Good morning,
For many are called . . .
Now that we have begun a new year, what should we expect will happen in the year ahead? It helps to remember that our Enemy does his best to give us his version of the future so that when God does what he has planned from eternity past, we find ourselves confused by the unexpected outcomes. For those of us who are older, we can remember the time when people were telling us that our world would get better and better until God had to show up. That lie is dead and buried. As Christians we long for the Lord’s return, but God won’t tell us when, he just tells us to be ready all the time. Jesus himself told us a story about this in Matthew 22 that can help us to know what to expect. It begins like this, "The Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a king who prepared a great wedding feast for his son. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited.(vs2,3) They all refused to come. Some of them even insulted and killed his servants. The king got really upset and told his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, and the guests I invited aren't worthy of the honor. Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’(vs8,9) The servants did a great job and we are told, So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.(v.10) The ordinary people who came were those who were willing to believe his servants and accept the kings invitation to come to the banquet.
It’s very clear to me that what we are dealing with in our generation is very much like the invited guests in Jesus’ story. Jesus himself as well as the apostles warned us that the last days would be very difficult times. In 2 Timothy 3: 1-5 Paul graphically laid out how wicked our world would become in the last days. His list of wickedness begins with For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, . . .(v.2) and ends 4 verses later, They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!(v.5) We know that our God is in control of all of history and we also know from Job chapters 1 and 2 that God always sets the boundaries for what Satan and his followers can do. Our Enemy thinks of himself as the ruler of this world (Rev.12:7-9) but when tempting Jesus in the wilderness Jesus said,"Get out of here, Satan," Jesus told him. "For the Scriptures say, 'You must worship the LORD your God and serve only him.’”(Mat.4:10) The rest of Jesus’ story has another point we need to remember. When the king came to meet the guests, he noticed one person who wasn’t dressed right for the occasion. He asked him, 'Friend,' he asked, 'how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’(Matt.22:12) When the man couldn’t answer him, the king told his servants, Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’(v.13) In Revelation 3: 4,5 we are told that those who stayed true to God will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. All who are victorious will be clothed in white. Then he said one more thing. "For many are called, but few are chosen.”(Mat.22:14) We must never forget that God always knows who belongs to him. People who act out the part without a change of heart are disqualified as invited guests. Dear Lord, please help us to be faithful servants during these challenging times so that we also will be able to walk with you and them in white.
Matthew 22:14"For many are called, but few are chosen."
Roy Wisner
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