23/08/2016 - THOSE HE HIMSELF WANTED

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And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.  Mark 3.13

In the days of Jesus ´ministry here on Earth, there were many people who approached Him. Some were called to come close to Christ; others only took part of His meetings. There were rich women who helped with the expenses and other people who strived to be close to the Master. They were all privileged, because they learned from the One who knows all things and, especially, saw Him do the work. 

I thank the Lord for the pastors I had, and for the ministrations I heard from those pastors which taught me a lot. However, the most important was that I was tuned in to God to meet His Word – the teachings that changed my life for the better. There are cases, where my soul was so blessed, that even today, when I remember those lessons, I am blessed again. May God do the same for those who attend my meetings! 

It doesn’t matter who the Most High uses, but rather what He allows us to learn, because the greatest lesson does not come from man. I am aware that, many times, I preach as a prophet and later, many listeners come to me to tell me what happened to them. There are situations where I plowed the land; in others I throw the seed and, sometimes I only water it. But without a doubt, we are all used by God in a useful way. 

The day came when Jesus called all those who accompanied Him and, so, in an election which had the approval of Heaven, He called to Himself those whom He wanted. Without a doubt, the choice took into consideration many factors; how much they gave themselves to the matters of God, the type of life they had, the way they related with others, and especially, their willingness to change when the divine touch was given. Those approved showed their love for the Master. 

Those who want to be accepted by God must prepare themselves and, when they are ready, offer themselves to Him. Now, it is very important not to act by the flesh or flatter the leader in order to be accepted in the main group of workers, and for example, be sent to a pleasant place. The Heavenly Father knows the heart and, if by chance, someone simulated their calling and did the impossible to be chosen, then this person will not have the Lord´s approval. 

Notice that on that day, the chosen ones came to Jesus. Those who are after man´s favor and submit themselves to the temptations in order to reach a prominent position are worthless in the Kingdom of God. Only those who are called by the Lord have dignity, for they know that the true God does not look at the appearances. These people hold on to the revelations of the Word and strive to change their lives by what they were told. 

One day the Master said that the harvest was truly great, but that few were laborers. Afterwards, He declared to the disciples that they should pray so that God would send laborers to His harvest (Luke 10:2). Most assuredly, He was saying something that He had done, and so, guided by the Father, Christ called those He wanted, which were shown to Him to form His group of laborers. We just have to pray, for the Lord calls to Himself the right to call on those that will do His work. 

In Christ, with love,

R. R. Soares