Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Colossians 3:16

With This Grace Comes Responsibility

Weekly Reminder

Weekly Reminder...

The Weekly Reminder is an informative tool to help people who read it consider what the man of God has said. This weekend’s articles are based on what was heard on November 14 & 15, 2009 in the Westbury assembly.


written by Br. Samuel Philogene

“Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called: and whom He called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them He also glorified” (Romans 8:30).

Oh what a great privilege to be chosen of God, to be called people of God, sons of God. Being in church is not an accident but God has predestinated His chosen ones. We don’t get to the church of God by chance; it takes a calling, a divine calling to bring us into God’s movement on the earth. Jesus said that, “no one can come to Me except My Father draw him to Me” (John 6:44). It is true for every one of us in the church, we can look back to our old days and we surely will realize that if it wasn’t for the touch of God we would be dead (spiritually) where we were with no hope, but thank God for the blood of Jesus; He took us from the pit and the miry clay and brought us onto the solid rock. David sang this song in Psalm 40 to thank God for bringing him to a better place from where He was (Psalm 40:1-6). God took us from nothing, poor in the world to make us rich in the faith (James 2:5). The same James in Acts 15:14 tell us that we are not here on our own but that God “visited the Gentiles to take out of them a people for His name”. This is a simple and exact definition of the church: a group of people taken out of the world and now called to be God’s people (Romans 9:25). The ways of God are unsearchable (Romans 11:33), we can’t understand why He chooses one and rejects the other but the only thing we learned last weekend is it pleased God to choose us from the world and to put us together in the church. We didn’t choose to serve God but God chose us (John 15:16).

Now being God’s chosen we are now put in relationship with God; we are called God’s people, His children. But we also learned last weekend that being God’s chosen does not only give us privileges but brings also a tremendous responsibility toward God who has chosen us. Peter states this clearly, “But as He who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, because it is written, ‘Be ye holy; for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16). So now we can’t just sit back and enjoy being God’s people but that calling put a heavy burden on our shoulders to represent Christ, to live holy. It is not an easy task but if we want to be called a child of God we must do the will of our Father. We can’t just call ourselves people of God or God’s chosen ones and not do His will; it is impossible. This opposed Jesus and the Jews in John 8, for the Jews where claiming to be children of Abraham while refusing to live the same life that Abraham lived. Jesus made it clear for them, “If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham” (John 8:39). We understand that being chosen does not wipe out our duty but we are chosen unto good works (Titus 2:14).

God questioned the Israelites because He was expecting good fruits: “What could have been done more to My vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:1-7). The apostle Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, “God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth”. So behind the choice, the sanctification of the inward man must follow. Br. Antoine quoted Ephesians 1:1-14, this passage is a wonderful summary of it all. This passage shows us that the calling of God is a great privilege but also holds us accountable toward God.

Here are some privileges and duties to everyone that is called by God: (see Ephesians 1:1-14)

Privileges: What God did for us in His mercy

Responsibilities: What we must perform

It is good to know that among millions, God chose us to be His people. It is a subject of joy and thanksgiving but it is also vital to know that when God chose us He is expecting something from us. He expects us to live only for Him and to do His will; we are chosen to do good.

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written by Br. Jean Leonidas

We heard words to help us realize how far we came from in order to be God’s children. We were being reminded of our fallen state and the need for the grace of God. When we can look back at our lives we can see that we came a long way and God has been the one helping us all the way. David could not have put it any better when he said in Psalms 8:4, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?” For God to consider us in His plan it is a GRACE.

Br. Antoine was showing us how we are nothing without God. He quoted James 2:5, where it reads, “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?” Who we are today and what we are able to do is all because of the grace of God. There is nothing good that we can bring to God. He explained to us that poor means to have nothing, but it is God that chooses us and helps us to become rich in faith. This reminded me of a previous scripture he gave us in Psalm 113:7 a few weeks ago, where it showed that it is God that is able to raise the poor and the needy from the dust and dunghill, to set him among princes. There is no way we can understand why or how God chooses His people but the scriptures have proven to us that God from the foundation of the world has chosen a people. The people He has chosen are not just any people, but the end result is for them to be a holy people. Deuteronomy 7:7 says “The LORD did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:” and verse 8(a) “but because the LORD loved you”. We were chosen in God because of His love for us and not because we were any good, better or skillful. God did not look ahead of time and see who would be a good person to make His choice. GOD CHOOSES WHO HE WILL FOR HIS OWN PURPOSE AND WILL BUT IN JUDGMENT FOR HE JUDGES RIGHTEOUSLY. The best thing about it is that He operates in love because God is Love (1 John 4:7).

Br. Antoine said it right when he quoted Ephesians 1:4, where he said “God did not look and wait and see who is doing right and then make a choice but from before the world began God was at work.” God was having a wonderful time within Himself, arranging, preparing and organizing everything according to His own will. This unmerited favor or gift that we have obtained should cause us to live a humble and a life that is pleasing to God. For we were dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1) but God quickened us and now we have life thru the baptism of the Holy Ghost and obedience of His words. Although we have received the grace of God by being one of His chosen we still need to obey the word of God in order to live a holy life because there is no holiness without obedience to the word of God. This grace does not stop us from working for the Lord but it should give us humility toward God and our peers. It should give us an appreciation for God and His work on the earth. Realizing the grace of God in our lives should move us to put an effort to strive to enter into the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 2:7 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” verse 10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”. May God help us to realize that the grace of God was not given to us in vain but give us more appreciation for God in obeying His commandments.

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