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Because I Am Chosen
This is one of the most incredible moments that Peter, James, and John experienced in their entire lives.
They went up the mountain with Jesus to pray.
While they were praying, the glory of God began to overshadow them and they were overcome with the weight of it.
They wake up—were fully awake—and saw Moses and Elijah with Jesus.
This was no vision nor dream.
This was a glimpse of heaven invading earth.
Jesus was changed in appearance, clothed with light (Psalm 104.2).
Before he could think about what he was saying, Peter offers to build tabernacles for the three of them.
In Peter’s mind, this was probably meant as a great honor acknowledging Jesus as an equal to Moses and Elijah.
In the midst of Peter’s statement, God cut him off.
God set the record straight.
This wasn’t just anyone.
Neither Moses nor Elijah, Law-giver or Prophet, were even close to Jesus’ level.
“This is My beloved, my Chosen, Son.”
Before you can hear Him, you have to recognize and accept Him.
Let’s pray
I want to talk to you about how you can approach life with the same advantage that Jesus had in approaching His.
We talked last week about how the cycle of works seeks to find acceptance through achievement.
It’s about working to gain acceptance instead of being free to give because we are accepted.
Cycle of Works
This approach depletes us.
It is characterized by striving and effort and the constant feeling of not being good enough.
Illustration: The cycle of works feels like when you were on the playground where two captains are picking teams.
You want to be picked, you try hard, but maybe you aren’t the best player at that sport.
The anxiety and the desire to be chosen weigh on you.
This feeling makes you try harder.
And many of us struggle with whether or not what we do even counts in life or counts with God.
What if the “spiritual” work we do misses the mark?
What if fear of failure or a need for significance or a desire to perform pressures us to do things that ultimately fall short?
The people in this story were standing before the Lord.
They did a lot of things in His name, even impressive things.
But they were not accepted on the basis of those things.
Before Jesus started His ministry and the work that He came to do, He was chosen and accepted by God.
What if you could rest in the knowledge that God chose and selected you, just like He did with His Son Jesus?
When you receive Jesus, you receive the Spirit of adoption, and the privilege of becoming a child of God (John 1.12, Romans 8.15).
Business Before Belonging
As you can see, this is not about working and trying to earn God’s acceptance and love.
Despite this, we somehow think that it is our works that God is after.
And truthfully, it is often easier to be busy than to believe that we are loved.
And this works-first mentality is what creates the circumstances by which many believers become discouraged and disenfranchised.
It is what drives so many in the church.
We serve because we are trying to please God and earn His favor.
We pray and we give because we want to get God’s attention and His favor on our lives.
And when things don’t go the way we want, we get mad at God and at the church because haven’t we been working and serving and giving and doing all these things?
We struggle to accept the Lord’s acceptance because we don’t feel we deserve it.
We feel like we need to earn it and work for it.
And so we try, we fail, and we try harder.
We just want our Heavenly Father’s approval.
Grace is not opposed to effort.
It is opposed to earning.
— Dallas Willard
We need to go back to beginning and remember that even before we did anything for God, He chose us.
Notice that we were without strength, and still sinners, and enemies.
In other words there was nothing we did that made God love us.
And yet, despite these things, God does love us.
God chose to justify and reconcile and save us.
God accepted us before we deserved it.
When we start there, just like Jesus did before He began His ministry unto the Lord, then we discover that the Spirit of grace that God gives us is an empowerment.
It is a gift from a loving Father, not a loan with interest.
Belonging Before Business
The more we live from God’s love and acceptance the more we understand that His blessing and favor are things that He is pleased to give you.
You don’t have to earn them because He has already chosen to give them to you.
So then how do we learn to accept God’s acceptance and rest in that identity?
Remember You Are Chosen
The simple truth is that you were chosen.
You were called by God and chosen by Him to be His special people (cf.
Deuteronomy 7.6).
The best way to remember your calling is to recall what the Lord Has said.
Illustration: The picture my wife gave me describing all the the ways that I love her.
It reminds me who I am to her and encourages me to continue doing those things.
Remember that you are chosen and called by God and when you doubt that truth, meditate in the Scriptures.
Memorize them.
You are who God says you are!
Resist the Devil’s Lies
Not only is our natural tendency to try to earn acceptance, but the devil wants nothing more than to cause you to doubt yourself and your position with God.
The Bible says that the devil is the accuser of the brethren who accuses us before God day and night trying to bring condemnation and judgment (Revelation 12:10).
When the devil sought to undermine Jesus’ identity and challenged Him to prove His relationship to God by doing works (miracles), Jesus answered Him in a specific way.
Each time satan tried to instigate Jesus to prove His acceptance by His works, Jesus responded, “It is written...” (Luke 4:1-13).
Illustration: “Whenever the devil reminds you of your past, remind Him of His future.”
Read to him Revelation 20:7-10.
Remember that you are chosen, resist the devil’s lies and...
Remain in God’s Love
We are to remain in the love of God, keeping ourselves there in faith and intimate relationship.
In this place we do not work to earn our Father’s approval, we live in response to it.
This is the rest of God which comes from faith, where we cease from our own works and enter into His (Hebrews 4.10).
Illustration: I no longer have to earn my wife’s love.
She has given it to me.
What I do have to do is continue in it and preserve it.
I remain in her love by living with her in a way that honors and prefers her.
You have the love of God.
You have been chosen by God.
You are accepted by Him.
Remain in His love.
Keep yourself immersed in it.
Conclusion
We need to get out of the cycle of works.
Our achievements and actions are not what qualifies us for a life of significance and acceptance with God.
When we enter the cycle of grace and accept the acceptance of the Lord then we will have greater confidence in coming to God and enjoying His presence.
We will no longer be driven to pursue God’s approval or blessing through our works.
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