The Chosen- Part 1

BEFORE

Isaiah 43:1 ESV

1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

Luke 8:1–2 ESV

1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,

There are a few other things that we know about Mary: 1) she followed Jesus and financially supported His ministry until His crucifixion, which means she gave everything she had to follow Him; 2) she endured the crucifixion and stayed close to Jesus while He suffered and died; and 3) she was the first person He appeared to after He rose from the dead, and she was the one He sent to tell the disciples that He was risen from the dead.

How do you identify with the story of Mary’s “Before”?

Ephesians 2:1–3 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians 2:11–12 ESV

11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Titus 3:3 ESV

3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.

Isaiah 43:1 ESV

1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

What parts of your “before” has God redeemed, and which are you most grateful for?

How does “I have called you by name, you are mine” impact you today?

What do you fear, and how does Isaiah 43:1- this declaration made by God to His chosen ones- affect your fear?