About the attitude of the Lord God towards many called and little chosen ones, and also about the fact that love dies out from the diminution of communication. Chosen people Understand that I am the chosen one

People 4. To numerologists, who vibuduyut their rozrahunki for the ancient method, zgіdno z Kabbalah, it is clear that they are given to people even before they descend into the earthly world. Vono signifies the character and pours into the share. And the smut - reflects the program that її people

People This is the most valuable material for research and knowledge. Study people - all together and each separately. Learn how they feel and think. Look for a system in this. People are herd creatures by nature. Most of them want everything to be as good as theirs.

Natalya Sotnikova Kryon: the wisdom of the new time. Selected Messages of the Teachers of Light Dear readers! The Heavenly Book series is unique authors and unique knowledge! Everything that used to be hidden behind seven seals, now becomes available to everyone. you open

People The most valuable material for research and knowledge. Study people - all together and each separately. Learn how they feel and think. Look for a system in this. People are herd creatures by nature. Most of them want everything to be as good as their neighbor's.

SELECTED STORIES MELANIE DREAMS Melanie was almost asleep. How long this lasted, no one knows. At this time, she has a dream. She dreams of a world full of different colors, and all the colors in it look completely different. People in a dream you looked unusual. And they behaved in a special way.

SELECTED CHNNELINGS THROUGH ALOKA NAMA BA HALA Your Cosmic Name (Kryon) Dear Lightworker, I, Kryon of Magnetic Service, greet you with all the love that fills my being and call you at this moment by your name. I call you by your cosmic name.

SELECTED LETTERS OF WILLIAM K. JUJE William K. Judge. Pencil drawing by Margaret Jaeger from a photograph

Lonely and Chosen One Jesus said: Blessed are the lonely and chosen ones, for you will find the kingdom; and since you come out of it, you will go into it again. (From the "Gospel of Thomas") The deepest passionate impulse in a person is to be completely free. Freedom, moksha, is the goal.

PEOPLE Many words in ancient times were formed from the reduction of some very precise expressions. For example, the ancient expression “I EAT, THEREFORE I AM!” condensed into the later "I AM". From the long “WHAT KIND” was born a short and specific “WHEN?”, from “THAT YEAR” -

AXIS PEOPLE. The Hyperborean race established itself on Earth at the beginning of the past era of Aquarius. We are thus separated from this point in time by one Platonic Year. (One Platonic Year includes all twelve zodiac epochs. Each of them lasts 2145 years.)

Chosen from the Jews The Jews who returned from the Babylonian captivity were brought to Jerusalem by Zerubbabel, a man who under other circumstances could have become a king, and now appointed by Cyrus as a mere sheshbazzar, "prince of Judah." He returned to the city with a group of close associates,

Selected Messages May there be Light, peace and joy with all who live and work in Auroville. My blessings. Anniversary of Auroville 28.2.1969* * * *To all the inhabitants of Auroville: I bless the perfection and growth of the collective and individual consciousness Anniversary

Part Two Selected Hymns Selected Hymns Conversation between Indra and Agastya Rig Veda I.170 indra?na n?namasti no ?va? kastad veda yadadbhutam ?anyasya cittamabhi sa?care?yamut?dh?ta? vi na?yati ?Indra1. It is neither today nor tomorrow; Who knows what is above all and most wonderful? It moves and acts in the mind of another, but

Selected Hymns Conversation between Indra and Agastya Rigveda I.170 indra?na n?namasti no ?va? kastad veda yadadbhutam ?anyasya cittamabhi sa?care?yamut?dh?ta? vi na?yati ?Indra1. It is neither today nor tomorrow; Who knows what is above all and most wonderful? It moves and acts in the consciousness of another, but as soon as the thought approaches

Holy Hierarchs Oksinya Kalitvina Selected prayers for every ailment To our Lord the Creator Almighty Oh, Almighty and Almighty Physician of our souls and bodies - Lord Jesus Christ! Hear now the tearful prayers of all Thy servants, who are in grave ailments and are on Thee

Now I am sitting in my chair where I pray every morning, writing you a letter and thinking about all those people who support us with prayers and finances. I just prayed for you, and now I'm thinking about a question I was asked recently; It is about this question and the answer to it that I want to talk to you today.

I was recently asked, "How does God choose the people He wants to work through?" This is an important question that you should ask yourself if you want God to choose you. If you look closely at God's chosen ones doing something significant, you will understand that God does not choose people according to their talents and abilities. And if so, there must be another reason for Him to lay His hand on man in order to engage him in a special way.

WHAT IS THE REASON?

There are several answers to this question. There are certain qualities by which God chooses people, and you need to know these qualities.

FAITHFUL, RELIABLE, WORTHY OF TRUST

One of the answers to this question is given by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:2. He states this here so categorically that it seems to be at the top of God's list of requirements for those who will be chosen to do His work. Here is what he wrote:
I want to draw your attention to the word "faithful". The Greek word pistos, "faithful," is derived from the Greek pistis, "faith." However, in 1 Corinthians 4:2 the word pistos does not mean "faith", but "fidelity". It characterizes a person whom God considered faithful, reliable, trustworthy, unshakable.

GOD WATCHES US CAREFULLY

How does God determine whether a person is faithful, dependable, trustworthy, unshakable? Paul answers this question in the same verse: “It is required of stewards that every one should be faithful.”

The Greek word eurisko, to appear, means to find, to discover. It is important to note that the meaning of the word eurisko implies a discovery made through careful observation.
The meaning of the word eurisko tells us that God is watching us closely, our actions and reactions. He watches how we treat people, how we respond to pressure, whether we have enough perseverance to stay on the right track when there are so many distractions around us, the purpose of which is to make us disobey God. Before approvingly patting us on the back and entrusting us with some new important task, He will look at how well we did on His previous assignment. Is it done the way He expected? Did we finish it completely or did some part remain unfinished? And have we fulfilled it in such a way as to glorify the name of Jesus?

CHARACTER AND ACTION - THIS IS IMPORTANT!

If you were God and were looking for a person through whom you could act in a powerful way, then would you not look first of all at his character and actions to make sure: you can entrust an important task to him? Even the employer carefully monitors employees to understand which of them deserves a promotion.

BEFORE YOU TRUST MORE...

If you were an employer, before you promote a person and give him more responsibility, would you not watch him to see if he proves to be faithful? If people do this when they are looking for a person who can be entrusted with the fulfillment of albeit important, but still temporary, from the point of view of eternal life, duties, all the more so will God do this when choosing people to whom He can entrust a mission, the fulfillment of which will affect that where people will spend eternity. There is nothing more serious than fate in eternity, which is why God, before entrusting someone with important spiritual works, will watch him to see if this person will prove to be faithful.

GOD WATCHES AND... FOR YOU!

God wants to know if we are faithful, trustworthy, reliable, unshakable. He is not ignorant and has no illusions about us, He watches us carefully and then decides. This means that God is watching over you too. He watches your actions and reactions. He observes how you treat people and how you behave when under pressure. He is looking to see if you have the tenacity to keep moving forward, no matter the difficulties.
First Corinthians 4:2 leaves no doubt about how important to God such quality of ours as fidelity is. The word “turned out” strongly indicates that God is watching over us for a long period of time to see how we behave in certain circumstances, whether we are faithful, whether we can be relied upon, whether we are trustworthy, how much we reliable and unshakable.
Today I want to ask you a question: “And how did God find you?”

GOD IS LOOKING FOR THE FAITHFUL!

Having realized from observing a person that he can be trusted, God, as a rule, soon entrusts him with a task. The Greek word used in the above verse, zeteo, to be required, means to seek, seek, look very carefully. This word was a legal term for judicial investigation, and it could also refer to scientific research. It describes an intense, thorough search. The verse can be paraphrased as: "God is conducting a thorough, all-encompassing, thorough search to find a steward who will prove faithful."

VALUABLE FIND

This means that people who have the qualities that God wants to see in them in order to use them in the accomplishment of His purposes are not found at every turn. Faithful, reliable, trustworthy, unshakable people are so rare that God has to make a careful, thorough search to find them. And when, as a result of observing the believer, God comes to the conclusion that he really strives to do His will, and in the best possible way, He realizes that he has made a valuable discovery. He found a faithful person whom he can rely on and entrust him with an important task.

A REAL TREASURE!

Over the years, I have worked with a huge number of people, and I know that people who can be completely relied upon are rare. Most are distracted from the task assigned to them by something else. At first they try to be faithful, but then they are distracted by other different things. Almost all pastors can attest to the fact that more often than not, once people start a business, they don't finish it. But when you manage to find a person who is faithful, trustworthy, reliable and unshakable, you can consider that this is a rare find, a real treasure.
WHAT CAN GOD SAY ABOUT YOUR LOYALTY?

Looking at you, what can God say about your faithfulness? I urge you to do everything possible so that He can easily say: “This man is a real treasure. I can entrust him with the execution of an important assignment.” And don't let Him say, "Not yet," because you refused to make the necessary changes.

As God watches over us, we need to take a look at ourselves to understand what He sees when He looks at our actions, how we keep our promises, and how obedient we are to Him and His Word. Will God say that he can trust us, or would it be wise for Him to choose someone else?

THE DOOR TO YOUR VOCATION

If you want to move to a higher spiritual level - more responsible, but at the same time more interesting and exciting, and it is at this level that God can give a more important task - then do everything possible to be faithful! If God sees your faithfulness, then soon a door will open before you, entering which you will be able to fulfill what He has called you to.

DO YOU HAVE A JOB RIGHT NOW?

Today I want to ask you:

What assignment did God give you? Perhaps this assignment is related to work or relationships, an assignment to solve some personal problems? Can you now name the most important commission given to you by God - the one over the fulfillment of which He watches most closely? If you don't know what God wants you to do now, ask Him to help you understand what your task is and do it in the best possible way so that He can entrust something more substantial to you. Determine and even commit yourself to do everything in your power so that God will find you faithful in doing His will - in carrying out the simple task that He has given you - so that He can then entrust you with a more important task.

GOD IS ALWAYS AVAILABLE!

God is interested in how you perform the tasks assigned to you. He stands by your side to help you, encourage you, and strengthen you where you are weak, so that you can be faithful and able to complete His next assignment with full dedication.

GOD CALLS US TO RISE HIGHER

Do you think God finds you faithful in doing His will, from the simple tasks assigned to you to the important task of fulfilling your calling?
I hope this letter was interesting and useful for you. This letter encouraged me to be even more obedient to God and serve Him even better. It became a test for me too, because I always try to do everything that the Lord tells me. Right now He is calling me to rise higher. I know it. What is God calling you to? I am convinced that you will be faithful and take up the fulfillment of God-given tasks with renewed vigor and perform them to the best of your ability.

THANK YOU!

Thank you for your prayerful and financial support for the ministry of our church. Not a day goes by that Denise and I don't thank God for all of you and pray that He will take you higher and give you the very best. It is a great honor for us to pray for you and watch with you how God's will is carried out in your life.

INTERNET CHURCH

In our Internet church, on the website () you have the opportunity to watch broadcasts of worship services in real time, "Home Groups Online" on Mondays. The Internet Church is a great opportunity to reach out to as many precious hearts as possible. Invite your friends and acquaintances and, if possible, join us yourself.

See, brethren, who you are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many strong, not many noble; but God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong; and God chose the lowly things of the world, and the lowly and meaningless things, to abolish the things that are significant, so that no flesh can boast before God.
First Epistle to the Corinthians 1:26-29.

The Apostle Paul said that Jesus Christ was despised by both Jews and Gentiles. However, the apostle argued, for him this was not a stumbling block, for what for others was folly, he considered wisdom, and rejoiced that the folly of God was wiser than people and that the weakness of God is more powerful than the strength of man. But in order that none of the Corinthians should stumble when they hear that the world despises Christ, the apostle shows what is the usual way of God's action: He chooses insignificant means to achieve his goals, and because of this all glory belongs to him. As an argument, Paul uses the fact of their election and calling: "Look, brethren," he says, "who are you who are called: not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many strong, not many noble..." But the poor, illiterate, God called the lowly, that he might be all in all, that no flesh should boast before him. It is clear to anyone who studies the Scriptures or observes the facts that God did not intend to make the gospel fashionable. He did not even think of gathering the elite of mankind, He had no plans to make a new people from high-ranking officials. On the contrary, God defied human greatness, He humiliated human pride and cut through the sword of His might the armorial shield of human glory. "I will bring down, I will lay down, I will lay down," the motto of the Lord of hosts sounds, and it will sound "until He Who belongs" and the Kingdom, and power, and glory forever and ever. The doctrine of election, like no other, humbles a person. That is why the apostle Paul remembers him: he wants the Corinthian believers to be content to follow a humble, contemptible, cross-bearing Savior, for grace has chosen a humble and contemptible people who cannot be ashamed to follow One who is so like them, who was despised and despised among men.

Turning directly to the verses we have read, we will first turn our attention to the One who made the choice; secondly, to a seemingly strange election; thirdly, on the elect, and after that we will dwell on the reasons that were behind God's election: "... that no flesh should boast before God."

I. First, let us rise on the wings of thought and think about the One Who made the choice.

Some people are saved and some are not; it is an indisputable fact that some gain eternal life, and some continue on the path of sin until they end up in hell. What caused such a difference? Why does someone reach heaven? The reason why some perish in hell is sin and only sin; they do not want to repent, they do not want to believe in Christ, they do not want to turn to God, and therefore they perish voluntarily, they bring themselves to eternal death. But why are some saved? By whose will are they different from other people? Paul answers this question three times in these verses. He does not say: "man has chosen", but repeats three times: "God has chosen, God has chosen, God has chosen". The grace that is in man, the glory and eternal life that some achieve, are gifts of God's election and are not distributed by the will of man.

This will become clear to any sane person, as soon as he turns to the facts. Whenever we encounter election in the Old Testament, we see that it clearly comes from God. You can start from the most ancient times. The angels fell, the many shining spirits that surrounded the throne of God and sang His praises were deceived by Satan and sinned. The ancient serpent dragged away a third of the heavenly stars so that they disobeyed God and were condemned to eternal fetters and eternal fire. Man also sinned: Adam and Eve broke the covenant made between them and God and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. Did God condemn them to eternal fire? No, by great mercy He whispered a promise in Eve's ear: "The seed of the woman will crush the serpent's head." Some people are saved, but not a single demon is saved. Why? Is the cause in man? Be quiet! It is empty boasting to say that a person has determined his fate, God Himself says: "... whom I will have mercy on, I will have mercy; whom I will pity, I will pity." Being the all-powerful God, the Lord essentially says: “I determine and decide that from the human race I will save a huge number of people that no one can count, and they will be vessels of mercy. And the angels who were my servants before, and now have become traitors their Master, perish without any hope of deliverance, and be an example of the power of my righteousness and the majesty of my justice." And it never occurred to anyone to challenge this decision of God. I have never heard even the most extreme Pelagian defend the devil. Origen apparently did teach that the universal law of mercy extended to the devil, but hardly anyone today takes this view. Here is a prime example of election: some people are saved, but all fallen angels will perish. How can such a difference be explained if not by the will of the Lord? Remembering the grace that mankind has received, we must say: "God has chosen." We can easily recall examples of how the will of God separated some people from others. In the time of the patriarchs, almost all people were pagans. But a few chosen by God worshiped the true God. The Lord decided to create a special nation that would have a revelation from God and keep the truth. He chose Abraham as the forefather of this people. Who chose whom: God's Abraham or Abraham's God? Did Abraham from birth have something that made him fit for the service of the Almighty? Scripture makes it clear that Abraham had nothing like it. On the contrary, he was a wandering, or rather, dying Aramean, and his family was no different from the others, his family, like everyone else, worshiped idols. Nevertheless, he was called from the East, became by the special will of God the father of believers. What was it about the Jews that could induce God to bless them with prophets, to teach them the true worship of God through sacrifices and other rites, while other peoples worshiped gods made of stone and wood? We can only say one thing: God did it. His mercy was directed to the people of Israel and to no other. Think of any example of Divine grace in Old Testament times. For example, God showed mercy to David. But did David himself choose the throne, separate himself from other people and make himself the chosen messenger of God for the Israelites? Or maybe the youngest son of Jesse had a clear advantage over his brothers? No, on the contrary, from a human point of view, his brothers were better suited. Even Samuel, when he saw Eliab, said: "True, this is His anointed before the Lord!" But God does not look like a man, and He chooses the blond David to be the king of Israel. And you can give other examples, but your memory will allow me not to waste words. All the events of the Old Testament show that God acts as He pleases, both among the heavenly host and among the inhabitants of the earth. He overthrows, and He elevates, He raises the poor from the dust, raises the poor from the dust, places him next to the nobles. God chooses, not man. “Therefore, mercy does not depend on the one who wills and not on the one who struggles, but on God who has mercy.”

Let's look at this question from the other side. If we think about who God is in relation to man, then it becomes clear to us that everything must be determined by His will. God is king for man. And won't the King do as he pleases? People can create a constitutional monarchy that limits the power of kings, and they are doing right when they strive for it. But if we could find the perfect man, then absolute monarchy would then be the best form of government. Either way, God has absolute power. He never violates justice, for He is holiness and truth itself, and considers His absolute power to be one of the most beautiful pearls in His crown. "I am the Lord, and there is none else." He does not give an account of His deeds to anyone. He gives one answer to all questions: “And who are you, man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the one who made it: why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have power over clay to make one vessel for honorable use from the same mixture and another for low? God is an absolute monarch, therefore His voice in everything, and even more so in the matter of salvation, is decisive. Let's imagine such a situation. Several criminals are imprisoned, and each of them is condemned to death. Their guilt is the same, so when they are led to their execution in the morning, no one will say that this is unfair. If pardon is possible for some criminals, then who will make the decision, are the criminals? Will they be given the right to decide on pardon? For them, the abolition of the sentence is a great indulgence. But suppose they all rejected the pardon and, having heard the offer to be saved, refused to accept the forgiveness. If in this case, the highest mercy takes over their perverted mind and will and decides to save them anyway, then who will have the final choice? If the choice was given to criminals, they would all again choose death over life, so it makes no sense to leave the last word to them. In addition, it would look very strange if the issue of pardon was decided by the criminals themselves. No, of course, the king will determine who will be pardoned and who will suffer the deserved punishment. The fact that God is king and men are criminals requires that salvation be dependent on the will of God. And truly, it is better for us to leave everything to the will of God, and not to our own, because God is much kinder to us than we are to ourselves, He loves a person more than a person loves himself. God is justice, God is love, justice in all its majesty and love in all its unlimited power. Mercy and truth met and honored each other. And it is very good that the power to save is given into the hands of God.

Now we will look at a few examples that the Bible uses to describe how salvation happens, and I think you will understand that the final decision about salvation is left to God's will. Part of salvation is adoption. God adopts sinners who were children of wrath and makes them members of His family. Who has the authority in the matter of adoption? Children of anger? Of course not. But after all, all people by nature are children of anger! Common sense requires that no other than the parent himself make the decision to adopt. As a father, I have the right to accept or reject a person applying for adoption. Obviously, no person has the right to demand that I adopt him, and can not, without my consent, declare that he is my adopted son. I repeat that common sense dictates that a parent should have the right to decide whether someone is adopted or not. So God decides Himself who will be His son and who will not.

The church is called the house of God. Who determines the architectural style of this building? Who decides what stones it will be built from? Do stones choose themselves? Did the stone in that corner choose its own place? Or did the one that lies closer to the foundation climb there on its own? No, the architect arranges the selected materials as he sees fit. So in the building of the Church, which is the house of God, the great Builder reserves the right to choose the stones and their location in the building.

Take an even clearer picture. The church is called the bride of Christ. Would any of you want someone to be forced on him as a bride against his will? There is not a single person among us who would give up his right to choose a life partner. So will Christ really leave the choice of His bride to the will of chance or the will of man? No, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Man of the Church, uses His rightful authority to choose His own bride.

In addition, we are members of the body of Christ. David says that "in Your book are written all the days appointed for me when none of them were yet." The members of every human body were written in the book of God. So is the body of Christ an exception? Is it possible that the great Divine-human body of Jesus Christ, our Savior, will be created at the whim of free will, while other bodies, much less important, are created in accordance with what is written in the book of God? Let's not even assume the possibility of an affirmative answer, which simply indicates a misunderstanding of the image used in Scripture.

It seems to me quite clear that the biblical images and examples teach that man's choice for salvation belongs to God. Doesn't this, dear friends, fit your experience? That is exactly what happened to me. Some people may hate the doctrine of election, many are foaming at the mouth trying to refute the sovereignty of God. But I must admit that this teaching touches a deep chord in my soul, so that it makes me cry even when nothing else can bring tears. Something inside me says, "He had to choose you, otherwise you would never have chosen Him." I have lived willfully in sin, I have continually strayed from the true path, I have delighted in iniquity, I have drunk evil as an ox drinks from a stream of water, and now I am saved by grace. How can I dare to attribute salvation to my own choice? Undoubtedly, I chose God voluntarily, but this was only due to the preliminary work that God did in my heart, changing it, for my unchanged heart was not able to choose God. Beloved, don't you notice that even now your thoughts are running away from God? If God's grace were taken away from you, what would happen to you? Are you not like a bent bow, the shape of which is held by a bowstring, but if it is cut, the bow will straighten? Isn't it the same with you? Would you not immediately return to your old sinful ways if God took away His mighty grace? Then you must understand that if even now, when you are regenerated, your corrupt nature does not want to make a choice in favor of God, then even more so you could not choose God when you did not have a new nature that would restrain and suppress the sinful nature. My Lord looks into your eyes, O people of God, and says: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you." And we feel how the answer is born in our souls: "Yes, Lord, we did not choose You in our natural sinful state, but You chose us, and let there be eternal honor and praise to Your free and sovereign choice."

II. May God give us a sense of the working of the Holy Spirit while we talk directly about election itself.

Here the Lord chooses people who will honor the cross of Christ. They will be redeemed with precious blood, and God will make them worthy, in a certain sense, of the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ. But look what a strange choice He makes. I reverently read the words: "... not many of you are wise according to the flesh, not many strong, not many noble..." If a person were given the right to choose, he would choose the wise and noble. "But God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong; and God chose the lowly of the world and the humble and meaningless to abolish the meaningful..." If a man chose, he would pass by just such people. God made a very, very strange choice. I think that even in heaven, he will be the subject of eternal wonder. And if the apostle Paul had not revealed to us the reasons for such a choice, then we would simply be lost in conjecture why God, with divine contempt, passed by magnificent royal palaces and chose people of low origin and insignificant position in society.

This choice is strange in that it is the exact opposite of a choice a person would make. Man chooses those who are most useful to him, God chooses those for whom He can be most useful. We choose those who can thank us better than others, God often chooses those who most need His blessings. If I choose a friend, then one whose friendship would be useful to me; and this is the egoism of man. But God chooses as friends such people to whom He can render the greatest service by His friendship. God and man make choices quite differently. We choose the best because they deserve it. He chooses the worst because they are the least deserving of it, so that the election is a clear act of grace and not the result of human merit. Obviously, God chooses quite differently from man. A person chooses the most beautiful and beautiful, God, on the contrary, seeing the seal of filth on everything that is considered beautiful, does not choose this visible beauty, but stops His choice on those whom even people recognize as ugly, and makes them truly beautiful and beautiful. Strange choice! Is that what a man does, O God?

Note that this choice is also graceful in both your case and mine. This choice is gracious even in the way it excludes people. “Not a single wise man” is said, but “not many wise ones,” so that even great people are not deprived of the grace of God. The gospel is proclaimed to the nobles, in heaven we will meet those who on earth wore crowns. How blessed is the grace of gracious choice! She gives life to the weak and unreasonable. One might think that when God said to the king: "No," He did it so that no one would count on His mercy. After all, we usually say this: "We refused Mr. N, and he is a much more important person than you, so I am all the more forced to refuse you. You know, the kings asked me for this service and did not receive anything, so do you really think that Will I render this service to you?" But God reasons differently. He passes by the king in order to reach out to a beggar; He does not look to a noble person in order to do good to a person of low birth; He turns away from philosophers to accept the ignorant. Oh, how strange, how amazing, how unbelievable! Let us praise Him for such wonderful grace!

What an encouragement this is to us! Many cannot boast of their pedigree. Many did not receive a good education. We are neither rich nor famous. But how merciful God is! He was pleased to choose precisely such ignorant, such contemptible, such worthless people as we are.

And, in order not to spend all this morning thinking about how strange the choice of God is, I will note that any Christian who thinks about his election will agree that God made the strangest choice that could be made.

III. Now we turn to the chosen ones themselves. Paul tells what they are and what they are not. Let's take a look at the second one first. Who are the chosen ones not? The apostle writes: "...there are not many of you who are wise according to the flesh..." Notice that it does not just say "not many wise", but "not many wise according to the flesh". God has chosen truly wise people, for He makes all His own wise, and He did not choose "the wise according to the flesh." The Greeks call such people philosophers. People who love wisdom, great scientists, mentors, encyclopedists, educated, insightful, infallible people ... look down with contempt from above on simple, illiterate people and call them fools, revere them as dust that can be trampled underfoot, however, from these wise men few chosen by God. Strange, isn't it? But if the first twelve apostles had been philosophers or rabbis, people would have said, "No wonder the gospel has such power: the twelve wisest men of Greece were chosen to proclaim it." But instead, the Lord finds poor fishermen on the seashore (He could not meet more uneducated people) and calls them to follow Him. Fishermen become apostles, they spread the gospel, and the glory rests not on the apostles, but on the gospel. The wisdom of God passed by wise people.

Notice that the Apostle Paul writes further: "... not many strong ones..." The wise, it would seem, could make their way to heaven with their mind, but we seem to see them helplessly trying to find the latch on the gate that opens the way to heaven, at the same time, illiterate, ordinary people have already passed through this gate. Blind wisdom stumbles in the darkness and, like the Magi, searches in vain for the baby in Jerusalem, while the poor shepherds immediately go to Bethlehem and find Christ.

Here is another group of great people! Strong people, fearless conquerors, monarchs, their imperial majesties, conquerors, Alexanders, Napoleons - are they not elected? After all, if a king becomes a Christian, he can force others to accept Christ with the sword. Why not choose him? "No," says Paul, "... not many strong ones..." And you can easily guess what the reason is. If the strong had been chosen, the people would have said: "It is clear why Christianity has become so widespread! The edge of the sword is a strong argument in favor of Christ, and the power of the monarch breaks not only the heart of man." We understand what explains the success of Islam in the first three centuries of its history. People like Ali and Khalifa were ready to destroy entire nations. They rode on horseback, waving scimitars over their heads, fearlessly rushing into battle. It wasn't until they ran into people like our Richard Coeur de Lion that they cooled off a bit. When the sword meets the sword, then the one who first took it in his hands dies. Christ did not choose soldiers. One of his disciples pulled out a sword, but the experiment was unsuccessful, since he could only injure the ear of a slave, and even then Christ healed by touch. After this incident, Peter did not enter the battle. So that the success of the Lord's conquests does not depend on strong men, God does not choose them.

After that, Paul says: "... not many noble ones ...", - referring to people with a famous pedigree, in the genealogical tree of which there are princes and kings, in whose veins blue blood flows. "... not many noble ones" - for the noble ones would be said to have made the Gospel prestigious: "Is it any wonder that the Gospel has spread so much, because the count such and such and the duke such and such are Christians." But you see that there were very few such people in the church in the early years. The saints who gathered in the catacombs were poor and simple people. And it is very remarkable that among all the inscriptions found in the Roman catacombs, which were made by the first Christians, there is hardly one in which there would be no spelling errors. And this is strong evidence that they were made by poor, illiterate people who at that time were the defenders of the faith and the true keepers of the grace of God.

So we've talked about who the chosen ones are usually not: not many wise, not many strong, not many noble. Now let's see who the chosen ones are. And I want you to pay close attention to the words chosen by the apostle. He does not say that God has chosen ignorant people. No, he says differently: "...God chose the unwise...", as if those chosen by the Lord by their nature did not deserve to be called people, but more like soulless objects; the world treated them with such contempt that they were not said: "Who are these people?", but simply: "What is this?" In the Gospels, Christ is called "This" several times; "This one": "But we do not know where He comes from." Opponents did not even want to call Him a man. They seemed to say: "The same, m .., call it an animal or a thing, we don't know ..." God chose people whom the world considers uneducated, ignorant, stupid fools who can be led by the nose and forced to believe in what whatever. But God has chosen the "unwise", which is the very embodiment of stupidity.

Further, God also chose "the weak of the world." “And who,” said Caesar in the throne room, if he even honored this subject with his attention, “is this king Jesus? A miserable vagabond hanged on a cross! purses combined! What kind of Paul is this, who so fiercely defends Christ? A craftsman! He makes tents! And who are his followers? A few insignificant women who happened to meet him by the river! Paul is a philosopher? What are you talking about? He was ridiculed on the Hill of Mars. In the Areopagus, the Athenians called him a sueslov." Undoubtedly, Caesar considered them insignificant people, not deserving of his attention. But God has chosen "the weak of the world."

Notice that Paul also refers to the elect as "the lowly things of the world." This means that they did not have noble families. Their father is nobody and their mother is nothing. Such were the ancient apostles, they were not noble in this world, but still God chose them.

And, as if that weren't enough, Paul adds that God has chosen the lowly. The chosen ones were mocked, they were persecuted, they were hunted, sometimes, not taking them seriously, they treated them with complete indifference: "Is it worth paying attention to them? Poor fools! Don't touch them, leave them alone." But God chose them. Zeros and nothingness. "Oh yes," says the man of the world, "I have heard that there is such a group of fanatics." "Yes? I haven't even heard of them," says another. "I've never had anything to do with such low-grade people." "Do they have a bishop or an infallible pope?" someone asked. "No, sir, there are no such noble people among them, they are all humble ignoramuses, therefore the world rejects them." "But," says God, "I chose them." These are the people God chooses. And note that the situation has not changed from the time of the apostle Paul to the present day, for the Bible does not change over time. And in the year 1864, as in the year 64, God still chooses the weak and the humble as He always did. God will yet show the world that those who are laughed at, who are called fanatics, lunatics and criminals, are His chosen ones, who will yet become the head of a whole army of the chosen ones and win victory for God on the last day. And we are not ashamed to boast that God chooses the weak and lowly. And we stand side by side with God's contemptible people in the hope of becoming partakers of His electing grace.

IV. In conclusion, let us turn to the reasons why God chose these people. Paul points us to two reasons - immediate and main.

The first, immediate reason is contained in the following words: "...God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong; and God chose the ignorant of the world and the lowly and meaningless to abolish the signifier ... ".

So, the immediate reason for such a seemingly strange election is to shame the wise. When the wise put the wise to shame, that is one thing; It is also easy for a wise man to put a fool to shame; but when the foolish prevails over the wise, behold indeed the finger of God! You remember what happened to the first apostles. The philosopher listened to the apostle Paul and said: "There is nothing interesting in this! It's just some kind of stupidity! Fables - from beginning to end! We should not waste energy to answer this." Years passed, this philosopher turned gray, and the Christian "heresy" not only did not die, but, like an epidemic, spread quite widely. His daughter was converted, even his wife secretly began to leave in the evenings for meetings of Christians. The philosopher is at a loss as to what is happening. “I,” he says, “already clearly proved that Christianity is stupid, but people accept it. I have refuted all their arguments, haven’t I? Not only have I refuted their arguments, but I have stated my arguments with such force and persuasiveness, that, it seemed to me, nothing would remain of Christianity. But it is already in my house.” Sometimes this philosopher, with tears in his eyes, mutters: "I feel in my heart that it has overcome and confounded me. I invented syllogism after syllogism, I defeated pathetic Paul, but Paul defeated me. What I considered foolishness has confounded my wisdom." A few centuries after the death of Christ, the Christian faith spread throughout the civilized world, while paganism, supported by all the philosophers of the West and East, fell into decline and became the subject of ridicule. God chose the weak to shame the strong. "Oh, - exclaimed Caesar, - we will eradicate Christianity, and together with it we will destroy those who defend it!" Different rulers killed the disciples of Jesus one by one, but the more they persecuted them, the more they became. Proconsuls were given orders to destroy Christians, but the more they persecuted them, the more there were, until, finally, people themselves began to come to the persecutors with a request to die for Christ. Those in power invented sophisticated tortures, tied believers to wild horses, laid them on red-hot grates, skinned them from the living, sawed them into pieces, put them on stakes, smearing them with tar, and turned them into torches to illuminate the gardens of Nero. They were rotten in the dungeons, used for spectacles in the amphitheaters, bears strangled them to death, lions tore them to pieces, wild bulls raised them on their horns, but Christianity spread. All the swords of the legionnaires who defeated the armies of all peoples, conquered the invincible Gauls and the ferocious Britons, could not resist the weakness of Christianity, for the weakness of God is stronger than the power of man. If God had chosen strong men, they would have said, "God owes success to us"; if He chose the wise, they would say, "It's all about our wisdom." But when God chooses the unwise and the weak, what can you, a philosopher, say? Did God laugh at you? Where are you, spear and sword? Where are you strong? God's weakness has crushed you.

Paul also writes that God chose the insignificant in order to abolish the significant. To abolish is even more than to shame. "Meaningful". What was significant in the days of the apostle? Jupiter sat on an exalted throne, holding thunder in his hands. Saturn was revered as the father of the gods, Venus rewarded her followers with lustful pleasures, the beautiful Diana blew her horn. But then Paul appears and says that there is no God but the one God and Jesus Christ, sent by Him. He speaks of the "insignificant". Christian "heresy" was in such contempt that if a catalog of the religions of various countries had been compiled at that time, Christianity would not have been included in it. But where is Jupiter now? Where is Saturn? Where is Venus and Diana? Their names exist only in thick dictionaries. Who now worships Ceres at harvest time? Who offers a prayer to Neptune during a storm? They've all disappeared! The meaningless has destroyed the meaning.

Let's consider that the truth has not changed since the time of Paul. The year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-four will see the repetition of the ancient miracles: the significant will be abolished by the insignificant. Remember the days of Wycliffe. Then wooden crosses in churches were significant. All the inhabitants of Britain worshiped Saint Winifred and Saint Thomas of Canterbury. Here is the lord archbishop walking down the street being worshiped. The Pope is worshiped by thousands, the Virgin Mary is worshiped by all without exception. And what do I see? A lone monk in Lutterworth begins to preach against the mendicant beggar monks, and while preaching against them, he unexpectedly discovers the truth and begins to proclaim Christ as the only way of salvation, claiming that everyone who believes in Him will be saved. At first, the efforts of this man looked so ridiculous that he was not even pursued. True, he had to answer to His Eminence, but the courageous man John o' Gaunt came to his aid, who put in a word for him, and although Wycliffe was convicted, he was allowed to return to his parish in Lutterworth. "Meaningful!" Not it was even necessary to shed its blood, it had to die by itself! But did it die? Where are your holy crosses today? Where is St. Thomas of Canterbury, where are St. Agnes and St. Winifred? Ask the Pouseites (The Pouseites are the followers of Edward Pouset, the leader ritualistic movement in the Anglican Church in the 19th century, for only they still remember them, they communicate with moles and bats, so they know where the idols were thrown, they try to revive the superstitions of the past, but the grace of God, they will not succeed so easily.The modern system of English superstitions, with its teaching about the life-giving water of Baptism, confirmation and the transmission of grace through bread and wine, will be abolished under the influence of the insignificant. digging in Jesus; the belief that there are no priests who are higher than ordinary Christians, that all believers are priests of God, pure truth; the simple truth that water does not oblige the Holy Spirit to regenerate man, that outward forms and rites have no power in themselves without the faith of those who take part in them, all this will nullify, with the help of the Holy Spirit, that which is significant. We rely on the power of God. I wouldn't want the warriors of God to be stronger. If they were stronger, brothers, they would win glory. Let them be weak, let them be few, let them be despised by people. Their paucity, poverty, and infirmity will make louder the cries of greeting and glorification of the eternal Conqueror and inspire the song: "Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory, for the sake of Your mercy, for the sake of Your truth."

Is this the immediate purpose of choosing the unwise, the weak, the insignificant? God wants to shame the wise and the strong. But His ultimate goal is something else: "...that no flesh should boast before God." I bring to your attention this last thought, and we will conclude. Paul doesn't say "...that no man..." No, he doesn't intend to flatter anyone, so he says "no flesh." What a word! What a word, I repeat! Solon and Socrates are wise people. God points his finger at them and says, "Flesh." Flesh is sold in meat markets, isn't it? It is torn with the teeth of dogs and eaten by worms. Flesh - and nothing more. Here stands Caesar in a royal purple robe, he stands proudly and confidently, a mighty emperor, and the soldiers of the praetorium draw their swords and shout: "Great emperor! Long live the great emperor!" "Flesh," says God, and repeats, "Flesh." Here are the warriors minting a step, hundreds in one row, the mighty legionnaires of Rome. Who can stand in their way? "Flesh," Scripture says of them, "flesh." Here are people whose fathers come from the royal family, they can trace back a long line of their noble ancestors. "Flesh," says God, "flesh, and nothing else." Food for dogs and worms. "...Let no flesh boast before God." You see that God puts on each of us the seal that you are only flesh, and He chooses the weakest flesh, the most unwise, the poorest flesh, so that any other flesh can see God's contempt for it and His will, so that no flesh did not boast before Him.

Do you reject this teaching? Are you saying you can't hear about being elected? I think you want to brag a little before God. God sees things differently than you, so you need a new heart and a right spirit.

But, perhaps, on the contrary, today someone will say: "I have nothing to boast about, I will not boast before You, but I will cast myself into the dust and say:" Do to me as You please "". Sinner, do you feel that you are flesh, just sinful flesh? Have you humbled yourself before God so much that you feel that no matter what He does to you, He will be right? Do you realize that you can only trust in His mercy? If yes, then you are one with God, you are reconciled to Him. I see that you are reconciled, for when you agree with God that He should rule, then He agrees with you that you should live. Sinner, touch the scepter of His grace. The crucified Jesus now stands before you and calls you to turn to Him and gain life. That you hear the call to convert is a manifestation of grace and a manifestation of the greatest love. You can turn and you will have to praise the Lord for it forever. And may God bless you, Whose name I have sought to magnify today with my feeble words. In the name of Christ. Amen.

Question: Who are God's chosen ones?

Answer: In simple terms, God's chosen ones are those people whom the Lord has ordained for salvation. They are called "chosen ones" because this word indicates a choice. Every few years we elect a president - that is, we choose someone who will serve in this post. The same applies to God and those who will be saved. The Lord chooses them, therefore they are called His chosen ones.

In itself, the notion that God chooses those who will be saved is not controversial. It is a matter of controversy how He chooses them. Throughout the history of the church, there have been two main opinions regarding the doctrine of election (or predestination). One view, which we will call the foresight position, teaches that the Lord, through His omniscience, knows who, in the course of time, will voluntarily choose to believe in Jesus Christ for salvation. Based on His foresight, God chooses these people “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4; hereinafter - the translation of the Russian Bible Society). This view is shared by most Western evangelical churches.

The second main position is represented by the teaching of Augustinianism, which, in essence, teaches that God not only chooses those who will believe in Jesus Christ, but also leads them to believe in Him. In other words, God's election is based not on the foreknowledge of a person's coming to faith, but on the gratuitous grace and absolute authority of the Almighty God. God chooses people for salvation, and in time they will come to faith in Christ because they have been chosen by God.

The difference between these two positions boils down to this: who has the final choice in the matter of salvation - God or man? From the point of view of the first position, the person is in control; his freedom of choice is independent and becomes the determining factor in the election of the Lord. God can provide a way to salvation through Jesus Christ, but a person must choose to believe in Him for salvation to be realized. Ultimately, this position calls into question the power of God and deprives Him of sovereignty. This opinion “gives” the Creator to the mercy of creation, that is, if the Lord wants to provide people with eternal life in heaven, then He must hope that man himself will choose His path to salvation. In fact, this position does not imply election at all, because God, according to it, does not choose, but only confirms. The final choice remains with the individual.

From the Augustinian position, election depends on God; He chooses by his own absolute will whom to save. Instead of simply making salvation possible, the Lord chooses those who will be saved and then realizes their salvation. This position gives God the proper status of Creator and Supreme Ruler.

The Augustinian position also has its problems. Critics argue that this view deprives a person of freedom of choice. If God chooses those who will be saved, then what is the point of man's faith? Why preach the gospel then? Besides, if God chooses people of his own free will, how can we be held accountable for our actions? All of these questions are valid and require an answer. To answer these questions, Romans 9 is the best way to understand the relationship between God's absolute authority and election.

The context of this chapter extends to the previous chapter, which ends with a culmination of praise: “And I am convinced that ... nothing in the whole universe can come between us and the love of God, which He showed in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:38-39). This leads Paul to think about how a Jew might react to this statement. Although Jesus came to bring back the lost sons of Israel, and the early church was largely Jewish, the gospel spread much faster among the Gentiles than among the Jews. In fact, most Jews accepted the gospel as a stumbling block (1 Corinthians 1:23) and rejected Jesus. The average Jew would doubt the possibility of God's plan of election being fulfilled, since the majority of Jews rejected the gospel message!

Throughout chapter 9, Paul systematically demonstrates that God's independent election was in effect from the very beginning. He begins with a crucial statement: “Not all Israelites are the true Israel” (Romans 9:6). This means that not all people belonging to Israel by ethnicity (that is, the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) belong to true Israel (chosen by God). In considering the history of Israel, Paul shows that God chose Isaac, not Ishmael; Jacob, not Esau. Just in case the reader does not come to the conclusion that God made His choice on the basis of faith or the good works that they were to do in the future, he adds: “The children [Jacob and Esau] were not yet born and did not have time to do anything good no evil... His choice is free and depends not on the merit of man, but only on the call of God” (Romans 9:11-12).

It may be tempting to accuse God of injustice. Paul anticipates such an accusation, stating clearly in v. 14 that God is always just. “I have mercy on those whom I want to have mercy on. I am merciful to those with whom I want to be merciful” (Romans 9:15). God rules over His creation. He freely chooses those whom he wishes, and is free to pass by those whom he wishes to bypass. Creation has no right to accuse the Creator of injustice - the very idea of ​​this is absurd for Paul, and so all Christians should reason. The ninth chapter of the letter to the Romans substantiates this point of view.

There are other passages of Scripture that deal with the subject of God's election (eg John 6:37-45, Ephesians 1:3-14, etc.). The fact is that God predestined the salvation of the remnant of mankind. These people were chosen before the foundation of the world, and their salvation will be fulfilled in Christ. As Paul said of them: “These are those whom God knew even when they were not, and intended to be the true likeness of his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among the multitude of brothers. Those whom He ordained, those He called; whom he called, those he justified; whom he justified, with them he shared his glory” (Romans 8:29-30).

Bookmarked: 0

This is part of the dictation that you can read

When God sent Moses to the Israelites, he was not sending him to a specific group of people. It is simply a symbol of a certain state of consciousness. What does it mean to be God's chosen people? Who were God's chosen people and who are they now?

Yes, God's chosen people were indeed those who were created in the spiritual octave as angels, representatives of God. That's how they were created; they are created to be angels in the higher octaves, who step by step lower the Divine energies into the lower octaves. And, therefore, they were the first creation of God, and therefore it can be said that they were chosen by God to play this important role of stepping down light for others. But when they were poisoned by their pride and they fell, they kept their pride, and they keep it to this day.

And thus, when Moses was sent to the Israelites, he was sent as a symbol of a Messenger from God who came to those who fell because of pride. They thought they were the most important beings. They thought they were God's chosen people, and that's definitely why they were given the message that they were (chosen people).

Their test was to recognize that they were made for a high rank—they were made for a certain high rank, but that they could only realize that rank through absolute humility, including the humility of a being willing to serve those they consider inferior to themselves, and those who are in some sense inferior to them, since they were created later, they were created to be sons and daughters of God who evolve through the material world, up through the Spiritual octaves, until they too reach the fullness of the Divine consciousness with which the angels were created first.

So, truly, when you understand the equation, you will realize that being God's chosen people on Earth is not a very high position. Because it means that you have fallen through pride, and that you need to go inside, look in the mirror, look for the beam in your own eye, and not look for the speck in the eyes of those who are lower than you in rank, but truly not lower than you in humility. Didn't Christ say: "And whoever wants to be first among you, let him be a servant to all." (Mark 10:44) And this is certainly another motto of the Aquarian Age that could burn with a bright flame throughout the sky.

We offer the path of humility
Let's live to make man free. Do you think I'm here for my own glory? Do you think I'm here to present myself as some kind of king, some kind of idol that will be idolized, like Jesus, who has been turned into an idol by the false preachers of Christianity for 2,000 years?

No, I'm not here to flaunt myself, I'm not here to exalt myself above anyone. I AM here to help everyone see the God within, the Christ within, so they can see that there is no one more important than others, for God loves everyone. Even though people were created to play different roles in the drama of life, this does not mean that they are more valuable. Being God's chosen people means that you are chosen for a special mission, and as long as you fulfill this mission, all is well, and you multiply these talents. But if you, through pride, begin to think that other people should serve you, then you have lost the connection with the Lord.

And then, the only way back - because you have fallen in pride - the only way back is through total and perfect humility. And that is why we prescribe to all who would like to be students of the Ascended Host the path of humility.

It doesn't matter where you come from, whether you fell from Above or fell from below. The past doesn't matter. What matters is where you want to go. Do you want to pass the test? Are you ready to accept? And so, I turn to you: - In the Age of Aquarius, those are considered the greatest in the eyes of God who have the greatest humility, because they have the smallest ego. They have less pride.

Do not strive to be great in the eyes of man if you want to be great in the eyes of God. Go for total humility instead, where you acknowledge that you are not here to glorify your individual self, because you are more than that individual self. You are part of the Body of God on Earth, and only when the whole Body of God is exalted do you accomplish what you came to do. You did not come here to glorify the ego, you came here to glorify God, because the One is in all.