Called and Chosen

For many are called but few are chosen. Matthew 22:14

14¹ To be called is to receive salvation (Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 4:1), whereas to be chosen is to receive a reward. All believers have been called, but few will be chosen to receive a reward. (http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=829)

Many are called, many have experienced the salvation God wrought for any who believe. This aspect is rather general and simple, it requires a simple faith of believing into the Lord Jesus Christ and baptising into His Name. All genuine Christians have been experiencing this. But how about being "chosen"?

To be chosen is to receive a reward, to enjoy the kingdom of the heavens. This is a special portion among the many called, exclusively for the overcomers. To be a Christian is one thing and to be an overcomer is altogether another thing. A simple faith in Jesus Christ qualifies one to be a Christian, but to be an overcomer needs a daily exercise of living out the subjective righteousness of Christ.

This morning as I read the Word, I was reminded of my need to daily live out Christ, taking Him as my life and my living. It is not sufficient just to be a Christian, much more, I must exercise my spirit to live Christ, gain Christ, enjoy Christ and express Christ.

The Lord even convicted me of my lethargic nature towards matters, things and persons. I should be more aggressive in my pursuit of Christ and more severe in dealing with my self, my flesh and my soul life, even apply the strictest lifestyle, trusting in the grace of the Lord and yet having more grace in dealing with others. Specifically, the Lord reminded me to make a covenant by exercising my free will, , not to give Satan, sin and the world any opportunity whatsoever or whensoever. And I must do all that can be done as my human cooperation to not let the evil one have any say or any ground for anything in my life. This is indeed a fresh reconsecration of my tripartite being to wholly be sanctified for the Master's use.

Any by this covenant, He paved the way for me to be an overcomer. Called? Yes. Much more, Chosen. Not just being called in a generic way, but specifically chosen to be an overcomer. May the Lord grace me to be an overcomer with all the saints who have been called and chosen.

The Old Man

The old Adamic race of the dust often raises his ugly head. Since the fall of man, this old man endued with sin in the flesh is a real litmus test of a believer's soul, on whose side he stands with. Even after regeneration, this old man, though objectively crucified at the cross but subjectively toggles between dormancy and aggression based on where the mind of the person is set. The mind set on the flesh is dead, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.

No believer is immune to the activity of the flesh. The flesh with sin is very much present as long as a person is alive. Therefore, the need to exercise the spirit all the time. No genuine spiritual man will easily deal with the flesh, for the more mature a person is, the more he recognizes how sinful he is. The teaching of sinless perfection is just an utopian dream.

No believer can boast ever that he has overcome the flesh all forever. If any claims such, he must be ignorant or blind or at the best a novice. The more one grows in the Lord, the more conscious he becomes of his old man, and thereby, the more he look to the Lord for His blood washing, cleansing and covering. The flesh is very alive but he can be limited, restricted and subdued by our willing cooperation with the Spirit to deny the flesh. This is the exercise needed of every believer. And this is to work out our daily salvation day by day.

The Lord even exposes me these days of how old I have been, and how sinful I have been. The flesh, given opportunity is just the incarnation of Satan manifesting his notoriety. No wonder, the Lord rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me Satan!", even after the glorious revelation of Christ and the Church. Often when not in the spirit, the soul coils down to the bosom of the flesh fully entwined with, in all his heinous deeds. However, if such happens there is a way out! Halleluijah!

The precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is so efficacious! Whenever I fall or sense a guilt within, I come boldly to the throne of grace, apply the blood, offer Christ as my trespass and sin offering and claim the victory of Christ. With this experience bit by bit, day by day, I am climbing the highway of Zion step by step. The enemy may do whatever he may, the Lord is and ever be my Shepherd leading me on and on. The old man will be alive until my last breath, but I must exercise my spirit and starve him to naught.

"Lord preserve me day by day and grant me the grace I need to be in You and one with You all the time. Save me from my self, my old man and my flesh. Lord, keep me in You, in my spirit all day long, all the days of my life."

On My Knees

On the Lord's day morning in my time with the Lord, the Spirit convicted me deeply of my natural being, what a wretched man indeed I have been. This brought me down on my knees to offer Christ as my trespass offering and sin offering. So deep was the conviction that the repentant prayer for forgiveness was so thorough. Prayer offered in such a way indeed was so sweet and satisfying at the end. The divine Spirit praying in my prayer.

Later, as I went to pick up two new ones for the Lord's day meeting, the Lord moved in them and they opened up to say that they needed to be baptized. When they came the previous week, the Lord spoke to them and now they decided to take a definite step in their faith, not just to believe passively but even be baptized with water baptism. These two, after the Lord's day meeting got baptized. Halleluijah!

Later, in the evening, the Lord created a situation by cancelling the small group meeting I used to attend. As I was considering to start another home meeting with a new one, the Lord reminded me to spend time in prayer instead and gave me a strong sense to consecrate some solid time of prayer, not just this time, but on a daily basis.

O the prayer that followed after this was so strong, so enjoyable! Burden after burden, the Lord released through my private time with Him. Prayer was so spontaneous, utterance came from His presence and anointing. Many doubts of the enemy's darts were all cleared up. Into the inner sanctuary of my spirit, the Lord shined and showed me what is what and what He will accomplish. Intercessory prayers for many saints were made, binding the enemy. A fresh consecration for new way of living, a revived lifestyle was made, trusting in the grace of the Lord to carry the same daily.

O what a blessed time indeed, in His sweet presence. Satan has deprived many children of God of this blessed secret portion of the saints. May all saints be awakened from the lullaby of the enemy, from a dirge of the spirit, from a numbing of the soul and from a captive of the body, to a quickening of the spirit, to a renewing of the mind, and to life supply to the mortal body for the testimony of Jesus. These are what the Lord initiated while on my knees.

The Joy of Cherishing

A month ago the Lord spoke to me from the life of Joseph in exercising his human care for his parent by allotting them the best of the land in Egypt and giving them the best hospitality within his capacity. Joseph did his best in cherishing his parents and siblings according to the blessings he received from God. So also is the need for me to do the same.

The day I left home almost nine years ago to serve the Lord, I remembered the word I spoke to my dad in faith. Not a verbatim, but a paraphrasing, "Thank you so much for all your care until today. But from now on, I will not burden you for anything anymore. If the Lord bless me I will share the blessing with you." After that solemn word of faith I left my father's house, my kindred and my country, to follow and serve the God of glory who appeared to me, all the days of my life.

Two years after, I finished the full time training in India, then another two years after, I got married and the Lord began to fulfill what I uttered in faith. The blessings God bestowed me and my wife with, I shared with my dad and my family, and through our cherishing care in humanity he was very comforted. From then on, whenever there was the opportunity I participated in my family's physical and financial needs, not just few, but many times. That's my portion out from the Lord's blessing.

Seven years later from the time I left home to serve the living God, my dad also believed into the Lord Jesus Christ and I personally baptized him. O what a blessing! God is faithful not only to his words, but more to the words we uttered in faith in oneness with Him. He moves through us.

Remembering the utterance of faith, when my dad called me of his need to visit me in Gurgaon and do some health check up in Delhi with my mother following suit to see us and the kids, the immediate response was a reminder of the uttered word, "if the Lord bless me I will share the blessing with you, I will not burdened you for anything..." Then I booked return flight ticket for both my mom and dad, they came, and did my best to give them the best I could remembering what the Lord spoke to me of Joseph how he gave the best for his family. This indeed is a blessing in disguise.

True to what was uttered in faith, I took nothing from my dad but rather took care of his needs. This is not because I had the capacity nor the ability. No. It is truly because of the Lord's blessing and His honoring of the word I uttered in faith nine years ago when He called me to serve Him. And when the Lord fulfills such promises, it is indeed joy unspeakable. The joy of cherishing in humanity. Glory be to God!

God's Glory in Satan's Instigation

And I will harden Pharoah's heart, and he will pursue after them; and I will glorify Myself through Pharoah and through all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah. And they did so. Exodus 14:4

Similar cases are recorded in verses 17 and 18. On the one hand it was God who hardened Pharoah's heart, yet this hardening was used by God to deal with the Egyptians, and thereby God Himself was glorified. God used Satan's instigation to carry out His salvation work of His children.

Oftentimes, we may wonder at certain negative situations and rationally reason why it were so. But the Lord in His sovereignty allow them all. In most cases, these negativity are -- to deal with Satan the instigator, to transform us the believers to believe into Him more and positively fear Him and for Him to gain the glory. In most cases, it is an acid litmus test for the people involved whether they are of the Lord or not; and if so, the confirmation of the Lord's hand upon them.

Verse 31 says, "And when Israel saw the great power which Jehovah exercised against the Egyptians, the people feared Jehovah; and they believed in Jehovah and in His servant Moses." If what happened had not had happened, it is very doubtful if the rebellious Israelite would ever recognized Moses as the God appointed deputy authority, and much less, truly believed in Jehovah. So much the more our cases are today.

May the Lord preserve us to be preserved and acknowledge His arrangement even among His children for Him carry out His heart's desire.

God's Distinction

In the conflict between Jehovah and Pharoah for the release of Israel, Jehovah in exercising His judgment upon Pharoah and the Egyptians with the land of Egypt, always made a clear cut distinction with His chosen people Israel. When judgments were executed it was only to the Egyptians and not to the Israelite.

For instance, Exodus 9:4 says, "Jehovah will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing will die of all that belongs to the children of Israel." Verse 6, "And Jehovah did this thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel not one died." Similarly in verse 26, "Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail." 11:7, " Jehovah makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel."

Righteously, God thundered curses after curses for the release of His chosen, yet on the other hand He hardened Pharoah's heart as to not let Israelite go free, and in this juncture poured out His wrath of curses upon everything that is Egyptian or worldly and sinful in nature and appearance. Yet amid-st all these, the Israelite were completely insulated. God indeed is sovereign in His dealings with the ungodly, and wise in His preservation of His chosen.

In this age of the new covenant, we, the believers are the real Israelite and the unbelievers are the Egyptians. All that have happened and are happening in today's world are worsening speedily. Yet, we, God's children, are safe in His gracious care day by day. The world may tread its course, but we must go on in grace until the full redemption of our tripartite being unto the consummation of this age. What a blessing to be a child of God, the real Israelite, God's own children!

A revelation of God's distinction of His and not of His enlightened me to see how blessed I am. How I wish that many who are not yet His may be His when He still tarries. This indeed has revived me to co-work with Him to bring many to salvation. Lord, save many, save India and the world.

Double Salvation

The salvation God bestowed upon mankind is always of two aspects. As seen from the lives of Noah and his family. God saved them from judgment and also delivered them from the evil age. Today in our christian lives too, we are not only saved from God's judgement but also delivered from Satan's power, the world and the evil age. However, many Christians do not necessary experience both. Every genuine believers experiences the aspect of salvation which saves from eternal condemnation but the daily salvation of deliverance from the authority of darkness, the power of Satan and the influence of the world is still a long way to go. But the complete salvation of God comprises both, and every genuine believers should and must experience both.

In my pursuit of the the Life-study of Genesis and the study of the Word, I was reminded of these two aspects. Similar fact is also recorded in Exodus 3:8 "And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land..." Two aspects of salvation again:

1. Deliverance from the usurpation and tyranny of Pharoah

2. Entrance into the good land flowing with milk and honey (Deut. 8:7-9)

Even after deliverance from the world many still are wandering in the wilderness not knowing that their goal of deliverance is to possess the good land flowing with milk and honey. This good land is the all inclusive experience of the all inclusive Christ in the normal and proper church life. And the flowing of milk and honey is only in the good land, not in the wilderness. For a Christian to be redeemed yet not enjoying the church life is definitely not a double salvation. Every Christian must be in the proper church life, for only in this, God can fulfill His plan.

Eternal condemnation issue is settled once for all, deliverance from the world and from the usurpation of Satan is still on the go and the entrance into the good land is marvelous! This must be the experience of every believer. Anything sort of these experiences in full is definitely a shortage. May the Lord rescue me from a mere partial enjoyment of God's full salvation and bring me fully into the full enjoyment of His double salvation.