“A CALLED OUT PEOPLE”
 

We are all familiar with that old saying, “God works in mysterious ways”, and when you look at the pages of scripture, it just brings that truth into sharp focus! God created the heavens and the earth, everything and everyone that they contain, and desires to have a personal relationship with His creation!

 Personally, if I were God, why would I bother?  After all, here I have created this beautiful world, with every type of plant, animals of every description, and people with nothing else to do but enjoy my creation, and fellowship with me!  But, Oy, such a mess they made! They desire my creation, more then they desire the Lord that created them! They poison my creation and separate themselves from me with their sin! Yes, if I were God, I would have just zapped the whole thing and went back to the drawing board! But that’s just me!

 God said in His Word, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways, saith the Lord”, Isa. 55:8 God handled the situation a little differently that I would have, which is fortunate for us! If I had my way, we would have all been toast!

 God loved His creation so much that he came up with a plan to redeem us from the contamination of sin, in order that we could once again enjoy a personal relationship with Him.  He needed to let the world know of this plan of salvation that He made available to all people.

  Now here again, is another way where I would have done things a bit differently! Personally, I would probably have written the plan in the sky, and given everyone one chance to take it or leave it! Hey, you mess up my world; you make me angry!  But, here again, God loved us so much, that He gave us many, many chances to accept His plan of redemption.  In fact, it’s never too late, until we draw our last breath, and enter eternity.  And this plan not only covered the folks back then, it has been continually offered throughout all generations.

 So how does God extend this invitation of salvation from generation to generation?  Again, I couldn’t have even been bothered, but that’s why He is God, and I’m not! You see, God “called-out” a particular people, and assigned them the job of bringing the truth of God and His plan of redemption to all the peoples of the world.

 There have been two groups of people that God has chosen and used to bring about this end.  The first were the Jews.  God called Abram “the Hebrew”, which means “to cross over or be in oppsition” (from the root “ovair”)!  (Gen 14:13) Abram, who was renamed Abraham by God, was the first Hebrew, and the father of the Hebrew people, or the Jews, to whom was entrusted the oracles of God.   God loves the Jews so much he considers them “the apple of His eye” unto this very day!

  He gave them the Law of Moses, which was a model or “type” of how God would bring final atonement for sin and provide redemption through the Messiah, who was Yeshua, even Jesus.  It was through the blood line of  Abraham that Messiah would enter the world. And it was to the Jew that the written Word of God was committed, which are the scriptures.  God commanded the Jews to separate themselves from all others, and to be a light to the nations, instructing them about God’s plan of redemption. Unfortunately, the Jews did things how I may have done things! They mixed with the tribes of the world, they disobeyed God, and failed to be that light that God called them to be. But not all Jews! There were always a remnant of Jews who still loved the Lord, and did not turn their back on the God of Israel.

 The other group of people that God called-out are those that the Bible called “the Body of Messiah”, or the Church!  The New Testament church was called-out after Messiah came to complete God’s plan of redemption by His atoning work on the tree at Calvary.

 The church, like the Hebrews, are a called out body of Believers with whom God desires to have a personal relationship.  They are called to be separate from unbelievers in every way, and like the Jews, are called to be lights in a dark world.  The church, like the Jews, have the awesome responsibility of bringing the news of God’s plan of salvation to an unbelieving world.

 And like Israel, many who claim to be part of the “church” have compromised the Word of God and have fallen into the ways of an unbelieving world.  God admonished the church to, “Come out and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you.” 2 Cor 6:17  Sadly, like Israel of old, the church has not heeded God’s call to separation, and the result has been strange and false teaching and doctrines that have entered in, and are now commonplace especially in many formerly mainstream denominations and liberal branches of the church today.   But, like with Israel, there is a remnant that remains separated from the world, and takes its responsibility to be lights to the unbelievers to be a serious matter.

 The time is soon coming, and may now be at hand, when God’s plan of redemption will be completed.   This will occur when Messiah Jesus returns to deliver the final defeat to the enemy and establish His kingdom on earth. 

 When Messiah returns, all of his beloved people Israel, the first people to be called-out for God’s service, who remain alive, will be saved in a day.   They will join that Old Covenant remnant of the Jews that loved their God, along with the New Testament saints, the second people to be called out for God’s service,  . . . in eternity with Yeshua!

 We are living in a troubled world, and it can be quite difficult to remain separate from the unbelieving world system.  After all, who wants to be “different”!  We want to fit it, don’t we!  The truth is, we ARE different, and the only place we can fit in is with those of like faith.  As we draw closer and closer to Messiah’s return, it’s almost as if the world is going through birth pangs. It’s apparent in nature, with global warming, tidal waves, record hurricanes, droughts, and rainfalls. It is apparent on the battle field, with nations warring with other nations at an unparalleled rate, with Israel and the Middle East at the heart of it all.  We can see it in society where homosexuality and the occult are almost universally accepted, and there is no longer clear lines between what is considered right or wrong.  There can be no doubt!  Time is growing short!

 Those who name the name of Messiah, have a serious choice to make.  Do we straddle the fence between our faith and the world, making compromises to “fit-in”? Do we make it our heart’s desire and the focus of our lives to acquire “things”, riches and fame, or are we content with what we have, be it little or much, and devote our lives to being lights in a dark world?  Are we part of that remnant that obeys the call to separation, or will we be like those that become trapped in the evil world system. These are serious questions that require serious answers!

 As you know, my heart’s desire is to bring God’s plan of redemption to His people Israel, as well as to the gentiles, of which I am one.  Recently, a congregation called Beth Yeshua, meaning “The House of Jesus” has come to our area, and is a missionary outreach to the Jews.  They are such a blessing! They meet every Sunday morning at 11:00 am at Samantha’s Lil Bit of Heaven in East Northport, and would welcome meeting you!  You can find out more by calling me at (631) 864-0814 or going to www.BethYeshuaNY.org.

Shalom,

Ron Cusano

Shiloh-Ministries