It is my privilege to open our Renew Together, to kickstart our three weeks journey. On Friday night I asked this question to my young people, what is Renew Together? Do you know about Renew Together? Because I want them to understand the importance and the significance of Renew Together. Renew Together is our annual Arotahi appeal.

Arotahi means one focus, New Zealand Baptist Mission Society. Renew Together is once a year, three-week opportunity when our services are more internally focused on mission. Mission local here in Kirikiriroa, in Aotearoa, mission abroad and most importantly God’s heart for mission.

If you remember Eleanor’s message on mission, God’s heart for mission should be our heart for mission. It’s an amazing opportunity for us to pray and consider giving as an investment into the work of our global workers, partners, and communities. When you give to Renew Together, you give to all the Arotahi projects which enables the Arotahi team to talk to our mission partners, so funds are directed to where the greatest needs are.

It used to be prayer and self-denial where you deny self and you give up something and pray for it and give to Arotahi and that’s our encouragement.

Isaiah 52:7 “how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news.” We always, always give thanks to you our church family for investing in God’s kingdom.

I would like to encourage you, and I pray that God will stir up in our hearts with a heart to give. We may not be able to go and serve overseas or as missionary. We are missionaries local here in Hamilton, but we’ll be able to bless them and invest in our global workers.

Ross’s brother, Brian and Gaye moved to Bangladesh. They left the comfort of their home here in Aotearoa to said yes to God, to move to a different country, different culture.

Out of their yes to God, with a hope to build a team there as well as support the education initiatives that we support in Bangladesh. From these stories we hear of the importance of learning, walking alongside others and together discovering what God is up to. What we give in the next three weeks will be able to help the mission over in Bangladesh and different mission.

You would have received your hand grafted and sustainable tags from Joyya. We always have little gifts, very unique, very special, handmade and these tags from Joyya, one of our organizations in Kolkata that we support, are a reminder of this series of Renew Together. That God is transforming us head, heart and mind and is at work around our world.

Over the next three weeks, we will explore three important themes. Today in week one, we look at knowing God’s call, decision. Next week Neville will lead us on week two of Renew Together, embracing God’s call, all about God’s calling, intention.  And Ross will conclude our series in week three, stepping into God’s call, action.  And I’ll hope that over these next three weeks, we will be encouraged to know that God has a calling for you and I, for us to embrace that call and for us to say yes and step into that goal and do what God has for you and I. Welcome to week one of Renew Together.

Fairfield Baptist Church, can you hear that?  Can you hear that? God is calling.

God is calling. Knowing God’s call. Our main text for this morning, 1 Peter 2:9-10.

But I want us to know this, that God calls us to himself first and he calls us to something. God calls us to himself and he calls us to something. Turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 9 and 10.

This is the word of God that I pray that will encourage you this morning. Our focus this morning is knowing God’s call. And I pray that this morning you will accept.

I know that that the majority of us here know there is a calling. We know God is calling us. But it’s a great reminder for us and even our young people here to know that God has called us to himself and called us into something.

I feel like this is a continuation of Easter camp. The theme of Easter camp was “Called”.

And in our term one of youth, we focused on different calling and how people in the Bible responded to God’s calling.  To encourage our young people that there is a calling and it’s up to them to answer that calling. And I want us this morning to know that and to accept that, yes, God has a calling for you and I, but you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

What a great promise. And that’s the God that we serve. God has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.

A call to know God and to make him known. There’s a call for us to know God and for us to make him known because he has called us out of darkness into this wonderful light. In verse 9, we were not a people.

Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

1 Peter 1:3-4.

“It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation and we have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you. In his great mercy, God didn’t give us what we deserve.”

In his great mercy, in his great love, God, our God, out of his mercy has rescued us. In Colossians 1:13-14, “for he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.”

God created heaven and earth.  He created you and I. It was meant for good, but sin marred God’s creation.  We were once in the kingdom of darkness for the wages of sin is death. But God in his great mercy has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. What an amazing calling, calling us out of darkness when there seems to be no hope.

Our God calls us into hope. That’s who our God is. That’s one of our greatest callings.

He has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. But calling us out of darkness means, there is a way and there is a decision to make. A call to give your life to Jesus.  A call to give your life to Jesus. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you receive mercy.

And in Christ, Acts 4:12, “salvation is found in no one else. For this is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” And in Romans 10:9, “if you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

You will be saved. There is a call to give your life to Jesus. And we’re sitting here with a story to tell on the day that we gave our life to Jesus.

Whoever believes in him.  The greatest decision of your life is to give your life and say, yes, Lord, I want to follow you. Yes, Lord, I want to give you my life.  There’s a call to give your life to Jesus. To the one that died on cross for you and I.  We celebrate when one sinner repents, when one person gave their life to Jesus. Not only a call to give our life to Jesus, but also a call to be a follower of Jesus. When you give your life to Jesus, you say, yes, I’m a Christian, but also there’s a call to give your life to Jesus.

We are not saying yes to Jesus to just sit at the sideline. We are saying yes to Jesus to follow Jesus, to run the race that he set for us. In Luke 5:11, with Jesus and his disciples, they pull up the boat, they left everything and followed him.

Our theme with our youth this term is give me Jesus. Give me Jesus. And we look at the stories in the Bible because I want them to have a hunger for Jesus.  I want them to get to know Jesus. I want them to fall in love with Jesus. And I asked them this question, young people, and I want to ask all of us here this morning, are you willing to be completely sold out for Jesus? Are you willing? And one of my favourite things to say, are you willing to be all in for Jesus? I love that.

You might say, I’ve been doing that all my life. I’m old. No one is too old.  We can still serve God. We can still follow Jesus. But are we willing, Fairfield Baptist Church to be completely sold out for Jesus that gave his life for you and I? And God has called us out of darkness into this wonderful light.

What a calling. And in Luke 9:23, “then he said to them all, whoever wants to be my disciple, whoever wants to follow me must deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.”

Take up our cross.  A call to take up our cross to follow Jesus. And in Christ, in our passage this morning, in our verse this morning, we are chosen people. We are a royal priesthood.  We are a holy nation, God’s special possession. If you’re struggling finding your identity, this is who you are. This is your identity in Christ, according to God’s word.

These are addressed to Israel, to the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6-8 “For you are holy people who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special treasure.”

A chosen people. Ephesians 1:3-4 “praise God who has blessed us in heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation.”

John 15:16 “you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit.”  Chosen people. Choosing here is not owing anything in us, it’s all because of Jesus. And not only that, in his great mercy he made us to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood.

The Apostle Peter reminds us that we are a royal priesthood, set apart to declare God’s praises. Our heavenly calling involves ministering to God and serving others. Just as priests in the Old Testament interceded on behalf of the people, we have that privilege of interceding.

The royal priesthood grants us direct access to God that we can go to God anytime. What a calling. And we are God’s special possession.

God treasures you. Because God loves you, he chose you. What a calling.

And with that statement of being God’s special possession, did you know that God has called you by name? God has called you by name. Isaiah 43:1 “But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.  O Israel, the one who formed you, do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name. You are mine.”

We belong to God. You have a calling. What is our response? In John 10, the gatekeeper opens the gate and the sheep recognize this is Jesus’ voice and come to him.  He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. You have been called by name. You are God’s special possession.

That’s who you are in Christ. Don’t let anything define you. You are God’s special possession.

How amazing it is that God has called us by name, our church family by name, the God of the universe. You are uniquely created by God, set apart by God, gifted by God, and called by God to make a difference. Called by God to advance his kingdom.

Because he has a calling, Hebrews 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.”

You are created by God and called to something significant, something meaningful, something eternal, something that matters.

I just want to quickly share this story this morning. A few years ago, before I studied theology, I was serving in a Tongan church. But I was seeking God, what is your plan for my life? What is your will for my life? What next? I was in that season.

I was doubting, maybe God doesn’t have a calling in my life. This is my calling, just to serve my Tongan church. And I love it.  This was before I studied theology.

One morning, as I went to Hamilton East, that little shopping at Grey Street, to the bakery there, early morning, I went to get some lunch for the day. But I had a great encounter that morning.  And I still remember it as if it happened yesterday. When I got there, I saw a homeless lady sitting outside the bakery with her little cardboard, asking for spare change and food. So, I approached her, but she didn’t approach me.  Some people, they asked, hey miss, can I have some change? She was reading a book, but I didn’t see what book she was reading. She was so focused on reading her book. So I approached her and I asked, hey miss, can I buy you some breakfast? I’m so silly.  Of course she needs food. And she just said yes. She didn’t even look at me and she said yes.  So I walked into the bakery and I bought her hot chocolate and some food. I came outside and I bent down and I noticed she was reading a Bible. That’s why she was so focused.  And I said to her, I love that book. That was my only line that morning. I love that book.  And I was about to leave because she was so focused on reading her word. And I didn’t want to distract her. But it amazed me that she was a homeless lady and yet she was so focused on God’s word.  I was about to leave. This lady looked up at me and she stared at me for a minute. And she said this before I even got to say that I’m a Christian.  We didn’t have a conversation. And she said this to me, you are a people shaker. And I was like, huh? When you speak, you shake people for Christ.  And God gave me this verse to give to you, Isaiah 60:1. Arise, arise for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. I memorized this verse. That really encouraged me that day.  That day God sent a stranger that didn’t even know me to encourage me while I was trying to figure out what’s God’s calling in my life. I left that day. I never saw her again.  I went back because I loved that bakery. I went back but I never saw her again.  Maybe she was my angel that God used to encourage me at that time. I was really amazed when she looked at me as if she knew me. When you speak, continue speaking.

And that was God’s affirming. Yes, know that God has a calling for your life.  What is our response?

What is our response? Maybe if you’re here this morning and you’re wondering what’s my calling and you’re wondering, I’m not too sure what God has for me. Let me encourage you this morning. Know that God has a calling on your life and he will keep you for your life.

God only wants your response and your yes and he will take your yes and he will use you for mighty things.

Next Friday, I’m off to Tonga, not on a holiday. I’m calling it a short mission trip.  I’ve been invited to go with the president of the Baptist Women of the Pacific to visit the Baptist Church in Tonga to minister to their women’s ministry because I know the language. I remember when I got the invitation.  I’ve been wanting to serve my people and I know it’s only seven days but I know that God will use me. It’s going to be a full-on time but why am I sharing this? Because I would appreciate your prayer.  It’s not a holiday for me, it’s a mission to serve my people. For the past few weeks, I’ve been translating the gospel direct in Tongan so I can take it and do some outreach. So I would appreciate your prayers as I serve my people.

I’ll be back, I’ll be back. But that’s the yes that I want to encourage you with because one of my goals for this year is go on a short mission trip. I didn’t know that I’ll be going to Tonga.

Our prayer should be that God will open my eyes to see the need on how I can continue to serve in Tonga.  I’m looking forward to it. I will get to eat some Tongan food and I will get to see my family but I told them I’m coming on God’s work, I’m coming on a mission.

God has a calling in your life

To our head, what are you thinking? Heart, how are you feeling? And to our feet, what might be your next steps?