These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with Him, called, and chosen, and faithful.
Thus shall the last be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.
For many are called, but few chosen.
By faith Moses, when he had become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;
choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him Who is invisible.
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to Thee in the name of Thy beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. And we do come to Thee with a spirit of worship.
We ask Thee, Lord, that Thou wilt speak to our hearts through Thy Word; that Thy Word will truly become life and spirit to us; that Thou mayest get what Thou dost desire from Thy people tonight. And to Thee be the glory. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Last night, we began this series of messages, and it is based upon Revelation 17:14. We know that that verse describes the last battle of this age. It is the Battle of Armageddon. It is a battle between the Lamb and those who follow Him, with the beast and his followers.
Now, our emphasis is not really on the battle. Our emphasis is on those who follow the Lamb in that last battle. We have to remember that this is the last battle of an age-long war.
As a matter of fact, that war was already won two thousand years ago at Calvary. And there our Lord Jesus defeated Satan and the principalities and authorities in such a decisive victory that He routed them and made a public show of them.
But even though the decisive battle was already won two thousand years ago, the war continued on. And today, we are still engaged in that war. But let us remember: it is just small skirmishes.
And the reason why the Lord allows the war to go on is because He wants to teach us how to walk. He wants to test our faithfulness. He wants us to be prepared for that last battle, that we may be qualified to be in that army of the Lord.
And those who have part in that last battle, the consummation of that age-long war, are those who are the called, and chosen, and faithful. So our burden for this time is that we may be among those who are the called, the chosen, and the faithful.
Last night we considered together the called. We mentioned at the very outset that God never asks for volunteers, because if He should ask for volunteers, no one is fit to volunteer. So you find that everything has to begin with God Himself. He calls.
He calls us by His glory and His virtue, 2 Peter 1. He calls us by His glory. In other words, when He calls us, it does not depend upon our need; it depends upon His glory. When He calls, He will never be satisfied until He Himself is satisfied, because that is what glory means. Glory is what God is. Glory is God Himself satisfied.
So, brothers and sisters, we who are the called of God, remember that it is a tremendous calling, because it is a call not according to what we are, but we are called according to what He is. And we are called by His virtue. In other words, we have no virtue, but He has all the virtue. He has made all the preparations for us. Virtue means what the Lord Himself has done for us.
And Paul said God had set him apart even from his mother’s womb and had called him by His grace. We are all called by the grace of God. We are unworthy, undeserving—nobody is worthy. But thank God that He called us by His grace. And His grace is amazing grace. His grace is universal. His grace is free.
And we are called according to His purpose. We are called that we may become part of His purpose, that we may be participants in the eternal purpose of God.
So last night we mentioned a little bit about what that calling involves. He has called us out, and He has called us into. He has called us out of our sins, out of the world, out of the power of sin, out of our flesh, out of the self-life, out of darkness, out of the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.
So we have been called out of many things. You know, sometimes we do not realize how many things we are called out of. And because we do not know that, probably we are still in them, because we do not know how much God has called us out of. To put it simply, everything that is not of God, God has called us out of.
And then He has called us into. He has called us into Christ, our righteousness. He has called us into the light of life. He has called us into eternal life, resurrection life. He has called us to be the children of God. He has called us into the fellowship of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He has called us to be the Body of Christ, and He has called us into His eternal purpose.
So we must remember that by the grace of God, we are the called—not because of what we are, not because we deserve that calling. It all begins with God. He calls us by His grace. And we do thank God that we are the called of God.
Now this evening we would like to continue on the second thing, and that is chosen—not only the called, but also the chosen.
Now, the word chosen, if it stands by itself—that is to say, not within the context in Revelation 17:14—means something like this: Ephesians 1:4. We are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
In other words, calling is now; chosen is eternal. When God’s call comes to us, it is now. But let us remember that even in eternity past, before the foundation of the world, before God laid the foundation of the world—now that is eternity past, before time began—in eternity past, God had already chosen us in Christ Jesus.
This matter of divine election is God’s prerogative. It is not something for us to argue; it is something for us to worship. Brothers and sisters, even before the foundation of the world, God has sovereignly chosen us in Christ Jesus.
In Romans 9, you find the Apostle Paul deals with this matter of being chosen, this matter of divine election. And there he says, “God saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” Therefore, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy.
Now, that is divine election. To put it simply, it means that divine election, or choice, does not depend on us at all. It does not depend on the one who wills. You may will whatever you want to, but it will not happen. It does not depend upon the one who runs. You may run very fast, but you will never reach there. It solely depends upon the God Who shows mercy.
And how does He show mercy? He says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” In other words, you cannot tell Him to show mercy to this one or to that one. God says, “It is up to Me. If I want to show mercy, I will do it. If I do not do it, then nobody can make Me do it.”
Now, that is sovereignty. That is God. God is sovereign. Therefore, He need not answer to anybody. He only answers to Himself, and He will do whatever He pleases. In other words, according to the good pleasure of His will, He has chosen us in Christ Jesus before the foundation of the world.
As if people would like to argue with Him, so there you find in Romans 9 God gives us some illustrations. God says, according to the Scripture, that even though the two boys were still in their mother’s womb, they had never spent a day on earth yet, and yet God said, “The greater shall serve the less.” Why? Because God said, “I have loved Jacob, I have hated Esau.”
We say this is very unreasonable. Why? Because these two boys had never lived a day yet. They had not proved who was the better one. And yet God said, “I have loved Jacob. I have hated Esau.” Now, that is sovereignty.
Now, if you want to argue more, God says, “All right, I will give you another illustration. Look at Israel. I raised up Israel to be a vessel of mercy, but I raised up Pharaoh to be a vessel of wrath.” Now, how can you explain that?
In other words, divine election, or divine choice, is God’s prerogative. We cannot argue it. The only thing we can do is bow down and worship. Thank God, somehow in His sovereignty, He has chosen us. We cannot explain why, but it happened.
D. L. Moody used what I think is the best illustration. D. L. Moody was a great evangelist, and in teaching the gospel, of course, he met lots of problems in that area.
What D. L. Moody used to say is this: when you go to hear the gospel, what is the gospel of Jesus Christ? The gospel says, “Whosoever will.” Whosoever will can come. Whosoever will, let him come and drink of the water of life. And whosoever includes whoever you think you are—that whosoever.
Now, if God should say, “Mike Graham may come,” then probably in this world there is only one Mike Graham—or maybe there are two who have the same name—but all the rest would be excluded. But when God says, “Whosoever,” well, if you think that is you, it is you, unless you reject it. And because whosoever will, all right, if you will, you can come.
And he said, when you come, you enter into the gate of the gospel. After you enter in, you look back, and behind the door you find, “Blessed are you who are chosen by God.”
Now, brothers and sisters, we do praise and thank God. We did look back, and we find that we are the chosen of God. God has chosen us with no reason in ourselves. Now, He has a reason. Of course, God always has a reason. But we do not know what that reason is, and we do not need to know. We thank God that we are the chosen. That is divine election.
God chose the nation of Israel as His chosen people. You know, if we read the Old Testament, you find again and again this term comes: “My people, My chosen ones.”
Now, why did God choose the children of Israel? It is His divine prerogative—not because the children of Israel were better than anybody else. It is because God chose them.
So again and again, you find God had to remind them, “Now, do not think that because you are more in number than the other nations that you are chosen. As a matter of fact, you are the fewest among the nations. But it is because God said, ‘I love you.’ That is why I chose you. It is up to Me.”
So do not feel proud about it. You know, unfortunately, you find the children of Israel got very proud of themselves. They thought they were better than anybody else. But actually, they were no better. It is God Who had chosen them. And actually, they should humble themselves before the Lord and love the Lord because they had been chosen.
Now, the same thing is true with us today. The church today is a chosen race. God has chosen us out of every nation, every tribe, every tongue, and God has made us a chosen race, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation. And why did He choose us? That we may declare the excellencies of Him Who has delivered us out of darkness into His wonderful light.
There is nothing for us to boast of. As a matter of fact, if we are the chosen, it should humble us.
If we read 1 Corinthians 1, you find God has chosen the weak things in order to confound the strong. God has chosen the foolish things in order to confound the wise. God has chosen those who are ignoble, who are despised, who are nothing.
Brothers and sisters, that is what we are. The only thing we can understand as to why God has chosen us is because we are foolish, we are weak, we are the despised, we are nothing. Now, if anybody thinks that he is wise, or he is strong, or he is somebody, he disqualifies himself from being chosen.
So, dear brothers and sisters, knowing that we are the chosen of God should really humble us. And that should really encourage us to love Him more and to obey Him more.
Now, that is not what I am going to share this evening. But I think I have to lay that foundation, because otherwise you may think that I am rather unbalanced.
I said at the very beginning that chosen, standing by itself, is what it is. God has chosen us before the foundation of the world.
And I personally, the more I live, the more I follow the Lord, the more I am grateful for divine election. You know, some people think that is a horrible doctrine, a horrible truth. But to me, I feel it is the most comforting truth, because I begin to see it is all up to Him. It really does not depend on me.
It is up to Him, and there is nothing more comforting, more strengthening, than to know that He has chosen you in Christ Jesus, that we may be holy and blameless before Him in love.
But when this matter of being chosen is connected with something else, and especially when you come to Revelation 17:14, you find it is the called and chosen. It is not the chosen and called.
You know, time-wise, we would say it is the chosen and then the called, because God has chosen us even before the foundation of the world, and then in time He calls you by His grace. Now, that should be the order. But here you find the Holy Spirit reverses that order. He says, the called, and then the chosen.
So when you see these two things put in that order, you know there is something else there. Many are called; few are chosen.
So there is something more than that we are chosen before the foundation of the world. There is something here as to this matter of being chosen in which we are greatly involved.
Now, our Lord Jesus, in Matthew 20, told us a parable. If you read Matthew 19, you know the background of that parable. A young man came to the Lord Jesus. He was seeking eternal life, and in real earnest. He was a good young man, very moral, and he came before the Lord and said, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
And you remember our Lord Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? There is no one good but God.” Now, the young man thought he was good, but not good enough.
And the Lord said, “How about the commandments? Do you keep the commandments?” He said, “What commandments?” And the Lord told him about the second table of the commandments. And he said, “I have kept them from my childhood.”
And the Lord looked at him and really loved him. And the Lord said, “You want to be perfect? Sell everything. Come, and follow Me.”
This young man was very rich. He would not let go of his riches. The Lord knew that that was the hindrance standing before his coming to follow the Lord. So actually, the Lord really wanted him to come and follow Him, but the Lord knew that unless he got rid of his riches, he would not be able to come and follow. And the young man went away sadly.
And our Lord Jesus said, “It is very hard for the rich to enter into the kingdom of the heavens.” Now, when the disciples heard that, they were really horrified. They thought the rich were able to get into the kingdom easier than the poor. And if the rich could not get in, who would get in?
So the Lord Jesus said, “With men it is impossible; with God all things are possible.” And then Peter again came and said, “Lord, we have forsaken everything and followed You. Now what will happen to us?” And then, you know, our Lord Jesus told this parable.
So that is the background of this parable. The parable is about a householder who has a vineyard. In the early morning he went out to hire laborers. There were laborers standing there, waiting to be hired, and they bargained. They settled on a wage—a denarius a day. A denarius in those days was a day’s wage. So they settled on a denarius, and these people went into his vineyard and began to work.
Then, in the third hour—that is, nine o’clock in the morning—the householder went out again, and he saw still more people there. So he told them, “Go into my vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.” So they entered into the vineyard.
And by twelve o’clock—that is, the sixth hour according to Roman accounting—he went out and hired more people. And by three o’clock in the afternoon, he hired more people and told them, “I will give you what is your due.”
And at five o’clock, only the eleventh hour until six o’clock, the end of the day, he still saw people standing there idle. He said, “Why do you not work?” They said, “Well, nobody engaged us.” He said, “Go in and work.” And they went in and worked for an hour.
And at six o’clock, the owner told his steward, “Call these people that came in last, and give them a denarius each.” So those who worked one hour got a denarius—a day’s wage.
And then those who came earlier—three o’clock, twelve o’clock, nine o’clock, and especially those who came in the early morning and bore all the heat of the day—they also got a denarius. And of course, they murmured. They said, “That is unfair. We worked the whole day, but these people worked an hour, and why did you give them a denarius? We should have more.”
Now, the owner called them back and said, “We have bargained and settled on a denarius, did we not? Now, you got what you asked for, so you go. Do not feel unhappy because I am more generous to those who only worked an hour. If I want to give them more, it is up to Me.”
And then in concluding that parable, the Lord said, “Many are called, but few are chosen. The first shall be last, and the last shall be first.”
Now, do we understand what it means? Here you find all these people were called into the vineyard. You know, in the Scripture, vineyard speaks of work—God’s work and service. We are all called into God’s service.
Brothers and sisters, do not think that only a few will serve God. As a matter of fact, all God’s children are called into His vineyard. We are all God’s servants and mates. When God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, He said, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”
In other words, we are freed not to live or serve ourselves. We are freed to serve God, to serve His purpose. So in a sense, here you find we are all involved in God’s work, in His service.
But you see a difference. Some people, when they enter into the vineyard, bargain for a price. In other words, they are working for God, but actually they are working for themselves. They work for their own gain.
And God, in His mercy, will give you what you deserve to have. But then you find the last ones that came in—the householder never told them what He would give them, whether He would give them anything or not. And these people came in and worked for the householder. They did not work for themselves. There was no bargain.
They just came because the householder said, “Come and work,” and they came and worked. It is serving the Lord Himself, not serving for the Lord’s wages. Now, that is the difference.
So, in other words, here you find in God’s vineyard, many are called. We are called into God’s service. But many are called; few are chosen. And the chosen ones are those who really work for the Lord and not for themselves. Outwardly, they are all working for the Lord, but in reality there is a difference.
And then the Lord, in Matthew 22, used another parable, and He concludes the parable with the same conclusion. It is a parable of a wedding feast. Here is a king who prepares a wedding feast for his son. His son is going to be married, and he invited guests to come.
But when the time of the feast arrived, he sent his servants to ask the guests he had invited to come to the feast. But you find that they all had excuses. They would not come. They were invited, but they did not come. And not only that, they even beat and killed the messengers.
Finally, you find the king said, “Well, these people are not worthy to attend My son’s wedding feast, and these murderers, they have to be eliminated.” And then he sent servants to the byways and highways, the hedges and everywhere, and said, “Just get people in to fill that hall.” So everybody came in and filled the hall.
And then the strangest thing is, the king looked around, and he saw one without a wedding garment. So he said, “Why do you not have a wedding garment?” Now, we would say, “These people came from the street. Where would they have the wedding garment?” But the king asked, “Why do you not have the wedding garment?” And that man was speechless.
And the king said, “Bind him and cast him out into outer darkness, because he is not worthy of the feast.” And the Lord concludes it by saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.”
Now, do we understand this parable? You know, sometimes we use this parable in preaching the gospel, and we can use it. But actually, you find this is the very center of the gospel message.
What is the gospel? The gospel is: God is preparing a wedding feast for His Son. Now, where is the bride? Nowhere in this parable do you see the bride. You see only those who come to attend the wedding feast. But that is where the mystery is.
Because individually, you are those who are invited to the wedding feast; corporately, you are the bride. Now, that is what it is.
You know, just like in Matthew 25, you find the ten virgins—the five foolish and the five wise. Look, where is the bride? The wise enter into the marriage feast, and the foolish are barred from the marriage feast. Now, where is the bride? Individually, we are virgins; corporately, we are the bride.
So here you find this is really the very center of the gospel. What is the gospel? The gospel is God calling people to come to the wedding feast. And if they respond to that call and come to the wedding feast, they will find that they are the bride of the Son of God.
But many are called, many are invited. The invitation is universal, but they do not come. They despise the King; they despise the occasion, because the Son is not in their eyes. They do not want to have any part with the Son.
Thank God, those who are really nothing—those from the byways and highways, the hedges—by His grace, we are brought in.
You know that in the early days, when the king was to have a feast, especially a wedding, he prepared all the wedding garments for all the guests. Now, that was a custom in those days.
If you were invited to the feast, when you came in, you put on the garment that he prepared for the guests. And that made you fit to sit at the feast.
And here is a man. He came, but he thought his garment was good enough. He did not see the reason why he should put on the garment that the king had provided for the occasion. And because of this, he was cast out.
Now, when you connect this to Revelation 19, you see the wedding feast of the Lamb has come. And who are those who are invited? And who is the bride? It says the bride has made herself ready, and it is given to her that she should be arrayed in fine linen, bright and pure, which is the righteousnesses of the saints.
Now, brothers and sisters, we have to wear a number of garments. When we come to the Lord Jesus and accept Him as our Savior, we are put on by God with the best robe. You know, the prodigal son came back. He had to be put on with the best robe, because without the best robe he could not sit at the table.
And it speaks of Christ, our righteousness. When we come to God, the first thing is that He will take away our filthy rags, because our righteousnesses are all as filthy rags. And He will instead put on Christ as our righteousness. That is the best robe.
And we all have that robe, you know. We all have that robe. But we need more than that. Not only Christ as our righteousness, which gives us our standing before God, but in our daily life the Holy Spirit is weaving a garment of embroidery into our lives.
You know, in Psalm 45, the queen is ready, and there you find the queen. She is dressed with a garment of wrought gold, and over the garment of wrought gold there is raiment of embroidery. Now, that is the wedding garment.
The garment of wrought gold speaks of Christ as our righteousness, and the raiment of embroidery speaks of the righteousnesses of the saints.
We have no righteousness of our own. That righteousness has been taken off, and we are put on with Christ as our righteousness. That gives us our standing before God. But that is not enough to go to the wedding feast.
To be just saved is not enough to attend the wedding feast. You must, in your daily life, allow God to put on you the wedding garment. And that is the righteousness of the saints.
Now, what does it mean? It means that day by day, the Holy Spirit will stitch and weave Christ, His character, into your life. That is transformation—to conform you to the image of His beloved Son. And that, of course, makes you fit to be His bride.
Now, whoever thinks that because he is saved, he has every right to attend that wedding feast—there may be a surprise waiting for you, because you are not fit. You know, a helpmeet is your counterpart. You have to fit.
And to be the bride of the Son of God, you have to have His character, His life, developed, incorporated, inwrought, woven by the Holy Spirit. You know, the Holy Spirit is a divine Weaver with such patience. Embroidery is very patient work, and how patiently He is weaving Christ into our lives.
The wedding garment that these guests put on is the wedding garment of the bride—the same garment. So corporately, we are the bride; individually, the guests, or the virgins—the wise virgins. Many are called, but few are chosen.
Here you find this chosen has something to do with our response to God’s grace. The call is universal, but the chosen is specific. The call is unconditional, but the chosen here is conditional. Now, that is conditional.
Thank God, we are called by His grace. But, brothers and sisters, whether we are the chosen is in question.
Let us use Moses as an illustration. Of course, even before Moses was born, God had already chosen him. There is no problem with that.
You know, when Moses was born, of course, he was born in the worst time. He was born to die. He was born with the sentence of death upon him. When he was born, Pharaoh had already issued a royal decree that all the male children of the children of Israel must be cast into the river and drowned. So Moses was born to die. He was under the sentence of death the day he was born.
But he was chosen by God even before the foundation of the world. And in God’s sovereign way, God kept him. He was raised in the palace of Egypt. And we must remember that Egypt at that time was the greatest empire in the world—the most civilized, cultured empire in the world.
And Moses was brought up in the palace. As he grew up, he knew in his heart. Now evidently, when his mother was nursing him, his mother must have imparted to that young child a sense of destiny: that God had preserved him in a miraculous way with a purpose. “Do not forget that purpose.”
And from his childhood he understood. So when he grew up in the palace and learned all the learning of Egypt, you find that inwardly that sense grew with him. He realized that God had kept his life with a reason, with a purpose, to deliver his brethren.
But when he was forty years old, he had to make a choice. He could choose to continue to live in the palace and enjoy all the luxuries of Egypt, and it was all within his reach.
And we are told by secular history that Moses actually at that time was a great general in Egypt. And he had the possibility of being Pharaoh himself, to succeed to the throne.
Now Moses, when he was forty, had to make a choice: whether he would continue to be the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and eventually inherit the throne and enjoy all the pleasures of Egypt; or he could make a choice to put himself with the children of Israel, in bondage as slaves.
It was a very difficult choice. If he chose to remain the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, he was called, but would never fulfill God’s purpose. But if he chose to be with the people of God, he would suffer, but he would fulfill God’s calling.
Now, brothers and sisters, here you find it is a tremendous choice. God has chosen you, but have you chosen Him?
He has chosen you with a purpose, but if you do not choose Him in your lifetime, you will not fulfill that purpose. So this is where the chosen comes in. If you choose Him, then you are the chosen.
And here you find Moses would rather choose to suffer affliction with the people of God than to have the temporal pleasure of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt. What a choice!
You know why he could make that choice? He saw the invisible. That is why.
It is not a matter of his being able to weigh these two things and finally make his choice. Nobody can weigh these two things and make that choice. Because if you weigh these things, everyone will choose the pleasure of sin, the riches of Egypt—not the reproach of Christ, not the suffering of God’s people. Nobody is foolish enough to make that kind of choice.
But he made the right choice. Why? He saw the Invisible One. In his spirit, we may say, he saw Christ.
Now, brothers and sisters, he said he would rather have the reproach of Christ. He saw Christ, just like Abraham. Abraham saw the days of Christ, and that gave him the faith to continue on. And Moses saw the invisible.
Brothers and sisters, our problem is not that we do not know. In a sense, we do know. But we do not see. That is our problem. We do not see Christ. We do not see Him.
If we really see Him, brothers and sisters, what are the riches of Egypt? They are rubbish, right? The thing is, you have to see the invisible.
Oh, that God will allow us to see His Christ. If in our spirit we really see Him, then you will find even the reproach of Christ is better than the riches of Egypt—not to speak of the glory of Christ.
That makes all the difference. And because Moses chose God, he was chosen by God to fulfill God’s purpose in this life.
The same thing is true with Paul. God had chosen him, set him apart even in his mother’s womb. He did not know it. And then on the road to Damascus, God called him by His grace.
But here you find God chose him to be an apostle. Why? Because God considered him faithful. In other words, he had made a choice too.
Brothers and sisters, in our lifetime, sooner or later—and it is better if it comes early in your Christian life—you come to a crisis. You come to a point at which you make a choice, and you choose God rather than the world.
Now, if you make that choice, then, thank God, you are the chosen. And He will use you to fulfill the calling to which He has called you.
You see, that is Romans 12. In Romans 12, you find the Apostle Paul says, “Therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, I beseech you to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service, or your spiritual worship.”
You know, after we have received all the mercies of God that we see in Romans from chapter 1 to chapter 11—what compassions, what mercies, what grace, what love God has poured upon us! Now, after we have received all of this, the Lord says, “Now, you need to make a choice.”
Present your bodies a living sacrifice. In other words, after you receive all the mercies of God—and the mercies of God come upon you with a reason, with a purpose—for that purpose to be fulfilled, you have to present your bodies a living sacrifice to God.
You can receive all these mercies of God and keep your body for yourself. That is, you live for yourself. You can do that. But that is unreasonable.
Now, if you are reasonable, or if you are spiritual, then what you need to do is present your body a living sacrifice. That is to say, you choose God.
A living sacrifice does not mean you do anything for God. A living sacrifice means you are at His disposal. Allow Him to do anything He wants to do, and as much as He wants to do, in your life.
That choice has to be made. And that is the reason why we often say consecration is the first spiritual experience.
After we are saved, the first spiritual experience is consecration. Because if that is not done, you have not started your spiritual journey.
To be chosen, you have to present your bodies a living sacrifice. Then you find your mind will be renewed, and you will begin to appreciate the perfect will of God. Otherwise, you will love the world, and you will be afraid of God’s will.
We can illustrate this from the Scripture in many, many ways. For instance, when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and brought them to Sinai, there at Mount Sinai He declared the reason why He delivered them out of Egypt.
You know, sometimes we are saved, but we do not know why God saves us. We may think God saves us because He wants us to be free. But that is not good enough.
The children of Israel were delivered out of slavery. They were free people, and probably they would say, “Well, thank God we are free. Now we can do whatever we want to do.”
So God, at Mount Sinai, declared to them why He delivered them. He said, “I want to make you a nation of priests. You are saved to serve Me.”
The whole life of a priest is not for himself. He does not have any inheritance among the tribes of Israel, because God is his portion. He serves God throughout his life. God is his only life.
And Israel was to be a nation of priests—the old and the young, the man and the woman, the whole nation to God as a priesthood. But unfortunately, they worshipped the golden calf, and the whole nation was disqualified.
Many were called, but it was as if none were chosen. But thank God, some were chosen. How?
Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, because the camp was defiled. God was not in the camp anymore. From that time on, Moses moved the tent outside of the camp because the camp was defiled. So he stood at the entrance of the camp and said, “Who is on God’s side?”
And the tribe of Levi came out. You see, the tribe of Levi was as guilty as the other tribes. They were also disqualified with the other tribes. But here you find they chose God.
They chose God in spite of themselves. They went into the camp and killed whoever they met. And in a spiritual sense, it means that they denied themselves, took up their cross, and followed the Lord. And in doing that, they were chosen to be priests.
There is a reason for it. Many are called, but few are chosen.
But even so, you find God, in His desire for us to fulfill that purpose, opened a door. And that back door is in Numbers 6.
All the children of Israel were disqualified to be priests, to serve God—only the tribe of Levi, only the house of Aaron. But still, thank God, there were some whose spirits were moved by God’s love, and they wanted very much to serve God. Now, how could they do it? You take a Nazarite vow.
You know, that is the back door. And the Nazarite vow—everybody could do it. Man and woman, everyone could do it. If you are constrained by the love of Christ, you want to devote yourself to God, say for a month.
A Nazarite has a time factor. During that month, you live for God. You do not live for yourself anymore; you live for God. Or a year. Or, like Samuel, a Nazarite for life. You can take that Nazarite vow.
And in taking the Nazarite vow, you are in His service. You come into service. And you find the regulations that govern the Nazarite vow are the same regulations that govern the high priest. You cannot touch a dead body, and so forth. It governs the priest who serves God.
It shows how much God desires that we who were chosen even before the foundation of the world, and are called by His grace, may fulfill our calling. So if only we choose Him, we will be the chosen.
You know, then again you find, say, in Deuteronomy 15, if a Hebrew child got so poor that he sold himself to another Hebrew, he would serve his master six years. But after six years, he could go free.
But if that slave said, “I love my master. I do not want to go out free,” then they would take him to the doorpost and pierce his ear. And with that hole there, he became a love slave for life.
You know, you can still serve. You can serve by obligation, or you can serve with love.
Every instance in the book of Judges—Gideon and the three hundred. Thirty-two thousand gathered together with Gideon to fight against the Midianites. But God said, “I cannot deliver the children of Israel with that kind of people, because they may think they did it.”
So Gideon said, “Whoever has fear in his heart, you may return.” And twenty-two thousand left. Only ten thousand remained. And God said, “Too much. Go to the river and see how they drink water.”
Some would just kneel down and lap, and others would put the water in their hands and drink it. And only three hundred people did it that way. In other words, they were in wartime, and they were alert.
You know, if you kneel down to drink and the enemy comes, you are dead. God found those who took the water in their hands. In other words, they were prepared all the time, ready all the time. And these three hundred were used by God. They were the chosen ones.
So, brothers and sisters, thank God, we are the called. It is unconditional. But are we the chosen? God has chosen you, but have you chosen Him? And on the basis of your response to Him, you will become the chosen one.
So here again, you find we need to be before the Lord and let His love constrain us, so that we may really choose Him instead of choosing anything else.
And you will find, when you do that, you are the chosen ones. You will be the people whom God can use to fulfill His purpose.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do want to thank and praise Thee because Thou hast chosen us in Christ Jesus even before the foundation of the world, that we may be holy and without blame before Thee in love.
We thank Thee, for Thou hast chosen us. But now Thou art calling us to choose Thee. Lord, we ask that Thou wilt speak to each one of us.
If we have not chosen Thee, Lord, use Thy love to constrain us, that we may really present our bodies a living sacrifice and allow Thee to work out Thy purpose in our lives.
Lord, we pray that none of us here will one day find ourselves not among those who are the called, the chosen, and the faithful. We just look to Thee for Thy mercy upon us, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, we do want to thank and praise Thee because Thou hast chosen us in Christ Jesus even before the foundation of the world, that we may be holy and without blame before Thee in love.
We thank Thee, for Thou hast chosen us. But now Thou art calling us to choose Thee. Lord, we ask that Thou wilt speak to each one of us.
If we have not chosen Thee, Lord, use Thy love to constrain us, that we may really present our bodies a living sacrifice and allow Thee to work out Thy purpose in our lives.
Lord, we pray that none of us here will one day find ourselves not among those who are the called, the chosen, and the faithful. We just look to Thee for Thy mercy upon us, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.