Road Trippin With Rachael

As he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter), and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea – for they were fishermen. “Follow me,” he told them, “and I will make you fish for people.” Immediately they left their nets and followed him. – Matthew 4:18-22 (CSB)

Going a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat putting their nets in order. Immediately he called them and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. – Mark 1:19-20 (CSB)

Afterward he was traveling from one town and village to another, preaching and telling the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary, called Magdalene (seven demons had come out of her)” Johanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward: Susanna: and many other who were supporting them from their possessions. – Luke 8:1-3 (CSB)

You probably read those verses and thought, “Rachael, those verses have nothing to do with the birth of Christ.” That would be correct. However, I wanted to focus on the first part of the first verse – the call for those who are faithful to come.

I’ve mentioned it in another post that one of the things that I love so much about Christmas carols is that it isn’t just about Christmas – they are songs that tell the story of the Gospel, and O Come All Ye Faithful is a perfect example of this. Today, I’m going to take a look at three responses the faithful are called to have.

Obviously, for there to be a response there has to first be a call. In both Gospels of Matthew and Mark they record Jesus calling the men that would be come his disciples to come and follow him. That sets the scene for what we are going to be talking about throughout the rest of the blog.

If you prefer to watch me talk about these, you can check out all the blogs on my YouTube Channel, Road Trippin with Rachael. I’m posting something everyday during the month of December at 7AM. During the rest of the year I post on Wednesdays at 7AM.

The Faithful are Called to Respond

Although there is a focus here on the Gospels, those who are faithful are seen throughout scripture. Those who have responded to God’s call can be seen in both the Old and New Testament. The important thing to note is that those who are considered faithful had that encounter with God, him working in their life, and them having a response to him. Some of these examples would be

• Abraham (Genesis 12:1-4). Abraham was called to leave all that he had known to become a nomad without knowing where God was going to take him and his family.
• Moses (Exodus 3:4). Moses was called while he was in the desert to confront Pharaoh about releasing the Hebrew people from slavery for them to return to Canaan.
• Gideon (Judges 6:1-24). Gideon is called while he is hiding, to lead the people of Israel against their enemies.
• Isaiah (Isaiah 6). Isaiah is called to be a prophet and to preach the word of the LORD to the people of Judah.
• Mary (Luke 1:28-28). Mary is called to be the mother of Jesus.
• Ananias (Act 9:10-17). Ananias is called to go to Saul – the man that stood as witness to the stoning of Stephen (a fellow Christian) – heal him and share the Gospel with him.

All of these people responded to the call that God gave them to be used in a particular way. God uses the participation of the people that he has called, and who have responded, to bring about his will.

Not everyone who is called will respond to that call. Consider the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30). The young ruler did not respond to Jesus’ call to follow him. Keeping that in mind, it is not the responsibility of anyone to force someone to respond to God. Let God be God, and do not pressure yourself to make someone respond. Continue to pray for them, but let God do what he does best – work on the hearts of men and women the world over.

The Faithful are Called Share the Gospel with Others

God will be the one who does the work on the heart, but as Christians we call called to share the Gospels with others. Sharing will look different for everyone. For some people they are going to be friends, and sharing is going to be a natural part of the relationship. Some people are going to be called to be actually be teaching elders or pastors in churches where it is their literal job to share the Gospel week in and week out. One example of this is Peter (Acts 2). There are other people who are called to be missionaries and to travel to other countries to share the good news of Christ -Phillip to the Ethiopian Eunich (Acts 10:1-29) is one example. The Gospel is not only shared by a formal presentation – like I said previously, it can also happen through relationships. An example of this is Aquilla and Pricilla who teach Apollos (Acts 18:24-29). Not only that, but even with day to day interactions there ae opportunities to share. Paul did this with Lydia (Acts 16:13-15) and that eventually led to the creation of a local church, that Lydia hosted in her home. Romans 10:14 poses the question, how can people believe if they aren’t hearing? Even though God is the one who does the calling for the individual, those who have already responded to the call to repentance and belief in Christ are called as believers to share the good news with others.

The Faithful are Called to Engage

Being engaged means that they are doing something. There is some sort of service that is happening. Normally, this is engaging a persons spiritual gifts (I Corinthians 12: 4-11), and these gifts are all going to be different (I Corinthians 12:12-25), but they all work together in harmony, no matter how different they are.

As with other examples, we see early believers coming together and utilizing their spiritual gifts and abilities. Even before Christ’s crucifixion there were women who traveled with Jesus to preform acts of service for the disciples (Luke 8:3); these were things like cooking, laundry, going to the market – things that these women would have been able to do and do well. Although many people regard homemaking and caregiving as gifts that are geared specifically towards women, hospitality is a gift that both genders can have – caring for and making people feel welcomed and having their needs met. I personally know several men who have this gifting.

Another way that Christians can be engaged is by coming together to encourage each other and to share what they have. In a modern sense we meet together on Sundays (most of the time), and the real buzz term in many churches about small groups is “doing life together.” In the book of Acts 2: 42-47, We see where the new church that was in Jerusalem was coming together. They were praising God, breaking bread together and edifying each other. Giving financially is just one way that faithful Christians are able to be engaged, but there are other ways like I previously mentioned: giving of time, resources (non-financial), meal trains, leading participating in bible studies with other believers, volunteering, etc. Although it is sometimes nuanced, gathering together is an important part of being engaged.

Finally, a major way that Christians can be engaged is by supporting the church at large beyond the local congregation. Paul praised the churches who came together to give money to help support the church that was in Jerusalem when there was a famine (I Corinthians 16:1). Several denominations in the United States work together to support missionaries both in the US and outside of the country. Other churches support church plants as they work to be established, and help to support other mission endeavors that take place outside of their own church buildings. Being engaged as a church community or individually with the wider Church is also an important part of being an engaged faithful believer.

Final Thoughts

There are some hallmarks of the faithful that we see in scripture. This includes responding to the call of the Holy Spirit on our lives that leads us to being believers in Christ. Another hallmark of a faithful believer is that they are going to be sharing the Gospel with others, and that will look different for each individual Christian; this can be that they are evangelistic speaking to large crowds in the style of Billy Graham, or sharing with your neighbor while you are both outside doing yard work. Engagement is also engagement in both the local church, but also the local church being involved with other churches to contribute to the global Church in missions, church plants, and supporting missionaries around the world. Christians are called to be faithful.