I HAVE CHOSEN YOU
Monday – April 13, 2020, Nisan 19, 5780
Greetings to the dear and precious friends and partners of this Ministry and blog. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to give us feedback and to enlarge the reach of this Ministry. God is so good dear ones. Also, welcome back to this Bible Study of the Book of John. God is nothing but good, He is the One who has provided for an abundant life not stealing, killing, and destroying. God does not put any plague (Corona Virus) upon His people or anyone else but must allow the consequences of bad choices. Bad choices at their foundation are rebellion against God, the Word of God. God created man as a freewill being and gave them dominion in the earth. We, the Church (filled with the Holy Spirit), have the same authority in the earth and access to the same Power as Adam before the fall (sin), and Jesus in the earth. With a few exceptions there is little to no evidence of this authority and Power in the Church. The Church and thus the individual members are in serious shape like the Church at Ephesus pictured above. Listen to what the Head of the Church said to them.
Revelation 2:4-5 (KJV)
4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.
We have left our first love for sure and taken up with other loves. The Church is fallen and must repent and return to its first love, Christ Jesus, the Word of God. Has the candlestick (source of light and Truth) in our Church, in our individual lives, been removed and we are flailing about in the dark? If we are powerless (John 14:12) and don’t think we have anything to repent of we are in the darkest of deception and are being devoured by the devil. Now let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible Study and read our primary text aloud.
John 15:16-19 (KJV)
16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Switching gears just a tad we find Jesus speaking with His disciples, and us, just a few hours before the crucifixion. Jesus is reminding them that they did not chose Him but He has chosen them. And, He tells them they are chosen for a purpose. All peoples are invited or called into a relationship with God, some will accept, those who accept are chosen and made fit for the purposes of the Master. The idea here is not that we have not chosen God, Jesus, but that it was God, Jesus, who initiated the relationship. God is calling everyone out of darkness, it is not His will that any perish. Unfortunately, many will reject Him. I rejected Him for many years, but thank God for the prayers of people around me. Finally, I accepted the call and was chosen for a part in the Kingdom of God. We are not only chosen but strategically placed in the body of Christ to bring forth fruit, fruit for eternity. Because we are the chosen and we are bringing forth fruit we can have full confidence (faith) that the Father will answer our prayers (inquiries and decrees). As we go forward into verse seventeen it is clear that all of this is not only dependent upon loving God (doing the commandments) but upon us loving one another.
I know we have heard it over and over that having the manifestation of God in our lives is directly related to doing His commandments. There is no shortcut or way around it. His commandments are not hard (grievous) and are designed to benefit others, enlarge the Kingdom, and bring abundance into every area of our lives. The ways of God do not deprive us of having fun but are very healthy fun. His ways are iron clad protection, the devils’ ways are assured destruction. This would not seem to be a really hard decision but we have all chosen the way of destruction repeatedly. Remember that when we started this chapter, we are told that we must be connected to Him like a branch is connected to the vine. All of the life and nourishment for the branch comes from the vine. Remember the vine is Christ Jesus who is the Word. We are to live by every Word from the mouth of God. We do not live from the perversions of the devil, the traditions of men, or a mixture, but the pure Word of God. I am not using the word “live” here as in exist or be in a conscious state but to have a life that mirrors Heaven. In that place, doing the pure Word of God, we will have a constant flow of the manifestation of the Father in our lives, a powerful testimony for all to see.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name! Quit asking God to bless you, you are already blessed, you have the Blessing, give Him something to do by the words of your mouth. Once you know the will of God, decree the thing (Job 22:28, Isaiah 45:11, Mark 11:23). (The Blessing is the Holy Spirit) We have left God way to long with nothing to do in our lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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