SERMON: THE CHOSEN

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
6 August 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Mark 2
-- if you are like most people, at some time in your life, you have experienced the feeling of not being chosen -- the experience of not being selected for something that you really wanted -- you've experienced that feeling of rejection -- that feeling of not being wanted
-- maybe it was in grade school, when teams were being selected on the playground -- maybe you were the last one picked or maybe you weren't picked at all -- maybe it was when you started dating, and the person you liked didn't ask you out or turned you down when you asked them for a date -- maybe there was something else in your life that you really wanted to be a part of but you just didn't get chosen for it
-- I remember that when I was getting out of grad school, I really felt rejected by the world -- I had pretty good grades coming out of school and quite a bit of experience -- and when I was about a month away from graduation, I started applying for jobs all across the country -- but it seemed like every job I applied for, I got back a rejection notice -- I didn't even get an interview, just a letter back saying, "Thanks, but no thanks"
-- it became a joke around our office -- I actually took a map of the U.S. and glued to a piece of cardboard and started putting a pin in the map for each job I applied for -- I put a red pin on the map on each city where I had applied for a job at -- when I got rejected for a job, I would take the red pin out and put an orange pin in its place -- I applied for over 50 jobs that summer -- and I received rejection notices from all of them but two jobs
-- I still have that map at home -- it's in a box in my closet -- and I think about it from time to time -- I still remember the feeling of looking at that map on the wall, filled with 50 orange pins showing that all those people had decided I was not good enough to work for them -- I still remember the feeling of rejection that I had every time I changed a pin from red to orange -- it's no fun to be rejected -- it's no fun to not be chosen
-- but there's a reason I still have that map at home -- you see, on that map, there is a green pin -- that pin represents a job offer -- it means that someone looked at my resume -- they looked at my grades -- they looked at my experience -- they compared me to all the other people who applied -- and they chose me -- they selected me to work for them
-- that green pin, nestled in a sea of orange, tells me that I have value -- that I have something to offer -- it tells me that I matter
-- no one wants to be rejected -- we all want to be chosen -- we all want to be picked out and selected by someone else -- to be told that we are valuable in their eyes -- that we are someone that they want -- whether it's a job or to be part of a team or to be part of something else -- there's just something special about being chosen -- about being told, "you are so valuable, I want you to be with me"
-- I want to spend some time this morning reflecting on what it means to be chosen

II. Chosen by Jesus

A. Matthew
-- if you would, look with me now in Mark 2:14

14. As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.

-- in this verse, we see the calling of Levi -- or Matthew -- by Jesus
-- now we all know that Matthew was one of the apostles -- he was chosen by Jesus, but have you ever reflected on this verse -- have you ever thought about what was going on in the story captured in this single verse?
-- here was Matthew, sitting in a tax collector's booth -- he was a Jew, but he had chosen to work for the Romans in a profession that was hated by the Jews -- they considered him a sinner -- a traitor to his own people -- because he made his living extorting the Roman tax from the Jewish people
-- you see, tax collectors weren't paid -- they made their salary off of what extra they could get from the people -- so, if the tax was $100, then the tax collectors might make the people pay $125 -- and they would keep the difference -- the more they could collect from the people, the more they would have for their own pockets
-- so here's Matthew, sitting in his tax collector's booth, being ignored and hated by all those around him -- and Jesus comes along and simply says, "Follow me" and Matthew gets up, and leaves his booth, and starts to follow Jesus
-- we tend to look at the story through the lenses of 2000 years, knowing that Matthew was an apostle, knowing that he was the author of the first gospel -- but have you ever wondered what made Matthew get up and go immediately when Jesus called?
-- let's say that tomorrow you are at work or at a store in Valdosta -- you're living your life -- doing what you're supposed to do -- and someone walks up to you and says, "Follow me" -- would you just get up and follow them like Matthew did? -- probably not -- that's why some scholars suggest that there must have been an existing relationship there -- that Jesus and Matthew must have known each other and that Jesus was calling him to come and follow because he was a friend -- "otherwise," they say, "Matthew would not have left his post at the tax collector's booth"
-- but I don't think that's the case -- do you want to know why Matthew got up and followed Jesus when He called him? -- it's a simple answer -- he was chosen by God
-- when we were at Promise Keepers a couple of weeks ago, they showed a video by Rob Bell -- in this video, he talked about the normal educational process for Jewish boys -- you see, at about the age of six, all Jewish boys were put in school to learn the Torah -- the first five books of the Old Testament -- they would literally memorize it
-- they finished this around age ten, and then most of them became apprentices to learn a trade -- but a few of them showed promise as scholars, so they were invited to learn the rest of the Old Testament -- the teachings of the law and the prophets and the wisdom literature -- they finished this teaching around age 16 or so -- at that point, most of them would start work, but a few who were really special -- the best of the best who showed the ability to be rabbis -- teachers of the Bible -- they would be invited to apply to established rabbis to learn from them -- kind of like we apply to colleges -- and then, if the rabbi found them worthy -- he would invite them to come and sit at his feet and learn from him by saying, "Come, follow me"

-- now, think about Matthew, the tax collector -- despised by his own people -- looked down on by all as a sinner -- and here comes Jesus
-- I'm sure Matthew had heard about Jesus -- everyone had heard about Jesus -- the teachings -- the miracles -- the love and compassion that He had for all
-- and Jesus comes walking by his tax collector's booth -- and stops -- and looks him in the eye -- and says, "Come, follow me"
-- for the first time in a long time -- perhaps the first time ever -- Matthew was chosen -- someone had looked at him and found value in him -- and not only someone -- but Jesus Himself -- the great teacher -- the great rabbi -- the very one that some were whispering was the Messiah -- Jesus had stopped and chosen Matthew and said, "Come, follow me"
-- is it any wonder that Matthew left his booth immediately and followed Jesus?
-- does this perhaps explain the stories of the other disciples -- those of Peter and Andrew and James and John -- who dropped their nets at the waters edge -- leaving everything behind to follow Jesus -- Thomas and Judas and Simon and all the others -- leaving behind wives and girlfriends and families -- leaving behind jobs and responsibilities and obligations -- leaving everything without question
-- why? -- because Jesus chose them -- because He saw value and worth in them when no one else did

B. Us
-- if you would, please turn over to John 15:16

16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

-- have you ever read words as sweet as these? -- not only was Matthew and Peter and James and John chose -- but we were chosen by Jesus as well
-- do you know what that means? -- no matter what the world thinks -- no matter what others might think about us or what we do or about what kind of family we come from -- one thing is certain -- Jesus has looked at us -- and He chose us
-- where the world looked at us and found us lacking -- Jesus looked at us and saw us for who we were -- the sons and daughters of the King -- so special that the King sent His Son to die in our place -- so special that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords would look at us and say, "Come, follow Me -- I choose you"

III. Why were we chosen?
-- but, why were we chosen? -- read this verse again

16. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

-- "I chose you and appointed you" -- not only did Jesus choose us, but He appointed us
-- now, when someone appoints you, that generally means that you have been chosen for a particular assignment or position -- for example, when the President selects an ambassador for another country, that person is appointed by the President to represent the US in that country
-- the KJV puts a little more emphasis on this -- it uses the word "ordained" in place of "appointed" -- this means that Jesus chose us and set us aside -- He prepared us and gifted us for a special ministry in His name and now He was giving us the authority to go out and perform this task for Him
-- what is this task? -- Jesus tells us that we were appointed -- we were ordained -- to go forth and bear fruit for Him -- this is our mission -- this is our calling -- this is why Jesus chose us -- to go forth and bear fruit in our lives -- spiritual fruit that would last for eternity -- not the temporary fruit that this world values so much
-- in the context of the verse -- if you were to read Jesus' entire message here in this section of John -- it seems that there were two meanings to Jesus' call for us to go forth and bear fruit

-- first, we were chosen and ordained to live lives worthy of the calling He had given -- in other words, we were being ordained and appointed to live our lives as His disciples -- to show the world around us the living presence of the Son through the fruits of the Holy Spirit being made manifest through our words and our actions and our lives
-- we were chosen to be saved and to be made perfect through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us -- seeing the evidence of the fruits of the Spirit more and more clearly in our lives every day -- love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
-- when Jesus says that He chose us and appointed us to bear fruit for Him, He meant that we were to live our lives worthy of His name -- to grow more and more like Him every day through the power of the Spirit

-- secondly, we were chosen and ordained to bear witness to the gospel of Christ in the world
-- reflecting on the immediate response of Matthew to the call of Christ, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote that "faith can no longer mean sitting still and waiting for something to happen -- the Messiah has come, therefore Matthew must rise and follow in response to His call -- faith becomes faith in an act of obedience"
-- we have been chosen of God -- we have been chosen and appointed by Christ Himself -- but it is not enough to be chosen -- we have to act on the call placed in our life
-- the Bible teaches that everyone is called -- everyone is chosen for salvation -- but few accept the calling and receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior
-- and of those who step into their calling for salvation, even fewer step into their calling -- their appointment -- for ministry
-- Jesus tells us that He expects us to go and bear witness to the gospel with our lives and our words and our actions -- to share our faith with those around us -- our family -- our friends -- even the people in line with you at Walmart
-- and those people that we introduce to Christ -- those people who give their lives to Christ and who accept Him as their Lord and Savior -- these become some of the eternal fruit that we are appointed to bear for Jesus

IV. Closing
-- as I close, I want you to remember one thing -- regardless of what others might think -- regardless of what the world might tell you -- you are special -- you are chosen by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords -- you are a child of the Father -- you have value and worth in His eyes and He gave His own Son to die on the cross in your place -- to give you eternal life with Him
-- Christ chose you -- but you must also choose Christ -- if you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then maybe this morning is the time when you recognize that He is looking at you and is saying, "Come, follow me" -- maybe this morning is the time when you should give your life to Him and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior
-- maybe you are saved, but you're still sitting still, waiting for something to happen -- know that Jesus has appointed you to bear witness to His name -- to live lives worthy of His calling and to share your faith with those around you -- to lead others to Christ and point them to the cross of salvation
-- whatever it is that God is calling you to do this morning, I would invite you to respond to His word as you feel led -- as the last song is played, the altar will be open -- let us pray