86 Sermon Illustrations on Calling

What Woodrow Wilson said about preachers is worthy of the careful consideration of every one of us: "When I hear some of the things which young men say to men by way of putting the arguments to themselves for going into the ministry, I think they are talking of another profession. Their motive is to do something. I know you do not have to be anything in particular to be a lawyer. You do not have to be anything in particular, except a kind-hearted man, perhaps, to be a physician, nor undergo any strong spiritual change in order to be a merchant. The only profession which consists in being something is the ministry of our Lord and Savior-and it does not consist of anything else. That conception of the ministry which rubs all the marks off and mixes him in the crowd so that you cannot pick him out, is a process of eliminating the ministry itself." The Proper Attitude A church was in need of a pastor. A candidate came who preached on hell. The next Sunday another candidate came whose sermon was also on hell, and his fundamental teaching was the same as that of the first one.When the members of the church were called upon to vote, they voted for the second candidate. When they were asked why, the answer was, "The first one spoke as if he were glad that people were going to hell, while the second seemed sorry for it." The Divine Commission An examining committee of ministers once met to determine the qualifications of Billy Sunday for ordination as a gospel minister. Among other questions fired at the world-famous baseball player was a request that he identify a well-known church father and name some of his writings. Billy was stumped. After fumbling around for a moment, he looked up with a twinkle in his eye and said, "I never heard of him. He was never on my team." The learned theologians deliberated together, but found it hard to make a decision. Finally, one of them moved that Billy Sunday be recommended for ordination, adding, "He has already won more souls for Christ than the whole shebang of us put together." The secret-he was sent by God. A Spiritual Lesson A preacher was watching an old man trout-fishing, briskly pulling them in one after the other. "You manage it cleverly, old friend," said the preacher. "I passed a good many fishermen below who don't seem to be catching anything." The old man lifted himself up and stuck his rod in the ground. "Well, you see, sir," he said, "there are three rules for trout fishing: first, keep yourself out of sight; the second is, keep yourself farther out of sight; and the third is, keep yourself still farther out of sight. Then you'll do it."

A brilliant young man with a magnetic personality went out to the mission field. His salary was just a pittance. A large commercial firm was so eager to obtain his services that they offered him ten times his salary, but he refused. They offered to make it even larger if he would accept. "Oh, the salary is big enough," he told them, "but the job isn't!"

As St. Cuthbert was one day playing at ball with his companions, there stood among them a fair young child, the fairest creature ever eye beheld; and he said to St. Cuthbert, "Good brother, leave these vain plays; set not thy heart upon them; mind thy book: has not God chosen thee out to be great in his Church?" But Cuthbert heeded him not; and the fair child wrung his hands, and wept, and threw himself down on the ground in great heaviness. And when Cuthbert ran to comfort him, he said, "Nay, my brother, it is for thee I weep, that preferest thy vain sports to the teaching of the servants of God;" and then he vanished suddenly, and Cuthbert knew that it was an angel that had spoken to him; and from that time forth his piety and love of learning recommended him to the notice of the good Prior of Melrose, who instructed him carefully in the Holy Scriptures. And he became celebrated for his piety, eloquence, and missionary labors.

— Mrs. Jameson

Like as if the queen, to show her puissance against a foreign power, should call forth some of her subjects who are most beholden to her to combat in her presence for her honor, they would, no doubt, strain all their strength in this service, yea, and their lives too: even so, much more ought we that are Christians to perform this duty to our God and Prince, who hath called us out by name to fight for his honor, to be a chosen and peculiar people unto himself, to stand on his posts, to show forth his virtues, and to be zealous of good works; yea, and, that we might the better perform this service, he hath furnished us with his own armor and weapons, yea, and his own holy hand is with us too, though all men see it not: therefore we must endeavor to do valiantly, and to do our best, to answer the expectation of our heavenly King and Prince. Cawdray.

Noah preached the coming flood to the old world for a hundred years; but only eight souls were saved thereby. To the cities of the plain, Lot preached; but only three souls were chosen from them. Six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, passed through the Red Sea; but only two entered the Promised Land. Gideon went to fight the Midianites with thirty-two thousand men; but only three hundred were allowed to participate in the victory. These are types of the many "called, and few chosen."

One man, perhaps, proves miserable in the study of the law, who might have flourished in that of physics or divinity. Another runs his head against the pulpit, who might have been very serviceable to his country at the plough. And a third proves a very dull and heavy philosopher, who possibly would have made a good mechanic, and have done well enough at the useful philosophy of the spade or the anvil. Dr. South.

Hazael, the son of an Eastern prince, had been educated in the valley of the wise men, and had passed there the days of his boyhood. Then his father sent him to Persia to finish his education, and to learn the ways and manners of men. Perfect liberty was granted to the youth; but Serujah, his old master, secretly watched the life and doings of the prince. When he arrived in Persia, he was led away by the pleasures of the capital and the turmoil of luxurious life; so that he forgot his destination, and thoughtlessly gave up his heart to pleasure: he remembered no longer his royal calling. When he was one day walking in the pleasure-gardens of Ispahan, Serujah passed him in the garb of a pilgrim, having a staff in his right hand. But Hazael knew Serujah, and asked him, "Whence comest thou, and whither goest thou?" Serujah answered, and said, "I know not." Then the youth marvelled, and said, "Hast thou left thy home, and dost thou travel abroad not knowing whither?" Serujah answered, "I have forgotten it: I walk to and fro; and the path which seems to me the widest and the most pleasant, that choose I."—"And whither will such bootless wanderings lead thee?" asked the astonished youth. Serujah answered, "I know not; why should I care?" Then Hazael turned to those who stood around him, and said, "This man was the teacher of my youth, and full of wisdom; but, behold! he has grown foolish, and lacks understanding. Alas! how is he changed, and become like another being!" Then Serujah threw down his wallet, and went to the youth, and said, "Thou sayest it, Hazael, my life has changed like thine. Formerly, I was thy guide, and thou didst follow me in the way which I showed thee. But now I have ceased to be thy guide; I have begun to follow thee. Behold, my wandering! wherein I lose sight of the way, and the goal is like thine: reason has departed from thee, even as it has quitted me. Who is the more foolish, thou or I? and which of us is wandering in the worse path?" Thus said Serujah. Then Hazael acknowledged his transgression, and returned to the way of wisdom, which Serujah had taught him. Krummacher.

I like a man to have an idea: it is a great property. Some people seem as if they had no ideas at all; but I like a man of one idea. What is a man of one idea? Why, he is a man in whom an idea takes possession of his skull, and of both hemispheres of his brain; of the frontal region, the back region, and the lateral region; and the idea walks up and down in his brain, from hemisphere to hemisphere, from convolution to convolution; and thus the man is literally a man of one idea. And when the one idea is, that knowledge shall be everywhere and ignorance nowhere, order everywhere and disorder nowhere, liberty everywhere and slavery nowhere; when that one idea is, that truth shall be everywhere and falsehood nowhere, love everywhere and hatred nowhere, concord everywhere and discord nowhere, Christ everywhere and Satan nowhere on the earth at all, — that is a grand idea.

— Dr. Beaumont

"Sell all thou hast, and give it to the poor, and follow me:" but sell not all thou hast, except thou come and follow me, — that is, except thou have a vocation wherein thou mayest do as much good with little means as with great; for otherwise, in feeding the streams, thou driest the fountain. Lord Bacon.

No man possesses a genius so commanding that he can attain eminence, unless a subject suited to his talents should present itself, and an opportunity occurs for this development. Pliny.

A minister now living relates the following. In early life, his father felt called to the ministry, but asked God to excuse him, and made a vow to give his eldest son to the work of the ministry. The vow was apparently accepted of God, as the father felt no longer the pressure of this special duty, and prospered in his religious life. Twenty years later, the son was converted, and felt, that, if he would be religious at all, he must be a minister. He accepted the duty gladly, prepared for it: and, after his ordination, his father said to him, for the first time informing him of the vow, "My son, you have a double duty to do. You have your own work and mine also."

The late Rev. R. Hill writes thus:—A certain farmer, well known to me, was always moral, yet ignorant of the gospel. By reading some of the sermons of the late Mr. Romaine, he was called to the knowledge of the truth. The farmer was a man of good sense and great integrity; and he now conceived his domestics should not live without family worship. In his kitchen the Bible was always as much in sight as the bacon-rack; and when he read the Bible to them, he could not but express the simple feelings of his heart. He wept, and they wept in concert. And in prayer, he found he was not wanting in "the spirit of grace and of supplications." Thus being enabled to tell his own wants before his family, they began to find out their wants also. This answered the end. The family was filled with surprise, and they surprised their neighbors, who stole in to unite in this worship. They now requested him to preach; but the modest farmer resisted the call. He had a gracious sister, who charged him not to fight against God, for that others, besides his own family, were benefited by their attendance. The farmer consented; yet he was no enthusiast, but a solid, pious, thinking man, and had a good knowledge of his Bible: and no man of good sense, though he has neither Greek, Latin, nor logic, will ever talk nonsense. Thus he commenced a preacher, and was wonderfully blessed: quite the apostle, the reformer of the neighborhood. The generous public speedily accommodated the farmer with a convenient place of worship, in the town. The farmer was solemnly ordained to the pastoral charge, and the communion among them was very seriously and largely attended

258. Industry, Energy, and Devotion to their Work.

Men may be distinctly called of God to proclaim His message, yet refuse to obey. Indisposition to preach will not rid one of obligation to preach. God sends storms to teach wisdom of obedience

Child may have an ear for God's call and a message for God's bidding. God sometimes passes over ordained ministry and men of note and uses a mere lad as His mouthpiece. Mt. 21:16; 11:25; 1 Cor. 1:27

Uzziah kills his career by undertaking something God has never called him to do. To play the priest when uncalled is to play with fire

An obscure man preached one Sunday to a few persons in a Methodist chapel in the South of England. A boy of fifteen years of age was in the audience, driven into the chapel by a snowstorm. The man took as his text the words, “Look unto me and be ye saved,” and as he stumbled along as best he could, the light of heaven flashed into that boy’s heart. He went out of the chapel saved, and soon became known as C. H. Spurgeon, the boy-preacher.

The parsonage at Epworth, England, caught fire one night, and all the inmates were rescued except one son.

The boy came to a window, and was brought safely to the ground by two farm-hands, one standing on the shoulder of the other. The boy was John Wesley.

When Audubon the celebrated American ornithologist was in Paris he grew quite weary of it, and his diary does not contain a cheerful word about that gay city until he writes, "The stock-pigeon roosts in the trees of the garden of the Tuileries in great numbers; blackbirds also do the same, and are extremely noisy before dark; some few rooks and magpies are seen there also. In the Jardin, or walks of the Palais 'Royal, common sparrows are prodigiously plentiful. The mountain finch passes in scattered numbers over Paris at this season, going northerly." So also when in London the great naturalist was quite out of his element, and only seemed pleased when a flight of wildfowl passed over the city. Here was the secret of his success—his complete absorption in his one study—birds alone had charms for him. We who would attain to eminence in the service of Christ must let the love of souls, in an equal way, master and engross us. When writing a paper for the Natural History Society upon the habits of the wild pigeon, Audubon says, "So absorbed was my whole soul and spirit in the work, that I felt as if I were in the woods of America, among the pigeons, and my ears were filled with the sound of their rustling wings." We should all write, speak, and preach for our Lord Jesus far more powerfully if our love to the Lord were a passion so dominant as to make the great realities of eternity vividly real and supremely commanding in our minds.

See RELIGION, EARLY.

EARNESTNESS

Professor Ticknor, speaking in one of his letters of the intense excitement with which he listened to Webster’s Plymouth address, says:

Three or four times I thought my temples would burst with the gush of blood; for, after all, you must know that I am aware it is no connected and compacted whole, but a collection of wonderful fragments of burning eloquence, to which his manner gave tenfold force. When I came out, I was almost afraid to come near him. It seemed to me that he was like the mount that might not be touched, and that burned with fire.

The lips of the prophet of old were touched by the live coal. No great thing is ever done without earnestness. (Text.)

At every great call for great deeds the right man comes out of the common crowd to do it, this is the truth Sam. Walter Foss enforces in these verses:

Men seem as alike as the leaves on the trees, As alike as the bees in the swarming of bees; And we look at the millions that make up the state, All equally little and equally great, And the pride of our courage is cowed. Then fate calls for a man who is larger than men, There is a surge in the crowd--there’s a movement--and then There arises the man who is larger than men-- And the man comes up from the crowd.

The chasers of trifles run hither and yon, And the mean little days of small trifles go on, And the world seems no better at sunset than dawn, And the race still increases its plentiful spawn, And the voice of our wailing is loud. Then the great deed calls out for the great man to come, And the crowd unbelieving, sits sullen and dumb-- But the great deed is done, for the great man is come-- Ay, the man comes up from the crowd. (Text.)

In a current book a college president tells this story:

A traveler in Japan says that one day as he stood on the quay in Tokyo waiting for a steamer, he excited the attention of a coolie doing the work of a stevedore, who knew he was an American. As the coolie went by with his load, in his pigeon English he said, “Come buy cargo?” By which he meant, “Are you in Japan on business?” The man shook his head. The second time the coolie passed, he again asked, “Come look and see?” By which he meant to ask if the American were a tourist seeing the country. Receiving a negative reply, the next time he passed he tried one more question. “Spec’ die soon?” By which he meant to ask if the man was there for his health.

This the writer used to describe three different classes of people in the world. There is the young man who seems to be in the world for his health. They want to be coddled. There is the young man who seems to be in the world as a traveler. He wants to be amused. There are the young men who are in the world for business. They mean to do something and be somebody.

— N. MCGEE WATERS

Mary was not the first mother to worry about her children, and she definitely wasn't the last.

Back in the sixties a young man named Tim Lee was growing up in a Christian family. As a matter of fact, his father was a preacher. When Tim became a teenager he began to rebel against the restrictions his mother and father put on him. Finally Tim Lee became so fed up with his home life he ran off and joined the Marines. They trained him and shipped him off to an Asian country called Vietnam.

Imagine how his mother felt. She loved her son and had nurtured his faith when he was young. If she put restrictions on him, it was because she wanted to direct his life in God's ways. But he had rebelled, rejected the faith and run away. Now he was at war. Where were God's promises?

Some of her worst fears soon came to pass. Three months before he would have returned home, Tim was leading his men through a minefield. He made one false step. When he regained consciousness, a buddy was cradling him in his arms and praying for him. Both of Tim's legs were gone. Tim uttered the most sincere prayer of his life - "God, if you'll just let me live, I promise I'll serve you."

Tim Lee survived, and he kept his promise. In answer to his mother's prayers he became a preacher, and has led revivals across the United States. "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Dorothy Sayers wrote in "Creed or Chaos":

"Work is not, primarily, something one does to live, but the thing one lives to do. When a man or a woman is called to a particular job of secular work, that is as true a vocation as though he or she were called to specifically religious work."

In MORE THAN YOU AND ME, Kevin and Karen Miller write of the power of a God-given vision:

One couple lived in London 130 years ago. For the first 10 years of their marriage, William Booth, especially, was in a quandary: What was God calling him to do?

Then his wife, Catherine, a skillful Bible teacher, was invited to preach in London. While they were there, William took a late-night walk through the slums of London’s East End. Every fifth building was a pub. Most had steps at the counter so little children could climb up and order gin. That night he told Catherine, “I seemed to hear a voice sounding in my ears, ‘Where can you go and find such heathen as these, and where is there so great a need for your labors?’ Darling, I have found my destiny!”

Later that year, 1865, the couple opened the “Christian Mission” in London’s slums. Their life vision: to reach the “down and outers” that other Christians ignored. That simple vision of two people grew into the Salvation Army, which now ministers through 3 million members in 91 countries.

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Copyright(c) 1996 by Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal, Summer 1996 Vol.XVII, No.3, Page 64.

When Andrew Jackson was president of the United States, a certain man asked to be appointed to a responsible post. Mr. Jackson asked him about his present occupation. He replied that he was a minister of the Gospel. "Well, sir," said the President, "you will have to come down from that exalted position to accept the highest office I could give you in this government."

The year was 1809. Jedidiah, a middle-aged pastor, shut his eyes tightly to keep his son from seeing them roll. Once again, 18-year-old Samuel was pleading to be allowed to study art at the university. Jedidiah had tried to explain to Samuel that he would probably never make a living as a painter. He would get no respect. How could that be his choice when he could do so much more with his life? He had so hoped that Samuel would become a member of the clergy, following in his footsteps.

But then Samuel, with pleading eyes and a solemn tone explained, "I was made for a painter." That did it. Jedidiah realized then that there was indeed a calling on Samuel's life, even as he knew there was on his very own. As a clergyman, Jedidiah supported the doctrine of Calvinism, believing that Christianity was intended to effect a positive change in all of society.

With this in mind, he had completed the first comprehensive geography of North America in 1796. After all, how could anyone share the gospel of Christ across the New World unless they knew where they were going? Jedidiah believed he had been born to spread Christianity. Samuel's calling may have been different from his, but it was quite the same in its undeniable urgency. Jedidiah felt a new kinship with his son, and he sent him to the university to study art with his blessing.

Ah, what a gift to be made for a painter! It's incredible to see the genius that explodes on a blank piece of canvas when a true artist holds the brush. Sometimes I think that we see our children as blank canvases on which we can paint a glorified picture of what we want them to be or what we wish we could have been. The truth is that children aren't blank canvases.

They arrive with certain talents and abilities and personalities, custom-designed by the Creator. Our job as parents is to train up a child in the way he should go. Yes, there is a certain amount of painting to be done on our part. There are plenty of blanks to fill in. The story of Jedidiah and Samuel, however, reminds me that it is all too easy to try to make our children be something they are not.

While our job as parents certainly includes the role of teacher, at the same time it is vital that we ourselves become students. We must study our children so that we can point them in the direction of their talents, natural gifts and abilities -- their strong suits. It's also important to take note of their weaknesses so that we can help them in those areas, lifting them up to God in prayer. A friend once shared with me that he had been praying for God to show him his children's weaknesses. He said wryly that in doing so, God had also shown him his own. The same goes for me. Often the things I notice as trouble spots for my children are things I struggle with myself.

So we are not only parents and teachers but also detectives. Just how do you break your child's code and understand how God shaped her and how you can direct her in the way she should go?

-- Encourage interests. A child that is talented in music should definitely be encouraged in that direction. Does your toddler love to bang pots and pans together? Put on some music and let him have his own concert! Does he love to draw? Keep him well stocked with paper and other art supplies. See what he enjoys and go from there.

-- Understand differences. The Lord often pairs an outgoing mother with a shy child (and vice versa). Encourage that child with some behind-the-scenes roles, and watch her shine as you assure her of her value and importance.

-- Get ready to be surprised. Children are constantly growing and changing. Don't be too quick to put your child into a categorical box. They will develop new talents, God will reveal timely gifts and attributes, and they will acquire additional interests as they experience life.

Parenting is all about surprises. Can you imagine the surprise of Mary and Joseph upon finding their 12-year-old son Jesus in the temple among the religious teachers? If you recall the story in Luke 2:41-52, Mary and Joseph had gone to Jerusalem for the Passover. They have been traveling home for a day when they realized that Jesus was not with their group of relatives and friends. Jesus -- obedient, never-any-trouble-out-of-this-kid Jesus -- is not where he is supposed to be. They find him "in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (Luke 2:46). Sometimes perhaps we are surprised that our children's gifts and talents, their strengths and weaknesses, reveal themselves before we are ready for it to happen.

Then again, there is a blessing all its own in that of a "late bloomer." Jedidiah's son, Samuel, used the creative intellect that was constantly spilling over his canvases to develop the first successful electric telegraph in the United States. He was Samuel F.B. Morse -- artist first, inventor second -- known by all as the genius behind the Morse Code. His invention made it possible to send messages to all the places on his minister/geographer father's maps.

His first message? "What hath God wrought" (Numbers 23:23 KJV), which is translated in my NIV Bible as "See what God has done!"

As you go about breaking the code today, remember the One who invented your child will be your best resource for deciphering her.

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Powell is the author of the devotional book "Baby Boot Camp: Surviving the First Six Weeks of Motherhood," available by calling toll-free 1-877-421-READ (7323) or on the Internet at www.rebeccapowell.com.