“For many are called, but few are chosen.†(Matthew 22:14)
After the Pharisees had left (Mark 12:12), then Jesus spoke this parable unto His disciples and those remaining. They wanted to hear. Jesus began: “The kingdom of heaven is like unto… the king sent his servants to remind them that they were bidden, and they wouldn’t come…â€
“Again he send forth other servants… ‘Tell them which are bidden’… they made light of it, and went their ways.â€
The “remnantâ€, (Scribes & Pharisees) slew the servants of the king. They which were bidden were not worthy… go ye therefore into the highways, and you will find, both bad and good (wheat and tares), and bid them to the wedding.
The wedding was furnished with guests… The king came in to see the guests. He saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment;… he responded, “how did you come in here without a wedding garment?†And he was speechless! The order was given by the king to “bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness.†There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. “For many are called, but few are chosen.â€
Jude 6:44 says, “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.†John 12:32 says, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.†Put on the garment… Wear it… Put on the wedding garment right away, lest you become used to the group that doesn’t wear it, and perhaps believe that it really doesn’t matter!
When the heart is touched by God, when the invitation has been given, and you have responded from your heart, let your will be influenced by the presence of God, and allow yourself to say like those on the day of Pentecost, “What shall I do?†…or like Paul, on the road to Damascus, after being called by God, asked the question, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?â€
When you are chosen, you will put on that which is required: Repentance, baptism, Holy Ghost, righteousness, holiness, obedience, submission… add to your faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (2 Peter 1:4-8).
Don’t “push aside†the conviction and stirring in your heart. Until you are away from the presence of truth and conviction, and calamity takes over… put on the garment, allow change to happen, then go with it, become a person with a new vision, a new direction, and a new way of life… where priorities change and… now, the Lord is all that really matters!
Brother Robert Geans pastors Edwardsburg United Pentecostal Church in Edwardsburg, Michigan.