A church of God Publication

Called Chosen Faithful

May 2013

We shouldn't be worried about natural life concerns – that shouldn't keep you up nights worrying or won-dering. We are commanded to cast our care (ref. 1 Pe-ter 5:7). Paul exhorts us to: Be careful for nothing... there should nothing cause us to worry or stress out, we should instinctively go before God and cast our cares and burdens on Him (ref. Philippians 4:6). We should not take thought for the things concerning our lives, but should trust God in all things (Matthew 6:25). Trusting God does not pertain wholly to divine heal-ing, but life in general. We must have so given our-selves to God in such a way that our dependency is completely on Him (Matthew 6:32). All our care – not a certain situation or circumstance that arises and we can't figure it out so we bring it to God, but all our care. God takes care of me (2 Peter 1:3). When God is your caretaker you can truly give your-self to the work of God without reserve – without fear because God is going to take care of whatever you need, and handle whatever comes up in the course of your going forth for Him (2 Timothy 2:4). Matthew 6:34 “Fear not, little flock; it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God wants to bless you. God wants to help and in-crease you. You are His. “No good thing will He with-hold from them that walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11).” We have a part to play in God’s provision for us, but

our doing is in obedience to God's directing. God is the provider of the ways and the means; He gives the work and the energy and strength to do the work. Then, when time comes, He provides the reward for a job well done. We must yet realize in the midst of all our effort that the blessing comes from God Himself. We must instill in our mind that God does not have to work through a certain job anymore than He does through a doctor. God is our provider Himself. If we could see our job as a glass out of God’s cupboard; just something He uses at His discretion. If that dish should break, God has plenty to replace it with. Of course we don’t do anything to cause it to break, but do all we can to preserve it as best we can. The point I want to stress is we are subservient to God alone because He alone meets our needs. If we lose consciousness of that we might begin to put God aside or go against His will in our determination to provide sufficiently for ourselves. We don’t put natural life be-fore God. Look at the story of Gideon. God would not deliver their enemy in the hand of the 32,000 lest they vaunt themselves and think that they did it of themselves. God blesses us so that He can get the glory out of it. He wants us to glorify Him. He doesn’t want us to go around saying: “Look what my job provides;” “look what my husband provides;” “look what my pension provides;” “look at what I provide.” God wants us to praise Him for what He has provided for us. God is our provider. If we believe that in reality, we will have no problem casting our care on Him.

Casting All Your Care

Volume 1, Issue 2

Welcome to Called Chosen Faithful, a church of God publication. Our endeavor is to encourage, exhort, and testify unto you of the wonder-ful works of God in this last age of time. We understand that we are living in a sleepy age, dealing with an en-raged and determined foe, striving to go forward in an evil, wicked, sen-sual time, but we must take heart and take courage in the face of it all. For there is no other choice but to fight. There is no other option than to go forward. If we fail to produce the faith necessary, if we fail to pro-duce the required results we will succumb to the enemy of our souls. It is either faith and fight or flail in our own might, and flailing is equiv-alent to failing. Therefore we must be on our faces at this time. Therefore we must be seeking God; not necessarily be-cause we don’t know what to do, but because all we have is of Him. All our needed resources will come at His hand. Our faith will be inspired by His assurance. Once we have an assurance from God we can move out. We can go doubting nothing. We can’t just go within our own strength, but we also can’t stay when God has commanded us to move out, I’ll be with you. I recall a childhood game we used to play where one person would give

directions and all the other people would have to do what he said. Yet there had to be a certain decipher-ing. If the directions didn’t start with “Simon says” you didn’t obey them, but if they did you had to fol-low that command. God is speaking to us in this last time just as definitely as in any oth-er time and we must hear and know the voice of our commander, and we must move at His words. This is faith. To move when God says move no matter how bleak the situation looks. If God says go, it doesn’t mat-ter what the situation is, you must move in accordance with the voice of God. Now you must know it is God. You must hear His voice and get an as-surance from Him, but if God is speaking… we must be answering; our faith hinges on it and our salva-tion hinges on our faith. Hebrews 10:38 “The just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in Him.” Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for He that cometh to God must first be-lieve that He is and that He is a re-warder of them that diligently seek Him.” If God has asked you to do it; He will surely provide the necessary means for you to fill all His desire.

From the Publisher:

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The entire mission of this site, of this publication, is to inspire the saints of God to faith, to fight, and to fervor. We have faith that if we endeavor, if we sling the rock, if we go out and face our enemies, if we be strong and very courageous, God will be with us and fight for us. Make no mistake. If you are going to have faith, if you are going to keep a fervent fighting spirit down in your soul, you're going to have to mix it up with the devil. Now "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong-holds" (2 Corinthians 10:4). Don't go out with just a sword and a shield, but "take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13). This is that evil day. but if we come girded up, if we come ready for battle, we are able to overcome the very enemy of our souls. Now we must heed our command-ers commandment. He has given us specific direction on what we must do: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). We must fulfill this order. This war is not against you individ-ually, but rather they "...make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with Him are Called, and Chosen, and Faithful" (Revelation 17:14). God has called us, God has chosen us... let us be found being faithful and we shall overcome with Him. "And they overcame him, by the blood of the lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives until the death" (Revelation 12:11).

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Fullness of Joy

Read John 15:9-12 John 15:11: That my joy may remain in you and your joy might be full. Joy and love are as essential to the Christian as strict obedience to the commandments of God – in fact they are the inspiration for and the result of submission and obedience. Yet, if they could truly be separated from them they would, in a sense, be greater. For example: A parent wants a child to be obedient, but that is for the child's sake that it may prosper and be productive in a great sense, but love to the parent and a certain reverence and respect are con-sidered their due. They don't feel they should have to force or coerce or earn it – it should yet be given considering the nature and intimacy of the rela-tionship with the child. Now, the result of being in the will of God – of hav-ing His divine favor rest upon us – is joy. The result of this joy is empowerment. The joy of the Lord is our strength (ref. Nehemiah 8:10). It enables; it motivates; it rejuvenates and invigorates us. We are inspired by it to continue in God's Word and ways. Christ “for the joy that was set before Him en-dured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2). The Word of God assures us that in God's presence is fullness of joy (Psalms 16:11). Therefore, we see how all these things work togeth-er. Your love for God brings you into His presence, where there is fullness of joy. This joy inspires and empowers you to do His will, which of course keeps the love and joy flowing in your heart.

Five More Minutes Lord!

Five more minutes is a familiar phrase As we look at the clock with a slumbering gaze; We quickly mutter in such a humble voice “Five More Minutes” and then I’ll make my choice; Whether to continue sleeping or get up now- We choose the latter with uplifted brow; We drag around until there’s no time to read We rush loved ones out and then to work we speed; We realize now that we forgot to pray So we say a few words as we start our day; We get to work and things are not going our way The Lord steps in and He has something to say; O Precious child why not five minutes of your time? Then I would have known that you love your Savior Divine; But instead of devotion I knew you could afford You only mumbled a few little words; You make your request of “Five Minutes” every day I grant what you ask but you still forget to pray; If only you can realize as I stand at the door; ALL I REALLY WANTED WAS FIVE MIN-TUES MORE! Submitted by: Sis. Cynthia Broom

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Abiding in Christ’s Joy

John 15:4-11 Abide in me, and I in you... If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you... if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's com-mandments, and abide in His love. These things I have spoken unto you that my joy might re-main in you, and that your joy might be full. Psalms 16:11 In thy presence is fullness of joy. An intimate relationship with God is the whole point of Christianity. Repentance is not only a turning from sin, but it is a turning to God. True repentance includes a desire to establish or re-establish your connection with God. This rela-tionship is maintained by communication and of course is dependent on our submission to His will. He in turn takes care of us and blesses us ac-cording to His love and kindness towards us. When we go to God in prayer, we're not going be-fore a stranger or a dictator, but our loving Fa-ther. His love is felt in our heart and down in the depth of our soul bringing delight and joy beyond anything we can experience on earth. This inti-mate relationship with God is what compels us to abide and stay in concert with Him. This is why John wrote, “His commandments are not grievous,” because of the joy that attends do-ing God's will. This is why Jesus endured the cross even though He despised the shame, for the joy that was set before Him (ref. Hebrews 12:2). That joy was in being at the right hand of His Fa-ther in heaven. Prayer is not a chore or a duty. If we have been obedient and submissive to God's will, it is “a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer.” A well known song says, “I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses...” This is not done for fashion or to be seen of men. This is

not compelled by duty but “the joy we share while we tarry there” causes us to get out of bed and fall on our faces. This clandestine meeting with God in the early waking hours while a hush abides on the world around you produces an intimate joy that is inde-scribable. Perhaps that's why the writer says none other has ever known it. It's of such a wondrous nature that it can't be related to any other experience or put into words that would enable the reader to com-prehend it. Of course that same song let's us know that at some point “He bids me go...” In other words we can't just linger in our prayer closet all day and night, we must come out and attend to our duties both spiritual and natural. Yet Jesus said "if ye abide in me..." Abide means: “To remain; stay. To dwell; reside.” Why did Je-sus use that term? Not come visit, not stop by fre-quently, but abide. Now how can you accomplish that and yet accomplish anything else? Abiding in Christ is not necessarily about having a powerful devotional or about praying all day and night either, but keeping that connection with God at all times. That means you're keeping His commandments, doing everything He shows you to do when you talk with Him, measuring up to the Word, meas-uring up to the messages He sends, treating oth-ers right, staying sober, not getting caught up in the things of this world, not getting distract-ed by the enemy of our soul, staying humble, walking circumspectly before God, doing nothing to jeopardize that “joy we share as we tarry there...” (...continued on page 6)

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Worth Wrestling for

Genesis 32:24 “and Jacob was left alone …” Jacob had been surrounded by all his children and his servants and he’d been preoccupied with getting away from Laban and worrying about what would happen when he met Esau, but now he’s left alone, no one but him and God as it were, and there he wrestled. If you’re going to wrestle (in prayer) you must be left alone with God in a particular way. You can’t have any distractions or interruptions. When you need an answer from God Himself you must do as Habakkuk did and get up in your tower. Habakkuk 2:1 “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.” Genesis 32:24 “… and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day.” Jacob wrestled all night until the breaking of the day. Jesus Himself had an all night prayer session before He named His twelve apostles. Luke 6:12 “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and contin-ued all night in prayer to God.” When you need an answer, you’ve got to do what-ever it takes to hear from God. Sometimes you won’t just know God’s will and His design in an instant, sometimes it will take some wrestling and fighting and struggling to know the will of God in a particular matter. Genesis 32:25 “And when he saw that he pre-vailed not against him …” Jacob held onto the man and wrestled with him for all he was worth and would not be overcome even after his thigh was knocked out of joint.

You can’t allow your physical discomfort to stop you when you’re seeking an answer from God. Many things might come against you, but when you need to hear from God, that takes precedent; nothing else matters at that point but getting what you need from God. Genesis 32:26 “And he said, let me go the day breaketh. And he said I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” Jacob held on until his blessing came. He would not be denied, he would not be induced to give up on what he wanted until it was granted. If you want to be blessed, you must go far enough to get it. God sometimes will require you to pray some situations through before He answers. He might want to see you wrangle and wrestle with some situations before He grants the blessings you desire. God might test you to see how important the blessing is to you. To Jacob it meant everything. He put his all into that wrestling match and he came out with the blessing he desired of God. No answer doesn’t always mean no way, some-times it means press past, go beyond, wrestle, in-treat, beseech, move God and then you’ll be blessed according to His divine will. You don’t want to press beyond God’s will, but until you hear from God, press.

A quote from D.S. Warner

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Called Chosen Faithful

Inspiring Faith

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"A church that has no voice to shake sinners and professors, no voice that "turns the world upside down," that makes not the wicked flee, the devil howl, and persecution rage - that church may have "gods many," but has not the true God dwelling in her..." "People think it is the business of the church to stand like a beg-gar at the door of the devil's kingdom and politely coax his sub-jects over; saying much about the duty of and advantage of be-longing to church and little about their sin and the duty of re-pentance, as though God were dependent, and the devil proprie-tor of the universe." "His 'fan is in his hand,' and he would rather blow the church to atoms and secure a little clean wheat by itself than see it prosper in peace and multitudes and under mortgage to Satan, and bear-ing his brand, i.e., spots of sin." "The bride must dissolve her unholy friendship with the world, in which she is guilty of spiritual adultery in the sight of God (Jas. 4:4). She must put away all her rival gods, and adorn her-self in robes of spotless white, before prepared as a bride for her husband."

Other articles available online:

5 Points for a Purposeful and Productive Experience—Bro. Lee Hampton

He Saved Me: Sam Cavin’s Testimony Praying According to God’s Will—C.W. Naylor

Prayer—C.E. Orr Overcoming Emotion You Will Backslide

That's how you have that fullness of joy; that's how you keep your joy flowing and how you ward off the devil... by remaining in God's presence - keeping your mind and your thoughts heavenward (on God and on pleasing Him) and rebuking eve-rything that comes in your mind that's contrary to that end. 2 Corinthians 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”

Abiding in Christ’s Joy cont.