Called, Chosen & Set Apart
March 8, 2022

SCRIPTURE

Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of The Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness, for the prisoners.

In your own study time check out the entire passage 61:1-11

  

For us to see the kingdom of God expand and advance, we must be people that are anointed and empowered by the Holy Spirit to outwork in power and authority what God is wanting to do in us and through us.

 

Anointed meaning ‘chrism’ to be set apart, consecrated, chosen for God’s purpose for this time.

Power meaning ‘dunamus’ a supernatural ability, referring to the Holy Spirit outworking his power within us and through us.

Authority meaning ‘exousia’ a legal right that is delegated to us, that enables us to speak and act on behalf of God.

 

 

Knowing The Call

We each have a personal call, a commission that God has set us apart for.

 

Commission, meaning something God has called you to do with your life.  

ref Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works, which God prepared in advance.

 

Like us, Jesus had a personal call which was to advance the kingdom of God, and he not only preached that kingdom, but he also demonstrated and bought the kingdom of God into the reality of people’s lives. And just like us, Jesus depended completely on the Holy Spirit to speak to him, direct him and empower him to outwork his call. ref Philippians 2:7 ‘but (Jesus) emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

 

Before Jesus started his ministry, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit and was guided by the Holy Spirit on when and how to minister. So, Jesus is the perfect example to us of what a person moving in authority and anointing can do.

After Jesus was empowered with the Holy Spirit, he speaks out the commission shared in Isaiah 61.

 

ref Luke 6:18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me, to preach good news to the poor…’ and scripture says that Jesus then rolled up the scroll and said, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing’.

In other words, Jesus was proclaiming that he was the one who would bring to fulfilment the good news of a new life, freedom, healing, and restoration. 

Later, Jesus would commission us all to do the same. ref Acts 1:8 ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’.

 

We are each called and commissioned to bring the good news, bind up the brokenhearted, set captives free and advance the kingdom of God!

 

  • Do you feel you are clear on the call of God in your life?
  • Do you realise that the power of the Holy Spirit equips and empowers us to do things that we couldn’t do before? 
  • God wants us to understand the authority He has given us. How does knowing that we are called, empowered, and commissioned change how we live our life today? 

 

 

Outworking The Call

We are called to bring God’s kingdom into the area that we have been given as our sphere of influence, our given space of assignment. For some it can be our family, workplace, university, church, or our community.


Wherever it is that God has called us to and given us a responsibility for, we have authority over it. 


We can act as God’s representative over it, to speak into it, to cultivate it and protect it.

For example, our personal life is our responsibility – our thoughts, our habits, our emotions, our words are our own responsibility. God holds us responsible for what we do with our life. And Jesus gives us authority to bring his Kingdom ways into our everyday situations and into the lives of others.

ref Mathew 28:18 ‘All authority is given to me in heaven and earth – go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

 

 

It is worth stopping for a moment to consider the areas that you have influence in, these could be:

  • Our personal life – we need to take ownership of our life and speak the word of God over our life.
  • Our workplace – we have authority to represent God in our workplace
  • Our marriage & family – We are to speak blessing, to bring the presence of God, to bring encouragement to our loved ones.
  • Our community– we have been positioned and called to bring God’s presence into our community.

 

In the area of influence we have been given, we can learn how to listen to God’s wisdom on how to pray, what to pray for, what to release, and what to take authority over.

E.g.  As a teacher we can pray that our students would have peace, excellence, and creativity within our classroom.

As a businessman we can believe that God would give us strategy to lead well and take our business to another level.

 

So, wherever you find your area of influence to be, you can have full assurance that God has called us, chosen us, and set us apart to show His love, His way, and to advance His Kingdom!

 

  • What would you consider to be your greatest area of influence?
  • What does it look like to outwork your Kingdom call in your area of influence?
  • A great way to stir up your Kingdom call is to meditate on it daily – if you haven’t already, think about how you can have a personal mission statement of what your call is. Make it a daily discipline to mediate on it and think on ways you can outwork it each day. 
  • Write out what your area of influence is (e.g., family, workplace, community) and how you would like to see this space advance this year – be specific!

 

 

 

 Sundays Message

Listen to Sunday’s message on Called, Chosen & Set Apart here: https://youtu.be/Ah_q8pNuajY

 

Coming up at Life

Prayer

  • Men – 6am Tuesday at LIFE
  • Women – 6.30am Wednesday at LIFE

 

RESOURCE REF: NIV Bible, Life team message: Called, Chosen & Set Apart