Is God Calling You?
Alfred E. Carrozzo (originally published in Tomorrows World
magazine, May 1971; with some scriptural expansion since)
At this very minute God IS calling a people out of
this sin-sick and dying world. It is a wonderful calling for a fantastic
purpose. It is so awe-inspiring that some have difficulty believing it. Perhaps
YOU are being called right now. You need to know, lest you ignore a direct call
from the great God of all the universe. Read this article to find out whether
God is calling YOU!!
THE COMMON idea of today's Christian world is that a
battle is taking place between God and Satan. The idea teaches that God is
trying to get everyone saved, and Satan is trying to get everyone lost. If that
be true, then every honest person will have to admit GOD IS LOSING!
The vast
majority of all people on earth today do not even profess Christianity. Yet,
your Bible says there is no other name under heaven through which we can be
saved (Acts 4:12 12 Nor
is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.). Many
millions of people have lived and died without ever hearing the name of Jesus
Christ. What about those people? What about A little babies that live only a
few hours? Has God caused them to be doomed? What about the millions living
under atheistic Communism? Are they lost forever?
ABSOLUTELY NOT! EVERYONE will have a chance!
Specific Calling Necessary
The shocking fact is, God is not trying to get
everyone saved now! It is a lack of understanding of God's plan that causes the
evangelists to shout: "Give your heart to the Lord before it's too
late!" The inspired Word of God reveals that NO ONE can come to Jesus
Christ UNLESS THE FATHER SPECIFICALLY CALLS HIM (John 6:44 44 No
one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise
him up at the last day.).
In other words, this IS NOT THE ONLY DAY OF
SALVATION!! This is an absolute fact of your Bible.
All those who are not now called, or given a chance
for salvation, will come up in the second resurrection. They will come up as
physical human beings and be given their one and only chance for salvation.
This resurrection takes place one thousand years later, after what Bible
students call "the millennium."
Most professing Christians are in ignorance of this
basic truth. Why such ignorance in an enlightened age? Why can't a people who
bear the name "Christian"
understand the simple statements of the One whom they
claim to follow? It was Jesus Christ who said to His disciples: "... it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it has not been given" (Matthew 13:11). He explained to His intimate
followers that they had been called. He said: "... I chose you out of the world" (John 15:19).
The Bible is filled with positive PROOF that all
Christians must receive a divine call from God.
Understanding Clouded
Astounding as it may seem, God has deliberately
clouded the meaning of His message so the vast majority cannot understand. God
explains in Isaiah 28:10-13: "For
precept must be upon
precept, precept upon precept, Line upon line, line upon line, Here a little,
there a little.
... That
they might go and fall backward, and be broken And snared and caught.
God purposely wrote His Word so that it could be
misunderstood. He intended that only those whom He is calling and choosing will
understand.
Do you understand God's Word? Is God calling yon? How
can you know?
How God Calls and Chooses
Many misunderstand how God calls. Some feel God calls
by means of an audible voice. Others feel it is done by drastic intervention,
such as accidents or fires. Still others desire a "good feeling all
over" to be assured of a calling.
What is the truth? How does God call? Have you been
called and chosen of God? The answer is really very easy to understand. Simply
stated, God calls by His Gospel and through the Power of His Holy Spirit.
The Gospel is the good news of the coming government
of God and is recorded in the Bible God's Word to mankind. Through the power
of His Holy Spirit, God opens the minds of those He is calling so they can
understand the plain truths of His Gospel message. God's Spirit begins to work
in a special way with those whom He is calling.
What God's Spirit Will Do
How is the Spirit of God manifested in those whom He
is calling? How does the Spirit of God work upon and through the human mind?
Initially, the Spirit of God will lead the one being
called to believe He exists! In this age of skepticism
and doubt, it is chic to deny the existence of God. But if God's Spirit is
working with you, it will be impossible for you to deny God's existence. It is
a sign that God may be calling you!
Also, God's Spirit will guide you to prove and
profoundly believe the Bible is the inspired Word of Gad God's Instruction
Book to mankind. God's Spirit will lead you to know, "16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16.)
How can anyone really believe the Bible if he feels
portions are uninspired? Yet, this is exactly what many "Christians,"
so called, believe today! Some regard the Old Testament purely as historical
literature. Some go so far as to teach that the hook of Revelation is the
writing of a man obsessed with hallucinations.
Others say only the epistles of Paul should be
accepted. WHAT NONSENSE!
All this doctrinal confusion is a direct result of
choosing certain portions of the Bible to believe refusing to accept all
Scripture as given by inspiration of God.
We either believe ALL the Bible, or none of it. It's
as simple as that. JESUS Christ said: "
the
Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35). He said the Scriptures make a complete
chain they do not contradict one another. Yet, books have been written to
expose assumed Bible contradictions. But Jesus said Scripture does not
contradict itself.
Every supposed contradiction is the result of either a
mistranslation or a misinterpretation. Unless you approach the Scriptures with
this truth, you cannot hope to grasp the full meaning of God's Word. You will
fool yourself into believing the Bible is full of contradictions and cannot be
depended upon.
If you believe the Bible is God's Word that all
Scripture is given by inspiration of God and that "the scripture cannot
be broken," God may be calling you!
Another way God's Spirit guides those whom God is
calling is to inspire them to take God at His word believe He says what He
means and means what He says.
Those whom God is calling through His Holy Spirit will
believe the simple statements recorded in the Bible without coloring
them with a myriad of preconceived ideas.
If God is calling you, His Spirit will lead you to
believe Christ did not come to do away with God's Law but to fulfill and
perform it (Matthew 5:17 17 Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.). You will believe the Kingdom of Heaven is not in
heaven, but here on earth. You will believe the plain statement that the meek
shall inherit the earth not heaven (Matthew 5:3, 5 3Blessed are the
poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 5 Blessed are the
meek, For they shall inherit the earth.).
If God's Spirit is working with you and calling you,
you will reject the pagan idea of an immortal soul. You will believe the
statement in Ezekiel 18:4, 20, (4 Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well
as the soul of the son is Mine;
The soul who sins shall die. 20 The soul
who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the
father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be
upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.) that the soul is not immortal but can die!
(Read our FREE reprint, "Do You Have an Immortal Soul??")
You will begin to understand that virtually everything
you have been taught about the Bible is probably the antithesis of the actual
truth. Space will permit only the above few examples, but there are many dozens
and scores of misunderstandings about what God actually says which could be
pointed out.
If the Spirit of God is leading you, it will direct
you to understand the plain truths of His Word.
In addition, God's Spirit will show you that you
should NEVER try to interpret the Bible: "... no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation" (2 Peter 1:20).
Many cannot understand Scripture because they have not
learned the Bible interprets itself! Many supposed contradictions occur because
men have not learned to let the Bible interpret itself. Through diligent and
earnest study, we can understand perplexing verses only in the light of other
scriptures.
For example, Revelation 12:3 (3 And another sign appeared in
heaven: behold, a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and
seven diadems on his heads.) mentions
a "great red dragon" with seven heads and ten horns. There have been
many interpretations of this verse. Some say the dragon is the false prophet.
Others say it is the beast. Still others claim the dragon is mysterious
symbolism picturing Red Russia or some form of Communism. But none of these
interpretations is right.
God doesn't tell us in verse three what the great red
dragon is. Reading verse three alone we would have to conclude we just don't
know. Or we would have to come up with an interpretation. Or we could LET THE
BIBLE INTERPRET ITSELF!
If we choose to let the Bible interpret itself, all we
need do to KNOW what the red dragon represents is to read verse nine. In verse
nine God reveals that the dragon is "that
serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan."
If God is calling you, His Spirit will eventually lead
you to believe every statement of the Bible, and you will let the Bible
interpret itself! But this isn't all.
God's Spirit will lead those whom He is calling to LIVE
BY EVERY WORD OF GOD! (Matthew 4:4. 4 But He answered and said, It is written, Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth
of God.) To really understand the Bible, it is
paramount to live by every word of God, not just some portions or pet
doctrines. Most professing Christians accept some Bible truths, but for the
most part, they walk in dismal error. How can they live by the Word of God when
they don't even know what it says? It is an appalling fact that the majority of
professing Christians can't even name the first four books of the New Testament
the four Gospel accounts the Gospel which they must believe!
Candidly speaking, nearly ALL professing Christians
are NOT WILLING to live by every word of God. Some deliberately reject all but
a relatively small portion which has no bearing on their personal lives. God
gives understanding only to those who are willing to live by all of His Word!
Another way God uses His Spirit to call His people is
by convicting and convincing them of His way. If God is calling you, you will
begin to fully understand the Bible for the first time. You will begin to read
and study the Bible with the appetite of a starving giant. And you will come to
see there is a way that seems right to a man but ends in death (Proverbs 14:12 12 There
is a way that seems right
to a man,
But its end is the way of death.).
Man's way is the grasping, greedy, selfish way of
"getting." It is a "do unto others before they have a chance to
do it unto you" philosophy. It is the way of lust, envy, strife, murder,
jealousy, wrath, drunkenness, revelings and the like.
It is the cause of all man's troubles, heartaches and sorrows. It is the reason
for the wretched conditions we see on earth today.
If God is calling you, His Spirit will convince you to
begin to candidly, honestly, wholeheartedly admit you have been going man's
way, the way that leads to death. You will begin to dedicate your whole life to
God and His way. You will say, and mean it, "Thy will be done." You
will repent!
Through Bible study and close contact with God, you
will begin to see the whole world really is on' the brink of cosmocide because of man's way. You will come to know
assuredly man is reaching the end of his rope. Man desperately needs help. And
God is the only one who really has the answers to all this world's problems.
The answer to man's problems is simply to follow God's
way of love the way of outgoing concern the way of giving, sharing, helping
the way of doing unto others as you would have them do unto you. It is the
way to real happiness, joy, peace, contentment the way of gentleness, goodness,
meekness and self-control. It is based on the principle Christ gave to His
disciples that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
If God is calling, convicting and convincing you of
His way, you will begin to have inner peace. You will begin to fully trust God
to solve the world's problems through His way of love. You will know and
realize God truly has the answers. You will rejoice in the fact that God is
giving the answers to those He is calling.
And then you will begin to comprehend that God is
calling some now for a specific purpose. You will realize it is a specific
calling for a specific Work. It is a special commission. It is a commission to
preach the true Gospel of the Kingdom of God to all the world as a witness
before the end of this age. It is a commission to teach all nations to believe
everything Jesus Christ has commanded His true followers. It is a commission
and a Work designed to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers to keep mankind from destroying
himself! (Matthew 24:14, 21, 22 14 And this
gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the
nations, and then the end will come. 21 For then
there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of
the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And
unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elects
sake those days will be shortened. and Malachi 4:6. 6 And
he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the
children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.)
If God is calling you, you will begin to
wholeheartedly have a part in doing His Work. You will realize this tremendous
knowledge of God's way is desperately needed by all the world. You will come to
fully understand and know God's own physical people are actually being
destroyed for a lack of this knowledge (Hosea 4:6 6 My
people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have
forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.). You will see the urgent need to have a
part in the very Work that is disseminating this vital knowledge this Gospel
message of God's way to all the world. You will zealously take part in the Work
that is teaching all nations the way of peace, happiness and joy brimful and running over.
You will have the desire to GIVE, to share with and to
help this wretched world. You will put your whole heart into God's Work. You
will completely dedicate yourself to having a part in warning the world of the
dramatic events to occur just before the close of this age. Soon you will
realize nothing else matters.
This world is lost in a hopeless morass of confusion,
wretchedness and depravity. Any thinking person will admit it can't go on much
longer. You can have a part in telling the world today about the wonderful World
Tomorrow. If God is calling you, you can rejoice in the fact that you can help
spread the knowledge to all the world that God Himself is going to intervene in
the affairs of mankind and save the world. You will be thrilled to have a part
in telling the world there is a better tomorrow that God does care that God
will act.
And when you think how upside down marriages can be
put right-side up, how you can have a part in turning the hearts of the fathers
to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, to bridge the
generation gap, cement the family unit, you will rejoice.
If you have a part in God's Work, you will take great
satisfaction in the knowledge that you are helping teach the world how to have
happy homes, happy children, happy marriages and everything good in a full and
abundant, happy life. You will even be willing to sacrifice to have a part in
helping this world understand God's way.
If God is calling you, please understand it is a
fantastic, almost overwhelming calling to help save humanity by sacrificing to
give this world what it needs most God's way, that leads to life.
Is God Calling You?
If you, through The WORLD TOMORROW broadcast, The
WORLD TOMORROW telecast, The PLAIN TRUTH and the pages of this magazine, are
beginning to believe the Bible means exactly what it says if the Gospel
message is perceived by you to be God's personal message to you if you see
your way is wrong if you desire to give, share and help this world then YOU
ARE BEING CALLED OF GOD!
You are being called right now through the pages of
this magazine. Are you going to heed that call? Are you going to respond to
God's Holy Spirit and accept the truths you have been receiving?
Are you willing to live by every word of God believe
the Gospel and respond to the call from Almighty God to be among the
firstfruits in His Kingdom?
Remember, those whom God is calling will have a part
in saving this chaotic world. They will have a part in preaching this final
warning message to this dying world before the end of this age. They will have
a part in picturing the wonderful World Tomorrow. They will have a part in
turning "The hearts of the fathers
to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:5-6).
And finally, they will have a part in the Kingdom of
God as kings and priests under Jesus Christ who will be here on this earth
ruling all nations as King of kings and Lord of lords.
It is a fantastic calling you now have. No wonder Paul
was inspired to write in Hebrews 2:1-3: Therefore we must give the more earnest
heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and
every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how
shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation.
The call is out! It is a wonderful calling! You have
heard, and read, and seen. The next move is yours!
Those who wish to learn more about this may wish to read the article What is Your Destiny? Deification? Did the Early Church Teach That Christians Would Become God? and/or watch the video What is Your Destiny?
To learn more about living as Christian, please study the article Living as a Christian: How and Why? and How to Prevent Sin. There is also a YouTube video available that is called Living as a Christian: How and Why?
Note: The old Worldwide Church of God no longer exists and the group that took it over would not make Herbert Armstrong era writings available, even when I offered to pay. So the above article is freely shown in the public interest. The most faithful remnant of his old church is the Continuing Church of God.