| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Let’s Recap! We have been looking at the fact that God historically, has not chosen conventional characters to accomplish His purposes. This is very good news to those of us who are not “conventional” characters. In fact, I can’t think of a single biblical example of God choosing a conventional character. Let’s Recap; “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;” 1st Cor. 1:27. Still, even within the religious world, folks are squeezed into a mold. We learned that God has no interest in your doing good deeds for Him, but rather He desires to do Great things through you. We looked last week at the 11th chapter of Hebrews often called the “faith chapter”. It is a highlight reel of biblical heroes that God is proud of, and we should always remember what they had in common, – their faith. In the 32nd verse there is a fellow who gets honorable mention, by the name of Jephtah. You can read all about him in Judges 11. He was a big, burley outdoor type but his conventional siblings didn’t like him. They shared a father, but had different moms. This was the excuse they used for throwing him out on his ear, though the real motivation was to prevent him from receiving any or all of the inheritance. Note; The first born son usually got at least the lion's share of the inheritance. Here is extra credit. God calls us sons and daughters. Jesus calls us brothers, and according to Ephesians 1 and 2, we are co-inheritors with Jesus. What has the Son of God inherited? Everything. That’s why He can tell us with confidence, that we have no conceptual idea of what is in store for those who love Him. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Jephtah packs up his marbles and leaves, settles in the mountains where he is joined by a large band of barbarians. They are mighty men of war. They build a reputation. Jephtah makes Konan look like Pee Wee Herman. Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The family, town, Nation that rejected him, is under siege from an enemy nation, and guess who they call on for help? Yep. Jephtah. So the conventional churchy folks send word to the barbarian, and he replies: “I’m, gonna pray about it, I’ll let you know”. He goes on (with God’s blessing) to save the day, but did you see the point? Who did God choose? The Churchy folk had hurt him bad, but rather than abandoning God, He had lived his life For God. Who got Honorable mention in the Faith hall of fame? Are you not exactly what the “church” is looking for? Take heart. Don’t let any man tell you you're not what God is looking for. You burry yourself in God’s word and see what treasures He has for you Now, and in eternity. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” - Romans 1:16. |
 |