Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen Pt 1: To be Called

“…proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9)

From the very beginning, God has called out to mankind to draw near to Him. God desires intimacy with us. He is after all our Creator, and for those who have received His covenant, He is also our Father. Who else knows us so wholly? None. Only God knows our deep desires, our full personality, and our complete destiny.

But none of that means anything if we are not in communion and relationship with Him. And the only way to be close to the Father is to come through the Son.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6)

Jesus is our mediator (go-between) with God the Father. It is only when we are made clean of our sins by receiving the salvation bought for us by Christ through His blood that we can reconciled to God. And it is through the cleansing of His word that we are able to draw near to God. But we must first feel the call to draw near to Him.

Jesus said “NO ONE CAN COME TO ME UNLESS THE FATHER WHO SENT ME DRAWS HIM…” (John 6:44) “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”(John 12:32)

The word “draw” is a verb and can mean to cause to go in a certain direction (as by leading); to bring by inducement or allure; to bring out by way of response.

And how does God draw us unto Himself? By His word.

HE CALLS OUT TO US THROUGH HIS WORD.

We know that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) Our response to hearing God’s word can be to come closer by following His leading, as the word attracts us to its sweetness, like flies to honey. This is the desired response to hearing God’s invitation to come be close to Him.

Jesus speaks often of the best way to respond to the call of God. However, in Matthew 22:1-14 He teaches on the different responses and their corresponding consequences.

“Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. And he sent his servants to call those who had [previously] been invited to the wedding feast, but they refused to come. Then he sent out some other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Look, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened calves are butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention [they disregarded the invitation, treating it with contempt] and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest [of the invited guests] seized his servants and mistreated them [insulting and humiliating them] and killed them. “

“The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding [feast] is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. So go to the main highways that lead out of the city, and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ Those servants went out into the streets and gathered together all the people they could find, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests [sitting at the banquet table].”

“But when the king came in to see the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed [appropriately] in wedding clothes, and he said, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wearing the wedding clothes [that were provided for you]?’ And the man was speechless and without excuse. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the darkness outside; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].’ For many are called (invited, summoned), but few are chosen.”

To summarize this parable, God is the King who gave the wedding feast for His Son, Jesus. So God called and invited His people, the Israelites, to come celebrate His only Son. Yet the very people who should have celebrated Him, rejected Him. In their rejection of God’s Son, they brought judgment upon themselves through the destruction of Jerusalem and the scattering of their people throughout the world. Because of their rejection to the call, THE KING EXTENDED THE INVITATION TO WHOSOEVER was willing by faith to accept the righteousness of God through Christ the Son. Meaning, if they accepted the call, they were to show up wearing the robe of righteousness which was given to them by Jesus. Those who tried to come in their own righteousness and good works (their own coverings), were then cast out into the outer darkness (hell) for their disobedience.

And here have the well-known scripture:

Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14)

So what does this really mean?

To be called by God is to be invited to draw close to Him through Jesus Christ and accept the free gift of salvation. But we cannot draw close to God without first hearing His call.

The word “called” in this scripture in the Greek is “kletos” and means to be invited (by God in the proclamation of the Gospel) to obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom through Christ; to be called to (the discharge of) some office; to be divinely selected and appointed.

It is in God’s timing according to His plan as to when we hear His call. Make no mistake, He is the initiator! No one can decide on their own to receive salvation. They can only receive after being drawn by God through His Holy Spirit which testifies of Christ as the only Son of God. And often, there is more than one draw, as described in Matthew 22:3 where God sent out His servants to call those who had already been invited.

So that tells me that there are some people He calls many times.

The scriptures tell us “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

But understand that WHENEVER YOU REJECT HIS CALL, YOU ARE REJECTING HIM. Whenever you reject God, you are rejecting His salvation, care, protection, provision, wisdom, guidance, sovereignty, righteousness, and so on. Thus you are choosing the door to judgement. And that I would not wish on anyone.

Better to accept the invitation and gain availability to the blessings and benefits that come from following the LORD. By the way, THOSE BLESSINGS AND BENEFITS ARE MANY.

Here are just a few of the blessing we can have on this earth: Redemption, Hope, Joy, Peace, Grace, Protection, Provision, Children, and Prosperity. We can be blessed with material things to show that God prospers His children, but this doesn’t even touch the best that God has prepared for us beyond this life!

In describing the rewards promised to us through the parables of Christ, Joseph Tkach describes it as follows:

“Our eternal reward will be like a treasure. In some respects, it will be like inheriting a kingdom. In some way, it will be like being given all our master’s possessions. It will be similar to having a vineyard to take care of on behalf of the master. It will be like having responsibility over cities. It will be like a wedding banquet when we share in our master’s happiness. It is like all of these things, and much more. Our spiritual blessings will be far better than the physical things we know in this life. Our eternity in God’s presence will be much more glorious and joyful than physical rewards. All physical things, no matter how beautiful, enjoyable or valuable, are only weak shadows of infinitely better heavenly rewards.”

Let’s sum it up this way: Whatever blessings and treasures we receive for accepting the call of God and following Christ are eternal. Jesus tells us “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Most importantly, to accept your calling is to step into PURPOSE.

For God has “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” (2 Timothy 1:9)

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28-30)

Praise God!!!

Thank you God for inviting us and making a way for us to be called your Children! Because of the LORD, we have a future and a hope full of good things, things which we cannot even imagine.

And there’s more!!! For those who have been called, there are a few who are chosen (specially selected) for great purpose on a whole other level!

We will dig into this aspect of the scriptures in our next teaching of this series “Many Are Called, Few Are Chosen.” I pray that this has blessed you and brought understanding to questions you may have had regarding the call of God. By no means have I covered everything regarding God’s calling, but we will have several more opportunities to discuss this topic.

May God bless you and keep you! In Jesus’ name, AMEN ❤