I was once watching a Bethel Music Worship Set led by my favourite Steffany Gretzinger, Jeremy Riddle and Lindy Conant. The set had gotten to the place of surrender with Steffany singing out “When you call, I’ll answer.” When suddenly, Lindy bursts forth with this spontaneous chorus of surrender and sanctification:

I will love you with my yes
And with my obedience
I will love you with my yes
Jesus

The song stirred me deeply. It resonated within me as my spirit said a whole hearted “yes!” to the Lord. In that short time of about five minutes, more than half of her next single release, ‘Obedience’ was downloaded to her. Just amazing.

Whenever the Lord needs something done anywhere, He looks around, identifies someone whom He then calls out. There are many definitions for the word ‘call’ depending on the context used. In our context, we will use this definition.

Call: to summon to a particular activity, employment, or office

Callings come in different ways but are calls all the same. Abraham received his in a command to leave Daddy’s apartment. Samuel received his as young boy whilst asleep (1 Samuel 3:3-14). Elisha’s was a throwing of an overcoat (1 Kings 19:19), the prophet Isaiah’s a vision (Isaiah 2) and Jesus’ disciples’ in a simple “follow me”. Though the methods were different, the underlying principle was that there was a summoning from normal and mundane daily activities to a divine call. And there was a decision that needed to be made – to respond positively or turn the other way. In these days, the Lord is still summoning His people. He is still calling different people into various activities and employment. Will you answer your call?

THE SANCTIFICATION PROCESS
We often make the mistake of regarding the five offices – Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher and Pastor as the only callings. Immediately, I say I have a calling on my life, people begin to think in that direction. A calling can be anything. It is a divine assignment given to you in any area of life. For instance, some people are called not to any of the five-fold ministries though they can preach and teach but are rather called to finance the work of the Kingdom on earth. For such a person releasing funds for the Kingdom projects is his ministry. If this person can also preach and teach like a pastor, he may make the mistake of assuming he is called to be one.

Just as jobs vary in job description and expertise needed, in the same way, callings differ in description and expertise needed. Therefore, training differ from person to person and from assignment to assignment. The Holy Spirit takes us through the training process in order to be effective in our call. Therefore, communication and relationship with the Lord is very necessary. If you are determined to follow God’s plan for your life, you need to seek Him actively. By actively, I mean a consistent and intentional effort to seek His presence. This goes beyond your daily quiet time and occasional prayer moments. It calls for a fast. It calls for prolonged periods of prayer. It calls for intense Bible studies. It sounds serious but yeah that is what it is. This is because our world is a very loud place. Loud not only in noise but also in its lifestyle, opinions and attractions. If you are passive and unintentional about God’s call on your life, you will easily be distracted by busyness and daily life happenings. You must be intentional in this process. You will not accidentally stumble into it. The Lord must reveal it to you.

It is in that place of intentional pursuit of God that you will find the course of your personal sanctification. Your heart will be revealed and the process of molding Christ in you will begin. It calls for whole hearted obedience and sacrifice. But the end is glory. He who He justifies, He glorifies. There is grace – divine ability for your inability – provided for this journey. Grab on tight and enjoy the ride.

ANSWERING THE CALL
Every call is meant to be answered. If the caller did not want an answer, he would not have called in the first place. When a call is given, we either answer yes or no or we don’t answer at all. The Lord seeks those who will answer positively to His calls. There are also those who do not respond because they do not hear the Lord’s call or if they do they cannot identify him as the caller. Let’s look at the young boy Samuel.
When Samuel was a young boy, the Lord begun to call him.

“that the LORD called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. Now the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.””

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭3:4, 9-10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Now because the boy did not know the Lord, though he heard the call, he answered to someone else. Many times because of the lack of depth in relationship with the Lord, we may have a vague feeling that there is more for us than what we are doing now. It is at this realization that we must pursue after God. It often happens that because we are unable to identify who is calling us, we tend to further immerse ourselves into academics, business and other things to fulfill that sense of purpose. But I would like to let you know that, that is the Lord calling, tugging at your heart to draw your attention. When little Samuel kept going to Eli, Eli knew that it was the Lord and he instructed the boy on what to do. If this is what is going on with you, then you must get this, doing different jobs or studying harder is not the way to go. The way to go is to turn your attention to the Lord and answer Him.

The answer is “Yes Lord, I’m here to listen and do whatever you say.” That is the beginning of the process the Lord would take us through. His initial word to Samuel was about what would happen in later years but he did not tell the boy that he would lead Israel. That would have scared the boy. God was looking for a new leader who would lead His people like He would. He was looking for one who would represent Him. In his initial encounter with Samuel, He didn’t mention it. The point is this – after answering the call, there is a process of God revealing His purpose in steps. He does not give away all that is in His mind. He trains and molds you after Himself as He reveals Himself to you. Without revelation of certain aspects of God, we cannot function effectively in those areas. The ultimate of God’s call is to be like Him in the area that He calls you to. To accomplish this, the Lord takes us through the process of sanctification.

THE COST OF ANSWERING

“Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.””
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II Corinthians‬ ‭6:17-18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Separation can be a very lonely place. When there is an infectious disease outbreak, patients are placed under isolation and potential patients are placed under quarantine. This is to prevent them from infecting their loved ones and community. Think of sanctification in this manner but in a reversed way. God calls you out of the community so that they wouldn’t ‘infect’ you. Human ideas and philosophy do not belong in God’s agenda. They will only pollute it. God brings you out to teach you His way of thinking. But this separation will cost you a lot.

• It may cost you your family: Family relationships are one of the best relationships God has given us. In the above scripture, the Lord says, “I will be a Father to you…”. There would be no need for that if it were not possible that your father may abandon you in the process. Samuel was sanctified to the Lord at birth. After he was weaned from breast-feeding, he was taken to the house of God. He knew no mother’s lap or father’s chest. He knew no sibling rivalry and I wonder if he had the time to crush on a girl in his teenage years. Many heroes of faith had to leave their families behind and even now, many men of God went against their parents wishes to serve God.
• It will cost you friends and acquaintances: Noah, in his days, was ridiculed as crazy because of the mandate God had given him. The place of sanctification can be a lonely place where no one seems to understand or connect with your passion.
• It may cost you your source of finance: Many full time ministers lose their income because of God’s call. They are called in his service alone.
• It may cost you your social standing
• It may cost you your personal goals and dreams
  But in all this costing, there is a payment.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”
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Romans‬ ‭8:18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

What we consider as suffering or cost is not comparable to the glory that will be manifested in us, not in heaven only, but here on earth also. When we are able to grow through this process of sanctification completely, the glory that will be revealed in us cannot be compared to the previous cost. This is why we must press on. This is why we must fully commit to our Trainer because our end is glory.

Thank you for joining us on our sanctification journey. You can also follow the series on our podcast outlets, Facebook and Instagram. God bless you.