John 15:16 KJV
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 whatever ye ask of the Father in
My name, He may give it to you.
I love this verse because what it is really saying is first,
He chose us we did not choose Him. So that means He chose us with a purpose.
Would you agree that anything He does He does it with a purpose? Of course the
answer is yes. So then did He create you? The answer is yes. So then He created
you with a purpose right? And that purpose is good, filled with prosperity, a
future and hope. Second, is that we should bear fruit and that our fruit
should remain. In other words, the good things He is doing in our lives, the
deliverance, the healings, the ministry, the business and all the other good
works the Lord is doing in us and through us are not meant to be temporary, but
they are meant to be permanent.
I want to point out something Jesus says that is so
powerful. Well, anything Jesus says is powerful, but you know what I mean. He
says, but I have chosen you, and ordained you… Wow, first He chooses us and says to us He did this so we can go bear fruit that remains, good works
that will glorify the Father (and His great love for us). But then He says that
He ordained or appointed us to do these things.
It means –
-
to set, fix establish
-
to name to assign to a position, an office, or the like;
designate
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to determine by authority or agreement; fix; set
-
to designate (a person) to take the benefit designated by an
estate created by a deed or will
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to provide with what is necessary; equip; furnish
-
to order or establish by decree or command; ordain; constitute
Jesus is saying He has already fixed and established you to
bear much fruit in your life that the devil can’t steal unless you allow him
to. It is your birthright as a son or daughter of God to benefit from all the
kingdom has to offer because you have been given the deed or will to the
kingdom.
Jeremiah 1:5 WEB
Before I formed thee in embryo I knew thee; and before thou wast born I sanctified thee...
Again, the Lord is saying you had nothing to do with His
choosing you. You did not even exist at the time He planned everything for you.
You were not even an embryo at the time He chose you. But again, He says, He
chose you and sanctified you at the same time. Don’t forget! He did this before
you were formed in the womb; you had nothing to do with it. Sanctified means to
consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be hallowed, be holy, be sanctified
and to be separate. This is what He did for you before you were an embryo.
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
Proverbs 4:10-13
Psalm 119:165
For we are His
workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared
before-hand that we should walk in them.
So this is an interesting verse. Apparently, we are God’s
workmanship created for good works He created beforehand. As in before we were formed in the womb?
Hmm… I’m starting to see a pattern here. I am not being sarcastic by saying
apparently, but I use the word because it means capable of being easily
perceived or understood; plain and clear; obvious. Some synonyms are
discernible, open, conspicuous, manifest, unmistakable, apparent, evident,
obvious, patent and they all refer to something easily perceived. Wow! You are
so set up for success! You are now able to easily perceive and understand that
He chose you and you did not choose Him. He sanctified you and set you apart.
He set you fixed and established. He provided you with what is necessary to
overcome and be victorious. He equipped and furnished all you need. He
consecrated you and made you holy unto Him. He called and equipped you before
you were born. He created good works for you to walk in beforehand. And the
most interesting part of this verse is you are God’s workmanship created in
Christ. You have been created in Christ and in the power of His might, but this
has been done so you can, in Christ and His power and might, walk in good
works, which God prepared first then He formed you in the womb.
Psalm 139:13-18 NKJV
For You formed my inward
parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul
knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret
and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my
substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they were all written, the days
fashioned for me, when as yet, there were none of them. How precious also are
Your thoughts towards me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should
count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am
still with you.
What a mighty God we serve! He’s so good! In other words,
this life God has planned for you is so other worldly rich in blessing that is
must be a dream. It has to be a dream because there is no way life can be this
good even if it were planned before you were ever born, but then the writer
wakes from his assumed dream only to find God is still there with him and the
dream is true. The dream was true for him and the dream is true for you and all you
have to do is believe God.
Genesis 15:1, 6 NKJV
After these things the
word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I
am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” …And he believed in the Lord,
and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
All you have to do is believe that God is going to do what
He says. Believe it in your heart and confess it with your mouth and keep
taking steps forward. No matter how many times you fall or fail, get up and
keep walking forward. The Lord Himself says a good man will fall, but the Lord
upholds him by His hand. Even this the Lord does by His hand.
This part might ruff some feathers. The Lord Jesus Himself, while carrying His cross on His way to the place of the skull, fell several times under the weight of the cross. His goal was to get to Golgotha where He was to be crucified, but He couldn't make it all the way on His own. The weight of the cross was too heavy so someone had to help our Lord and Savior carry His cross the rest of the way. Can you image if the first time He fell with the cross He thought to Himself, "I've failed, I can't make it the rest of the way?" No, He didn't do that. He kept His eyes on the prize, kept getting back up and trying again. He took another step closer. God even had to send someone to help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way to the place where He would be crucified, but He did it! Hallelujah!
Let me also be clear about one thing. The prize Jesus kept His eyes on was not making it the place where He was too be crucified, but the prize He kept His eyes on that gave Him the will to finish His race was YOU. In the Bible you are described as "the Joy that was set before Him"
This part might ruff some feathers. The Lord Jesus Himself, while carrying His cross on His way to the place of the skull, fell several times under the weight of the cross. His goal was to get to Golgotha where He was to be crucified, but He couldn't make it all the way on His own. The weight of the cross was too heavy so someone had to help our Lord and Savior carry His cross the rest of the way. Can you image if the first time He fell with the cross He thought to Himself, "I've failed, I can't make it the rest of the way?" No, He didn't do that. He kept His eyes on the prize, kept getting back up and trying again. He took another step closer. God even had to send someone to help Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way to the place where He would be crucified, but He did it! Hallelujah!
Let me also be clear about one thing. The prize Jesus kept His eyes on was not making it the place where He was too be crucified, but the prize He kept His eyes on that gave Him the will to finish His race was YOU. In the Bible you are described as "the Joy that was set before Him"
I want to encourage you today to remember how you began
your walk with the Lord. Simply put, we humbled ourselves before the Lord and
acknowledged we were sinners in bondage and unable to save ourselves. He then
forgives us and gives us His righteousness, which is of God Himself. He filled
us with His Spirit and begins a good work in us. Scripture says we should be
confident (it should be apparent to us) of this very thing, that He who has begun
this good work in us will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…Philippians
1:6 NKJV Meditate on these things and let them establish you in mind and
spirit, causing you to be rooted and grounded.
No matter what comes against you in the natural or in
the spirit, you have already been prepared to do good works in the situation.
You have been appointed by God to bring Him glory. He’s given it to you…the
keys to the kingdom. You have a place at the Father’s table and no one can take
that from you. Believe these things and practice them. Never stop believing.
Never stop trying. The Lord will meet you where the rubber meets the road. It’s
a fixed fight. You win.
I want to leave you with the following scriptures. Keep them
in your heart and ponder them all the days of your life.
Hear, My son, and receive My sayings, and the years of
your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you
in right paths. When you walk you steps will not be hindered, and when you run,
you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her,
for she is your life.
Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing
causes them to stumble.
My prayer for you today is the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.
Samuel...smashing pillars, raising sons.
