2016.01.24_Be Chosen

We belong to God
God created heaven and earth and rules over all things. All creations belong to God for they were created for Him. Hence God uses them of His own accord. Creations do not have the right to refuse or disobey when God desires to use them.
Whilst people say they believe in God, many of them in fact do not know God. If they knew God, they would surely realize that they themselves belong to God. That which belongs to God cannot depart from God to act of its own will. If anyone refuses to live according to God’s will, he cannot but be forsaken by God.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”. Every person dies, whether they believe in God or not. Though people may not believe in God, they can do as they please while they are living in the world. However once they die, they will perish irrespective of their own will. Hence it is imperative that we know God and realize we belong to God, while we are still in the flesh. As a person kneads dough to make what he wants like bread or noodles, we also have to let God use us as He pleases.
Unbelievers suppose they have a predestined fate and leave their lives up to such fate. And in the past, we were no different to them. Yet we discovered that we belong to God after we came to know Jesus Christ. Psalm 100:3 says, “It is He (God) who has made us… we are His people”. For God created us and we belong to Him, we ought to let Him use us of His own accord.

Those that belong to God must walk the path of Jesus.
A great number of people today bemoan that they cannot see a way to life – no way to make a living, no way to success. However Jesus said, “I am the way” (Jn 14:6). People feel as if there is no way because they ignore God and distrust the words of Jesus. It is not a doctrine that one comes to realize that Jesus is the way, but rather a vital discovery of his life’s direction. Often times, people seek counseling from others when they are lost and struggling to find the direction for their life. However, there is no one like Jesus Christ in this world who can show us the way to eternal life.
The way of Jesus Christ is rough and difficult. When we are walking the way of the world, we may at times lie or make excuses in order to avoid difficult situations. However, a person who chooses to walk the way called Jesus Christ cannot do so. Jesus Christ came to this world as a man just like us, and that way was hard to walk even for Him who is the Son of God. He was clearly forsaken, and finally died on the cross. He did not seek any comfort from this world but solely relied on God the Father (Heb 5:7). Thus God raised Him from the dead, lifted Him up to be enthroned in heaven. He is the One who now says to us, “I am the way. Follow me if you believe God”.
Through His own blood, the Lord opened up a new and living way for us (Heb 10:20). It is only when we walk that way that our soul has life and true happiness. Everybody wants happiness. But since God alone can give us that happiness, we must go before Him to receive it. The problem is that it is impossible to go before God through any man-made route. This is the reason we have to choose the way of Jesus.

Be chosen as God’s
When it is autumn, farmers harvest their crops from the field. However the harvest is not the end. The crops are gathered on the threshing floor where the grain is separated from the chaff. The grain is gathered into the storehouse while the chaff is thrown into the fire (Mt 3:12). All of us have already been called; yet that is not the end. Now we need to be chosen by God.
Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” We must choose life not only for ourselves but for our descendants also. No branches can grow if the roots of a plant rot. Similarly, if we do not choose life and blessing, our descendants will perish. Blessing is not about making a lot of money but to receive God’s love. The one who can save us from the dead and deliver us from destruction is God and no other.
God gave the Law to mankind. Before the Law, every man is found a sinner. The Law brings man to his knees to confess before Jesus, “I am a sinner”. And Jesus gives faith to those who come before Him, that they may become children of God. The Holy Spirit seals those who have a relationship with God through the intercession of Jesus. A person is not qualified as God’s simply by offering his devotion inside a worship building. Instead, if anyone came to church at the Lord’s calling, now he must confess that he is a sinner, have faith, and be sealed by the Holy Spirit. Only then will he be of God.
Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son (Mt 22:1-14). The people who were initially invited to the wedding represent Israel, and those who were later invited indicate Gentiles. At first when the king sent his servants to call those who were invited, they all made different excuses and did not come to the wedding. The king was furious, and told his servants to invite anyone they could find in the streets to attend the wedding. Romans 11:25 says, “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” We, who were formerly Gentiles, are like those people who were found in the streets and invited to attend the wedding.
If we received the king’s invitation, we must put on the wedding clothes and attend the wedding, and all the more so since we have been give this privilege when we were originally undeserving. Whoever ignores the king’s feast without even observing common courtesy will be cast into the outer darkness, where they will be weeping and gnashing their teeth. In regard to this Jesus said, “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt 22:14).
The Bible says the total number of those who are sealed in Israel will be a mere one hundred and forty-four thousand (Rev 7:4). Though the number of Gentiles is comparatively much greater than the number of people in Israel, it is immensely small when we consider the total number of Gentiles that ever lived (Rev 7:9). The Greek word ecclesia, from which the word church is derived, has a meaning of “to be called out”. It is by God’s invitation that we became members of the Church. Hence now we need to be chosen by God.
God first chose Adam out of all the people that filled the earth, and then He chose Abraham when the descendants of Adam had filled the earth. Again, God chose David whom He was pleased with out of many young men and said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22). Likewise, we must be chosen by God.

Put up a struggle to be chosen
Jacob and his older brother Esau were twins. Jacob had such a strong longing for God’s blessing that he was holding onto his brother’s heel when he was born. God chose Jacob over Esau although Esau was the firstborn, because He observed how Jacob struggled with his brother inside the womb. God said, “Two nations are wrestling in your womb. The older shall serve the younger” (Gen 25:23).
Even after they were born, there was nothing special about Jacob compared to his brother Esau for God to choose Him. Nevertheless, he longed for his brother’s blessing. Then one day, he cooked some lentil stew, but instead of eating it himself, he gave it to his hungry brother in exchange for his birthright. He even snatched his father’s blessing from his brother which is only given to the firstborn. At Jabbok River, he wrestled until his hip was dislocated and finally received God’s blessing. It is fair to say that Jacob’s life was a succession of endless struggles.
Are you worthy of being chosen by God? Are you putting up a struggle inside? Do you have a longing? Is your soul yearning to fight and overcome your flesh? Many people mistakenly believe their soul will be secure if they rely on doctrines. However what we need is the fervent desire to receive the love of God.
It is human nature to be burning with jealousy when the one we love gives his or her heart to another person. A person in love wants the other person all to him or herself. In the same way, if we love God, we would also have that desire for God. Do we have such love? Are we putting up a struggle as Jacob did? We should not be content at being invited, but endeavor to be chosen by God.
Exodus 20:6 says, “Showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments”. Our faith is not only for our own selves; we must consider our children to a thousand generations as we lead our lives of faith. It is up to us to determine whether a thousand generations of our children will be cursed by God or loved by God. We first have to be chosen by God in order for our descendants to abide in God’s grace for a thousand generations.
When Jesus chose the twelve disciples, He chose those He wanted (Mk 3:13). The one who chooses is the Lord, not us. We cannot be chosen by God simply because we want to. The disciples of Jesus were chosen but not because they had learning or were of noble birth. God chose them because He noticed the struggle they had within them.
Prayer is our soul putting up a struggle against our flesh. Fasting is also about our soul fighting and overcoming our own flesh (Isa 58:5). Our faith life is about overcoming in the battle against ourselves. We must go before by overcoming our flesh and the world. We have to walk the way of Jesus. No longer should we live the old way we followed in this world, but live according to God’s way. This is certainly not easy. Yet in order to live, we must walk this path, and for that, put up a struggle. As God watched Jacob wrestling inside the womb, our soul’s battle must also be noticed by God.