We are on the topic of ‘calling.’ Calling or mission! It is quite a heavy topic which is why some people may think, “Is it even relevant to me?” However, before we are weighed down by the word “calling,” we ought to ponder over its meaning. The word “calling” carries a meaning of ‘solemn duty.’ A solemn duty! A solemn duty that must be carried out even at the cost of one’s life! “You are charged with a calling!” This sentence can sound very heavy. However, if we changed the wording and asked, “Do you have a duty that you must carry out with all your life?” then you may nod your head to that.

We have been charged with a duty. This is not what we came up with; rather the Lord charged us with it. If anyone does not know this, he will not have a sense of responsibility, which means he cannot fulfill his calling. A sense of responsibility is not something we can have simply because we want to. By God bestowing His grace on us and thus understanding the mystery of that grace, we come to have a sense of responsibility.

The person who understands that mystery will get sent. Remember I said that the person who is sent is the one with a calling. “The messenger went as he was sent.” This is the original meaning of “calling.” After Jesus was resurrected, what did He say when He appeared to His disciples? “Peace be with you!” Then He said, “As the Father has sent Me, so also I send you!”

Jesus was fully aware that He was sent by the Father, and His ministry was about making this truth known. This is very important. Because we attain eternal life when we know this truth. “Whoever hears My words and believes in the One who sent Me has been moved from death to life.” To make known the One who sent Him was Jesus’ work

What did Jesus say after He said, “I send you!?” He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” What does that mean? What is the objective of sending the Holy Spirit? To send them out. Therefore, everyone who has received the Holy Spirit has been sent. Every saint is sent. It is not finished once we believe in Jesus and are saved. We have to receive the Holy Spirit and have power so that we can be sent.

How can one be sent? Jesus said, “You will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth!” In this way, whoever received the Holy Spirit has already been sent. It is erroneous to think that one has never been sent by anyone. Every work done through the Holy Spirit is carried out as the work of the one who is sent. None of it is done by one’s own initiative. To say, “I received the Holy Spirit,” means the same as saying, “I have been sent!”

Who is it that sent us? Jesus said, “All authority of heaven and earth has been given to Me!” These words He said before ascending to heaven. The Father gave all the authority of heaven and earth to Jesus. The authority of heaven was given to Him as well as the authority of the earth, that is, Hades. Who originally had the authority of the earth? It was the devil. But Jesus destroyed the authority of the devil and ascended to heaven where He rules over also. He is the One who sent us. The One with authority of heaven and earth sent us.

Therefore, who will take responsibility for the ones being sent? The One who sent them. When a soldier goes out to war, does he pack his own lunch box from home? When you serve in the military, does your mum cook and send you meals every day? The army provides you will food and clothing. Why? The soldier is not fighting because he wants to; he is commissioned to fight. Therefore, the one that commissioned him will feed him, clothe him, and take responsibility for him. With this in mind, it is ridiculous to ask one’s family for financial support while in the army. Yet, since the conditions for our country’s army are poor and inadequate, some seek help from family.

The One who called and sent us has the authority of heaven and earth. He is King. The King sent us. Whatever we do, in whose authority do we do them? Yes, by the King’s authority. It is by the authority of the Master of heaven, by the authority of the One who rules over the earth! Therefore, we have no fears when we cast out demons and pray for the sick. It does not matter what our current state looks like, whether we prayed a lot or not. Of course, it is better to pray more, but even if we did not pray as much, the charge we received still stands. Therefore, regardless of our circumstances, we can lay hands on the sick when we see one, and curse the demons when we meet those oppressed by demons. That is when the King does His work. The ones sent are not personally accountable nor should they worry because the King will take responsibility.

As Jesus sent His disciples He said, “When you enter Jerusalem, you will find a person carrying a water jar. Say to him, ‘Prepare the room’, and he will show you the room.” On another occasion, He told them to go to the village, untie, and bring the donkey to Him. If anyone asked, “Why are you taking it?” He told them to say that the Lord needs it. If they are taking someone else’s donkey, would the owner let them just because they said, “The Lord needs it?” The owner would call the disciples a thief. However, the owner let them take it. Why? Because the Lord sent them with the King’s authority. It was not because the disciples were tactful. It was because they were under the authority who sent them. Hence, if anyone has been sent, the authority of the One who sent him will be operating in him.

Jesus’ 70 disciples went out and preached before receiving the Holy Spirit. They healed the sick. However, that was not their own power. At that time, they did not even have the right to pray yet. The angels that helped them were not their angels, but whose? The angels of Jesus followed them and helped them. In other words, they experienced these things when they worked according to the Lord’s command, regardless of their efforts or merits.

A long time ago, when Pastor Ki-Dong Kim was holding a crusade for several days, he was requested by someone because a person had died. Yet, because of the crusade, he himself could not go. So, he sent a young man instead. “You go instead!” Do you think the young man had any experiences? Nevertheless, he went and prayed, and the dead person came to life. That young man worked under the authority of Pastor Ki-Dong Kim. Although the young man went and prayed for that person, when we speak of that event, we should not say, “That young man raised the dead!” Rather, we should say, “Pastor Ki-Dong Kim raised the dead” because Pastor Ki-Dong Kim sent the young man. It is very unlikely that the same miracle would have been done if the young man went without being sent.

A prophet had a servant called Gehazi and this servant pursued after Naaman without his master’s knowledge. He went without being sent, and although he was able to get the money he was after, he was later cursed on account of that deed. This is how different it is between the one sent and the one that is not.

Let us say a grandfather tells his little grandson, “Go tell those older boys to play somewhere else!” Then, his little grandson would go and speak to the boys as the one sent by his grandfather, with his grandfather’s authority. In this instance, the older boys would listen. But if he were to say that in his own words, he would get beaten by the boys.

If we are fully aware of our positions as those who have been sent, there is nothing for us to lose. People want to work by their own authority, but it is more beneficial for us when we do the work while acknowledging that we have been sent because the One who sent us is so magnificent. It is important to understand that we must go because of the One who sent us and do so with all of our will. If we recognize that the work we are doing is not by ourselves but because we have been sent, how can we possibly do it rashly? It is the task entrusted to us by the magnificent and Most High One. Hence, we should not only have the sense of duty as the ones who are sent but also recognize that the One who sent us will take care of us and lay down all of our worries. We need not worry because the One who sent us will take care of us.

However, we have times of struggle. While knowing that we have been sent and thus doing the work entrusted, we sometimes judge saying, “His instructions are not appropriate. He doesn’t have the correct understanding.” And some people don’t do the work according to the will of the One that sent them but their own ideas. But please do not do that.

If you find it hard to understand the intention of the One who sent you and therefore hard to follow, then ask to be given understanding. The one sending you is saying, “Go forward.” Yet, if you do not obey but say, “I will go backward,” God cannot use you. If you really cannot understand His will, you can confirm by asking, “I think that backward is the way to go. But can you confirm if it really is forwards that I should be going?” The One who sends you answers, “Yes, it’s not backward but forwards you have to go!” If that is the case, you have to trust the One sending you, rather than insist on your own judgment although backward seemed right to you. We have to trust that He knows far more than we do and that He can see farther than we can, and follow Him.

It is possible to have a pleasing outcome by doing your will rather than that of the one who sent you. However, such a person cannot be used further. It would be best if the person sent thoroughly understood the will of the one who sent him. If so, he would not need to be told each time, “Do this. Do that” because he knows the will of the one who sent him and carries out the work accordingly. The next best scenario is to do exactly as the one who sent him commanded him. And the worst scenario is not doing as told by the one who sent him.

The person who is sent ought to do the will of the one who sent him. Even when he cannot understand that will he must do so. When he does, the one who sent him will assume full responsibility of him. If He said, “Bring the donkey to me,” then no matter how awkward the situation might be, we must not worry thinking, “What if I am accused as a thief in doing so?” By saying the words, “The Lord needs it,” we will see the owner of the donkey submit.

We are not accustomed to being submissive. Ever since we were growing up, we are not trained to be sent. We constantly have the urge to do our own will. We have the want to go ahead of the will of the one who sent us. For we are not used to doing this, we have to overcome by the Holy Spirit. Let us pray together. “Lord, help me to be the one that You can send comfortably” through us.