Richard Ellis Talks

Richard Ellis: If you don't stay in that lane, there's all kind of noise, all kind of distraction, all kind of quote-unquote truth that will come at you. And if you don't know the truth when you hear it, you get pulled away and then you're gone. You have to abide in His word. That's the proof that you are His disciple indeed.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Richard Ellis Talks with Richard Ellis. We're so grateful you tuned into the program. Richard wants to share with you some encouragement, words of hope, and probably a laugh or two. And in today's complicated busy life, that's exactly what's needed.

Richard's talks are always straight from the Bible, filled with truth. Now you may not be able to hang out with us for the entire program, but you can always pick it back up at our website, richardellis.com. In fact, you can find all of Richard's talks right there waiting just for you. richardellis.com. So, with today's talk, here's Richard Ellis.

Richard Ellis: The title of today's message is "It's Your Call." I'd like you to go to 1 Samuel 1 with me. So, there's a story in 1 Samuel chapter 1. This woman named Hannah, girl named Hannah, she couldn't have kids. She was barren.

Then verse 11 of 1 Samuel 1: "Then she made a vow and said, 'O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your maidservant and remember me, and not forget your maidservant, but will give your maidservant a male child—didn't just ask for a kid, I'm asking for a male child—then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.'"

If you keep reading the story, God answers her prayer. She weans the child Samuel. At about the age, probably, of four, she takes him to Eli at the temple and gives him to God. You say, "Well, that's crazy. She had a kid, but she didn't have a kid." She made a vow. She promised something: "You give me a kid and I will give him back to you." And Samuel went to live at the temple. He even had vestments that he wore that they wore, which was very unusual for kids to be wearing that.

First Samuel 3, go over there. "Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation." So, this is so sad, so sad.

"And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow dim, so dim that he could not see, and before the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, that the Lord called Samuel." So, the Lord called Samuel. Calls out his name.

"And he answered, 'Here I am!' So he ran to Eli and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' And he said, 'I did not call; lie down again.' And he went and lay down." So, Samuel, this kid hears someone call his name and he thinks it's Eli, so he jumps up and says, "Here I am."

"Then the Lord called yet again, 'Samuel!' So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, 'Here I am, for you called me.' And he answered, 'I did not call, my son; lie down again.' Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him."

This is very fascinating. How could he be working in the temple, was consecrated, given to God to work in the temple from a child on, and yet look at this phrase: "Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him." I think this characterizes a lot of Christians, actually.

Now you say, "Well, how can you be a Christian and not know the Lord?" Now he knows you, he knows me completely. But do I know him? And that's a different question. And here was Samuel. Again, the statement is, "Samuel did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him." So he's working in the temple, but in terms of God revealing stuff to him, that's another thing.

Verse 8: "And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, 'Here I am, for you did call me.' Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy." Then finally Eli figures out, "Somebody's calling him, it's not me. The Lord is calling him." "Therefore Eli said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, 'Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.''"

Now I'm going to give you some great advice. Sooner or later, even if you're not a Christian, you're going to hear his voice. That's the only way you can get saved. He is going to touch your life. I highly recommend, "Okay, Lord, I'm listening. Okay, God, I'm listening."

"So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times... now the Lord came and stood." So he's there with Samuel. "And called as at other times, 'Samuel! Samuel!' And Samuel answered, 'Speak, for Your servant hears.'"

"Then the Lord said to Samuel: 'Behold, I will do something in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.'" I love this stuff. "In that day I will perform against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end.

For I have told him that I will judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because his sons made themselves vile, and he did not restrain them." So his sons got out of control and he didn't stop them, so that's on him.

"And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever." So there's no hope for this one. "So Samuel lay down until morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel and said, 'Samuel, my son!' He answered, 'Here I am.' And he said, 'What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.'"

So what does Eli know? God showed up for Samuel last night and he said something, because Eli knows how it works. And now Eli wants to know what the Lord has said. "What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." So if you don't tell me the truth, I'm praying that God will do to you what you're not telling me, and you don't want that.

"Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, 'It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.'" In other words, that's probably exactly what he said. And whatever seems good, we'll go with that. "So Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground."

That is beautiful imagery. He was with him and he let none of his words fall to the ground. In other words, there were no wasted words. "And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been established as a prophet of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh. For the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord."

Go to John chapter 8. John chapter 8, and let's go down to verse 30. And this is Jesus speaking. It says, "As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.'"

Now this kind of freedom is tricky because if you're free, that means some people think, "Well, I'm just free to go do what I want to do." And this is part of becoming a Christian that is actually pretty hard for people, especially if they have been laden down with these burdens of guilt and fear and everything. Finally, they realize their sins are forgiven, they're free, and it's kind of a "woohoo" moment.

Like, "I can just go do whatever because there's grace, there's mercy, there's forgiveness." And so some Christians spin out and go out there and live like hell, kind of. And then that starts to crumble, and they go, "What happened?" He said, "I didn't set you free to go be a slave of sin again. I set you free to live the life that I intended."

And if you look at the sequence of these verses, what did he say to these who had believed? "If you abide in My word." Right? You have to stay connected to the word of God. You have to know what the scripture says. You have to see who God is, what he says, what he intends for your life, what is possible.

And if you don't stay in that lane, there's all kind of noise, all kind of distraction, all kind of quote-unquote truth that will come at you. And if you don't know the truth when you hear it, you get pulled away and then you're gone. You have to abide in His word. That's the proof that you are His disciple indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Now what happens when that sequence is going on? Then God says, "It's your call." But what do you want? You don't want anything but what he wants. Right? And a few verses down, well, let's just read the next few verses.

"They answered Him, 'We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, "You will be made free"?' Jesus answered them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.'"

In other words, this context, free from sin. You're not required to go sin. It's hard to even describe living this way, and I'm not saying I live this way 100% of the time. But I did not know what living free was all about. So I'll give you just a simple example. You wake up and usually I'll pray with Rebecca before I leave the house, and one of my prayers, at least personally or with her, is, "You know, Lord, use us. You know, use me, use her, the opportunities we have today."

So you're engaged, right? You're communicating with him. You want his will. So you go about your day. You're working, you're meeting with people, you're praying for wisdom, doing whatever it is you do. And let's say you're going to go eat lunch somewhere. Well, what do you do? I usually say, "Lord, where do you want me to go?"

He'll say, "Well, what are you hungry for?" I mean, that's what people say, "What do I want?" This is not about what I want. If there's somewhere he needs me and I'm supposed to be, he'll tell me that. You say, "Well, how's he telling you that?" I'm just telling you, if you ain't asking, you ain't hearing. Why don't you ask him?

And inadvertently, pray, there are times where what do you think I hear is, "It's your call. Go where you want to go." But there are also times where I get a specific answer and then I go there, even if I'm not hungry for that. And you get in there, now what's going on?

Dude, my radar is running. "Why am I here? What is going on? What is the purpose for this? Why did he tell me here?" So the waiter, the everybody in the place coming and going, you pay attention. It should be that way all the time, right?

Now you say, "Well, I don't live that way." That may be okay, and I'll tell you where it's okay. If you're a brand new Christian, there's a time when you're trying to figure stuff out. I get that. And I've said this repeatedly. People say, "Oh, you come down on hard on people because they don't grow up." There is a period of time where it is reasonable to say, "This is enough time for you to be growing up."

You cannot be an infant, a newborn, for 50 years. That doesn't even make sense. Now if the church is not doing its job and we are not raising children, people that are born again and need to be raised, then that's on us, some of that's on us.

But some of it is on the people who say, "I don't have any interest in that. I've gone back to my sin." And now God is using all kind of circumstances and discipline to try to get you to say, "Okay, uncle, I'm back."

Go to Acts 9. I was going to tell this at the end, but I'll tell it now. So I eat fish a lot at a certain place. And John and I were there just a few days ago. And one of the managers came up to our table. We are there every week. We know these people. He came up to the table and stood there. And I knew something was up, John did too. And turns out his mom had died two days before.

And he is processing that and didn't even know how to ask what he was asking. He knows what I do, what we do. And so he stood there and I said, "You know, sit down." Within a matter, I don't know how many minutes it was, John. I'm talking about that fast.

I said, "Well, you know," he was talking about his mom, I said, "You know, let me ask you a question. You drop dead and you're sitting in this chair, you're dead. Where are you going?" He said, "Right now it wouldn't be good" or something to that effect.

I said, "Has anybody ever told you that you can be absolutely positive where you would go if you died?" He said, "No." And I shared with him that it was a gift. I'm talking within seconds. He was praying, he grabbed our hand sitting there in the table. He runs the place. And he kept looking around, I said, "Dude, nobody cares about this."

And we prayed. When my eyes opened again, I looked at him, I looked around, and the whole world had changed. He looked different. He looked like everything looked different to him. That man got saved, right? That's the fourth manager at that table—well, three at that table and one at another location.

You say, "I'm afraid I'm going to say the wrong thing." Yeah, when you find out they're dead, you're really going to be afraid of that. Because saying you're worried you're going to say the wrong thing turns out to be saying the wrong thing.

Now you say, "How does all this fit together?" If you're not dead, you're here for a reason, right? You've got to figure this out. And every day you wake up and what does God say? "Okay, it's your call. But I'm telling you what I've left you here for is your call. So what are we going to do today?"

"Ah, you know, hit me again tomorrow. I'm out today. I got to, you know... This is the day that you made, but I'm going to live it. Check back with me tomorrow." And then tomorrow turns into 10 years. And he's merciful, he's kind, but you're going to run out of sand. That sand keeps dropping, keeps dropping, and you don't know how much is left in the top, and you're going to run out of sand. And then you're going to give an account for this life.

Let me see if I can even share this properly. If I'm driving and I pull under a bridge and I see a person, let's say someone who's drunk or crazy or whatever's going on with that person—and I had one in front of my office the other day. He came by and he's just screaming, he's screaming at the world. He's sitting down and anger in his face, just screaming as loud as he can, and he got up off the bench and kept walking.

And what occurs to me is, okay, that's not me, right? So why was I born where I was born? Why do I know what I know given the exposure to things I was given? And there are people as you're listening to this say, "Yeah, that's right. You have more opportunity than everybody else." Then how do people with no opportunity get where they get?

Let me tell you what opportunity I was given. I was sitting on the front row of a little church when I was six years old and my daddy told me that Jesus died on the cross and was buried and raised from the dead for me. And I seized that opportunity because it was my call. That was God speaking to that little boy's heart. That's what changed my life.

And I will give an account and you will give an account for what you do with that as a believer. You cannot make excuses. "I don't know so-and-so, I'm the wrong color, I wasn't born in the right place." When Jesus moves in, everything changes, everything.

The opportunities become endless. I am a servant of the most high God. I am a child, I'm his child. Who could want better for me than him? And he's not going to randomly subject me to suffering and pain just for fun. He's trying to accomplish something in me so that he can accomplish something through me. And I have to be okay with that, no matter what that is.

Acts 9:15: "But the Lord said to him, 'Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.'" Go with him. He's a chosen vessel.

So God picks people. You can't be a Christian unless you got picked. I can't explain it, but it's a fact, right? Now you say, "Why did God pick me?" I wonder that all the time. Then if I didn't know the scriptures, I would wonder why he doesn't unpick me sometimes.

Romans 8. Romans 8:28. Now everybody knows these things the way they know them, but listen to it a little different way. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." okay, so we want to believe that: all things work together for good.

But who do they work together for good for? "...to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." So you're not going to trust that everything's going to work together for the good unless you love God and are called according to his purpose.

Because there's some stuff doesn't make any sense. And I say this very carefully even giving you this example. I sat with a friend of mine, a friend now, whose son as a teenager had gone into my friend's closet, found his pistol, and shot himself. And then I sit with this man.

Let's pull Romans 8:28 out. Let's make it work now, when a man is heartbroken and may never recover, may never recover. Some of these verses are really nice until they come up on really bad situations. And then they're hard, they're impossible. But they work because God can take whatever that thing is and do what he said: work it all together for the good.

Verse 29: "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."

So it's a done deal. If you're a Christian, it's because you were predestined to Christianity, to be his child. And because he chose you, then he called you. And if he called you, you clearly had to hear him and respond. And then he justified you and, as though it were already done, you're glorified. It's a finished deal.

So there is no doubt if you're a Christian that you're called. Called to be his child, but also called to let him live in you and through you. Romans 11:28 and 29, everybody look at that. "Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy."

So, back to that verse: "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable," without repentance. He's not going away. And if he's told you to do something and that's who he's made you to be and told you what to do, that is what you have to do.

You say, "I'm not doing it." Let me tell you something about that. You will do it or you will die. And why in the world would you kick against God's will holding onto something that is never going to give you any peace, any joy? Just yield, for Christ's sake, yield. For your sake, yield.

Now I didn't read Romans 1:1, but look at 1 Corinthians 1:1. Similar thing that Paul says in Romans 1:1. He starts these letters out: "Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother." So Paul knows. And about—I'll just read you Romans 1:1: "Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle." He knew what he was called to do.

So how does this work? I was called to preach. Now, I was a Christian at six, at 14, I was in a room by myself on the Baylor campus, my parents were speaking there, and all I can tell you is I was not in the room by myself. I didn't see anybody, but he was there, not just in me, but somehow with me at the same time.

And without any audible voice, he said, "You're going to preach." And I was completely overwhelmed. Went and found my mom and dad, knocked on their door, they opened it, and they'll tell you later they knew immediately what had happened to me. They could see it on my face.

Now he's never taken that away and it's not going away. That is who he made me to be. And he will not call you to do anything without gifting you to do it. Okay? So whatever God you think, "Well, I think this is what he's told me to do. I don't know if I can do it."

The answer is you can, because he can. And he would not call you to be someone or do something without gifting you to do it. So pray and just say, "Lord, well, what is it? What is it that I'm passionate about?" And I don't mean this in a bad way, but there's some things I could really care less about.

You say, "Really?" Like, yeah. And the same thing with you. "Oh, let's go do..." like, I have no interest in that. I'm not going to say it out loud because that might be your thing, like, "He doesn't like my thing." Let's say you've got a passion for, for some reason, you can't even explain it.

You've got a passion for elderly people, for people that are in retirement homes, and you find yourself wanting to go check on people. Don't discount that. Say, "Lord, is this you? Is it you pulling me in this direction?" And he might say, "Yeah, this is me. I need people caring for them because other people, that's not how I've built them."

"So well, what am I going to do?" "I'll show you. I've gifted you to be the person you need to be to do what I've asked you to do. Just go." And you say, "Well, I've got this strange stirring that I'm supposed to go to Morocco." Pick a place. And you don't know why. Figure out how to go to Morocco. Find a mission trip, something. You say, "Well, it just seems random." How can it be random if you heard Morocco? Right?

Now if he says Africa, you're going to have to pinpoint it a little bit. Now this is not what I'm talking about today, but it kind of is. What is one of the number one things people ask me? "What about all the people who have never heard?" This is how it works. And this is one of the coolest things I even—I don't even know that I could explain.

Romans 1 says that everybody's without excuse, that the creation screams that he exists. So what about people who have never heard? Let's say someone's on the backside of Western China and they look at the creation and go, "There has to be a God. The sun can't be the God, the government can't be the God."

And they cry out to God, "Help me, help me!" And dispatch comes to you and says, "We got a call from Western China. 'Help me, help me.' You're up. It's your call. Are you going to take the call?" And you say, "No, put them on hold, let me pray about it." Or you say, "Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I'll take that call. I'm up. Here am I. Speak, your servant listens. I'll go. I'll do it. What about your family? I don't know, he's my family."

Guest (Male): Richard will be back in a moment to wrap up today's talk. But first, I want to share a couple thoughts with you. Let's be honest: real life isn't about living some highlight reel for others to see. Most people have deep hurts, questions, and struggles.

We get it and want to help you in any way we can. So let's keep this conversation going. Give us a call at 855-6-RICHARD or connect with us at our website, richardellis.com. You can even put in your prayer request right there on the prayer wall so others can pray for you as well. Call us at 855-6-RICHARD or online at richardellis.com. And now, let's get back to Richard with a final word on today's show.

Richard Ellis: You say, "Well, I could end up anywhere." You could end up nowhere, too. And how's that going to work out? Pay attention to these things because if he honors you by speaking to you and calling you out, that's something.

I have no words. I get to do for a living what God made me to be. It's impossible. It shouldn't even be legal. I wouldn't trade with anybody because he shows up, and this is what I know: if you will yield to him, he shows up for you, too.

And I don't eat where you eat, I don't go where you go, but you have to be there. And some manager, some waitress, some employee, some co-worker, some neighbor is waiting for you to take the call, because it's your call.

Guest (Male): Thanks for tuning in today to Richard Ellis Talks. We all have busy schedules these days, so it means the world to us that you would take this time to listen. Richard would love to know how today's talk has touched your heart, so give us a call at 855-6-RICHARD, 855-6-RICHARD.

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We believe that these talks with Richard are making a difference in your life, so this is how you can make a difference to ours. You can contribute by calling 855-6-RICHARD or at our website, richardellis.com. Thank you for your generosity. God bless and thanks for listening to Richard Ellis Talks.