Chosen Generation, Royal Priesthood, a HOLY Nation.

As I walked the dog this morning, I asked the Lord what should I write on today.  He gave me the word CHOSEN.  So, I started thumping through my brain for scriptures that had chosen in them.  I came up with a few.  I started to sing, making up the song as I strolled with the dog and came back and ta da here we are.  Do you have your cup of favorite beverage?  Are you ready with your Bible?  It's a bit of a narrow road, so buckle up. 

The definition of chosen or choice is: To be preferred or Care in Selecting. 

So, in the Word--- are you ready?  Come on, I am waiting....

Okay, let's roll this out.

There are 23 scriptures with the word Chosen in the NKJV, but in the NIV there are 38.

 Let's go dig.  Oh isn't this fun?  I do believe so.  Posted here are NKJV. 

 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

From the Amplified Version there are 60 just in the New Testament.  Here is 1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

 

Matthew 12:18 “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.

 

Matthew 20:16  "So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

 

Matthew 22:14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

 

Luke 10:42 "But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

 

Luke 23:35 And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying, “He saved others; let Him save Himself if He is the Christ, the chosen of God.”

 

John 13:18 [ Jesus Identifies His Betrayer ] “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’

 

Acts 1:2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen,

 

Acts 1:15  [ Matthias Chosen ] And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples (altogether the number of names was about a hundred and twenty), and said,

 

Acts 1:24 And they prayed and said, “You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen

 

Acts 6:1 [ Seven Chosen to Serve ] Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution.

 

Acts 9:15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

 

Acts 10:41 not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, even to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.

 

Acts 15:22 [ The Jerusalem Decree ] Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barnabus, and Silas, leading men among the brethren.

 

Acts 15:25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

 

Acts 22:14 Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.

 

Romans 16:13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

 

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;

 

1 Corinthians 1:28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,

 

2 Corinthians 8:19 and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind,

 

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

 

1 Peter 2:4 [ The Chosen Stone and His Chosen People ] Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

 

1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

 

Revelation 17:14 These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

 

So, as you read through these scriptures, what strikes you the most?  What do these speak to you? 

 

Do you know, you are so very important, not only to us but to the world, to the Kingdom of God. 

 

Sometimes and we all do it.  We tell ourselves, we are not important, no matter what we do, but that self talk is the devil.  Look at these scriptures, He tells us in HIS WORDS we are chosen.  We ARE CHOSEN! 

We are His and He is mine.  We were created in our mother's womb, Psalm 139:13 says.  We were created in the image of God.

 

In our Christian walk, we will face many hurdles, sometimes those hurdles are lessons and sometimes we can walk away or even jump over.  But in Ephesians 4 it gives us the Word to live by. 

 

Please read it with me.  This is the Amplified version from www.biblegateway.com  

 

The Christian’s Walk

¹⁷ So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls], ¹⁸ for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded; [they are] alienated and self-banished from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the [willful] ignorance and spiritual blindness that is [deep-seated] within them, because of the hardness and insensitivity of their heart. ¹⁹ And they, [the ungodly in their spiritual apathy], having become callous and unfeeling, have given themselves over [as prey] to unbridled sensuality, eagerly craving the practice of every kind of impurity [that their desires may demand]. ²⁰ But you did not learn Christ in this way! ²¹ If in fact you have [really] heard Him and have been taught by Him, just as truth is in Jesus [revealed in His life and personified in Him], ²² that, regarding your previous way of life, you put off your old self [completely discard your former nature], which is being corrupted through deceitful desires, ²³ and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude], ²⁴ and put on the new self [the regenerated and renewed nature], created in God’s image, [godlike] in the righteousness and holiness of the truth [living in a way that expresses to God your gratitude for your salvation].
²⁵ Therefore, rejecting all falsehood [whether lying, defrauding, telling half-truths, spreading rumors, any such as these], speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one another [and we are all parts of the body of Christ]. ²⁶ Be angry [at sin—at immorality, at injustice, at ungodly behavior], yet do not sin; do not let your anger [cause you shame, nor allow it to] last until the sun goes down. ²⁷ And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]. ²⁸ The thief [who has become a believer] must no longer steal, but instead he must work hard [making an honest living], producing that which is good with his own hands, so that he will have something to share with those in need. ²⁹ Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. ³² Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave ^[c]you.

As we reread that first part, 1-24, wow!  Living as an unbeliever, he is talking about what happens when you are chosen, and you were.  We have to clean out our "closet" and get rid of the junk.  Sometimes though, someone will chose to walk with Jesus, but the journey is too much.  They may have the head knowledge of the WORD of God, but their heart isn't aligned with it.  So, they fall back and go into the ways of the world again and live even more differently than before and expect others to be okay with those choices they made.  Sometimes it is difficult to obey.  But that is what God wants from us.


Genesis 22:18Amplified Bible (AMP)
¹⁸ Through your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have heard and obeyed My voice.”

How hard is it for you to obey?   Was it hard for your children?   We have a tendency to disobey and rebel than listen to God.  As we finish up this  talk today, let's work on three things.  Listening for God, reading His Word, and last but never least, obey Him. 

    
The very last thing, pray for our nation, the leaders, the race for the office.