Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few CHOSEN.
CHOSEN: G1588, eklektos, ek-lek-tos'
From G1586; select; by implication favorite: - chosen, elect.
God’s “chosen” (His PERFECT/MATURE sons) are those who have equipped themselves to serve their Father’s plan, and have stopped pursuing their own worldly agenda and desires.
How do I know that the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, are all true accounts of a true person named Jesus?
I read about a MAN, or I should say GOD, who in the four gospels went about doing good, healing the sick, casting out demons, feeding thousands of people, teaching that we should love our enemies, and do good to them that hate us, and that we should pray for them that persecute us.
Mat 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Then I read about how the authorities persecuted HIM, condemned HIM, and crucified HIM. I also read that all the people that He healed, and cast demons out of, and taught, and the thousands of people He fed, and the multitude of people who shouted Hosanna during the good times, were nowhere to be found when He needed comfort. With only four exceptions: one disciple (John), one woman He cast seven demons out of (Mary Magdalene), His aunt, and of course His mother. Most of the people around Him when He died were not mourning Him…but MOCKING Him.
Mat 27:39 And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads,
Mat 27:40 And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.
Mat 27:41 Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said,
Mat 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.
Mat 27:43 He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God.
From my own personal experience in this world…I KNOW THAT THE STORY OF JESUS IS TRUE!
When I was a young man my father told me that about five percent (5%) of people are good, and about five percent (5%) are bad, and about (90%) will do whatever the rest of the crowd is doing. Now that I am old, I think my dad’s estimate of the number of good people was way too high, and his estimate of the number of bad people was way too low. However, it may be that the world is just that much worse since then.
What I do know from experience is this: when times are good, you will have a lot of people (friends) around you who will want to share in the good times, but when times are bad, you will find out how alone you really are…if you are really blessed, you might have a spouse, or a child, or a friend, or a parent that will stick around and comfort you in times of trouble, but don’t count on it too much…especially in these last days.
Now that you know my pessimistic view of people, or should I say my “realistic” view of people, let me tell you my optimistic view of God!
Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for HE hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The LORD is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
God has a final plan to save and deliver as many people as possible from the torments of an eternity in hell, and He has given His CHOSEN the enviable position and opportunity to witness His plan being implemented.
How do we equip ourselves to serve our Father’s plan? The process itself is really quite simple, but the “commitment” to begin and complete the process will be exceedingly difficult. Hopefully, the other articles in my blog have helped to convince you that time is not on our side!
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Rom 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Rom 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
First, we need to be COMMITTED. If we are sitting in front of a television during most of our free time, eating pizza and drinking soda or beer, wondering who ate all the chips, we are probably not very committed to JESUS CHRIST. Our first step is to stop lying to ourselves! I know, I know, I know, we all work hard, we need time to relax and recharge our batteries. If we need to work sixty hours a week to keep up with all our monthly bills, and house payments, and to buy more toys, if we are constantly taking on more “responsibilities”, will we ever have time for JESUS CHRIST? Just asking? Listen to the Apostle Paul.
2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of JESUS CHRIST.
2Ti 2:4 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.
ENTANGLETH: G1707, emplekō, em-plek'-o
From G1722 and G4120; to entwine, that is, (figuratively) involve with: - entangle (in, self with).
I can hear people right now…I can’t leave my parents, or I can’t leave my children, or I can’t leave my spouse, or I can’t leave my grandchildren, or I can’t leave my friends, or I can’t leave my dog, or I can’t leave my cat, or I can’t leave my business, or I can’t leave my stamp collection, etc., etc., etc. Frankly, if God can’t protect and take care of your loved ones, neither can you. Listen to JESUS CHRIST!
Mat 10:37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
If you have been reading my blog, you probably understand that I believe that the “world system” has been under the control of Satan and his demonic followers since the fall of Adam and Eve, for nearly six-thousand (6000) years. However, although God has been extremely patient, He is not going to allow this world to remain in a “fallen” state forever. There will come a time when God’s “grace” will come to an end and His “judgment” will begin. Perhaps you are counting on God holding off judgment until you grow old and die? That may be the worst mistake anybody could ever make!
Mat 24:48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
Mat 24:49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
Mat 24:50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
We need to learn a lesson from the story of the tortoise and the hare:
The Hare & the Tortoise
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.
"Do you ever get anywhere?" he asked with a mocking laugh.
"Yes," replied the Tortoise, "and I get there sooner than you think. I'll run you a race and prove it."
The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.
The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.
The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.
The race is not always to the swift.
All through the New Testament, we are warned to STAY AWAKE!
1Th 5:5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
1Th 5:6 Therefore let us not SLEEP, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
SLEEP: G2518, katheudō, kath-yoo'-do
From G2596 and εὕδω heudō (to sleep); to lie down to rest, that is, (by implication) to fall asleep (literally or figuratively): - (be a-) sleep.
Unfortunately, there are many people in the world, including many Christians, who believe that they have all the time in the world, but in reality their time in this world is swiftly running out! The Apostle Paul describes our short amount of time here on earth as a RACE.
1Co 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
1Co 9:25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
1Co 9:26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
1Co 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
If the Apostle Paul did not take his salvation, or his journey here on earth for granted, how much more should we, who are living in the very last days, be preparing ourselves to meet the LORD when He comes?
I believe the story of GIDEON in the Book of Judges is our best illustration of why God will choose certain people over others. First, Gideon had zero self-confidence.
Jdg 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Jdg 6:15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.
The world is constantly encouraging people to be more “self-confident”, but God’s sanctification process is mainly attempting to teach us that we cannot have any confidence in ourselves.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
Another word for self-confidence is PRIDE.
1Pe 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the PROUD, and giveth grace to the HUMBLE.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
PROUD: G5244, huperēphanos, hoop-er-ay'-fan-os
From G5228 and G5316; appearing above others (conspicuous), that is, (figuratively) haughty: - proud.
God actively resists the PROUD but He gives grace (favour) to the HUMBLE.
HUMBLE: G5011, tapeinos, tap-i-nos'
Of uncertain derivation; depressed, that is, (figuratively) humiliated (in circumstances or disposition): - base, cast down, humble, of low degree (estate), lowly.
I believe another definition of HUMILITY is simply for a person to have a “realistic” understanding and acknowledgment of an average man’s capabilities in comparison to God’s capabilities. Let me explain.
The Bible contains many stories about MIRACLES. These are events or capabilities that completely defy logic and our common experiences in the world. We understand from our experience in life that one man does not put an army to flight, we know that blind people do not suddenly see, we know that lame people do not suddenly leap up and walk, we also know that dead people do not rise from the grave. In other words, these events are what most people would call “impossible”. However, the Bible continually affirms that what is impossible for man is exceedingly easy for God.
Mar 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
In the Books of the Bible, God is constantly putting people in “impossible” situations, so that they will learn “humility” and turn to Him for MIRACLES.
Jdg 6:11 And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
Jdg 6:12 And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
Jdg 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his MIRACLES which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
MIRACLES: H6381, pala, paw-law’
BDB Definition:
I believe in the not too distant future, God is going to put the whole world in an “impossible” situation, and we will need to turn to Him for MIRACLES.
2Ch 16:9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.
