Praise the Lord, Grace & Peace great people of our “Great God” …JESUS!

In my observation as it pertains to those who are striving to render a earnest capacity deemed necessary to please the Lord. I truly understand why one’s mindset must be perpetually thankful for the privilege to be chose by God. I truly believe because we are free agents in making the choice to follow Christ, our actions in serving God, will prove whether or not if we are chosen! Hence for this Golden Nugget I would like to provoke the thought, “Jesus Called Them, but He Chose Me” The following scriptures will be used to support my premise to provoke further gospel provocation:

Gen. 11:31  And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there.

Gen. 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Mat. 22:8-14 Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. So those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For many are called, but few are chosen.

I render the following definitions…

Called  klay-tos’; invited, that is, appointed, or (specifically) a saint:

Chosen  ek-lek-tos’; select; by implication favorite:

In these last and evil days, it is essential that a child of God understand the personal call of God! It is very easy to profess our profession when things are going well; but it ratifies what we profess when we have to walk by faith, believing in hope of “good things to come.” This is why the Hebrew writer emphasized in Heb. 11:1 that this Faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” This awesome principle, which the Apostle conveys, is what enables us to walk and persevere the course that is laid out before us! Especially when it is perceived by the world that it is wrong and out of order what we believe. We must be “persuaded” that there is something better to come, that there is something worth waiting for that will render a reward for all of our toil in this life. Hence, we according to Heb. 12:1 “run with patience the race that is set before us.”

All this was fully exemplified in Abraham, and the exemplification receives special attention when we see and evaluate the contrasting character of his nephew Lot and others.

In the book of Acts 7 we have the following words which emphasizes my premise, first recorded in Gen. 12: 1-2” The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he lived in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said to him, Get thee out of thy country and from thy kindred, and come into the land that I shall show thee” We see here that the light of God called Abraham out of the darkness in “Ur, of the Chaldees,” and shined upon him, to walk a path of weariness from time to time. But we see that this CALL gives Abraham fresh vigor for his soul, as he journeyed in quest of “a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” God’s call and revealed glory, allowed Abraham to see, in the light of His character, the true condition concerning the things that existed in Ur, and further more to believe a report concerning the future glory and inheritance; and hence he hesitated not, but immediately girded himself up for the journey.

My brothers and sister when we do a close comparison in the book of Acts 7 with Genesis 12:1; we get an essential principle. From inception when God appeared to Abraham, until the time he gets into the land of Canaan, we experience some illuminating points! It was not until his father Terah dies, that he removes himself from Haran, to the land that is referred to, in Acts 7:4 “From thence, when his father was dead, He removed him into this land wherein ye now dwell.”  This scripture renders a better understanding concerning what was is expressed in Gen. 12:1 “The Lord had said to Abram.” This illuminating point, shows that when Terah and his family moved out of Ur, as recorded in Gen. 11:31, that he did not received the revelation on his own, but from his son Abram, who received it from “the God of Glory.” It is obvious to me that Terah was a hindrance to Abram, rather than a help! Hence Abram did not come into his divinely appointed destination Canaan, until his father Terah died.

My brother and sisters we see the same principle exemplified in Rebekah’s brother Laban, he gladly received the gold and gifts rendered to him and others, but he did not embrace with earnest that his sister had been Chosen to be Issacs’s wife immediately. For we see in Gen. 24:53-55 “And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things. And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.”

It is obvious that Laban did not receive a revelation from “the God of glory,” and as consequence, Laban remained as time went on; as exemplified in the Word of God, as “a thorough man of the world.”

We see that when the Lord Chose Saul of Tarsus in his conversion, that there were other persons with him when he was struck to the ground by the glow of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ; many around Saul saw the glowing light that Saul experienced, but the scriptures makes it very clear in Acts 22:9 that “they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me.”  I need to emphasize that when you are Chose the voice must speak “to you,” the God of glory must appear “to you,” in order for you to take on the role of a pilgrim and stranger in this world; to persevere and run the race that is set before you through faith! This is not an national faith, nor family faith, but personal faith; which constitutes if you are a real witnesses for God in this world. GOLDEN NUGGET!

Please notice my brothers and sisters that Abram was released from the weight that he had experienced while his father was alive, he was enabled to enter into a path of faith with vigor which “flesh and blood” could never walk. This path at times was very thorny, and was very difficult from the beginning to the end. Hence, only God could sustained his soul! For we read because Abram was Chose, the word states in Gen. 12:6-7 “And Abram passed through the land to the place of Sichem, to the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. And the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar to the Lord who appeared to him.” Please notice that Abram at once takes his stand as a worshiper, in the face of the Canaanite. I emphasize, that the altar marks him as the Chosen one who had been delivered from the idols of Ur of the Chaldees, and had been taught to bow before the altar to the ONE TRUE GOD, “who made heaven and earth.” Saints please note in the following verse, that we received another illuminating point concerning the character of this man of faith, namely, “the tent,” which denotes that he was a stranger in the world! For Heb. 11:9 states “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”

On one occasion I preached a message entitled; “Don’t build your house where your Tent should Be” Hence, it is a fact that the tent and the altar, clearly presents him to us as a stranger and a worshiper; and being such, shows he was a man entirely separated from the course of this evil world.

Please know that there must be distinguishing factors that separate the Chosen from the Called, I know them as test, trials, and difficulties. For as soon as Abram finally pursued his path to Canaan, we see that he encounters difficulties, which were allowed to test the genuineness of his faith, as it pertained to its quality and objective. For the Word tells us “And there was a famine in the land.” Yes, my brothers and sisters, difficulty meets him in the very place where God told him to go to! Even today it is not always a comfortable thing to encounter trials and sorrows, yet we must persevere as Abram did; even though he deviated for a season. For when you are chosen by God, we often express the sentiments of the Psalmist, Psa. 73:3-5  “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men.”

Abram saw and experienced famine raging around him on every side, except in Egypt. At this point his faith was tried! He finds himself, like many of us today find ourselves, a place to live in ease and abundance, without exercising the excruciating pains of faith!

Wow, this man of faith must pursue the path of simple obedience. God told him, “Get thee out of thy country … to a land that I will show thee.”  But Abram saw a land that entailed nothing but starvation! But even though it should be so, God had not in any way disqualified His command. The words were simple and definite, “Into a land that I will show thee.” This should have let Abram know that regardless of how it looked, God had a place in the that desolate land preserved for him during that famine, if he would have kept walking by faith. The famine should not have induced him to leave the land, neither should have the abundance in the land, seduce him to remain. The premise was, “I will show thee.” Lord please help us endure the place you told us to go so that you can show us also!  GOLDEN NUGGET!

But we see that Abram leaves this land and he succumbs to his flesh, and the heavy trial, and alters his footsteps down to Egypt, leaving his tent and altar behind him. Abram exchanges these to obtained ease and luxury; he escaped, no doubt, the formidable trial under which he would of suffered in the land of promise; but he lost, for a season, HIS WORSHIP and STRANGERSHIP concerning the things which were ordain to be the dearest to him as a pilgrim in the world.

My brothers and sisters, there was not anything in Egypt for Abram to feed the spiritual man; it might have afforded him abundance in comfort as a natural man, but that was all. Egypt could not give Abram anything, unless he sacrificed his character, known both as a stranger and as a worshiper of God. And it’s obvious that he did this, when he left his Tent and his Altar in Canaan land!  It is the same scenario in these last and evil days needless to say; there is plenty in the world that our old man wants to feed upon luxuriously. Why? Because there are many rich delights “of the flesh and of the mind,” which gratifies the desire of the heart, but detours us from the path of simple obedience.

Hence, I render this question to the Saints, and the so-called Christian; Which shall we pursue, the gold and silver, the cars and houses, the present ease and affluence of Egypt, or the tent and altar of  “the land of promise?” Which shall we have; the carnal ease and delight of the world, or a peaceful holy walk with God while in this world now, along with eternal blessedness and glory hereafter? We cannot have both, if our priorities are not right or balanced in Jesus Christ! There has to be balance, as we keep God first. For the Word of God states in 1 Jn. 2:15-17“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

But we may ask, why was it that Abram had to experience famine and trial in the land of promise? Why didn’t he find a home and plenty there? Simply because the Canaanite and Perizzite dwelt in the land at that time. But we see the man of faith recovering himself, through the mercy, grace, and faithfulness of our loving God; who never allows his Chosen ones to wander too far away, nor tarry in nonproductive places or situations, when we are cognizant of where we are, and supposed to be. It was because of this, that the gold, silver, flocks, and herds of Egypt, could not satisfy Abrams soul. The reason was because he left the essence of his godly character; which was his tent and his altar! When Abram became cognizant of what he left, a renewed energy of faith rose up, and he rose from the dust of Egypt, and retraced his steps to the land of promise! Wow, what a moment of recovery!

Saints, it is the same with us today, who are truly chosen to fulfill the purpose of God, we should rejoice that the Lord did not leave us in a dismal and unfruitful place. He allowed our ship, which is often tossed by the waves and the winds of life, to align with the compass magnet that still points north. It is essential to note that Abram gained nothing in God during his visit to Egypt. Hence, Abram went on his journeys; to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, and back to the place where he had erected the altar at first as noted in Gen. 13:3-4 “And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai; Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.”

My brothers and sisters please evaluate the words “beginning,” and “at the first,” this proves that Abram made no progress while in Egypt, but that, while there, all his time was, as it were, lost. It is obvious that he learnt a serious lesson! Just like us, when we detour from the assignment of the Lord, and embrace the things of this world only to realize that our efforts were fruitless, non-effective, nor efficient because we succumbed to the pernicious influence of the world. Just like Abram when in Egypt who could not build an altar of worship, likens to us also. Faith of the chosen ones will always separate us from various environments that are not conducive to our relationship in Christ Jesus. Which proves that we are sojourners passing through this world.

This reminds me of the proposal rendered by the king of Egypt to Moses and Aaron in Exo. 8:25-27 “And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.

Just like today, Satan tries to get the people of God, his holy seed, to defile themselves by worshiping or sacrificing to God, in the world based on its terms; i.e., to neutralize our  character as worshipers of God, to bring us into accord with the low standards of ungenerated men and women of this world; people who hold places and positions in society, where Jesus Christ is an outcast! I often reiterate that we are to remain aware of this false religious system that perpetually declares that there is no difference between the religion of the world and true worship in God. This has proven to be a fearful delusion, which has led, and is leading, many souls out of the way concerning the absoluteness of truth and holiness. GOLDEN NUGGET!

My brothers and sisters, this distinguishes the Chosen from the Called.  It is so sad to hear, at times, concerning those who ought to know better, as they often say and do, to manifest a liberal spirit, speaking of the religion of the world, being encapsulated in various forms, as if we are to accommodate it!  Oh, let us not be deceived! God’s principle of separation is as strong and as binding today as it was in the days of Abram or Moses. “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing,” This shall continue to stand and is good as long as the “unclean thing” exists; nor can anything apart of it, be redefined as it pertains to Sin.

Saints, fortunately Moses was not a liberal, for he immediately rejected the countenance of the religion of the world, when he stated “It is not meet so to do.” Such powerful words! Wow, only if it would be more of us who proclaim to be Chosen, when we are invited to entertain the ideologies of this worlds religious system, would also reply “It is not meet so to do.” My brothers and sisters Abram could not worship in Egypt, nor could his SEED.

It is imperative that we understand that just as Abram had various difficulties to encounter during his faith walk course; we who have been Chosen, must realize that we have to tread between two dangerous extremes today! One is the temptation to return to the world; and the other, to strive with brethren who the Lord chose for us to have an impact in their lives. Abram recovered himself from the effects of the former, hence he could render a testimony concerning his experience.

My brothers and sisters when Abram emerged from Egypt, he was rendered a new responsibility, namely, the responsibility and commitment to lead his brother’s son Lot in the things of God. When he was in Egypt, this responsibility seemed to have faded, because of the institutions, laws, habits, luxuries, and the ease of life in Egypt. All these things erected barriers around the fact that he was his “brother’s keeper.” It is the same with us today, when we continue to be saturated with worldly ideologies, and its false religious system; we find ourselves not concerned with being our “brother’s keeper.” For Abram and Lot did not strive in Egypt.

There something striking to notice, the Word lets us know that “Abram went up out of Egypt and Lot with him.” Here we get a clear understanding of the definition of Called vs. Chosen. Lot proves his instability based on his acts, after leaving Egypt. It is obvious that he had gone up with Abram and not with God. Due to this, there were dire consequences, which proved that when he separated from Abram, he had nothing to lean upon. He had been moving under Abram’s protection and guidance, instead of being led directly by the Lord; and therefore, when he lost Abram he went astray. Hence, Lot was called, but he was not Chosen! Those who walk by faith in God, and acquire experiential knowledge in Him, with a yearning to please Him; prove that they are Chosen!

My brothers and sisters, I suggest that everyday you are allowed to wake up, that you evaluate where you are in God. Contra-wise to these new day erroneous religious systematic ideologies, there is a grand difference between the Called and the Chosen. Hence, I pray that you strive to live the holy life required by God, which separates you from this world in the eyes of God! Then you and I can perpetually know with full assurance that “Jesus Called Them, but He Chose Me.” Please strive to have a “JESUS DAY!”