2 Timothy 1:9, "(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began..."  The Greek word for "called" in this verse means summoned or invited. The word "purpose", prothesis in the Greek, means: a deliberate plan, an intention, or a design.  Each of us, as a child of God, is called according to God's own purpose.  God has a deliberate plan, an intention, or a design for your life! Once you realize this truth, then you have to decide how you will respond to His call and purpose.  Will it be "on again", "off again" or with total abandonment of your own plans and desires, and a complete surrender to His will?

We are going to take a look at a number of people we read about in Scripture, examine how they handled their various callings, and learn what we can about how we should respond to our "God given" calling and purpose.

Let us start by looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus.  I believe Mary is the one person who responded with the greatest faith in regard to fulfilling God's purpose for her life.  Luke 1:26-38, "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." 34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" 35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 "For with God nothing will be impossible." 38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."  Then, looking on in that chapter to verses 46 through 55, we see in Mary's Song, that she was a young girl who was accustomed to spending time with God, knew the scripture, and prayed.  In verses 30 and 31, Gabriel told her what her calling was - she was going to be the mother of the Son of God!  Although Mary was agitated greatly by the presence of the angel, she did not reject what he proclaimed.  She did ask for, and received clarification on how this would happen.  Then, in verse 38, after proclaiming herself as the maidservant (a female slave, one who worships God and submits to Him) of the Lord, Mary gave, possibly, the greatest answer in all scripture concerning human response to God, "Let it be to me according to your word."

The Scripture tells us nothing concerning Mary's parents or her upbringing, however, we have to recognize that the Holy Spirit had been preparing Mary for this encounter, all of her life.  As a child, she must have listened to someone reading the Scriptures concerning the coming and birth of the Messiah!  She undoubtedly heard Scriptures like the following:  Jeremiah 23:5 and 6 (NLT), "For the time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David's line. He will be a King who rules with wisdom. He will do what is just and right throughout the land. 6 And this will be his name: 'The Lord Is Our Righteousness.' In that day Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety." Then, also, Isaiah 7:14 (NLT), "All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us')."Micah 5:2 (NASB20), "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will come forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His times of coming forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity."And also, Isaiah 9:6 and 7, "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

The people of Israel had been looking for the coming of the Messiah for many generations.  In verse 45 of Luke 1, Mary's relative, Elizabeth confirmed through a prophetic word that Mary had "believed" (pisteuo - credence given to God's messenger and their words; think to be true; and place confidence in). Luke 1:45 (NLT), "And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord."

God called Mary just as He calls us today.  However, just as Mary did, we have to mix faith with that calling and believe, which will lead to obedience.

We will now look at additional examples of God's calling (purposes) and the responses of those He called.  Isaiah 6:1-8 (NLT), "It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven's Armies! The whole earth is filled with his glory!" 4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said, "It's all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven's Armies." 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, "See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven." 8 Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?" I said, "Here I am. Send me."  In this vision, Isaiah saw himself enlightened, cleansed, and called to a prophetic ministry.  After his initial response of, "I am a man of unclean lips," His response became - "Here am I.  Send me."

Jeremiah 1:4-10, " 4 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." 6 Then said I: "Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth." 7 But the Lord said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' For you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you," says the Lord. 9 Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, To root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant."  Jeremiah's first response was, "I cannot speak for I am a youth."  The Lord touched his mouth and said, "I have put my words in your mouth, and on that day, set him over the nations and kingdom.

We see Moses being called, in Exodus 3, out of a burning bush.  He responded with a question, "Who am I?"  God sent his brother, Aaron, with him. Moses led the Israelites out of bondage. 

Saul (later Paul), had to experience the road to Damascus, as we see in Acts 9:1-9 , "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank."  Ananias explained what had happened and Saul (in verse 20), immediately "preached the Christ in the synagogues".  All of these, Mary, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Moses, and Paul came to the same decision - total surrender and obedience to the call of God, to do God's will.

Mary knew what the cost would be as a pregnant girl, out of wedlock. The punishment could have been her being put to death, yet she believed that God would bring to pass what had been spoken.  Because of her total surrender to the will and purpose of God, she was able to deal with the consequences of what would come upon her as a result of her obedience.  She made the long trip to Bethlehem, gave birth in a stable, received a visit from the shepherds, received words given by Simeon and Anna in the temple, had to flee to Egypt, and dealt with the  "disappearance of her 12 year old son, when he was in the temple doing "His Father's business".  Of course, then, there was the cross, the resurrection, Jesus ascension, and the experience of the Upper Room.  Through what she knew and through all that would come, Mary's commitment was one of total surrender to God's will and purpose.

Once Paul received the truth and responded to his calling, he also set about to accomplish God's plans for his life.  Paul had great opposition, however, he persevered and remained steadfast and committed through it all.  2 Corinthians 11:22-33, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they he seed of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? - I speak as a fool - I am more: in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness - 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily; my deep concern for all the churches. 20 Who is weak and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? 30 If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.” Even though Agabus and others warned Paul of what would come if he continued to Jerusalem, he stayed true to his mission given to him by God.  Acts 21:10-12 (NLT), "Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. 11 He came over, took Paul's belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, "The Holy Spirit declares, 'So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.'" 12 When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem."

Paul stated in Acts 20:22-24 (NLT), "And now I am bound  by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don't know what awaits me, 23 except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. 24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."

Finally, our greatest example of surrender to the Father's will is Jesus.  When facing the horror of the cross, He declared to His Father, "Not My will but Yours be done."

We face the same choice when we respond to God's calling upon our lives.  We must realize that the purpose of our existence, ultimately, is to do His will and fulfill His purpose. He formed us in our mother's womb.  He brought us forth at His appointed time.  He breathed His life into us.  He sacrificed His Son, so we could have our sins forgiven and be reconciled to Him.

We may not be called to be a prophet, a minister, a teacher, or a worship leader.  But we have all been summoned and invited to know God, know His Word, and be obedient to that Word.  We start where we know to start.  As we spend time reading God's Word, we learn to recognize His voice.  Then, when He says, "Go here" or "Do this", we respond with complete surrender. 

Our purpose is to follow His design for our lives.

Lastly, Hebrews 12:1 and 2a (NLT) states, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."

In the midst of, and through all the trials, He delivers, preserves, strengthens, sustains, upholds, is merciful, brings peace, gives, and restores joy!

2 Timothy 4:8, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who loved His appearing.” The Apostle Paul