Many are called but few are chosen – Part Two
He leads me …
Having established in the last blog that the verse ‘many are called but few are chosen’ relates to Jesus’ call to salvation, we should now look at His call means in terms of what He wants us to do with our life. While there are people called to be pastors or ministers, there are also those called to numerous ministries providing help to those both inside and outside the church which come under the oversight of a church or a Christian faith-based organizations. But it does not stop there.
Some of us have clear gifts in certain areas that indicate what type of work we are best suited to. In Exodus 31:1-6 (TLB) it reads that, ‘The Lord also said to Moses, “See, I have appointed Bezalel (son of Uri, and grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah), and have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and skill in constructing the Tabernacle and everything it contains. He is highly capable as an artistic designer of objects made of gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled, too, as a jeweller and in carving wood. And I have appointed Oholiab (son of Ahisamach of the tribe of Dan) to be his assistant; moreover, I have given special skill to all who are known as experts, so that they can make all the things I have instructed you to make.”’ (italics added)
The Lord does the same thing with people today, but we do not generally usually expect an artistic designer of precious metals, jewellers or wood carvers to be filled with the Spirit of God, and be given great wisdom, ability, and skill in what they do. If their roles were anointed by the Lord what about other jobs? I once met a man who told me that he cleaned toilets which was very important to him, and he cleaned them ‘as unto the Lord’. He wanted them to be clean and tidy and nice for whoever used them. Is there any reason why God would not be with him in his work, in the same way that He would be with a preacher or missionary?
There are people who receive a call which is a profound impression from God. However, there are also those who do not have a role that they feel called to. While it can be difficult to discern the work God wants us to do, there can be no doubt that He expects us to work wherever we are to the best of our ability.
For God it may not matter too much what we do, but rather how we do it. We are God’s representatives, and He is interested in how He can use us to be an example, and to be available to reach out to help those around us for Him. It may not matter if we are in an office full of people or labouring on a building site; it is what we do to make a difference that counts.
While being in the right job or career may not necessarily God’s highest concern, it is still important. In fact, part of the normal work that the Holy Spirit does is to guide and empower people for the life and work that they do. On some occasions in the Old Testament God gave people the skills needed for their work, as we have seen with Bezalel and Oholiab in the building of the tabernacle. But now the Spirit guides believers to work suited for them and develops in them the skills they need. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 we read how the Holy Spirit equips the church with spiritual gifts for the benefit and up development of the congregation. He also provides ongoing guidance on how He wants these gifts used. The same applies to how Christians function outside the church.
While having the right job is important, we should remember that God calls us in to a lifestyle as His disciple, not just to a job. This means that He wants us to include Him in all aspects of our life and not just what happens on Sunday.
To be truly effective, our work should be an integral part of our relationship with the Lord. We can assist Him in His work of correcting the past in our own life as well as with others, through justice, healing, reconciliation, compassion, kindness, humility and patience (Colossians 3:12). This redemptive work includes everything necessary to make the world the way God always wanted it to be.[1]
Unfortunately there is one key ingredient that is missing in many believer’s walk today. It is that they do not link in with the Holy Spirit. They are afraid to make any kind of contact with Him, because of the flaky and disturbing things that they see and hear happening in some churches. These things are not what the Holy Spirit has come to do in a believer’s life. Also, the Holy Spirit is a lot bigger than any flaky stuff, and a believer will find that once they really allow the work of the Holy Spirit to have effect in their life, all of those fears go away. The believer soon sees that the Holy Spirit was sent into their life to help them with their walk with the Lord, not to hurt them or undermine their Christian journey.
The apostle Paul talks about the importance of a relationship with the Holy Spirit -
‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.’ (2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV) This shows that the Spirit makes it possible for Christians to communicate with the Lord and to be in relationship with Him.
‘Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate?’ (Philippians 2:1 NLT) These rhetorical questions (that were asked merely for effect when they already knew the answer was ‘Yes’) show that the Holy Spirit had clearly stimulated the Philippians faith making it clear that He was acting positively in their lives.[2]
It has been found that in some cases believers will receive several calls during their lifetime. Martien Kelderman found that when he was a school teacher he genuinely felt called to teenagers. When he became a church home group leader, and later an industrial chaplain, he felt genuinely called to a pastoral role with adults. When he worked in business he had the same sense of calling to that business. He did not have a special love for just one group of people. What he did have, was a calling to follow Jesus and love Him. Then when the time was right the Lord asked Martien to work in a different setting. As Martien obeyed each call the Lord gave him, the Lord gave him the eagerness and commitment to go with it.
The workplace is and remains by far the largest area of contact between the Christian community and the non-Christian world. The reformers Luther, Calvin and others made a lot of working out the calling of God in whatever area of life we find ourselves at conversion. This could be at our church, our work place, social group setting – basically wherever there are people.
In the workplace we have the greatest mission field of our generation. It provides the greatest opportunity to reach society - and we are already in position. Let us endorse this calling, and let those employed by church organisations equip the saints for effective work amongst our colleagues.
Isaac was a big man - muscles everywhere, a Maori, a husband, a father, a Christian. Isaac worked on railway maintenance. He asked, 'Martien, you know that stuff you keep talking about, that 'calling' stuff, does that work for me down there between the tracks?'
The answer? Isaac, God has appointed you as His representative responsible for your part in the world. God has called you to those railway tracks. You should therefore take care and look after those that you work with as the Lord shows you how. Understand that when Christians succeed in the marketplace, everyone prospers as a result. He has intentionally called you to be a shining ‘light’, so that ‘all might see your good works and praise your Father in Heaven’. (Matthew 5:16).[3]
May we all take encouragement from this response.
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Types of God’s Calling, Produced by Theology of Work Project;
https://www.theologyofwork.org/key-topics/vocation-overview-article/types-of-gods-calling
[2] The 12 Different Ministries of the Holy Spirit, Michael Bradley, Bible Knowledge Ministries
https://www.bible-knowledge.com/different-ministries-of-the-holy-spirit/
[3] When God Calls, Martien Kelderman, Reality Magazine; https://www.reality.org.nz/article.php?ID=193 Sceptics will tell us that the Bible contradicts itself and will probably highlight the verse which reads, ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple’ Luke 14:26 (NKJV)
Not only does this verse contradict biblical principles but it is opposite of one of the Ten Commandments which says, ‘Honor your father and mother, that you may have a long, good life in the land the Lord your God will give you’ Exodus 20:12 (TLB). This verse also appears in the New Testament as, ‘Honor your father and mother. This is the first of God’s Ten Commandments that ends with a promise.’ Ephesians 6:2 (TLB)
As we normally understand the word ‘hate’ in Luke 14:26, we would consider that Jesus’ statement is a contradiction, unjust, and goes against decent family values. However, if we dig a little deeper into the meaning of the word ‘hate’ we find that it does not always mean anything like ‘abhor, despise, detest, loathe,’ which are modern synonyms listed in the Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus. Interestingly, the word also can include the meaning ‘to love less.’ How can this be?
A good example is found in Genesis 29:30, where the Bible says that ‘Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah.’ But, in the next verse the Bible then says, ‘And when the Lord saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb’ (KJV). When we look at the same verses in the NLT and other modern translations they read, ‘When the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, he enabled her to have children, but Rachel could not conceive.’ We see that Jacob did not despise Leah as we may have thought. Instead, he simply loved Rachel more than he loved Leah.[1]
To understand better what Jesus actually means about ‘loving less’ rather than ‘hating’ our family, we just need to have a look at the parallel saying in Matthew 10:37: ‘He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me’ (NKJV). These words are followed in verse 38 with Jesus saying ‘And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.’ These verses indicate that giving our family second place to the kingdom of God is one way of taking up our cross.”[2]
Being a disciple of Jesus means that we follow wherever He leads and directs us. To assist us with this we have God’s Word, the Bible, which provides examples and instructions on how to live appropriately, and we also have the Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us with what we do every day. When we follow what both the Bible and the Holy Spirit say, then we are being the Lord’s disciples.
This means that if other people try to get us to do or say things that disagree with what the Bible and the Holy Spirit are telling us to do, then we should not be obedient to what they say. Our decision to do this can be hard and/or painful – especially if it puts us offside with our friends and/or family. Jesus’ earlier comments are basically telling us that we should to be willing to give up everything so that we can be His disciples.
Friends and family can tell us that something will be alright because it ‘isn’t that bad,’ or maybe they think that what they want us to do is not a problem, even if we know in our hearts that it is wrong for us as a disciple. When that happens, we are to obey Jesus more than everyone else. Family and friendship bonds do not take priority over God’s requirements. Even when it is really hard, we have to be firm and make it clear where we stand, and not let them influence us. That is when we ‘hate’ our mother and father, friends and anything that stops us obeying Jesus. This means that when we then do what Jesus says, we are showing Him that we love Him more than anyone or anything else.
Unfortunately we often have to give up something special to us which we want keep. This could be an activity that could come between us and the Lord in terms of importance, or it could be something special that we had before we became a Christian and it now it has no place in a Christians life. This could mean that some people will think less of us, or perhaps we will lose a friend as a result. But Jesus said, ‘And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will inherit eternal life.’ Matthew 19:29 (TLB)
At the beginning of this blog we read ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple’ Luke 14:26 (NKJV) Should we really hate our own lives?
Jesus is not telling us that we should think we are worthless. Not at all. He is talking about how our own human thinking often tries to get us to go against what we know in our hearts is the right thing to do. These can be personal things that are holding us back from being fully effective for the Lord, and in our lives generally. When we see how lazy we are, or how stubborn, or how selfish, or how proud we are, then these are the issues that we need to hate. We should love Jesus more than these problems, then we will follow Him and progressively display the fruits of the Spirit.[3] This fruit will then override the negative aspects of our personality which need to be dealt with.
Jesus loves us so much that He gave up His place in Heaven and sacrificed Himself on a cross for us. Nothing we have to give up can match this. So if we put Jesus first, before everything else, He will give us so much more than we ever lose. ‘For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.’ 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV).[4]
Many Christians will never have to make the painful choice of turning their backs on their family in order to follow Christ. But, there are a lot of other Christians around the world, who face rejection, and/or persecution from their families. These believers, if they are truly Christ’s disciples, are forced to live in a way that appears ‘hateful’ toward their ‘father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters’ (Luke 14:26).
All Christians are called to honour the lordship of Jesus and give Him priority over all earthly relationships. Those who must sacrifice any of these associations have this promise - “There’s no one who’s left their home, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children or properties for me and the Good News will fail to receive 100 times as much in this present life – homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and properties. They’ll get persecutions along with it in this life, but they’ll also get eternal life in the time to come.” Mark 10:29–30 (Source).[5]
One of Christ’s last conversations before He ascended to Heaven was to Peter, but is really meant for all of us. Jesus asked Peter, ‘Do you love me more than these?’ If Jesus asked us the same question regarding everything and everyone who we have around us, what would we say?
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Hate Your Parents—or Love Them? Kyle Butt, Apologetics Press;
https://apologeticspress.org/hate-your-parentsor-love-them-781/
[2] F. F. Bruce [late Rylands Professor of biblical criticism and exegesis, University of Manchester, England], The Hard Sayings of Jesus (Downers Grove IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983), p. 120.
[3] Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
[4] Did Jesus really say that we should hate our parents? ActiveChristianity.africa;
https://activechristianity.africa/did-jesus-really-say-that-we-should-hate-our-parents/
[5] What did Jesus mean when He instructed us to hate our father and mother? GotQuestions.org;
https://www.gotquestions.org/hate-father-mother.html Most Christians know this verse, but what does it actually mean?
It appears first in Matthew 19:30, and then again in the next chapter - 20:16. We also find it in Mark 9:35, and 10:31, and finally in Luke 13:30. The fact that the same phrase appears twice quite close together in Matthew and Mark indicates Jesus is making an important point that we should understand.
Let us look at the context to understand better what Jesus was saying.
Jesus made the statement in Matthew 19:30 after challenging a rich young ruler to go and sell his possessions, give the money to the poor and then to follow Him. When the young man heard this he sadly went away, because he had a lot of belongings (verse 22).
Jesus’ disciples saw how this could affect them and asked the Lord what reward they would have in Heaven, since they had given up everything to follow Him (verses 27–30). Jesus promised them ‘a hundred times as much,’ plus eternal life (verse 29). Then He said, ‘But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first’ (verse 30).
Then in Matthew 20:16 Jesus repeated this truth in at the end of the parable of the labourers in the vineyard. This is a story which was designed to illustrate the last being first and the first being last.
The story tells us that workers were hired to work in a vineyard throughout the day, and when the people who were hired about five in the afternoon arrived, each of them received a full day’s wage. Then when the people who had come to the vineyard first arrived, they thought they would get more for working longer, but they received a full day’s wage just like the others who had worked a shorter time. When they got it, they complained to the landowner. ‘The people who came last have only worked for an hour,’ they complained, ‘but you have made them equal to us, and we are the ones who have borne the burden of the work as well as the scorching heat!’
The landowner responded, ‘Remember, you agreed with me on a normal day’s wage? Take it and go. I want to give this last person the same as you. Surely I have a legal right to do whatever I like with my own things? Or are you jealous because I am kind?’
Jesus was teaching that God, who sees our hearts, will reward accordingly. His teaching indicates that those who have prospered through wickedness will fail in His Kingdom, whereas the good who have suffered for the sake of God will win salvation. Note that it does not mean that all wealthy people will be last, and nor does it mean that all poor people will be first. God will reward us according to our attitudes, and how we have lived our lives according to our beliefs.
In Matthew 20, everyone gets one denarius, which was a good wage in order to live in Jesus’ day. The payment represents eternal life, and the workers represent the people of God. Some people work long and hard like Timothy did with Paul, while others only serve Him for a little while, like the thief on the cross who believed in Jesus, and the same day went to Heaven. Note that they all received salvation.[1]
There are several ways in which ‘the first will be last and the last first’ holds true. There are some who were first to follow Christ for years yet were not the first in the kingdom. For example, Judas Iscariot was one of the first disciples and was honoured to be the treasurer of the disciples group. Unfortunately for him his greed led to his death. Paul was the last of the apostles (1 Corinthians 15:8–9) yet the one who worked the hardest (2 Corinthians 11:23).
There are many who were first in status yet were not first in the kingdom. Based on the terms of the New Covenant, the Gentiles had equal access to the Kingdom of Heaven, even though they had not served God under the Old Covenant. The Jews, who had laboured long under the Old Covenant, were jealous of the Lord’s grace given to the Gentile ‘newcomers’ (Romans 11:11). There are others who were first in prestige and rank yet would never enter the kingdom. For example, Jesus told the Pharisees that the sinners they despised were being saved ahead of them when He said in Matthew 21:31–32, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you’. There will be cases like these that apply equally today.[2]
There is a good example of this teaching of Jesus in 1 Samuel 16:1-13, where Samuel, a prophet of God, is called by the Lord to go to Jesse’s house to appoint one of his sons as the new king to replace King Saul.
Samuel sees Eliab, the oldest son of Jesse, and thinks, ‘Well, he is the oldest. It must be him.’ Maybe Samuel thought that because the firstborn male offspring possesses a special status with regard to inheritance rights, it would be him. But the Lord said, ‘Do not judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’
The Bible goes on to tell us that in the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, ‘The Lord has not chosen any of these.’ Then Samuel asked, ‘Are these all the sons you have?’
‘There is still the youngest,’ Jesse replied. ‘But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.’
‘Send for him at once,’ Samuel said. ‘We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.’
So Jesse sent for him. And the Lord said, ‘This is the one. Anoint him.’
So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah (NLT).
People who followed the latest celebrity would have seen a shepherd boy. God saw a King.
It is one thing to say, ‘I know Christ’ but the more important question is, does Jesus know us? This is what He emphasizes several times with regard to His second coming. In Matthew 7:22 many will come to Him on that day saying, ‘Lord, Lord’, but what does Jesus say? He does not say, ‘Well done. I saw you in church every Sunday,’ or ‘You were a good Sunday school teacher,’ or ‘You worked hard for the church,’ but rather He will say, ’I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:23). Better to have had a relationship with Jesus than to hear Him say someday, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’ (Matthew 25:41).[3]
While working diligently for the church is good, the Lord’s priority is to have a personal relationship with us. So, are we making time to talk to Him, and are we including Him in what we do each day? The answer is over to us.
Dear Reader – If you have found some value in this blog, please feel free to send a copy on to your family and friends. Kind regards, John
[1] Why Does Jesus Say the "First Will Be Last"? Dave Jenkins, BibleStudyTools.com;
[2] What did Jesus mean when He said the first will be last and the last will be first? GotQuestions.org;
https://www.gotquestions.org/first-last-last-first.html
[3] First Will Be Last Bible Verse Meaning And Study, Jack Wellman, Patheos;
