Jesus prayed all night before He chose His disciples. All night is 12 hours.
He didn’t want to just choose the world’s way so He asked His Father. If you look at it then He prayed one hour for each disciple.
Notice then who He chooses. He chose ordinary people like you and me. Rejects. Peter had a past he was no one special. Paul persecuted Christians. Matthew was a tax collector.
In other parts of the Bible it says Rahab was a harlot. Ruth worshiped idols. It says Jacob was a schemer, a trickster and a swindler. David was a murderer. The writer of those beautiful Psalms was a murderer. All through the Bible the people that worked for God had a past. They were 0’s. Read the stories to see what God made out of them all.
The best people sometimes that God can choose are rejects. They will do the most for Him sometimes. They are looked upon as a 0.
Jesus is #1. So if you take our 0 and His 1 it makes us a 10. Jesus puts value in every 0. As long as the 1 is in front we will always have value.
Take the 1 away and we are nothing.
God has ways of defeating all our giants if we just listen to the Holy Spirit.
For example the philistines were prepared for battle. They were prepared to win. They had goliath and figured how they could be defeated. We all know how God defeated goliath that day. A Sheppard boy knew his calling and went against him in the name of the Lord.
Reinhart told the story when him and his brother would go down by the docks to see the big boats docked there. They could push on the boat and even though it was in the water it didn't move. When the tide came in then it moved. With the tide it started rockin and rollin.
When we obey the Word of God and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit our tide will come in. Jesus is our rock and we are on His roll.
He said that the Lord told him what Jesus was praying that night back when He was getting ready to choose the 12. Jesus said to God don’t let me choose the world’s way.
It’s kind of the same way when we pray. We pray and ask the Lord what we want of Him and then if you’re like me you might try to show God how he can bring it to you. I have gotten a lot better at that because I have seen to many times the Lord come through in a different way.
We need to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Invite Him to have His way. That voice will never lead us astray and sometimes even keep us safe if we listen.
Hearing the voice and doing what God is telling us to do is two different things. We need to always remember the Holy Spirit is ever present to help us or guide us or tell us what to do. We need to hear that voice and not follow any other.
You know that hymn by Dottie Rambo. Holy Spirit thou are welcomed in this place. We need to invite Him. God is a gentle God and won’t push anything on us. James 1:5 says we need to ask God for wisdom. When we do that the Holy Spirit will tell us what we want to know.
He never pushed salvation on us and He will never push anything else on us either. We make the choice to take what He offers.
Remember the Scripture starts with an instruction and ends with a promise. Remember also when reading a Scripture is it past tense or present tense. Present tense means we don’t have to ask for it we already have it we just need to praise and thank Him for it.
I am not a zero and neither are any of you. I have a past and so do you. God doesn’t care about that. It is forgotten. Jesus made us white as snow. We made Jesus our Saviour which makes us a ten. We are in right standing with God. You I and Jesus are together an unbeatable team. We have the victory in Jesus. We need to stop taking His name in vain by not walking in what He died to give us.
So when we go out in the world today and we are rejected by people lets laugh again at the devil. God doesn’t reject us. People will let us down. God will never leave us or forsake us. We need to walk with our heads high and know who we are in Christ.
This is the day the Lord has made for us. We will rejoice and be glad in it.
What a mighty mighty God we serve. Nothing can defeat us. His grace and mercy are new this morning for all of us. The babe that came in the manger at Christmas time is no longer sleeping in heavenly peace according to Hebrews 7:25 He is daily making intercession for all of us.
We are destroyed by lack of knowledge. The bible doesn’t say we are destroyed by sickness, poverty or sin it says lack of knowledge destroys us.
Today as we go about our day lets remember we have to step out in faith in order for anything to happen. The woman with the issue of blood had to touch the hem of Jesus garment before she was healed. Don’t be so hard on yourself just let go and let God. Relax in the Lord. He will bring everything to pass. Just talk to Him. You don’t have to sit there and pray for hours and hour’s just talk to Him.
The Bible says signs and wonders will follow them that believe. That is a promise.
Psalm 30:5 the favor of God is for a lifetime. The favor of God is ever present in our lives. We don’t have to pray for favor God said we have it. We just need to thank Him for it. Favor opens door, creates opportunities, accelerates progress and brings great blessings. We need to say every morning the favor of God is going before me that way when we get to where ever we are going it is already there. In our lives and our business’s we need to see the end before we begin. Don’t ever quit dreaming. God wants to see our dreams fulfilled.
1Corth. 2:9 Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. God has our backs; everything is in His control weather we believe it or not. We need to have peace in this world.
See yourself as God’s special treasure. A person of destiny. Know that God’s hands are not tied. You are handpicked by God. We are master pieces created by the most famous artist of all. The one who holds the universe in the palm of His hands has faith in you. We are the spice of life created to bring zest and flavor to the world around us just by being ourselves.
Romans 8:28 says that everything works to our good because we love God and are called for His purpose. What a promise as long as you love God. When we make mistakes God will always turn it around for good.
We are suppose to be blessed, overflowing with God’s provision. We need to have confidence and security in knowing what God gives us will never be taken away. I don’t believe God giveth and God take it away.
God will always see us through. He is always the fourth man in the fire. So if your in the oven waiting on God just wait He will never let you down.
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
I speak blessings over all of you. May all your needs, wants and dreams come true in Jesus name.
