Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc. When he calls out to me, I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble; I will rescue him and bring him honor. Throughout my entire career, my emphasis was on integrity. I never wanted to be accused of bias, and I never wanted to be charged with giving anything less than my best, no matter whether it was the first week of the season or the last, whether the two teams were fighting for a pennant or whether the game had no meaning in the standings. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:

For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hearken to them; while they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it? Pulpit Commentary Verse 24. - Before they call, I will answer. God is always "more ready to hear than we to pray." In the "new Jerusalem" he will be prompt to answer his people's prayers almost before they are uttered. It is involved in this, as Delitzsch notes, that the will of the people shall be in harmony with the will of Jehovah, and that their prayers will therefore be acceptable prayers.

Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me. No,” said the catcher, who stood up and took off his mask, and the batter slugged him. Before I knew it, both teams were mixing it up on the field. All because there were no umpires. Baseball, you see, isn’t a game you play on the honor system. Not everyone who heard this parable understood what Jesus was talking about. Although the entire multitude heard the same words, different reactions were taking place in those who heard the message. Some did not “hear” the call. Some did hear, but chose not to respond to the call. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them.But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; I’m sharing this so those youngsters who desire to become umpires—or just baseball fans in general who appreciate the intricacies of the game—can understand how I did what I did for as long as I did. I also want them to appreciate how blessed I’ve been to have been allowed to work on the hallowed baseball diamonds across America for so many years.

And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. Jesus told another parable about God’s calling—the parable of the sower. “Behold, a sower [a farmer] went out to sow [plant seed]. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.And my people upon whom my name is called shall be broken, and they will pray and they will beg from before me and they will return from their evil ways, also I shall hear from Heaven and I shall forgive their sins and I shall heal their land. The phrase “Many are called, but few are chosen” comes from a parable (a story with a spiritual lesson) that Jesus told to illustrate the coming Kingdom of God. In the parable of the wedding feast, a king “arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding” (Matthew 22:2-3). Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them. I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.

My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them. During one off-season I went to Baja California looking for an engine for my Model A. I stepped out of my car to ask where the guy who owned the engine lived, and a German shepherd came out of nowhere and tore up my left leg. I had to get twenty-two stitches.

To be sure, God added about 3,000 people to His Church that day, but even so, many others who heard the call chose not to respond. God is calling people in stages