Matthew 22:14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
The Chosen Bride!
Child! Believe on the LORD
through the Cross and by Faith.
Give HIM all of your steps for
HE grants you HIS grace.
Offer each of your heartbeats
and thoughts in HIS NAME
to shout “Great! Yes! How great…
is our GOD!
Tear Complacency’s clutches,
as such, from your soul
till its “shard disguised comforts”
lose strength and control!
Then through brave sacrifice,
rise to heights once unknown…
waging war till Hell’s arrows
– dislodged!
With HIS armor refreshed,
let your boldness awake
to share more of HIS Gospel
for all the Lost’s sake!
So be fully surrendered
and wholly embrace what
it means to believe…
…and serve GOD!
As HIServants both called and chosen to serve HIM fully,
Whitney
Devotional: Matthew 22:1-14 The Parable of the Wedding Feast!
1 And again JESUS spoke to them in parables, saying,
2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come.
4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’
5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business,
6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.
8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’
10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment.
12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.
13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
My dad wrestled with verse 14 and as such, I did as well.
But as GOD has made it clear that this isn’t soley about election as it is about souls desiring daily to draw nearest in a personal relationship with the LORD.
So there’s a dual teaching in this passage…as I read it.
One is obviously to those Jews or any who trust just in their good works to earn Heaven while denying CHRIST.
The other teaching is to those who hear GOD’s call but…they have rejected HIS summons.
Point being! If you feel the tug of HIS drawing power, then surrender to HIM with full obedience. Why so urgently?
Because this is THE GREATEST WEDDING! The height for the CHRISTian is to be at the Wedding Feast!
So CHRIST, our Bridegroom, is looking for HIS bride to be watching, waiting and serving expectantly with all humility!
Note that the Bride wears linen!
Revelation 19:7-8 “She was given clothing of fine linen, bright and pure.”
For the fine linen she wears is the righteous acts of the saints.”
Note also that the linen the Bride wears are the righteous acts of the saints WHICH were designed by GOD and given to the saints to walk in…all credit to the Most HIGH!
But does everyone wear linen? Is every CHRISTian part of the Bride?
Is every one worthy to go to the Wedding Feast? Great questions!
J. Vernon McGee on Luke 31:36 writes: “How are you going to be worthy? The only thing that will make me worthy is my position in CHRIST.
Therefore, I have trusted HIM as my SAVIOUR, and I have committed my way to HIM, so that if I am alive at the time of the Rapture, I’ll be going to meet HIM in the air by the grace of GOD.”
It’s very important to point out that those who have no zeal nor real reverence for the Bridegroom will be saved…if they’ve truly surrendered to JESUS.
But! Faith without works is dead (James 2:26) so my challenge to the clandestine CHRISTian and those lukewarm is: “Will HE find you worthy for the Feast when you’ve largely ignored HIM here?”
1 Corinthians 1:4-8 “I thank my GOD always concerning you for the grace of GOD which was given to you by CHRIST JESUS,
(5) that you were enriched in everything by HIM in all utterance and all knowledge,
(6) even as the testimony of CHRIST was confirmed in you, (7) so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, (8) WHO will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our LORD JESUS CHRIST.”
So here’s the crux of the matter! “…eagerly waiting for the revelation of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!”
My question then for self and all is: How zealous and eager are you for HIS return?
More pointed…can anyone else tell that you are hungry to see the face of our SAVIOUR?
Consider that we see many references that there will be large numbers of saints in robes but not linen.
All are in Heaven but those who chose to be “…eagerly waiting for the revelation of our LORD JESUS CHRIST!”…(in my study) those will be dressed in linen and found worthy.
This is by no means without discussion. BUT!
I trust you can see that GOD’s justice means HE will reward those with great faith more so.
There are rewards we earn. (which have nothing to do with Salvation since HIS blood sacrifice paid it all!)
But the one who accepts CHRIST at the last second, after living a life for themselves mostly, will have eternal life with GOD but weren’t (and here’s the point) they weren’t significantly interested in HIM while they lived on earth.
Believers? Yes! Dressed in Linen? Hmmmm. Again, HE says in Luke 18:7 “Even HE rendered a just decision in the end.
So don’t you think GOD will surely give justice to HIS chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
We might look at this verse and think Jews compared to Gentiles but the whole verse is telling! “…give justice to HIS chosen people who..WHO CRY OUT TO HIM day and night?”
Those who don’t press in are arguably, NOT zealous. Not sufficiently faithful to persuade any to believe that they’re a faithful and practicing CHRISTian.
The net net of this is simple.
PRESS IN always with a zealous faith for the only ONE WHO has redeemed you from eternal Hell.
Each and every day let us be spiritually found “rinsing and repeating and growing”. Amen?
Amen and amen!
2CJC 