Title: If God Chooses /Isaiah 43:8-13
Many people carry cell phones. There are various ringtones and music sounds. According to newspapers, there are more than a thousand sounds and music. Just looking at this makes us realize our reality. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the age we live in is an age of choice. There are many types of shampoo for washing hair, and after using one or two types of toothpaste, there are now dozens of toothpastes. It is said that these days, even an apartment does not enter the place where it was built, but can choose the structure of the apartment at will. Even if it hurts, I choose which hospital to go to, and sometimes I worry about where to live even if I buy the same thing. When there is a complaint at the police station, it is said that the complainant chooses the police officer he likes and resolves the complaint. Even in a good job, when recruiting people to work, we choose from among many people to work with.
We live in the environment of so many choices, so by what standard do we choose? You'll probably do the best you can. If you're looking for players in professional baseball, you're going to pick the best players, and if you're hiring employees at work, you'll pick the best fit from those who have your resume.
If there is something to choose from among these many things, it will surely be worthwhile and will choose the most suitable one.
However, when God chose God's people, he did not choose worthy people and people. Israel was chosen to be a holy people. They were not chosen because they were superior to other peoples. "The Lord is pleased with you and has chosen you, not because you are more numerous than the other nations. On the contrary, you are the least of all nations." Israel was chosen not because of its worth. Rather, God chose a nation that was less than the other nations.
God chose people to work. He chose Abraham. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, he chose him and told him to go to a land that I would show him. In common sense, the age of seventy-five is the time to finish everything. Although not an appropriate age, God chose Abraham, aged seventy-five, and entrusted him with the work.
Look at Moses. Moses lived one hundred and twenty years, and was called when he was eighty years old. He chose a man who was only a murderer, a fugitive, and a shepherd of sheep. When he entrusts him with the task of exodus, he confesses that he cannot handle it because he has no horses around him. You have to go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and negotiate verbally to get permission from Egypt, but how can you handle it? When God chose Moses, rather than choosing his perfectly prepared man, God chose a man who was lacking and entrusted him with the work.
The same is true when God chooses Saul to be king. Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. It was the smallest tribe of the tribe of Israel, and Saul's family was the weakest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin.
The same is true when Jesus chooses his disciples. If a qualified and fit person would have chosen from the Pharisees or Sadducees, Jesus chose the fishermen who fish on the shores of Galilee when he chose his disciples. And Jesus healed the sinners, tax collectors, women caught in adultery, and the sick, making them chosen workers.
In this way, the world chooses worthy people, but God chooses us by His grace and love rather than choosing worthy people. Look at the text of the text. He says to bring out a people who have eyes but do not see and have ears but do not hear. He chooses those who have eyes but cannot see and who are worthless who have ears but do not hear, and entrusts them with God's work.
In the Gospel of John, "To all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." It is not because we deserve to be chosen as children of God. All because of God's grace and love. God has chosen us to be His children and has transformed us into worthy people. You have friends, neighbors, reunions, but who is most valuable to you? Perhaps it is your children. The word that God has made us his children is a promise to recognize me as the most valuable person in God's eyes.
God does not choose worthy people, but it is He who makes them worthy. A priest from another church is raising a daughter with cerebral palsy. Although he is 20 years old, he is unable to control himself and is drooling and irritable. But to the mother, the daughter is very precious. If you look at the objective value of the world, you might think that it is useless. However, the priest grants all wishes of his daughter with cerebral palsy. I feel the power of love when I see them bring what they need and do their best not to feel uncomfortable.
When I go to the hospital, I often see young people having brain surgery and the help of their wives. It's barely enough to roll your eyes. The wife pushes the wheelchair without a sound and sees him whispering something. Even if he is ill because he is a husband, he is a precious person to his wife.
It is the same with God choosing us. We do not choose us because we are valuable, but God makes those whom He chooses worthwhile. We are all chosen to be children of God. Keep in mind that I did not receive because I deserved to be chosen, but that I was changed into a worthy person because I was chosen.
We need to think well about ourselves in our lives. A person who considers himself to be a valuable and worthy person leads a successful life with confidence, but if he lives with the belief that I am of no value and that I am nothing anywhere, he suffers from depression and brings many problems. In fact, more than 90% of problem adolescents are dominated by low self-esteem and the idea that I am nothing. Therefore, if we want to live a successful life, we must raise our self-esteem as a worthy person.
Edison, as we know him well, was expelled from school when he was bullied for being an idiot when he was in the second grade of elementary school. Although he was ostracized as a worthless person at school, to his mother, Edison was a very valuable son. He hugged Edison and said, "Even if everyone in the world mocks you for being an idiot, God does not mock you. Just as God does not mock you, neither do I mock you. God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, He chooses the weak in the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). Don't lose heart, let's study together at home.??How would you react if your child was expelled from school and came home? I don't know if she'd shout, "Aww! This hardship, my cross, when I was told to study, I didn't do it, but I did well, I did well" or "You idiot, I hate to see you! Get out of here!" Edison's mother certainly said. He realized that God does not choose people who are worthwhile, but makes the people he chooses worthwhile, and Edison grew up to be an inventor who surprised the world.
The power of thought is very important. If you change your thoughts, you change your attitude, if you change your attitude, you change your behavior, if you change your behavior, you change your habits. The root cause of change in fate starts with thoughts. When you see yourself as nothing and worthless, you end up with a miserable fate. But God has chosen us and has made us worthy.
So, what does God do with the elect? Isaiah 42:6 says, "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take your hand and protect you; I will make you a covenant for the people and a light to the Gentiles."
He promises not to forsake the elect, but to take hold of the hand and protect you. God does not forsake me. ?쏻hen you pass through the waters, I will be with you. When you cross the river, the waters will not sink you, and when you pass through the fire, they will not burn you, and the flames will not consume you.??When they play in the water, the children are held in their father's arms. No matter how deep the child goes, if the father holds him tight, the child will not be surprised. So is our life. Because God has chosen us and made us worthy, He will not forsake us. He holds us tight with his righteous right hand.
Think of a woman caught in adultery. This woman was in danger of being completely abandoned and stoned to death as rumors spread throughout the town. But the Lord forgave this woman and chose her. And the Lord changed a woman who was abandoned by the world into a worthy person. Look at Bartimaeus, who was blind and lived as a beggar. This person has been abandoned by everyone in the world. They shout, ?쏪esus of Nazareth,??but the disciples shout to be quiet. Even the disciples did not treat them like people. But Jesus stopped and opened his eyes. Although he is worthless in the eyes of the world, the Lord chose him and changed him into a worthy man, and opened up a new way for him.
We are all chosen children of God. He protects us and does not forsake us. He takes hold of you with your righteous right hand. What responsibilities, then, were given to these chosen children?
The words of this verse tell us clearly. We have a mission to make known to the world that God lives and that He is our Savior. Children chosen by God live with a clear mission. You must make the people around you believe that God is the living Savior. Through my actions, my words, and my life, I must prove that God is alive.
Let those who don't believe in God be told, "I saw that man and I believe that there really is a God." Here is the mission of the elect. If the elect are blessed and live well, we must live by witnessing that these are all God's blessings.
David goes out to fight Goliath. He didn't go out for any other purpose. He defeated Goliath and went to Goliath to testify of the living God. In the end, the living God was revealed to the whole world.
Dear saint! We must live with clear convictions. God does not choose people who are worthwhile, but He wants to make them valuable and testify of the living God through them. Have a clear conviction that I am worthy of God. There is only one person like you in the world. I am truly valuable to God. With the mission that the living God wants to appear through me, I want you to become a successful person and a victor in the world.