Guarding Your Calling, Your Shepherd, and Your Crowns

The calling of God begins with Christ summoning people to receive Him as Lord and Savior and to serve Him. Colossians presses believers toward “the full riches of complete understanding,” not a partial awareness of who Christ is. The enemy of the soul wants to steal that calling through fine sounding arguments, human traditions, and basic principles of this world that pull hearts away from Christ.

Christ remains everything believers need. Christ holds all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, all the fullness of deity, and authority over every power. The call, therefore, must be guarded. Faith cannot stay at the level of old Sunday school facts that others dismiss as “kids stuff.” Faith must be rooted, built up, strengthened, and overflowing with thankfulness, because the reality is found in Christ.

Peter makes the calling personal and serious. God has called believers to His eternal glory in Christ, even when suffering comes for a little while. Second Peter calls believers to make their calling and election sure by adding goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. These qualities must grow in increasing measure so that knowledge of Jesus Christ does not become ineffective and unproductive.

The shepherd position also needs guarding. First Timothy warns the church not to entertain accusations against an elder without two or three witnesses. The position is not beyond accountability, but neither can careless words, control, and criticism be allowed to muzzle the ox. A church that fails to attend, pray, give, serve, and fulfill its call limits the work God intends to do through the body.

Ephesians names pastors and teachers among Christ’s gifts to prepare God’s people for works of service. The fivefold ministry pictures the church as a working hand: teaching, pastoral care, evangelism reaching beyond the walls, prophetic direction declaring “thus saith the Lord,” and apostolic work restoring foundations. The congregation must catch the vision, not merely hear it, because the calling of every member brings the whole body into action.

Prayer forms the strongest guard around the shepherd and around the Word of God. Paul asks for prayer so that he may fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. All kinds of prayer break the spirit of heaviness, set the Word on fire, and help it penetrate lives. The calling is ultimately connected to crowns, because crowns received through faithful service become offerings laid at the feet of Jesus. Christ calls His people not to stand before His throne empty handed, but to live faithfully for His glory.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Guard the calling Christ has given The calling is more than a role or a task in the church. Christ has summoned believers first to belong to Him, then to serve through the gifts He supplies. Deception often begins by making Christ seem less sufficient or biblical truth seem less trustworthy. Guarding the call means returning again and again to the fullness found in Christ. [1:12:34]
• 2. Grow faith into godly character Peter does not describe a faith that remains still. Goodness, knowledge, self control, perseverance, godliness, kindness, and love form a growing life that makes faith fruitful. These qualities do not earn salvation, but they make a believer’s calling sure in daily living. A life that keeps growing has stability when pressure comes. [1:18:34]
• 3. Do not muzzle the ox The shepherd position is strengthened or limited by the response of the congregation. Prayerlessness, absence, withholding, and refusal to serve can hinder the ministry of the Word. Christ gives ministry gifts to equip the whole body, not to create a one man show. The church functions properly when every calling is brought into action. [1:25:25]
• 4. Pray until the Word catches fire Prayer is not a side activity around the work of God. Prayer forms a barrage around the pulpit, the altar, the families, and the future of the church. Paul asks for prayer because fearless gospel proclamation requires spiritual power. The Word becomes more than information when prayer anoints it and drives it deep into hearts. [1:38:19]
• 5. Live for crowns laid before Jesus Crowns are not personal trophies for eternal bragging rights. Crowns become offerings laid at the feet of the One seated on the throne. Faithfulness in the calling matters because it shapes what believers can give back to Christ in worship. The desire for reward becomes holy when Christ receives the glory. [1:40:07]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [1:07:11] - Guarding the Calling of God
• [1:09:23] - Complete Understanding in Christ
• [1:10:55] - Fine Sounding Arguments and Deception
• [1:12:11] - Rooted and Built Up in Christ
• [1:16:25] - Called to Eternal Glory
• [1:17:24] - Making Calling and Election Sure
• [1:19:35] - Guarding the Shepherd Position
• [1:21:38] - Do Not Entertain Accusations
• [1:24:04] - Do Not Muzzle the Ox
• [1:27:44] - Christ’s Gifts to the Church
• [1:31:19] - Evangelism, Prophecy, and Apostolic Ministry
• [1:36:15] - Pray for Fearless Gospel Proclamation
• [1:39:43] - Guarding the Crowns to Come
• [1:43:04] - Invitation to Receive Christ

Bible Reading

Colossians 2:2-10
“My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” [01:09:41]

2 Peter 1:5-10
“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” [01:18:50]

1 Timothy 5:17-19
“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.' Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.” [01:24:25]

Observation questions

1. In Colossians 2:2–10, what does Paul say believers can find in Christ, and what warnings does he give about being deceived or taken captive? [01:10:55]
2. What four descriptions are used for a believer’s continuing life in Christ in Colossians 2:6–7? [01:12:32]
3. In 2 Peter 1:5–10, what qualities are believers instructed to add to their faith, and what result comes from possessing them in increasing measure? [01:18:50]
4. According to 1 Timothy 5:17–19, what two instructions are given concerning elders who lead and accusations made against an elder? [01:24:25]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does Paul connect “complete understanding” with protection from fine-sounding arguments? What might make a false idea sound convincing to a believer today? [01:11:22]
2. Colossians teaches that fullness is found in Christ. How does that truth answer the temptation to treat basic truths about Jesus as “kids stuff” or no longer enough? [01:13:09]
3. Peter says that growing character keeps a believer from becoming ineffective and unproductive in knowing Christ. Why might knowledge without goodness, self-control, perseverance, kindness, and love become unfruitful? [01:19:05]
4. First Timothy requires two or three witnesses before an accusation against an elder is entertained. How can a church take concerns seriously while also refusing gossip, careless criticism, or attempts to control leaders? [01:21:51]

Application questions

1. Where is there pressure in your life to soften, question, or move beyond the truth that Jesus is fully sufficient? What would it look like this week to become more rooted and built up in Christ? [01:12:45]
2. Which quality from 2 Peter 1—goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, or love—most needs to grow in your life right now? What is one practical situation where you can pursue that growth? [01:19:21]
3. When suffering, disappointment, or delay comes, how do you usually respond to your calling? How does knowing that God calls His people to eternal glory and promises to restore and strengthen them bring hope? [01:16:52]
4. In what ways can a person’s attendance, prayer, giving, encouragement, and service strengthen the ministry of the local church? Is there one area where you sense the Lord inviting you to become more involved? [01:25:15]
5. How can you help create a church culture that refuses gossip and handles concerns truthfully, carefully, and with biblical accountability? [01:24:04]
6. What specific prayer can you begin praying regularly for those who preach, teach, lead, and serve in the church, so that the gospel is proclaimed fearlessly and the Word reaches people deeply? [01:37:28]