Chosen and Loved | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church

Well, when I heard that Pastor Joel and Angela

were going to be here this morning, I had to

rewrite a whole new sermon. I realized that what

I was going to preach was not appropriate. A

child went to his father and said, How did babies

get here? And the father said, well, Adam and

Eve had babies, and they had babies, and they

had babies, and here you are. He said, okay.

So he went to his mother and said, where do babies

come from? And she wasn't quite so saved as all

of us. She said, well, a long time ago. There

were monkeys. And monkeys evolved. And eventually,

they became us. And the child ran back to his

father and said, you lied to me. And the father

said, she was talking about her side of the family.

Dale, did you like that one? No, you did, you

did, you did. Thank you, Father. I would like

you to turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 21.

Deuteronomy 21 · chapter mention

Deuteronomy chapter 21. And having dedicated

Deuteronomy 21 · chapter mention

our sons and daughters to the Lord this morning,

I want to turn our attention for a few moments

before we go today to our Heavenly Father. And

I want to believe God to speak to each one of

us this morning about who he is, about who we

are, about what his word declares. In Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 21 · chapter mention

chapter 21, it's kind of an obscure passage.

Don't know if you've ever heard a message preached

out of this passage before. But to get some context.

I'd like us to back up to verse 15. If a man

has two wives, intercede for that man. That's

all I have to say. One loved and the other unloved,

and this could happen in those days. And they

have borne him children, both the loved and the

unloved, and if the firstborn son... is of her

who is unloved, then it shall be on the day he

bequeaths his possessions to his sons that he

must not bestow firstborn status on the son of

the loved wife in preference to the son of the

unloved, the true firstborn. But he shall acknowledge

the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn

by giving him a double portion. Everybody say

double portion. Of all that he has, for he is

the beginning of his strength. The right of the

firstborn is his. Father, I just thank you for

your word today. And I just ask that you would

just speak to our hearts in these moments as

we examine your word. In Jesus' name, amen. One

of the great passages in this church is Isaiah

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

chapter 61. The spirit of the sovereign Lord

is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to

preach good news to the poor. And then there

is a list of things that we're believing God

for in our ministry, amen? For captives to be

set free, for prison doors to be open, for those

that are clothed in mourning to find the oil

of joy, for beauty to come from ashes. Have you

seen those things in your life? Amen. But if

you read further down in Isaiah chapter 61, in

Isaiah 61 · chapter mention

the verse that we don't often get to, in verse

7, God in restoring things says this, Instead

of your shame, you shall have double honor. And

instead of confusion, they shall rejoice in their

portion. Therefore, in the land, they shall possess

double everlasting joy. What is Isaiah referring

to? The right of the firstborn son. The right

of the firstborn son is the double portion. And

Israel, being the firstborn son, God was saying,

I am going to restore to you your rightful place.

Hallelujah. and God is a restorer of everything

that has been taken away. When the enemy has

stolen from you over and over and over again

in your BC days, sometimes he comes against you

even as a believer, and he steals from you. Aren't

you glad that God is a restorer? Hallelujah.

He puts things back together. He puts you back

in positions. He takes things that were broken

and he heals them. There was another moment in

the scripture where the double portion became

incredibly important. And it's in 2 Kings chapter

2 Kings 2 · chapter mention

2. And again, for the sake of context, I want

to take the time to read this story. Is everybody

okay this morning? Cammie told me that I had

to make sure I got my preaching done in 30 minutes

today. And so she put her foot down. So when

I get to 30 minutes, and I've already used two

minutes. Verse 1. And it came to pass, when the

Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven

by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha

from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay

here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to

Bethel. But Elisha said, As surely as the Lord

lives and as your soul lives, I will not leave

you. So they went down to Bethel. Now the sons

of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to

Elisha and said to him, Do you not know that

the Lord will take away your master from over

you today? And he said, Yes, I know. Keep silent.

And Elisha said to him, Elisha, stay here, please,

for the Lord has sent me on to Jericho. But he

said, As the Lord lives and as your soul lives,

I will not leave you. So they came to Jericho.

And now the sons of the prophets who were at

Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, Do you

not know that the Lord will take away your master

from over you today? So he answered, Yes, I know.

Keep silent. And Elisha said to him, Stay here,

please, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.

But he said, As the Lord lives and as your soul

lives, I will not leave you. So the two of them

went on, and 50 men of the sons of the prophets

went and stood facing them at a distance. And

while the two of them stood by the Jordan, and

Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, struck

the water, and it was divided this way and that,

so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

And so it was when they had crossed over that

Elijah said to Elisha, ask, what may I do for

you before I am taken away from you? And Elisha

said, please let a double portion, everybody

say double portion, of your spirit be upon me.

So Elijah said, you have asked a hard thing.

Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from

you, it shall be so for you. But if not, it shall

not be so. And then it happened as they continued

on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire

appeared with horses of fire and separated the

two of them. And Elijah went up by whirlwind

into heaven. And Elisha saw it. And he cried

out, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel

and its horsemen. And so he saw him no more.

And he took hold of his own clothes and tore

them into two pieces. And he took up the mantle

of Elijah that had fallen from him and went back

and stood by the bank of the Jordan. And he took

the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him

and struck the water and said, Where is the Lord

God of Elijah? And when he had also struck the

water, it was divided this way and that. And

Elisha crossed over. We're going to stop right

there. A double portion. A double portion. When

we look at this story, we often talk about the

anointing that was transferred from Elijah to

Elisha. And it certainly was. Elijah, in fact,

anointing Elisha as the prophet to come after

him is the only time in the Old Testament when

we see that a prophet was actually anointed like

a king or a priest. Elijah anointed Elisha with

oil and Elisha knew that he was going to be the

prophet that would carry on after Elijah was

gone. And so we talk about the double portion

in a manner of miracles, in a manner of power,

and we bring out the fact that Elisha recorded

twice as many miracles as Elijah did. core. In

fact, the last miracle of Elisha, Elisha wasn't

even alive. A man was thrown on his bones, on

Elisha's bones, and came back to life. And that

was the miracle that gave Elisha exactly twice

as many recorded miracles in the scriptures as

Elijah. That's pretty cool, isn't it? But the

double portion, when Elisha asks for a double

portion of your spirit, what is he really asking

for? And I believe, considering what the double

portion meant in the context of the culture,

and what it meant... to the firstborn son that

even more than miracle power and even more than

the ability to prophesy, what Elisha was asking

for is this. Can I call you my father? Can I

be your son? Will you consider me? To be your

son. And Elijah said, that's a hard thing, but

if you see it, me, if you see me when I go, it

will be granted. And when Elisha lifted up his

eyes and saw Elijah, what did he cry out? He

cried out, My father. My father. And that mantle

that he picked up, it was no longer just a symbol

of my role as a prophet. It wasn't just a symbol

of the anointing in my life. But that mantle

that rested upon him, it became a symbol of sonship.

I'm carrying the mantle of my father. And he

went out. And see, just a few minutes before.

He had watched the one he wanted to be his father.

He had watched him take that same mantle, and

he had struck the Jordan, and Elijah did it,

and they walked together across dry ground. And

Elisha, having the same mantle, walked up to

the Jordan, and remembering what he had seen

his father do, struck the Jordan in the same

way. And the river did the same thing. And Elisha

walked across on dry ground. Jesus was a rabbi.

He waited until the age of a rabbi, 30 years

old, to begin his ministry. And he chose 12 young

men to follow him. And as we know Jesus to be

the Son of God, these young men would have been

looking to their new rabbi, Jesus, to be their

spiritual father. To be their spiritual father.

And in that role, Jesus... as their spiritual

father, gave them a front row glimpse into his

relationship with his father. It was the father's

voice at his baptism in Matthew chapter 3 verse

Matthew 3:17

17 that spoke as Jesus came up out of the water

and the dove came down. This is my beloved son

whom I love. With Him, I am well pleased. It

was interaction with the Father in prayer that

motivated Him in how He should operate in ministry.

Listen to this from John 5, 19. Most assuredly,

I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself,

but what He sees the Father do. For whatever

he does, the Son does in like manner. Does that

remind you of anybody? You see, Jesus had the

mantle of his Father, and he did the things he

saw his Father do. Just like Elisha. He had his

mantle. This is a mystery. Because the doctrine

of the Trinity, we opened up a song that said,

Praise the Father, praise the Son, praise the

Spirit, three in one. The mystery of the Trinity,

the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And so we tend

to compartmentalize the functions of the three

in our lives. But the mystery is that the three

are actually one. In fact, in John chapter 10,

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus declared, I and the Father are one. In

John 14, Jesus declared, if you have seen me,

you have seen the Father. That's pretty awesome.

And it's no wonder that the messianic prophecy

that we often quote during the Christmas season,

which I am here to tell you that the Christmas

season is not here yet. I just want you to know

that. Some of you quit listening to me. That

messianic prophecy, for unto us a child is born,

unto us a son is given, the government will be

upon his shoulder, and his name will be called

Wonderful Counselor Everlasting Father. The son,

The baby, one of his names, is Everlasting Father.

You see, this is where they are three, but they

are one. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is

one God. Everlasting Father, the name of the

Messiah. And so it's no wonder that... Paul described

Jesus by saying this, he is the image of the

invisible God. And so that's a beautiful description

of who Jesus is. He's the image. Jesus is the

image of the Father. And he's also the image

of the Spirit. One of his other names is Counselor.

And do you know who the Holy Spirit is? Counselor.

And so this image of Jesus is also the Father.

And the Spirit, He's the image of the invisible

God. That's a powerful description. Jesus is

the Son, but He embodies the Spirit, and He embodies

the Father. Christ is definitely our firm foundation.

Note what Jesus... told the women. I love that

opening this morning about Joseph of Arimathea.

Wasn't that powerful? And the women after his

resurrection listened to what Jesus said to them

when they tried to cling to him in John chapter

John 20 · chapter mention

20. Jesus said to her, Jesus said to Mary, do

not cling to me for I have not yet ascended to

my father. But go and say to them, I am ascending

to my Father and your Father, to my God and your

God. That's a powerful statement. Because what

Jesus was saying is, hey, what just happened

these last three days? The cross, the tomb, the

stone being rolled away, the resurrection. What

all of that did is this. I have been teaching

you about my father for three years. But I want

you to know that now because of the cross and

because of the resurrection, he's not just my

father. He's your father too. Hallelujah. Go

and tell them. the disciples. He's your father

too. Hallelujah. The cross made a way for you

to experience the father just like Jesus did.

And Elisha picked up the mantle as he cried.

My Father, my Father. As Pentecostals, we talk

a lot about anointing and authority and power

over the enemy. But the anointing of God on your

life for ministry, may it ever represent your

relationship to the Father. I am not here just

to preach the gospel. I am not here just to see

blind eyes opened and miracles happen. I love

all of those things. Hallelujah. I am not here

just to function in a capacity. I have taken

up the mantle because I have seen my Father.

And He has touched my life in a powerful way.

And I belong to Him. And He belongs to me. Hallelujah.

You know what was radical in the days of the

Bible? For Jesus to call God His Father. Did

you know that this is one of the reasons that

He... was put on the cross, they said it's blasphemy.

It's blasphemy of you, Jesus, to call God your

own father. You can read about that in John chapter

John 5 · chapter mention

5. But how did he even teach us how to pray?

This was radical. They did not do this. You know,

for us, it's just, we've heard it, you know,

if you've been in church a long time, you've

just heard it. If you grew up Catholic, you heard

it. You just say, and our Father. And it's just

part of your religious experience. But in the

moment that Jesus taught it to the people, it

was a radical, radical teaching. You can't call

God your Father. But Jesus did. And he taught

us to do the same thing when you pray. Go and

close the door. Get with God. And say this. Our

Father, who art in heaven. As a church family,

he's my Father. And you can declare that. He's

my father. But as brothers and sisters in the

family of God, we declare he is our father. And

friends, that's so healing because some of you

sitting out here, you did not have a good earthly

father. And for you to be able to look up into

the heavens and say, oh God, I thank you that

you're my father. And for you to be able to call

him your dad. I feel the anointing of the Lord

right now. You want to see the Trinity at work?

Galatians chapter 4. I'm almost done. And now

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

for my first conclusion. But when the fullness

of time had come, God sent forth His Son. Born

of a woman. Born under law to redeem those who

were under law that we might receive adoption

as sons. And because you are sons and daughters,

I'm putting that in there. God has sent forth

the Spirit of His Son. into your hearts, and

it makes you cry out, Abba, Father! Can you feel

that this morning? Can you feel your heart? Because

if you're redeemed, if you're a child of God,

if you've been forgiven, you're going to meet.

God as somebody different. You might have believed

in a God. You might have believed that he was

out there somewhere. You might have believed

that he was expressed equally just across all

religions. I don't know what you believed, but

when you come to Christ, the Spirit of the living

God, the Spirit of the Son of God comes into

you. Hallelujah. and something changes inside.

God is not just a being anymore. God is not just

out there. He's not just somewhere. No, He is

mine, and I am His, and my heart says of Him,

Abba, Father. Hallelujah. Glory to God. Now,

what does this mean? 1 Peter chapter 1. You just

1 Peter 1 · chapter mention

write these verses down. I'm not going to read

them all. You're taking notes. 1 Peter 1, 17.

When you call God your Father, it causes you

to fear Him. And the fear of the Lord is the

beginning of wisdom. Friends, the creator of

the universe is your Father. And Jesus taught

us to fear him. That's a healthy respect for

God. And it keeps you. The fear of the Lord brings

wisdom. It brings you into deep friendship with

God. Psalm 25 says that God shares his secrets

with people that fear him. And the fear of the

Lord keeps you from giving in to temptation.

In Proverbs 14, 27, you can write that verse

down. God being your father causes you to fear

him. And along those lines, God being your father

causes you to receive correction. And I simply

want to say this. Stop resisting. the correction

of the Father that loves you. Yield to him. Because

in the correction of the Father is life. And

when you keep saying yes to the Father, yes,

Lord, I'll change. Yes, Lord, I'll repent. Yes,

Lord, I'll forgive. Yes, Lord, I'll obey. There's

life in that. The father does not correct you

because he just is controlling. He corrects you

because he loves you. And he's perfect. And I

want to challenge fathers here that have young

kids at home. To seek out how God corrects. He

is patient. He is slow to anger. He is slow to

wrath. He is abounding in mercy and love. And

we need to correct our children with the same

demeanor. God, make me more like you. And so

if God is correcting you and teaching you and

calling you, don't be one that says, well, those

rules are for somebody else. Don't resist the

Father. And then it causes you, friends, to experience

the love and acceptance of God that you never

knew before. Blessed be the Father. Of our Lord

Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual

blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just

as he chose us in him before the foundation of

the world. That we should be holy and without

blame before him and love. Having predestined

us to adoptions as sons by Jesus Christ to himself

according to the good pleasure of his will. I

could spend all day unpacking that passage. But

I hope that you got the message of that passage.

That God has chosen you because he loves you.

And it made him happy to have you on his team.

When we chose sides on the playground as kids,

do you know what kids are? Ruthless. Some of

you remember. Some of you know what it's like.

To have the captain say, okay, you're the last

one. I guess you're on my team. Some of you look

at your father and you think that he merely tolerates

you. Your father, he loves you. He loves you.

I want you to look at the person next to you

and say, the Father loves you. He has asked you

to be on his team because he delighted in it.

And he has not picked you last. And in fact,

we. Somehow, following Christ, who is the firstborn

over all creation, he's the firstborn, but we

have entered into that adoption as sons. And

we can come before the Lord, having been chosen

by him, and say, Father, give me a double portion.

Give me a double portion. Let me be your child.

Let me be your son. Let me be your daughter.

That's who you want me to be. Well, what about

my failure, Pastor? Shouldn't that disqualify

me? The cross behind Brianna is on this platform.

Because the cross qualifies you. Has made you.

I didn't read the most important part of that

Ephesians chapter. I stopped before the end.

But that portion ends by this. He has made us

accepted in the beloved. He's qualified you.

Can we just bow our heads together? So Father,

I just thank you for the people in this room

right now. And I thank you, God, for sons and

daughters of the King whose hearts cry out, Abba.

If you're here this morning and you've really

never received the Lord and you've really never

known God as your father, I want to tell you

we've all been in that place. And what you, all

you need to do is open up your heart to the Lord.

Say, God, can you make me your son? Can you make

me your daughter? Can I be part of the family?

Can I start following Jesus? Can I be your disciple?

When you come before him and just lay your junk

down, we've all got it, and just say, Jesus,

thank you for the cross. I just receive your

gift. And I want to follow after you. If that's

you this morning, just lift up your hand so I

can see it. I want to pray for you. Anybody here

this morning say, Pastor, that's me. Pastor,

that's me. I need to give my life to Christ.

I recognize the gift that he has. Just wait a

moment. There's more of you here. Thank you for

that. Thank you for that. Thank you, Jesus. Thank

you. Anybody else? Anybody else? For these that

have raised their hands right now, can we just

all pray a prayer together to the Lord? And if

this is your first time praying this prayer,

just pray it from your heart. These aren't magic

words, but it's your heart going out to God that

makes the difference. Let's pray together. Dear

Lord Jesus, thank you for the cross. Thank you

for forgiving me. Thank you for making me your

child. Thank you for choosing me, for making

me accepted and a part of your team. Help me

turn away from the old. And help me turn to you.

And help me follow Jesus. Amen. Amen. Can we

give the Lord praise right now? Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. I want to pray one more thing. Because

some of you, even while I'm preaching, you're

feeling something inside. And what you're feeling.

is the healing touch of the Father's heart going

into you. And you want others to pray with you

right now. You just sense that this is the family

of God. And your heart is just saying, Father,

and I want to join with you. I'm not going to

drag this out, but I believe God wants to do

one more work this morning. And if that's you,

if you're just saying, I felt that healing and

I want God to just continue that in my life.

I want you to just raise your hand where you

are. I believe there's a lot of you that God

has been touching. Thank you. Anybody else? Come

on. Come on. Come on. Come on. Thank you. Thank

you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Father.

Can we all stand together? Lord, these that have

raised their hands, I just want to pray over

them right now. And I just want to ask that the

love of the Father will go into them. God, four

or five, six people raised their hands for this

call. And Lord, I just ask that you would continue

the work of healing in their lives. Thank you,

Lord. Thank you, Lord. The worship team is going

to lead us in a song. And anybody that you would

like me to pray with you before you go this morning,

I'm going to just be right down here at the altar.

There's some of you that need prayer. And so

just as we go this morning, hug somebody, bless

somebody, but I want you to come and I want you

to receive prayer. this morning and believe God

to touch your life. Amen.