John Bevere - Three Steps to Finding Your Calling
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Alright, guys, we’re in lesson number five, and guess what? We’re now getting into the meat and potatoes of this whole thing. The next six lessons are the meat and potatoes. Now we can finally turn to the question: How do I discover what my calling is? Let’s provide the overall picture here. The global church is called to build God’s house; we’ve learned that, right? When we combine all our different specific gifts and callings, what we have is a great team building God’s house, all engineered, designed, and led by the Holy Spirit Himself.
Three things you need to know about your specific calling: Number one, your calling is bigger than you. Your calling isn’t about you; it’s about all the people you’re going to impact. That’s our greatest reward. You know, I can’t bring my favorite jeans to heaven, I can’t bring my house, and I can’t bring anything physical. The only thing I can bring to heaven is the influence I’ve had on people’s lives. That’s what your calling is about. That’s why we should strive to think about others 85 percent of the time and ourselves 15 percent of the time. What a life! Have you ever noticed that when you’re serving others, you feel the most fulfilled? Have you ever noticed how miserable you feel when you’re serving yourself? I don’t understand why people don’t get that.
So, your calling is bigger than you. Your calling isn’t singular. I am called to preach; I am called to write. I don’t prioritize one above the other; they’re both very important. However, when I was in my 20s, I was called to serve in my local churches, and I served with all my heart, just like I do now. Your calling is not just singular; it’s progressive. Now, point number three: It’s now, not later. You’re in your calling right now, and what you’re doing today is a building block for what you’re going to be doing tomorrow.
I remember the temptation when I was serving in my church, driving the van, picking up my pastor’s groceries, taking care of my pastor’s and wife’s kids, and giving their kids swimming lessons in the YMCA pool. I was preparing for what I’m doing right now; I was building for what I was meant to do. But do you know what? While my pastor was touching millions of people—and he was—I was impacting millions of people because I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. That’s great! When we’re plugged into what we’re called to do, our calling’s effects go far beyond what we can even see; it’ll be revealed at the judgment seat.
So what is my calling? How do I discover my calling? Here’s the question we’re going to be asking now: Hebrews chapter 11, verse 6. I’m going to put it up on the board, but this does not say that God rewards those who casually seek Him in wonder and doubt. Notice that it says, «but without faith, it is impossible to please God.» I want to know why people are not talking more about faith. Chris, why? Casey, why? Arden, why? I mean, I want to please God, but yet the Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith.
So, let me tell you this: In order to discover your calling, you better go to God in faith. I remember one time I said, «Lord, how come you’re not speaking to me? I’m asking you things,» and the Holy Spirit said—He was merciful to me—"Because you don’t ask in faith.» He said, «When you approach me, you hope I will speak to you.» I went, «Oh my gosh.» He said, «Son, you will hear my voice when you know I will speak to you.»
I remember I used to give altar calls, and hardly anybody would get saved. One day, a pastor looked at me, and a few dozen people got saved. The next day, we went to play golf. On the way back, I said, «Hey, you haven’t said anything about the few dozen people that got saved.» He replied, «Well, that was a really bad Sunday for us. Usually, we have anywhere from 150 to 200 people saved every Sunday.» I went, «I’m all ears. What am I doing wrong?» He said, «The first thing you have to do when you take an altar call is do it in faith.» He said, «Everything we do in Christian life has to be done in faith.» You know, the next year, the altar calls in the same churches I was attending tripled because of one word: faith.
So don’t even think about discovering your calling unless you have faith. That’s why you’re listening to me right now; that’s why you’re doing this course right now, because it’s building faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God, and that’s what we’re doing every time we sit down to talk in these lessons.
Alright, so without faith, it’s impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him—not those who casually seek Him. Thus, in order to discover your calling, you must seek God diligently. Now, that doesn’t mean you spend 24 hours in a room without coming out; it means you eat, sleep, live, and breathe God. I know you’re going to show me!
I have watched people spend four hours in a prayer room not pray as effectively as someone who prayed for 15 minutes in faith and passion. So please do not assume that to diligently seek God means doing it for hours and hours and hours. You may do it that way because you’re passionate and just love spending time with God; that’s fine. But to diligently seek God means you’re intentional about it. People often ask me why I’m so intense. Well, because I live purposefully!
I love that. I see that in our sons, and I see that in our team members here. I love that passion; I love that diligence. Alright, let’s take a look at a little history. I’ll use myself as an example. I’m a young boy in the Catholic Church, and at age five, I feel like I’m supposed to be a priest. I didn’t realize God had called me to the ministry, but the only thing I knew about ministry was being a priest.
So then I start sending real good vibes, doing my nature thing, and now I’m wondering: What am I going to do? Am I going to be a professional tennis player? I don’t think I quite could do it. My dad looks at me and says, «You need to be an engineer.» So I thought, «Okay, I’m an engineer.» I got an engineering degree, and I was miserable. I couldn’t stand it, but I got saved in my fraternity in college. One of my fraternity brothers, who was a phenomenal athlete, introduced me to Campus Crusade for Spiritual Laws. I gave my life to Jesus, and once the Holy Spirit was in my life, I started getting more sensitive. I began feeling a tug toward ministry, which I wanted nothing to do with.
Why? Because I grew up in a little town where I only knew one pastor, and he was a bit odd. His house smelled, and his kids were really strange. I remember going to their house once; it was so disorganized and smelly that I had to hold my breath until I could get out. So I wanted nothing to do with ministry. My idea of serving God was getting my degree, because I was on the dean’s list at Purdue as an engineer, going to Harvard for an MBA, marrying a pretty girl, working for a large corporation, climbing up into management, making a lot of money, paying tithes to my local church, and taking three vacations a year with my beautiful wife. That was my idea of serving God.
One thing I was doing was co-opting. Do you know what co-opting is? It’s a program that some universities have where you go to school for a semester and then work in your profession at a company the next semester. The company I worked for was IBM. So here I am as a young co-op engineer working in Raleigh, North Carolina, for IBM. One day, while I was in my junior year, I noticed I was miserable and not having any fun, but I thought, «Hey, it’s a career. It’s going to lead to management one day in a big corporation.»
I remember one day, we were celebrating one of the engineers in our department’s 38th anniversary. We were all sitting in the room—about 14 engineers—and they were all drinking coffee. I don’t drink coffee; my wife has tried for years, but it’s not working. Anyway, we were doing small talk, celebrating this guy’s 38th year. Suddenly, the guy says this: «Yep, I’ve hated every single day I’ve walked into this company for 38 years.» Everyone laughed except me, and I was waiting for someone older and wiser to say something. Nobody did; they just laughed with him. Finally, I asked, «Why have you done this? You’ve hated every single day you’ve walked in here for 38 years.» He responded, «It’s a job,» as if it were common sense.
Right then, I was totally quiet, and I thought, «Okay, I’m getting out of this and figuring out what God put me on this earth to do.» I called my Roman Catholic mother and told her, «Mom, I’m not coming home from college for Thanksgiving break.» My mom was shocked. I explained, «I’m staying here in the fraternity house, and I’m going to pray.» I fasted those four days—Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. As a result of that fast, God gave me glimpses of some of the things I’m doing today. He literally said, «You’ll be a nourishing tree, and nations shall draw from the wisdom that I give you.»
We’ve given away over 10 million resources to pastors and leaders in 83 nations all over the world. I have literally seen the glimpse of what God gave me in that fraternity house come to pass after over 35 years. So, I sought God diligently, saying, «Lord, I’m setting this time aside; I have to know why you put me here on this earth.» I didn’t get the answer during the fast; it came about a month or two later.
Here’s the thing: Whenever people go into fasting, they think they will get an answer during the fast. It almost becomes a hunger strike with God. It’s not about that. It’s about quieting myself down so God can impart into my spirit and I can fellowship with Him so that I can know what I’m called to do. God gave me a glimpse of my calling, just like He gave Joseph a glimpse and David a glimpse. Why doesn’t He show us the whole picture?
God didn’t show Joseph the prison, the dungeon, or any of that. He doesn’t want to show David living in the wilderness. Why just give us a glimpse? Because we walk by faith and not by sight. If God gave us the whole plan and how everything would be mapped out, it would become, Casey, a walk of sight. He doesn’t want that; He wants us to keep looking to Him and seeking Him. Are you getting this?
This is why Proverbs tells us, «Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.» I’ll tell you how God directed my path right after that fast. He showed me, «I have called you now to preach. I showed you I’m going to impact nations.» The thing He spoke to me was, «I want you to interview to become an engineer.» Oh, you talk about being upset, angry! I’m going to discuss that in a couple of future lessons. But you see, God doesn’t give you the whole picture. Yes, He told me to interview as an engineer. Oh, is that a good one?
Now, these are the three things I did in that fraternity: I fasted. Think about this: Acts chapter 13 says, «In the church that was in Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers as they ministered to…» The Lord fasted; that’s what you want to do when you’re on a fast. You minister to the Lord. You know God likes to be told, «I love you.» He loves it, Brandi, when His little girl says, «Dad, I love you.» That’s ministering to the Lord. So many times, we as children, when we go into the prayer closet, say, «God, give me, give me, give me.» We’re like the kid in college saying, «Dad, send money,» and that’s the only time He hears from us, right? My boys aren’t like that; I want you to know that.
Okay, but you know God loves it when we say, «You’re just awesome, Dad! You’re awesome!» I love using that word «awesome» because I never get to use it; I have this personal conviction that I don’t say «awesome» unless I’m talking about God. Awesome means full of awe, right? So, I know it’s okay; you guys in Australia say it all the time. It’s okay; I’m just talking about for me. I like to reserve that word for Him, but I love saying in my prayer closet, «Dad, you’re awesome! You’re just awesome!» That’s ministering to the Lord. So that’s what these guys were doing; they were ministering to the Lord and fasting. The Holy Spirit said, «Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul.» Remember, «separate» means chosen and elected. «Separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.» Then, having fasted and prayed and laid hands on them, they sent them away.
So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went. There we go; they fasted and ministered to the Lord. The second thing I did in that fraternity is I prayed. Okay, 1 John 5:14–15 says, «Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will…» Guys, it is God’s will for you to know what He has called you to do. You know what the Lord said to me one time? He said, «Who created this calling that’s on your life, Me or you?» I said, «You did.» He said, «Don’t you think I’m more concerned about the calling I created than you are?» And I went, «Whoa, man, that’s good!» So you have confidence; God wants you to know more than you want to know what He’s called you to do.
Write that down: He’s more passionate about you knowing your calling than you are. Okay, so this is the confidence we have in Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, we have faith. Whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions we have asked of Him. The third thing I did in that fraternity is I read the Scripture: «Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.» I remember one of the major callings on my life is to resource pastors and leaders overseas. Our team, this is a calling on our team, on my life, Lisa’s life, and on our team. Like I said, we’ve given over ten million resources to pastors and leaders in eighty-three nations.
Do you know when that calling came? I was in my basement reading the book of Daniel on May 31, 2010. I had no idea, but God speaks to me so clearly: «I want you now to get your resources in the hands of pastors and leaders all over the world.» That calling came from reading the Scripture. Once I arrived in Dallas—because I went to Dallas, interviewed, and got thirteen job offers as an engineer—do you know the lowest paying one was Rockwell International? And that’s the one God told me to go work for! Wow! But let me tell you, it was in that very place that God began to raise me up into what I’m doing right now.
So, we’re going to talk more about this in these upcoming lessons because we’ve got to ask some more questions. What else do we need to do besides seek God earnestly to discover our calling? What are some of the things that can kill, hinder, or hamper the calling? What are some of the things that can hinder us from being in our calling? We’re going to answer these questions in upcoming sessions.