CHOSEN(Some copied content)
1 Corinthians 1:26-31 For ye see YOUR CALLING, BRETHREN, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called:
(27) But GOD HATH CHOSEN the FOOLISH things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the WEAK things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
(28) And BASE things of the world, and things which are DESPISED, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are
NOT, to bring to nought things that are:
(29) THAT NO FLESH SHOULD GLORY IN HIS PRESENCE.
(30) But OF HIM are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is MADE UNTO US WISDOM, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SANCTIFICATION, and REDEMPTION:
(31) That, according as it is written, HE THAT GLORIETH, LET HIM GLORY IN THE LORD.
We are CALLED – CHOSEN, NOT FOR ANY MERIT OF OUR OWN.
Every believer has A PLACE TO FILL.
God has chosen the foolish and the weak people of the world to confound and shame those who are called wise, and those who are considered strong.
There is a wonderful diversity...
God is doing a work, a work by His Spirit in lives and hearts of men and women. A spiritual work.
The Holy Spirit comes In His great power, and awakens and empowers.
It is as we come to a place of desperation and dependence upon God that He can take over.
God has chosen us and our part ius just to humbly seeks and find and do His will.
God has shown us His new way of living.
Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?
So, firstly, we see...We are chosen not by any merit of our own.
Secondly, we see We are CALLED – CHOSEN OUT OF THE WORLD.
John 15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
We are living in a time in the world’s history when it seems as if we are seeing a wholesale rejection of Christianity.
The world is hostile to Christianity. There is an overwhelming bias against Christians in the popular press.
Our nation’s leaders have little regard for morals and truth. Coarseness and crudity marks this generation.
It’s as if our government has declared war on Christian values. Our nation seems ever more a-moral and immoral. We are needed, more than ever, to be as salt in the midst of a rotten, godless society.
As to recent debates about marriage... The church is simply holding up 6000 years of human tradition not to mention the unequivocal biblical standard on the subject. Yet there are ungodly forces pushing constantly to overturn God’s order, God’s definition of marriage, the basic foundational building block of society.
The problem is because our world has lost its moral compass – the Bible.
The world and its crowd are headed in the opposite direction, and so we can often feel like we’re swimming against the tide.
Abraham Lincoln once said “the Bible is the best gift God has given to man for without it we would not know right from wrong”.
Even the mainstream church seems to have adopted a worldly way of thinking.
The professing church is weak and wimpering, replete with deception... It is a false church filled with the uncoverted. It has become impotent, lacking in power. It seems to have lost a passion for the truth.
Doctrinal and theological truth has been compromised and dumbed down.
The church means literally the “called-out”. We are called OUT from the world.
We are in the world, but we are not meant to be OF the world.
Another thing now is that many churches are lightening up on preaching against sin and changing things to be market driven and mimicking the evil world around us
As a result Biblical worship has given way to a philosophy, and a sound, that is worldly and man-centred. Some church services have become more like a circus or a side show act or a disco joint.
As someone has put it, “churches (are) either liberal, charismatic, or dead”.
The honour of the Lord Jesus has been trashed. It is a travesty.
Sadly also, many who once claimed His name are backslidden and nowhere with God. Many are shipwrecked in their faith.
Darkness and deadness grips the churches like a terminal illness. Coldness prevails. Or, on the other extreme, we see an abundance of fake revivals and counterfeits, and the pretense of Pentecostalism.
Toxic teachings are everywhere, and discernment of error is utterly lacking in many quarters.
It seems we have lost the love of the truth. Change agents have infiltrated and done much damage. Churches have departed from the most holy faith once delivered unto the saints.
Christian rock music fills the airwaves and no one dares raise a voice of question or concern, lest they be branded as a Bible bigot. Families are torn apart in this ME-generation in which we live, as selfishness replaces love and kindness.
We have popular preachers, such as Rob Bell saying that “Christianity is Irrelevant if it continues quoting the Bible”.
It’s as if, these days, that it is the world that defines what is truth, not God.
What does God say of our relationship to the world, now that we are saved? He wants...
Philippians 2:15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
We have been called – CHOSEN OUT of THE WORLD... The world is hostile to God, but we needn’t be afraid.
Yet there once was a man who penned these words, although written in German,
...though this world, with devils filled,Should threaten to undo us,We will not fear, for God hath willedHis truth to triumph through us.(“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”)
We have seen, thus far,
We are chosen not by any merit of our own.
We are called – chosen out of the world.
Thirdly, we seeWe are CALLED – CHOSEN to have LIBERTY.
You can know a LIBERTY in Christ.
This affiliation that we have is not a forced one or an onerous one; it comes freely and brings freedom.
It is the opposite of religion, which comes from a root word which means to bind.
The Bible tells us of... the glorious liberty of the children of God.
Romans 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
There are many scriptures which tell us of the liberty we have in Christ.
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
Psalms 119:165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
Our liberty comes from a right understanding of God’s truth, applied to our lives.
Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
True freedom comes from the Word.
2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
Gal 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
We are chosen not by any merit of our own.
We are called – chosen out of the world.
We are called – chosen to have liberty.
Also,
WE ARE CALLED - CHOSEN TO BATTLE
We are called to war... It takes COURAGE. BOLDNESS.
We are NOT CONSCRIPTS. We are ENLISTED SOLDIERS, WILLINGLY joining the fight.
We are called to take up arms.
To go against the flow.
2 Timothy 2:3-4 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
(4) No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
We are engaged in battle, and we need to be as brave soldiers.
This is no time to be cowardly.
We are soldiers.
And we have our standing orders.
Our Commander in Chief has given us clear directions, orders that we must hearken and obey.
This is a time to be applying God’s truth to our lives.
Psalms 119:9-11 ...Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
(10) With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
(11) Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Jesus said,
Matthew 5:18 Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law.
A “jot” refers to the smallest Hebrew letter, which is like a comma, a tiny mark.
A “tittle” is a tiny point on a Hebrew letter. Even these small accents on the Hebrew words of Scripture are there by the supernatural inspiration of Almighty God!
As one preacher put it...
When I hold this Bible in my hand, I am holding a great treasure. It is a word-for-word translation of the God-breathed words of the Lord our God!
I hold in my hand a word-for-word translation of the Word of God! If I want to know what God thinks about a subject, I do not look to what a philosopher thinks, or what a secular scholar thinks. When I want to know what God thinks about a subject, I open my Bible and read the verbally inspired words that God has given.
We know the living Word and we have the unfailing written word.
We have the God-breathed truth from heaven in our hands.
Let us stand together in the battle for truth.
Against the powers of darkness.
And our commanding officer is always in range. He is never out of range for us to be able to speak directly with Him.
He will always be ready to hear us.
Psalms 34:15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Wrestling with God in prayer... Striving together in prayer In the spirit of prayer
It reminds me of the agony of Christ as He prayed for us in the Garden.
We are chosen not by any merit of our own.
We are called – chosen out of the world.
We are called – chosen to have liberty.
We are called – chosen to battle.
Also,
WE ARE CALLED – CHOSEN TO SERVE
Not only have we the great privilege just to be saved, we also have the wonderful privilege to be able to serve God.
We are not called to be passive.
But... To Get Busy for God. To fulfil God’s mandate
He says, come, follow me...
We are called to... Partnership To be workers together - With God. To be His witnesses.
What a privilege!
We need the truth.
We have something to proclaimLet us speak boldlyAnd see lives radically changed
As we proclaim the sweet gospel
Including warning of the consequences of rejection.
God’s word changes lives.
He has equipped us with the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible
We will speak the truth plainly, as we must, as those that must give account.
If hell is your destination there is no escape.
We will not tone it down. We daren’t.
We must be faithful messengers of this soul saving truth.
Proverbs 23:23 Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
“Spare no pain! Spare no cost! Spare no sacrifice to obtain the truth and when you have purchased the truth protect it, keep it safe, and secure.
“The truth will always cost you something and it is a shame to pay the price and then sell it for a paltry or a penury sum.
“Whatever the cost is you go ahead and buy the truth. It will cost you hours of study, cost you tuition, cost you so-called friends, long hours of work, days and nights of prayer, or a denomination but what happens to you doesn’t really matter. What happens to truth is what matters! The stand for the truth is the big thing.”
Some may ask, “Preacher, aren’t you afraid your stand for truth will cost you followers?” I’m not attempting to have followers! I am attempting to stand for the truth.
Buy the truth and sell it not.
This is the truth that sets men free.
John 8:32, And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
The Scripture does not say you will know the truth and the truth shall make you famous, popular, gain crowds, or gain riches!
Buy the truth and sell it not!
This is the missing ingredient in many churches.
Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge...
We need to be a faithful church that preaches the sure, pure, plain, true Word of God.
Our message is not sugar coated, but unadulterated. We declare it boldly, without fear or favour.
We are called to a no-nonsense, uplifting ministry...
We want to be a church where God’s truth is not altered by man’s opinion or political correctness.
We will not water down the gospel to make it more palatable. We dare not.
As Paul said, in Galatians 1:10 ...do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
We will not mess with the message.
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
He has chosen us.There’s not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God hath chosen the foolish things, the weak, the base, the despised...
We are chosen - not for any merit of our own. He speaks to each of us, one by one. He has showed us what is good.
We are chosen out of the world, to shine as lights in the world.
He has chosen us to glorious liberty, as children of God.
We are chosen to battle. AS a soldier we are called to please our commanding officer. We are ambassadors of the Gospel.
We are chosen to serve. As fishers of men. We are called to buy the truth and sell it not.
It’s been said that ‘A Biblical Baptist is one who believes in a supernatural Bible, which tells of a supernatural Christ, Who had a supernatural birth, Who spoke supernatural words, Who performed supernatural miracles, Who lived a supernatural life, Who died a supernatural death, Who rose in supernatural splendor, and Who will one day return in supernatural glory to establish a supernatural kingdom on earth.’
We must surrender to God... Stand for our Master
May our strong burden be the salvation of souls...
To win souls for Christ.
God’s word measures us. This is what we want to measure up to... God’s plumbline.
We are called and chosen and God wants us to grow into the stature of the fullness of Christ... He doesn’t want us to have stunted growth...
Ephesians 4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a
perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
Some don’t reach their full stature. They have stunted growth.
What is that hinders? Let us abstain from all appearance of
evil. Let us realise the power of God over
our lives. Let us BE THE CHAMPIONS we need to
be, who will HONOUR GOD. Let us realise THE FREEDOM we have in
Christ.
Let us be rid of what is TOXIC and UNHELPFUL and holding us back from reaching the full stature...
