The Calling

The question that I am asked most often about our calling to Seattle is "how do you KNOW God told you to go?"  That's a great question and is not easy to answer.  I have never received a letter in the mail from our Lord.  I have never heard his audible voice in the air and have never seen Him in visible form standing in front of me.  However, I can say with great certainty that when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords talks to you, you just know it.  His voice and message isn't like anything that you'd experience in real life.  It might be a thought that pops into your head that goes against the grain of how you normally think.  It might happen as you are reading the Bible and a particular passage seems to leap off of the page and smack you in the face, almost as though the author wrote it just for you.  Sometimes it happens in conversations with other individuals, particularly other believers, when something is said that just gets your attention.  It even can be in things you listen to such as music.  Our Lord is very creative in how He speaks to us, but he speaks all the same.  Most people miss it because they aren't listening and aren't seeking.  His calling to Seattle was one that was so clear from the beginning that it couldn't be missed.

When you look at this material, you may question it.  Your initial thoughts may be that this doesn't say the same things to you as it did to me.  That is normal.  Remember that this was God's personal calling on our family, and as such was tailored to our ears.  I simply am sharing it so others can see how He spoke to me.

To recap, we already felt a strong pull toward the Northwest prior to this mission trip.  Our primary objectives in going were to see what it was all about and to share the Gospel.  I can't explain it in super clear terms, but as time went by from May of 2009 forward, the pull on our hearts became stronger and stronger even though we hadn't ever gone back to the area.

While in Tacoma, I woke up early one morning to go work out.  I had downloaded an album by Josh Garrels, thinking that it was just good music.  While listening to it that morning as I worked out, I heard the following verse in the song as though the volume had been turned up on me suddenly:

Child the time has come for you to go
You will never be alone
Every dream that you have been shown
Will be like living stone
Building you into a home
A shelter from the storm

As it turns out (and I didn't know it at the time), Josh Garrels is a strong Christian and this song is about the Great Commission.

8/13 -I was reading Experiencing God at the time, and came to Reality #5:  God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads to a crisis of belief.  I began to question whether God was talking to me about Washington or whether it was me. 

Then I happened to read Deuteronomy 12:8-11.   

⁸ “Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, ⁹ because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. ¹⁰ But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you’re living safely in the land, ¹¹ you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.

8/13 - Received several articles from Brian Harper via email.  In a nutshell, they made the point that it is ALL of our jobs to share Christ with the nations.  References Luke 10:2

² These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.

8/15 Deuteronomy 12:4;  20- in response to an internal question I had about how I would provide for our family if we were to move to Seattle.

²⁰ “When the Lord your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want.

 ⁴ “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. ⁵ Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.

8/16- Read Experiencing God chapter on spiritual gifts.  Made the point that we look at spiritual gifts the wrong way.  Our job is to look for where God is working and join Him. We knew that God was clearly working in the Seattle area.

8/19- While running one morning I listened to another Josh Garrels song called "Beyond the Blue."  Again, it was as though the volume turned up suddenly and I heard this:

 Sometimes the only way to return is to go,
Where the winds will take you

And to let go, of all, you cannot hold onto
For the hope, beyond,the blue 

I immediately burst into tears and had to stop running.

8/20- Deuteronomy 18:6 - A call to go and minister in His name.

⁶ “Suppose a Levite chooses to move from his town in Israel, wherever he is living, to the place the Lord chooses for worship. ⁷ He may minister there in the name of the Lord his God, just like all his fellow Levites who are serving the Lord there. ⁸ He may eat his share of the sacrifices and offerings, even if he also receives support from his family.

8/23  John 12:24-26- A call to die to myself and let go of my life.

²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. ²⁵ Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. ²⁶ Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me.

8/28  1 Corinthians 2:9- The Lord assuring us that He has a plan in Seattle.
⁹ That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him.^"

^{Joshua 1: 6-9- The Lord telling us to go and don't be afraid.}

⁶ “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. ⁷ Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. ⁸ Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. ⁹ This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

9/3 -  God's reassurance that we're supposed to completely die to ourselves and serve Him.

Romans 6:13-
¹³ Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

Romans 10:13-16

¹³ For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”^[g]
14 But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? ¹⁵ And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”^[h]

9/29 - God telling us specifically how we should live while in Seattle.

2 Corinthians 6:3-10

³ We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. ⁴ In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. ⁵ We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. ⁶ We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us,^[a] and by our sincere love. ⁷ We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. ⁸ We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. ⁹ We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. ¹⁰ Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.