Living as Christians in the Age of Fulfillment

Live from the Mecca of Mormonism, Salt Lake City, THIS is heart of the matterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology. where we are learning together how to live as Christians in the age of fulfillment.

Show 16A Family Occupations
Taped Tuesday, March 31st
Aired Monday, April 6th, 2020

So, the family is on the move. Kids in school. Kids in college. Parents working hard to make ends meet. Remember, in the former age, the Age that Jesus and the Apostles were part of, the age when Jesus was coming back to take His bride from the earth and save her from coming destruction, there was a need for a number of things to be in place for believers. And they were.

But in Christ, where there is no difference between bond and free, male and female, Jew and Greek – the world is open, as all believers have a direct call on their lives from their Maker – and the decision to be and do this or that is dependent on the individual believer and what God has made them to be. This topic is a lot more complex than how it appears at first glance. And let me go to the board to explain why this is.

All our Christian lives we have been taught some powerful messages about what it means to be Christians. These messages include the following:

The Age of Fulfillment

Admittedly, if we were still looking toward the coming of Christ, and knowing what that age was like, and what was expected of believers then as a means to hang on till the end, I would adopt a sell-everything-and-head-for-the-hills mentality (like many Christians have done in ages past). But we do NOT live in that age – it has been fulfilled and forever completed. And the Gospel goes forward by the Spirit often using individuals who are engaged in every walk of life and not just through people engaged in “ministry” full time.

This can be a really hard thing to face for some people – I know, I have a daughter who struggles with it frequently – what does it matter if I have a secular profession in the scope of the eternities? It's valid – in the face of everything we’ve listed on the board. So how does a person decide, choose, what to do with their life? Is there more merit in choosing to live a life in the service of God – there certainly is. HOWEVER – this does NOT mean earning a living in the service of God.

Honoring God Through Individual Callings

In other words, every single person on earth can choose to live their lives in the service of God NO MATTER what they do to earn their keep, pay the bills, and make ends meet. The idea that the only way to live a life in the service of God is to be a pastor or minister or to be engaged in full-time ministry is simply false. And this is where we have to begin to tease apart what we have long assumed compared to what really is.

We begin to successfully accomplish this when we first agree that God creates all of us with certain abilities, affinities, and proclivities. Our creator has made us with these specific traits and we honor him by pursuing them and making the most of whatever they are. How could there be MORE honor for a person who was made to be in full-time ministry when God is the one who called and uses her or him in that way?

There’s no more honor for them than for a garbage person who was made to collect garbage. In fact, there is FAR, FAR, FAR more honor for a garbage person who is a garbage person and loves and serves God and man along the course of his or her life than a pastor who serves himself. Get it?

Psalms 37:4 says: “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Questions for Self-Discovery

So, the first question every individual must ask themselves, as a believer, is what has God made me to be and do? That is primary and it speaks to His hand reaching down into their lives. The second question, which is the response the individual has, is “What do I really desire to do? Really desire to do with the life that God has given me?” I suggest that these two factors always work together – that God has created individuals to do and be certain things and that the individual in question would then desire.

Discovering Your Purpose in Ministry

To do and be the thing that God has created them to do and be. This is key to a successful life, irrespective of money.

We are blessed in the ministry to have a man named Seth with us. When I met Seth he desired to be in ministry. I asked him what he enjoyed and he flat out said, “tech stuff.” I said great and from that day Seth has been in ministry doing what he was made by God to do.

Many people – many believers – don’t really know what they were made to do and be – and they allow the biblical demands on the board to get them to vacillate around for years bouncing between ministry and not ministry. I can save you all a lot of wasted time and trouble right here and now by saying: If God has made you to be in ministry you will desire to be in ministry AND . . . AND . . . AND you will be equipped to be in ministry.

The Three-Legged Stool of Purpose

And in this we have the three-legged stool for knowing what we are to do with our lives.

ONE: God made us to be it.
TWO: We desire to be that thing, and
THREE: We are equipped to do the thing in question.

Remove any of those three elements and in most cases we will find ourselves in the wrong profession or vocation. We all experience the reality of this when we personally desire to be famous singers, but God has not made us to be famous singers nor has he equipped us to be. As believers you want all three elements in place which will confirm that you are doing what you were made to do.

I could NEVER in my life, be a Mathematician. God did not make me to be, he didn’t equip me to be, and I do not desire to be. We all know that when there are three strikes against us that we probably shouldn’t pursue whatever course we are considering, right?

Guiding Our Youth

So as a means to help give our Christian kids some insight into what they ought to pursue, begin with the three witnesses:

• Did God make you to do (such and such)?
• Do you desire to do (such and such)?
• And are you equipped, or driven to equip yourself, to do (such and such)?

Once these three factors are in place, guess what – YOU ARE DOING the MOST GLORIFYING thing FOR GOD that you could possibly be doing with your life – and it does NOT matter what it is. That is the unique thing about being a Christian in the Age of Fulfillment. We do not have to spend our 24/7 doing Christian ministry.

We can serve and love God better 1/7 when we are doing what he made us to do, equipped us to do, and what we desire to do. To be honest, and I have been around the scene of 24/7 religionists, and while they may have been made by God to do what they do, and are equipped to do what they do, and desired to do what they do, they are often some of the worst Christians I have ever met.

I’m not kidding. So never hold up the position of a full time pastor or person in ministry above a pipe-fitter, or insurance salesperson, or waitress who love the Lord. And never allow yourselves to think that just because someone is dedicating more time of their week to “God” that they are more honorable in His sight. Not so.

Do what you were made to do and be, what you are equipped to do and be, and what you desire to do and be. Whatever it is – because as a Christian, you take the message of Jesus with you into whatever world you are playing your part, and God IS glorified.

Write your comments below! We’ll talk about them tomorrow night, here in Heart of the Matter!