Along with the sermon on Sunday, I often try and point out my thoughts and feelings in music. The song that came to mind as I was listening to Pastor Tom this past week was “Available” by Elevation Worship. This song fits perfectly with the three concentric circles.
Circle One - Salvation
The lyrics in the first few seconds of the song say, “Narrow as the road may seem, I'll follow where Your Spirit leads. Broken as my life may seem, I’ll follow where your spirit leads.” Put simply, this is salvation. This explains repentance. Repentance is a change in the direction and course of our lives or as Pastor Tom says, "repentance is rethinking how you think about everything." And when we change direction, we change values, priorities, attitudes, and behaviors. Following God’s spirit is going to completely reorient our lives. This is a change in the way we act, the way we treat people, and the decisions we make throughout our life.
Circle Two - Simplicity
For this circle, we move to the second verse. “Here I am with open hands, counting on Your grace again. Less of me and more of You. I just wanna see You move.” As Tom said, this isn’t a call to easier or less, this is a call to the clarity of purpose. God is simply asking, “Do you choose me above everything else.” Again, this is a journey, are we going to continually choose Jesus over ourselves, over our wants, over it all.
Circle Three - Mission
“For the One who gave me life, nothing is a sacrifice. Use me how You want to God. Have Your throne within my heart.” The third circle is a call to mission. Pastor Tom put this perfectly when he said, "The first two levels are all about what Jesus can do for me. It is only at this point, where we are in such a deep relationship with Jesus, that we ache to do something for Jesus. It is at this point that we can now turn this inward work God has been doing in our lives to outwardly show others His power and might."
Now that leaves us here, What is God calling you to? Where are you? A call from God is never an offer for us to do something for God, but a forecast of something God will do through us. The call is a bold declaration of something God is going to do, and if we cooperate, He will do it with us. But whatever we are called to do, we will not have to make it happen. It is already happening and God is inviting you to join what He is up to.
