Focal Point

Dave Deway: Today on Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Don't fight your calling. Whatever your calling is, don't fight your calling, right? I know, right? Think about domestic calling. In my domestic calling, I have a calling. I have a covenant relationship. This is my calling. I'm not going to fight that calling. This is my calling. I'm going to I going to lean into that. This is what I do. This is what I have. I'm a father. I'm a I'm a husband. That's what I do. And in my church, I know what my role is, right? And this is what I do. I'm not going to fight that calling.

Dave Deway: Hello, I'm Dave Deway and today on Focal Point, Pastor Mike Fabarez continues our series Christians on Trial by returning to Paul's testimony before King Agrippa in Acts chapter 26. As Paul recounts his Damascus road encounter with Christ from the blinding light to Jesus's words about kicking against the goads, we'll see how his story provides a blueprint for accepting rather than fighting our divine calling. Pastor Mike reveals why embracing God's assignments in all domains of life leads to genuine fulfillment. Well, now here's Pastor Mike with today's message, Remembering Your Purpose. We want to think through what Paul is going through and what you're going to see him do here is revisit his calling as the subtitle of our sermon this morning.

He's going to revisit what he's called and what his purpose is in life. Verse 12, we'll read that again. I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. So the Sanhedrin said, go for it. And he's going to go and persecute Christians in Damascus. Verse 13, at midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, from the sky, brighter than the sun. It's midday, so we assume the sun's out. It's up in the sky, but something way brighter than that knocks them to the ground. That shone around me and those who journeyed with me.

And when we had fallen to the ground, verse 14, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And I said, who are you? Lord, sir. I don't know what he's thinking at this point. And And the Lord, the real Lord, the king of kings and Lord of lords says, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Here it comes, verse 16. Rise and stand upon your feet. For I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and a witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people, the Jews, and from the Gentiles to whom I'm sending you.

Verse 18, to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan, that's heavy, to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins. I want to do good for them and a place among those who are set apart or sanctified by faith in me. And so I stand here testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass. I'm just doing what I've been told to do. And that's in essence his response. He's going to go back to his calling that he is a Christian was called for the purpose of being a missionary.

And I've done the job. And now they don't like it. They brought me here. I'm standing before you, whether it's you or just the common guy in Judea, I'm just going to keep doing what God's called me to do. Okay? That's what we need. We need to revisit our calling. We need to figure that out in three basic realms of our lives, which is most of us can identify three distinctive realms of our lives. So let's think through those. First of all, right? We got to think about our families, our domestic life, which started with, right?

Just as a young teenager figuring out that I wasn't going to be content as as a kingdom single. So this is God's calling on my life to be a dad and to be a husband. Okay? Domestic life. I don't know where you're at in relation to that, but there's our domestic world. And we got to look at the Bible, how to live that out. You've got a career, right? You got a job. You should at least if you're a freeloader, stop it and get a job. Right? Now if you're retired or whatever and you work for a lot of years and you stored up your you know your silos and all that, great, fine.

You You're supposed to live off of what you make. I have some skills and I see needs in society and I meet those needs with my skills. I get exchanging my hours for dollars. That's my calling. Settle in, do it, great. And then I've got as a Christian a third domain and that's my my church life. So I got my home life, I got my work life, I got my church life. But in that realm, if you look at the church you're part of, say that's my calling. And you find the role, you find your participation in that church, your ministry outposts within that church, right?

Then you say I I know what my calling is. And for most of us, that's not mysterious. That's not cryptic. We can probably look at our lives right now for most of us at least and say I know what my domestic calling is, I know what my career calling is, and I know what my church calling is. But there's some things that aren't so clear in that. Some of you say, well I I'm not clear about that. You know I think I should be married, but I'm not doing anything to get married. Well, okay, we can talk about those things, but for most of us, these are are not like we have to wait for God to shine a bright light and kick us off of our horse.

A lot of things in the book of Acts are are not normative, you understand. The idea of the book of Acts here doing this is to show us that God does care. And this is a unique, exemplary, supernatural directing of Paul into an appointment to do something that should at least remind us that God, that's the way he functions. Let's start with this verses 12 through 16. Right? Paul is going to tell his story and in telling his story, he talks about the fact that he gets knocked off his horse, falls to the ground. You're persecuting me.

And then he gives this great line, bottom of verse 14. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. And that is a self-evident statement. There's an axiom for you. Of course it's hard to kick against it. The goads is trying to push you in a direction. And if you're pushing back, guess what? Here's what happens. When it starts to be a gentle poke and prod, it becomes a a a piercing, you know, jab. And And the harder you kick against the goads, the harder it pushes you in the other direction. Now Paul's about to be converted and then appointed to something.

Right? And so even in his conversion, I don't know what the the the goads were, but there has to be. Just this statement proves to me there were goads that God was doing something, right? Maybe even in the passages that that that that Paul or Saul of Tarsus at that time would unroll and read something in the prophets that would be like Look, this is exactly what Jesus of Nazareth is claiming or the people here preach from the way, from the Christian organization, like Stephen. As he stood there listening to Stephen give his speech, right?

God was doing stuff that probably sent him home convicted. And yet he fought it and he fought it and he fought it. And And And God finally had to just knock him to the ground. And all I'm telling you about God is that if you have a particular calling and you're supposed to do something in your domestic life, right? Maybe you start your domestic life or a job, right? And you're not in the right job and you know God's trying to get you over here. He's going to goad you until you get to the right place.

You're a child of God. God cares those he loves. He disciplines. And so I'm going to tell you that I'm going to give this great advice that Paul would just definitely say amen to. Here it comes. Number one, don't fight your calling. Whatever your calling is, don't fight your calling, right? I know, right? Think about domestic calling. In my domestic calling, I have a calling. I have a covenant relationship. This is my calling. I'm not going to fight that calling. This is my calling. I going to I going to lean into that. This is what I do.

This is what I have. I am a father. I am a I am a husband. That's what I do. And in my church, I know what my role is, right? And And this is what I do. I'm not going to fight that calling. Right? And if I happen to be in a situation where I'm not where God wants me to be, I can expect him to goad me. How does he do that? I'm glad you asked. Haggai chapter one. Let's look at one example of a generation of people that followed Yahweh and they weren't doing what God wanted them to do.

God sent them back after the Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel, right? And And Ezra, Nehemiah, you might remember this post-exilic period we call it. And God was having this first generation go back to Israel. And they were supposed to rebuild the temple. That was priority one. Rebuild the temple. And they were going back and they had a lot to rebuild. Right? And they started looking at their personal interests and they started looking at God's calling on their lives. And when they neglected God's calling on their lives, the goad came out. Okay? Let's take a look at this passage.

Start in verse three, Haggai chapter one verse three. And we'll read a little bit about how this works. And maybe some of you will say, I know this feeling. Verse three, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet. Verse four, Haggai chapter one verse four. Here's what God says. Is it a time for yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house, right? The temple lies in ruins? Hmm. Now therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the Lord of heaven, the Lord of the armies, the Lord of hosts, consider your ways.

Let's just think about what you are doing and let's think about what's happening in your life. What are you talking about? Verse six. Well, you go out in your yard there in your property and you start sowing and you put a lot out there, but you know what? Seems like a lot of the crop didn't work out. Seems like a lot of birds came and ate it. Seems like a lot of stuff going on out there that didn't yield fruit. You harvested little. And then you eat. You think, okay, I'm going to eat, but you never full, never have enough.

You drink, but you never have your fill, you never quench your thirst. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. He who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes, right? There's a vivid way to talk about the fact that at the end of the month they were looking at all that they were doing, saying, I don't even have enough money. I'm running out of money every month. That's how we would say it. Running out of money all the time. So I'm not content. Nothing seems to be working out. This is always bringing frustration to me and all my money it just doesn't last.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, verse seven. Consider your ways. Let's think about this. Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified. Says the well, I'd like some of that good wood that I went up in the mountains to find. It'd really be good. My wife says, it'd be really nice if we paneled the the den with this. And so they're coming down with opportunities and they're saying, well, I can put my priorities and my interests in front of God's interests and I can do that.

But in doing that, right? They were getting the goad of God. And the goad of God was discontentment, money wasn't lasting, stuff wasn't working out, projects weren't happening, frustration, discontent. Verse nine. You looked for much. I mean after all, you're laboring for much, but behold it came to little. And when you brought it home, here's what God did. I blew it away. Why? Declares the Lord of hosts. Because my house that lies in ruins while each of you busies himself with his own house. Therefore, the heavens above you have withheld the dew, the earth has withheld its produce, and I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, and what the ground brings forth on man and beast and on all their labors.

Right? Even your cattle aren't working out. They're not even having healthy babies, right? Because you are neglecting your calling. Your purpose and your calling is to do this. It It's just an example, macro example from a generation of people in the post-exilic period. But God is saying if you're not doing what I want you to do, I am going to discipline you. You're my people. Those I love, I discipline. And I'm going to goad you until you get where I need you to be. So I just need you to consider your ways. Some of you right now, domestically, career-wise, or ministry-wise, you are not doing what God wants you to do.

And I'm speaking to you. I don't know your situation. I don't know the details. I'm not speaking to any one person in the room, but some of you know that you are kicking against the goads in your calling. Even some non-Christians here today, you're not even repentant. You don't even trust Christ. You don't want to submit your will to his and you're kicking against the goads. And just like Paul talking about his conversion, he's fighting God. You just can't win, man. That's not smart. Do not fight your calling first to become a Christian and then to take your proper place in the domestic situation, right?

In the career and workplace and in the church. Don't fight God. Get to where you need to be. And it's easy for us to look at how God goads us and he does it by making things not work out. If you feel like you're hitting your head against the wall in some area of your life, you got to ask yourself the question, am I neglecting the calling of God domestically, work-wise, or in the church? Good place for us to start. Don't fight the calling. If you do, it'll be painful. Verse 17, back now to Acts 26 verse 17.

He's appearing to him for this reason, right? Going to make him a missionary. And I just want to dive into verse 17 now. To do what? Well, first he's going to block for you, right? I'm going to deliver you from the people and the Gentiles because the Jews and the Gentiles are going to want to kill you. But I'm sending you to those very people in those very towns, in those cities to open their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified in me.

I just guess want you to do this. This will be so good. Look at the good you're going to accomplish there. That'd be great. Now here here's what he didn't say. Hey Paul, I got a got a job for you. This job going it pays so well. You are going to be a famous spokesman. You're going to write some books, man. You're going to be famous. You know this is going to be awesome for you. That's not how God works, right? Not how God works because that's not how God works. What I'm saying is this, that there is a default perspective on the world that's going the opposite direction downhill toward destruction.

They are wired to live for themselves. You're called to no longer live for yourself, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 15. And you're supposed to live for him, the opposite direction. The shepherd is calling us upstream. You're walking uphill on a narrow path and that is something that is very hard to do. And you have to turn from your thinking about your aspirations and what you would like to do. You're denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following him. And so therefore you have to think about what it is that God has called you to do, not for your own self-aggrandizement, not for your own benefit, but for the benefit of others.

That's what callings are all about. The callings of Christ are Christ-like. And And And that's it couldn't be spelled out any better than it is right here in Philippians chapter two. Start in verse three. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. Now let me just start with this. Even in the church I hear that I'll see a a a a man get on one knee and look at a kid introducing the family and the kid and and might even say, maybe the kid's precocious a little bit, seems bright. What do you want to be when you grow up?

I just want to ask I just want to tell you that statement is demonic. How How's that for a tweetable line? That's a demonic question. In a church, I don't ever want to hear that. I don't want to hear it. Because James chapter three and right here makes it very clear, your selfish ambition is not something on the table for people that claim the name of Christ. Right? It's not about you. It's not about what you want. Here's a Here's a good biblical question. Hey Johnny, what do you think God wants you to do when you grow up?

That'd be a much better question because that's what Christianity is all about. What does God want me to do? And selfish ambition and conceit, not interested in that. Right? Because they got all kinds of answers to that. But in humility, count others as more significant than yourselves. What do you mean like I got to serve them? Well, yeah. Verse four, let each of you look not only to his own interests. And of course you got to feed your own face. You got to put shelter over your head. I get that. But also the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. You can see it in quadraphonic sound. It's right there. Christ in in all four Gospels is showing us what kind of person he is. He didn't come to be served. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Okay? That mindset needs to be your mindset. Verse six, who, though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant a what?

A servant, a servant. Really? Yeah, being born in the likeness of men and being found in the in human form, he humbled himself. There it is. You told me to be humble in verse three. That's what Jesus did. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For what purpose? Why did he die on a cross? To take our sins off of our resume, to serve us. He sacrificed for us. Even death on a cross. Therefore, guess what? God highly exalted and bestowed on him the name which is above If you say to a kid, what do you think God wants you to do with your life?

Right? You really start getting people to think that the countercultural expectation of people within the church is, we live for Christ. We want to do what he says. It doesn't mean we become doormats. Doesn't mean that. As a matter of fact, you want to be great, here's what you got to do. Jesus says it, become the servant of all. Right? That's the perspective. And so often we're trying to put a a coat of godliness on the top of selfish ambition and selfish aspirations. And I tell you don't do that. Number two, don't try to sanctify selfish aspirations.

And we do that in our family, right? What kind of spouse we're going to find or what kind of kids we're supposed to have or we do it in our workplace, right? What kind of job I will take, what kind of pay I need, what kind of of of of opportunities for upward mobility I need. And we do that in church. I will only do this church if they'll let me do this. And I got to be in a stage and I got to do that or I got to sing or I got to whatever.

Listen, you need to say, how can I serve? Because you may be, as I said in 1 Corinthians 7, drawn into knowing you're supposed to be a husband and a father because you have a desire for romantic intimacy. Right? That I'm clear. I get it. Right? God uses that to make it clear to me that God's calling in my life is marriage. But guess what? Soon as I step into marriage, guess what I find out? The rules for marriage. And what am I supposed to be? Laying down my life for my spouse. It's about service.

Right? It's about service. Listen to people talk about relationships that don't know God. It's about getting. And for us it's supposed to be about giving. Even in my job, right? I know they've got to exchange some dollars for my time and my effort and my skill. I get that. They got to exchange some dollars for that. I'm not working for free. I understand that's how that works. But once I'm there and I unpack my boxes in my office, right? What is my job? And I'm not just talking about ministry work. I'm talking about career work, plumber, right?

Administrative assistant, right? Financial planner, whatever your job is, I'm there to serve. That's the job. It doesn't matter what your job is, what your task is, middle manager, CEO, trustee, doesn't matter. My job is to serve. And Jesus is that's the path of greatness. God will take care of everything else if you just take care of what the calling is. Every Christian calling is going to be a Christ-like calling. And Christ-like callings, either in the church or in your career or in your family, are about serving. And we just got to change our mindset because if you want to try to sanctify and whitewash the worldly way of thinking, they always want to promote themselves.

They always want the best. They always want the easiest work for the biggest paycheck. That's not how this works. Right? I'm there to serve. I'm there to labor. I'm there to whole-heartedly work in my job, whole-heartedly serve in my family, and whole-heartedly give myself as a highly committed person in my church. Those are what the the things that God calls me to do. Do not think if you have a selfish aspiration, do not think that's God's will for your life. Right? Just don't because it's not. I can I can absolutely 100% assure you of that.

Selfishness is a not a part of Christian callings. Back to our passage. Acts chapter 26. Look at verse 19 now. Therefore, O king Agrippa, simple statement, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but I just went at it. Right? The city I was in first, Damascus, then I went to Jerusalem, Judea. I even went to Asia Minor to those Gentiles. I was doing exactly what God told me to do. Tell them to repent, turn to God out of the power of Satan, out of the darkness, into the light. Do what's right. Keep the deeds that are in keeping with your repentance.

So he is now saying, I didn't prove disobedient. I did it. I I I I don't only leaned into it. I jumped into this. Okay? And I would just say this to you and I, whatever our callings are, number three, you need to decisively accept your calling. Accept it. Right? Accept it. And you can't constantly be sitting there thinking, well, I can always have the greener grass over there. Think about that. It doesn't work in marriage and domestic life. Sorry. Right? And And And And I I I don't mean this in some unromantic way, but you're stuck.

You're stuck, man. You're stuck. You're stuck. Okay? That is unrom- unromantic Pastor Mike. I'm sorry. My wife was in the first service, so I can say this now. But you It's just the way it's going to be, right? You're in this relationship and that's it. So what do I do? Right? Accept it. I accept it no matter what it is. If it's blissful or mediocre or hard, this is it. And And even in my job, you understand that I can chase the job, the greener grass constantly. But again I would tell you there are principles in Scripture.

It's not a covenant relationship like it is in marriage. I understand that. But I do want to tell you that wisdom would dictate find honest work and do it and just stick with it. Life is short, man. And let it be like the like the tent making. Make enough money to be able to feed your family and be able to put a roof over their head and raise your family saying, great. Right? Then you have all whatever's left over, right? To be able to do this for the Lord in his church. And I understand we need to maybe more like us as opposed to Paul.

It may be 75% in our career and 25% of our effort and time and resources in our church. I understand that. But we got to do whatever we can do to earn that money. And in doing that, I'm just saying needs, aptitude, skill versus need in society. And I'm going to get involved in that and I'm going to stick with it and I'm just going to decide to accept it. I just I think the people that are so unsettled, so discontented, they're always bouncing around to new places, new careers, new jobs. They want new positions.

I I I'm just we've got to rethink all that. In our church, right? Not saying God's not going to advance you. He may advance you. He may move you from Judea to Asia Minor. I understand that. But I think it's that sense of of of trying to fight our calling. Once we accept it and embrace it, that was the first point. I just need to lean into it and decisively say I'm going to obey my appointment, my calling, my purpose. You're listening to Focal Point with Pastor Mike Fabarez and a message about embracing rather than resisting God's calling.

It's titled Remembering Your Purpose. And you can find this message along with the rest of our current series called Christians on Trial anytime by going to our website focalpointradio.org. Paul's kicking against the goads imagery paints a vivid picture. The more we resist God's direction, the more painful our circumstances become. Yet how often do we find ourselves doing exactly that, fighting assignments we don't want, questioning roles we've been given, or chasing dreams that serve our ego rather than his kingdom? This kind of honest, practical, biblical teaching requires your support to reach people who desperately need these truths.

Today we'd like to thank you for your financial support by sending you RC Sproul's comprehensive work Defending Your Faith. This resource builds your intellectual confidence in Christianity, particularly valuable when friends or family question why you've chosen obedience over ambition. Sproul's clear reasoning helps you articulate why following Christ, even when it conflicts with cultural expectations, represents the most rational choice possible. Receive Defending Your Faith when you contribute to Focal Point today. Call 888-320-5885 or donate online at focalpointradio.org. You know many listeners have discovered that monthly giving through our Focal Point partner program maximizes their kingdom impact while providing steady support for this ministry.

Join this committed community by calling us at 888-320-5885 or give online at focalpointradio.org. You can also send your gift in the mail by writing to us at Focal Point Post Office Box 2850, Laguna Hills, California 92654. Want to interact directly with Pastor Mike and ask him your own Bible questions? Join Ask Pastor Mike Live every Tuesday through Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Central and get straight answers to your most pressing questions. Text live to 90398 for show reminders. And learn more at focalpointradio.org/live. Well, I'm Dave Deway. Tomorrow we tackle a frequently misunderstood concept, legalism. Pastor Mike clarifies what this term actually means biblically and how God's law and grace work together harmoniously.

Join us for Ask Pastor Mike Friday here on Focal Point.

Pastor Mike Fabarez: Pastor Mike here. Ever wish you could corner your pastor and challenge him with your toughest questions about the Bible, about faith? Well, now you can. Send me your questions. Head on over to focalpointradio.org and click on Ask Pastor Mike or send me a note on facebook.com/pastormike or twitter.com/pastormike. I can't wait to hear from you.

Dave Deway: Today's program was produced and sponsored by Focal Point Ministries.