The Condition Of A Calling - Jen Timberlake

In this powerful message from Acts chapter 7, Pastor Jen Timberlake walks us through Stephen’s defense of the faith and Moses’ encounter with God in the wilderness. Through Moses’ life, we discover that calling is not determined by age, circumstance, culture, or past failure—but by our response to God. This message invites us to see, stand in awe, and draw near when God calls, even (and especially) in wilderness seasons.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, I'm Tim Timmerlake, and I want to thank you so much for listening to the Celebration Church podcast. I hope this message encouraged you, strengthened your faith, and gave you something you can carry into your week. If you'd like to stay connected, I encourage you to join us live every Sunday at 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. on YouTube. We would love to have you there. And if you're ever in the Jacksonville, Florida area, come see us in person. We have a seat safe for you. Thanks again for being with us. We're so grateful for you. And see you next time.

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If you're here for the first time this morning, or maybe you're tuning in online and you've never tuned in with us, my name is Pastor Jen Timberlake. Thank you. It's okay. We give God glory in this house. It's not about who stands on the platform, but I am not my husband, though our hair is very similar lengths. I am so grateful, honored to serve this house alongside my husband and our entire team here at Celebration Church. We want to welcome you this morning. We're gonna be in Acts chapter 7. Surprise! We're still in it. Um, and we're gonna be at verse 30. I'm gonna read the scripture this morning, then I'm gonna pray. You guys can be seated once I pray. But this scripture is so personal to me, and I'm so grateful. The way the Lord works is so beautiful. I have lived this. I have lived it. I have lived this scripture, I have walked with God in the wilderness, and I have seen his mercies amidst my darkest days. And so we find ourselves in Acts chapter 7, verse 30 and 31. And if you remember last week, or perhaps you weren't with us, but last week we ended in verse 29, where it says that Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian. And verse 30 says, Now, when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord. So, Father God, I just thank you, Lord, that in this moment, in this season, there would come the voice of the Lord. That every word that I speak would not be my own, but would be given to me and poured out through me, Lord. That I would simply be a vessel to be used by you. Would you speak to every heart in this place? Soften our hearts to receive what you desire to sow into us this morning. I pray that your word is the two-edged sword, that it truly is, that it would cut through the veil of darkness, and that it would expose us to the light and life that is found in you. I pray that your spirit would fall and move in this place. I submit every moment, every minute, every word to you, Lord. This is not our service but yours. It is not a moment to experience but to gleam and lean into the true and living God. And so we submit ourselves to you this morning. We ask God that your will would be done right here on earth as it is in heaven. Would you open heaven over us this morning? Would you send your warring angels to fight on our behalf so that we would not be distracted by the enemy, but we would be encountering the true and living God. Jesus, do a work in this place. I don't take for granted that in countries around the world this moment is impossible. That our brothers and our sisters are dying and being martyred for their faith. So may we not take for granted this moment in time. May we stand in awe of you as we lean in to your word and what you have for us this morning. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. You can be seated. If you're a note taker this morning, I've titled this message, The Condition of a Calling. And we've been working through the book of Acts, as many of us know. We've been in it since June. We're in month nine. We could almost have a baby. Okay? And it's been amazing. It's been incredible. And we're in chapter seven. That's amazing. We find ourselves in chapter seven, right in the middle of a speech being delivered by Stefan. And if we recall, Stefan is speaking in response to charges being brought against him. See, in chapter six, it describes Stefan as full of grace and power and doing great signs and wonders. And then he's confronted by what I gather is very insecure leaders who are led by their flesh because it says they bring false accusations against him. And so we know that at minimum they're insecure and being led by their flesh, and more likely, they're probably being used by the enemy and possessed or oppressed by demonic powers because no one brings false accusations against anyone unless they're being led by evil. And they bring these accusations against Stefan and they say that he's doing three things. They accuse him of speaking against the holy place, which is the temple, speaking against the law, and speaking against the customs of Moses. And we find in chapter 7, it kicks off at the very beginning of chapter 7, his response and this speech that he so brilliantly defends the faith and defends Jesus. See, and they accuse Stefan of speaking against Moses, and yet Moses' life refutes the very lies that they're bringing against Stephan. In fact, Moses' life actually foreshadows and points to Jesus, the very one that Stephan is so boldly declaring, and they have so bitterly rejected. But isn't it funny that as they reflect as they rejected Jesus, the people also rejected Moses? And in fact, God's people have rejected every deliverer that He's sent to them, pointing to and back to Jesus. Pastor Petey on Wednesday night at Bible study, it just started again this past Wednesday, and he so brilliantly says this about Stefan's speech in chapter 7. He says, He said, Stefan is reminding the Sanhedrin Council of things they already know but are neglecting to see. Okay? Reminding them them of things they already know and are neglecting to see. And in fact, if they were to see it, they would realize that the very things that they're accusing Stefan of are the very things they're they are doing themselves. They accuse him of speaking against the temple, and yet they reject God Himself. The one who fills the temple. They accuse him of speaking against the law, and yet they reject the one who came and fulfilled the law. So what do we see in this scripture? Because it's interesting. I highly recommend you read through chapter 7 and Stephan's speech in its entirety. Because that's really where we grasp the depth and fullness of Stefan's argument. But in these scriptures, what can we see? What can we glean from? What can we learn from Stefan and his account of Moses encountering God in the wilderness? Verse 30 again says, Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord. So for a moment, I'm just gonna take us back. We were in this verse a couple weeks ago, but it's very important to give us context for where we are now. Verse 23. Chapter 7, verse 23 said, When he was 40 years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. So here in this scripture, Stephan is giving us a very specific detail in Acts that we actually don't even find in Exodus. See, Exodus 2.11 says Moses had grown up. Yet here, Stephan gives us the detail of his age. He says, when he was 40 years old. And then verse 29, as we just kind of went through, says Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian. So we can logically conclude and come to an agreement, I think, that Moses was 40 years old when he flees from Egypt and becomes an exile in a foreign land. Can we agree on that? Okay. And then Stephen also tells us very specifically in verse 30, now when 40 years had passed. So if the math is mathing, I'm not great at math, but I did this math on my calculator. On my phone calculator. Of course, I don't actually have a you know a little calculator anymore. Remember those days, you guys? Do you remember when you had to have a calculator calculator? Wow, you young people don't even know what that is. So right. But let's just stay here for a second. Moses spends 40 years in Egypt. And then Moses spends 40 years in the wilderness of Midian. So that makes Moses 80. I said 85 the other day. I'm just, yeah. I was like, wait, that is not right. Okay. Moses is 80 years old. He is a shepherd in the wilderness and encounters the angel of the Lord. So if you're taking notes, point number one calling isn't conditional on age. I want to read to you how my Bible summarizes the Exodus story. It says, we find a nation in crisis, their would-be deliverer born under threat of death, a cosmic confrontation between good and evil, resolved through a mighty act of rescue, a long journey to freedom, and Moses is the heroic yet imperfect leader who serves as the human instrument of a divine deliverance. Moses was commissioned for this most miraculous and incredible role at 80 years old, all while feeling like he was incapable of it. But Moses isn't the only one to feel and seem like they're past their prime. To feel and see like God, how could you really use me now? Abraham was 75 years old when God called him to leave his homeland, and 100 when he became the father of Isaac. His greatest promise came long after his prime. And Sarah, Sarah didn't give birth until she was 90. But her delay wouldn't be her denial. Caleb was 40 years old when he spied in the promised land, but it wasn't until he was 85 years old that he recalls to Jacob in Joshua 14. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me. And he says this, so now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day. Anna was a prophetess who lived most of her life a widow. She was 84 years old. When Luke explains that she was found in the temple when Mary and Joseph had brought baby Jesus to dedicate him unto the Lord. And in Luke 2, 37, it describes Anna as an elderly widow who did not depart from the temple, worshiping and fasting and prayer through the night. When she sees Jesus, it says that she began to give thanks to God and speak to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. At 84 years of age, Anna became one of the first people to recognize and proclaim Jesus as the Messiah. Calling is not conditional on age, and it's not conditional on gender either. Sorry if I'm stepping on toes there. Anna proves to us that a lifetime of devotion positioned her for a divine purpose. And if it's not enough, Noah was 500 years old when God called him to build the ark. His obedience preserves humanity and gave the generations that would follow a chance to encounter Christ. God's promises, if we allow them, often mature as we do. You're never too old to get right with God. You're never too old to grow deeper in relation to him. You're never too old to impact the next generation. In fact, you're called to. And you're never too old to courageously accept your calling. Age isn't a crematorium for calling. But youth isn't a waiting room either. Jeremiah was called, it says, as a youth. The Lord spoke to him, do not say, I am only a youth, for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you to speak, you shall speak. When God calls you, obedience matters more than age. David was anointed as a teenager to be king. Scholars believe between the age of 10 to 15 years old. Where others see youth and in experience, God sees a heart after his. Holiness amidst a hostile culture is God's greatest witness. And be a mother to the Messiah. She was between thirteen and sixteen years old. And yet, age did not stop her from accepting her call. Her response was, Behold, I am a servant of the Lord. Surrender and sacrifice releases a holy and supernatural storehouse that's born of the Spirit. The disciples were teens and in their early twenties when Jesus Himself calls them and entrusts them that they will be the ones to carry the gospel when he is gone from the earth. See, there's this beautiful balance at play. Older believers show us perseverance, and younger believers show us passion, and the church needs both. It says in Psalms 145, 4:1 generation shall commend your works to another. Heaven isn't checking for birth certificates, it's waiting on surrendered hearts. I don't know where you find yourself in age today, but God is waiting to use you. But just as calling isn't conditional on age. Point number two, calling isn't conditional on condition. Whatever condition you may find yourself in today, please take note of what Stephan is helping us to see. God didn't appear to Moses while he was a prince. Exodus 3, verse 1, in line with Acts 30, says, now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God to Hereb. This is the very same mountain, which is also called Mount Sinai, that Stephen is speaking of in Acts 30 when it says, Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. The wilderness wasn't a punishment for Moses, it was a process for the future leader that he would be. For it was in this very place that God called Moses from the burning bush that he would also give him the law as he led the people. But instead of leading Jethro's flock, he would then be leading his father. What we learn in the wilderness walks with us into future seasons. And yet we think that wilderness seasons actually disqualify us when in fact they define us. We think it puts a pause on our calling, but in reality it propels us towards it. I don't know who you think you have to be to be used by a God, but let me tell you, it has nothing to do with your age, your zip code, your country code. Bank account, your tax bracket, your followers on social media, whether you're male, female, married, single. Your external condition has nothing to do with it. Let me tell you where I was when God called me. I had just had a traumatic brain injury. I was testing like I was seven years old. I had to count two plus two on my fingers. I could not read. When I came to be able to read again, I could not retain anything I read. I still struggle. I was burning through my savings. I had nothing to my name. I was isolated and rejected from my community or who I thought was my community. I was separated from my family. I was living in a foreign land. I was trying to make sense of the sin of my past and the brokenness I felt while still trying to make sense of this very new salvation that I had experienced. I was totally confused at how anything good could come from the shattered pieces of my very broken life. My condition should have disqualified me from everything. But it didn't disqualify me from God. Let's get her with a care partner. I didn't have that. Praise God. Let's put her through freedom a few times. I didn't have that. But what I had was the presence of God in my life. I need you to understand this. Like, I'm not, I have to, I actually have to write these things down that I went through because when I stand up here, I won't remember them. I still struggle. For years, we couldn't turn the lights on in our house because I could not, I could not bear lights in any place that I was in. I wore sunglasses for years and years, inside and out. I could not fathom standing before people and even being able to make sense of the notes that I'm looking at. You have to understand how I should not be here. There's nothing about me. And the last time I spoke, I broke down in tears because I am so overwhelmed by the goodness of God, and he is not a respectable person. Can I tell you if all of that didn't disqualify me from being used by God? What you are using as an excuse to step forward in obedience is not one. If he can use me, he can use you. And that doesn't mean you have to stand up here and be used by him by standing on a stage. We are supposed to impact the world wherever we are. This is the least of what I do. Calling is not conditional on our external conditions. And calling isn't conditional on culture or on country. God's presence isn't limited to a palace or to a building. Which Stefan is so beautifully reminding the Sanhedrin Council here. The Lord could have spoken to Moses in Egypt. That would have made sense. It was the most powerful nation in the known world at this time. So of course, God could speak to him while he's speaking to kings and while he's speaking to the influencer of influencers. But no, he speaks to him on the side of a mountain in a foreign land, surrounded by no one or nothing but sheep. Moses went from public influence to quiet faithfulness. Midian stripped away his status, his titles, his possessions, his dependency, and the identity given to him by the culture around him. And instead, for forty years, he developed a different kind of dependence. The patience to wait, endurance that lasts, faithfulness amidst obscurity, humility in hiddenness, identity apart from people, and the ability to steward another's flock. The very qualities that Moses would later need to lead Israel through the wilderness. God was shaping him from the inside out. God prepares leaders in hidden places before he uses them in public ones. I cannot tell you how sometimes I miss my hidden season. I cherish my hidden moments with God so much more than this. I don't need this. This is not what I pictured for my life. And before I am a pastor, I am a daughter. It is the most important thing I will ever do is to get alone with God. My greatest shaping, my greatest forming in my life came from my wilderness seasons. Don't despise small seasons of insignificance. Because they are truly the most significant seasons that we have. There is no greater shaping ground than in the shadow of his wings. Not because that's the only time that he's working, he is always working, but because we're so much more receptive to it. When we have nowhere else to turn. And that's his grace, that's his mercy, that's his goodness in our life. That he would show up when time and time again we have not shown up for him. When we walk through the palace and we don't need him because the idols that are around us distract us from him calling out our name. But in our desperation and our brokenness and our wilderness seasons, he accepts us. When over and over again we have rejected him. Because when I was at my lowest, when I was in the worst season of my life, I wasn't looking for him. My desperation, my brokenness is what pushed me to him. And yet he was there chasing after me. It has nothing to do with me, has nothing to do with me chasing him. That is how good our God is. How gracious he is. Keep living. Please don't almost die to get Jesus to get a hold of you. I would do it differently. I would do it differently. I have regrets. I have regrets. I walked into this life with Jesus way later than I should have. He gave me opportunities to accept him. He reached out to me, and I would reach back for a moment, but not truly grab his hand. We all have those moments, those seasons in our life where we know God is calling us to more and we ignore him. When he's calling us to get in our word, but we scroll instead. Where he's calling us to reach out to someone who's so different than us, to extend an olive branch, and to love those that are hard to love, and yet instead we decide to gossip about them. Or be a courageous keyboard warrior that would never say it to their face. We see God easier in the pasture than we do in the palace. If you find yourself in a wilderness season, let me encourage you. This could be the greatest season of your life. I will tell you, the worst season of my life has yielded the most fruit. Because God is faithful and I let him shape me. We do get a choice in it. We do. We get to choose if we will listen, if we will obey, and if we will be transformed by him. People ask me, like, how did you do that when you were so low, when you were so broken, when you were so alone? I spent hours with God. Hours every single day. I put worship on and I would sit. Now, I know all of us don't have hours. I was sitting in a dark room every single day for years. When I tell you isolation and loneliness, I get it. But I would sit in the presence of God. I didn't even know sometimes that the songs that I was listening to was just singing the word over me. Because I couldn't even read my Bible. But the Lord moved because I just wanted to be with him. Verse 31 says this. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord. Calling's not conditional on age or the external conditions that we find around us. It's not conditional on country or culture. Our past, our upbringing. But calling is conditional on our response. God meets Moses in ordinary obedience, not in ambition. When Stephan says that Moses saw the burning bush and was amazed at his sight. And as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord. He's recalling Exodus 3, where it says, Moses thought, I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up? Listen to this very carefully. When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush. And what it's saying is God isn't moved by religious structures. He's moved by the response of his people. This is what it looks like to be reached by God. Because he's always reaching, but sometimes we are so unreachable. We are distracted, disobedient, and we are disillusioned, just like the Sanhedrin Council. We let everything else in our life distract us from the one thing that really matters, and that is time to be molded and shaped into an image-bearer of Christ. We are disobedient when he calls. Some of you know he's been asking you to serve in this house for a long time. And yet you come in and you go out sometimes late and you leave early because you haven't had a real revelation of what Jesus has done in your life. And we think, oh yeah, I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Yeah, I'm good. I'll be good in eternity. And you are wrong. And you are operating off of works just because you raised your hand one time. But do you know him? Do you know him? Do you see his fruit in your life? Or do you take advantage of his grace? Do you go back to the same sin? Because you know that his grace is sufficient for you. Are you being transformed by the revelation of Christ? The scripture calls to us. Stephan was trying to wake up the Sanhedrin Council. And God is trying to wake us up. When the Lord is calling. Like Moses. Will you see it? The word says he was amazed at the sight. Will you be in awe of it? It says he drawn drew near to look. Will you? Will you draw near when God is calling? It says when he did these three three things, there came the voice of the Lord. And as I get ready to close, I want to ask you this. Will you see him? Do you have eyes to see what he is doing in your life? Do you have eyes to see? Where he is moving? What he's doing in the wilderness. The way that he's shaping you and transforming you? Will you choose to see what he is doing? Or will you focus on the things that you haven't seen yet? When he calls you and you realize it, will you stand in awe of him? Or will you let yourself get comfortable? Walking in, walking out, but never being truly shaped and molded by him? Will you draw near to him no matter where you find yourself? No matter your age. No matter what's in your bank account, no matter if you find yourself single, struggling, will you draw near? That you would hear his response. Don't let age, circumstance, upbringing, education, pride, pain, past failures, flaws, sins, or anything else stop you from responding to what God wants to do in your life. It is never too late to turn your attention to God. So in this moment, I'm gonna ask us to respond. And I'm gonna tell you like there's things in my life I need to respond to God to. Each one of us knows what that is. Maybe for you, he's asking you. Speaking to you about serving. Maybe he's been speaking to you, stirring something in your heart about tithing. Maybe he's put a business in your heart and you've been too scared to step out because your educational background doesn't match what you what he's calling you to. Maybe he's calling you back to your marriage, to invest in one another, to make him the center of your family. Maybe he's calling you to your calling. Maybe you've walked your whole life but never knew what your purpose was. It is to be transformed into the image of Christ. So that as he disciples you, you can go out and make disciples in all the earth. That people would be amazed and transformed by who you are because of who he is in you. Maybe he's calling you to accept him. For the first time as Lord and Savior. Or maybe He's calling you back to Himself. No one else knows what He's stirring in your heart, where you find yourself. But I will tell you, I know what it's like to find myself being called from the sinful nature of my past into a life of salvation with him. And it takes time, but it has to start somewhere. And it starts with our response when we know that He's calling us. So I'm just going to ask us right now to respond. I'm going to let the Lord speak to your heart. Because this isn't about a message or a person standing on the stage, but it's about what God is stirring in each of us. And then as we walk through this moment and after I pray for you, I'm going to ask that you would respond respectfully and stay in your seats. Because church doesn't end when the message is over. Our worship and our time in the presence of God ends in this room when we say Ephesians 320. And then, and again, hear me and hear my heart, it ends in this room. Because then what happens is it overflows out of this place and into your homes and into our communities and into our schools. And it overflows because we have responded to God. So with every head bowed, only you know what God is calling you to today. But I just want to invite you, if you know that God is asking you to come home, come back to Him. Sit at His feet and be transformed by Him. If you know that the Lord has been calling you for a long time and you have been running from that calling, if you know that you are older and up in age and you have felt like you are forgotten, but God is speaking to you in this moment, calling you back unto Himself. I'm just going to invite you to raise your hand right now. All over this place. If you are saying yes to what God is calling you to, I just want you to raise your hand. I see all those hands. And the Lord sees you. So I'm just gonna pray for us. And then I'm gonna have you repeat after me, but Father God, I just thank you, Lord. I thank you for every person here and online under the sound of my voice, God, that knows that you are calling them to more. And that's making the decision today, Lord, to say yes to you, to say yes to what you have for them, to say yes to a life with you, to say yes to what you've called them to, to step out courageously in their calling. We say yes, Lord. Yes to your will and yes to your ways. We say yes, God. Would you paint a picture for them through this week, Lord, what you have for them, Lord? Would you speak to the hearts of your people and show them a picture of more if they find themselves in a wilderness season, Lord? Would you encourage them? You are a faithful God who transforms us. Who takes our broken pieces and makes them so beautiful for your glory. So what you are doing in the hearts of your sons and your daughters in this moment, God, may it reverberate into eternity. May their yes not only impact their lives, but the lives of every person that they encounter, every member of their family, every person in their community. Their yes, God, would it sow seeds in eternity? Would it cut the veil of darkness, Lord? Would it draw people unto your kingdom? Their yes is more impactful and more meaningful than they can possibly comprehend. Give them a picture of what it looks like to say yes to you, strengthen them, send men and women to hold up their hands, to encourage them, to walk with them, put a community around them that's also desperate and hungry to see you move in the earth. Lord, would you give us eyes to see? Open our eyes to see. Open our minds to be in awe. Open our hearts to draw near, Lord, that you would respond. So every person, just I want you to repeat this after me, Lord Jesus. I accept you as my Lord and Savior. I acknowledge you as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. You are my Messiah. Thank you for dying on the cross for me, for being buried, resurrected, and ascending to heaven to make room for me. I lay aside my old life and I say yes to the life that you have for me. Lord, would you blow my mind with the life that I now live with you? May I never get comfortable as I reflect Christ. But would you fan the flames of fire in my heart that I would share the gospel with the world every day of my life? Make me like you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen.