God’s calling is not a one-time event, but a process. It involves ongoing interaction between a loving Father and His children, even the little children.

1. Presented at Victoria,Tago, Surigao del Sur on October 20, 2018 Sabbath Service
United Church of God, an International Association

2. CALLING necessarily precedes
baptism. As the Holy Spirit was with
the disciples before it was in them,
so the Holy Spirit works with
CALLED INDIVIDUALS.

3. However, being called does not equate
to actually receiving the Holy Spirit.
That takes place after baptism with the
laying on of hands. Before a person is
baptized, he must repent, exercise faith
in the sacrifice of Christ for the
remission of sins and willingly choose
to follow God.

4. Those who respond to God’s calling
are described as “CHOSEN.” Those
saints who will rule with Christ are
“CALLED” and “CHOSEN” and
“FAITHFUL.”

5. Revelation 2:7

6. CAN A CHILD BE
CALLED?

7. SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE LEAVES NO
DOUBT THAT A CHILD CAN HAVE A
RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
• Samuel (1 Samuel 2:18, 26, 3:1-21),
• Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:3)
• Timothy (2 Timothy 3:14-15).
• Young people can understand spiritual
concepts (Proverbs 3:1-3, Psalms 34:11).

8. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
1Now the boy Samuel was
ministering to the Lord in
the presence of Eli. And
the word of the Lord was
rare in those days; there
was no frequent vision.

9. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
2At that time Eli, whose
eyesight had begun to
grow dim so that he could
not see, was lying down in
his own place.

10. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
3The lamp of God had not
yet gone out, and Samuel
was lying down in the
temple of the Lord, where
the ark of God was.

11. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
4Then the Lord called
Samuel, and he said,
“Here I am!”

12. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
5and ran to Eli and said,“Here I am, for you
called me.” But he said,“I did not call; lie down
again.” So he went and lay down.

13. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
6And the Lord called again,“Samuel!” and
Samuel arose and went to Eli and said,“Here I
am, for you called me.” But he said,“I did not
call, my son; lie down again.”

14. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
7Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the
word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to
him.

15. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
8And the Lord called Samuel again the third
time. And he arose and went to Eli and said,
“Here I am, for you called me.”Then Eli
perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.

16. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
9Therefore Eli said to Samuel,“Go, lie down, and
if he calls you, you shall say,‘Speak, Lord, for
your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay
down in his place.

17. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
10And the Lord came and stood, calling as at
other times,“Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel
said,“Speak, for your servant hears.”

18. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
12On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I
have spoken concerning his house, from
beginning to end.

19. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
13And I declare to him that I am about to punish
his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew,
because his sons were blaspheming God, and
he did not restrain them.

20. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
14Therefore I swear to the house of Eli that the
iniquity of Eli's house shall not be atoned for by
sacrifice or offering forever.”

21. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
15Samuel lay until morning; then he opened the
doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was
afraid to tell the vision to Eli.

22. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
16But Eli called Samuel and said,“Samuel, my
son.” And he said,“Here I am.”

23. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
18So Samuel told him everything and hid
nothing from him. And he said,“It is the Lord.
Let him do what seems good to him.”

24. SAMUEL 3:1-19 (ESV)
19And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him
and let none of his words fall to the ground.

25. 2 CHRONICLES 34:3 (AKJV)
For in the eighth year of his reign, while he
was yet young, he began to seek after the
God of David his father: and in the twelfth
year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem
from the high places, and the groves, and the
carved images, and the molten images.

26. 2 TIMOTHY 3:14-15 (NKJV)
14But you must continue in the things which you
have learned and been assured of, knowing from
whom you have learned them, 15and that from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,
which are able to make you wise for salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

27. PSALMS 34:11 (AKJV)
Come, you children, listen to
me: I will teach you the fear of
the LORD.

28. Parents are told to teach their children God’s
way (Deuteronomy 4:9-10) and to follow
Abraham,“the father of us all” (Romans
4:16), who commanded his children to keep
the way of the Lord (Genesis 18:19). Parents
and the Church should continuously teach
children the way God wants in
Deuteronomy 6.

29. DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9 (ESV)
4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord
is one. 5You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might. 6And these words
that I command you today shall be on your
heart.

30. DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9 (ESV)
7You shall teach them diligently to your
children, and shall talk of them when you
sit in your house, and when you walk by the
way, and when you lie down, and when you
rise.

31. DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9 (ESV)
8You shall bind them as a sign on your
hand, and they shall be as frontlets
between your eyes. 9You shall write them
on the doorposts of your house and on
your gates.

32. CAN A CHILD BE
CALLED?

33. God’s calling is not a one-time event, but a
process. It involves ongoing interaction
between a loving Father and His children.
Some choose to follow the path of the
prodigal son, a tragic choice, but God is
patient, “not willing that any should perish
but that all should come to repentance” (2
Peter 3:9).

34. The way children growing up in the Church are
called will differ from what most adult converts
experience. A child’s calling is gradual and
becomes more personal as he or she grows
and matures. Jesus Christ loves children. He
wants children to come to Him. (Mark 10:13)

35. MARK 10:13-16 (ESV)
13And they brought young children to him,
that he should touch them: and his disciples
rebuked those that brought them. 14But when
Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and
said unto them, Suffer the little children to
come unto me, and forbid them not: for of
such is the kingdom of God.

36. MARK 10:13-16 (ESV)
15Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not
receive the kingdom of God as a little child,
he shall not enter therein. 16And he took them
up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and
blessed them.
~Matthew 19:14; Luke 18:16

37. THESE LITTLE
CAN BE…