Answering God's Call

While I was a junior in high school, our family went through some church pain, and the church I had grown up in all of my life was no longer my church home.

I plugged into YoungLife my senior year of High School and that was a real blessing. Then, as I stayed in Houston for college, I went to class, worked a lot, and would go to church wherever my parents were, but to be honest, I was in a wilderness season. I was orphaned from my church, and I wasn’t anchored to a group of believers. I was adrift, spiritually.

I worked at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Stafford, and I could sell that fish!

One evening, a couple of the waiters invited me to Bible Study the following Tuesday night. Their invitation changed the trajectory of my life.

They said, “Hey Roger, do you have a shift next Tuesday night?” I said, “No, I’m off.” They then said, “Would you like to come to our College Ministry Bible Study?”

I said, “Sure.”

They drew me a map on a napkin, told me where it was, and told me when it started.
I got there about an hour late, because I got lost…pre-gps…and Julee King answered the door. Like I said, this invitation changed my life…and Julee and I just celebrated 30 years of marriage last month!

I quickly joined that church and then began my own lifted life journey – I was discipled. I attended Bible Study and Church. And I was growing spiritually once again.

It was in this season, a door was opened to me.

The general manager of Pappadeaux, asked me to enter into their training program and become a manager. I was truly excited about this opportunity and wanted to pursue it. But God was using the open door to get my attention.

As I stepped in, I also prayed, “Lord, you have to guide me. Please make your leading known.”

You see, I realized that this open door could set a course and trajectory for my life. So I prayed for God’s leading.

At the same time, I was doing some coaching of kid’s sports. And while I was doing coaching, I was also, in the back of my mind, wondering if God wanted me to step into Youth Ministry. I was wrestling…Pappas Company…Coaching…or Ministry?

This life event…an open door…got my attention and caused me to look up and ask, “God what is it you want?”

We were then on a retreat at Trinity Pines Baptist Encampment, and God called me. I said, “Lord, do you want me to become a youth pastor?”

And the Spirit whispered in my ear… “Let’s give it a shot.”

How does God get your attention? What happens in our lives to get us to pick up our heads and inquire further?

• For some, it is opportunity. The open door was key.
• For others, it is frustration – your frustration and waiting drives you to the Father to ask what it is He wants.
• For some, it is suffering – listen to the words of C. S. Lewis…

C.S. Lewis, in his book, The Problem of Pain, said: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” [1]
[1] C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, p. 91 (HarperOne edition).

• Maybe you are at church for the first time in a long time. You are looking for truth.
• Maybe God’s purposes in your life haven’t been terribly important to you, but recent days have caused you to see something more clearly, more important about your life and how you live out your days. I don’t know…but I believe that God is stirring you for something more.
• Maybe you are simply hearing God call you deeper into his purposes…
• God is calling out to you.

How will you respond?

Today, I want to teach you about the call of God. You see, I believe that the Holy Spirit is stirring in hearts. And I believe that this is a moment in time where God is calling each of us to answer His call.

Our text today is Exodus 3:7-12. This is where God calls Moses.

Now, for a bit of review, this is the burning bush experience, where, on Mt. Horeb, the bush is on fire, and it is not consumed.

 And here are a few bullet points for us as a matter of review from the last few weeks.
 

• First, we see God get Moses’ attention – burning bush…
• Second, we see Moses’ availability – As God called out to him, Moses answered, “Here I am.” – Remember, that response conveyed availability. It was more than “present” when the teacher called role – more like, “Put me in Coach!”
• Third, we see in verses 4-6 that God reveals his character:
• I am holy…take off your shoes…I am not like you – and Moses hid his face from God.

 Now, let’s pick up the story once again where God is calling Moses to a specific task.

 Let’s read Exodus 3:7-12.

Exodus 3:7-12
 7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

When God Calls…

• Learn God’s Heart

Exodus 3:7-9
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them.

 Look at God’s heart here.
 

• I have sure seen the affliction…
• I have heard their cry…
• I know their sufferings…
• I have come down to deliver them…

 This is repetition of what chapter 2 tells us. Look again at Exodus 2:23-25.

Exodus 2:23-25
 23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

 This is a third person perspective – It says:
 

• God heard
• God remembered his covenant
• God saw
• God knew

 And then from the first-person perspective, as the Lord is speaking to Moses in Chapter 3:
 

• I have sure seen the affliction…
• I have heard their cry…
• I know their sufferings…
• I have come down to deliver them…

 I believe there is a great intentionality on behalf of the Lord for the reader now, and for Moses then, to understand the heart of God.

 And having studied the Scriptures for many years of my life, I know that his heart is to convey his heart to us…that’s what this Scripture is all about.

 And what is so wonderful about the Exodus story is that it is a picture of the Gospel of Jesus.

 The Exodus story is the nation of Israel’s Salvation Story that actually forecasts our Salvation.

 This is the good news of Jesus on display right here.
 

• Our Lord knows the predicament that Sin has placed us in. Evil must be dealt with.
• God has heard the cries of humanity…Lord, come and rescue us.
• The Lord knows our suffering…as a matter of fact, he took on flesh and suffered in our place.
• It says in Isaiah, that the Messiah, the anointed, “…is a man of sorrows familiar with suffering.”
• And He has come down to deliver us.

 He knew, saw, heard, and came down.

 And one of the most important things that we must understand is that when God calls us, and we respond, we need to be sure we are prepared.
 

• Moses didn’t know it, but he had been preparing all this time that he was a shepherd in the desert.
• And maybe that’s you too…As God speaks, you realize, “Oh, this is what God wants from me. This is why I have been having to walk this particular road.”

  Also, as God calls us, there is also appropriate preparation we should make.

 Did you know that after God’s call on the Apostle Paul’s life, he took three years in the Arabian desert studying?

 The Apostle Paul said to Timothy…

2 Timothy 2:15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

 Some of you are being moved by our Lord to be more bold.
 

• Whether it is Charlie Kirk’s death,
• Voddie Baucham’s death,
• or some other event or moment that has gotten your attention…and you think you are ready to get in the game…and you have zeal.

 But listen to the word…

Proverbs 25:2
Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.

 You are zealous because you see evil…but are you ready to:
 

• convey God’s heart?
• Do you have the knowledge necessary to influence?
• Are you committed to studying the Scripture and being discipled?

 Listen, how you as a Christian respond to things greatly matters. We are to learn his heart so that we can convey his heart!

The second thing I want you to see is this:

When God Calls…

• Learn God’s Heart
• Listen for God’s Clear, Specific Call Upon Your Life

God’s Clear, Specific Call Upon Your Life

Exodus 3:10
 “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

 Notice this…

 “Come, I will send you to Pharoah…that you may bring my people…out of Egypt.”

 The closer Moses God to God…the clearer his call became.

In March of 2009, Julee was 8 months pregnant with Carson. We were being evaluated as a family for me to take the role as the senior pastor.

 There was a 17-member evaluation committee. And let me just say, that season wasn’t my fondest memories of my time here at the church.

 They were seeking God. And whether they knew it or not, I was too. I needed to know that God was calling me into this role. I needed to hear from God. I needed to have him get clear with me on what He wanted. So, I was asking God to speak to me…to call me or to change my course.

 Julee heard that Chris Tomlin was going to be in town. So, she bought us concert tickets. We love his music and his ministry and so we attended the concert.

 Tomlin’s song, God of this City was toward the end, and the entire arena was singing it together. And as we sang it, the Holy Spirit spoke to me:
                “Through the Church…To the City.”

 Tears began to fill my eyes. I look over at Julee P and she is wiping tears, worshipping the Lord, and I knew right then that He has spoken to her as well…

 “Through the Church…To the City.”

 And that’s what we have been working towards for the past 15 years.

 That’s why we:
 

• Are the leading church in our city for blood drives
• Have an incredible ESL Program:
• We have 190 students in our program – offered at West U, CRMC, and also on Zoom.
• These are people from 35 different countries.
• And we teach them how to speak English, and then in moments and holidays, we share the gospel story.
• We even offer ESL BIBLE Study Classes with 20 students studying the Bible with us.
• 
  

 The call through the church to the city…
 

• Calls us to work with the Freedom Church Alliance to help curtail Human trafficking in our city
• Calls us to invest heavily into Casa El Buen Samaritano, a medical clinic that is at our CityRise Missouri City location, where we serve people 150% below the poverty line.
• Leads us to provide lodging for cancer patients who come to our city for treatment and they need lodging through our Mercy House Locations
• Compels us to work with Houston Welcomes Refugees, Eyes on Me, Attack Poverty, and many other organizations to help lift our city and the world by generously giving the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  The call through the church to the city:
 

• Motivates us to offer worship in English with 5 services a weekend, in Spanish, and in Chinese – as we seek to reach a diverse population with the good news of Jesus.

 And that Call through the Church to the City:
 

• Is part of God’s call to us to take the gospel to the nations. And that’s why we invite you to deploy with us around the world.

What has God called you to?
 

• What is it He wants from you?
•  Adoption?
• Missions?
• To Preach?
• To Run for Office?
• To Teach in the Church?
• To Work with Students?
• To Influence others in the Public School?
• To Homeschool?
• To Work with Senior Adults?
• To Medicine?
• To be an Educator?
• To Music?

 The closer you get to Him, the clearer your call will be.

 Now, let me say something about understanding your calling versus others’ calling.

Bob – Radio Show – Book – Youth Sports Equipment – You have got to get involved with this…it will change your life…pressed me…wouldn’t let me get a word in edge-wise.
 I tried to respond  --
                   Bob, I have two campuses…a radio ministry…
 He pressed in some more…you need to help me run point on this…this will change your life.
 Finally, I had to say, “Bob, that’s not my call. That’s your call. Please don’t try to put your call on me.”

You know, we do that, don’t we? Because we often think, “Of course, if I am passionate about this, everyone will be as equally passionate about this. They will get in on this too.”

 Paul, I love the Choir and love your ministry – but I’m not called to Church Music…Y’all don’t want me conducting the choir or the orchestra!

 We have a tendency to put our calling onto other people…
 

• We adopted…everyone should adopt
• We are sending our kids to the public school…everyone should send their kids to public school
• We homeschool – how could you ever send your kids to public school?
• You have to do international missions – that’s really where it is at…not local stuff. That’s no big deal…let’s get on a plane…come on…
• But I’m called to teach ESL…I’m called to work in my community…

 We need to honor one another by honoring one another’s calling! And we should be aware of the tendency we have of trying to put our calling onto others.

 Application: What is it that God is calling you to do? The closer you get to him the clearer and more specific it will be.

Third principle…

When God Calls…

• Learn God’s Heart
• Listen for God’s Clear, Specific Call Upon Your Life
• Let it Humble You, But Know that He is With You

 Look at Exodus 3:11-12.

Exodus 3:11-12
 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

 This call Humbled Moses!

 Humility -- quality that stands in contrast to pride or arrogance.[2] It means to be lowly.
[2} Gleaves, G. S. (2014). Humility. In D. Mangum, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, & R. Hurst (Eds.), Lexham Theological Wordbook. Lexham Press.
 
 He said, “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah?”

 Did you pick the right guy?

Listen to the words of H.D. Spence in his commentary on Exodus…“A great change had come over Moses. Forty years earlier he had been forward to offer himself as a “deliverer.” He “went out” to his brethren and slew one of their oppressors, and “supposed his brethren would have understood how that God by his hand would deliver them” (Acts 7:25). “But they understood not” (ibid.) They declined to accept him for leader, they reproached him with setting himself up to be “a ruler and a judge” over them. And now, taught by this lesson, and sobered by forty years of inaction, he has become timid and distrustful of himself, and shrinks from putting himself forward.
 Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh? What weight can I, a foreigner, forty years an exile, with the manners of a rough shepherd, expect to have with the mighty monarch of all Egypt—the son of Rameses the Great, the inheritor of his power and his glories?
 And again. Who am I, that I should bring forth the children of Israel? What weight can I expect to have with my countrymen, who will have forgotten me—whom, moreover, I could not influence when I was in my full vigor—who then “refused” my guidance and forced me to quit them? True diffidence speaks in the words used—there is no ring of insincerity in them; Moses was now as distrustful of himself as in former days he had been confident, and when he had become fit to be a deliverer, ceased to think himself fit.”[3]
[3] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Exodus (Vol. 1, pp. 56–57). Funk & Wagnalls Company.
 
Friend, can I tell you something? God is looking for the humble. It is these whom he will use.

James 4:6b
 “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

 And when he calls you to a task, it will humble you, because you know you don’t have what it takes in your own strength to do what He is calling you to.

  But notice the promise…It was the promise to Moses, and it is the promise to you and me.

Exodus 3:12a
He said, “But I will be with you…”

 What’s the great difference maker when you are walking in God’s call?

 It is His presence. He is the one who makes it possible. He is the one who brings it to bear.

Spence says…“Moses had excused himself on the ground of unfitness. God replies—“Thou wilt not be unfit, since I will be with thee—I will supply thy deficiencies—I will impart all the qualities thou needest—and this shall be a sign unto thee of my power and faithfulness—this shall assure thee that I am not sending thee upon a fruitless errand—it is determined in my counsels that not only shalt thou succeed, and lead the people out, but after that—when thou hast so done—thou and they together shall serve me on this mountain.”[4]
[4] Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Exodus (Vol. 1, p. 57). Funk & Wagnalls Company.

 Throughout the Scriptures is this promise of God’s Presence.

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
 
Isaiah 41:10
 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
  Slide: Psalm 23:4
 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

Matthew 28:20
 …teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

  God’s promise is God’s presence, especially inside of His call.

 And then notice how God gives Moses just a sliver of the picture of a future after fulfilling this part of God’s call on his life.

Exodus 3:12
He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”

 The Lord sees the end from the beginning, and He shows Moses a glimpse – a picture of a preferred future.

 Do you see something that God has shown you? Are you afraid? Hesitant to get started?

 What is it that He is calling you to?

 I know…you don’t feel qualified. But listen, He promises to be with you!

Moses stood before a bush that burned but was not consumed. He heard his name twice. He trembled on holy ground. And then he discovered that God not only sees and hears the cries of His people — He sends someone to go.

 And here’s the truth, church:
 

• God still calls.
• God still stirs.
• God still captures people in the wilderness of their ordinary days and sends them into His extraordinary purposes.

 So, the question is not whether God is calling — He is. The question is: Have you said, “Here I am”?
 

This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 from our CityRise Church West U Baptist campus. Check out the full message below!