Sermon Jan 19 The Lord is
faithful and shall choose thee.
January 19 – Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; I Corinthians 1:1-9;
John 1:29-42
God’s call emerges as a dominant theme in today’s readings.
Isaiah proclaims that God’s call came even before he was born (Isaiah
49:1b). John clarifies his prophetic calling to proclaim the coming of
Christ (John 1:31b). Jesus invites John and others to “Come and See”
(John 1:39). Andrew calls to his brother Simon, “ We have found the
Messiah” (John 1:41b), and brings Simon to Jesus. Jesus calls Simon to
discipleship and renames him Cephas (Peter). As God has called disciples
since the beginning of time, so Christ calls us through these many scriptures.
Isaiah
49:-7
7 Thus saith the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him
whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship, because of
the Lord that is faithful, and the
Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
When people are being selected to
take part in anything it gives a thrill to the soul to be selected.
Think about the Almighty God, King
of the Universe selecting you right here where you live. You have been chosen,
you have been called, you have been selected to serve as an ambassador for the
Kingdom of Heaven.
There is coming a day when every
knee on the earth will bow to Him.
Phillipians 2:5-11 (From the
Message)
5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.
He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to
cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the
time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a
slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was
an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he
lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and
the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.
9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored
him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven
and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before
this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the
glorious honor of God the Father.
Psalm 40:1, 8, and 11
I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Today, people are impatient. We live
in a hurry up world. We can not wait. Everything has got to be right now. No
patience with each other and no patience with ourselves. And we are too busy to
wait and see what God has to say about the issue we are facing.
God wants us to Wait on Him. Seek
His Guidance. Listen to His voice. We
say a quick prayer and get up and try to solve things ourselves.
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within
my heart.
That is the reason that we are instructed in the Torah to keep
His Words.
Deuteronomy 6:4 (KJV)
4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord
our God is one Lord:
5 And thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in
thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and
shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by
the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and
they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and
on thy gates.
We may ask someone : What’s on your mind? And God wants us to ask What is on your Mind
God for us today. God has given us words of instruction for life through His
Word and to keep these words before our eyes and mind all of the time. This develops a relationship with God that
will keep us on the straight and narrow path.
If God is on our mind all of the time it protects us from evil and
temptations.
I Corinthians 1:-9
9 God is faithful….
How powerful is that statement? We know in our hearts that He is faithful. He
will never leave us. He said he would be with us until the End. Yet so many today would rather seek out the
counsel of the ungodly than to seek the counsel of God.
John 1: 29-42
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world.
John’s witness of who Jesus is…..the
Lamb of God.
John Said:
34 And I saw, and bare record that this
is the Son of God.
Today we have the word of God
preached and taught on radio, television, the internet every day 24/7. God is seeking
and calling whosoever will hear His Voice. The early disciples heard him and
followed him. Today Gods voice is
calling you out. God is wanting to commission you to be a disciple of Christ.
37 And the two disciples heard him
speak, and they followed Jesus.
38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them
following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which
is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
39 He saith unto them, Come
and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for
it was about the tenth hour.
41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah, which is, being
interpreted, the Christ.
Often our image and understanding of
God is far too small. When Nathaniel
first heard of Jesus he was skeptical about anything good coming out of
Nazareth. Philip responded by inviting
him to come and see Jesus for himself.
Firsthand experience always trumps what others may say about God and
most other things as well. The writer of
Colossians says that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of
all creation: for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created (I:
15-26).
The first disciples had little to go
on but the word of a friend until they began to hang out with Jesus themselves. Then
they discovered that Jesus was the real thing.
He really was more than just a good man and finally they were able to
identify him as Messiah and Son of God.
Do we know who Jesus is? May we have the courage to face our own
questions to do as those early disciples did, give ourselves to living close
enough to Jesus to really get to know who he is and who God is as he gives a
clear picture of the relationship between his beloved Abba and himself.
If ever there was a time in the
history of mankind that man needs to
hear and respond to the voice of God calling it is TODAY. Today is the day of salvation. We have
started a brand new year. A new opportunity to make some changes in our life
and answer the call that God is giving unto us. We have put it off long enough.
We need to do more than just hear.
We need to apply ourselves to being
the disciples that Christ wants us to be.
We serve a Mighty and Awesome
God. A God of Mercy and Grace. Full of love and forgiveness.
Regardless of what you have done in
the past. Regardless of how many times you may have failed in your walk with
God. Today is the day of salvation. Your 2nd chance.
I
John 1: 9
If we confess our sins, he is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
Maybe you
want to come to this altar and make that confession. Maybe you just want to rededicate your life
to God. If it is too hard for you to get up out of your seat
then say it right now with all of your heart and mean it that you want to
accept this call today.
Let us all
say a prayer of recommitment together.
Father
according to your word if we confess our sins you are faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Today this moment
January 19, 2014 we confess all of our sins and unfaithfulness to you right
now. Forgive us and transform us into what you would have us to be for this new
year. Restore the Joy of our salvation.
We ask, believe and receive in Jesus name. Amen.
