(The second of four blogs from a sermon I preached at Rock Point Church, Doylestown, PA, after returning from India in 2017.)

Some are called to go, and if God calls you to go then don’t stay!  Some go to unbelievers to take god’s Word to them.  Abraham was called out of Ur, Jonah called to go to Nineveh, 10 of Jesus’ 12 disciples were sent to other parts of the world, and Paul was sent to start churches in other parts of the Roman Empire.  Today God calls some to leave their home and go to another location within their culture, or even to another culture and language.  Some are called to do so for the rest of their lives, others for a shorter time period.

Others are called to go minister to believers in other locations.  Nehemiah was sent to Jerusalem, Titus and Timothy to help churches that had already been planted, and Paul went to many churches encouraging and training them.  God has called me to go to India once a year to minister to the pastors and Christians there.

All are called, some to go but others to stay.  If God calls you to stay then don’t go!  Some are called to stay and minister to unbelievers.  There are several ways this is done.  One is by sharing the gospel with those around them.  In Acts 1:8-9 Jesus says we are all called, some to stay in Jerusalem to minister, others to move nearby to Judea and Samaria, and others to different cultures far away, “to the ends of the earth.”  The first calling is to those where we already are living.  Peter was called to stay and minister in Jerusalem.  He went locally to Cornelius (Acts 10).  Philip went to the Samaritans, then spoke to an Ethiopian who was visiting in the area, and finally settled nearby in Caesarea (Acts 8).

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.”

Where has God called you to minister: at home (Jerusalem), in nearby areas (Judea) or those a little further away (Samaria), or in other countries (ends of the earth)?  Not being called to a foreign country doesn’t mean you aren’t called to minister where you are.  What does God want YOU to do where He has called you?