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Sermon Illustrations: Chosen
Anecdotes
When I was a boy, we'd play soccer or some other game. And the boys would line up for the captain of each team to choose their players. And I remember the feeling of relief when you were chosen and how proud you'd feel if you were the first or one of the first to be chosen for the team. But then it got to the last one or two. And they usually weren't liked as much as anybody else or weren't as good at sport. So the two captains would argue about who would have these last boys because neither of them wanted them on their team. And you'd feel sorry for them because you know yourself that it doesn't ever feel good not to be wanted. Isn't it good to know God wants you on His team? That before the foundation of the world, God looked through time, and He saw you, and He saw me, and He said, "I'll take him. I'll take her." He didn't leave you till last. He chose you before you even lined up. What a relief to know that you and I didn't get in by accident. That when you came to the Lord to give your heart to Him, God wasn't there saying, "Let's see, he's repented, he's believing, confessing Jesus as Lord. Aw, darn it, he's fulfilled all the conditions. Now I'll have to honour My word, now I'll have to accept him. And him of all people. He's the last one I would have chosen. How do I get myself into these fixes?" No, God chose you. You've been selected, part of the team, and it's better than any earthly team could ever be.
Imagine Michael Jordan comes to town and wants to select the best basketball team ever, and he's going to do it publicly. You love basketball and you're lucky enough to have front row seats for the selection. There's a whole row of basketball greats lined up, and guess what? They're lined up right in front of you. Michael Jordan comes out; the crowd roars. He's going to start choosing. He surveys the line-up. He walks straight ahead, pushes through the players, looks you right in the eye and says, "I want you". The crowd goes, "Whaa?" You say, "But I can't even play basketball". "I don't care," says Michael Jordan. "I want you." You might say, "Like that would ever happen!" But that's exactly what God did. He pushed through the crowd of great people in the world, who thought they would be selected because of their greatness, power, talent ... And He chose you, and me. See 1 Cor 1:26-29
Moses the murderer, Samson the guy with the big mouth, Joshua the liar, Joseph the braggart, Abraham the lying coward, David the adulterer and killer, Rahab the prostitute, Gideon the gutless wonder, Peter the betrayer of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul the persecutor of the church. God chooses the least likely to do great things. See 1 Cor 1:26-29
Quotes
The strongest, richest, most educated man outside the ark was lost. But the weakest, poorest, least educated man in the ark was saved. Reinhard Bonnke