TEXT:

‘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. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard”’ (Acts 22:14-15)

THOUGHT:

In his epistle Peter refers to Christians as, ‘A chosen generation’.¹ Jesus said, ‘You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit’.² Also He said, ‘Many are called but few are chosen’.³ What a wonderful privilege to be chosen! Remember that when the world rejects you and what you stand for, Jesus has chosen you! Our text reveals four reasons why God has chosen you.

• To Know His Will

What is the first thing God wants us to do? To believe in Jesus and to follow Him! God’s ways are not our ways, so His will has to be revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. God’s will does not make sense to our carnal mind but it does to our born again spirit. Christianity is a battle of the wills, ours and God’s. Who will come out on top? ‘Not my will but Yours be done!’⁴

• To See the Just One

Saul of Tarsus may have seen Jesus die as a young onlooker. He certainly saw Stephen martyred for he guarded the cloaks of those who stoned him.⁵ Then he got a visitation from Jesus. His physical eyes were blinded, but for the first time he saw Jesus for who He really is.⁶ My wife, Jenny, had an actual vision of Jesus the moment she became a Christian. Thomas needed a personal encounter with Jesus in order to believe but Jesus said, ‘Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed’. Through the eyes of faith they see an empty cross and grave but a resurrected Jesus.

• To Hear the Voice of His Mouth

Do you mean that God wants to speak to me? Yes! Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear my voice’.⁷ Whether we are listening to a sermon, reading the Bible or just going about our everyday business, God will speak to us. God wants to speak to you first before He will speak about you to anyone else. It is wonderful to see excited believers share what they believe God has said to them. When you read your Bible expect God to speak to you. He will not disappoint!

• To Witness to All Men

For Christians, during this lockdown extreme reactions are intensified. The introverts breathe a sigh of relief, while the extroverts, frustrated by being shut in, look for new ways to communicate the gospel. There is a driving force to witness. This should be the same for every Christian, for even introverts once shared their faith openly, but only an individual can control their response to each opportunity that comes across their path.

Just as a generous person looks for different ways to express his giving heart, so the evangelistic spirit drives a person to be even more imaginative and creative in ways to share the gospel. For them it’s, “Witness or I dry up and die!” Paul wrote, ‘Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel’.⁸

People talk about doing things they feel they were born for, especially in the realm of the arts or sport. Eric Liddell wrote, “God made me fast and when I run, I feel His pleasure”, but witnessing is what Christians were born again for! I still get an amazing buzz every time I can speak about Jesus whether it’s when I am out walking or on the bus, train, ship or plane.

Jesus said, ‘I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work’.⁹ Surely it is a dark time now for our nation, but there is still opportunity to shine a light in the darkness. Many Christians are wondering what will happen next and is all this heralding the imminent return of Jesus Christ? These questions do not have definitive answers yet, but one thing is certain. Every person we talk to about Jesus, then has the opportunity to know His will, see the Just One, hear His voice and in turn become a witness of that encounter too.

Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus,

To reach out and touch Him,

To say that I love Him.

Open my ears Lord,

And help me to listen.

Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus.

Endnotes:

¹ 1 Peter 2:9

² John 15:16

³ Matthew 20:16

⁴ Luke 22:42

⁵ Acts 7:58

⁶ Acts 9:3-9

⁷ John 10:27

⁸ 1 Corinthians 9:16

⁹ John 9:4