[2023.5.18] The Basin: God Chose You! Will You?

Do the new you get a clear picture of what God has created you to be by spending time in his presence, communing with him, putting His Word in your heart, getting the imprint of his image clearly in your mind, worshiping him, seeing him for who he is, seeing Jesus for how he treated people, wanting to become more like that, being open to becoming more like that, praying for the Holy Spirit to make you more like that, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. So we've been saying all year in this ministry, the true you is the new you, and the new you the one that you are becoming as you step toward God's picture of you, that you is the true you. But you have to choose it. The imagery of Ephesians 4 is like putting on clothes, right? I chose my clothes today. I did. I chose these clothes because they were appropriate for the activity that I just did. Honestly, I feel a little bit underdressed for making the video teaching, but this is what I wore to work out, and it's what I wore to make the video. I chose it for the workout. I chose what I would wear today, just like I chose what I would drink. And I don't get to choose the attitude that the people are going to have who interact with me today or what their priority is going to be. But I get to choose what attitude I wear. And I can choose to reset it if I got it wrong up to this point today, or this week or this month, or this year, or my whole life. I get to choose to put on the new creation because this is what I have to make sure you understand. I was created to be more like God, not to be God. I don't believe that some people believe that we are God. I don't believe that we are God. I do believe that we are given the ability to choose to be more like him, and that he'll help us to do it as we choose it now. To understand Ephesians 4, I think we should read Ephesians 1, verse 4. Can we do that? Ephesians 1, verse 4 is what gives weight to Ephesians 4. When he says you were created, when he says the new you was created, you're like, wait, then if it was created in past tense, how is it new? No, it's new to you. It's not new to God. He's familiar with that you. He sees that you. He knows that you. It's the true you. It's the one that's trying to speak, but there's too much noise. It's the one that's trying to come forth, but there's too much blockage of shame. It's the one that is buried beneath bad habits. God sees that you. He knows that you, he made that you. He knit that you together. Because in Ephesians 1, verse 4, it says he chose us in Him. That's Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. Did you see that word? He chose. Go back. He chose. That's how it started. God chose you. That's right. Your unique atomic construction was the handiwork of the author of time and space and galaxies. That God, who architected the caterpillar to become a butterfly, has created you for good works, has created you for a special purpose, has predestined you by his love, has adopted you as a son or a daughter, brought you into his family. Isn't that good news that God chooses you? So it means 5 foot 6 was supposed to be 5 foot 6. It means that beneath whatever you don't like about yourself physically radiates a spirit that is uncontaminated by comparison to others. God chose you. I wish I had been born in the 1800s. That would have been cool. You weren't. Weren't supposed to be. You're supposed to be born now. I wish I could have lived at a simpler time. I wish I could have walked the earth with Jesus. You can't. You're walking now. Another scripture said that he appointed the times and places where men should live. And so he has called you to this time. He has called you to your family. He has called you to your disposition. He has called you to make the best of your personality. That's all part of his purpose. And we're exploring right now in our teaching in the church, as well as a book that I'm putting together as we speak, what it means to do the new you. But I think it has to start with the fact that you know that you're chosen, just like Peter was chosen, even though he would go on to curse and deny that he knew Christ. You were chosen even though you cuss and do some other bad stuff. And this is not permission to continue with bad habits, but it gives you power to overcome them by knowing that God knew them and that he chooses you. Anyway, get this. Deep down. God chose you. God has options. God can call anybody he wants. God can use anybody God can. That he wants. God chose you like I chose this deer park water. And you're like, yeah, but you said you don't like the water. Does that mean God doesn't like me? The analogy breaks down. Stay with me. All I'm saying about it is God could have gone and gotten any pot that he wanted, any vessel that he wanted. And the Bible says, man, I feel anointed teaching this, that you are a chosen vessel. Yeah, you are. You're a chosen vessel. If you feel stubby, you're a chosen vessel. Even if you feel like you got a broken handle. Leonard Cohen, the great poet, said, there's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There's a crack in everything. That's where the light gets in. That's where God's grace, as Paul says, elsewhere, the glory of God shines through. Yeah. That's where God does his best work, is the healing oil that comes from even a broken vessel. Then he reforms you and he reshapes you. You're so obsessed with the container, man. You're thinking about things. God sees right through. I'm all for improving your physical appearance. I'm all for improving your financial status. I'm all for improving your skillset. But beneath all of that, to make that in a healthy way so it doesn't get out of balance, you have to know God chose you. God chose you. He knows you. He loves you. He's with you. He's for you. He's not against you. I'm speaking to somebody today who needs to know. You're chosen. Yeah, but I. You're chosen. Yeah, but I. You're chosen. Yeah, but they. You're chosen. I don't care about they. I care about him. You're chosen. Yeah, but it. I don't care about it. You're chosen. God's sovereignty supersedes every situation. God's sovereignty supersedes every human limitation. You are chosen before the creation of the world. Wait, that means if he chose me before the creation of the world, he chose me before I messed up. That means he chose me before I got a divorce. That means he chose me before I had all these sexual relationships. That means he chose me. Me. Before I started this horrible thing, this addiction. That means he chose me before I made that mistake. That means he chose me before I was abused by that person. That means he chose me before I made the decision to trust him. That means he chose me before I blew that opportunity. Yeah, he chose you before the foundation of the earth. So that means he can use you right now. Glory to God. I'm chosen. And look at this. He chose me. And then now that you've seen Ephesians 1:4, you're starting to understand why I called this teaching. God chose you. Will you? Because by the time Paul is getting to the practical stuff in Ephesians 4, 5 and 6, he's like, Wait a minute. There's still the old way of thinking that's not really you, but that you're used to that's going to call you back. Put off the old self that's corrupted by sin and its deceitful desires, that's trying to trick you into thinking that you're something other than God's kid, that's trying to trick you into thinking that you need something other than Jesus to complete you, that's trying to trick you into giving into lesser things to create a stopgap for the deep needs that only God can fulfill. Put that off. Put it away and reach for just like I reached for this 20 something ounce, 23.7 fluid ounce, Deer Park. Reach for the living water. Reach for the the breath of God. Reach for gratitude. Reach for a patient response. Reach for what I had to say to Holly this morning, I'm sorry that I was sharp about that thing last night that was just out of bounds. I'm sorry I was sharp with you. And she's like, it's cool. I'm like, yeah, I'm sorry I reacted like that. Reach for I was wrong. Rather than just trying to like bear down and be right, I'm like, oh yeah, that's it right there. That's me choosing. Watch this verse 23, Ephesians 4. Stay with me because I know I'm covering a whole book of the Bible in just about 20 minutes, but he said to be made new in the attitude of your mind and to put on the new self created to be like God. Now you are created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. But you have to reach for it moment by moment. I don't mean reach for it that you have to strive for it. I mean you reach for it like you're receiving a gift from God. So in this moment, what do you need to reach for and receive? And in order to do that, what do you need to release and let go of? God chose you, so you got to let go of all the reasons why he shouldn't have, all of the excuses that you make why he can't. Moses, Gideon, these are Bible characters that they were holding so tightly to their excuses that they almost struggled to receive God's empowerment. And you do that Sometimes I don't have the time. I don't have the money. I don't have the skills. I don't have the intelligence. I don't have the background. Release that and reach for what God has given. You choose to believe who God says you are. I choose to believe that Jesus Christ has made me righteous. I choose to believe that the Holy Spirit lives within me. I choose to walk in it. I choose to flow in it. I choose to turn the other cheek in this situation. I choose to walk by that offense. I choose to forgive. I choose to speak life. I choose to go forward. God chose you. Will you choose you? The true you? Like I chose my workout clothes. Like I chose the bottle of water. Hey, don't get me wrong. I choose the stained shirt. Sometimes too, I choose the horrible attitude. Sometimes too, I choose the gossip which feels so good going down but makes me sick once I start feeling it burn the pit of my stomach when I ruin relationships because I talk bad about people behind their back so then I can't interact with them well to their face. And I'm coming to realize that's not the me I want to be at all. I don't want to be that me. I don't want to be a backbiting me, a petty me. I want to be a bigger me. Like not only physically through exercise, but I want to be a bigger me in my spirit. I want to be big enough to look at somebody and see that they have pain, they have feelings, they have reasons, they have dreams, they have goals. I want to see people not just like trees, like the blind man who had his eyes opened by Jesus saw at first. I want to see people as people. I want to see the gifts in my kids, not just the. Not just the little things that trip me up in their everyday behavior. I want to see their intention. I want to see the seeds of what God has put in them. I want to see not only the real me, I want to see the real them. I want God to show me that I need eyes to see. I want to see what God sees and I want to be that. But I have to choose it. No different than choosing what I drink. I really want a Diet Coke and I'm going to drink a Diet Coke. It's just an analogy, people. No different than I choose to get a few more reps when I'm working out. No different than I choose to let something go and not always have to have my way. It starts from knowing that God chose me just as I am without one plea but that his blood was shed for me. God chose me. He saved me. He loves me. He's for me. He's with me. God chose you. Will you. Will you choose not to abandon yourself to the addiction? Not today. Will you choose to reach out to somebody that you love today? Rather than just isolating and staying in your head, will you choose to move forward? That one simple thing on that big dream that you have today? God chose you. Will you? Sometimes we choose our past over our future. Sometimes we choose distraction over being present. God doesn't need to be convinced to choose you. I can't find many people in the Bible that God took a vote about. Y' all think I should use Moses, angels. Y' all think I should use Gideon. Y' all think I should use Peter. Even when he wanted to use Judas, he chose to use him. But Judas hanged himself. He chose that. He chose to give up. And God never gives up on you. Maybe you're in a place where you want to give up on yourself right now. Maybe you want to give up on ever being free. Maybe you want to give up on maturity. Maybe you want to give up on discipline. Maybe you want to give up on becoming more balanced. Maybe you want to give up on coming out of this condition. Maybe you want to give up on receiving, healing. If God won't give up on you, you don't get to. If Jesus went all the way to the cross for you and endured the cross, despising its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God, you must endure also. It may take a little longer. It may hurt a little. It may hurt a lot. But the God who chooses you is asking you to choose today. He said, I set before you life and death. Choose life. Choose to be the new you. Hey. Thank you for watching. Make sure you subscribe to this channel so you don't miss a single video or live stream and share this video with a friend. Friend. And don't forget, you can join me live every Sunday. Thanks again for watching.