” But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9
I love to share what God is doing in my world and with those around me and this one seems like it needs to be shared as well. Fellowshipping and working with many guys like me that had fallen from grace and then later were called out of darkness to proclaim what God has done for me has showed me that God seems to always follow a pattern. The same things and feelings continue to show up in all our lives and it is no coincidence. So how do you know if what you feel is God calling you out of Darkness or just a simple sense of euphoria as you now have something else to live for. I believe that that are seven (7) clear signs that God has called you and want to share those with you today.
Are You Called Out of Darkness?
As I have been discussing this and other topics with other Godly men. We seem to have the same stories in many ways and that God has show them the same things at different times of their transition and I have found seven (7) ways that show without a doubt that God has changed you, called you to do his work, and that you are ready to share your testimony to help other men not live without God anymore. Here are the seven.
The first one can be as simple all of a sudden you will be uncomfortable with sin. I clearly remember the day that this happened to me. I had asked God to “reset me” back to his factory settings in a few (3) specific areas and a day or two later the opportunity to sin that way came up again and as I contemplated doing it, I had the almost uncontrollable urge to vomit and became sick to my stomach. There is a natural enzyme called Disulfiram that is given to people who cannot stop drinking and it makes them sick if they have even on drink. This reminds me of the gift that the Holy Spirit has given me when i feel sick over sin. I imgine it feels the same as an alcoholic drinking on Disulfiram. This still happens to me to this day in areas where I used to covet or commit offenses against God and I’m so grateful for this “gut check”.
Another powerful and clear way that God shows you that you are called out of darkness is that you will all of a sudden feel like you don’t fit in or can’t “stomach” sinful environments any longer. I recall this happening the first time about 18 months ago. I was offered a consulting agreement with a business owner who is very wealthy and works in the adult entertainment industry. I felt immediately like I didn’t belong and had to flee or get out of the small group of business owners that were networking together. In the past for sure I would have taken that job and lied to myself and God that I was doing it “because people in that industry need to see and hear about God”. Yeah right…..when you hear that, just know that you are deceived. You cannot serve two masters. That owner couldn’t understand how I turned that offer down, but that is ok because I do and so does God.
A third clear way that we have all experienced God calling us out of darkness is that the things of this earth no longer are the driving force in our lives and in fact we began to lose interest in them at all. For me certain things like boating and going out with others held no joy for me and I knew that it had to be supernatural. The only joy I used to have in my life was the joy that I had when being out of the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I was recently reminded of what it was like to covet and idolize money and the false sense of security it provides and was so grateful that it no longer chokes me. Now my alone time is filled with time in the Bible or with other believers and is what drives me and gets me energized again. The change has been dramatic.
Yet another way that God has show us our calling is that we have all felt that living for or doing things that we know are against Gods will or laws seems pointless and even dangerous. Without going into too much detail here, I have a story where I had the opportunity on multiple occasions to do things when I was separated yet still legally married and married in Gods eyes that I knew God would not approve of. The thought of appeasing my fleshly desires and loneliness again made me sick to my stomach but also in this case made me very afraid. I guess what the Bible talks about must be true as it relates to “fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12). See, when I did whatever I wanted to, it ended up costing me everything that I loved and the thought of this happening again scared me to death and made me never want to disobey gods law every again. If you don’t have a scared level of respect for God and what sin against Him does, just read Romans 1:18-32 and find out for yourself what can happen.
A fifth clear sign to all of us was that I began to crave and desire something that I couldn’t understand. I craved something that I knew the world could not offer. The world cannot offer you joy when life is hard. You can only find true joy when your heart is filled with the love of Jesus. When you know, you know…..The world will tell you to just find someone else when lonely you will be fine but the loneliness returns as soon as those you choose let you down or aren’t what you thought. The world will tell you to find your identity in your work and your “purpose” but when you find your purpose in God and know that He created you for a specific purpose for His kingdom, you will know peace like no other (Genesis 1:27, Matthew 7:17-20, Luke 10:27). I pray that everyone reading this comes to know this peace like I have.
The next and maybe most powerful sign that God has us in his light is that He will reveal to us that the hole in our life that we tried to fill with everything in this earth can only be filled by Him and his Love for us. All of us that discussed this can clearly remember what they were doing when they had this realization. In this group I have seen massive lifelong addictions overcome almost immediately. I have seen family curses broken that have plagued families for decades of even centuries. I have seen doomed marriages restored. I have watched men like myself who only lived for themselves reach the end of themselves and turn their life fully over to God and His will. No amount of booze, money, people, earthly desires or lusts will ever fill that hole that is intended for God to be in in your life. You will always want more. If you have never seen this transformation in someone, I encourage you to pray an intercessory prayer for that person that you would like to see this happen for and watch what God can do!
The last thing that we all share in common that makes us aware of our calling is that all of us are on fire for Jesus and want to know more about who we can hear “well done my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21). For me I have grown to fill my alone and down time with sermons from men that are also on fire for God like Tony Evans and others. I get fired up by knowing the will of God and knowing that I am obeying his word. Jesus says “if you love me, feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17) and if you love me you will obey my commands (John 14:15). This is my only desire on this planet other than teaching my children how to live the same way!
Summary
I know for a fact that I was called out of darkness and that part of God’s mission for me is to show my children and others that will listen what I have learned so that they too may be free. We are all called to serve God not ourselves but the “Harvest is plenty, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37-38). That means that far too many in this world will choose to not lay down their selfish desires to do God’s will. But will you? Many people think that there are many ways to get to heaven but there is only one way (John 14:14). Jesus said 3 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). Will you find the narrow path or continue to choose the world?
