God’s Call On Your Life

Study the Scriptures’ use of call and chosen. Categorize these findings according to the call to salvation, call to sanctification, call to service, or other types of calling.

For the call to service, study examples in the Bible of people who were called, and ask how, why, to what, and what was the need (for example, Moses, Isaiah, Deborah, Peter, and others).

Categorize these findings as above.

• What conclusions can you draw concerning God’s call to people?

Questions to help you determine the call of God for your life:

• How do you see the needs of the world and what does that mean to you?
• What is God’s call for all Christians?
• What are your gifts and abilities? (i.e. What has God blessed? What do others say? What do you enjoy?)
• How has God been leading you in the past vocationally?
• What is He saying through promises?
• What are your life verses?
• What style of ministry do you feel called to be involved in?
• What prompts you to desire to serve?
• Is location an issue with you?
• What type of people do you feel called to minister to? (i.e. homeless, widows, orphans, collegians, couples, people in the church etc.)
• How do you currently feel about living by gift income rather than wages?
• Discuss options regarding God’s call to full-time Christian work versus ministering while continuing in your profession.

The Call Of God

The goal of this study is to help Christians function in ministry on the basis of conviction about his or her personal calling.

Study Ephesians 4:11-13.

• How important do you consider this passage to be? What are the implications? What application does it have?
• How does the model of the Levitical priesthood apply today?
• What about the priesthood of every believer? What do you think about God’s call to some and not others? In what ways are all Christians doing full-time ministry?

Study Paul’s call in Galatians 1:13-18 and Acts 9.

• What principles do you see in these passages? What applications for today?=

Examine the call of the 12 by Jesus. Pay particular attention to Peter and his restoration by the Lord in John 21 along with his subsequent ministry in Acts. Note particularly Acts 6:1-6 where a distinction was made as to job/duties.

• How essential do you think the call of God is to labor as a Navigator full-time?
• From what you noted in all these passages summarize what it means “to be called by God”.
• Write your conviction statement on the call of God.

The Ministry Of Jesus

The intent of this study is to take an original look at two books of the Bible to understand how and why Jesus did ministry. “Ministry” can easily be culturally biased and not biblically based. Note: the objective is not to study Mark & John for the content of the books in their own right. It is to survey Mark and then John separately with a specific focus in mind – Jesus and ministry.

Questions to guide the study: (Use your own format.)

• What did Jesus view as ministry?
• How did Jesus do ministry?
• How was Jesus sent by the Father?
• How and in what ways are we to imitate Jesus? What about other models for ministry such as the Apostle Paul’s?
• In what ways is the example of Jesus in ministry applicable to every believer? Do you think calling makes a difference?
• What was the relationship between the Father and the Son?
• What were Jesus’ priorities?
• What do you feel are some misconceptions today about ministry?

First, read and study completely through Mark. Then read and study John. Do not get sidetracked by other relevant topics in the reading! A word study on “ministry’ will prove helpful in understanding the concept.

Write your conviction statement on the ministry of Jesus.

• What are personal challenges to you from this study?

The Call To Go

The great commission is a widely used term, but it may not be thoroughly understood. The intent of this study is to look at references to the Great Commission and to develop a clearer understanding of the intent of the passages.

Study in context and in-depth the following 5 passages:

1. Matthew 28:18-20
2. Mark 16:15
3. Luke 24:44-49
4. John 20:21
5. Acts 1:8

• Synthesize these passages into one statement.
• To what extent does the Great Commission apply to every believer today?
• What do you think is the place of the Great Commission in Navigator ministry today?
• What about in the overall Body of Christ?
• Write your conviction statement on the Great Commission.

The Nature Of Ministry

The intent of this study is to have the Navigator Intern grasp more deeply the nature of Biblical ministry. The hope is that the Navigator Intern will be able to gain a biblical view apart from cultural bias that will enhance future spiritual ministry.

Utilizing an exhaustive concordance and/or Greek dictionary look up all the words, in the New Testament, that are translated as “ministry, minister, etc.” You will also need to look up the references where a word that is translated as “ministry” in some places is not so translated in others. Pay careful attention to the context in which the words are used. If you have questions, please check with someone who can help get you started.

• What is “ministry” in your understanding? How would you explain “ministry” to a young Christian?
• To what extent do you think all Christians should “minister”?
• Write your conviction statement on ministry.

The Holy Spirit & Calling

The intent of the study is to grasp more fully the nature and work of the Holy Spirit so that the Christian can live and minister in the will of God and power of the Holy Spirit.

How did the Holy Spirit involve Himself with the growth of the Body of Christ/church? Go through the book of Acts keeping the above question in mind. Pay close attention to all references, both direct and indirect, to the person and work of the Holy Spirit.

• What does Jesus teach about the person and role of the Holy Spirit in the book of John?
• What references are made to the Holy Spirit in 1 John?

Paul teaches on the Holy Spirit, particularly on the issue of gifts in Romans 12, l Corinthians 12 13 and 14. Galatians 5 and Romans 6 are also key.

• What understandings do you feel are significantly related to the person and work of the Holy Spirit?
• What are your conclusions with regard to the person and work of the Holy Spirit?
• What is a spirit-filled Christian?
• How do you interpret living and ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit? Give the scriptural basis for your conclusions.
• How would you recognize genuine Spirit ministry?
• Write your conviction statement on the Holy Spirit.

Gifts & The Body Of Christ

The intent of this study is to understand more fully how God has designed and gifted the body of Christ so that the Christian can live and minister in a community using his or her calling to integrate the gifts in a fruitful way. The study on the person and work of the Holy Spirit should provide information applicable to this study and should be done prior to this one.

Study Romans 12, l Corinthians 12-14, and Ephesians 4:11-13, the primary passages on spiritual gifts.

• What are the gifts in your understanding?
• What are biblical guidelines for the exercise of the gifts?
• Why were the gifts given?
• What principles can you discern from these passages?

Study the passages in Ephesians and Colossians that speak about the body of Christ.

• What is the Body of Christ and how does it function? Include any other passages you feel speak to the issue of the body of Christ.
• What does it mean to be part of the Body?

Optional – Go through Acts and identify various types of churches that functioned and see if there are basic principles that can be applied.

Ministry / Calling Essay

Please reflect on your past and present personal ministry and calling and address the pertinent aspects. You may use any means of your choice, i.e. tape recording, a chart or graph, a piece of artwork, a presentation given to a group, leading a group discussion on the topic, or other.

• How would you express your calling from God?
• How would you describe the type of ministry you feel God is leading you to focus on?
• How would you state your “vision” for ministry to another person?
• How do you feel God wants to use you in the work of His kingdom?
• What history of God’s leading and ministry experiences over the last few years do you feel confirms or disconfirms God’s call to you?

A Story

Recently, David asked the question, “Should I serve the poor?” There are so many needs. I also see all the college students that are without the message of the gospel. Should I go there? My fellow business partners show me every day the ethics that they need Christ in their lives. It is so confusing. Where should I invest my time? Where do I get guidance on this?  His coach showed him this passage from the Bible.

Digging Into The Bible

Galatians 1:7-10:

⁷ On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. ⁸ For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. ⁹ James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.

Many times, when there are so many needs of people, who should we focus on? Where do we go? We hear about needs everywhere from China to Africa. What will help us make a good decision?

Discussion & Discovery

1. What can you learn from this passage?
2. What did he mean that he had been entrusted with the task of preaching to the uncircumcised?
3. Who is the author of this section of verses?
4. Who was Paul sent to? Who was Peter sent to?
5. What is the main point of these thoughts?
6. What impresses you about these comments?

Application & Accountability

1. What do you learn about how God sends us?
2. What confirmation can you receive from others to give you confidence in your life direction?
3. What step could you take to gain further insights into this question?
4. When will you take these steps?

Digging In Deeper

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.
2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?
3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?
4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?

Similar Verses In The Bible

List similar verses in the Bible:

A Story

Often as Joe was leading the ministry, he found himself unable to move in the right direction. He copied other ministry forms but always found himself empty with the results. One day he read Proverbs 29:18 and began to ponder how to develop a vision or clarify where I am going.

Digging Into The Bible

Proverbs 29:18: “Where there is no vision the people perish.” KJV

NOTE: All vision clarity is based on focus. We must have focus in our physical eyesight to see clearly. Likewise, in our spiritual vision, we must have focus.

Discussion & Discovery

1. What thoughts come to your mind from Proverbs 29:18?
2. Why would the people perish if they had no vision?
3. What does the word perish mean? What emotion do you feel when you think of perish?

Application & Accountability

1. What is the vision for your life at this time?
2. What could you do to develop your vision?
3. What would one step be for you to move toward your vision today?

Digging Into The Bible (Part 2)

Jeremiah 9:23-24

It says “Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man of his strength or the rich man of his riches, but let him who boast, boast of this, ‘That he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these I delight.”

Discussion & Discovery (Part 2)

1. What did you discover from this verse that people can get focused on (Boast of)?
2. What should we not boast about?
3. What should we boast about or focus on?
4. How will that focus change the way we see the vision that is in God’s heart?
5. How does knowing God change our focus?

Application & Accountability (Part 2)

1. What does God want us to focus on?
2. What steps can you take to be sure you are focused on what is important to him?
3. How does that impact your present vision clarity?
4. What steps will you take to increase your clarity of vision?

Digging In Deeper

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.
2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?
3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?
4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?

Similar Verses In The Bible

List similar verses in the Bible:

A Story

Henry Nowen was a man who could put his experience into words in such vivid ways. He was preaching in a service at the Crystal Cathedral many years ago, and he shared a message that was riveting about, ‘ WHO AM I ?’ At that time, I was concerned about what I did as a Navigator Staff person. I was concerned about what I did as a pastor and men’s leader. I wanted people to give me approval for all my work. Sometimes, I heard gossip about me that I was too controlling. That made me wonder who I was. I also fretted about what I had. We were in full-time work, and we had little extra cash. We did not have much.  I struggled with all these questions of identity until he shared this passage from Luke and his explanation. It was life-changing.

HENRY  stated that we all are asking the question WHO AM I?

1. How do people measure who they are today?
2. It comes out in three things:
   1. What you do. You are what you do–carpenter, businessman, mom.
   2. What people say about you. If they say positive things, you are good; if not?
   3. What you have. You possess these things, and they make you feel valuable.

As Jesus was answering these questions, he was tempted by the devil to answer it his way.

Digging Into The Bible

Jesus experienced these three issues as temptations in the wilderness in Matthew 4. Look at these three temptations in Matthew 4:1-11:

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word, that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test. Then the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” ¹¹ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The enemy taunted Jesus to do something. “Turn rock to bread.” Jesus responded with scripture, “Man shall not live…”.  The devil wanted him to do something.

Then, the devil tempted Jesus to do something that would give him attention and awe. He wanted him to throw himself off the temple. Jesus responded with good advice.  This temptation is what people will say. The third temptation is to bow down to the devil and the devil would give him everything.  This temptation was about what you have. Jesus responded with scripture, “Worship the Lord God only, and him you serve.”

These are the same things we experience. How do we overcome them? See how the Father prepared him before the temptations. He saw him in Baptism and said, “This is my beloved son. I take great pleasure in him.” Before he faced these temptations, what did God do to prepare him for these temptations? Look back at Luke in the earlier paragraphs.

Luke 3:21-22:

 ²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Discussion & Discovery

1. What did the father tell Jesus about himself?
2. Why was this so important in light of the temptations that were coming to Jesus? To you?
3. What were the three temptations, and how do you relate to them?

Application & Accountability

1. What have you heard from the Father now that you are in Christ?
2. How will you take steps to hear these words every day?
3. What impact will that have on you in seeing how God sees you?
4. How can you make this reality a transformation of how you see yourself?

Digging In Deeper

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.
2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?
3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?
4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?

Similar Verses In The Bible

List similar verses in the Bible:

A Story

In 1985, I attended a conference with Paul Drake. Paul was the Navigator leader and always discussed God’s desire to bless us. He would quote from 2 Corinthians 1:20, which says: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “yes” in Christ.” Wow! What a statement. I was floored when I thought about that. I have read promises in the Bible, but this verse says that in Christ, they are “Yes.” We have a wonderful privilege that as we are in Christ, we can reach out and claim these promises of God in our lives.

Digging Into The Bible

2 Peter 1:3-4

His Divine Power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them we may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires.

Discussion & Discovery

1. What does it mean that he has given us everything for life and godliness?
2. What does God’s only glory and excellence have to do with God’s promises?
3. What will these promises provide for us in the future?
4. What life situations are you experiencing that need God’s promises?

Application & Accountability

1. What is your understanding of how you can claim God’s promises?
2. What will be your steps in going about studying His Word and claiming His promises?
3. When will you work on these steps?

(If you want more resources regarding God’s promises, you can go to Design for Discipleship on NavPress and order Book 3 of the Design for Disciples to study more verses on the Promises of God.)

The Rest of the Story

When I began to believe this, I thought I would claim some promises from God. As I read and studied the promises in the Bible, they came alive to me and I began to make them “MY” promises. One such promise helped my wife and I to trust God for his provision in our work with the ministry of “THE NAVIGATORS” As we were fundraising. We decided, with the Spirit’s help, to claim Hebrews 13:5-6. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Which is a promise from Deuteronomy 31:6) and vs. six says, “So we say with confidence, THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT CAN MAN DO TO ME?  (This promise comes from Ps. 118:6, 7). It was this promise of provision that has sustained my wife, Mary Jane, and me for the last 45 years of ministry.

Digging In Deeper

1. What is the most important part of this lesson to you? Explain.
2. How do you see applying aspects of this lesson to your life?
3. When do you feel would be the best time to make that application?
4. What do you hear the Lord speaking to you about this right now?

Similar Verses In The Bible

List similar verses in the Bible: