Matthew 22:14 - "For many are called, but few are chosen." (KJV).Many of us are called to do more than give our lives to Christ. Becoming born again is not the end of our Christian walk on earth, as a matter of fact, it’s only the beginning, a very important beginning, but still the beginning none the less. Many are called to preach Christ, to heal the sick to show forth the mighty works of God to others, many of us have been called to greatness, that is, to manifest the greatness of God on this earth. Being called by God, does not qualify you to be chosen by Him.
It’s like the game shows we watch on television, if you want to take part in the show, you must apply. When you apply, you might get a call, if you do, you need to participate in an in initial competition, the first stage. Those that win the initial competition are then chosen to come and compete on television. So the called are those that got the call backs for the first stage, while the chosen are actually those that got past the first stage, and then you have the winner, but that’s for another day.
I want to focus on the chosen today. To be chosen, you need to pass the test at the ‘called level’, the scripture tells us that many are called but few are chosen, this means that only a few of the called ones are chosen, there must be some sort of a criteria for being chosen, let’s see what God has to say about this.
Isaiah 48:10 - "Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction."
It is only those that stand firm in the furnace of affliction that get chosen. You cannot afford to crumble or faint in the furnace of affliction. If you want to be one of the elect or chosen, you must be able to stand under the pressure of the affliction and the heat of the furnace. The hotter it gets, the purer you are. The longer you stand in the furnace, the stronger you are. Here’s a little biblical formula for you;
Strength/Power = Length of time in the furnace of affliction OR
S/P = Heat + Affliction
Proverbs 24:10 - "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." (KJV)
To make ground nut oil, the peanuts need to be shelled and cleaned first and then they are pressed with some type of machine (it’s called a press), the machine exacts pressure on the peanuts to extract the oil. The oil that is extracted is valuable; it can be used for many things from cooking to beauty products.
Now imagine if you will, that you are a peanut, capable of doing great things, capable of touching and changing lives when you are tasted, you are an essential commodity. The world needs the oil that God has placed in you. Remember, that only God can release that oil in you at His appointed time, until then, the oil needs to be purified and refined (by the word of God) to make it more valuable than you could ever imagine. The oil needs to be exposed to heat, which will cause it to flow freely. This is what we call ‘the anointing’. This is that anointing that breaks every yoke. It’s very costly and you pay the price in the furnace of affliction.
2 Corinthians 4: 8 - "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." (KJV)
Listen to this, this will blow your mind, I love this bit; 17 "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of Glory."(KJV)
So our affliction is for a purpose? God isn’t just ignoring me in my calamity? I’m in this mess for a reason? YES!!! And guess what, the results are tangible, and the reward will manifest while you’re on this earth as well as in heaven. What am I saying here?
We go through this, to set others free. Jesus was afflicted upon the cross to set us free, He died that we might live. Then He commands us to do the same, to love one another like He loves us, to die to self that others may see God in us. The apostle Paul says it like this; we bear about in our body the dying of Jesus that His life might be made manifest. Dying to self is not easy; it is a daily process, a process that requires the kind of fire you find in the furnace. This kind of fire reveals what is really in you; it shows you whether you’re a man/woman (of God) or a mouse – so to speak.
Listen to what David said about his affliction; Psalm 119:71 - "It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes." (KJV) Affliction gave David the opportunity to know the word of God and we all know what this lead to, he became the man after God’s own heart. It was in the midst of his affliction (whether self inflicted or not), that he was able to find out what God had to say about what he was going through and why, he started to find out what God liked and what He didn’t like. David was tried and tested, he fell in the furnace sometimes, but he stood up again, and the result was the greatest King Israel ever had and a man that God boasted about. This was down to his light momentary affliction that worked for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. David was great in the eyes of God and great in the eyes of man. His testimony still stands today, both on earth and in heaven. You see, even though God called David to be king while he was a shepherd boy, the manifestation of royalty did not come till after he went through the fire. We can safely say that the furnace, by the power of the word, brought out the king in David.
Look! The weight of affliction or adversity is nothing compared to the weight of the anointing or the glory of God that God intends to deposit in you. God will not deposit His anointing or glory in your life if you falter under the weight of affliction or adversity. How well you carry those afflictions or adversity in your life, determines how well you will carry the glory of God. So God shoves you right in the middle of that furnace, sometimes He puts you in the hottest part of it, and watches you. The word of God in you will keep you standing, sometimes you just have to get on your knees or even lie down, but never give up in that furnace. Speak the word of God, whether standing or laying flat on your face and when the fire is out, you’ll come out as pure gold. The fire in your present furnace, also gives you resistance for the next furnace. You are reassured that if God could get you out of this furnace alive, He’ll surely get you out of the next one. Praising God also keeps you standing in the furnace.
Now, if you’re void of the word of God, you will collapse under the pressure and heat of the furnace. This shows that you lack power and you’ll bring forth nothing, you’re like an empty vessel. You’ll be amazed at how much revelation (Rhema) of the word you’ll get in the furnace, it’s almost as if the outside pressure of the adversity (which can be the desires of your flesh coupled with situations and circumstances as well as attacks from the enemy) presses out the word of God in you. The manifestation of that word in you is the anointing or the Glory of God, which people see and admire, but may never know what you went through to get it. It’s like they say in the world today; garbage in garbage out. If you don’t put the word of God in you, divine power is not made available to and for you.
The good thing is that, this anointing brings deliverance to people, which in turn brings people to Christ. They realize that God is real and that He doesn’t just exist in a book called the bible. The word of God comes alive in you and people want to know God for themselves.
Paul said it perfectly, 2 Corinthians 4:12 - "So then death worketh in us, but life in you." (KJV)
The disciples suffered, so we can have life, they suffered to bring the word of God to us; they got the revelation of the word of God in the furnace, so that we might enjoy God’s goodness. They silenced their flesh in the furnace, so that they could bring the pure unadulterated word to us. Now it’s your turn to face the furnace, so that your brothers and sisters can see the power of God at work in your life.
Christ did it so that the disciples could live it, the disciples did it so that we can live it, and now YOU CAN DO IT so others can live it IN JESUS’ NAME.
Isaiah 24:15 - "Wherefore, glorify ye the Lord in the fires." (KJV)
(Written by Yewande Erinle 2008© All rights reserved.)
