Chosen and Appointed
Notes
Transcript
How many of us has had our CC numbers taken or been scammed?
This week I bought $300 airpods to be sent to CA..
I’d like to start with an illustration from Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell
300 Illustrations for Preachers Unable to Pay a $81 Billion Debt
Juan Zamora of Richland, Washington, owed a bill he could not pay for a charge he did not make. After filling up with gasoline and charging the $26 to his PayPal debit card, he arrived home to a message on his answering machine. The message, from PayPal, asked him to verify a gas purchase of $81,400,836,908 and notified him of a $90 dollar overdraft fee. Imagine that. Juan did not have over 81 billion dollars in his PayPal account to cover the charge.
The debt we owe is our own, but we could not pay it any more than Juan Zamora could pay his $81 billion debt. Juan was eventually able to convince the company that, while gas prices may be extremely high, his Camaro would not hold $81 billion worth of gas. In our case, Jesus paid our debt for us
- Wilson, Jim L., and Rodger Russell. “Unable to Pay a $81 Billion Debt.” 300 Illustrations for Preachers. Ed. Elliot Ritzema. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015. Print.
You see, when we understand the debt that we owe because of our separation, and how Jesus paid that debt, it changes our perspective on love…
We are only going to get to one verse this morning:
16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.
The disciples were chosen by Jesus for a purpose…
We know from other scripture, that we too are chosen for a purpose
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
So, though Jesus is talking specifically to the 12 here, we can see that His reasoning for calling them can be extended to us..
For God chose us and he has good works which He has prepared for us to do!
Jesus tells them that they can ask the Father in His name and He will give to them.
As we spoke about before, this is not a blank check..
It ties back into bearing fruit that will last..
And what is that fruit?
It is to do the things that Jesus did.
12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
So, I believe that the fruit that will last is in doing the things that Jesus did!
17 This is my command: Love each other.
Jesus has reiterated this idea of loving one another over and over again!
Maybe there is something important here about loving each other?
While we are doing the things of Jesus, it is important to remember to do these things in love!
As Paul says in:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
He is talking specifically about one of the gifts of the spirit that he has just talked about in chapter 12…
Chapter 12 is some of the gifts and chapter 14 is more on tongues and prophecy…sandwiched right in the middle is the love chapter that we read at weddings
I think it is very intentional…. that right between two chapters on building up the body with the gifts we have this chapter on love…
How often do we do the things of God, but not in love?
Love is the defining point for us as disciples of Christ
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So, we are chosen by Jesus to bear good fruit that will last, to do the things that He did, but most importantly, to do them in love!
If we look closely at the things that Jesus did, we will notice a common theme.. let’s look at some
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
So Jesus has a heart of compassion and love for people…that’s why he healed and preached to them!
40 And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” 41 Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.”
29 As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30 Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 31 The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. 33 “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.” 34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Mother who lost her son
11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”
After delivering the man from demons - one with the pigs
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. 19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”
Feeding 5000
14 When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” 16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
Feeding 4000
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”
In His teaching about the kingdom in the parable of the unforgiving servant…His comparison with the master in the story is God
27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
His teaching about the kingdom in the parable of the prodigal son
20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
Finally, He spoke truth to the rich young man
21 Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
So, Jesus healed out of compassion, delivered out of compassion, fed out of compassion, taught out of compassion, and spoke truth out of compassion and love…
I truly believe that God sill heals, delivers, provides, teaches us and leads us into His truth because of His love and compassion for us!
Maybe this is a model for us…when we do the things that God has for us, we do them out of love and compassion!
14 Let all that you do be done in love.
I’ll end with this story….
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.
38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Sometime we struggle to love others…but when we understand exactly what Jesus has done for us, it gets a bit easier to love others…
This morning, if you don’t know what Jesus has done for you….