Chosen Vessels

                                                             

         

Aloha Dearest Family,

                God does not make mistakes. When God calls someone, He does so for the greatest possible good and to bring His primary Will to pass. You see this all through scripture.

                Our first example is when God told Elijah to go and anoint Elisha to be a prophet to take his place.

                “..and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.” (I Kings 19:16)

God was choosing Elisha so that he would accomplish His Will for the nation of Israel. (To do this, God needs people. He can’t accomplish this without committed people who will obey Him and bring His Will to pass). In the Bible, when someone is anointed, it signifies that they have received God’s spirit so that God can communicate His Will to them. And God knows that Elisha would carry out His Will, and not his own will. This is vital in understanding God’s calling.

                This is also true when God instructs the prophet Samuel to anoint David to be king instead of Saul.

                “The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king…Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David.” (I Samuel 16:1 and 13)

God could have chosen anyone, but God knew that David would perform His Will. When David was anointed, he received God’s spirit and this is how David was able to do what God had called him to do. Was David perfect? No. But David was a man after God’s own heart. David became the perfect man for this time in history.

                This theme is common throughout scripture.

     -       When an angel spoke to a young man named Gideon and told him that God had chosen him to deliver Israel out of the hand of their oppressors, the Midianites (Judges 6: 11-16). Gideon could only accomplish this with God’s help and with God’s spirit.

 Remember, God does not make mistakes. He needs people to work with to bring His Will to pass and He chose these men and women because He knew they would trust in Him and obey Him. Only if these men were partners with God would they be successful.

                In Acts 9, the Lord speaks to a man name named Ananias and tells him to go and heal a man named Saul -  the destroyer of the church. After some apprehension about this task, the Lord tells him,

                “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.” (Acts 9:15 and 16)  

Out of all of the people on earth that God could have chosen, no one would have guessed that God would choose this man. But God had a specific mission for this man from Tarsus. God also knew that he would obey Him and do His Will above his own. Paul later recounts the Lord’s calling to King Agrippa,

                “Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:” (Acts 26:19)

Paul was chosen by the Lord and Paul obeyed this calling. Paul also mentions his calling in the book of Galatians.

                “For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles…“ (Galatians 1:13-16a)

Because of Paul’s obedience to God, he received the greatest revelation to the church that the world has ever received.

                

            Why is this important? We have ALL been called by God (Romans 8:30) and He has important work for us to do. God needs us to hear and obey His voice so that His ultimate Will can come to pass. First, when we were born again, God filled us with His spirit so that He could work with us so that we would do HIS Will, not our own. Secondly, we are called to be ambassadors to the world.

                “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” (II Corinthians 5:20)

God has called us by name and is sending us as His ambassadors to a world that does not know Him or His son. They NEED to know. This is the most important work we will ever do.

                Furthermore, we each have been given specific gifts and abilities that are unique to us. Not every gift is the same but each one is used for the building up of the church, the body of Christ.  When we use our gifts and talents, we will find joy and purpose in our lives (and this is why you are reading this sharing today). We are all God’s chosen vessels and it is He who has empowered us to accomplish our calling. In order for God’s ultimate Will to come to pass in people’s lives, He needs us to fulfil our calling.  

                No one comes to the faith by accident. God had the biggest hand in your life and He knew what He was doing. Because God does not make mistakes. By choosing God, you choose well.

                                        Love Always, Ray