“Having & Being A Treasured Possession”
Pastor David Moore
Old Testament reading: Deuteronomy 7:6-11
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction; he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.
Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
Today’s theme is the core of being a Christian and having and being a treasured possession of God.
New Testament reading: Ephesians 1:11-16
In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of His glory. For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
Postmodernism Definition: Postmodern attacks on ethnography are generally based on the belief that there is no true objectivity and that therefore the authentic implementation of the scientific method is impossible.
But the new rebel is a skeptic and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore, he can never be really a revolutionist. ~G. K. Chesterton
Christianity though, says we cannot live without truth. The gospel is truth, and the truth of Christianity is the gospel. There is plenty in Scripture about how to live but what it says is based on what the Bible says about what has happened in history.
See other religions start with ‘this is how you have to behave in order to be saved…’ But the gospel says, ‘This is what God has done in history already in order to save you.’ Those are very different starting places.
The gospel isn’t good advice on how to live, it is good news about what has already been done. What has been done by God in history has been done for us, and that is the basis for anything and everything the Bible says about how we should behave. ~D. Moore
The Gospel is the Good News that, because of what Christ has done, we can be forgiven and can live forever.
Instead of wishing or hoping for something to happen, a believer knows that their hope is solid, concrete evidence because it is grounded in the Word of God and we know that God cannot lie. (Heb 6:18; Num 23:19)
Until you look at Jesus and what happened, there is no point in rejecting Christianity. If you say, ‘I don’t like what Christianity tells us to do, so I’m against it,’ then you are treating Christianity as though it is like every other religion and it is not. It is not advice on how to live, it is an announcement of what God has done. ~D. Moore
If you are a Christian, then you are God’s possession, and we are God’s inheritance. Never forget that you are God’s treasured possession. ~D. Moore
Romans 8:18: I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:23: And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption of our bodies.
This week think about the core of Christianity (what God has done for you). Being a Christian is that you are God’s possession, and we are God’s inheritance. We have been given a guaranteed promise by God’s mark, a seal and the promise comes from the Holy Spirit. This week pray that the Holy Spirit helps you understand what God has done for you as a Christian.
God bless you!