives us the power of the Holy Spirit to serve together
(Hebrews 3:1, GW) “Brothers and sisters, you are holy partners in a heavenly calling.”
(2 Thessalonians 1:11, NCV) “That is why we always pray for you, asking our God to help you live the kind of life he called you to live. We pray that with his power God will help you do the good things you want and perform the works that come from your faith.”
LAP – WE CAN ACHIEVE THE IMPOSSIBLE TOGETHER IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
5. God will reward us for living our call together
(2 Corinthians 5:9–11, NLT) “Our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body. Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others.”
GROWTHWORK
(Psalm 55:22, NIV) “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.”
1. Now that you know God has a call for you, follow
2. Now that you know God loves you deeply, trust
3. Now that you know your call is eternal, stand fast.
4. Now that you know God will empower you, finish the race!
5. Now that you know God has calls you to do life together, encourage one another.