One Christian's View

Believe the Gospel! Mark 1:14-15

2009-04-11T21:37:00.001-04:00

Belief- The On-ramp
The message cannot end here, for if we simply repent, there is still sin in our lives that have not been paid for. It is like the person who is told that he has cancer and at that moment he or she begins a healthy eating and exercise regimen in order to improve their health and to stave off the cancer for a while. The cancer is still there, and it has not been removed. Eventually, all the good food and exercise will not help, because the cancer that was there continues to grow. The cancer must be removed. Many people will get on the off ramp of repentance, and even make some personal changes. But if they never reverse their direction and believe God alone for their salvation, all their past sins will kill them. The past sins must be removed and killed.
Just as the illustrated cancer patient must believe or trust in a doctor to do this, so must we place our trust in God to remove our sins and their penalty-death. In other words, we must believe the Gospel. The word believe used here and other places in relation to the Gospel is translated from the Greek word pisteuo, which means to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit and to place confidence in. This really gives the picture again that we must have not only a mental ascent; that is, we must be persuaded of the facts. In our study of the book of John, we have emphasized that belief in the historical Jesus as presented in the Bible is crucial to salvation. We must be persuaded that Jesus is fully man and fully God, and that he died and was resurrected on the third day for the payment for our sins. (We already discussed last week how we must be convinced of our sins and repent for this to have any meaning for us. ) The cancer patient must fully believe in his condition, and fully trust the doctor before giving the doctor permission to operate. In doing this, we believe the doctor is who He says he is, and trust the diploma on the wall of his office. We must believe God and His Word, and trust Him that He has the ability to remove sin and death through the death, resurrection, and life of Christ.

Emotionally, we are devastated by the news of cancer, but the emotions must motivate us to respond. Many times, when we are warned about our sin, we respond in anger and denial. Our emotions can get in the way of belief, for we must be able to agree with God about his assessment of our condition (also a part of repentance) and use our emotions to move us to act. The Bible speaks about Godly sorrow that leads to repentance, and worldly sorrow that leads to death. Worldly sorrow does not lead to repentance; it may lead to regret that changes us for the length of time it takes the pain to disappear. At the outset of our start in Christ, Godly sorrow leads us to repentance, but also directs us to the Savior in trusting him to remove our guilt and shame. We are placing our confidence that we have in ourselves upon Him.
Finally, belief shows itself in the will. Using the illustration of the patient again, we must not only believe the fact that we have the disease, and trust in the doctor to cure the disease, and use our emotions to move us to act, we must maintain or walk in the cure. A friend of mine recently had a major heart attack. The doctor saved his life, fixed what needed to be fixed, and my friend, glad that he is fixed, is determined to follow the health regimen the doctor gave him. He is going to walk in the cure by following dietary and exercise guidelines given him by the doctor. Now, my friend says he will miss his deserts, but the payoff is far greater. Imperfect illustration aside, we must follow this same thing in the third aspect of saving faith, and that is our verbal and emotional belief must translate into the will. I am not talking about legalism; but our belief must show itself true by the way that we conduct ourselves, how we walk on the new path. The great physician has given us a new heart with new desires, and we must walk in them by the power of the Holy Spirit. Remember, we must bear fruits in keeping with repentance (Matthew 3:8).

1 John 3:19-24 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
This is done through the daily mortification of the flesh and submission to the Spirit of God. It is not easy, and we are not perfect. We still sin even in our belief and full trust in God. And it is a thin line between keeping His commands and legalism. As we walk in communion with God, in submission to Him, it is natural to follow and do what He does.

The Gospel- The New Road!
The way of Jesus is encapsulated in the good news called the Gospel. The Gospel that Paul preached was very simple, and is in 1 Corinthians 15:

15 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

The Gospel Paul preached, the one in which He stood was very simple and very basic. It is given in order of importance: Christ died for our sins. The good news is not very good news if you do not understand the evil from which you have been rescued. In the cancer patient illustration earlier, what if I had gone to that patient, before he was convinced of the disease, and tried to get him to take a very controversial and painful regimen to cure his disease? Well, if he is not convinced of the disease, he will not want the cure. Christ’s death is foolishness to the unregenerate man if that man does not understand why Christ had to die. If he is not convinced of his disease- sin, and the painful consequence, death (eternal damnation), he will not understand the depth of love that was demonstrated on the cross. So, in very first importance Christ died for our sin according to the scriptures.
9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”13“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.”18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Our sins are very clear, and very wicked in God’s holy sight. There is no one righteous. Men believe they are good, mostly compared to other men. But when we see ourselves in the true light of God’s holiness, we must understand that we are wretched before God. We are not righteous, cannot be righteous, and have no desire for righteousness. We love darkness rather than light. The Bible proclaims in this passage that we are worthless, we curse God and men, we lie, we hate, we become angry, we murder. There is definitely no fear of God before our eyes, even though the wages of sin is death.

The Gospel is good news in that God sent Christ to become that sin so that we could be made righteous in Christ.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

This very short verse speaks volumes about what God did for us through Christ. For our sake, God made Christ who never sinned, who knew no sin, nor had any sin in Himself to be sin. That is, God regarded Christ as though He was sin itself. The word sin is the Greek hamartia and the passage of Isaiah

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

He did this on our behalf, thus Christ became our substitute. He bore the wrath of God that we deserved for our sins. He became sin for us, he bore our sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God. But yet, in order for this to be transferred to our account, we must look to God to take our sin and to grant us righteousness. All too many of us try to gain God’s favor and gain righteousness when we cannot possibly do so.

Also of first importance was that he was buried. He bore the wrath of God for our sins, and the human Christ died. He was crushed under the wrath of God for our iniquities, and he was buried. But that was not the end of the story. Because (also of first importance), he was raised again on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. It is the resurrection that proved that God accepted the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. It was proof positive that Jesus was who He said He was. And it was proof positive that we who are in Christ have the same hope.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
If Christ was not resurrected from the dead, Paul argues, we have no hope. In fact, Christians are to be pitied above all others! But because God did raise Him from the dead, it proves the power (dunamis) of the Gospel. The power of the Gospel saves- it saves us from sin (justification) and of death (redemption). Our sin is transferred to Christ, and his righteousness is placed in our account. But the power of the Gospel does not end there, for it is the power of God for we who are being saved (1 Cor 15:2), which is the process of sanctification. The same power that justifies us and redeems us makes us into the image of Christ. Finally, one day, we will experience the resurrection power as we are saved (glorified). The power of the Gospel is the same power which resurrected Jesus from the dead, ( 1 Corinthians 15)and it is the same power that causes Christians to be made righteous, who were once children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3, 1 Corinthians 10:9-12) pass from death to life, to become new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

Have you repented (changed your mind) and believed (with your whole self) in the Gospel? I do not know the order of things, I do know that God grants you both faith and repentance. I know that God gives us a changing of our mind to place our trust in Christ for our salvation and a changing of our thoughts, our desires, our very way of life. This is the Gospel, and it is an everyday reality and way of life for the true believer.

How do we get on the Way of Jesus? Mark 1

2009-04-08T09:02:00.000-04:00

As I was reflecting on the message this past week, knowing that it is in many traditions Palm Sunday- that is we are looking at the triumphal entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem with all the people shouting Hosannah! I began to think about the road that he Had travelled that led him straight to this place where, on the following Friday, He would give Himself to be crucified to pay the penalty for our sins. This road, this way was orchestrated by God in eternity past so that we could be reconciled to Him. Jesus was making the way, indeed he is the Way (John 14:6) for us to be able to be reconciled to God. Jesus is also called the Door (John 10:6) by which we must enter into the kingdom of heaven (Luke 13:24). Indeed, only he can open this door and place us on the Way.

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

So, I got to thinking, how is it that we find this narrow way, this straight gate? How is it that we get on to join Jesus on the road to the Kingdom of God? It brought me back to the book of Mark, chapter 1, speaking about of all people, John the Baptist. I remembered his mission:

2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,  who will prepare your way,3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’”

John was sent to prepare the way of the Lord...he was sent to hetoimazo-prepare. The picture is of a ancient custom of a servant that went before a King on a path to make sure that it was passable by that king. What did John do in order to made the way passable for Jesus who was coming? What is the way that man can make Jesus’ way passable? What are the necessary preparations that we must make for the kingdom of God to become a reality in our lives? Well, when Jesus says He is the way, and we are to walk on this way- hodos- the literal translation is road. But it also means a course of conduct, a way of thinking, feeling, and deciding. How do we transfer from our way- the way that we think, the way we feel, the way that we decide, our very way that we live our lives, our conduct- to the way of Jesus, the way John was sent to prepare? Well, the answer is found in the very next verse:

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

John prepared the way by proclaiming (kerusso) a baptism of repentance (metanoia) for the forgiveness of sins. Repentance of this sort (Metanoia) is a change of mind, a turning around of something he has done, a style of life, or a way of thinking. John made the way straight for the Lord by proclaiming that we must change our way- the path we are on- by changing our mind, our path to be in line with the way of the Lord. The proof of this change of mind was a baptism of repentance; a public proclamation that they had changed their minds. Indeed, baptism was a regular event for Jews who desired to be ceremonially clean. This is what Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus when he said one must be born of water and the Spirit. The water is symbolic of cleansing, of baptism. . This cleansing weaves its way throughout the Gospels- the theme of the starting point of repentance. Even in this chapter, Jesus himself preached repentance:

14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

So Jesus is agreeing with the message of John, the way to approach the way and get on the way is to repent and believe the Gospel. Jesus uses the same word- metanoeo- for repentance, pisteuo for believe, and euaggellion- the Gospel. We will spent the remainder of our time together today examining these words and concepts, for if we desire to walk in the way of Jesus, and enter into the kingdom of God, we must enter in through that door which has been provided, which is Christ Jesus.

Repentance- the off ramp
Using the road illustration, repentance is the off ramp by which we get off of the road we are on. There are two greek words that are translated repentance. Metanoeo is the type which leads to salvation, metamellomai is a worldly sorrow, a temporary sorrow that is directly related to consequences. It is the type of repentance that I see most often in the world today, and it is not wrought in God. If we continue in the illustration, metamellomai is getting off the road, but then getting right back on the on-ramp in the same direction. The type of repentance that is called for that pleases God, indeed that is wrought in God, is metanoeo, a complete change of direction.

Saving repentance , like saving belief, deals in all three aspects of our human makeup. Saving repentance deals with our mind, our emotions, and our will. The first is our mind, where we agree with God about our direction. I liken it to my GPS system in my car. When I am trying to go to a place and my GPS is on, and I take a detour, the GPS warns me and insists that I change direction. Now, I want to go one way, but the stated destination being what it is, it seems that I am traveling the wrong way. The GPS warns me and shows me the way to get back on the path to my destination. The way I agree with it is to turn around and get back on the path. I must agree with the direction, and go that direction in order to get to my desired destination. If our destination is the kingdom of God, we must agree with God on how to get there, and adjust our path accordingly. We must agree with God as to his assessment of our current path.

It is the kindness, first and foremost, that is to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4) This kindness is expressed in the creation, in the provision of air, food, clothing, housing, health. The greatest kindness is something we are not aware of, however, until we are aware of our need of and God’s provision for our redemption. We have a built in GPS that God has put into each one of us, the conscience. We have God’s basic law written on each of our hearts. It warns us when we do something against that law. Unfortunately, many of us turn that off when it warns us against that which we desire to do. We must come to a place where we fear God and the eternal consequences of breaking his law. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. If our mind does not fear or reverence God, no change will ever come about.. If there is no knowledge of sin, its penalty, and who it offends, we cannot and will not agree with God or change our mind. If we do not know that we have offended God by our disobedience, we will not understand his kindness in sending Christ to die In that sense, if our mind is not changed regarding sin and our very nature, we will never agree of our need for repentance and we will continue on the broad road that leads to destruction.

This is why we speak directly to the conscience when we witness. So many people have turned off the built in warning system, or have at least muted it so that they can enjoy their sin for a season. The use of the law helps break the hard heart, and is appropriate when dealing with all sorts of unregenerate sinners:

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine

So it is that the use of the law is appropriate in addressing the sinner, making them aware of their sin so that they can experience the grace of repentance in their lives. Without this knowledge of sin, and of who the sin offends, and the penalty for sin, we are unlikely to change the road we are on. When we are in the flesh, controlled by the flesh, we cannot do what the Spirit desires. This is why we need to change our mind about sin.

The second aspect which saving repentance deals with is our emotions. Voddie Baucham spoke on this at the True Church conference we attended last month. Brokenness, he stated, is the place where we are able to see what will happen in we keep going down the road we are on. It is the place where we are crushed by God under the weight of our sin. The unfortunate problem is, like our GPS, we are quick to unplug this warning system, because it sometimes manifests itself in anxiety, depression, and other medical maladies for which we can simply take a pill to numb the pain. This is not to say there are no legitimate medical conditions; it is to say that we do not like pain and sometimes that is what God uses to warn us. That said, there is a type of sorrow that is not reflective of the type of repentance that leads to saving faith. It is called metamellomai, and it is a repentance to ones self, or regret. This comes often as a result of fear of repercussions or earthly consequences. There is often sorrow, but it does not lead to a change of behavior, a forsaking of sin in the long run. The sorrow that is wrought by God works repentance that changes the mind and drives a person to Christ.

2 Cor 7:10 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

All that the grief of the world can produce is death, for it does not result in a saving faith in Christ. Temporary regret, even apologizing for sins committed against others and God , is insufficient. Repentance must involve grief given us by God, and is characterized by metanaeo-a change of mind. The brokenness described by David in psalm 51 is a good place to start. A broken and contrite heart God will not despise. An awareness of the sin, whom it offends, and the breaking of the relationship is too much to bear for one who loves God. For one who does not yet love God, this awareness, this brokenness, must be provided by God. This leads to a change of life, indeed a change of desire to reverse our old way of life and live for God, bringing our conduct in line with His word.

This is where the all-important will comes in. The mind can understand that the behavior is wrong, and can feel regret. We can even weep and mourn over our sin, but fall back into the same habit. In Matthew 3, John the Baptist recognized those who would have an outward appearance of repentance, even a desire to be cleansed in a ritual baptism. He demanded more:

Matthew 3:8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

We must bear fruit, in other words, there must be an actual change of life. Repentance is a grace of God, a part of salvation, therefore, as we are justified, indeed as we are redeemed and are being brought into sanctification, our very lifestyle changes as a result of the inward change that God has wrought in our lives. Our actions match the inward reality. This is not preached very often today, as Paul did in Acts:
Acts 26: 19-20
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance

This is where the rubber hits the road, where we make daily choices to walk according to the flesh or walk according to the Spirit. This is where we know if we have died to self and now live to God, or if we are just living a lie. In this sense, Repentance is like sanctification. We repent and turn from our sin, and turn towards God. When he justifies us, he accepts our repentance unto faith. But repentance is a continual process by which the Holy Spirit will reveal sin in our life, and we must choose to repent of it. In a very real way, as repentance is part of salvation, so it is a very real part of sanctification. As we turn away from who we are in the flesh, we are made me in the image of Jesus.

The Paschal Discourse, Part 3- Will you eat?

2009-03-01T07:29:00.002-05:00

We enter today into God’s Word, into the middle of this paschal discourse of Jesus Christ, where Jesus is teaching a large group of people the truth about the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, and the miracle of walking on water. Indeed, these miracles, these signs point to Jesus Christ as the one true Son of God. But the people did not believe, indeed the people grumbled against Jesus because they could only see and understand earthly things.
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus made the claim that he is the bread of life, the true bread from heaven, and that he came down from heaven. He made the radical claim that if they would only look to him and believe on Him (verse 40) they would be saved. But these men who were following Jesus at this time could not and would not believe. They believed on a limited view of who Jesus was. Yes, he was a miracle worker, a prophet, one approved by God. But that was it; he was only a man, a son of Joseph and Mary, born like the rest of us. Like many today who question scripture, these folks wished to tear down and argue rather than just believe. I think of Rob Bell, a modern emergent author who, in his book Velvet Elvis, questioned the importance of the virgin birth. Well, in this instance, we see that it is VERY important, for these men could only see the physical parents of Jesus and it blinded them to his teaching about himself. He could indeed say he came down from heaven, because he was the only begotten of the Father, sent directly through Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; not by the will of man but by God. But they could not see that as possible, for even in searching the scriptures about Messiah they were blind to who He was.
43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.
You see, they were focused on the temporal. They wanted their bellies to be filled, and they were not happy with the way that Jesus answered them, nor were they satisfied with the fact that He was not the prophet that they were expecting. So, like their fathers in the wilderness did before them, they grumbled and they complained against Him. They only recognized him as the Son of Joseph and Mary, a common man. But, he was not the prophet, nor was He a common man; He was God Himself and recognized their grumbling towards Him. The Father did not draw them, so they could not possibly recognize Him for who He was in truth. One-way of knowing that was the way that they responded to Him. They did not recognize Him from the signs he did, or the words He spoke. The reason? They had not been taught by God, nor had they recognized the teaching that God had given them through His Word. They had not seen God, as Christ had, for if they had seen God in His Word, they would have believed on the One He sent.
They all related to the manna in the wilderness, for this was one of the great stories of their faith. This is part of the exodus from Egypt, the salvation of the people of Israel by God through Moses. They thought that Jesus was the Prophet like Moses that would lead them out from under the rule of the Romans and restore their land to them. But it was not Moses who gave the Manna, nor was it Moses who rescued them; it was God. However, they were focused on Moses, and so Jesus had to reprove their thinking, to correct their misconceptions. Yes, the manna came from heaven, but it was just physical bread that satisfied for a day. It had to be gathered daily, just enough for that day, or it would rot. Everybody that ate that bread eventually died, like any other human being. Jesus Christ is superior to that bread, for in consuming Him (so to speak) you will live for eternity.
Here is the proposition for you today; who is Jesus to you? Is he merely the son of Mary and Joseph, a prophet, a great teacher? Are you satisfied with the bread of this world, and even the bread that we find in so many different churches and ministries today that teach an incomplete Jesus? Or are you in pursuit of the Bread of Life, the only bread that truly satisfies? Do you believe what He says about Himself? If you do, stay with me and dig deeper into his Word with me this morning.
(6) The watchword of the Kingdom is not self-satisfaction, but self-sacrifice.
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
As usual, we see Jesus here use the natural (bread/flesh and eating) to illustrate a spiritual truth. And people without eyes to see and ears to hear, in other words, those not taught (verse 45) by God will not be able to receive or understand this teaching. It is a difficult one, to be sure, for it is repulsive to our sensibilities. But in it lies ultimate truth; that Jesus Christ gave Himself first by coming from heaven, condescending to us, becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us. Then, he gave Himself by striving with men to show Himself for who He was while He walked on this earth. Finally, he gave Himself willingly as a sacrifice for sin for all mankind. This is the meaning of the loaves: Jesus Christ, the One from God came to this earth and was broken once for all for the sin of all mankind. All who will believe (eat) and look to Him, as the One sent from God will have their hunger for God satisfied in Christ. The Bread of Life gave himself for the life of the world. Jesus did not come to fill our bellies; He came to save our very soul. We must look to Him alone in order to be saved.
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
Jesus Christ had life in him, and He had the authority to give up his life and the authority to take it up again. The Jewish leaders did not understand this; they were focused on the natural and not the spiritual meaning of Jesus’ words. They were also blinded to who Jesus was in truth; the one and the only Son of the living God. So, in verse 53, Jesus re teaches the shocking words. The key word is life- for Jesus is life. His life is the light of men. We can obtain this life, but, as Jesus has made it very clear in this passage, this life comes only from God. This does not mean that these folks must physically eat his flesh, nor does it teach that somehow the communion meal later instituted would mystically or otherwise become actual flesh and blood. The spiritual meaning of eat is to believe in Him, especially in who he is and in his atoning death for mankind. The verses go on to teach that we should feed on this; that is, our trust in this sacrifice should be constant, we should not try and feed on anything else for salvation such as works of self righteousness. To drink his blood is to trust fully in the shed blood of Christ for our atonement. For those who will believe and trust, pisteuo, Jesus Christ will grant them eternal life in Him.
If we go on believing and trusting in our own good works, this is like those who ate of the manna, which was but a shadow of the true Bread from heaven. This food was temporary, having to be gathered daily, and any left over would spoil. Our works, no matter how frequent and admired by the world, have a temporary nature like the manna from heaven. This bread can only satisfy temporarily. Like the sacrificial system that was in place in the Old Testament, the blood of animals shed was simply a temporary cover-up for sin. It was a shadow, which pointed to Christ, but was not sufficient to pay the penalty for sin. Under the old system, the works of the law could only produce death. Grace is to be had by faith, faith alone in Christ the true bread from heaven. That faith is demonstrated by belief in who Jesus says he is, changing our minds to agree with what God says about us, and obedience to His Word and His will for our lives. This is ‘eating his flesh and drinking his blood’. And the result of feeding on Jesus in this way is eternal life in Him, granted by the Father.
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” 61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? 62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
There are obviously two possible responses to the truth being proclaimed here, the first by a larger group of disciples who were following Jesus. They could not even listen to it. Was it that they were so disappointed that he was not the prophet that they were looking for? Was it because they interpreted what He was saying literally? We do not know, but what we do know is that there was an offense that they took, for Jesus perceived it. He even perceived part of the reason; for they could not believe that he was from above. His answer- what if I ascended to where I was before, and you were witnesses? He reproves their understanding again. The flesh- their will, their mind, their intellect, indeed, their very human nature could not produce spiritual life. The only way to produce spiritual life is to get it from God. There is nothing in ourselves that can or even desires to produce spiritual life! This life is one which is described by the Greek word Zoopoieo (dzo-op-oy-eh'-o) which means that the words Jesus spoke, upon believing in them can impart spiritual life. This is a quickening, like the dry bones spoken to by Ezekiel. We are dead in trespasses and sins, but when Jesus speaks to us, if we hear his voice and respond, we will be quickened unto eternal life. Jesus spoke these words of truth; within his very words were spirit and life, and what they had to do was to believe. There were some who simply refused to believe, for the Father did not grant them that ability. Jesus demonstrates that He is God once again, for He and only He has the ability to discern their thoughts. He also knows the future, for He knows the one that will betray Him.

67 So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” 70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil.” 71 He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him.

The other response, demonstrated here by the twelve, is to believe. Peter, taking his role as a leader among equals, responds on their behalf. Lord (Kurios) to whom shall we go? The Greek for Lord is Kurios, and it has a meaning of ‘he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord the possessor and disposer of a thing
the owner; one who has control of the person, the master in the state: the sovereign, prince, chief. Lord is a title of honor expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants greet their master. This title is given to: God, the Messiah. What Peter was saying to Jesus was really expressed in this one word, but Peter goes on. Jesus was the One who had the words of eternal life. Peter recognized that Jesus’ very words brought life. There is no other place we can go, Peter says, to hear these words of life; there is no way that we can have this life in ourselves! And it appears that the disciples have received this life, for they, through Peter, confirm his testimony. They believe on Him, and in him, as Peter goes on and testifies that Jesus is God Himself by calling him the Holy One of God. God, for throughout the Old Testament is called the Holy One of Israel. Peter again was testifying that Jesus Christ was who He said He was; God Himself, in the flesh.
Jesus acknowledged their testimony by saying that he had chosen them. The question is, has he chosen you? One sure way of finding this out is do you believe? For, as those who departed when the teaching got hard, they could not understand the things of God because God had not drawn them. If God is drawing you, He will give you illumination to know what His Word says concerning Jesus. There is also the problem of Judas, who had heard all the words of Jesus and walked with Him, yet betrayed Him at the end. We can have all the knowledge, yet if we do not respond in belief- pisteuo- we will ultimately betray our faith, as did Judas. So the question is, have you received this life? If God is drawing you to Himself, do not fail to respond to Him in repentance and faith.

The Paschal Discourse John 6:22 ff

2009-02-15T08:22:00.002-05:00

22 On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. 23 Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

In my last message, we observed two miracles that were to give those present and we who read of the event a picture of who Jesus was in truth. By being there and by seeing the loaves and the fishes multiplied, as well as Jesus’ command over the natural world, we should be able to conclude that he was who He said He was, God in the very flesh. These signs also set up the discourse or sermon that Jesus will preach in the remainder of this chapter, all centered on the statement that “I AM the bread of life”

The very set-up for the discourse on the bread of life is the fact that Jesus had to escape a crowd that believed he was the Prophet, and not the very Son of God. They believed he was the deliverer- the prophet like Moses- that would help them get out from under Roman rule. Unfortunately, many Jews at the time of Jesus were waiting and seeking after a completely different Messiah than that what God intended and ultimately sent to them. The messianic kingdom for which the Jews waited was completely materialistic. Edersheim describes it this way:

"What they waited for, was a Kingdom of God—not in righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost, but in meat and drink—a kingdom with miraculous wilderness banquets to Israel, and of coarse miraculous triumphs over the Gentiles. Not to speak of the fabulous Messianic banquet which a sensuous realism expected, or of the achievements for which it looked, every figure in which prophets had clothed the brightness of those days was first literalized, and then exaggerated, till the most glorious poetic descriptions became the most repulsively incongruous caricatures of spiritual Messianic expectancy. The fruit trees were every day, or at least every week or two, to yield their riches, the fields their harvests; the grain was to stand like palm trees, and to be reaped and winnowed without labor. Similar blessings were to visit the vine; ordinary trees would bear little fruit trees, and every produce, of every clime, would be found in Palestine in such abundance and luxuriance as only the wildest imagination could conceive

The Jews, along with those who followed after Jesus, in large part were there because they believed that He would fulfill their imagined desire of what Messiah was supposed to be. They were filled with the expectation that not only would He take the foot of the Romans off of their neck, but Messiah would also provide them with unlimited food and drink and comforts in this life that they could only imagine. They, like many today, were concerned with the temporary comforts of this life. This even hearkens back to the woman at the well, who sought after physical comforts at no personal cost. Jesus had to change their perceptions and correct their misconceptions about who He was and why He came. Thus began this discourse on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, summarized by six points:*

(1) The issue is not one of physical bread, but spiritual.

25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.”

Jesus cut to the quick with those who had come across the sea to seek him. He exposed their motives with these cutting words, again emphasizing that they followed him for the wrong reasons. They had not seen the signs- many of them did witness the signs, but they did not see. They did not see the signs for what they were for; to point to Jesus and reveal Him in truth as the Messiah. They were stuck on the physical, the temporal. They, like many of us, sought only to get their bellies full so to speak. They were focused on the things that were temporary and not eternal. Jesus confronted them in this behavior. Do not seek after food that perishes; do not just look to get your bellies full. Look to me and be satisfied unto eternal life! He is approved by God Himself, the proof is in the words that he speaks, the signs that he performs, and the shaded glory that those in His presence observed.

28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”

They (the Jews) were stuck on the physical works that they could do in order to to gain God’s favor. They still believed that by following the works of the Law that they could please God. We know this because of their response to Jesus’ answer to them:

(2) Christ's Kingdom was not one established by the good works of (as Israel supposed), but on the basis of faith (verse 29).

29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Jesus repeats the idea that the only work that is acceptable to God is no work at all, but faith. Jesus has identified Himself as God repeatedly, and the signs he did proved again He was God. In John 3:14-18, He calls on all mankind to do the work of looking to Him, the One that the Father sent, to be saved. The wrong idea that the Jews had at this time is shared by many today; this idea that there is some sort of work that pleases God, that the more people we help, the more money we give, the more religious acts we do, the more that we please God. Jesus was correcting this error for them and for us. The only work that pleases God is the work that has been accomplished on the cross on our behalf, performed by the sinless Son of God, Jesus Christ. What we must do is to look to Him by faith. We must believe God and demonstrate it by believing His Son.

(3) Christ came not as a spectacular wonder worker but as the wonder.

30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Herein lied the problem; this was truly a wicked and perverse generation, always looking for a sign. We are guilty of the very same thing; we look to Jesus not so much for what he has done for us, rather, for what he can do for us on the physical and temporal level. Jesus Christ indeed did many incredible works and signs in front of people, but that was not his purpose in coming. The signs were to point to Him and prove who He was; He was the Son of God. He was the one that the signs pointed to. The signs just lent credibility as a source of proof that Jesus was who He said He was.

32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

Jesus was superior to Moses, indeed Moses did not produce the bread that their forefathers had in the wilderness, God provided this manna from heaven. In the same way, Jesus is not the miracle worker; He is the miracle. He is the bread of God who comes into the world to give life to those in the world. This bread is superior, for those who ate the bread in the wilderness still died, yet the Bread God provided was to give eternal life to the world. Jesus Christ is that bread:

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.

The fact that Jesus was the bread provided by God to give eternal life was made abundantly clear by the teachings and by the signs that He did. The people who eat this bread will have their spiritual longing for God (represented by hunger and thirst) satisfied in Christ. Jesus was superior to Moses as well, because he is the I AM (Exodus 3:14) that Moses stood before on the mountain who identified Himself thus. But not everyone will sit down and eat, for not all will believe. Not all will look to God to have their eternal life provided for them. They will look to their own goodness to be saved. Many hear the words of Jesus, many saw his signs, still many more have read eyewitness accounts of these signs, yet they will not believe. The reason is made clear in the following verses:

(4) Those who are to enter Christ's Kingdom do so by means of election and divine drawing.

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.

The people could not believe, that is, come to a saving faith unless God gave them to Jesus. In other words, being Born Again is not a human decision. It is ultimately an act of God. Nobody comes to Christ, or ‘receives’ Christ because they one day were pushed or encouraged to pray a prayer. They are born again out of an act of God drawing them to Jesus and bringing them to repentance and saving faith. And the promise is that all that God will bring Christ will save and raise them up on the last day. Jesus Christ is 100 % efficient at saving and raising those who are drawn to Him by His Father’s act of drawing. Unfortunately, many of those who He was speaking to and many today are blinded by their own self-righteousness and pride and unable to hear the still small voice. They reject Christ, not because He is unattractive, but because they love their sin.

(5) The Kingdom of our Lord is not merely for the present, but also for eternity.

40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Many people today have a hard time grasping this simple truth, or they are simply changing the truth for a lie that they perceive in their own mind. Today, people with pride will say that they are more concerned with social justice issues to make the world a better place. They claim that this is the whole of what we are supposed to do as believers. But the truth is that we are saved and transformed for eternity. This is something that begins today, and the benefit of it can and should extend to others as we walk as salt and light to the world. When Jesus changes us, it is not for our temporary benefit. It is for eternity! And our role on this earth is not to make it a better place to got to hell from; our role is to proclaim the good news that others can be saved! The Jews held this same perception, and could not see eternity for the temporary trees in front of them.

41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die.

You see, they were focused on the temporal. They wanted their bellies to be filled, and they were not happy with the way that Jesus answered them, nor were they satisfied with the fact that He was not the prophet that they were expecting. So, like their fathers in the wilderness did before them, they grumbled and they complained against Him. They only recognized him as the Son of Joseph and Mary, a common man. But, he was not the prophet, nor was He a common man; He was God Himself and recognized their grumbling towards Him. The Father did not draw them, so they could not possibly recognize Him for who He was in truth. One-way of knowing that was the way that they responded to Him. They did not recognize Him from the signs he did, or the words He spoke. The reason? They had not been taught by God, nor had they recognized the teaching that God had given them through His Word. They had not seen God, as Christ had, for if they had seen God in His Word, they would have believed on the One He sent.

They all related to the manna in the wilderness, for this was one of the great stories of their faith. This is part of the exodus from Egypt, the salvation of the people of Israel by God through Moses. They thought that Jesus was the Prophet like Moses that would lead them out from under the rule of the Romans and restore their land to them. But it was not Moses who gave the Manna, nor was it Moses who rescued them; it was God. However, they were focused on Moses, and so Jesus had to correct their misconceptions. Yes, the manna came from heaven, but it was just physical bread that satisfied for a day. It had to be gathered daily, just enough for that day, or it would rot. Everybody that ate that bread eventually died, like any other human being. Jesus Christ is superior to that bread, for in consuming Him (so to speak) you will live for eternity.

Here is the proposition for you today; Who is Jesus to you? Are you satisfied with the bread of this world, and even the bread that we find in so many different churches and ministries today? Or are you in pursuit of the Bread of Life, the only bread that truly satisfies? This brings up our final point:

(6) The watchword of the Kingdom is not self-satisfaction, but self-sacrifice.

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

And this is the ultimate truth; that Jesus Christ gave Himself first by coming from heaven, condescending to us, becoming flesh and making His dwelling among us. Then, he gave Himself by striving with men to show Himself for who He was while He walked on this earth. Finally, he gave Himself willingly as a sacrifice for sin for all mankind. This is the meaning of the loaves: Jesus Christ, the One from God came to this earth and was broken once for all for the sin of all mankind. All who will believe and look to Him, as the One sent from God will have their hunger for God satisfied in Christ. The Bread of Life gave himself for the life of the world.
Jesus did not come to fill our bellies; He came to save our very soul.

Look to Him and be saved.

Four Witnesses- John 5:30-47

2009-02-01T09:06:00.001-05:00

John wrote His Gospel, as he states in His own words: 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. As we examined in these last few verses, Jesus Christ gave testimony that God was His Father, and, as the Son of God and the Son of Man, he is not only equal with God, He is God. At this point, however, despite the fact that He spoke with authority, his witness about himself could not be held as true standing alone. Jesus knew this, as he spoke in verses 30-31:

30 “I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 31 If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.

In antiquity, and even today, a statement to law enforcement and to a judge needs to be corroborated by other witnesses. For the Jews, there needed to be two witnesses to establish the guilt or innocence of another party. For this reason, Jesus went to great lengths to use external sources as witnesses that He was who He said He was. The purpose is deeper than simply to establish innocence; it goes to proving who He says He is and establishing the world as guilty before God for rejecting His messiah. As we will examine in the following verses, Jesus had more than enough testimony from outside sources to establish that He was indeed who He said He was. And the marvelous thing about Jesus’ witnesses was that the Jews did not only hold them in high esteem; they were unimpeachable.

1. John the Baptist 5:32–36; cf. 1:7–8, 15, 19, 32–34; 3:26

32 There is another who bears witness about me, and I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.
34 Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John.

In verse 32, it would seem that Jesus is speaking about John, and even his listeners may have assumed this from the context of the following verses. But the Greek seems to say that He is speaking in coded reference about God. But verse 33 -36 speak very clearly about John as a primary witness about Jesus. At the time of Jesus’ testimony before these Jews, the jury was still out on John so to speak, so his testimony did not bear the full weight that it does today. John (the writer) spoke about what John the Baptist had to say in chapter 1:
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 15 John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me. 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

John, a human being empowered by the Holy Spirit, gave testimony about Jesus Christ. We see in Chapter one that John was sent from God, that he came as a witness to prepare people for Jesus’ coming, he was not the light, but a witness-bearer. He saw testimony from God Himself as to who Jesus was. John always testified that he was not the Christ, but rather a voice in the wilderness.
Jesus points out that John is a mere man, and uses the illustration of John being a lamp. The difference between a lamp and the light is that the lamp is temporary; in this culture its use was limited to the amount of oil. (In verse 35 it seems that John’s time has run out; he may be in prison or even dead at this time). John’s witness about Jesus was relatively small, and temporary, like a lamp. He enjoyed some success in his ministry, and for a while, the people accepted his ministry and rejoiced in it. Many received his testimony about Christ as John pointed to Him. John even pointed a number of his own disciples to Jesus. But for all of his work, John’s testimony is not the one that stands out, for he is but a man. Jesus has greater witness than even that of John.

2. Jesus' own works 5:36; cf. 10:25, 32, 37–38; 15:24

For the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

Jesus’ miraculous works also bear witness about who He is. These works were good in nature in that they benefited those people for whom they were done. The works brought glory to God, as good works should. But their miraculous nature proved that Jesus was more than mere man. Look at chapter 10:

25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me 2 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?”
37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.”

His works were of the nature that there could be no doubt that he was God. In our study thus far we have seen Him change water to wine, raise the son of a roman official without even seeing him, bringing complete healing to a paralytic, and bringing salvation to the Samaritan woman. When we observe the Gospels, there are many more testimonies of complete healing, feeding 5000 with two loaves and a fish, calming storms, catching fish where there were none, and raising Lazarus from the dead. Jesus asks these Jews in Chapter 10 point blank for which of these works from the Father are you going to stone me? Jesus was stating that these works pointed clearly to the fact that God was His Father and that He was equal with God; in other words He was who he said he was. Denying the works that he did in the name of the Father is the same as denying the Father; another reason Jesus is right to judge them and declare them guilty.

15:24 if I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.

This passage really connects to part of the theme of John; the desire of Christ and of John is that people would look at the testimony of Jesus’ life and His works and would believe in Jesus and in God the Father who sent Him. However, the very works that Jesus did as a testimony to draw people to the Father through Him left the unbelieving guilty before God. The same rule is in effect today as we proclaim the Gospel. Those who hear the Gospel are making a decision with eternal consequences. If they will not believe the Gospel, they will be condemned, for they despised the sacrifice that Jesus accomplished on their behalf and God the Father who sent His Son. It is also why we must be careful in living and in presenting the Gospel in a complete manner, for we do not want to be held accountable for the blood of those who reject Christ. The final goal is that in all the works that we do would bring glory to God so that many would see and fear and put their trust in Him.

3. God the Father 5:37–38, 40-44; 8:18

37 And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, 38 and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

God the Father has borne witness about Jesus as well, in the writings of the Old Testament, God the Father gives a blueprint of what His Messiah will look like. From Genesis to Malachi, Jesus Christ is identified very clearly. This is the Father’s testimony! Immediately, as we enter the time of the New Testament, we see God’s testimony first to John the Baptist in stating that the Messiah, the Lamb of God, would be the one on which the holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, would rest after his baptism. God the Father also bore witness in the miraculous works that Jesus did in his Father’s name. Paul in Colossians 1:15 says that Jesus is the image of His Father. John in the 1st chapter of this Gospel says that

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So, just as my sons are in my image, it is very clear that Jesus, being full of grace and truth (quite the opposite from normal humankind) was the image of His Father. There also seemed, as John testified, a manifestation of glory that identified Jesus. This is the same word that describes God’s presence in the holiest of holies, the same presence that shone on Moses’ face after He had been in the presence of God.

In verse 38, we see Jesus making a striking and harsh judgment about his hearers: That in not seeing Him as the Messiah, God’s one and only Son, they do not have God’s Word abiding in them. He goes on to say that they do not have the love of God in them.

8:18 I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

Indeed, if God the Father bore witness about Jesus, and the hearers refused to hear, and were blinded by their own self-righteous pride, then they were going to be condemned. Jesus brought the offer of life to the Jews, but they refused his offer (v. 40). But it is not just life that they are rejecting; they are rejecting God the Father because they refused to believe the one He has sent (v.38). When people reject the Jesus Christ today, they are rejecting the very same thing. God, in His infinite kindness sent Jesus Christ that mankind would not be condemned for their sin and their rebellion. But as the Jews rejected this offer of life, so do many people today. Jesus Christ came in the name of the Father (v.43) meaning that he came in the authority of God as well as represented the very image and character of God. But people would rather follow those religions and men that come in their own name because the God of this world has blinded them to the truth (v.44) There have been and will continue to be people and religions that come in the name of God that are more attractive to the world than is Christ. They desire the favor and attractiveness of a man and the approval of others rather than the approval of God. (44) In their rejection of this gift of God they will find their deserved condemnation.

4. The Scriptures, by Moses 5:39, 45–47

39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 45 do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”

So, at least in those who truly searched the scriptures with an open heart towards God could see Jesus as the promised Messiah. The problem was with the Jews of this time and the people who are blinded in our time is that they sometimes miss the point. They search the scriptures in hopes that in them is some sort of secret to eternal life, and yet fail to see the clear witness to the Messiah, Jesus Christ. They search the scriptures perhaps with others in mind in terms of behavior instead of themselves. They are those who have a log in their eye and are trying to clean out the speck in someone else’s eye. They search the scriptures to build evidence for their own conclusions. They search for ways to live by the letter rather than by the Spirit of the law, and to be self-justified. In reading the scripture with wrong motives, the Jews really missed the point. We can also miss the point if we are not careful.

As mentioned before, the very scriptures from Genesis to Malachi proclaim the coming Messiah. But the Jews focused on the Pentateuch, written by Moses. Even there, the Messiah is clearly seen and testified to.

Deut. 18:15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—

Indeed, the entire five books of the Pentateuch are filled with types and shadows of Jesus Christ. The most famous one, the Passover where a lamb is slaughtered and the angel of death passes over those who have the blood of the lamb on the doorposts is a very specific type and shadow, as is the entire sacrificial system (see Leviticus). Jesus is the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world. As mentioned in John 3, Moses lifted up a serpent on a pole so that those who would look to it would be healed. This is another type and shadow of Jesus, used by Jesus to illustrate what He would do to save the world. The apostles recognized these types and shadows in the writings of Moses very clearly as Jesus Christ (See Acts 3:22, 7:37) and even in his testimony to Nathanael, Philip noted this:

John 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”

In this Chapter, Jesus makes the claim to be the Son of God, the Messiah. He lays out clear and compelling evidence of the testimony of John the Baptist, his own works, God the Father, and the Scriptures, specifically found in the Pentateuch. The Jews, in large part, did not accept what Jesus had to say, and made the determination to kill him. In large part to this day, people will accept their own made-up view of who Jesus is, and how He ought to look, but they will not take Jesus at His word and the evidences found in scripture. What are you going to do with Jesus? Have you seen enough evidence to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?

Jesus claims He is God John 5:17-29

2009-01-25T08:26:00.002-05:00

Jesus Christ was confronted by the Jews, (a general term for the leaders of the Jews, likely made up of those in the Sanhedrin, lawyers, religious leaders, and scribes) because He had healed a lame man on the Sabbath. But when he was confronted, he did something much worse in the eyes of these Jews. He made Himself out to be equal with God. And here begins the public and verbal proclamation of Jesus Christ as to whom He was and what He came to do. Now the Jews, and we, must decide what Jesus is. Either he was a liar, a deceiver who had some sort of god complex, or a lunatic believing He was something and someone He was not, and had some sort of death wish, for in this culture to claim equality with God was blasphemy. The last option is that he was Lord; which would mean that He was exactly who he said he was. We must each make that decision for ourselves as we look into the scripture:

15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him. 16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working. 18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but also he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

The first claim of Jesus is made in conjunction with his healing of the paralytic, in answering the Jews as to why He would heal on the Sabbath. As we learned last week, the Sabbath command was for man, indeed even the Rabbis held that God’s work in maintaining and controlling the universe did not break the Sabbath command. Jesus said two things in relation to this: He called God his Father, observing that God is indeed working on the Sabbath, and he was doing the same. In this one sentence, Jesus claimed He was God’s Son, and as such, His work on the Sabbath was just a perfect reflection of what His Father God was doing. We observe the reaction of the Jews, and even if Jesus’ claim is not clear in the context of the scripture, the Jews’ reaction makes it clear. They recognized that He was calling God His father, and in doing so He was making Himself equal with God.

An observation here: Jesus Christ’s claims would not make such an impact if he did not speak with the authority of God. Indeed, another proof that He is God is that he survived this conversation. There were plenty of Jews around who knew the law who would pick up stones to immediately kill any blasphemer. This was multiplied by the fact that there was many more in Jerusalem and in the temple area that day due to the festival. What Jesus said was not said in a vacuum. What we must do as we look at this passage together is to decide if Jesus Christ’s claims were indeed true, or if they were just the ranting of another religious zealot or nut. That is what the people listening were doing; they were testing the Spirit so to speak to see if what Jesus was saying was true or false.

19 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.

As my kids were growing up, I could see different ways in which they were trying to be like me. John would imitate me when I was shaving, to the point where I had to get him a fake razor so he would not cut himself. This translated into chores; as soon as John could reach the handle on the lawn mower, he wanted to come along and push it with dad. It wasn’t long after that he was doing it himself, only needing help to start the mower. When he was 4, he climbed up the countertop in the kitchen, and took down our van keys. He walked his little friend and my son Eddie out to the van, strapped Eddie into the car seat, climbed into the drivers seat, started the car, and put it in reverse with his little friend pushing down on the accelerator. Fortunately, the retaining wall stopped him before he hit anybody.

This is a similar picture, which Jesus gave. He was one in essence with the Father, but he had a different role or purpose within the Godhead. It was a picture that the Jews could relate to, indeed, that parents could relate to. But Jesus was more than just a son; he was co equal with God. While He was on this earth, He could see things that ordinary humans could not. He could see His Fathers work in the world. He could see what was behind the circumstances that many of us cannot explain or understand. Jesus could see God’s fingerprints, His providential activities that were going on in the events around Him. Indeed, as we have emphasized in this series, Jesus had a sense of His Father’s perfect timing in all things, and submitted to this timing, never doing anything arbitrary. The Fathers purpose is to save sinners, and, in doing so, bringing glory to Himself. Jesus brought the Father glory, and demonstrated Himself as equal with God by doing God’s work on this earth.

20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. 21 For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so l also the Son gives life to whom he will

This verse reiterates that Jesus is fully God, and has an understanding of God’s plan and purpose in everything that He is doing. He also has insight like no man can into the greater works that God will do through Him. It seems, by verse 21 that Jesus is speaking about raising of the dead, something only God has the power to do. He may even be speaking of his own resurrection from the dead, which will be another proof that He is who He says He is. These greater works serve the purpose of glorifying God amazing those people who are following God, and will ultimately they will draw some men to Christ. But I believe the greatest miracle that Jesus is foreshadowing here is the actual raising of mankind from death to life not in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. This great miracle that happens to this day is the truth that God has the power to impute His righteousness and His life to those who will place their faith in Christ alone for their salvation. In a very real way, the miracle of being born again, made a new creature in Christ, is the current display of the power and the glory of God that was purchased 2000 years ago. It is the current proof that Jesus Christ’s claims of equality with God were true.

22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

Jesus Christ is equal with God because he has the power to judge, given Him by His Father! In the Old Testament, it is made very clear that it is God alone who has the power to judge:

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Genesis 18:25b)

In this prayer, Abraham was seeking God’s face to spare the city of Sodom from destruction. He acknowledges and understands that God is indeed the judge of all the earth. He pleads with God to spare the city if there are any righteous to be found there. He also proclaims God’s judgment to be just. This was the understanding of the Jews at the time, That God was a judge of all things, and had the right to judge. This was part of their root of morality, for they feared the Lord’s all Seeing Eye and his righteous judgment. Jesus Christ was clearly making another claim to deity and equality with God, because he was saying the role of judge and the power of ultimate judgment was His, as a gift from God.

23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Here Jesus is stating that as the Father is worthy of worship, praise, adoration, and glory, Jesus is as well. This is a striking claim of deity, for only God is worthy of worship, indeed, the first and second commandment demand exclusive worship of God. Jesus was claiming that exclusive worship for Himself, proclaiming that He is God. To the Jews that were listening, this was clear blasphemy. If Jesus was not who he claims to be, he would be seen as a crazed lunatic to make such a claim. But to the extent that it is true, and I believe the evidence shows that it is, then all the religions and people who say that Jesus is simply a great prophet or a great moral teacher, and thus refuse to worship him and give Him honor due His name, then they are not worshipping God who sent Him. This means that these religions are false, and they worship a false god.

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

These verses are the most amazing and at the same time hard to understand phrases of this conversation with the Jews. These are statements of deity all over again, but also a statement of the quality and the timeline of eternal life. In verse 24, Jesus talks about the present reality of eternal life. Those who hear his words and believe in God who sent Jesus have passed from death to life. This means very simply that two things have happened: We have been justified, because we do not come into judgment. And what this means is that there is no judgment ever for any sin that we have or we will commit. When we sin as Christians, it is not time to beg forgiveness and wallow in guilt. That sin you have committed has been forgiven. It is time to confess and to repent and to return to the narrow road of eternal life that you have already found by the grace of God. We can also face the future judgment with confidence, because we have already been judged and declared not guilty. The second reality in verse 24 is that eternity is a now not yet. We experience a partial and joyful reality in the present that we have been born again, and Christ’s life by the Holy Spirit dwells in us. It is described as living water; our spiritual thirst is satisfied and we share with others so they can experience it as well. John says it like this in his first epistle, chapter 5:

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.

Verse 25 says that an hour is coming and is now here that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God (the name, another claim to deity) signifies that we, prior to coming to Christ by faith, are dead in our sins. The resurrection of the dead did not happen at this point, Jesus was speaking about those around him and even those today who are dead in their trespasses and sins. When we hear Jesus’ word, through the Bible, through the proclamation of the Gospel, and we believe, we pass from death to life and we are made alive in Christ Jesus. As it says in John 1:4 in him was life and the life was the light of men. Jesus has life, as His Father has life. This is another claim to deity, for God the Father through God the Son created and gave life to all things in the beginning. This draws a spiritual parallel here, for in Jesus we can have eternal life if we will simply believe and obey the Gospel. The promise is that if we hear and obey, we will live.

27 And he a has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

The reference here to Son of Man hearkens back to the book of Daniel, where God has given this eternal world ruler the authority to execute the final judgment of every human being. In this passage, Jesus has shown many convincing proofs that he is one with the Father, but Jesus is saying here that they should not be amazed at this final pronouncement. If He is truly God, as he has clearly stated he is, on the final day he will call the physically dead out of their tombs, they will come out, and they will be judged. Those who have looked to God by faith will rise to a resurrection of life; those who rejected God and thus did evil will rise to a resurrection of judgment.

The key is, in reality for us is what have we done with Jesus? The Jews and the people who were listening to Jesus in this passage had a clear choice, as we do. Is this man Jesus a liar, claiming to be someone He is not? Is he a lunatic, a crazed man with a god complex? Or is he Lord? If he is liar and lunatic, we can cast his words aside. If He is Lord, we must repent and believe the Gospel, placing our full trust in Him. If we will do that, He will grant us eternal life, even today, so that we can walk in the power of His resurrection life.

Paralyzed John 5:1-17

2009-01-18T19:38:00.002-05:00

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

There is an unspecified amount of time between the healing of the official’s Son and this point where Jesus went back to Jerusalem. The term ‘after this’ indicates this. We know it is approximately 100 miles between Cana and Jerusalem, we know it was a rocky walk, with change in elevation (up to Jerusalem) so it is likely four days to a week passed. Jesus went where the Father led Him, for the purposes of fulfilling the mission that God sent Him for. We do not know what feast this was, but there were lots of people in Jerusalem during the feasts, and with them were lots of religious types. Jesus made quite an impact on these religious types during this particular feast.

2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. 3 In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. 5 One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

John goes to great detail here in his writing as to where this sign took place. In His day, you could walk back and investigate this very specific location. Today, as with many places in the Holy Land, there was a place of worship built over this location called a basilica. Many early people who practiced Christianity thought that different locations were holy or sacred and would build over and around these sites. This is helpful in showing where these geographic locations are, but it was also a form of idolatry and mythology that surrounded the institutional and state churches such as Roman Catholicism.

The actual pool, called Bethesda, was rumored to be visited by an angel. The first in the pool after the angel visited was to be healed by touching the waters. This is why it was called Bethesda, for in Aramaic, Bethesda means house of Mercy. Friends or relatives in hopes that they would be healed would carry these invalids who surrounded the pool there. The man who will become the focus of the miracle was an invalid for 38 years. This is longer than most people of Jesus’ day lived. The Greek (asthenia) for invalid is a general term for a disabled condition; likely it’s meaning here is paralyzed, lame, or extremely weak. What John is attempting to emphasize here is that this is a man who had no hope of a cure outside of a miraculous intervention.

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.”

John demonstrates again Jesus’ omniscience by mentioning that Jesus saw the man lying there and that he knew the man had been there a long time. He asked a simple question that may be deeper than we realized. One of the aspects of Jewish religion and culture at this time was giving of alms for the poor and the disabled. A good Jew, to demonstrate his righteousness, would give alms for the poor and disabled. On the other hand, the disabled specifically could make a pretty good living depending on their location. John did not mention this fact, but obviously Jesus asked this question for a reason. I am not sure, but the obvious answer would be yes! But again, there is a point where faith meets God’s power. This man had put his faith for a number of years into a specific and narrow cure. By his answer, we can see a level of frustration with his feeble attempts to get well by his own power. So his answer is sort of like yes, I would love to be cured, but I can’t because nobody will help me. He was asking Jesus in a round about way to help him into the pool. He was asking Jesus to heal him the only way he thought he could be healed. He didn’t know whom he was talking to.

8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” 9 And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath.

Jesus spoke with the authority of God here; he commanded the man to get up and walk. The scripture does not tell us specifically how this all worked, but on the command, we see that the man was healed at once- that is instantly upon the hearing of the command. He knew it; or did he have faith in the words- we do not know. But John tells us that he followed the command of Jesus- and he got up took up his bed, and he walked. We do not see the man arguing with Jesus that this was an impossibility for him to walk, or even a moment of doubt. We see the man doing just what Jesus commanded Him to do. This is a real demonstration of faith; for the man had not walked or carried anything for at least 38 years.

This is a picture of us before Salvation in Christ Jesus. We are invalid, unable to save ourselves. He is there, seeking after us, drawing us to Himself, asking us if we desire to be saved. We have no real desire to be saved; for the scripture is very clear in the fact that there is no one that seeks after God. We are laying by the pool, trying everything humanly possible to reach out to God of our own understanding, a god we create. When we finally understand that there is nothing we can do, when we come to an end of ourselves realizing that sin has paralyzed us and death has us in its grip, we can finally call out to Jesus. This man did not even do that; he still had this belief that it would be the pool that would heal him, if only some kind person would come along and place him in the pool. Jesus, in His infinite mercy, and by his grace takes us before we have a full understanding of what has happened and converts us. We do not understand the process, but we can see the result. We are free from the paralysis, we can walk, and we can do the work the Lord commands us to do.

10 So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” 11 But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place.

The man was simply doing as Jesus had commanded him; and likely he was enjoying this newfound freedom. But there were the Jews, the leaders, religious people, who noted that this man was breaking their man-made codes of conduct. You see, God had given the command regarding the Sabbath being a day of rest; the Jewish lawmakers added to this basic code and made it far more confusing and strict. They were not going by the Spirit of the law, which was to remind the Jews of the creation and that God rested, and a day to thank and to worship God, to take the focus off of them. They changed the law so that they could seem ultra-righteous in the eyes of man because they did not do what others did. It was perfectly lawful, according to the perfect law.
What was worse in their eyes was there was a man more powerful than them, clearly, because he could heal one so miraculously. Think about it; this man had been an invalid for 38 years. These Jews likely knew the paralytic, and his former condition. This healer had told this former paralytic to break their code, their law. The Bible does not tell us their emotion or their motive, but I think it is clear they were angry and wanted to go after this healer. But the man, in his excitement, did not know where Jesus had gone off to, and there was a crowd in the area.

14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” 15 The man went away and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had healed him.

The man went to the temple, probably to give thanks to God that he had been healed. Jesus found him there, I do not believe by chance. He had a message for this man who was basking in his new found healing: Do not sin any more. Many people look at this verse and make a theology out of it that somehow to say that it is sin that causes people to get sick. That is true some of the time, and certainly, the Jews associated sickness with sin. Indeed, when sin entered into the world, sickness and death entered with it. In this case, it was definitely the cause of this man’s paralysis. If you are sick, infirmed, laid up, born with a birth defect and on down the line, it does not mean that you have sinned and caused the disease. If you have not been healed, it also is not necessarily a result of a lack of faith. The point in this story is that this man had sinned, and Christ by His mercy and His grace healed this man, before he could even repent, before he could even do a good work! When Christ saves us it is the same way. It is not by our own merit, or even by the effectiveness of our repentance. It is by grace, through faith, and even that is not of ourselves. And when he heals us, when he saves us, it is for the glory of God! Even though we get the joy, He gets the glory. And with His power, we can walk in repentance on the narrow road through the narrow door, which we cannot even find without Him.

The man then left Jesus and told the Jews who it was that healed him. I do not think that he was trying to do any thing to harm Jesus, however, the Jewish religious leaders made it clear that they wanted to meet this healer. The next verse gives insight to why the Jews really wanted to meet Jesus:

16 And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

Healings and a level of work were never restricted on the Sabbath; again it was the Pharisees and the other religious sects of Judaism that added to the law so that they could look more pious and moral before men. They were putting their religious rules above genuine compassion and love towards others, which the Old Testament commanded, indeed, it was the foundation of the law (loving God first, neighbor as self). There are many examples of legalism today in the modern church, which are truly ridiculous. For example, God’s law never says anything about drinking wine, or other alcoholic beverages. God’s law does talk about how we ought to be self-controlled in all that we do, the principle being that nothing except the Holy Spirit ought to be in control in our lives. However, there are many unwritten laws and rules concerning alcohol consumption and Christians. We hold one another to these unwritten rules, and place unnecessary burdens on others, while trying to make ourselves look more spiritual. This is what the Pharisees were doing here. And it made them downright angry with Jesus, who exemplified the very purpose and right practice of the law of God. Here was a man, clearly righteous, clearly in authority, clearly having the power of God demonstrated by this miraculous healing, and they wanted to persecute him because he broke their human rule. It was Jesus, not these self-righteous Jews that fulfilled the law. He made their righteousness look filthy; so they wanted to get back on top by persecuting him according to their law.

17 But Jesus answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I am working.”

Obviously, these Pharisees missed something. If God did not work on the Sabbath, then how was this man healed? In other words, if God did not approve of Jesus’ ministry of healing on the Sabbath, why would He allow this good deed, this miracle to happen? He is claiming two things here: First, that God is His Father. This claim to deity is the first direct public proclamation Jesus makes that God is His Father. He also claims that God, his Father, is lord over the Sabbath, and therefore He, as God’s Son, co-equal with God, has the right to do healing or any other work on the Sabbath. The Jewish Rabbis agreed that God upheld the universe continuously, and this without breaking the Sabbath. Jesus was saying that these things that He was doing was his work, but indeed, like God doing His work, was not a transgression of the Sabbath law. He was working, just like God, and hence he is Lord of the Sabbath.

18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

How do you believe? John 4:36ff

2009-01-11T08:25:00.002-05:00

When we closed last week, we observed that the woman Jesus had been speaking with had a clear change of heart- repentance- and went to share her good news with her community. This was a great time of teaching for the Disciples, as Jesus took them aside and taught them about the satisfaction found in doing God’s will, and that their job (and ours) was to get involved in the harvest. After all, the fields were white as the people from Sychar were coming down the hill to the place where Jesus and the disciples sat. There is no time for procrastination, and there is no reason, as Jesus continued to teach:

36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

The one who reaps fruit for eternal life is God, the ones who are doing the labor of sowing the seed should be all of us. This is a fulfillment of the messianic age which was foretold in Amos 9:13
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

God is already working in the hearts of people all around us. We do not have the advantage of knowing which hearts He is working on, which is why we must scatter seed- the Good news- all around where we are. We may have the opportunity to sow seed and reap a harvest in the same day, for we may be in the position of reaper that day!

37 For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

We have simply entered into the labor of another, all of it initiated and completed by God. The whole world is God’s field, and we are laborers in that field wherever we find ourselves. God has placed us here in this time to sow seeds of the Gospel and to reap a very specific harvest in this area. We also have the ability to participate worldwide through the CM&A missions and through our daughter churches in India. The work is being done, and we have the opportunity to be a very real part of it right where we are. What is it that we are waiting for?

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."

You see, many Samaritans came to faith simply because of the woman’s limited testimony. They went and met the object of her faith for themselves. Obviously, for these the woman just entered into the harvest field that had already been worked in by God. She participated by simply giving her testimony to those who were in her community, and some believed as a result of that testimony.

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word.

For others, it took a little more than the woman’s testimony; it took deeper teaching from the Word and an observation of Christ for the two days. Jesus went beyond just meeting with one Samaritan, he stayed in the community for two days and shared with these people whom the Jews saw as below human. He taught them, and even more believed on Him. This is truly the ministry of God’s Word, and as God’s Word is preached, proclaimed, and studied people become more convinced. As the people here in this story did, we need to be taught individually by Christ, and the way that we do that today is by the study of God’s Word. Observe the response of the people who had heard the woman’s testimony after they spent time with Jesus:

42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

These ones who were taught by Christ Himself explained to the woman that she only understood part of his truth, but now they were more convinced. They were convinced that He was not only the Messiah, but the Savior of the World! This shows two things. First, the convincing today comes by the power of the Holy Spirit through the ministry of God’s Word. As we come to understand and know more about Christ and the story of redemption woven throughout the scriptures, the more convinced we become. The more convinced we become, the deeper our faith becomes. The deeper our faith becomes, the more evident it becomes in our lives, and the more people that are around us can know, and we are motivated more to share with them! Along these lines, it is so important that in our ministries as we share and disciple people that we place a strong focus on God’s Word. Every ministry must be centered on the Christ, through the Word of God. Second, Jesus’ mission was universal in its scope Jesus came for the Jews (Nicodemus) the Samaritans (the Woman and the Village) and we will see in the next verses, the gentiles (the Roman official) This is the same pattern we are commanded to follow as we strive to complete

His mission in Acts 1:8.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

We HAVE received power, if we have been born again. The Holy Spirit already dwells in us. As a result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us we are witnesses. Whatever it is we do in our lives bear witness to the truth that God is with us, or the reality that He is not. A life that has been transformed like the woman at the well will testify to what they have seen and what they have heard. Our experience in Christ should be so life- changing and transforming that we are compelled to share it with anybody. Specifically, we are called to go locally, regionally, to places and people where we feel uncomfortable, like a different culture, and to the ends of the earth. This is our Mandate! This compulsion overrules fear, it compromises self-respect, for the object of love is no longer self but Christ alone. When one is truly converted, like this woman at the well, our entire life has come under repentance. What I mean is that our life direction has been changed, we have entered a different path. This is the narrow road; the one which few find and actually travel upon. And so Jesus, his mission in Samaria complete, moved on to Galilee.

43 After the two days he departed for Galilee. 44 (For Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in his own hometown.) 45 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. For they too had gone to the feast.

The journey from Sychar in Samaria to Cana in Galilee was about 49 miles over rocky terrain. This would have taken Jesus about two days. His plan was to go to minister in a place where He did not yet have honor, though many of the Galileans welcomed him because they saw what he had done at the feast. Remember, many people believed because of the signs that Jesus did at the feast, but their belief was a surface belief based on signs, and Jesus did not believe in them, for He knew their hearts. The Galileans had this same type of belief at this point. It is important that when we come to Jesus it must be with a heart of repentance and trust, not for what we might get out of it but because we have offended a Holy God. He has, by His grace and mercy, allowed us to live, and has rescued us from sin and death.

46 So he came again to Cana in Galilee, where he had made the water wine. And at Capernaum there was an official whose son was ill. 47 When this man heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and asked him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.

Cana was the same place where Jesus did his first miracle, witnessed only by the servants and the disciples. Jesus is on a divine timetable, and an official, likely a gentile working for the Roman government, heard about the signs that Jesus had done at Jerusalem. On that recommendation, he approached Jesus and asked Jesus to heal his son. The gentile official had never seen Jesus perform a miracle, and yet he believed the testimony enough to approach Jesus and ask him. This step of faith would soon be rewarded.

48 So Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.”

Jesus spoke towards him, but was speaking to the Galilean witnesses that were around the man. The gentile believed, the Jewish people who had seen the signs that Jesus did at the feast did not. They were always looking for a new thrill, a new buzz. Unfortunately, in the counterfeit Christianity that many experience today, they also are always looking for a sign or a wonder to prove what Jesus had to say. Salvation is the greatest miracle ever accomplished, but so many people today want the temporary things the world has to offer, and to gain these things, they try Jesus. It is the dead water the people want, the one that will quench the thirst temporarily, but leaves you always wanting more.

49 The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.” 50 Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way.

The official still clearly believed Jesus could do something, for he would not have left the side of his dying child to go on a wild goose chase. But he wanted Jesus to come with him, I am sure because he believed that like a doctor, Jesus had to be present to heal his Son. But Jesus had a greater sign in store for all the people there, but specifically for the man. Jesus demonstrated he was God in the flesh in three ways:

He spoke, and it was so – Go, your son will live. Jesus did not need to touch the son, he just spoke the word and it happened. Jesus Christ, as God, spoke the heavens into existence and holds everything together by His word. It is therefore no surprise that he is able simply to speak and to heal as God.

He healed- as the man’s request, united with the man’s faith. I do not know how this formula works exactly; for I believe Jesus can heal without any help from us. However, as stated here, the man believed. It seems clear that God chooses to reward our best attempt at believing, even as it comes to salvation. It also seems that Jesus was hindered in some of his works by the lack of faith of those around Him. Part of Jesus’ mission was to heal both physically and spiritually:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

He knew the son without meeting him: The man did not need to give a location, nor did he need to identify his son. Jesus, in his omniscience knew who the Son was.
The man believed Jesus, and went on His way. He demonstrated his faith, like Abraham did, not just by talk or thought, but by action.

51 As he was going down, his servants met him and told him that his son was recovering. 52 So he asked them the hour when he began to get better, and they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.” 53 The father knew that was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” And he himself believed, and all his household.

As the man was heading down to his home to go see his healed Son, his servants met him. They confirmed the good news, and the man confirmed with them the exact time that this healing happened. The father’s faith was rewarded, and his response was very much like the Samaritan woman. He trusted Christ, and had a story to tell. He was so convinced at the word of Jesus that he shared with his household. In this time, the household was not only the immediate family, but in laws, parents, and servants. His words of testimony convinced the people in the household, and as a result they all came to faith.

54 This was now the second sign that Jesus did when he had come from Judea to Galilee.

The purpose of John writing this Gospel is found in 20:31

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life a in his name.

And the purpose of Jesus’ signs was to demonstrate that He was God, so that people could believe. How that happens today is by the study of His Word, and placing faith in the fact that the Jesus, as presented in scripture, is the Savior of the World.

To summarize, we see in Chapter 3-4 Jesus is one who came to seek and to save the lost- all the lost, whether Jew, Samaritan, or Gentile. He loves the religious elite, the lowly outcast, and the civil servant. By his example, we see that evangelism is not an option for those who are born again. It should be natural as breathing for us. It is also a test of salvation. Obedience to God’s revealed Word is a test of salvation, and if we are not sharing the good news of the Gospel then we are not living in obedience to the word of God. This is not something that is separate from who you are, it should be a part of who you are, and what you do. There should be and will be seasons where you will make a special missions trip or that you will go street preaching. But living the gospel and speaking the gospel should take place in our everyday life as well. Wherever it is we are, and whatever it is we do, as Christians, it should be for the glory of God. And the greatest demonstration of God’s glory is in salvation; where one passes from sin to righteousness, from light to darkness, from death to life. The fields are white for harvest, there are hurting and oppressed people everywhere, and so what are you waiting for? Get in the game!

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman Part 2 John 4ff

2009-01-03T11:54:00.001-05:00

As we closed last week, we observed this communication between Jesus and the Samaritan woman:

25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Salvation had come to the Samaritan woman. She had all of her objections overcome, all of her questions answered. She took Jesus at His word that He was who He said that He was. But this passage does not end with her simple conversion; rather, we know it is true by the actions, which she did. For many of us, we would have been satisfied with an explanation that she believed and was saved, for indeed she was. Instead, we observe an interesting intersection where she heard the truth, believed the truth, and took immediate action.

27 Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, "What do you seek?" or, "Why are you talking with her?"

The disciples, who had left to go find food in verse 8, returned to see Jesus and the Woman at the well. They were amazed that Jesus was talking with a woman; for, as has been explained, Jewish men simply did not speak with a woman alone, even in public. A Jewish man speaking with a Samaritan was rare in itself, much less a Samaritan woman. So it was strange for them to see. But notice their reaction; though it was strange, they did not question why, at least not verbally. They had already been with Jesus for some time, and they understood at least part of his purpose. There was not even a question of an indiscretion, for the disciples already knew Jesus was about the work of the Father.

Mark Cahill is an evangelist who is willing to go anywhere- literally- to win the lost. He tells a story where he is actually in a car with a prostitute, having paid for her time, so that he can witness the good news of Jesus Christ to her. (He does not recommend this idea any more, it is not safe he says) But people who know Mark know that He is sold out to the preaching of the Gospel wherever he is and whenever- which is in season and out of season-he finds the opportunity. I have been in trouble with some of the more religious already in the past, and even in this community because I am willing to go anywhere and share the good news, even in the local taverns. I have shared with and brought people to church in the past that do not look like they belong, and have been questioned for it. I want to be known as the guy who will go anywhere at anytime that there is an opportunity to share my faith. I desire to be above reproach; and at the same time have people looking at my life and testimony and be able to say he does this and that for the purpose of the Gospel alone. Jesus was that kind of preacher. He came to seek and to save the lost wherever he found them. I want to do no less, and I urge that you should take the same course; but only with the covering of prayer and in a manner that is above reproach.

28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?" 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.

We come back to the woman, and we can observe saving faith in her life. She forgot all about the water she had come to draw, and left the disciples and Jesus and went into her town. Remember, this woman was an outcast. The very reason she was at the well when she was had the purpose of avoiding the judgment and wrath of other people. But yet, the Gospel had changed her and made her into a bold witness for the truth that she had experienced. She had drunk of the living Water, and now it was flowing freely from her.

She left behind her water jar; what do we need to leave behind? Her very purpose (she thought) of going to the well was to accomplish the goal of getting water for her household. When she met Christ, her purpose changed, her plan was altered. Has Jesus Christ made that kind of radical change in your life? Has he re-oriented you so that everything is about Him, so much so you leave behind what seems important to you and make the spreading of the Gospel the number one priority?

She only had her testimony; so what are we waiting for? Many believers in Jesus Christ will not share their faith because they have a fear of not knowing all the answers. If you are saved, you have a story to tell. Her story was simple: He told me all I ever did- I believe Him to be the Messiah. Then, all the woman did was invite them to meet Him and directed them where they could find Him. What does this look like for us? Tell your story- what has Jesus done for you (in the sense of salvation)? Then, point them to the Messiah, invite them to a Bible study, or to church. Invite them to read the Gospel of John, and give them a copy. What are you waiting for?

She was an outcast in her community, and still she proclaimed the truth to those who hated her! Her orientation was so changed that she did no longer cared about what these people in the town thought of her. Has your orientation been changed in that manner? Christ became so precious to her that she no longer feared man’s opinions of her. Also, she showed love and compassion, because, as an outcast, she was hated. She had no reason to care about her enemies- except for Christ. We must proclaim the truth despite man’s opinions of us. Is Christ so precious to you that you would do this, even to your worst enemy?

This woman’s passion for the Christ was so evident, yet she encouraged people to go meet Him for themselves. Could this be the Christ? She was convinced, but also had wisdom that no man comes to the Messiah lest the Father draws them. They needed to find out for themselves. We are nothing but the sowers of the seed of the Gospel, those whom we share with must make their own decision for or against Christ. We cannot convince them, only the Holy Spirit can. It is our job to proclaim the good news, the results are up to God. The results here were that people were going to the well to see if this was indeed the Messiah.

31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." 32 But he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the disciples said to one another, "Has anyone brought him something to eat?" 34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

THE DISCIPLES, MEANWHILE, WERE FOCUSSED ON THINGS OF THIS WORLD again. They were concerned for Jesus to be fed. After all, they had gone into town to buy food. But Jesus’ focus was again, entirely different from theirs. They were focused on the physical when Jesus made this statement. They immediately thought that someone else had brought Jesus food. He immediately explained what he meant. His food was to do the will of God the Father. Nothing else remotely mattered. Jesus never got his drink from the woman, for it was really not what he was seeking. He never ate physical food, but he was not hungry. He was focused on the task at hand.

I have experienced this same thing; in evangelism I have been so involved that I have skipped meals, not really even thinking of food. When we are doing the will of God, He gets the glory, and we get the joy. Part of the joy is being fulfilled in all ways by the task that we are doing. I love to eat, and I eat pretty much on a schedule. I do not like to miss meals! But I have found that when I am busy in ministry, my schedule pretty much goes out the window. In Jesus’ case here, he explains the satisfaction and fulfillment one receives in doing the will of God. Have you felt that satisfaction?

35 Do you not say, 'There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest.

Jesus enjoins the disciples with an important concept here. He states that we should not make excuses in putting off accomplishing the Lord’s work. Jesus has just stated that doing God’s work satisfies better than food, and he is trying to get his disciples in the game. I often tell my children that delayed obedience is disobedience. We have one task as Christians in the world today, and that is to share the good news of the Gospel with everyone with whom we come in contact. That may look different for different people, but we must get in the game right now. This Samaritan woman had an afternoon with Jesus, these disciples had several months at the least. Yet she was doing more with less, because the disciples were apparently making excuses to wait. What are our excuses? Many use prayer as an excuse, however, if one were to pray and truly seek God for the lost, that prayer becomes a motivating factor for evangelism! Some use the excuse that they are ‘seeking ‘God’s will’, but God’s will has been revealed for you, and that is to make disciples. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Whether your excuse is your job, social status, too busy, not enough training, etc., Jesus’ statement here was quite clear. There is no time to wait; the fields are white. Use what you have to get involved in the harvest.

36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.

The one who reaps fruit for eternal life is God, the ones who are doing the labor of sowing the seed should be all of us. This is a fulfillment of the messianic age which was foretold in Amos 9:13

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

37 For here the saying holds true, 'One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor."

39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did."

40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word.

42 They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world."

These ones who were taught by Christ Himself explained to the woman that she only understood part of his truth, but now they were more convinced. They were convinced that He was not only the Messiah, but the Savior of the World! Jesus came for the Jews (Nicodemus) the Samaritans (the Woman and the Village) and we will see in the next verses, the gentiles (the Roman official) This is the same pattern we are commanded to follow in Acts 1:8.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

We HAVE received power, if we have been born again. The Holy Spirit already dwells in us. As a result of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us we are witnesses. Whatever it is we do in our lives bear witness to the truth that God is with us, or the reality that He is not. A life that has been transformed like the woman at the well will testify to what they have seen and what they have heard. Our experience in Christ should be so life- changing and transforming that we are compelled to share it with anybody. This compulsion overrules fear, it compromises self-respect, for the object of love is no longer self but Christ alone. When one is truly converted, like this woman at the well, our entire life has come under repentance. What I mean is that our life direction has been changed, we have entered a different path. This is the narrow road; the one which few find and actually travel upon.

What I am trying to say here is that evangelism is not an option for those who are born again. It is as natural as breathing for us. It is also a test of salvation. Obedience to God’s revealed Word is a test of salvation, and if we are not sharing the good news of the Gospel then we are not living in obedience to the word of God. This is not something that is separate from who you are, it should be a part of who you are, and what you do. There should be and will be seasons where you will make a special missions trip or that you will go street preaching. But living the gospel and speaking the gospel should take place in our everyday life as well. Wherever it is we are, and whatever it is we do, as Christians, it should be for the glory of God. And the greatest demonstration of God’s glory is in salvation; where one passes from sin to righteousness, from light to darkness, from death to life. The fields are white for harvest, what are you waiting for?

Jesus and the Samaritan Woman John 4ff

2008-12-27T20:46:00.001-05:00

4 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee.

This minor controversy was instigated by the Pharisees between the disciples of John and the disciples of Jesus. Unfortunately, the type of preaching that Jesus and John did bred opposition. It was not yet his time, and so Jesus departed from Judea, and left for Galilee to avoid the conflict at the time.

There were several ways that Jesus could have gotten to Galilee and avoided the land of Samaria, which the Jews despised. Why did Jesus purposely go through Samaria?

4 And he had to pass through Samaria.

He had to. Remember, everything that Jesus did was according to a divine timetable. This passing through Samaria was an affront to the Jews and to the disciples, but Jesus was not on a mission for them, He was here to do the Father’s will. On this day, the Father brought Him to a place where he would meet with an immoral woman and lead her to saving faith.

It is very interesting to me to compare these two individual witness encounters. Jesus really did know what was in the heart of a man; for in both witness encounters he could see beyond the exterior. The Samaritan woman contrasts sharply with Nicodemus from an outward perspective; He was seeking; she was indifferent and actually in active rebellion. He was a respected ruler; she was an outcast because of her rebellion. He was serious; she was flippant. He was a Jew; she was a despised Samaritan. He was moral (at least in the view of others); she was immoral. He was orthodox; she was heterodox. He was very studied in religious matters; she was steeped in her culture and superstition. Yet in spite of all the differences between this religious man and this woman of the world, they both needed to be born again. Both had needs only Christ could meet.

This is still true today. Everybody needs Christ, and Christ is the only answer to the sin problem that plagues mankind. There is no exception; we must be born again. We come across extremely religious lost people and non-religious lost people. We come across lost people from every social strata, and from every continent. There are some that claim that Jesus is not the answer for this culture or that culture, meaning that some grow up Buddhist, Hindu, or Muslim, and they are leading a righteous life in that form of worship. Their only answer is still Jesus. And Jesus sends us to all nations to make disciples, it is our call. We are to seek the lost across racial, economic, social, and cultural divides. He shows us this example here; for he went into a place no self- respecting Jew would set foot, to speak to a woman that no Jew would speak with. Jesus broke down all these barriers to seek and to save the Lost; we should do no less.

5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.

This was the place where the divine appointment was to take place. Samaria had claimed bragging rights that they had Jacob’s well, as the plot of land that Isaac had given to Jacob. This is near the center of the place that was called Samaria. The location is not so important as noting the condition of Jesus. As fully God, He was all-powerful. Here He demonstrates the fact that he condescended into human form, and took on the qualities and the weaknesses of Human flesh as He dwelt among us. Jesus was tired, and He was sitting beside a well. But this also indicates as we stated earlier that Jesus was part of a divine plan, and the divine appointment was about to be made. Some commentaries state that this was six o’ clock in the evening, but I think it is more accurate to state that it was about noon. This will come into play as we discover who the woman was with whom Jesus had a divine appointment.

7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)

His divine appointment arrived. A woman came to draw water at about noon. This was a sign of who Jesus was dealing with, for if it were 6 o clock, it would be likely that there would be far more people coming to draw water. High noon was the hottest part of the day, and this woman came alone, likely to avoid the judgmental eyes and words of the other women in the community.

Jesus broke several social and spiritual mores here in speaking to this woman. The very first was speaking to a woman alone; even in public. But what made it worse was that he was speaking with a Samaritan woman. The same feelings that would cause a Jew to completely avoid the land of Samaria was associated more closely with the people. Jewish men saw Samaritan women as continuously menstruating, that is, they were continually unclean according to the Levitical law. The scripture in parentheses explains that the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans, more properly put, for Jesus to use something like a jar the woman had touched would also make Him unclean. A ‘good jew’ would not share use of things a Samaritan had touched. Jesus was demonstrating to his disciples as well as to that anyone, no matter how unclean, deserves to hear the Gospel. Certainly, there is no one so unclean that we should not share the Gospel with them. If Jesus Christ, God himself can share with one seen as so wicked and sinful and unclean, certainly we should also. This demonstration of who Jesus shared with: high religious leaders and woeful, sinful people shows the broad scope of who Jesus came for, and who we should care for in our community: EVERYONE.

10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water."

In other words, If this woman recognized who Jesus Christ was in truth, she would have asked him a different set of questions. Specifically, she would have asked him for living water, which He would have given her. Jesus often spoke in double meanings, for this phrase here is used in the natural to describe fresh spring water. But he was also, in saying living water, revealing Himself as God the Son. Look at Jeremiah 2:13:

for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

God is the source of living water, but, like so many of us, this woman had sought different sources from which to ‘quench her thirst’ so to speak. We forsake God and His offer of living water, and look to our own ways to be satisfied. Unfortunately what we are rejecting is identified in Isaiah 12:3:

3 With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Jesus, in speaking in double meanings was revealing to this woman that the need she had was more than physical and temporal, it was eternal. She did not need a drink of water or a water supply for her household that would last a day. She needed salvation from God who alone could provide it! And God was visiting her that very day at that well.

11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?

The woman, like Nicodemus, and many of us, got stuck in the physical and temporal. Jesus had just revealed a truth to her, and she was still stuck for a moment on the well and on the water. The well was very deep (about 100 ft), but Jesus’ point was wasted on her. He possessed the living water, it was not in this well, or of this world.

12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock."

The woman here was doing a bit of bragging, for the Samaritans believed that they were the true descendants of Jacob (Israel); After all, they possessed the land and the well. This is a simple illustration of the woman’s wrong belief. Like Nicodemus, she believed that somehow her heritage impressed God. Samaritans believed that they were the real chosen ones, and even made their own temple and had their own views of how God should be worshipped. She was trying to impress this Jew sitting in front of her and in doing so was missing what he was trying to offer her. In truth, the Jew sitting in front of her was greater than Jacob; for before Jacob was He was.

I find the same response today in speaking with others about Christ. They believe that they are following the true Christ, which often is a variation of the real Christ, presented in the Bible. The religion of this woman allowed her to live in any manner that she chose, and this is the Samaritan version of Christianity today. For many, Christianity is something we add to our lives and wear on our sleeves, but it has no impact on the way that we order our day-to-day lives. Many say that they are Christians, yet live as immorally as the guy down the street. They do not realize that the Jesus that they claim to serve is but a weakened man-made version, the true Jesus is so much greater! Listen to Jesus as He continues:

13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Here, Jesus reveals a very important truth to this woman, and to us. She was drinking of the natural water, the water of Jacob’s well. This well represented her false belief about God. Jesus was dismissing her false belief about both in these verses. What the well and her false religion had to offer was temporary, and therefore, inferior. Many people call themselves Christians and get some satisfaction for their souls while here on this earth. Perhaps others admire them for their charitable works. Maybe they like the feeling of being seen at church, or as a moral foundation. Perhaps they go there for family or social reasons. Whatever the reasons, the Samaritan form of Christianity, this modern institutional churchgoer gets a temporary buzz. These are those described by Paul when he says they “having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:5). Water on this earth quenches thirst temporarily, false religion quenches the thirst of the Spirit temporarily. It is religion without power, and wholly unsatisfying to God as well as to man. The end of this belief system is eternal death and eternal thirst.

The water Jesus offers is superior, in that it is permanent and eternal. Being born again means simply that we are satisfied forever in God. It is like never being thirsty again; in fact those who are born again have the Holy Spirit flowing from them horizontally to others. It is not a temporary buzz, or satisfaction. It is a well that springs up from within us to eternal life. And while we will never thirst again, we desire drinking from God more and more. Like a deer that pants for the waters, our soul longs for the things of God. We desire to read His Word, to commune with Him. And this living water naturally flows from us to others in the way that we act, as well as the way in which we unashamedly present the Gospel. The end of this relationship is eternal life, where we will never thirst again.

15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water."

The woman, still thinking naturally as Nicodemus did, wanted this water for selfish reasons. She desired never to have to draw water or to be thirsty again. Like Nicodemus before her, she failed to see that Jesus was speaking in physical terms to illustrate spiritual truths. As He did with Nicodemus, Jesus patiently worked with the Woman so that she could get the important, deeper, spiritual meaning. This next question of Jesus is very crucial to the conversation:

16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here."

Jesus knew very well the answer to this question, but the Woman could not receive what Jesus was offering her until she understood that her need was spiritual. Many people love the idea of heaven, they love the idea of peace with God, they love to be identified as a Christian. However, many people want it on their own terms. They want to live life exactly as they are living it, they only want the change that is beneficial to them right now. In many modern churches, this is exactly what is offered. However, true conversion begins with awareness that one has fallen short of God’s standard, indeed that they have offended God with their sin. Jesus was gently trying to help the woman understand her true need of salvation from sin; and in order to do this she had to be aware that she was a sinner.

17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true."

The woman’s response was very curt; she did not want to talk about it. This is often the case when sin is exposed. Her mouth was stopped due to the law revealing sin in her life. Paul expressed it this way in Romans 3:19:

19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

But, without sin being carefully exposed, people will never understand their need to have their sin forgiven. There cannot be conversion without conviction. Jesus’ response was gentle, but direct. When we are in an encounter where we are sharing our faith, we must not be put off by answers that are meant to stop the conversation. Like a dentist skillfully using his tools to probe for weaknesses in teeth, occasionally we will strike a raw nerve. Like a dentist, we must not have that stop the examination. We must be like Jesus in this conversation; gentle, patient, yet truthful. Jesus knew the woman better than she knew herself. He compassionately used the law (the 7th commandment) to expose her sin so that she would recognize her need of her spiritual thirst being quenched. Then, he revealed himself a little bit more by stating the truth that she had five husbands. He took off her blinders gently, and affirming the truth of her statement, showing himself to be omniscient.

19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship."

This is a rabbit trail that people often use to distract from their conviction; they want to get you talking about something else. In this case, the woman brought up a religious debate about the proper place to worship. The Samaritans claimed that Mt. Gerazim was the proper place to worship. In doing so she hoped to spark a debate with Jesus as to the proper place to worship God, thus getting the conversation away from her sin. Many times when I am sharing my faith, people want to talk about evolution, other world religions, apologetics, prophesy…anything to get their eyes off of their sin. She recognized that Jesus must be a prophet, for he had not only exposed her sin, but also gave information he could not have known about for she had not revealed it to him. She knew her relationship was wrong, that she had been living a life of sin, and now she tried to change the conversation because she was feeling very uncomfortable. In this situation, it is very important not to be distracted. Allow the Holy Spirit to do His work in a person’s life. Do not worry about feelings at this point, instead allow for the conviction to take place. Jesus skillfully allowed for this conviction to take place, and skillfully brought the conversation back to her personal need:

21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.

Note, Jesus answers the question about worship here for the woman, while instituting a new concept of worship, one in which no external temple was required.

22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.

While answering the question, he answers her false beliefs about God, as well as God’s chosen people. She had engaged in a false worship of God, indeed she and her people had created a god in their own image, one they felt comfortable with. They, like the Jews, were focused on externals like where a temple should be located. Indeed, the Samaritans were trying to set up a shadow religion that they felt was superior to Jewish methods of worship. Jesus skillfully again addressed the false teachings and the false view of God that this woman had been voicing all along. He let her know that the Jewish people were the chosen ones, that indeed God had revealed Himself, and His plan of salvation to the Jews, and the promised Messiah was to come from the Jews and to the Jews.

23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

For centuries, God had dwelled in the temple that the people built in Jerusalem. Indeed, God for centuries had gone before and behind the Jews, had dwelt in special tabernacles that the Jews had made. He chose to allow His presence to dwell in these places made by human hands. But Jesus, as Messiah, was to usher in a new period, in which people who were born again would be able to worship the Father anywhere. Indeed, each believer is filled with the Holy Spirit. Our whole lives as believers should reflect an attitude of worship. Paul encourages us to pray without ceasing. Jesus reminds us that where two or three believers are gathered, He Himself is in their midst. This is what Jesus was talking about.

The only way that one can worship the Father is in Spirit and in truth. The only way to have the Spirit is to be born again. When we are born from above, we are indwelt with the precious Holy Spirit. He intercedes for us with words that cannot be uttered. Indeed, Jesus paved the way for us to have unfettered access of prayer to the Father, and the Holy Spirit in us gives us the key to be able to worship anywhere. We also must worship in truth. This Gospel was written so that we could understand and know beyond a shadow of a doubt who Jesus is in truth. Indeed, Jesus reveals the Father for who the Father is in truth. Many people today worship a different Jesus, indeed, a different God. Through bad teaching or a wrong understanding of scripture, they create this false picture of God that they feel comfortable with and worship him. There are many who claim to love and worship God, but if they are not Born Again, they do not have the Holy Spirit, and they do not have a right understanding of who God is in truth, they are not worshipping in Spirit and in truth. It does not matter what you believe to be true, it matters what is true. And, in these next verses, Jesus reveals the truth:

25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."

Jesus waited patiently to reveal Himself to this woman at exactly the right time. She finally came to a place where she was aware of her wrong beliefs as well as her wrong practices. Jesus used the scripture skillfully to admonish and correct her, and now she was ready to hear. She knew enough about the Old Testament that there would be a Messiah that was coming. One aspect that she knew of the Messiah was that He would be able to speak the very words of God, indeed, that this Messiah would tell the people all things. These words are found in Deuteronomy 18:18:

18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Jesus had just spent quite a bit of time with her, revealing things to her about God and about herself that no one could know without being told. She was at the point of belief, remembering that the Messiah would be one who would be anointed by God, indeed, His very words would come from God. The law had stopped her mouth, and she was considering the things that had been revealed to her from the scripture. She was at the point of belief, and Jesus revealed Himself to her as the Messiah she was seeking.

Have you ever been to this point before where you were aware for the first time that you yourself were living a life of wrong beliefs about God, and these beliefs led to wrong behaviors? It is at this point that you can decide that you will continue in the way that you have always believed, or you can take Jesus at his word. In this Gospel of John that we have been studying, the purpose of the writer was to demonstrate who Jesus was and is in truth, so that you might believe, and by believing you might have life in His name. Jesus said it this way to Nicodemus: You must be born again. To the woman, who was indifferent, he brought the law in as a mirror to expose her for her wrong actions and beliefs about God. At this point, the choice was hers to do what she would with Jesus. What have you done with Him? Have you decided to follow Him with your whole life, or have you cast Him aside for a different set of beliefs? What I urge you to ask yourself is this: Is what Jesus said about Himself true, and if it is, what does that mean about your beliefs?

He must Increase, I must decrease.

2008-12-06T21:25:00.002-05:00

John 3:22-36 (English Standard Version)
22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized 24 (for John had not yet been put in prison).

After this conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus began to do more work among the people. In this episode in His earthly life, we see him traveling to the Judean countryside, remaining there and beginning to baptize. John the Baptist was apparently continuing his ministry doing the very same thing; baptizing. John had not yet been put in prison, so he continued to do what God had called him to do.

25 Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification.

There is the thought that this was Nicodemus asking this question, due to the proximity of where Jesus was and the proximity to the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus and the placement in the book of John. Remember, Jesus told Nicodemus that one must be born of water and of the Spirit. The water cleansing was a common practice among the Jews, and perhaps Nicodemus was furthering the discussion of what Jesus had meant when He said that one must be born of the water and of the Spirit. John’s emphasis in preaching, as we see from the other Gospels, was repentance because the kingdom of heaven was near. Purification did not come from the water, but from a heart of confession and turning to God. He even spoke of this when the Pharisees (who were separatists) coming to be baptized:

Matt 3:7-10 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10 The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

John was not preaching a popular message in a popular way by any stretch of the imagination. Baptism, ritual cleansing, was something that the Pharisees and Sadducees were very familiar with. But where they were willing to do an outward act, they, like many today, did not understand true repentance. God does not look on our outward appearance, the acts that we may do on the outside, but he looks at the heart and the motives for doing the works that we do. John knew clearly that the motives may have been producing fruit, but God sees our best works outside of Him as rotten fruit. He does not see the family we grow up in, the denomination we are a part of, or the country that we come from. He looks at individuals, at their heart, and if they are trusting in Him. A clear indication is the resulting works done to the glory of God. John was not afraid to preach repentance and faith, and he was not afraid to warn the powerful and the religious.

26And they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him."

Another part of the speculation that it was Nicodemus who was initiating this conversation was the awareness of the disciples of John that Jesus and His disciples were also baptizing. The point here is not who was doing the talking or why Jesus was baptizing, but the concern of the disciples of John about people going to follow Jesus. Apparently, these disciples of John had a stake in how many would come and be baptized by them. Perhaps it was a personal affront; that the one who they had been following (JtB) was there first doing this ministry and this other ministry was stepping on their toes. Perhaps their donations had decreased and they had less money. Maybe they just loved John so much that they did not desire for him to be second fiddle to Jesus. Maybe some were even concerned that John was not preaching an attractive enough message! Whatever the reason, his disciples were clearly concerned.

This is a bad attitude that many in the church have today. So often, we get caught up in personalities and politics and forget that the work we are here to do is to build up the kingdom of God by going out and making disciples. I have always said that it does not matter if one gets saved through my preaching if that person comes to our church or somebody else’s. It is God’s Church, anyway. I preach to glorify Him and build His kingdom, not my own. In almost every community I have been in there is far too much competition among churches. We should be working together to build up the kingdom of God. Imagine, if you would, if the church invisible in this community would unite under the purpose of winning the lost. There would be immediate and incredible revival and this town and our nation would be changed for the glory of God. I would love to see that attitude magnified worldwide! Unfortunately, too many are focused on their own kingdom, and their own power, and their own glory instead of God’s. To be like John the Baptist, we must be about the business of preparing the way for God’s kingdom to come.

27John answered, "A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven.

I love John’s responses to his jealous followers. First, he tells them of the sovereignty of God. He realized that his ministry, indeed, God ordained his life for a special purpose. He was, from the beginning of His life, a forerunner of the promised one. Wherever that led him, and whatever that meant as far as success in the world was not even relevant to John. He simply did His job, his ministry with all his might, led by the Holy Spirit, and he allowed the chips to fall wherever they would fall. He realized that everything was indeed in the hands of God, and he trusted God with all of the results. If there were other ministries out there, he realized that God for a God ordained purpose also placed those ministries there. Their success would be determined and ordained by God.

As born again followers of Jesus Christ today, we must do the things that God has called for us to do, regardless of the sensitivities of man and the offenses of the other ministries. We have been given the responsibility as the church to proclaim the good news, to build up and to equip people who attend our services to do the ministries that God has called them to do. We are not called to do things like other Christians, or other churches, we are not even called together to be an institution. We are individually and corporately called to fulfill the mission that God has gifted us to and that God has given to us. We are called, not to build an institution, we are called to build His church. That means that we need to take seriously our call to reach the lost for Christ. All too often we are concerned with the other ministry down the street or what is happening in politics, or with the economy, and yet we do not even know or love our neighbors enough to share the good news with them. That is what we are here to do, and, like John the Baptist, we need to focus on our ministry that God has given us and recognize that it is from Him, by Him, and for Him.

28You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.'

John knew his place while so many of us want the credit and the glory. Our main problem is pride. One who is totally sold out to God and to His purposes has no issues with God getting all the glory, even if that means that we must be humbled before Him. John knew that he was not Jesus, therefore it was not even his ministry. It was God’s from the beginning, and it would be God who would determine its end. He was the voice crying in the wilderness to make the way for the Lord. “ I am not the Christ! I have said it before! I am here to proclaim Him, nothing more!

How many of us are ready to give up our very lives: our dreams, our ambitions, our wallets, or our possessions for the glory of God? More importantly, how many are willing to give up their social status, our time, hobbies, or activities. We need to recognize that it is God who is the provider of all good things in our lives, and it is all about Him and His glory, not our own. Many who have gone before us have literally sacrificed their lives willingly because Jesus called them out. Our gratitude for being saved from sin should be motive enough to seek the Lord as to what we are to do. John’s disciples, like many churchgoers today, had no idea of the overarching purpose of the ministry they were a part of, despite repeated testimony. We love to follow personalities and institutions instead of our Lord. The purpose of River of Life Alliance Church is to glorify God by doing what as a church we have been called to do in this community. We are here to serve the Lord, not to build an institution. We are a living organism, not a club. We are not what we do on Sunday, we are what we do during the rest of the week at work, at play, and at home.. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, and follow whatever He calls us to do through His word. We are not Jesus, but we have been sent to represent Him here, because he will return soon to judge the quick and the dead.

29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.

John took joy in the Lord and His success and will being done. John recognized his place as the best man so to speak. The best man operates to make sure that the wedding goes off smoothly, to make sure the needs of the bridal party, specifically the bride and the groom. This best man has an important role, but He is not the center of attention. In the modern wedding, the bride is the center of attention. In these days, however, it was the groom. Remember who the bride and groom represent: The Bride is the church and the groom is Christ. This is the important concept here: The bridegroom is the possessor of the bride. The best man does not. The best man celebrates when the bridegroom comes and gets the bride. When his role is complete and is done well, he has great joy.

Do we have this same focus as John? Our success is found when we do our role completely. As the church, our role is to make the bride ready for Jesus’ return by building up and equipping her. As individuals, our joy should be found in sharing our faith, thus bringing great glory to Christ thus allowing the bridegroom to return for his bride. We, like John, should be making ready for Christ to return. We should be about the business of making the bride complete. In the church, this means the preaching and teaching of the Word of God. In the world, this means the verbal proclamation of the Gospel with everyone we come in contact with. This, and only this, will make the Christian’s joy complete, for our real joy comes from fulfilling God’s will and will only be made complete when Jesus returns for His bride.

30 He must increase, but I must decrease."

John knew this very pithy truth, that, in His ministry, Jesus must increase and be the primary focus. In this context, He was communicating this directly to his followers reminding them that his job was soon to be done, and Jesus was to become the one and only focus. This is a great reminder for us today, as well. Your salvation marked the beginning of your life in Christ, where you are to this day being saved. You are being made more like Jesus Christ. Every day, Jesus must become more and more evident in our lives. To put it another way, we are to be growing in sanctification and holiness with each passing day. Our old selves, our flesh need to be mortified. Part of this process is to put aside any goals, dreams, and ambitions that are not directly related to the promotion of the Gospel; in other words, Christ is to be our primary focus. He may not be calling you into vocational ministry like being a pastor or a missionary, but it is still your full time job to go and make disciples whatever your current vocation. He should be in the driver’s seat of your life, taking you where He wants you to go. John the Baptist saw his role as being mortified- put to death- a little day by day. We must have this same attitude in dying to ourselves and living to Christ wherever we are and whatever we do.

31 He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.

John recognized who Jesus was and, as such, determined to listen to His words and to serve Him. As God incarnate, Jesus had come from heaven above, and had intimate, personal knowledge of the Father. He was the only one who could speak with authority about what God was like and what the will of God was. He was here to reveal these things to mankind, yet, as John noted, humans have a hard time receiving Jesus’ testimony. Perhaps he was speaking to the Pharisees and their followers in the crowd here, stating that they, as humans, spoke in an earthly way and that really they did not have the authority Jesus had. More harsh commentators have stated that they are of the slime of the earth (of dust) and really their words and their lives reflect that.

I have found it interesting in these latter days that books by human authors, and sermons from human persons have surpassed , it seems, in importance the true Word of God. One example of this is “The Shack”, a semi-autobiographical novel in which the author creates an anthropomorphic, three people God- as – his peer, calls into question scripture, creation, and many other essential doctrines. Now, many people see this book as drawing them closer to God, but the god presented in the shack, while he seems personable and kind, is Not the God of the Bible. It is, as the author described, god as I need Him to be. This is just one example of many books out there today that people are reading to try to understand God and their Christian life. They do this, all too often, to the neglect of the Word of God! We must recognize the gift that we have in the Bible, and, as John the Baptist did, recognize the authority of the one who came from heaven for our lives, not some contemporary author.

33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

When we receive what Jesus says, we are testifying that God is true, indeed, that Jesus is the truth. Jesus is superior to all of us who are Pastors and all of us who are authors and all of those who were prophets in that He, as God incarnate, had the Spirit without measure. The prophets of old had a limited or measured amount of the Spirit in order to accomplish what God had sent them to do. Indeed, John had the Spirit in direct proportion to His calling and ministry as the forerunner. He was unashamed to proclaim Jesus as the one who was above Him in all ways. Again, many people and even pastors tell their stories and elevate their words above the words of Jesus. I do not ever want to be in that position! This is why I preach from the Word, exegete the scriptures, and seek to understand what God is trying to say to me before I bring His Word to you. The Spirit in you and I is the same as the Spirit is in Jesus, but we are not God, and we do not have the Spirit without measure. And remember, the Holy Spirit comes and amplifies and glorifies Christ, not himself. When we are preaching and speaking by the Spirit, Christ is uplifted and glorified. Oh, to have more of Him and less of me!

35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John knew who was in control. Jesus Christ was already given all things. He was, as John wrote, the eternal word of God, from eternity, the creator. He was and is co-equal with God. The keys to eternal life and the keys to eternal judgment are in His hands. In verse 36, John ties belief with obedience. If we believe in Jesus, it is more than just a mental ascent. It is believing mentally, emotionally, and volitionally. If we say that we believe in Him, and yet it has no impact on the way that we live our very lives, then we do not truly believe in Him. Said a different way, if you believe, you will obey, and you will have eternal life. The most important thing that you must obey is the Gospel. This means that you believe what God says about you, and who you are in truth. As a result, you repent and trust in the Savior. If you do not believe, you will not obey the Gospel. If you do not repent and look to Christ alone for your salvation, the wrath of God remains on you.

Jesus Christ has already been given all things. He deserves our worship, our praise, our thanksgiving, and all the glory that is due His name. If we believe, we will recognize as John did that God is sovereign, and as a result, we will know our place. We will know Jesus, and we will have great joy in His plan and His purpose being accomplished. Finally, we will know that He is in control of all we are, all we say, and all we do. We will submit to His guiding and His leading in everything.

The Light John 3:21

2008-11-30T07:57:00.002-05:00

In our last study, we spent a lot of time unpacking what it means to be in the darkness and what it looks like. Make no mistake about it, in case I did not make the point clearly is that we are living in very dark times where men and women love sin more than they love life, and they prefer the darkness to the light. People do not like the light, they hate the light because the light is pure, the light is holy, and the light exposes them and their actions in truth. The ugly reality is that people hate the light and live in opposition to it. The crucial act of being born again changes our characteristics; we are no longer children of darkness but children of light. Because of this, our attitude is changed about things associated with darkness, and we are attracted to and marked by the light. In this message, I would like to dig into what light is, and, more importantly, who light is.

21 but whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

What is true? Sincerity in action, character, and in what we say. We do what is true when we act in accordance to the reality of Christ in us. Light is a metaphor for what is true. When Jesus is called the logos, it means that" The Word was God" (John 1:1). Jesus as logos is the eternal expression of God as a word is the expression of a thought. This expression is also truth, and this truth shines light into our lives. When we have honestly responded to the revelation (the light) that God has given us, and we respond to His seeking of us by responding in repentance and faith, we are walking in the light. This is doing what is true; If we honestly and with an open heart respond to and put into practice the revelation God has placed before us. The light also reveals us for who we are in truth. As we understand who we are in truth, we can either deny it or be cleansed. As John teaches us in his first epistle:

1 John 1:5-9 this is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When the light of God shines on us, we can choose how we want to deal with what is true about ourselves. We may understand what is true in action, but more importantly, we need to understand that Jesus is the truth (John 14:6) and what He says about us in His Word is true. As Christians, one of the major tests of our lives in Christ is how we deal with the light of truth when it is shined on us. There is no darkness in God at all. His light is perfect, it reflects His holiness and purity. His light is perfect, and it exposes imperfections. We cannot walk closely with God when we are walking in darkness. It is impossible to do! We deceive ourselves when we walk in darkness and say that we have fellowship with him. The greater deception is when the light of God shines in on our lives, and we deny that we have sin. When a Christian is exposed to the light of God, by the reading or preaching of the Word, and there is sin exposed, the Christian humbly acknowledges the sin, confesses it, and repents. When a Christian does that, the promise is that we will be forgiven and cleansed from all unrighteousness. If we deny our sin, it is worse off for us. Proverbs 28:13 tells us that if we cover our sin, we will not prosper. But if we confess and forsake our sin, we will obtain mercy.

Nicodemus, Spurgeon, and even my own testimony bear this out. We were all three drawn by Jesus Christ. We welcomed his good news. Though the light exposed us for who we were, we responded to the light by repentance and faith. Now, we live by the truth. We live differently because of who Jesus is in us. Nicodemus was a secret follower of Christ, but stood up on Jesus’ behalf before the Sanhedrin and came alongside Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus. Jesus Changed Nicodemus! Spurgeon, despite his parents’ faith, and yet with their blessing, was baptized and began 42 years of Gospel ministry at the age of 15 that only ended in his death. His life was one that was brought out of the darkness of sin and despair into the light by simple repentance and faith; Jesus changed Spurgeon! And, as I testified this last week, Jesus changed me, and is still changing me. He is growing me in holiness every day.

So, let us examine in depth the word light. What is light? I think it is much more important to examine who is light? First of all, God is light:

"God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5).

Darkness, as we discussed in our last study, is the universal symbol and condition of sin and death; indeed it is the universal condition of mankind outside of Christ. Light is the opposite of darkness; it is the symbol and expression of holiness. When the light shines in, there is no doubt about whose presence you are in. This is why no man can look upon God and live, indeed, His light is so bright that it exposes any hint of darkness. Isaiah is an example, as God called him to ministry, he realized how impure he was and could not even see himself being a servant of God because of the darkness in himself.

"The light of Israel will be for a fire, and his Holy One for a flame" (Isaiah 10:17).

Light is interchanged with God here; you could just as well say the God of Israel will be for a fire. The fire was a symbol for purification, indeed gold is placed in the fire to burn off any impurities. When Jesus came (the Holy One) he operated like a fire, purifying those who would take Him as Lord. The difficulty here is that it is not always a pleasant experience to be purified. This is part of dying to ourselves, indeed in giving up the very thing that we love the most, the sin that we hold precious. When we are growing in holiness as followers of Christ, our view of the light changes. God, by His presence and grace, is to us as Christians, a "marvelous light"

1 Peter 2:9 But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

As Christians, we see the light as marvelous, because it is the light that God has used to expose us for who we are, but he has also called us into this wonderful light. We can be partakers and participants in this new life where we have passed from death to life; from darkness to light. We are now His possession, His people, His priests and His representatives because we have been called into His light. This is the benefit of being in His light while on earth, and the good news is that we will enjoy this light forever, for the glory of His holiness and presence is the "everlasting light" of the redeemed in heaven:

Isaiah 60:19, "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.

Revelation 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 22:5 And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever.

Jesus Christ is light: Jesus, as the eternal Word is God, and the term light is applied to Him as another proof that He is fully God. As light He was "God.... manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16 ) Jesus, who said "Let there be light" (Genesis 1:3), and there was light, is Himself the "radiance of (God's) glory"

Hebrews 1:3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Jesus Christ is the exact representation of God’s nature, which we have already learned has the aspect of light. And as God, Jesus Christ is light as God is light:

John 1:4-5, 9 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

As the predicted Messiah, He was to be "for alight of the Gentiles" and indeed, he was to free the captives of darkness through shining the light of goodness, purity, and holiness:

Isaiah 42:6-7; "I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, And I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the dungeon And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

And indeed, he came to save all people from their sin by shining His light:

Isaiah 49:6. He says, "It is too small a thing that you should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make you a light of the nations So that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."

His birth was the fulfillment of this prophecy in Isaiah (Luke 2:32). As confirmation of this, Jesus called Himself "the light of the world" in one of his many I AM statements, again affirming His deity:

John 8:12; Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

John 9:5; "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

John 12:46: "I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness

Jesus Christ is the light of the world, and he came into this world to bring men out of darkness, that is, to save them from darkness, which is sin, and death, and hell. Paul describes this truth as the Gospel:

2 Corinthians 4:4-6 4In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God gives "the light of the knowledge of (his) glory in the face of Jesus Christ", and this salvation is called "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” Indeed, the darkness tries to keep us, but the light of Christ has come into the world, and the darkness cannot swallow Him up! Christ is indeed the Teacher, Enlightener ("Christ shall give thee light," Ephesians 5:14) Guide, the truth, the life, indeed, He is the light, which brings salvation to all mankind.

When we are saved, we are regenerated, our lives are changed, we live differently than we did in our former lives of darkness. In fact, Jesus calls us as individuals ‘light’ and, as the church; we are to manifest His light to the world. (Ephesians 3:9-10) When we come to Jesus, our lives are new, and should be shaped by Jesus and His Word. The Holy Spirit, working in our lives, gives us new power, new goals, and new interests. One of those new interests is the desire to see people saved; therefore we have a desire to share the good news with others. In our new lives, our works that we do for Christ are sanctified and identified as works that are carried out in God. Indeed, when we come to Christ that is the only time that we actually do works that are seen as good by God; in our flesh all of our good works are filthy rags in God’s sight. When light is shined into our lives, we don’t mind the light; in fact, we enjoy walking in the light. We enjoy being with other believers. We love the things we used to hate and hate the things we used to love. When we step into the darkness, we feel uncomfortable; and we also bring light there, which makes those in the dark feel very uncomfortable!

The result of being light carriers is that people who are in the darkness will hate you. This includes others who may call themselves Christians. There are those who call themselves Christians who love the dark more than they love the light. They want to live like Hell six days a week and believe they are in God’s grace because they attend church on Sunday. Of course, there are those who live very good lives, marked with very good works, and they are very religious, but they hate the truth that you are not justified by good works, rather, you must be born again. These ‘Nicodemites’ are blinded to the light like Nicodemus was. And they will hate you because they are very comfortable with their works and their religion. One sign that a person is a Christian is that they will love other believers. When your light shines, and the reaction is love, you are in fellowship with another true believer. That is why weekly assembling of ourselves together is so important; we are battling darkness and hatred all week long if we are allowing our lights to shine and we need the building up and equipping and fellowship that church provides.

My challenge is this as we close this very important passage: Have you been born again? There are many ways in which one can tell. Has there been a time in your life when you have repented of your sin, agreeing with God that you are pursuing a life of darkness, and turning from that life of darkness you have responded by faith to God’s remedy; the suffering death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ on your behalf? You can know that you have been born from above by some very simple, yet important self-examination. Are you growing in holiness? Do you love what you used to hate, and hate what you used to love? Do you love the Word of God, the Bible? Do you pray daily? Do you find it easy or a burden to live in obedience to God’s will? Do you love and desire to fellowship with, other believers? Do you share your faith? Are you walking in the light? I am not talking about works; I am talking about the natural development of one who has been born of God. The first step of this journey of sanctification is being born from above. These are just family traits that distinguish whose family you are in! I pray that you have responded to the drawing of God to look to Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation and that you are growing to be more like Him every day. May God grow you more and more into the image of Jesus Christ today and this week.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T13:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15
As we have just finished our Thanksgiving dinners, and we have sat around hopefully reflecting upon those things for which we ought to give thanks, I would hope that you would take time to think about the God who gives you life. Did you know that the heart beats 100,000 times per day? This happens without our thinking about it. It pumps blood though a system which is all together 60,000 miles long. Over a lifetime, a human heart pumps a million gallons of blood! The Bible tells us that all things are held together by Him (Colossians 1:17) so in reality, each atom that makes up the structure of your body and governs the breaths you take, the heart beating, and other systems that you need to live. Did you take the time to thank Him today?

Many people fail to think about the good things that God has given them. As mentioned above, God has given us life. In America, our poverty is considered wealth in many other countries. If we have clean water to drink, we are better off than 2/3 of the worlds population, yet we fail daily to give God thanks (instead complaining about Marshall water). He has given us air to breathe, eyes to look at His beautiful creation, a nose to smell wonderful scents, and a mouth to eat good foods with. Yet, with that same mouth we often curse the very God who gives us life instead of thanking Him.

The most important thing that we ought to thank God for is the indescribable gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus condescended to us, that is, he left an indescribable place (his heavenly kingdom) to be made in the form of human flesh (Philippians 2:7) and to make his dwelling among us. The very Lord of the universe, who spoke the creation into being, who holds the universe together by his powerful Word, came down to this planet, not as a powerful, fully formed man, but as a tiny egg that developed in a human mother's womb. He did this to demonstrate the love of God for us. You see, Jesus Christ came to this planet not to be born, but to die. He spent thirty-three years here, living a perfect life, teaching, preaching, and healing. He was the manifestation of God, a perfect reflection of who God is. And the ultimate demonstration of God's love for us was when he paid the penalty in full for the sins we have committed.

The death of Christ makes no sense to us if we do not understand why he died. Ultimately, Christ died because of our sin. The Bible says that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we could be made the righteousness of God in Him (1 Corinthians 5:21) You see, whenever we have lied, stolen, hated, not loved or thanked God for all things, we have sinned. God is Holy, and he cannot have sin in his presence. So Jesus Christ came to be made that sin on our behalf so we could enjoy God's righteousness. To put it simply: Christ paid the fine that we owed God due to our sin. What we must due is to accept the fine that he paid on our behalf. The best way we can thank God is to stop relying on our own good works to please Him.

As we enter into this Christmas season, I encourage you to consider the gifts we give our own children. We give them because we love our children. Because they are gifts, the only payment we expect from them is the giving of thanks. God has given us the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. He has given Him as a payment for our sins, so that we could have righteousness. This is a gift that is indescribable because it is not something that we can gain on our own. We cannot gain it through baptism, being a member of a church, doing good works, or through any religious system. We gain the gift by simply turning from our own path and turning to God. This is called repentance, a 180 degree turn from self and sin to God. Like a child on Christmas day, look to the gift you Father in heaven has given you, open wide your hands, and receive it. It is the best gift ever; for it is eternal, it never loses its value, and, by His Spirit, it is renewed every single day. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!

Darkness or Light?

2008-11-22T13:34:00.002-05:00

Last week, we examined Jesus’ teaching about belief; a Greek word pisteuo which means placing trust in and committing to the object of belief. We examined how we must look to Jesus alone for our salvation, as opposed to our good works and religion as a means of salvation. As we open up the text for this week, we see a very different reason for men to refuse the simple offer of salvation. For Nicodemus, it was his self-righteousness and religiosity that blinded him. For others, it is their desire to do evil. In reality, both of these things are very similar if not the same; for God sees our works of righteousness that we do outside of Christ as filthy rags. In a way, trying to do good outside of Christ to please God is really doing evil; trying to get others who do not know Christ to act in a good manner is promoting evil. Let us examine the scripture:

19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

Another reason people are judged or condemned (same Greek word) and do not see their way to salvation is that they love darkness. They love their sin more than they love life. When we are in sin, and we enjoy it, we have a hard time seeing the light or desiring the light because we are blinded by our sin. The truth is, men want to continue undisturbed in their evil. Darkness is a metaphor that John uses over and over to describe life outside of Christ. People who are blinded by sin, like Nicodemus, live in spiritual darkness. Those who are blind do not know the difference between darkness and light. They need, like Paul, to have the scales fall from their eyes. When we were in Minneapolis doing street evangelism, I noticed that not many people were entering the adult bookstore while we were there. I was encouraged that our preaching may have slowed down business for the evening! It was then explained to me that all of these businesses have a back door where people can enter and exit without being seen or identified. We are in darkness because of our sin, and we do all we can to stay in that darkness. Since these folks entered through the back door, not desiring to be identified, it is obvious they do not want their deeds exposed. This is also why we get such rancor from the crowds who are listening to our preaching, for they do not want to hear about sin, because they love their sin! They do not want their deeds exposed. It is the idol in their life. They hate the light, and cower back into the darkness.

Deeds done in darkness are those deeds that bring us shame. Men that love pornography hide in their rooms behind closed doors because they are ashamed of what they are doing. People who like to party and get drunk or high do so at night. They do so with others who enjoy the same things they do, for they will not be judged. I have been a non-drinking observer at parties, and on the golf course. It is fascinating how much not drinking truly bothers those that do. They try to convince you to join them. In particular, Christians are continually called upon to compromise so that people will feel more comfortable in their sin. People want to have approval of other people, especially those seen as morally upright. This is truly the problem with modern-day preaching. Shame has disappeared, preachers have become sterile in their approach to sin, and they have dimmed the light in their churches so that they can get rear ends in the chairs. If we shined the light of the Word of God in our churches, one of two things would happen; people will repent and get saved or they will run away and find a church where their sin is approved of, or just avoid church altogether.

It is amazing the extent to which people will go to protect their sin. They do not seem to want to be saved from it. But, if you love the darkness, and you feel comfortable there, you will do just about anything to justify it. The worst thing a Christian can do is what Tony Jones and a host of other ‘compassionate christians’ are doing is to protect people by preaching a different gospel, either telling them that you can live in sin and be a Christian. Tony Jones and a host of other emergent authors and speakers have come out recently in support of Obama despite his stand on abortion. They have also come out and said that lifestyle sins are not sins at all, that God accepts those who live in them. These same people who love their pet sin so much that they change the very word of God to justify it. An amazing example is the new Voice translation of the Bible, just coming out this year. They have substituted the word ‘homosexuality’ with the phrase ‘sexual deviancy’ in 1 Corinthians 6:10. The problem? The definition for sexual deviancy always is changing. Homosexuality used to be defined as sexual deviancy, now it no longer is. It is seen more and more today as normal, as a genetic reality that people cannot change. People who love the sin of fornication say that there is no restriction in the Bible for anything outside of intercourse. They justify their sexual activity, whatever it is, by saying there is no specific restriction of it. Jesus was very clear: Whoever looks with lust (sexual desire) is guilty of adultery. If we look with lust, we break God’s law. The due penalty is that we will be found guilty, even if we never commit the act. People hate to hear that, I know I did.

What is worse is those who will create an idol of God to protect their pet sin. The most common phrase I hear in this way is that God is all forgiving. He will forgive me if I just ask for forgiveness. This is not what the scripture says. This God that is all forgiving in the absence or wrath and judgment is a false God. The other end is that we can also do something to appease God when we have sinned. In other words, there are many who try to do good works as a way of bribing God to not look at their sin, or to bring the scales back into balance. This is also a false belief about God; for if God will accept a bribe then he is a corrupt judge. Another falsehood preached to lost sinners is that all they must do is accept Christ into their lives and He will take care of their issues (not sins). A major teaching that is left out of the Gospels and epistles today is the word repentance. Repentance involves confession; that is to agree with God that what His Word says about you is true. This is to say that you are dead in your specific sins and trespasses. That above all, you are wretched with no hope. Repentance also involves turning, turning the opposite direction from the way in which you are walking (towards your sin, away from God) towards God.
As was mentioned last week, this was the example of the Israelites in the wilderness. Their confession, indeed their repentance was not enough. They needed to look unto the serpent that Moses lifted up. We must repent and look to the Savior that God has lifted up, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the good news: God has provided a way of escape by which we can have all of our sins forgiven. It is by believing in God’s remedy. There is not other remedy; we must look to Jesus Christ as our sin bearer. God will neither look by sin, nor will He be bribed. Sin must be paid for because God is a just God. This is what God did; he made Jesus Christ to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. In other words, Jesus Christ paid the penalty (death) on our behalf. What made it effective for all who will believe is that God placed all sins on Christ, then poured out his wrath on Jesus. By being fully man, Jesus Christ could suffer, bleed, and die. By being fully God, his payment could be effective for all mankind. The good news is the same as the bad news: there is no other way. You must place your trust in that sin bearer.

Why do people stay away from the light? Why do they hate when preachers preach about sin and righteousness and judgment? Why do the dislike reading the Bible? Because they hate the light, because it exposes them for whom they really are. But this is not limited to those who do bad deeds. Nicodemus’ sin was self-righteous pride. This blinded him to the simple truth of salvation found in Christ, indeed, it blinded him to the scriptural truth that he had. He had a hard time understanding the light, but at least he was walking towards it. Spurgeon’s sin was the same; he was caught in the trap of religion and of birthright, being born in a godly home, and trusting that for his salvation. How many of us wear the term Christian on our sleeve, and trust in our heritage, our knowledge, and our religion, even the country we live in for our salvation. It is my own testimony; for I was raised in what would be considered a god-fearing home. I attended church, I was baptized, confirmed. For the most part, I was a moral person. It was only when the light of the law was turned on that I realized that I was a sinner, and that there was nothing that I could do to please God or bribe my way into heaven that I was able to understand my personal need for a savior. I was walking in the darkness, I needed to be brought into the light. The only way I could do this was by being born from above. I needed to look to Jesus! When I did, Christ saved me. Hallelujah! There is hope for all of us in this next verse:

21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

What is true? Sincerity in action, character, and in what we say. We do what is true when we act in accordance to the reality of Christ in us. When we have honestly responded to the revelation that God has given us, and we respond to His seeking of us by responding in repentance and faith. When we look at creation, we acknowledge there is a creator that is obviously greater than us. When we look at God’s Word, the Bible, we see the standards God has, but also the means of salvation that He has provided for us. In the Word, we see Christ, and we place our faith and trust in Him. If we honestly and with an open heart respond to and put into practice the revelation God has placed before us, we will come to the light. Nicodemus, Spurgeon, and even my own testimony bear this out. We were all three drawn by Jesus Christ. We welcomed his good news. Though the light exposed us for who we were, we responded to the light by repentance and faith. Now, we live by the truth. We live differently because of who Jesus is in us. Nicodemus was a secret follower of Christ, but stood up on Jesus’ behalf before the Sanhedrin and came alongside Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus. Jesus Changed Nicodemus! Spurgeon, despite his parents’ faith, and yet with their blessing, was baptized and began 42 years of Gospel ministry at the age of 15 that only ended in his death. His life was one that was brought out of the darkness of sin and despair into the light by simple repentance and faith; Jesus changed Spurgeon! And, as I testified earlier, Jesus changed me, and is still changing me. He is growing me in holiness every day.

When we are saved, we are regenerated, our lives are changed, we live differently than we did in our former lives of darkness. When you come to Jesus, your lives are new, and should be shaped by Jesus and His Word. The Holy Spirit, working in our lives, gives us new power, new goals, and new interests. One of those new interests is the desire to see people saved, therefore we have a desire to share the good news with others. In our new lives, our works that we do for Christ are sanctified and identified as works that are carried out in God. Indeed, when we come to Christ that is the only time that we actually do works that are seen as good by God; in our flesh all of our good works are filthy rags in God’s sight. We don’t mind the light, in fact, we enjoy walking in the light. We enjoy being with other believers. We love the things we used to hate and hate the things we used to love. When we step into the darkness, we feel uncomfortable; and we also bring light there, which makes those in the dark feel very uncomfortable!

The result of being light carriers is that people who are in the darkness will hate you. This includes other Christians. There are those who call themselves Christians who love the dark more than they love the light. They want to live like Hell six days a week and believe they are in God’s grace because they attend church on Sunday. Of course, there are those who live very good lives, marked with very good works, and they are very religious, but they hate the truth that you are not justified by good works, rather, you must be born again. These ‘Nicodemites’ are blinded to the light like Nicodemus was. And they will hate you because they are very comfortable with their works and their religion. One sign that a person is a Christian is that they will love other believers. When your light shines, and the reaction is love, you are in fellowship with another true believer. That is why weekly assembling of ourselves together is so important; we are battling darkness and hatred all week long if we are allowing our lights to shine and we need the building up and equipping and fellowship that church provides.

My challenge is this as we close this very important passage: Have you been born again? There are many ways in which one can tell. Has there been a time in your life when you have repented of your sin, agreeing with God that you are pursuing a life of darkness, and turning from that life of darkness you have responded by faith to God’s remedy; the suffering death and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ on your behalf? You can know that you have been born from above by some very simple, yet important self-examination. Are you growing in holiness? Do you love what you used to hate, and hate what you used to love? Do you love the Word of God, the Bible? Do you pray daily? Do you find it easy or a burden to live in obedience to God’s will? Do you love and desire to fellowship with, other believers? Do you share your faith? Are you walking in the light? I am not talking about works; I am talking about the natural development of one who has been born of God. The first step of this journey of sanctification is being born from above. These are just family traits that distinguish whose family you are in! I pray that you have responded to the drawing of God to look to Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation, and that you are growing to be more like Him every day. May God grow you more and more into the image of Jesus Christ today and this week.

Look unto Jesus and be Saved!

2008-11-15T20:50:00.002-05:00

What is urgent as we come to Jesus as Nicodemus did is to ask God to open our eyes. Nicodemus was a man of high moral character, the teacher of Israel. But He was so self-righteous, so full of pride, that he had become spiritually blind. This is what happens whenever we find righteousness in a code or a set of rules to be looked at by men as being righteous. As we open up the scripture today, we see Jesus’ explanation of what is required by God for us to become righteous in God’s sight.

11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

Jesus had just gotten finished sharing with Nicodemus an important spiritual truth using earthly illustrations that he should have been able to understand. Jesus used birth to illustrate the new life that we all need, and in that birth is a process that we who are being born do not initiate or choose, it just happens. When we are born from above, it is not due to Human effort, it is due to the initiation of God. We are literally carried along by his will and initiative, and born in His image through no effort of our own. Then, Jesus used wind to help Nicodemus and us understand that what happens in not visible nor is it controllable by man, but we can see the result, and harness the power.

Jesus chides Nicodemus, for he is speaking with him the in the way that he ought to understand. In other words, Nicodemus is a learned man, and has observed both of these physical things. If we look at the physical, which we are a part of, and do not understand it, how is it that we are to understand spiritual truths? It is only by the Spirit of God that we can understand spiritual things, and Jesus, being from above, is the only one that can discern and explain these things to us and to our Spirit. We need to listen and respond in belief.

Belief is the key word in this passage; it is the catalyst for salvic faith. Jesus tells us in other passages that our belief must be like that of a child. Nicodemus had a hard time receiving what Jesus was saying, because his intellect and his human training had hardened him, leaving him in spiritual darkness. I have met many people who want to complicate salvation to the point that nobody can understand it! Jesus simplifies it to one word: belief. The Greek word is πιστευετε pisteuo pist-yoo'-o: to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one's spiritual well-being to Christ) In other words, we must have faith in, entrust ourselves to, Christ for our salvation. It is really that simple. Nicodemus, unfortunately at this point did not have faith in Christ, or it was an incomplete faith, and he was entrusting in His own good works, position, and education for his spiritual well being. How many today can say this, that we believe in Christ, but we have not entrusted ourselves to Him alone? There are many in our community, and even in this congregation, who have not surrendered all to Christ and placed their full trust in Him. This involves laying all on the alter, dying to self, and releasing all to Jesus Christ, allowing Him to take the wheel so to speak. Anything we hold to for ourselves as a means to gain a greater salvation.

13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

Jesus Christ is explaining here that no one but He is qualified to teach these spiritual truths, for He is the only eternal Son of God, he is God, he has come from heaven to earth in his incarnation, and as God, is present in both spheres at once. He is one person, but through the hypostatic union, He is fully God and fully man. He is the One who has the grasp on both physical and heavenly reality. He has the spiritual light by which we must teach and be taught. But more importantly, he has a purpose that is presented to Nicodemus and to us.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Jesus now refers Nicodemus to a period of History that was very familiar to Him. In Numbers 21, when the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, the people sinned against God by questioning His goodness to them. They demonstrated a lack of belief in God in that they neither trusted Him nor thanked Him for His provision nor His direction not His Salvation (from Egypt) when the people sinned, God sent immediate judgment in the form of poisonous snakes. When the people cried out to God, God gave them a way of escape, by having Moses lift up a brazen serpent on the pole. When the people looked to the serpent, they were practicing repentance in that they realized they had sin, they were sorry for their sin, and they turned to God, placing their trust in his salvation by looking upon the brazen serpent.

Jesus was stating that in the same way, He would be lifted up and that he was going to be the means of salvation. He was saying that, we must realize that we have sinned, we must repent, and believe in God’s salvation, the Son of God, Jesus Christ (himself) who God had sent to be lifted up on a tree as God’s salvation. Charles Spurgeon, a wonderful preacher in the last century, was an example of being born again from this very concept. He was the son and a grandson of preachers, raised in the love and the discipline of the Lord. Certainly, from the teaching in his church and in his home he was a learned fellow. Certainly, he understood the concept of being born again from above. But, at the age of 15, he was walking to a church and, in his own words, this is what happened:

Isaiah 45:22 — "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”.

You have often heard me tell how I had been wandering about, seeking rest, and finding none, till a plain, unlettered, lay preacher among the Primitive Methodists stood up in the pulpit, and gave out this passage as his text. He had not much to say, thank God, for that compelled him to keep on repeating his text, and there was nothing needed — by me, at any rate, — except his text. I remember how he said, —'It is Christ that speaks. I am in the garden in an agony, pouring out my soul unto death; I am on the tree, dying for sinners; look unto me! Look unto Me! that is all you have to do. A child can look. One who is almost an idiot can look. However weak, or however poor, a man may be, he can look; and if he looks, the promise is that he shall live.' Then, stopping, he pointed to where I was sitting under the gallery, and he said,’ That young man there looks very miserable.' I expect I did, for that is how I felt. Then he said,’ There is no hope for you young man, or any chance of getting rid of your sin, but by LOOKING TO JESUS;’ and he shouted, as I think only a Primitive Methodist can,’ Look! Look, young man! LOOK NOW!'
And I did look; and when they sang a hallelujah before they went home, in their own earnest way, I am sure I joined in it. It happened to be a day when the snow was lying deep, and more was falling; so, as I went home, those words of David kept ringing through my heart, 'Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow'; and it seemed as if all nature was in accord with that blessed deliverance from sin which I had found in a single moment by looking to Jesus."

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I have often thought about the reaction of Nicodemus looking at this verse from the perspective of what he knew at that time. Was Jesus speaking in riddles? No, He was showing Nicodemus what God’s plan was pre-cross. In other words, Nicodemus understood the Salvation story of God, he knew the story of the serpents in the wilderness. Jesus was explaining that, in the same way, God was going to demonstrate His love for all people by doing the same thing with His beloved Son. Salvation was to be provided through faith in Christ. The word again is pisteuo, and it indicates not just a mental ascent, but also a trust upon and in the object of the belief. And, this must have blown Nicodemus’ mind, this was for the whole kosmos or world, not just for the Jews.

We can look back at this verse from the perspective of the cross, and see that Jesus Christ was lifted up because God so loved (agape) us. He desired to save us if we would simply place our trust in and look to Him for salvation. Just like the Israelites who were bitten by the serpents in the wilderness would perish if they did not place their belief in the salvation of God by looking at the brazen serpent, we will perish because we have been snake bit by sin unless we believe in the salvation of God.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Jesus did not come here to condemn the world, the world was already under condemnation. When Jesus comes the second time, indeed, He will come as judge. No, Jesus’ purpose for being in the world, as Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus, is that the world might be saved. Jesus came the first time as an extension of the love, mercy, and grace of God. God the Son came to this earth, was incarnated (took on a body) and lived here as Jesus Christ. He came into the world for the entire purpose of bringing salvation to the world.

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Whoever believes in Jesus Christ is not condemned. Again, the Greek word indicates not just a mental ascent, but a trust placed in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If we believe, place trust in the true Jesus, we are not condemned. If we do not believe in, place trust in Jesus Christ we are condemned already, because we have not trusted God’s way of salvation.

We see in the story of the snakes in the wilderness people who rebelled against God’s means of salvation; indeed, they simply died! Yet, many people today rebel against God’s plan of salvation. They are dead in their sins, so they go about seeking an alternative cure, in other words, they desire to save themselves by their own preferred means rather than trusting in the truth of the scripture. Unfortunately, many churches, television preachers, and well-meaning Christians encourage this. It is sort of like the cancer patient who refuses the tried and true cure that the doctor offers for alternative medicine. They smoke marijuana to give them an appetite and take herbs that have neither the properties nor the full ability to cure the disease. They feel better, but the inevitable result is death from cancer. Many people desire to feel good on this earth and go their own way, earning their own salvation because of what they hear from the modern healers out there in the form of these modern preachers. They see that their life on this earth is somehow more important than the eternal life they will spend after death. They work to improve theirs and others’ station on this earth, forgetting about the judgment to come. The problem is, they do not have the felt need or the urgency of those being bitten by the snakes. They have not been warned of the judgment to come or the cure that is found only in Jesus. They have been told everything but look to Jesus! This is the fault of the modern preacher, but it is also the fault of the modern Christian. We do not feel the urgency to warn people who are dying in their sins. We believe that we can spend the time gaining their friendship or respect and then tell them about Jesus. But people die every day, and we do not know what day that will be. What we do know is that if people die without Christ, they will enter Hell. Unfortunately, many modern day Christians either do not believe this, or at least do not live like they believe this. It is far more attractive and logical to most people, as it was to Nicodemus, to do all that they can to earn their way to heaven. After all, they reason, won’t God be pleased with all the good things that I do? Many get caught in this Nicodemite trap and are blinded to the fact that Salvation has been accomplished through Christ Jesus, and that there is no other way.

Another reason people are condemned and do not see their way to salvation is that they love darkness. They love their sin more than they love life. When we are in sin, and we enjoy it, we have a hard time seeing the light or desiring the light because we are blinded by our sin. When we were in Minneapolis doing street evangelism, I noticed that not many people were entering the adult bookstore while we were there. I was encouraged that our preaching may have slowed down business for the evening! It was then explained to me that all of these businesses have a back door where people can enter and exit without being seen or identified. We are in darkness because of our sin, and we do all we can to stay in that darkness. Since these folks entered through the back door, not desiring to be identified, it is obvious they do not want their deeds exposed. This is also why we get such rancor from the crowds who are listening to our preaching, for they do not want to hear about sin, because they love their sin! They do not want their deeds exposed.

Nicodemus’ sin was self-righteous pride. This blinded him to the simple truth of salvation found in Christ, indeed, it blinded him to the scriptural truth that he had. He had a hard time understanding the light, but he was walking towards it. Spurgeon’s sin was the same; he was caught in the trap of religion and of birthright, being born in a godly home, and trusting that for his salvation. How many of us wear the term Christian on our sleeve, and trust in our heritage, our knowledge, and our religion, even the country we live in for our salvation. It is my own testimony; for I was raised in what would be considered a god-fearing home. I attended church, I was baptized, confirmed. For the most part, I was a moral person. It was only when the light of the law was turned on that I realized that I was a sinner, and that there was nothing that I could do to please God or bribe my way into heaven that I was able to understand my personal need for a savior. I was walking in the darkness, I needed to be brought into the light. The only way I could do this was by being born from above. I needed to look to Jesus! When I did, Christ saved me. Hallelujah! There is hope for all of us in this next verse:

21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

What is true? When we are honestly responding to the revelation that God has given us, and we respond to His seeking of us by responding in repentance and faith. When we look at creation, we acknowledge there is a creator that is obviously greater than us. When we look at God’s Word, the Bible, we see the standards God has, but also the means of salvation that He has provided for us. In the Word, we see Christ, and we place our faith and trust in Him. If we honestly and with an open heart respond to the revelation God has placed before us, we will come to the light. When we are saved, our works that we do for Christ are sanctified and identified as works that are carried out in God. Indeed, when we come to Christ that is the only time that we actually do works that are seen as good by God; in our flesh all of our good works are filthy rags in God’s sight.

I urge you as we close as I echo that primitive Methodist Pastor- Look to Jesus young man or young woman! It is only in this simple act of faith where we look to Christ alone for forgiveness of sins and for salvation that we can be saved. And the promise? As repenting and looking upon the brass snake saved the Israelites, we will be saved as we repent and trust alone in Christ. I urge you to do this today!

Have you been Born Again?

2008-11-08T19:39:00.002-05:00

Bringing us up to date from the end of the 2nd Chapter, we saw many who believed in Jesus due to the fact that he had performed signs and spoke with authority in the Temple as he confronted those who were selling sacrifices and the religious leaders who were hypocrites. One of those who recognized Jesus as being from God, and had belief in Him because of the signs that He did was Nicodemus, as we see here in John 3:1:

1Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a member of the religious sect of the Jews. The Pharisees were a party of those who desired to be separate (this is what the name Pharisee means) from the rest of the people. The way that they separated was by keeping the Law of Moses, as well as a group of other laws that they had made on the side to clarify and improve on the law of God. These Pharisees were a special target of Jesus, because in their keeping of the special laws they had become very religious, but also very far from God. They found their righteousness in their works. In other words, they were very religious and very self- righteous. If you would ask a Pharisee, they would believe that God was very proud of them because of their behavior. They also compared their behavior against other people’s behavior, believing that they were superior to others. This is why the Pharisees were always around when Jesus spoke, for Jesus’ teachings were in complete opposition to the Pharisee’s worldview.

Nicodemus was also a leader of the Jews. He was a member of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jews. The Sanhedrin was made up of 70 members, and they were responsible for religious decisions as well as limited civil rule under the Romans. For example, it was the Sanhedrin that judged Jesus and turned him over to the Romans for punishment. In verse 10, we see also that Nicodemus was also a teacher of the Jews. The use of the word ‘the’ in verse 10 indicates a definite article that would separate Nicodemus from the other teachers; apparently he was a master teacher. He had attained a high standing among the teachers of His day. He was a leader not only in the civil and religious sense, he also set the standard as a greatly educated man and teacher of the people. He was a man of high moral character, deep religious hunger, and yet he was spiritually blinded to whom he was speaking with, as well as the clear truth of the scripture he taught to the nation.

2This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him."

Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus by night? There could be many reasons that he came to Jesus at night. Some have taken a symbolic tact, seeing that Nicodemus was in spiritual darkness that he was not aware of until Jesus exposed it. Others postulate he was fearful of the eyes of the other members of the Sanhedrin. Perhaps he simply wanted to spend an extended time with Jesus away from the crowds. Whatever the reason, He was about to have his eyes opened wide about his own spiritual condition, as well as the spiritual condition of the nation in which he taught and ruled.

Nicodemus addressed Jesus as rabbi and teacher. These were perhaps titles of respect, or even ones of flattery. The pronoun we indicates that he and others recognized that Jesus was a teacher. The position of this account in the book of John indicates Nicodemus was one of those who had believed in Jesus due to the signs that he performed. This visit at night was to determine who Jesus was in better depth, and to find out what he was doing. The signs Jesus performed already demonstrated to Nicodemus and those that he represented that He had come from God. This is why Nicodemus knew that He was no ordinary teacher or Rabbi. However, by addressing Jesus by these terms, Nicodemus demonstrated ignorance as to who Jesus Christ was in truth.

3Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."

By this answer, Jesus cuts to the quick, addressing Nicodemus’ most pressing need. He was not on the same level as Nicodemus was as a Rabbi and a teacher; rather, He was one who had come from above (anothen, which means both again and from above in the Greek). Nicodemus was good by the standards of humans all around him, in fact, He was superior to many. Yet his education and his position still left him in spiritual darkness. He needed a re-birth from above to transition from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God. No amount of learning, religious discipline, or leadership of the people would help Nicodemus get any closer to the thing that he was seeking; that being God’s approval. Only regeneration, that is, being born again, could give Nicodemus what he was seeking, but didn’t even know He needed.

This was another proof of Jesus’ deity; for he was able to see the need that people didn’t know they had. He was able to see into their soul and know it was darkened. When Nicodemus walked into the room, Jesus already had identified what his need was. He didn’t see a great religious leader and teacher, He saw a lost sinner who needed to be saved. In our community, there are many religious people who are highly educated and believe that through their position in the church and in the community and by the works that they do that they are in good with God and are on their way to heaven. But the message for them and for us is the same. Jesus looks into our church and looks right at me and right at you and says to us that we must be born from above in order to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God.

4Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God

Nicodemus is a great teacher of Israel, yet he is so spiritually blind that he cannot understand this basic spiritual truth. But, he is being drawn here to the Savior, and he seeks deeper understanding of what Jesus is talking about. Many religious people are so full of pride that they cannot ask or seek. Nicodemus at least sought a deeper understanding. Jesus used the natural process of birth to help Nicodemus and us understand what being born again means and what it requires. It is like birth, in that it is new life. This new life is a process that is initiated and completed from heaven. The water is used to illustrate spiritual cleansing in the Old Testament, and in the New Testament, the water is the Word of God :

Ephesians 5:26
26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,

So the new Birth is the spiritual cleansing accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the Word of God at the moment of salvation.

Titus 3:5
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit

It is not by the works of righteousness that we do, but initiated by His mercy, and the regeneration and renewal-new birth-is accomplished by the Holy Spirit at God’s command. We must understand that we are not saved because we choose God; it is because He chooses us. We are not saved based upon the works that we do, or the kind of good people we are, but it is because of his mercy. We are saved despite who we are. This is why we must be reborn from heaven; for there is nothing good in us. We must be made new.

Nicodemus was a great teacher of Israel, on who was separated by his good works, one who people would measure themselves against. Yet he was not exempt; all of these good works were filthy rags in the eyes of God. Nicodemus needed a Savior, just like the rest of us do. He needed cleansing and rebirth despite the fact he had done all the ritual cleansing, he was ritually pure, and had done many good works that had the purpose of pleasing God. He did not recognize Himself as one who had broken the law and one who had needed God to be his salvation. He, like many in his time and many today, are seeking to be their own salvation based upon a false picture of who God is and who we are. Even if Nicodemus could climb back into the womb a second time and be born again, he would have the same condition, as Jesus tried to clarify with the 6th verse:

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'

Jesus breaks it down for Nicodemus; he was born of the flesh. He was a broken person. Those that are born in the flesh are of the flesh, and everything that goes with it; including a broken nature. There is nothing we can do, even climb back into the womb as it were, to change that fact. Even Nicodemus understood and believed about the resurrection of the dead. Jesus clarified this idea and stated that there are requirements, requirements that cannot be met by natural man. Nicodemus was of the flesh, a natural man. To get into the Kingdom of God, He must be born of the Spirit. Jesus says do not marvel; that is to say that this is a logical progression. One who is simply natural man, of the flesh, cannot see the kingdom of heaven. A human being must be born from above, something that is God-initiated and is a process by which the natural, dirty man is regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit. Just like birth, there is nothing that a man can do to hurry along the process. It happens when it happens. When the birth pangs come, there is the response of the one giving birth, but not until the pangs come. In the spiritual, No man comes to the Son unless the Father draws him. It is nothing that we are able to initiate or desire to initiate in our own flesh. That which is in the flesh is unclean, and corrupt, and temporal. One cannot see the kingdom of God in this condition; it is only by receiving this birth from above by the Holy Spirit that we can be grafted into Christ and see the kingdom of heaven by our very nature and condition being changed. To be Born Again is to pass from all sinfulness to all holiness. We are completely changed, new creations, in Christ.

8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit."

This is nothing that we can control, or even see. Like the wind, the Spirit moves and we see the results, though the actual Spirit and wind are not visible to the naked eye. We can harness the wind, as we can see by the many windmills in this area. However, we cannot control it. It does what it wants, it goes in the direction it desires, and it makes noise but it is not seen. The process of being born-again is not something that the natural man desires, or seeks out. It is a process that comes from God, unseen, and unexpected, but, when harnessed, has the power to turn filthy sinners into new creations, born completely anew from above. We have no control over what the Spirit will do in us, and to us, for when we die to ourselves and are born from above, our will is changed, in line with God’s. In other words, just as we do not choose our parents, or our gender, or our DNA when we are conceived, we have no control if we are truly born again from above. God takes the lead, he takes the wheel, and we allow Him to drive us where we are going.

9 Nicodemus said to him, "How can these things be?" 10 Jesus answered him, "Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?

Nicodemus still had a lack of understanding. I believe, that deeper than that, Nicodemus was blind and had a heart of unbelief. His whole world had been rocked. Here He was, a poster child for the self righteous Pharisees. Measured against other men, Nicodemus was head and shoulders above in the category of righteousness. He believed that He had done all that God had required of Him. Yet, Jesus taught that He was in the same boat with the rest of humanity. Nicodemus, as Jesus taught, was wretched and wicked and had done nothing Good. This was despite the fact that He was a religious teacher that was not rivaled in Israel, he knew the scripture, and he lived a moral and upstanding life. But he was exposed before Jesus. He was like the rest of us.

This is truly the difficulty many have today in coming to Christ. We believe that we are good enough, and there is much that we have to offer God. Like Nicodemus we hide our pride well, but it is laid bare and exposed before God even though people do not recognize it. People who are not in Christ cannot understand these truths about themselves. Indeed, unless we are humble before God, we will never truly repent, never admit that we are anything less than what we believe that we are, and that is a good person. There are many people who are a part of the Church in America today who have come to Jesus like Nicodemus and have pointed to themselves as good people, and have failed to see the need to humble themselves before God and repent. When we do this, Jesus will turn the tables on us like God did to Job, exposing us for who we are. If we respond as broken and humble individuals, ready to confess and forsake our sin and turn towards Christ, we will be born again. If we refuse, and harden our hearts, we may say we believe in Christ, we may even say we follow Him, but he will not accept us or believe in us if we do not die to ourselves and place our trust in Him.

Have you been born again? Have you died to your self, crying out to God in confession, repentance, and trust unto salvation? In the coming weeks, we will examine the next ten verses of this passage, which will reveal Jesus’ discourse on the true meaning of salvation. The key word is believe; and it is an urgent call to each of us to put aside our belief in ourselves and place it on Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. If you are still trusting in yourself, your religion, your good works to please God, you will be disappointed on that last day. I urge you, if you have not been born again, cry out to God to save you. Do it today, before you leave this place. If today you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts. Turn to Him and let Him save you.

Has Jesus Entrusted Himself to You?

2008-11-02T07:52:00.000-05:00

18So the Jews answered and said to Him “What sign do you show to us, since you do these things?” 19 Jesus answered, and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that he had said this to them; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

As usual, there were a group of Jewish leaders standing around and protesting what Jesus was saying and doing. They were demanding in so many words “What gives you the authority to do these things?” “What give you the right?” “Show a sign that proves your authority” He, referring to Himself, said that when they took part in his chastisement, his crucifixion, his very death, destroying the temple of His body, that He would raise it up in three days. He was foretelling His own death and resurrection, which would be a fulfillment of prophesy found in the Psalms and Isaiah:

Psalm 22
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning?. 6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. 7 All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads: 13 Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths wide against me. 14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me. 15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. 16 Dogs have surrounded me; a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet. 17 I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.18 They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Isaiah 53:1-12 (NIV)
53 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Note the two different responses by the hearers of Jesus’ words. The Pharisees, blinded by their own pride and ambition reflected by the way that they allowed this commercialization of the Passover, responded in the natural realm. They went right into the building and how long it took to build, and how it would be impossible to raze it and raise it back again in three days. They were focused very much on the natural realm and the power which they had that was represented by their control of the building and their control of the religious and political institutions. The threat of a man coming in to usurp their authority in any way was a threat that would not be tolerated. The threat to their way of life and their income streams would not be tolerated. They had a God that they were comfortable with, One which provided them power and influence, One whom they could control. It was not the God of the Bible.

Bring this into the modern day. Church has become more and more man centered. The powerful pastors who like their comfortable jobs and their comfortable incomes do not want to do anything or say anything that will rock the boat. Their focus is on the institution of the church, and the church building, and their control of it. They will not tolerate any teaching that could threaten their power or their influence. I am speaking of many institutional churches, but I am including those who have gone the purpose driven, seeker sensitive, or prosperity gospel route. They fear man and what man can do to them; therefore they compromise the truth of the Gospel. While they act like they care about the opinions of men through their surveys, the more power that the clerical class can have in their opinion, the better. Therefore, pragmatically, they keep and wield power by succumbing and submitting to popular thought rather than the truth of the scripture. Their trust is in their business methods and their slick tongues, not God.

John is writing this Gospel again to assist in producing saving faith in those who would read it tells a different story. The disciples may not have understood totally what Jesus meant, but received at that time with the faith that they had. When Jesus was crucified and three days later rose from the dead, the seed of faith that was planted those years before sprang up and it produced another confirmation that Jesus was who He said He was, and that produced in them saving faith. They believed the scripture, which foretold the suffering servant and how He would reign forever and ever, and they remembered the words that Jesus spoke, and these together produced belief.

This is why it is so important to read the scripture and to believe what it says. When you go through a life situation, the truth of the scripture can come back to you, and can confirm your faith and belief in the Lord.

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because HE knew all men. 25And He had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

John uses in these verses the same word for belief in these phrases, but uses it to illustrate belief vs. saving faith. Many people like a Jesus of their own understanding. These folks saw what Jesus did at the Passover, the signs that He did, and the believed in His name. What signs did he do? He demonstrated zeal, his proclamation of God as His Father, and his discussion with the Pharisees. There may have been more signs, but John did not write them down, for he was not inspired to do so. When many people look at Jesus, and the stories about him, how He is so loving and forgiving and kind, and that he heals and provides…wow, that is so great! But when life gets hard, they abandon Him. Why? They believe in a false or incomplete Jesus. Jesus promised his followers trials that would come, that they would be persecuted for His name. These who had believed at this time just believed in the Jesus who did signs. They saw a new prophet, and what Jesus did was radical, and cool, and it gave them hope. In their heart, however, the signs brought no change. They loved his signs, but it did not bring them to a point of repenting in dust and in ashes. It did not cause them to submit their will to His. They just had a curiosity which caused them to have a belief in Jesus, perhaps as a prophet or a doer of wonders.

Jesus looked into their hearts, and did not believe in them- he did not entrust or commit to them himself. Why? Because He knew their hearts. They had a mental ascent that they liked what they saw of Jesus. Jesus looks for a genuine conversion rather than just a belief in the spectacular. We have covered it before, but saving faith has three aspects that are as important as we consider the Gospel of John, and examine our own personal faith. There is the mental aspect; knowing the historical Jesus, who the Word of God says He is and trusting in that portrait. Then there is the emotional; knowing God and Jesus in truth allows us to see our sin as horrible, placing Jesus on the cross, and we sorrow over that sin and that sorrow leads to repentance. Finally, saving faith is volitional, we submit our wills to Jesus, and we do what He tells us to do. Belief into Jesus’ name covers much more than an intellectual ascent; it must be a whole hearted commitment of one’s life as Jesus’ disciple.

It is so important to understand this very important and clear teaching. We see it another place in the Gospels, Matthew chapter 7.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

I personally experienced some of this on Thursday, in a more radical way than I have ever experienced it. I was at the Dakota State University doing some evangelism, which included open-air preaching and one to one sharing of our faith along with passing out of tracts to students. We were allowed on the University by the Vice President to exercise our first amendment rights of free speech on a public campus. We faced opposition that was radical, but not from the people who called themselves pagans, Hindus, Muslims, or even the atheists. Rather, it was from the leader of the intervarsity campus ministry. They were angry that we presented the problem of sin and judgment on those who would not obey the Gospel through repentance and faith. The Jesus that they were presenting was one of love and mercy and acceptance, which is only partially the true Jesus. It is certainly the popular Jesus, one who looks by the lifestyle of his followers. In other words, a form of belief that gives a mental ascent to Christ, but there is no sorrow over sin that leads to repentance, and there is no volitional aspect of faith that changes behavior in submission to the will of God for their lives. The terrifying fact is that, as presented in Matthew 7:21-23, is that there will be many who know the name of Jesus on that last day, some even doing amazing works in His name, but He will say to them that He never knew them, because they never did God’s will, and they were workers of evil! When we were asked to leave the campus, it was by one who identified himself as a minister, based upon the complaints of people who called themselves Christians.

As we enter the Third chapter of John, I want to challenge you to consider: have you been born again? This last passage is all telling. Many people say they have accepted Christ; indeed, these people here had accepted Christ at a level of they like what He did. But the Bible clearly states here that He did not accept them. He did not entrust Himself to them because HE knew what was in their hearts! He knows what is in my heart, and He knows what is in your heart. As we will learn next week, being born again is something that is accomplished from above, so I challenge you to examine yourself and see if Jesus Christ has accepted you. Here is the key: A broken and contrite heart God will not despise. Have you ever come to a place where you have come to an end of yourself, recognizing that you are a fallen and wretched individual according to God’s perspective, and it is only through the shed blood of Jesus that your sins can be atoned for so that you can be made righteous before God? I urge you to examine yourself in the truth of God’s Word. Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith. If you are not, call out to God to save you. He will! You have His Word on it.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple John 2:12-25

2008-10-22T09:38:00.001-04:00

John 2:12-25

After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days.

After the wedding at Cana, Jesus and his family and disciples decided to travel to Capernaum, and it is not really mentioned why. Along the way it is likely that Jesus did some teaching and some training of these disciples. We do not really have insight into what Jesus and his disciples did between towns, but we can speculate that Jesus spent quite a bit of time training his disciples because they were going to be the ones spreading the Gospel after He was gone. It is an interesting topographical feature of Israel that it is a very hilly and rocky country. When the scripture says that they go up and go down, it is literally going up and down.

13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

You always go up to Jerusalem, and always go down out of Jerusalem, and Jesus and His followers headed up to Jerusalem from Capernaum in order to attend the Passover festival. Now the Passover was the most important holiday for the Jewish people, commemorating God’s saving work in releasing the Jews from the slavery to the Egyptians. Specifically, the Passover points to the saving work of God in passing over the firstborn of Israel for death by the sign of spreading the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. This is significant because it is a foreshadowing of the work of Jesus Christ, by His blood covering us, we are passed over for judgment and we are spared the second death.

14 And He found in the Temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business.

Apparently, the celebration of Passover in Jerusalem at the Temple had become quite commercialized. This can be compared to the commercialization of Christmas and Easter today, even in much of the modern church culture/buildings. What was really bad about this situation is that on one of the highest festivals and feasts of the Jewish calendar, people were looking to make a buck by commercializing it, and they brought it into the temple. The animals were being sold at higher prices because it was a time of sacrifice, and, like Christmas, the cost goes up significantly the closer to the date and according to the need for the items. This is in direct contradiction to the spirit of the law, taking advantage of those who failed to plan by not bringing their sacrifices. Also, there was something to be supposedly said by purchasing the sacrifice in the Temple. The other way that the pilgrims were ripped off was by these moneychangers, who sold special temple money at high rates so as to make a profit. Only temple money could be used in the temple for tithes, and these moneychangers would tax the money given them by the people, thus less was actually given for God. The difference between the temple then and the church building now is that God actually dwelt in the Temple at that time. This was the place where people made the sacrifices for their individual sins and the priests made the sacrifices for the sins of the nation. God presence was there, so it was a place where people could come in contact with God. Therefore, It was very inappropriate to make this a place of profit.

The temple today is each and every human being that has been converted; that is born again. The Spirit of God dwells in each one of us. Therefore, the same principles that governed the Temple in Jerusalem should carry over in that we should, for example, not allow the things of the world to pollute us and cut us off from a relationship with God. Our temple should be kept clean and holy and set apart because God dwells there. Also, people should recognize that God dwells in us; it is our way of being salt and light in the world. The church building of today is not the dwelling place of God unless Christians are gathered there. In my opinion, the sanctuary of the church building should be a set apart place for worship. It is not holy in and of itself, but when Christians gather there for the purpose of worshipping God, we sanctify it by our presence and our activity there. It should not be a place of entertainment or shenanigans, but a set apart place for worshipping God. That being said, Jesus taught in John 4 that we can worship anywhere, because it is not a matter of location as much as it is a matter of the heart.

15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the Temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 and He said to those who sold doves “Take these things away! Do not make my Father’s house a house of merchandise!”

The presence of all this trade going on in the temple moved Jesus to righteous anger, which motivated Him to make a whip of cords and drive all the merchandise and the moneychangers out of the temple. You see, Jesus, as God, had a passion for the place where His presence had dwelt, and was there in human form communicating with men directly from God about his passion for His presence with men. Temple worship was a privilege to the chosen people, and it was place that was sanctified and set apart for the worship of God. Jesus was consumed with passion, not so much for the building, but the presence of God and the way that His presence made the building sacred and all of the activities that went on there were to be sacred as well. By bringing this merchandise into the temple, the people had developed a low view of God and His presence to the point where they had no problem profiting from it. This was but a small example of how far the Jewish leadership had fallen; temple worship for their personal profit.

Why did Jesus speak specifically to those selling doves? Historians tell us that the dove was the sacrifice of a poor person, one who could not afford a sheep for sacrifice. This idea, I believe, particularly disgusted Jesus. It was one thing to, certainly, to sell to those who could afford to pay higher prices for the perceived privilege of buying a temple sacrifice, but to go after the poor in a form of spiritual abuse like this was reprehensible. Everybody in the nation Israel should be able to celebrate in worship of Passover, they should not be made to think that they must bring a sacrifice so that those sellers of goods in the temple could profit. This is not what my Fathers house was built for, Jesus is saying- this is a place where all children of Israel should be able to worship- not a house of merchandise!

I fear that this attitude has come into many church services today. Why do we have church service? It is a set apart time during the week where we lift up and honor the name of God. This worship of God can be done anywhere, but the nature of the service of worship is to facilitate a corporate aspect, that is, where we do these things together. When did church become a place for you or me to be entertained? In the last fifty or so years, (it has accelerated over the last 20) church has become more people centered and less centered on the worship of God. Leaders take surveys finding out what people want in a church. People go to a service of worship for what they can get out of it, and judge the service of worship on whether or not they were blessed by it. The service of worship is for God, and the question that I pose at the close of each Sunday service was whether or not God was pleased with it. Is God pleased with your heart? Did you focus on Him and magnify Him today? Or is church just another exercise in self, and do you come so you can feel better about you? I fear that part of the reason that there is a coming apostasy where even the elect will be deceived is that Church has become so man-centered that we have neglected the worship of God and have marginalized His Word so that we can be easily deceived.

17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house has eaten me up.”
Jesus was consumed by passion for the Temple, because it was the representation of God on earth. He has that same passion for us today. We should have a passion for protecting our personal holiness and walking in a way that honors the Lord. We should be consumed also for the idea that we represent God on this earth, and the way that we do church is another testimony of the character and the nature of God, at least how we view God. Also, his disciples remembered scripture describing the Messiah, and used this memory for another confirmation in their mind to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. The prophesy was further fulfilled when Jesus was crucified, for this was one of many words that Jesus spoke that the Pharisees used to accuse him at trial, and mock Him on the cross, ~indeed the temple cleansing was an act that offended them to the point that they wanted Jesus killed. Literally, this zeal for God’s house did eat Jesus up!

18So the Jews answered and said to Him “What sign do you show to us, since you do these things?” 19 Jesus answered, and said to them, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews said “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you will raise it up in three days?” 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 22 Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that he had said this to them; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said.

As usual, there were a group of Jewish leaders standing around and protesting what Jesus was saying and doing. They were demanding in so many words “What gives you the authority to do these things?” “What give you the right?” “Show a sign that proves your authority” He, referring to Himself, said that when they took part in his chastisement, his crucifixion, his very death, destroying the temple of His body, that He would raise it up in three days. He was foretelling His own death and resurrection. Note the two different responses. The Pharisees, blinded by their own pride and ambition reflected by the way that they allowed this commercialization of the Passover, responded in the natural realm. They went right into the building and how long it took to build, and how it would be impossible to raze it and raise it back again in three days.

John, writing this Gospel again to assist in producing saving faith in those who would read it tells a different story. The disciples may not have understood totally what Jesus meant, but received at that time with the faith that they had. When Jesus was crucified and three days later rose from the dead, the seed of faith that was planted those years before sprang up and it produced another confirmation that Jesus was who He said He was, and that produced in them saving faith. They believed the scripture, which foretold the suffering servant and how He would reign forever and ever, and they remembered the words that Jesus spoke, and these together produced belief.

23 Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which He did. 24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because HE knew all men. 25And He had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.

John uses in these verses the same word for belief in these phrases, but uses it to illustrate belief vs. saving faith. Many people like a Jesus of their own understanding. These folks saw what Jesus did at the Passover, the signs that He did, and the believed in His name. When many people look at Jesus, and the stories about him, how He is so loving and forgiving and kind, and that he heals and provides…wow, that is so great! But when life gets hard, they abandon Him. Why? They believe in a false or incomplete Jesus. Jesus promised his followers trials that would come, that they would be persecuted for His name. Jesus looked into their hearts, and did not entrust or commit to them himself. Why? Because He knew their hearts. They had a mental ascent that they liked what they saw of Jesus. Jesus looks for a genuine conversion rather than just a belief in the spectacular. We have covered it before, but saving faith has three aspects that are so important as we consider the Gospel of John, and examine our own personal faith. There is the mental aspect; knowing the historical Jesus, who the Word of God says He is and trusting in that portrait. Then there is the emotional; knowing God and Jesus in truth allows us to see our sin as horrible, placing Jesus on the cross, and we sorrow over that sin and that sorrow leads to repentance. Finally, saving faith is volitional, we submit our wills to Jesus, and we do what He tells us to do.

As we enter the Third chapter of John, I want to challenge you to consider: have you been born again? This last passage is all telling. Many people say they have accepted Christ; indeed, these people here had accepted Christ at a level of they like what He did. But the Bible clearly states here that He did not accept them. He did not entrust Himself to them because HE knew what was in their hearts! He knows what is in my heart, and He knows what is in your heart. As we will learn next week, being born again is something that is accomplished from above, so I challenge you to examine yourself and see if Jesus Christ has accepted you. Here is the key: A broken and contrite heart God will not despise.

The Miracle at Cana

2008-10-17T09:25:00.000-04:00

On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.

This was the third day after Nathanael and Philip were called, and there was a wedding to which they were invited. There is speculation as to why they went to this wedding; The likelihood is that one of the disciples or Mary was a relative or a friend of those getting married. Wedding feasts in Israel were a week long event, and the story begins towards the end of the feast. This was likely the Sabbath day, because we see that the Nathanael and Philip were called on the fourth day, and this was three days later. Therefore, the sign that will be performed falls on a Sabbath day; one of two miracles John records that happened on a Sabbath day.
This was not likely the wedding of a wealthy couple, because his disciples and his own family were not wealthy people. People generally associated with the class that they were a part of, rarely did people associate with those of a lower class. Certainly, even in some of the teachings of Jesus, he instructed us not to judge those of a lower class and to eat with them. The point is, Jesus Christ was not invited to this wedding to be the main attraction for he had not even done any miracles that were public. In being at this wedding, Jesus was nothing more than a guest. The only ones who knew that there was anything special about Him was his mother and his disciples that had chosen to follow Him. His invitation seems an afterthought, sort of like yeah; you can bring your Rabbi along also.

3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

The wine running out was a bad sign. This was a social blunder of a magnitude that I cannot describe here. These weddings were a week long event, as previously mentioned. There were social implications, and even moral implications to food running out. In fact, one could be fined for such a blunder. It was of a magnitude that it caught Mary’s attention enough that she would mention it to Jesus. This points us to why she was present there; she might have been assisting at the wedding as some sort of wedding coordinator. Whatever her role, for some reason she mentioned it to Jesus. Note what she says: “They have no wine”- a statement of fact rather than an instruction, or even a plea for help.

Jesus’ response is not rude, though to us as readers in the English this may seem a rude way to address ones mother. The Greek indicates that this is a respectful way to address a older woman. He is saying something like, my lady, I am not involved here, I am a guest, and what is it that I should get involved? While Jesus was being respectful, he was also establishing the fact that Mary was not in authority over Him any longer. It is likely at this time that Joseph has died, leaving Mary a widow. In Jewish law, Jesus had responsibility to care for his mother, but she had no legal authority over Him. He was letting her know that God was in control. This is demonstrated by the next phrase; “My hour is not yet come”. This idea of Christ being on a divine timetable is developed throughout this Gospel. Jesus Christ was here to accomplish the Father’s work of reconciliation. Everything that He did, every word that He spoke led him on the trail to the cross on the Father’s exact timetable and plan. He was not at the wit and whim of humans; he was doing God’s will regardless. The instruction of Mary to the servants was a further demonstration of these facts; she instructed them to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Mary was not in control of Jesus, and she pointed to Him in submission and humility, giving Him the honor and the glory for whatever He saw fit to do.

6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

This was something that was common at every social event for there to be enough water for ceremonial washing. Outlined in the law were tasks that must be done in order to eat in the presence of others. Part of the ceremony was to wash hands, feet, and certainly, utensils. People would wash themselves to be considered clean ceremoniously. There were many other laws that the Pharisees had added regarding cleansing; indeed Jesus also addressed this later on talking about the Pharisees being clean on the outside, but on the inside they were rotten to the core. The ceremonial washings, the mikvah, has carried over to today as a good work that covers up sin. The water in these jars, used for purification before and after meals, would not be a place a Jew would ever drink from. The water had become unsuitable for drinking, and the Jars were only good for containing water that was for this ceremonial washing. These Jews would never drink wine or anything else from these containers!

7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
There was to be no doubt that this was a miracle; the Jars were refilled all the way to the top. Note that the only observers were these servants, the disciples, and Mary. This sign was for the disciples primarily. The time had not yet come for Jesus to reveal Himself publicly.
8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew),

The servants did not know that the miracle had been done; they simply obey what Jesus tells them to do by faith. They had filled these jars with water, and they followed Jesus’ instructions exactly. They did not check the contents themselves, they simply brought it to the master of the feast as Jesus had instructed. It is when the master of the feast tastes the wine that the servants realize this awesome sign which had been done in their very midst.

The master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

The master of the feast was sort of like a wedding planner of today. He was in charge of the food, the wine, and the other festivities. He complemented the bridegroom, and the family on the quality of the wine, and the significant break in tradition. The best wine was usually reserved for the first, before the people became drunk. Once they were merry, the wine that was not so good was served. They also had a practice of watering down the wine, so the last wine was usually not as potent as the first. Clearly, this wine was the best that the master had ever tasted. And the bridegroom received the glory.

11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

The purpose of this, and all the other signs, was to bring glory to Jesus Christ, and confirm in people’s eyes who He was. This statement at the end of this passage tells us a few things. One, this was the first of His signs. There has been much speculation and extra-biblical literature stating that Jesus was doing miracles as He was growing up. This really puts this idea to rest. His baptism heralded the start of his public ministry, this three year period which was orchestrated by God to proclaim His salvation to a lost and dying world. This sign, along with the others proclaimed in the Gospel, had the purpose of making known His glory, showing those observing that He was who He said He was. Last, we see that in this manifestation of His glory His disciple’s faith in Him was increased. They believed in him, trusted Him, and placed faith in Him. This was not a complete faith, but a start to the progressive teachings and signs that would culminate in His death and resurrection. This sign was for those who were observing. It was not a public miracle, for it was not on the Father’s timetable. It was for them and for those reading the Gospel of John in the years that followed.

This first sign was significant to the Christians who John was writing to. There are many metaphors that people interpreters have pulled out of this sign. These are as simple as Jesus’ control over the elements (water into wine), the place that faith has in completing a miracle, and the submission of Mary to the Son of God. This sign (semeion,) was to point to something greater. Many times when Jesus performed a miracle, it led naturally into a sermon. It made me think of the message that Jesus preached to His disciples in private that evening.

Wine was a symbol for Joy in the Old Testament.

Psalm 104:15 (ESV) 15 and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine and bread to strengthen man’s heart.

Could Jesus have compared the way that the wine ran out at the wedding was the same as the old system of the Law having run its course? Could it be a representation of the joy provided by things of this world being temporary, one day running out and bringing with it only despair? I wonder if Jesus said that this new wine was a symbol of a joy that He would give is far superior to the joy that the world gives, for it is everlasting, never running out.

Perhaps our Lord had a special message here for His people, Israel. In the Old Testament, the nation is pictured as “married” to God and is unfaithful to her marriage covenant:

Isaiah 54:5 (ESV) 5 for your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

Jer. 31:32 Jeremiah 31:32 (NIV)32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD.

At this marriage celebration, the wine ran out, and, like Israel, all that was left were six empty water pots! The water in the pots was used for ceremonial washing, but there was nothing that could cleanse their unfaithfulness to God! This washing with water was representative of the old covenant. This washing could only clean the outside of a man; but it did nothing for the Spirit of a man. The new wine that was produced could be a representation of the new covenant, the shedding of the blood of Jesus for the remission of sins, which cleans up the whole man, making Him righteous. Jesus, as the perfect bridegroom, is calling his bride to share in the cup of the new covenant. This is what Jesus called the wine that he took at the last supper; saying this is my blood of the new covenant- representative of the cleansing power of His blood that was to be shed. Could this have been a foreshadowing of the new covenant that would be completed at the cross, or perhaps a picture of the marriage supper of the lamb? This wine was also superior, the best saved for the last. The new covenant is superior to the old.

Finally, this sign was a transformation of water to wine, which was the result of Jesus’ earthly ministry. We are new creatures when we come to Christ,

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

And he transforms us into His image as we walk out our faith. Jesus makes all things new. These vessels that held this water were vessels of dishonor, holding water for washing before Jesus came. We were vessels for dishonor, doing wicked works before Jesus changed us. He does more than just clean us up, we are transformed. Like these pots, those who have been born again are now vessels of honor, because our very nature has been changed, the very content of our soul has been sanctified in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, King of Israel

2008-10-05T08:36:00.001-04:00

Last week, we discovered that Jesus Christ, among his many titles, was called Messiah, or the anointed one. Jesus was unique in that He was anointed as a prophet, priest, and as a king. As the ultimate prophet, He spoke words directly from God for us; every thing he said was true. As the ultimate priest, He offered a perfect sacrifice once for all which took away the sins of the whole world. And, as the ultimate King, his reign will go on forever and ever. We also made application that Jesus should be King in the life of a Christian; this means a change in our allegiance, expectations, values, priorities, and lifelong mission. Have you submitted your all to Jesus?

The King of Israel (John 1:43–49)
43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, "Follow me." 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." 46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see." 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!" 48 Nathanael said to him, "How do you know me?" Jesus answered him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

Jesus’ travels have now taken him to Galilee, where he calls another disciple directly. We do not know much about Philip prior to this call, but it is apparent that He was yet another Jew who was seeking the Messiah, and when he saw Jesus, His heart was already prepared to follow Him. This is evidenced by his immediate change of heart and mind in believing that Jesus Christ was the chosen one He and all of Israel was looking for. He put that belief into practice by going to find His friend Nathanael. Philip used the law and the prophets to convince his friend that Jesus was who He said HE was. Perhaps Jesus gave Philip a "quick course" in the Old Testament messianic prophecies, as He did with the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24:13ff). Philip then emphasized to his friend these facts to convince him to come meet the one who He was convinced was the Messiah.

I want to stop here and emphasize something that is very important. In our study last week, we see that one of the proofs that someone has placed their trust in Christ as Messiah is that they immediately go and tell someone. We saw John the Baptist pointing His disciples to Jesus. We see Jesus inviting others to be part of His kingdom. We saw Andrew and John the same day going to their family and friends. I want to emphasize the importance of living out your faith by sharing with your friends, family, and the people that you meet on a daily basis. It is so important. I gave an illustration two weeks ago about a man who I gave a Gospel of John to, and had a long discussion with concerning Jesus as the lamb of God providing payment for all of our sins. I invited him to Bible study with us on Tuesday mornings. This past Tuesday, he did not show up as promised. Later in the day, he passed into eternity. He died suddenly of a heart attack. I do not know if he studied the gospel of John, or if he rejected all the good works he did and placed His trust in the finished work of Christ. I do know that if I had read that obituary in the paper having spent the day with him and not shared my faith, I would be full of regret. I know that he heard the whole Gospel, I know that he was moved to follow up with me at our men’s Bible study. I also know he didn’t get that chance. The obituary read that he died unexpectedly. None of us expect death, but it could happen at any time. That is why it is so important that you do not waste a minute in sharing with the people God places in your path today and every day. John 21:2 suggests that at least seven of our Lord's disciples were fishermen, including Nathanael. Fishermen are courageous and stick to the job, no matter how difficult it may be. We need to grab a hold of that attitude in our witnessing for the sake of others that come into our path, no matter the personal cost.

Nathanael immediately doubted his friends words, for perhaps he knew that the Messiah was to come out of Bethlehem, and he did not believe that anything worthwhile could come out of Nazareth. Nathanael knew of the poor reputation of Nazareth. Surely the Messiah would come from Jerusalem, Hebron, or some other prominent city. Jesus was born in Bethlehem as we know, but He grew up in Nazareth and bore that stigma (Matt. 2:19–23). To be called "a Nazarene" (Acts 24:5) meant to be looked down on and rejected. Isaiah 53 indicates that Jesus was to be rejected and scorned as he was at His death, but even in his life he was disrespected because of the town that he was from. Jesus' condescension still remains a puzzle to many people. How can the Logos be a Man? This may have been Nathanael’s bone of contention, but Philip was wise enough not to argue as he gently invited his friend to meet Jesus.While Nathanael hesitated and argued, Philip used Jesus’ own words: "Come and see" (John 1:39).
1:47. Jesus, having supernatural knowledge (cf. v. 42), called Nathanael . . . a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false (dolos, "deceitful") unlike Jacob (cf. v. 51 with Gen. 28:12). This was a high complement, for Jesus was saying that Nathanael was honest about his doubts as well as His faith. This supernatural knowledge that Jesus had came as a shock to Nathanael, but it also stimulated his faith and his belief in Christ as Messiah. By calling him "an Israelite in whom is no guile," Jesus was likely referring to Jacob, the ancestor of the Jews, a man who was known for his deceitful ways in tricking his brother, his father, and his father-in-law. Jacob's name was changed to "Israel, a prince with God." The reference to "Jacob's ladder" in John 1:51 helps us to see this comparison, but it also gives a picture of Jesus as the only way top heaven.
1:48. Nathanael was puzzled as to how Jesus knew about him. Jesus said He knew exactly what Nathanael was doing before Philip came up to him; he was under the fig tree. In the culture, a fig tree provided shade and solace. It was an excellent place to meditate on God’s Word. I have to wonder if Nathanael was searching the scriptures that very day searching for the Messiah. When Jesus told him what he was doing, I think Nathanael could have thought back to the Psalms, even Psalm 139 which tells us that God has knowledge of a person's life in every detail. When Jesus revealed His knowledge of Nathanael, where he had been and what he had been doing, this was enough to convince the man that Jesus indeed was "the Son of God, the King of Israel." For he Knew that God alone could see him where he was, and have knowledge about His character. Nathanael’s experience was like that of the Samaritan woman at the well. "When He [Messiah] is come, He will tell us all things.... Come, see a man who told me all things that ever I did" (John 4:25, 29).

The revealing of the human heart should also take place in the ministry of local churches (1 Cor. 14:23–35). When I preach from the Word of God, or when I witness to people, the scripture does the work of revealing the hearts of man by working on the conscience. This time that we share on Sunday morning should be more than hearing words of comfort and solace, or even words of application to help your life. Ideally, the Word of God should penetrate deep into your heart and change you so that you can be made more into the image of Jesus Christ. When Philip witnessed to Nathanael, the evidence he gave was Moses and the Prophets (John 1:45). In other words, he used the law and prophesies fulfilled to prove Jesus was indeed the Messiah that the people were looking for! The law is very effective in revealing the wicked condition of the human heart, and fulfilled prophesy convinces this heart that Jesus is who God says he is, and can produce faith. . It is always good to tie our personal witness to the Word of God.
1:49. Jesus' supernatural knowledge moved Nathanael to confess Him as the Son of God and the King of Israel. This does not mean that Nathanael at this early date fully understood the Trinity or the Incarnation. Rather He understood Jesus to be the Son of God in the messianic sense (cf. Ps. 2:6-7). The future Davidic King that all devout Jews were looking for would have God's Spirit on Him (Isa. 11:1-2) and thus, Nathanael assumed, this would include supernatural knowledge."King of Israel" would be a title similar to "Messiah, anointed One," which we talked about last week. The kings of Israel were God's anointed leader, and the Messiah that was to come we see from prophesy was to be a king in the line of David, whose throne would be eternal.

The Son of Man (John 1:50–51)
50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." 51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."

Truly, Truly("Verily, verily," kjv; lit., "Amen, Amen") occurs 25 times in John and always calls attention to important affirmations. Interestingly this double "Amen" does not occur in the Synoptic Gospels. By saying truly, truly, Jesus was emphasizing this name of "Son of man" and the promise he made that he would be revealed in this way to the disciples. Son of Man was one of our Lord's favorite titles for Himself; Jesus used the term "Son of Man" of Himself more than 80 times. As the Son of Man, Jesus left heaven to come to the earth.It speaks of His humanity and suffering and His work as "the ideal Man." The title speaks of both the deity and humanity of Jesus. The vision in Daniel 7:13 presents the "Son of man" in a definite messianic setting;

13"I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

and Jesus used the title in the same way (Matt. 26:64).

64 Jesus said to him, "You have said so. But I tell you, from now on( you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."

The Jewish people knew that "Son of man" was a name for their Messiah (John 12:34). This one in the vision was presented before God, and given all authority and power and dominion. God does not share that with anyone like Himself, therefore this ‘Son of Man’, Jesus Christ is God in the form of man. As Son of man, Jesus is the incarnated God, the "living link",between heaven and earth. This explains His reference to "Jacob's ladder" in Genesis 28. Jacob the fugitive thought he was alone, but God had sent the angels to guard and guide him. Christ is God's "ladder" between heaven and earth. Jesus, in saying ‘you’ was speaking to his disciples and to all who would believe that we would see Jesus as the divine way and true communication from heaven to earth. The Son of Man, replacing the ladder, is God's link with earth; those who travel the ladder can find life in Christ. "No man cometh to the Father, but by Me" (John 14:6).
1:50-51. Jesus promised Nathanael a greater basis for belief, probably referring to the miracles in chapters 2-13, which we will be looking at in the coming weeks. . By the close of that fourth day, Jesus had six believing men who were His disciples. They did not immediately "forsake all and follow Him"; that was to come later. But they had trusted Him and experienced His power, and would soon see the miraculous acts In the three years that lay ahead, they would grow in their faith, learn more about Jesus, and one day take His place on the earth so that the Word might be carried to all mankind.

Today, like last week, we see those who came to follow Jesus immediately and with excitement shared who they had met. When is the last time that you shared your faith with excitement to others, showing that the spread of the Gospel is your lifelong mission? Jesus Christ, as the King of true Israel (those have placed their faith and trust in Him) has the right to command us to go and make disciples. It is understandable to have fear in doing this, but that does not release us from our task of spreading the good news. Observe how excited the disciples were to spread this good news! It is because there had been no word from God for 400 years, and they realized that the living Word was in their presence. They had been looking for Him, and not they had found him! You have been saved from your sins! That is good news that we need to spread first because we love the Lord, and demonstrate that by obeying His commands. Has he saved you? Then he has changed you. I urge you to follow Him and do His work.

Jesus Christ is God because He is the promised Messiah

2008-09-27T20:44:00.000-04:00

Over these past several weeks, we have been examining the names of Jesus given Him by John in His gospel as a means by which we can believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and by believing in Him we might have life in His name. We have seen Jesus portrayed as the eternal and creative Word, we have seen Him as the life and the light of men, which gives us light, and we have seen Him as the unique Son of God, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, eternal, yet incarnate for 33 years on earth. Finally, last week, we dug into the significance of Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. As we open today, we see John the Baptist making the reference to Jesus being the Lamb of God, and we also see the importance of understanding this term in the context of Jesus as Messiah:

35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.

John has already proclaimed to the Pharisees sent from from the Jews who Jesus was, he testified that He was the Lamb of God, and bore witness that He is the Son of God. Now, John is with his disciples, and he points them to Jesus declaring that Jesus is the Lamb of God. Immediately, it seems, the disciples of John left John and followed Jesus. This makes me wonder why they did this. I think it is because John’s disciples were well versed in John’s purpose here on earth; to make the path straight for the coming King of Kings or Messiah. In other words, when John introduced Jesus, they saw Him as the one John had been proclaiming, and they knew enough to follow Jesus.

38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, "What are you seeking?" And they said to him,"Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" 39 He said to them, "Come and you will see." So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

Jesus asks a question to which He already knew the answer, confronting the reason for the choice they (Andrew, and the Gospel’s Author) made to follow Him. They were curious, in their own minds I believe they truly desired to find out who Jesus was and what His purpose was on earth. Little did they know that this man Jesus would change their lives entirely. They wanted to know where He was staying, so that they could perhaps return at a later time and meet with Him then. Jesus invited them to come and see his place. In that process, they became convinced of His status as the Son of God, the anointed one, the Messiah! I wonder how this time was spent; I wonder what questions were asked and answered, how Jesus revealed their own hearts to them. Whatever was said, it so convinced them that Jesus was the Messiah that they went immediately to their brothers to bring them to Jesus.

40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter).

This was exciting news indeed! Every Jew was patiently waiting for the promised Messiah (anointed one) to come. To the Jews, it was the same thing as saying that the Son of God had come. This is the one that they were waiting for!! In the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed with oil to consecrate them for the duty that they were to perform. Jesus Christ was the ultimate, for he embodies all three of these offices within Himself. As a prophet, He proclaimed God’s Word with authority. As our great high priest, he made a lasting sacrifice that has no need of repeating for it was sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world. As King, He will rule over the kingdom that He was to establish not of this world, but in the world to come, a kingdom that would be forever.

Jesus came as this Messiah, not to save people from the rule of the Romans, but to save the people from their sins. You see, the Jews had different pictures of Messiah as well! In Isaiah 9 and 11, Messiah is portrayed as a glorious king. In Isaiah 53, the Messiah is portrayed as a suffering servant. Which is right? Well, both are. Jesus had to explain to those following Him that the cross had to come before the crown; that it was through his suffering on the Cross that He would be be given the name that is above all names, and He would return to His glory. The importance of knowing who Jesus is is emphasized here, because He came to his own, and His own did not recognize him! Even to this day, many Jews are still looking for Messiah to come, or they have given up all together.

This idea of kingdom is very important to us today as Christians. If Jesus is Messiah, as He claims to be, then we understand that He is the ruler over God’s kingdom. What did John do because the kingdom of God was at hand? He preached repentance to prepare the way for the Lord. Jesus’ first public message recorded in Matthew 4:17 was a challenge to repent, because the kingdom of God was at hand. These cousins urged people to repent, to change their minds and their hearts, for a kingdom not of this world was at hand. This kingdom exists, because Jesus is the king, the Savior and Messiah promised (Is. 7:14; Mic. 5:2). He is not only Israel's King, but the international Christ for all the nations. At the beginning of His life, magi came to Herod, asking where they could find the King of the Jews (MT 2:2). At the end of His life, Pilate asked Him, 'Are you the King of the Jews?" He affirmed that He was (MT 27:11-12), and Pilate sanctioned His crucifixion on that basis (27:37).

What and where is the Kingdom? Is there any simple way to understand this puzzling doctrine of the kingdom? Probably not. Jesus' followers have not ceased to puzzle over His statements about it since the moment they were made. But most would generally agree that Christ's kingdom began in some way with His first coming. It continues to advance as His people live the gospel message throughout the world. However, it will not realize its ultimate completion until He returns. What Difference Does It Make?
Whatever else we can say, the kingdom has to do with whatever Christ the King rules. That's why Jesus began His ministry with a call to repentance. Repentance means to change one's mind or purpose. In terms of the kingdom, it involves:

(1) A change in one's allegiance. If Christ is the King, and we are his subjects, He deserves our honor, loyalty, and obedience. We must place ourselves under His authority and power. Whatever He says, we determine to do. That's the point of the oft-repeated lines in the Lord's Prayer, 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Kingdom people submit their own will to the will of the King. This means that we read His Word, and obey it, as we are obedient to the law of the land here, we submit to the law of God. Christ being our King means we live for Him. John and Andrew changed their allegiance immediately when John pointed to Jesus.

(2) A change in one's expectations. One of the difficulties people have with the idea of a kingdom is that it doesn't appear to be in place yet. In fact, the world seems to grow father away from God by the day. But the hope of the kingdom is that there is far more to life than what we see right now. Jesus made extraordinary promises in regard to a future kingdom, not only for Israel, but for all who follow Him as King. The kingdom may not yet be fulfilled completely, but it has been established and will last forever. We must live as though today was our last day, as though the Kingdom has come. We must be about the King’s work and submissive to the King’s leading. We must seek to bring others into the kingdom of God by proclaiming it’s coming like John the Baptist did throughout the land. John and Andrew wanted to see where Jesus was staying, but at the end of the day they were satisfied with meeting the Messiah.

(3) A change in one's values. Our culture values achievement, success, independence, and image. Other cultures value other qualities. But the values of the kingdom should reflect what matters to the King. Jesus described a number of His values in Matthew 5:3-10, a section of the Sermon on the Mount known as the Beatitudes. People of the kingdom adopt the King's values and make choices that reflect those values by being those changed and molded by grace in our everyday lives, and impacting people around us with the grace of God living in and through us. John and Andrew were disciples of John, and fishermen by trade. They became evangelists when Jesus became their king, and they, like their master, had no place to lay their head.

(4) A change in one's priorities. The real test of people's values is how they spend their time and money. Jesus spoke directly to that issue in terms of the kingdom (6:24-34). He did not demean the value of work or diminish the need for material goods. But He challenged His followers to bring kingdom values into their day-to-day lives. 'Seeking first the kingdom" (MT 6:33) puts a Christlike perspective on one's work and its outcomes. Whatever it is we do, we must do for the glory of God and the expansion of His kingdom, not ours. John and Andrew had new priorities, exemplified by leaving John the Baptist, following Christ, and winning their family.

A change in one's lifelong mission. Some people are driven to accomplish great tasks with their lives. Others live aimlessly from day to day, lacking purpose or direction. Either way, Jesus affects the outlook of a person's life. He gives His followers purpose and a commission,to live as subjects of the kingdom and promote kingdom values in everyday life and work. Ultimately, He wants His followers to extend His message to the ends of the earth, so that all people have the opportunity to give their allegiance to Him as their Savior and King (MT 28:18-20). Andrew appears twice more in the book of John, each time, he is bringing someone to meet Christ. John lived to a ripe old age in exile on Patmos, writing this Gospel that many more would know the true Christ and by believing in Him they might have life.

Finding out that Jesus was Messiah had an immediate impact on the life of Andrew and of John. Andrew immediately brought his brother Simon with the news that he had met the Messiah. His priorities had changed; once a fisherman, now Andrew was an evangelist! Simon, his brother, was also a fisherman. He was a simple man, but in his initial interview with Jesus, he was named the rock! Now, it took Jesus his entire three years of ministry, and even a visit after his death, to see this bungling fisherman turn into a bold and convincing witness for the Messiah. What he was, he was no more, and Jesus proclaimed and kept his promise that Peter would be made into a rock.

It is worth noting that John the Baptist faithfully preached Christ, and through his preaching of Jesus Christ both Andrew and John became disciples. Andrew brought his brother Simon, John his brother James. Jesus later wins Philip, and later Philip his brother Nathanael. Everybody who came in contact with Jesus, and submitted to Him as king were changed so that they have kingdom priorities.

So what will you do with Christ? If He is the Word, we should take God at His word and believe who He says Jesus is. If He is the light, we should reflect that light to others around us. We should live in the light as He is the light. If He is the Son of God, then we should know what God is like and follow in the paths HE has set for us. If He is the Lamb of God, His sacrifice has taken away the sins of all those who put their trust in Him. We should be sorry for our sins, and repent, but then we should trust the perfect sacrifice. And if He is the Messiah, we should live as though He is our King, and this should bring about a willful change in our allegiance, expectations, values, priorities, and our lifelong mission. Is Jesus Christ these things? Do you believe that God’s Word is true? then you and I need to live like it every day.

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God

2008-09-22T10:13:00.002-04:00

Jesus, the Lamb of God

The other day, I had given away a few gospels of John, and I got into a conversation with a gentleman about salvation through Christ. I explained to him about the sacrificial system that the Jewish religion employed; how a lamb would be slaughtered and sacrificed due to sin. But, this sacrifice only was effective for the sins confessed, and was not a lasting sacrifice; it only covered over sin. He had never heard the significance of Jesus being the Lamb of God explained in this way. It was as though a light went on in his head! He now understood the significance of what Jesus did, how Jesus was made sin for us, and by his shed blood, we are made righteous permanently, if we respond by repentance and faith. Last week, we observed that John the Baptist was "the voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight'" His message, and the message of many of the apostles was Repent! Turn from your sins! Jesus Christ, as the lamb of God, was the sacrifice for our sins and for the sins of the whole world, but what we must do is to confess (agree with God) concerning our sin, and do a 180 degree turn to Christ, placing our trust in the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

John 1:29-34
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain,this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

John the Baptist is still being interviewed by the Pharisees, and he points to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Messiah is called the "Lamb of God" throughout the New Testament. This is a strange label if you do not know the history of the scripture, but to those who know their Bible, it is a a very deep and meaningful title for Jesus Christ. "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" This was John the Baptist's declaration in John 1:29 upon seeing Jesus for the first time.

Prophetic forshadowing to the coming Lamb of God are scattered throughout the Old Testament. Indeed, many Bible scholars believe that the entire Bible (66 books written by 40 authors over a period of approximately 1,600 years) tells the story of Jesus Christ. Every story, every genealogy, every number, every page, every detail speaks of our Lord and Savior. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we find one of the lesser-known prophecies of the coming Lamb of God. When Adam and Eve sinned, They placed coverings of leaves upon themselves. When God confronted them with their sin, and banished them from the garden, He slaughtered an animal and made clothing for them from the skin of the animal. This was the first sacrifice, a pattern for the sacrifices that man was to make before God for their sins. But note: It was God who sacrificed this animal, it was God who covered their shame. This is wonderful foreshadowing of what he was to do with Christ 4000 years later; killing His one and only Son to cover the sins and the shame of the world.

In Genesis 22, we see the story continue. God commands Abraham to offer his beloved son Isaac as a sacrifice. Remember, this is Isaac, the child of promise, which Sarah conceived well past child-bearing years. This was the Son God promised Abraham that the promise of many nations would come through. Despite His love for the Child, Abraham is obedient to God, not willing to keep anything from God. This was a test for Abraham and a testimony to the world. On the way to the altar, Isaac asks his dad, 7 "My father!" And he said, "Here am I, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" 8 Abraham said,"God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together.   When they arrive at the place of sacrifice, Abraham prepares to offer Isaac to the Lord, but before Abraham could slay his child, God stops him. We read, "Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham!' So he said, 'Here I am.' And He said, 'Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me'" (Genesis 22:10-12). God that day provided a lamb for sacrifice, and 2,000 years later, on that same mountain, God killed His one and only beloved Son for the sins of the whole world. Abraham prophesied the coming of the Lamb of God, "And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh: as it is said to this day, 'In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen'" (Genesis 22:14). God provides the payment for the debt that we owed Him and could not pay through Jesus Christ.

The Pharisees that John was speaking to understood very clearly this word picture John was relating to the Jewish sacrificial system, where the blood of a lamb would cover the sin of an individual. These Pharisees had themselves probably sacrificed hundreds of lambs in their own lifetime! Jesus, as God’s lamb, was a perfect sacrifice, for his blood would not just cover sin, it would remove or take away sin. Lambs were regularly sacrificed in Israel, but The Lamb of God is dramatically revealed in Exodus 12 and 13, with the Jewish Feast of the Passover. This is perhaps the most compelling foreshadow of the coming Lamb of God, the Messiah. The Passover Feast occurs each year on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. It is eaten in remembrance of the Lord "passing over" the houses of those who had sacrificed the Passover Lamb and sprinkled its blood on their wooden doorposts and mantles, while the angel of death visited those who had not sprinkled the blood of the lamb. The angel of death was the final of ten plagues sent by God to redeem His people from slavery in Egypt, the land of their bondage.

As the Jewish people celebrate Passover, just as our Lord did before He died, It is evident from Luke 22, 17, 20, that there were more than one cup on the table at the institution of the Lord's Supper, which was also the celebration of the passover meal. This gives added significance to the celebration of the passover. If you went into a Jewish home on the Passover evening you would see a similar sight to what you would have seen had you been in the Upper Room.

(1) The first cup is called "the Cup of Blessing." All surrounding the family table partake of this cup - none is excluded from the youngest to the oldest, it is their privilege to partake of the Cup of Blessing. Paul in I Corinthians 10:13 is referring to this cup when he says : "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?"

(2) The second cup is called " the Cup of Wrath, or day of Judgment."
Just as from the first cup all participate, from this no one will drink; instead of drinking it they pour it out on to a plate while they count the ten plagues of judgement and thus they express the wrath of God and the judgments He brought upon their enemies the Egyptians. Jesus Christ drank this cup of wrath on our behalf, taking the very wrath of God and the judgement for our sins when He was crucified. He makes reference to this cup when He says: " Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done," Luke 22

(3) The third cup is called "the Cup of Salvation." This one is filled to overflowing, and all drink from it. we are told in the Psalms that the best way we can thank God for all His good gifts is to lift up the cup of our salvation. Here you have a picture of Ps. 23 : "My cup runs over.*' Remember it is because the Christ of God was willing to drink the cup of wrath and judgment, that you can now enjoy the cup of blessing and the cup of salvation.

(4) The fourth cup is " the Cup of the Kingdom." This makes Israel look into the future when they will be under the sway of The Messiah, Jesus Christ. Our Lord refers to this cup when He says : "I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the Kingdom of God" (Mark 14, 25).

Approximately 1,500 years after the first Passover, on the 14th day of Nisan, the Passover Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, was sacrificed upon a wooden cross for the sins of all mankind. When the Day of the Lord comes, those who have covered themselves in the blood of the Lamb by repenting of their sin and trusting in Christ will be kept safe while the world pays for their rebellion against God. We can be passed over for death, that is, eternal death and live as His chosen people for eternity in Heaven with Him.

John the Baptist emphasizes in the following verses (again) that Jesus is the Son of God, sent from God. 1st, John repeats in verse 30 That Jesus Christ is God in that He is eternal! Even though John was physically older, Jesus has always been. He did not know Jesus, but He was given the assignment to Baptize with water to prepare the way for the Messiah. The repentance and the cleansing was the preparing the way for the Lord. The fact that He baptized Jews showed they had the same need for repentance, so that they could see the One who was coming to save the world from their sins. God graciously showed John who Jesus was by sending the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. As a side item, this is another part of scripture which shows the triune nature of God. God the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, and Jesus is being baptized.

The baptism of Jesus has been questioned as to why He had to be baptized. It certainly was not for sin! And, in this context, why did this baptism demonstrate and emphasize that Jesus was the lamb of God? This baptism, by immersion, pictures death burial and resurrection. This baptism was a foreshadowing of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus by which the Lamb of God would take the sins of the whole world. By the testimony that happened at Jesus’ baptism, John could declare with certainty that Jesus Christ was not only the Lamb of God, but the one and only begotten Son of God. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit bore witness to this at Jesus’ baptism.

Knowing Jesus in truth is all important for our salvation that is found only in Him. John has declared Jesus as the unique Son of God, fully God, and fully man, in unique relationship to the Father. He proclaims Him the Lamb of God, who gives the picture of Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth, which is to take away the sin of the whole world. Do you know Jesus as God’s one and only unique Son, or is Jesus just a great moral teacher? If you know Him only as a historical figure and great teacher, you are missing the important aspect of belief that includes a belief in who God says Jesus is. Don’t miss the significance of the name the Lamb of God, for Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He died as the lamb of God to pay for our sins, so that we would not have to pay for them ourselves. And his death, unlike the Lambs that the Jews sacrificed do not just cover our sins, they take them away. I plead with you, that if you want your sins forgiven, place your faith in the Son of God, Jesus, who, as the lamp of God, paid the penalty for all of your sins on the cross. If you will repent and place your trust in Jesus, your sins can be forgiven, and you will become a son or daughter of God, living eternally with Him. I urge you to do this today.

2008-09-14T09:36:00.000-04:00

John 20:31

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

We began studying last week two of the seven names of Jesus which prove that He is indeed God. We learned that Jesus is the Word, that is, God’s expression of his thoughts and feelings about us. Jesus demonstrates that God loves us and wants us to know Him. We also saw Jesus pictured as light, that is, He is perfect and Holy, the opposite of darkness. In fulfilling his purposes for writing this book, John strives to prove that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah) the Son of God. He continues showing us the names given Jesus that demonstrate He is God Himself, and God’s unique Son, His personal revelation to us.

Jesus, The Son of God

John 1:49 49 Nathanael answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!"

John introduces us to John the Baptist, one of the most important characters in the New Testament. He is mentioned almost 90 times through the Gospels. His ministry is detailed in the other Gospels, but here is a small sample of who John the Baptist said Jesus Christ is. He knew, and testified, that Jesus was the Messiah that he had been preparing Israel to meet. He also knew that this Messiah was God’s one and only Son.

John 1:15
15 John bore witness about him, and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.'"

Jesus is the Son of God because He is eternal John the Baptist first bore witness. He testified before people about what he knew to be true. This is what we are called to do, even today. We are called to bear witness about Jesus Christ. Chronologically, John the Baptist was Jesus’ elder. But as he proclaims the Messiah here, he testifies to the fact that Jesus Christ, though younger, was before Him. He is testifying that Jesus is God, because he is eternal. He is also, despite the human constraints of eldership because of chronological age, he ‘ranks higher’ than John because He is from the beginning.

16 And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the Son of God because he is the source of grace and truth: God’s grace and truth were revealed by the coming and the sacrifice of Jesus. Grace is God’s undeserved favor towards us, God’s truth is displayed in His holy moral perfection. The law, given by Moses, demonstrated God’s demand for holiness. If we were judged by God’s truth, none of us could stand. We would all be revealed as the lying blasphemous hypocritical people that we are in truth. We would all spend an eternity in Hell, because even our best works are imperfect before a just and Holy God. Fortunately, God deals with us with both Grace and truth. He demonstrates his mercy in that when we sin, he does not strike us dead on the spot. He gives us life, and breath, and every good thing from above. But His grace and His truth were manifested in Jesus Christ, and even in an overabundant manner, especially towards Christians.

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, because He reveals God to us: God is invisible, He cannot be seen by us (1 Tim 1:17). He has revealed Himself in nature (Psalm 19, Romans 1) and in mighty events in History, such as the parting of the Red Sea,, but we cannot see God Himself. Jesus Christ is God incarnate, God’s personal revelation of Himself to us. He is the image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15) and the express image of His person (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus Christ has made God known to us, explains God to us, interprets God for us. The word explained in the NASB is taken from the Greek word from which we get exegesis, which means to explain, to unfold, to lead the way. We simply cannot know God in truth unless we know Jesus Christ His one and only Son.

He is unique in the Godhead, and John, using the Word Son in the verse 18 for the first time as a title for Jesus Christ. He is the only begotten one, which denotes Jesus’ unique position. It suggests again Jesus’ position in the Godhead as eternal, He was not created, and he has a unique relationship (at the Fathers side, or in the Fathers’ bosom) Jesus Christ is eternal God, He has always existed. He is God the Son, but he is called the Son of God by many different people in the Gospel of John. Remember John’s purpose in writing? That we might believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He is introduced 9 times in John’s Gospel as the Son of God. John the Baptist (34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."), Nathaniel, Peter, the blind man who was healed, Martha, and Thomas. If you add Jesus’ witness about himself, there are seven witnesses to the fact that Jesus is God’s Son.

The Testimony of John the Baptist

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, 'Make straight the way of the Lord,' as the prophet Isaiah said."
24(Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.)

When John uses the term ‘the Jews’ here, he is speaking about leaders of the Jewish people. They sent some priests and Levites to ascertain who this John the Baptist was, where he got his authority, and what John was doing in the desert. Their first question was who are you? and John, perceiving what they were asking, said in essence, “I will tell you who I am not; I am not the Messiah”. They then went to the next logical conclusion, a reappearing of Elijah, or a modern day Prophet, in the style of Moses (Deut 18). He was in the style and power of Elijah, but he was not Elijah. He was a forerunner like Deuteronomy predicted, but he was not the great Prophet predicted. No, John had a very specific mission, and that was to work his way out of a job so to speak. He was the voice crying in the wilderness, a voice that was to bear witness to the coming of the Lord- the promised Messiah. His answer to the Jews was simple” I am but a voice, a voice pointing to the Lord Jesus. John the Baptists’ purpose should mirror our own. We are to be a voice crying out in this wilderness pointing to the Lord Jesus.

John’s authority questioned
25 They asked him,"Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John was then questioned regarding from where did he get his authority to baptize. The Pharisees, the Levites, and the priests were all influential in the Jewish religion, and took titles very seriously as a sign of authority. Since John did not have the title of Christ, Elijah, or the prophet, they Pharisees and others desired to know on whose authority was John baptizing. And, they rightly were curious, for John was not baptizing gentiles who wanted to convert to judaism, he was baptizing the chosen people, the Jews, for repentance of sins! The Jews were also outside God’s saving covenant as were the Gentiles! John’s Baptism, as He explained, was with water. But again, John points to Jesus as a witness, refusing to exalt or justify himself. He explains that his baptism is a physical baptism, a symbol done with water to demonstrate a cleansing from sins. John then points to Jesus, someone who the Pharisees and the others did not know, the one that John the Baptist was testifying to, who John was not even worthy of doing a slaves task of untying his shoes. He pointed to Him as the one who would baptize by the Holy Spirit (verse 33)

Jesus, the Lamb of God

John 1:29-34
29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, 'After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.' 31I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel." 32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, 'He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain,this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.' 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

John the Baptist is still being interviewed by the Pharisees the following day, and he points to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The Pharisees would understand very clearly this word picture. John was relating to the Jewish sacrificial system, where the blood of a lamb would cover the sin of an individual. Jesus, as God’s lamb, would remove or take away sin. Lambs were regularly sacrificed in Israel, specifically in the passover celebration. At the original passover, the blood of the lamb smeared on the doorposts allowed the angel of death to pass over for death the children of Israel. This is while the firstborn of Egypt died throughout the land. In the same way, the blood of the lamb of God takes away our sin, so that we can be passed over for death, that is, eternal death and live as His chosen people for eternity in Heaven with Him.

John the Baptist emphasizes in the following verses (again) that Jesus is the Son of God, sent from God. 1st, John repeats in verse 30 That Jesus Christ is God in that He is eternal! Even though John was physically older, Jesus has always been. He did not know Jesus, but He was given the assignment to Baptize with water to prepare the way for the Messiah. The repentance and the cleansing was the preparing the way for the Lord. The fact that He baptized Jews showed they had the same need for repentance, so that they could see the One who was coming to save the world from their sins. God graciously showed John who Jesus was by sending the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove to show who Jesus was. As a side item, this is another part of scripture which shows the triune nature of God. God the Father speaks, the Holy Spirit descends, and Jesus is being baptized.
The baptism of Jesus has been questioned as to why He had to be baptized. It certainly was not for sin! And, in this context, why did this baptism demonstrate and emphasize that Jesus was the lamb of God? This baptism, by immersion, pictures death burial and resurrection. This baptism was a foreshadowing of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus by which the Lamb of God would take the sins of the whole world. By the testimony that happened at Jesus’ baptism, John could declare with certainty that Jesus Christ was not only the Lamb of God, but the one and only begotten Son of God. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit bore witness to this at Jesus’ baptism.

Knowing Jesus in truth is all important for our salvation that is found only in Him. John has declared Jesus as the unique Son of God, fully God, and fully man, in unique relationship to the Father. He proclaims Him the Lamb of God, who gives the picture of Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth, which is to take away the sin of the whole world. Do you know Jesus as God’s one and only unique Son, or is Jesus just a great moral teacher? If you know Him only as a historical figure and great teacher, you are missing the important aspect of belief that includes a belief in who God says Jesus is. Don’t miss the significance of the name the Lamb of God, for Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He died as the lamb of God to pay for our sins, so that we would not have to pay for them ourselves. And his death, unlike the Lambs that the Jews sacrificed do not just cover our sins, they take them away. I plead with you, that if you want your sins forgiven, place your faith in the Son of God, Jesus, who, as the lamp of God, paid the penalty for all of your sins on the cross. If you will repent and place your trust in Jesus, your sins can be forgiven, and you will become a son or daughter of God, living eternally with Him. I urge you to do this today.

The Names of Jesus as seen in John 1

2008-09-14T09:34:00.000-04:00

John 20:31

31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John wrote this fourth Gospel with a purpose, aimed at both Jews and Gentiles who were second and third generation believers that had the goal of being both evangelistic and apologetic. Evangelistic, in that John included in this book unique eyewitness accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, differing from the other Gospels and filling in some significant blanks. This was for the purpose of establishing saving faith in the readers. The word believe is repeated some 98 times in this book, and it is demonstrated as what is required to be born again, belief in the historical Jesus, the one Son of God, found in the scripture and revealed by the Holy Spirit.

It also functioned as an apologetic, as John strives to encourage belief by convincing his readers that Jesus Christ is who he says he was by displaying the testimony of miraculous signs, as well as the testimony of the seven I AM statements found throughout the narrative. In John’s testimony we see an incredible personal insight into Jesus, and strove through the use of the word believe to demonstrate an active, continuous, and vibrant trust in Jesus Christ. We know it is for the Jews, because throughout the Gospel, John demonstrated that Jesus not only fulfilled OT prophesies, but He also fulfilled the types and shadows described in the OT. He is described in this Gospel as the Lamb of God, as the Ladder from heaven to earth, He is the new Temple, and He gives a new birth. He is the serpent lifted up, and the bread of God come from heaven. For the Gentiles, his apologetic included interpretations of the Jewish customs, and the types and shadows revealed in the Jewish law, the OT. John did more than describe events in the life of Jesus, he emphasized the meaning behind the events.

The book of John begins with deep and rich theological teaching that identify Jesus as the eternal God. There are seven names that John uses to give us a complete picture of Jesus Christ:

The Word - When we use words, we are trying to communicate what we are thinking or feeling. Jesus Christ is God’s Word to us, revealing God’s heart and mind towards us. John 14:9 says “ He who has seen me has seen the Father” . The author of Hebrews says that Jesus Christ is God’s las word to mankind. God’s Word is a powerful self expression in creation, wisdom, revelation, and salvation.

John 1:1-3, 14
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ is the eternal word (vs. 1-2) Despite what many believe, Jesus Christ did not have a beginning, he was not created, He existed in the beginning with God. He is God, and was with God. The Word, as second person of the trinity, was in intimate fellowship with the Father. He was not only with God, He was God. He had all the essence and attributes of deity.

Jesus Christ is the creative word (vs. 3) Jesus Christ was the Fathers creative agent through whom everything in all of creation came into being. John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1 begin the same way, in the beginning. God created the world through the spoken Word, and through the Word, Jesus Christ, all things came into being. This is another affirmation that Jesus is God, for through Him all things came into being, and all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17) and he was there with God in the beginning. He was not a created being, He is the creator. And, though the creation is a finished product, He is still at work in this world (John 5:17) as an agent drawing men to Himself.

Finally, Jesus is the incarnate word (vs 14) Jesus Christ walked on this earth. He took on humanity, filled a body so to speak as a hand fills a glove. He was born as a human, but was not created. He took on flesh. Jesus Christ for a time took on flesh, the immortal God now in mortal flesh, constrained like we all are to time, location, and fully visible as opposed to invisible. Though He took on flesh and dwelt among us, he did not cease to be God, but became God in human flesh. He was not a phantom, or a spirit as some taught (the gnostics, whom John was correcting here). No, he was undiminished deity in human form. John and the other disciples experienced the reality of Jesus in the flesh, and he witnessed many times that Jesus was subject to the sinless infirmities of human nature. Jesus experienced weariness, sorrow, thirst, hunger. Ultimately, he was beaten, bruised, bled, and He died.
Though Jesus Christ came in the flesh, John witnessed the fact that they could see in Jesus Christ the glory of God. The disciples witnessed the person Jesus, His works, and His words, all of which revealed God’s glory and the glory of God dwelling in Christ. n this gospel, John recorded seven miraculous signs that demonstrated God’s glory in works. On the mount of Transfiguration, Jesus was glorified, so in His person, though veiled by flesh we could see God’s glory. His words that He spoke with authority, demonstrated He was God. He himself demonstrated personality and character traits like mercy, grace, goodness, wisdom, and truth, all characteristics of God. Jesus Christ demonstrated the same essential glory of the Father.
Though at times we can demonstrate these qualities ourselves, Jesus Christ was unique in that He was the singularly unique and only beloved Son of God. He was singular in His relationship to the Father, so therefore, we can all become Sons of God if we believe on His name, we will not be the Son of God in the same way that Jesus was and is. His relationship to God is unique and exclusive within the Godhead. His ministry was full of grace and truth, attributes of God, and demonstration of God’s goodness especially as it relates to our salvation. God’s incarnate Word speaks to us the truth of God’s grace towards us demonstrated by sending His son to die.

Jesus is The Life and the Light: Life is a key theme in the gospel of John, used 36 times. Light is the opposite of darkness, which represents sin and death. Jesus is the light, and He is the life! His light, like physical light, brings life to men.

John 1:4-13
4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

John loves the terminology and the illustration of the word light. In the intellectual realm, light is the truth that we read in scripture, darkness represents error or falsehood. Jesus Christ is light, in that He is the truth (John 14:6) His teachings are with authority, because they represent the truth found only in God. As we dive into the scriptures, they shine a light into our lives, guiding our steps, and exposing our errors. When we hear truth, it is like honey to our lips, it is sweet, and it clarifies and helps to guide us in the right path. When the light of truth is turned on, falsehood and error must flee.
In the moral realm, light represents holiness and purity. Having the light of truth as our source of knowledge is not enough, it must have an effect on our actions. Some people love moral filth, things that are done in the darkness. When the light is turned on, they cease what they are doing, because the light exposes these deeds. This is the reason why some people get very angry or defensive when the Gospel is preached. When the law sheds a light on their wickedness, it is like turning on a lamp and the cockroaches flee.They scatter, because they are ashamed. Satan loves the deeds of darkness, and loves to keep people in spiritual darkness. The darkness holds us captive, and we struggle moving about or getting free from it. Jesus Christ is the light, and he has set the captives of darkness free. Jesus’ life is the light (truth, holiness and purity) that gives us life eternal in Him.
There is basic truth about light, and John expands on it here. In the beatitudes, Jesus describes his followers as light. When we trust Jesus as our Lord and our Savior, we become light. Have you ever driven through the middle of nowhere at night? I have- Nebraska, South Daktota, Montana, all of these have places that are desolate. It is amazing how one single little light can be seen from miles around. Light dispels darkness by its very nature. A tiny candle in a very dark room lights the room, the darkness cannot overcome it.
Another very basic theological principle is taught here. Jesus Christ is light, despite His death, darkness has not conquered or overcome Him. Because of this, His followers, because they have His light, will not be overcome by this dark world. Satan and his subjects in this world will resist the light, but will never overcome it. The light will shine in the darkness, there is nothing the darkness can do to consume or overcome it. I think also it is fascinating that God is light, and in heaven, there will be no need of artificial or external light, for the glory of God will light the place. This is yet another subtle nuance that John uses to proclaim that Jesus Christ is God.
John the Baptist was sent to do what we are called to do, and that was to bear witness to the light. His purpose matched John’s purpose in this Gospel. He was sent to bear witness so that people might believe in Jesus. This is another subtle principle. In our ministry, and in our lives, while we are called light, we are to bear witness of Jesus and point to Him. John said “I must decrease, and He must increase” The most prominent part of our lives should be Jesus. Our personalities and gifts should only emphasize Jesus’ work in our lives. We should point to nothing in our lives with pride, except for Jesus. All of our best efforts are nothing but junk, He is the only good thing in our lives, and it is He that we should point to. People were not to believe in John the Baptist, rather, by his testimony they would believe through his message. But neither He nor we are the light. Jesus is the light, we are but a lamp. We need his power to glow, and we do so for Him.
John the Baptist’s message was simple: Repent, because the true light was coming into the world. This is a message about the incarnation, where the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among we who are in the world. The greek here labels Jesus’ body the same way that the Hebrew spoke of the tabernacle, or tent of meeting. This was a temporary structure that God indwelled. What a great illustration! Jesus’ body was but a tent, something that He lived in temporarily. John was preparing the way for people to know that soon the Light of the World was coming into this place, and with Jesus, the Kingdom was ushered in. But even though Jesus was the creator of the universe, even though He was the promised Messiah, even though His words were that of one with authority, and he was full of grace and truth, The world did not recognize Him. Paul puts it a different way in Romans 1: They suppressed the truth. It is sort of like a little child who is afraid who closes his or her eyes believing that what is scaring them will go away. Those who cannot see the light in reality just love the darkness and more than they love the light. They close their eyes so as not to see it, to deny it is even there. This is what the Jews did when Jesus the Messiah came into the world. They loved their traditions and beliefs about who Messiah was, in essence, closing their eyes to what the scripture said about Him. The Messiah was in their midst and they missed Him.

The good news is, there are those who recognized the light. If the light shines on your life and exposes deeds of darkness, allowing your conscience to be enlightened so to speak, and you see your sins in the light of God’s holy law, you can deal with it by repenting. Ray Comfort uses this example: If you have ever dusted your furniture, feeling like it is clean, and then you open your curtains and much more dust is exposed, does that mean the natural sunlight created the dust? No, it just exposed it. When we look at our lives as natural people, we are very likely to say we are good. The reason? we only look at ourselves compared to others. When the perfect light of God shines on our lives, however, we are laid bare before Him and our most righteous deeds are exposed to the light, we see how dirty even those deeds are compared to God’s perfect holiness. If we receive Him by believing in His name, that is, again, to acknowledge mentally that Jesus Christ is the one True God, revealed in the Bible, have a sorrow for our sins that leads to repentance, and a willingness to submit our will to His, the promise is that we will receive the right to become children of God. Being born again, born of God, is not a man made proposition. We cannot clean ourselves up enough to become children of God. We do not even desire to do that, it is God who gives us the desire and the faith to follow Him. When we, by the faith God gives us, obey the Gospel by repenting of our sins and trusting the Savior, we are Born of God.

Our responsibility to the Gospel Romans 10:11-20

2008-08-31T09:08:00.003-04:00

Romans 10:11-13
11 For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

We closed out last week emphasizing that saving faith had three aspects to it: mental, that is a knowledge that God is who He has revealed Himself to be in His Word, in nature, and in the person of Jesus Christ. Then there is the emotional, a sorrow that leads to repentance. Third, there is a volitional part of faith which leads to a change of behavior, reflective of the reality of the empowering Holy Spirit in your life, in which you submit your will to God, dying to yourself. These verses I have just read to you is Paul repeating this idea from the Old Testament. He is stating very clearly from Isaiah 28:16 that everyone who has this type of faith in God will not be put to shame: Put simply in this context is that Everyone-Jew or Gentile who has this type of faith will be rewarded. God will accomplish what He has promised; that those who place their trust in Him will be saved. You can be assured that if you have repented of your sins and placed your faith in Christ alone you will be saved. He repeats, using Joel 2:32, declaring that everyone-no matter their ethnic, religious, or cultural background- who calls on the name of the Lord- the one true God as He has revealed Himself in nature, through His Word, and through the person of Jesus Christ, will be saved. Saved from what? Saved from death, from Hell, and from the bondage of attempting to please God to be saved through the keeping of the Law.

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

Herein lies the problem; men, left to their own devices will, more often than not, create a religious system to try and please a God that they do not know. There are religions that have been created the world over in which men try to please a God of their own understanding through a system of good works. We can look at animism, where gods are seen in inanimate objects, panentheism, where god is seen in all things, pantheism where all is God, Hinduism, which sees thousands of gods, Islam, which attempts to please God through a system of good works, New Ageism, which tries to please the god in you. Then there is even many forms of Christianity, too many to be counted, which state that it is good works like getting baptized, confirmed, taking communion, giving a tithe, and speaking in the right language, and some would say, reading the right version of scripture will save you. None of these things is true. Before you can have true saving faith, you must have a right understanding of who God is. In order for this to happen, Paul says, you must have a clear presentation of the true Gospel message before you can have saving faith. You must know who God is in truth before you can believe in Him and respond to Him in a right way. Salvation comes to those who first hear and then believe the facts of the Gospel.

So Paul emphasizes this by asking these rhetorical questions. How can they call on Him who they have not believed? Many people say they believe in Jesus. This mental ascent to his existence is not enough. Some also believe in a Jesus who is all loving and who is all forgiving, who will look past all of our shortcomings. They create a popular Jesus, but it is not Jesus in reality. A popular example is Oprahanity, where she voices the opinions of many Americans who believe that it doesn’t matter what you call god, as long as what you believe in makes you a better person. Unfortunately, there are many sitting in Church this very Sunday worshipping this diluted view of Jesus. You can call on a false Jesus all that you want, but there is only one Jesus, the true Jesus taught of throughout scripture. There is a right belief; that I am wretched, a wicked sinner, who can do nothing to please God. My best works are filthy rags before Him. I need payment for my sins that I have committed against a Holy God. Jesus’ death is that payment. He is fully God and fully man. He came to this earth to live a righteous life and die on the cross, carrying my burden of sin there. He was made sin for me so that I could be made righteous. He doesn’t forgive me because I ask Him to, he forgives me when I lay down my life and my best efforts, and accept the price paid for my sins by faith.

Herein comes our responsibility. We have heard this news. We have, by faith, repented of our sins and we have received, by faith, God’s grace. We have an alien righteousness. Now, we have a responsibility. We are compelled by this great love that Christ has shown us to proclaim this good news. In order for a person to believe, they must have a right understanding of Jesus. How are they to get that if there is no one proclaiming the truth? Evangelism has become an option in our day and age. How are the lost people who are all around us ever going to hear the truth about Jesus unless we open our mouths and proclaim it? How are they to believe if they have never heard? The problem is that there is so much more wrong teaching about Jesus than there is right teaching about Jesus. I have already mentioned today some of the wrong teachings about Jesus. It breaks my heart when I am in a conversation with a person, and they tell me how their pastor says that they are alright, that since they are members of a church and have been baptized, and attend fairly regularly that they are in with God! How can they believe in Jesus in truth if they never hear the Gospel? And they will never hear the Gospel unless we get off of our collective seats and proclaim it! I know; it is uncomfortable to talk about Christ to friends, acquaintances, and strangers. I do not do it perfectly all the time myself! But the key is to do it. We have training available, and there are many different options for a person who genuinely desires to share their faith to learn how to do it. It is not an option, if you are a true believer in Christ, you will obey His commands, one of which is to preach the good news to every creature.

How will you go unless you have been sent? We have already been sent, and if you have not heard the call clearly from this pulpit, I have not been doing a very good job. We are all sent. Every Christian is a missionary, or an impostor. Matthew 28:18-20 is not a suggestion, it is not a call to select disciples. It is a call to every Christian. I exhort you to take advantage of the tracts we have. I encourage you, if you have not already, to order the gospels of John and read, carry, and share them. I encourage you to attend our upcoming day of evangelism training. If you cannot attend that, I encourage you to take an online course, or borrow church materials. It is hard to start, to initiate a conversation. But, if you will take that first step of obedience, I know that the Holy Spirit will give you utterance, and help guide you through. Paul quotes Isaiah and says how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. This is the best news ever, and we have the privilege to proclaim it. We should not see it as a burden to bear, but good news to share. When a person rejects that good news, and rejects us, Jesus says that we will be blessed. If they receive the good news with gladness, we are also blessed. It is always a win-win situation when we strive to seek and to save the lost.

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Now, despite our preaching, there will be many who will not believe the Gospel. The good news is not only a gracious offer, but a command to repent and believe it. Paul knew that not all people would respond and obey the Gospel, even though it is the best news ever. Even Isaiah, and other OT prophets and writers knew about Christ- this quote id from Isaiah 53:1, one of the most obvious passages predicting the Messiah as a suffering servant. The report Isaiah gave was of the death of Jesus Christ- the death that was to save us from our sins- the substitutionary sacrifice. yet many of the Jews in Isaiah’s time and Paul’s time believed in a Messiah king, who would overtake by force any government in power and establish Israel as a force and nation to fear. They missed the boat, and they did not believe the Gospel, and therefore did not obey the command to repent and believe.

Faith comes by hearing- and hearing, like faith, is more than a process of being able to process sound. You must hear the truth, and respond to it. Just sitting in church and hearing countless messages will not save you. The message that is preached must be about the true Christ, as is found in the Word of God. Paul is saying, you must hear his gospel, the Gospel that was given to the prophets and Paul, the Gospel that Paul was preaching: Salvation is by Grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. You must respond to the Gospel, the word of Christ, and obey it to be saved. There is no other way to salvation.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth,  and their words to the ends of the world."

Paul is quoting Psalm 19:4, proclaiming here (as in Chapter 1) that God has revealed himself through natural revelation (creation). In other words, the entire earth ‘hears’ the preaching that God is because of creation. Paul details in Chapter 1 what happens when men suppress the obvious truth about God. One other thing that God gives is a conscience; a knowledge of right and wrong and good and evil. Those who choose to silence that inner voice, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness, will face the judgement of God in their bodies. They will not be able to hear the Gospel! Those who respond to God’s revelation of Himself can and will respond to the Gospel.

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,  "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;  with a foolish nation I will make you angry."

What Paul is saying here is quite simply a warning; A warning for those who will not obey the Gospel. Speaking specifically here to the Jews, Paul quotes Moses first, in Deut 32:21, that Israel would be jealous and angered by those who are not a part of the Jewish nation, that is, the gentiles. God is promising, through Moses, that the gentiles would be blessed by God because they chose God’s way of righteousness through faith! These peoples, which Israel hated, and looked at as foolish because they did not know God, In fact, it was the Jews who were fools, because they were chosen by God, and they had the law, the prophets, and the book all pointing to the Messiah...and they missed Him. Now, tied to the law and their own self righteousness, they are on the outside looking in. They will be jealous for the blessing of salvation that God gives to those who have trusted Him by faith alone.

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me;  I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me." 21 But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."

Paul then quotes Isaiah and says that He would be found by those who did neither seek nor ask for Him. This is a very important scriptural principle here; God does the seeking, and he is found by those who respond to His call. He has sent clear messages through the creation, his written Word, and through the person of Jesus Christ. He has been merciful to the Jews, though they did not obey the Gospel, we see that he continues to reach out His hands. To us today, He still reaches out his hands, despite those who have heard but not obeyed the Gospel. Even to those who have obeyed the Gospel, He is continuing in mercy as we stumble and fall.
God has allowed you to live till this day for one purpose: If you are in Christ, that purpose is to spread the good news to all the people around you. If you are not in Christ; if you have never repented your sins and placed all your trust in Him, He has allowed you to live to this moment in time so that today you would not harden your heart and you would respond to Him. Which one are you today? Are you walking solidly in Christ, trusting him for your salvation and producing fruit in keeping with repentance? Or are you still waiting to obey the Gospel. I do not know where you are at today, but I pray that you would examine yourself and discover if you have indeed obeyed the Gospel and trusted Christ. If you have trusted Him, go, tell others, proclaim the Good news that we can be saved from our sins and live an new life.

Romans 10:6-10 The simplicity of the Gospel

2008-08-27T18:00:00.000-04:00

Romans 10:6-7
6 But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
The problem is that in this time, and in times past, there have been those who have made this simple formula of the Gospel impossible to attain. There are those who desire to make the Word lofty and unreachable to the common man. They set standards of righteousness that are too high for anyone to attain. They use the law and their own laws added to them to make a lofty standard for people that makes it impossible for them to attain Christ. This is going on in some churches today; there are people who will tell you that you must, for example, be baptized as an infant, confirmed as a teen, married as an adult (unless you take holy orders), attend service every Sunday, say a certain number of prayers a day, attend confession, pray the rosary, give money, and on your death bed receive last rites. At this point, you are still not guaranteed heaven, likely you will have to spend time in purgatory. This time can be reduced by the number of prayers said at your funeral! But this is not the only way that we do this. There are those that bind you by legalism, telling you that you must think and act a certain way, that you must follow some code of social mores and standards that are extra biblical in order to attain Christ. There is no hard and fast rule here; and it is more of an unwritten code that is spoken in hushed tones as the church men surround you. I have been told by some that if I do not speak in tongues, for example, that I have not been baptized by the Holy Spirit. There are others who will tell you that if you are not healed, that simply means that you lack faith!! Then there are those who will say that we must travel into the very depths of Hell to bring Christ up from the dead. What Paul is trying to communicate here is that, while the path is narrow and the door is also, we do not have to go through impossible heights or depths to reach Christ.
8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);
While the Jews, and modern-day pharisees try to make it impossible for people to simply believe by faith, Paul reiterates the fact that it is as simple as realizing and recognizing that the Word is near us. He quotes Deut 30:14, and shows that God has clearly revealed the way of salvation, and that it is through faith. This faith is a supernatural gift of God, and it is a three-fold, ongoing condition that is the only way that we can gain righteousness. Faith is first mental, that means the mind understands the Gospel and understands the truth about Christ. If we stop here, it is just a mental ascent that the demons have. (The demons believe and tremble). We cannot have saving faith by just believing that Christ existed and historical facts about Christ. Second, faith is emotional, that is we embrace the truth about ourselves that we are wretched sinners, and that without Christ we have no hope. This produces sorrow that leads to repentance, and the fruit of repentance in a changed life. It leads to joy over God’s graciousness towards us, which leads to a desire to serve Him. Finally, faith is volitional, meaning that the result of the mental and the emotional aspects leads to a trust in Christ as the only hope of salvation. This also leads to a death of self, where the believer submits his own will to Christ’s will. Genuine three-fold faith always produces the fruit of obedience, and it is a process that carries on throughout the believer’s life. Paul follows up this statement with an ancient formula that is very misunderstood today, but it is really not all that complex:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord: This is the volitional (or willfull) act of declaring Jesus as your ruler. It is more than an acknowledgement of the fact that He is God and sovereign over the whole universe, it is an agreement (confession) that He is the Lord over your life. This phrase means that you have agreed that you are a lost sinner, repenting from that sin, trusting in Jesus alone for your salvation, and submitting to Him as your Lord. That is a mouthful, no? It is a willful act in which you are submitting to the true Christ as Lord. It is out of the mouth that the heart (will) speaks, so it is with the mouth that one makes this declaration representing what the heart believes. It is agreeing with God that Jesus is who He says Jesus is, and, in agreeing with God and making Jesus your Lord, you are saved.
Believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead: This is the mental aspect of faith; we believe what God says in regard to the resurrection of Christ. This is an all important aspect of who the real Jesus is; it proves that He is God, and that God accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made, which is the ultimate validation of the ministry of Jesus. This belief means that God has accepted Jesus’ sacrifice in the place of sinners, and you are placing your trust in that sacrifice, because God raised Jesus from the dead. This belief justifies us; for the death of Jesus is a legal exchange. His death paid the penalty for our sin, and we are now just in God’s sight.

Repent and Witness Evangelism Camp 2008

2008-08-16T09:45:00.002-04:00

I felt like AB Simpson in New York City when he went out of the walls of his church and preached to the many lost in New York. We spoke to immigrants, Americans, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Athiests, Agnostics, and christians~ all of whom needed to believe the Gospel. I pray that the church will return to its mandate to preach the Gospel everywhere to every creature. I pray that the church will leave its padded pews and air conditioned sanctuaries to preach the Word in the open-air and reach the lost that will not come into our churches.

What a wonderful trip. What an important message. What an unfinished mission. Watch this blog for more information.

The Sovereignty of God

2008-07-30T22:59:00.000-04:00

Romans 9:6-9
6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."

God had given the nation of Israel every opportunity and advantage so that they would turn to Him and place their trust in Him for their salvation. Their failure to respond to God does not mean that the Word of God had failed.

Isaiah 55:11
11 so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;  it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,  and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

God’s Word does not return void, whether it is spoken, prayed, read; as it is written so shall it be done. The purposes of this Word may be hidden from our eyes, but God’s purpose will ultimately be fulfilled and His Word therefore shall come to pass. In this verse it clearly states that not all people born in an Israeli household are necessarily Israel; and it stands to reason that not all who are born in an Christian household are necessarily Christians. It is not by natural descent that one receives spiritual birth, indeed it is from above, and it is the sovereign choice of God.

Paul makes this clear by showing the first of three examples from the Old Testament, the case of Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac. Both were children of Abraham, but only one was the child of promise. The sons were both of Abraham, but one was of natural descent and effort (Ishmael, son of the handmaiden Hagar, as well as the six sons of Keturah) and were representatives of the efforts of man. Yes they were his children, and yes Ishmael was the first, but they were not counted as Abraham’s children in the line of promise. They were counted only as natural children. Only Isaac, born of Sarah, was counted as the child of promise, and Abraham’s offspring. In the same way, there is nothing that we can do in the natural realm, there is no particular family or country we must be born into, rather, it is by the sovereign choice of God. His Word will accomplish its purpose, and it shall succeed in the thing in which He sent it. To be a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough, Paul explains to the Jews; one must be chosen (or elect)
Romans 8:33
33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

And they must believe on God:

Romans 4:3
3 For what does the Scripture say?"Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness."

To be part of the spiritual offspring of Abraham; Children of the promise we must trust God. It is through the promise of God that we are part of the family of God, it is the promise of God to Abraham that Sarah would have a son, and that son would be the child of promise.

Romans 9:10-13
10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

We also learn from Isaac’s children that it is not by works that we are chosen. When Rebekah became pregnant with twins, she was told that the older shall serve the younger. This was before the twins were born, and therefore before they could do anything. This was again, so God’s Word would fulfill its purpose showing that despite man’s rules, God had chosen the younger rather than the older, not based on merit, but His sovereign election (the one who calls). This prophesy refers to nations, as the people of Edom, who were Esau’s descendants, served the Israelites. It was not God hating an individual (Esau), rather, His sovereign choice of Jacob (Israel) before the twins were born as the one through whom the line of promise came. The hatred was not absolute, rather it was relative to a higher choice. God’s Word did not return empty, and we see his sovereign purpose worked out in the lives of these twins and their children.

Romans 9:14-18
14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

Paul was predicting the argument for his theology that people would say that God is not just if he arbitrarily chooses people for salvation or damnation. He answers that there is no injustice with God. Not at all, Paul says. God can choose because He is sovereign, and his choice is based on his mercy and his compassion. He can elect whom he will without contradicting His other attributes. We do not come to God because of our choice, Jesus said that no one comes to the Father unless the Father first draws them. Paul says earlier that no one seeks after God. It is by His mercy alone, His grace alone, that we are even able to respond to Him. In fact, He gives us even the faith needed to respond!! It is not by our will or by our exertion, it is by grace alone through faith alone that we are able to come to Christ.

Paul illustrates this by Pharaoh’s own rise to power during the time of Moses. Pharaoh believed he was in power to accomplish his own purposes his own way. The scripture says that God places rulers in power to accomplish His own purposes. He raised Pharaoh up at the exact time he was brought to rule Egypt so that God could demonstrate His power and His wonderful works. The purpose was to proclaim God’s marvelous name- the sum of his character- throughout all the earth. Part of this proclamation included the statement that God has mercy on whomever he wills, and hardens whoever he wills. Clearly, God was dealing with two men during the time previous to the Exodus; Moses and Pharaoh. Both were sinners deserving of Hell. Moses was a murderer, a liar, and a coward. He did not always follow God even after God revealed himself to him. Yet God decided to have mercy on him, despite his foibles and his flaws. Then there is Pharaoh, no better nor worse than Moses, but God allowed him to be hardened, and God hardened his heart. Both men observed the same miracles God did to honor His name, and two men responded very differently. God did not actively create evil in Pharaoh’s heart, rather, he removed the divine influences that would stop Pharaoh from pursuing his own wicked ends unabated. Through this wicked king, God’s Word, his plan, and his purpose were revealed and acted out for the world to see, and to bring ultimate praise and glory to God’s name.

Romans 9:19-21
19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

Paul asks another question here, answering the critics. The critics, he supposed, would like to blame their own sin on God’s sovereign choice. How can God judge us, they object, because he has sovereignly determined their destiny. Paul has no problem here with this honest question, only to those who wish to blame God for their own sinful unbelief. Paul addresses this objection by using a simple illustration of a potter and the clay to show that man, made of dust by God, should not argue with God over how he is made. Doesn’t the potter, Paul reasons, have the right to determine from the same lump of clay what to make? He can make a vessel that is used in the temple, or as a piece of art, and he can also make a common pot, used for cooking. The clay does not argue, and neither should man. This doctrine does not address man’s responsibility, only God’s sovereignty. We must understand that God is sovereign, but we still must respond to the light that has been given to all men. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty does not erase the reality of man’s responsibility, but our finite mind cannot grasp them both. We have free will, but it is within the overlying umbrella of God’s sovereign plan.

Romans 9:22-26
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,  "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,'  and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" 26 "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,'  there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"

How many thousands of Israelites died under the slavery imposed by Pharaoh? How many male babies were killed? God does not enjoy watching an evil man like Pharaoh (nor other wicked rulers) but He endures it.
2 Peter 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

In the exodus from Egypt, along with the ten plagues, God showed his power and part of his wrath for the wickedness of the Egyptians, but at each turn, they had an opportunity to repent. The greek word translated prepared has a middle voice, and is a reflexive action verb. In other words, it is more accurately translated prepared himself for destruction. He had the opportunity to repent, but never did. We all have the same opportunity to repent. God, in a very real way, draws all men to Himself through His creation, his Word, the Holy Spirit acting as the One who convinces men of their sin, and the personal revelation in Jesus Christ. We were not prepared for destruction by God, he desires that all will come to repentance, but not all will.
Those who do receive the call, repent, and trust God are those he prepared beforehand for glory, His vessels of mercy. This group will come not only from the Israelites, but from every nation. This includes the Gentiles, of which we are a part! From the nation of Israel and from the rest of the earth, God is revealing his wrath and His mercy so that those who have been ‘made ready beforehand’ by being mercifully given salvation. Have you been given salvation? It is there for you, if you will take the free gift of God. Look at your life, your circumstances, and if you have not already done so, repent-confess and turn from your sins and cling to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. God has been merciful, allowing us to live despite our transgressions against Him. He does this so that we will repent because of this kindness that He has shown towards us. There is no difference; Regardless of your heritage, your church upbringing or lack thereof, your good works, or your bad works God has been patient with you so that by his kindness you may be led to repentance and faith in Christ. When this happens, you are now His people and his possession, sons of the living God.

Mans Responsibility Romans 9:27-10:5

2008-07-30T22:57:00.000-04:00

This last week, we deeply examined the sovereignty of God in relation to his choice of those who would be saved, and those who would be hardened. His choice was based on His love, His grace, and His sovereignty. His choice was not based on works. His choice was not based on who was more of a sinner and who was more of a saint. His choice was based on His sovereignty, and it demonstrates His grace and His mercy. Paul closes this passage of thought on His sovereignty from the book of Isaiah:

Romans 9:27-30
27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." 29 And as Isaiah predicted,   "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,  we would have been like Sodom  and become like Gomorrah."

Isaiah’s prophesy, found in Isaiah 10:22,23, dealt with the southern kingdom of Judah would be conquered and scattered abroad as a punishment for her unbelief. Paul uses it here to demonstrate that National Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, and the subsequent destruction and scattering into the whole world, which we see today. Paul follows up with a quote from Isaiah’s prophesy in Isaiah 1:9, that all Israel will not be destroyed, because of God’s Grace and mercy, a remnant will remain. If the Sovereign God had not allowed this remnant to be saved, Israel would have been wiped completely off the map like Sodom and Gomorrah.
This prophesy holds true today, in the larger view of Abraham’s physical descendants, which would include both Jews and Gentiles alike. It also carries over to Jesus’ own assessment of those who would claim His name in preaching, teaching, healing, doing good works, and yet not be known by Him or chosen by Him to be born again. In Matthew 7, Jesus looks at those who claim His name and yet practice lawless deeds and says “I never knew you, depart from me.” In the parable of the sower, only 25% of the people hearing the message of the kingdom actually are saved. In the parable of the wheat and the tares, we see many weeds amongst the wheat, the wheat being those who are truly born-again. Again in Matthew 7, we see that the way and the door are narrow. Not many will find it.
In all of these facts that we have just reviewed, it is God who does the seeking, and it is God who does the finding, based entirely upon His sovereign will. Jesus said that no one would come to Him unless the Father draws them. Romans 3 emphasizes that there is none who seek after God. If it had not been for the grace of God in the prophesies Paul quoted from Isaiah, Israel would be no more. It is entirely in the sovereign choice and plan of God that you and I have been drawn to Him and are kept in Him. Even our response of faith is given to us by God.

All this talk of the sovereignty of God begs the question, however. What is man’s responsibility? Do we, like Paul’s hearers, shout back to God, based on our own sinfulness asking Him why he made us this way? Do we question if we can choose to do anything whatsoever because God has predetermined our actions? Certainly not. We do have responsibility in our response to God’s general and specific revelation. Let us continue in the Word:

Romans 9:30-33
What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,
33 as it is written,
"Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

The gentiles and the Jews both had the same goal: The attaining of God’s righteous standard. Paul is saying that the Gentiles and Jews had the same goal, but one pursued it properly and attained it, and the other pursued it improperly and did not attain it. Paul is pointing to the fact that indeed, some pursue righteousness and receive it, and in that they receive God’s mercy because God has chosen them to receive His mercy. Those that receive His judgement are not receiving his judgement because of something which God has done to them, rather, it is their own unwillingness to believe the Gospel. The Gospel is simple: repentance and faith, resulting in the righteousness of God in Christ being imputed to you.
The Gentiles received righteousness because they believed the Gospel. They did not get the righteousness by anything that they had done, they got it because they believed God, and stood on Christ. The picture here of the stone laid in Zion, one which would save or would cause one to stumble. When you stand upon Christ, build your house upon the rock so to speak, You are saved from whatever would come against you. The picture given in Isaiah 28:16 is that Christ is a sure cornerstone, tested and approved by God, and if we build upon that cornerstone, we will not be disturbed. The cornerstone is Christ, building on that implies that we place our faith in Him alone.
The Jews Paul speaks of had the same goal, but a very different result. The reason? They went about it the wrong way. The way that they went about it was to be made righteous by the law that they tried to obey. They tried to please God by doing everything that the law prescribed, and, in doing so, attained only a measure of self-righteousness. This righteousness was not what the law was created for; it was created so that we could come to an awareness of our need before God, and to plead with him for mercy. The Jews were described many times as a stubborn people, and in Isaiah 8:14, this same stone (Jesus) that was to be a sanctuary for them, but He became a stone to strike, to stumble over, and a snare and a trap. Why? Because they would not believe the Gospel, that an alien righteousness is bestowed on us based on what Christ did for us, not based on how we please God by keeping the law. To them, this righteousness by faith was a something they stumbled over and fought against. The definition of insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The Jews have not been able to attain righteousness by the law no matter how hard they have tried, and the prescription that guarantees righteousness is but something they fight against and stumble over.

Romans 10
1 Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Paul’s desire is that the Jews that he was writing about would come to this understanding; that righteousness was and is based upon faith alone in Christ alone. Paul reiterates his desire that he outlined in Romans 9:1-5 that his brothers according to the flesh would be saved. He sees in their zeal both a demonstration of their love for God, but also a stumbling block to the Gospel. They believe that their love for God is demonstrated by their legalistic conformity to the law, as well as their opposition to their opponents both religiously and culturally. This zeal was commendable, but it was wrongly placed. In fact, it was their zeal for living up to the standards of the law that blinded them to the very purpose of the law! This zeal was not according to right knowledge.
Paul clearly states here that they were ignorant of the righteousness of God, demonstrated by the fact that they tried to establish righteousness on their own. Again, this is commendable but misguided. God’s righteousness was revealed in the law, for it was a reflection of God’s character. This revelation of God’s righteousness and His righteous standard for us should have had the effect of making the Jews acutely aware of their own unrighteousness. What it did instead was to intensify their efforts, when it should have drove them on their knees in submission to God, begging for His mercy, and turning to Him by faith. The end of the law can be found in Christ. This Gr. word can be translated fulfillment, like in Matthew 5:17:

17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

But this is not a reference to Christ having fulfilled the law through His life and teaching, even though He did. Nor is it a reference to his perfect life being a fulfillment of the law as in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

No, Christ is the fulfillment or end of the law in the sense that the law, or the keeping of the law, will never bring a human being righteousness. It is only in Christ, and a belief in Him alone as our Lord and our Savior ends our futile quest for self-righteousness, placing a righteousness in us that can only come by faith in Christ alone.
Romans 10:5
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.
The issue is, and the stumbling block is, that in order to attain a righteousness that is based upon the law, one must keep the law perfectly, stumbling in no way. If someone was able to do this, Paul quotes Moses, they would live by them. But, as the previous verse explains, Christ is the end of the law, or the fulfillment. The commandments were placed there to point us to a righteousness that could only be found through faith. The problem that the Jews had was that they were set on finding righteousness in their works; indeed this was a huge stumbling block that caused most of them to miss Christ.
And this is the very issue that Paul is screaming from the rooftops for us all to hear: The righteous shall live by His faith. It is not through works of the law, because there is none righteous, there is no one who seeks after God, we are wicked, wretched, our lips speak lies, our minds think worthless thoughts, and we do not fear God. If we break the law in only one point, we are guilty of it all. And, we are condemned by the law. The Law can only condemn, can only proclaim the death sentence, to those who insist on living by it. And this was the Jews very problem, and it remains a problem today for many who practice the Christian faith. It is by grace, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-10, that we are saved through faith. This is not of ourselves. It is a gift of God, not of works, least any man should boast. If we base our hope on the works that we do, we are lost to this day. If we turn from our works, and realize that we cannot earn righteousness no matter how good we are, we can be saved.
An old hymn says this ‘My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness’ On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand’ We must repent of our works, our self righteousness, and our efforts to reach God. We must lay ourselves at the feet of the cross, repent of our sins and self righteousness and beg for mercy, placing our trust in Christ alone to be saved. There is no other way; the teachings of the modern church follow the same mistake of the Jews. Too many people who claim the name of Christ believe still that they must earn their way to heaven through church attendance, through good works like giving their tithe, taking communion, feeding the poor, etc. All these things are good things, but it is not enough to be saved! Like the Israelites, many people in the modern American church are stuck on being a good person and doing good things to earn God’s favor. Jesus Christ’s life line of grace is a stumbling block to them, because of what their church has taught them. Paul is screaming from the rooftops Jesus Christ is the only way; I am not ashamed of this Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. For in the Gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last! The only way to be saved is faith. The only way to gain righteousness that has pleased God is through faith. Throw yourself at the feet of the cross, cry out to Jesus. He will save you.

The Church of the Week

2008-03-14T09:58:00.001-04:00

Should we really try to be all things to all people? Or should we just preach the Word of God in and out of season?

Rob Bell's new Video

2008-03-03T17:17:00.001-05:00

This is a pretty accurate parody of the Emergent church....A little risque' but it gets its point across.

Santa Ministry

2007-12-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

We wanted to reach out to people in our community during Christmas, so in addition to many other ideas, we purchased a Santa Claus suit and some special Christmas tracts, and decided to get involved in some community Christmas events. Sunday, December 9th was a big day. We started at church, and at 2:00-3:30 we were going to be at the Christmas Tree walk caroling etc. The temperature was in single digits, and my cameraman Caleb didn't dress well, (hence the sniffles and heavy breathing) so there was not a great turnout at the walk, at least initially. So I hit the streets so to speak. Check this out:

We also went to a local nursing facility, where we sang some carols and Santa delivered a message about the true meaning of Christmas:

If Freely you have received the greatest gift of all in Christ Jesus, you must freely give it away. If you are a Christian reading this, get equipped and get out there and seek and save the lost.

Santa Claus, Elves, And Christmas Cash

2007-12-10T09:47:00.000-05:00

Some folks in our church (windeypants, mary quite contrary, jay jay, mrs. pastorboy and pastorkids, jacob, joshua and caleb) went down to the Christmas Tree Lighting festivities in Downtown, and we were a bit disappointed at the turnout. (It was like 10 degrees, Jerry B. ) So, we made the best of it, handing out as much Christmas Cash and candy canes as possible. I had visions of some open air preaching, but there was no crowd. I had visions of one to ones, but nobody really wanted to stop and to talk. So Christmas cash was the best alternative. This is the text of the Chrismas Cash tract (from customtractsource.com):Christmas Cash Text:

He’s making a list, he’s checking it twice... he’s gonna find out who’s naughty or nice! If Santa used the Ten Commandments for his standard, how would you do? Let's find out... Have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen anything? (No matter the value.) Ever used God's name in vain? Ever hated anybody? The Bible says “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer”

If you are guilty of these things, it shows that in your heart, you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, murderer-at- heart. Many people don't know that God will use the Ten Commandments to judge the world. Forget about Santa, "naughty" and "nice"... how will you do on Judgment Day? If you are found guilty, that means an eternity in Hell... 2,000 years ago, God sent Jesus to the earth to pay for your sins. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment that you deserve for breaking His Law (The Ten Commandments). God's wrath came down on Jesus, instead of on you. The Bible says, "God commands all men everywhere to repent, because God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness."

Remember if you try to get to Heaven on your own, you must keep every Commandment in thought, word, and deed! Jesus paid the penalty for your sins on the cross. Then He defeated the power of sin and death when He rose from the dead. Repent (turn away) from your sins. Place your faith in Jesus Christ alone to save you. God will grant you eternal life. Read your Bible daily and obey what you read.

There were so few people around, I walked out to the busiest corner in town as Santa and handed out Christmas Cash while people were stopped at the traffic signal. This was a lot of fun, and people really liked the drive by tracting.

We then went to the nursing home, where my wife played and sang Christmas Carols to the residents, and I got to preach as Santa Claus. I think the folks really responded to that. I think that is as seeker friendly as you will ever see me.

Invest in a Santa Suit. It gets you into more places and gives you opportunities to share your faith.

The Christmas Quiz

2007-12-05T12:51:00.000-05:00

Dr.Dr. and I went out for our weekly fishing trip to the campus at SMSU. Dr.Dr. had a few emergencies today, but he is a trooper, so he decided to come. We stopped to get something to eat at a local cafe' before we went. I brought in the printed Christmas quizzes (you can get them at www.livingwaters.com). This wasn't planned, but I tested out the quizzes on the patrons in the restaurant and our waitress. We got such a great response! The waitress took much time filling it out, and as she came back in the course of her duties, we were able to take her through the law and the Gospel. Then, to my surprise, an older lady came and sat down next to me to review her quiz. She was wondering why I would give her this quiz sisnce she had been a member of the Presbyterian Church in town for 41 years (since she moved here) and she had gone to church her whole life. I quietly indicated that it is a test to see if we are in the faith. It is SO HARD to witness to elderly people, to teach and 'old dog' new tricks. I encouraged her to review the answers on the back to test herself and see how she really did. As we were leaving the restaurant, our waitress wanted more quizzes to hand out to her cooks and other co-workers. We obliged! Pray for these people who have the quizzes that they would take the Gospel message to heart.

We continued on to the campus, and found some students willing to take the quiz. We spoke to one Nigerian (agnostic) and two Nepalese students (buddhist) and I learned that this is a great quiz for Americans, but not so hot for foreign students.

Amoee, the Nigerian, knew nothing of Christmas. I used the last question, (if Santa were to determine if you were naughty or nice by the Ten Commandments what list would you be on?) as a launch pad. I wrote down Naughty on one side, nice on the other, and took him through the law. He admitted that he would be seen as naughty, not nice. I asked him if there is a heaven and a hell, where would you end up? He said he guessed hell, but he believes in reincarnation. He admitted that if he were reincarnated it wouldn't be a good thing. I took him into God's courtroom, which included one judgement for breaking the law. I then explained the Christmas story to Him, that Christ was born of a virgin, God's gift to us despite the fact we are naughty and hate God, he gave us this precious gift. I then took him to the cross, helping him see that Christ's ultimate gift was paying for all the sins we had ever committed. I urged him to examine the back of the quiz, and gave him another tract with my number on it. We continued on.

The two Nepales Buddhists were very friendly, but they also had no clue as to what Christmas is. I did the same naughty and nice test with them, and once again, honestly, they freely admitted their guilt. I took them through the law and the good news, and explained Christmas to them as well. I also invited one over to church and to our home for Christmas dinner, as she was going to be stuck in town over the break. Pray that she comes and shares Christmas dinner with us, and, more importantly, that the Gospel comes through!

A GLBTA view of Christmas

2007-11-28T10:25:00.000-05:00

I had an hour this evening before I had to pick up my son from basketball tryouts, so I decided to use the time wisely and head to my favorite fishing hole. The fish were all around, and I was praying for God to lead me to ones that wuld bite. I ran into a group of three young people, and I asked them if they would take part on camera in a documentary about Christmas. They all agreed, and invited me into their meeting room. I asked them what group they were associated with, and they explained GLBTA- I asked them what that stood for, and they told me- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies. I was very excited to get their opinion for my Documentary!

As is pretty consistent in this part of the country, they all knew the story about Christmas. Two of them answered that Jesus came and was born to pay for our sins. They had a pretty clear understanding of what Christmas was all about, so I took advantage of their own understanding and tried to dig deeper as far as the sin issue. One piped up that he didn't think it was fair that we all became sinners because of Adams sin, so I said, so do you think that you are a good person? And he said he was. I was so glad that these fish were so willing to bite. I took them all through the good test, and they all were well aware that before God they were guilty, but most still believed that they were going to heaven. I tried to take it to a court of law, but before I could, it became clear the law was doing its job.

It was going along well until the truth hit home that all of them were sinners, and that they were in big trouble when they stood before God. Two piped up that the price was paid, that all people were going to go to heaven because God is love. That started an argument between them and the two that were brought up in the church and had a firm grasp of the teachings. I could tell that the law was doing its job. I gave the illustration of a gift given at Christmas must be recieved, opened, and used before it is worth anything. If you recieve it and never open it or use it, if you just set it aside, it does no good. I encouraged them to look to the Bible for the truth about Christmas, and not to rely on their opinions or beliefs that they feel comfortable with. At this point, I could tell the conversation was over, because the ones who were so obviously pricked in their conscience had gotten up to leave, and others were following.

Did you notice that I didn't mention homosexuality or their chosen lifestyle? No, the Ten Commandments did the work of proving that they stood guilty before the true God that was both loving and a judge. I believe that unless it is brought up, you should stick to the law found in the Ten Commandments, otherwise your preaching will fall on deaf ears (even if it is the truth) and might even erupt in violence. They have fought that battle every day of their lives, and their guns are loaded. The same Holy Spirit that saves can complete the work in them.

Pray for me as I complete my documentary. This is a work primarily of evangelism!

Obstacles and Open Doors

2007-11-20T18:25:00.000-05:00

We went back to see the APEX of the Campus Crusade 'Free week', the great event with the prizes and the special speaker and all of that. On our way in, we met Lindsey who we saw last week. She was ready for the on camera interview. We had a interested observer also- the Area director of Campus Crusade.

Lindsey was doing well, and I was about to help her with some suggestions about going at the conscience rather than the intellect. Thats when the big fella cut us off. He strongly urged us that we were welcome, but that we should call ahead next time. He suggested that there was a number of people that felt uncomfortable with our methods and with the camera. I explained that we got their permission before, after, and during the interview. He also suggested that I was stepping over boundaries, but that he was not being territorial. I surmised from the conversation that we should go ahead and call ahead as he suggested. We are concerned, and want to be involved with these young, passionate people, so we will respect his wishes.

Dr. and I were determined to share our faith, so one door being closed we went to the student center. It was DEAD. We walked around, distributing tracts, and looking for warm bodies. We were about to leave, when we saw a few foreign students gathering. It turns out that they were waiting for a ride, and they agreed to be on camera to talk about spiritual things. Prokos and Ashock were both Hindus, and we had listened about their faith and reincarnation and we were ready to swing to the commandments when...Campus security showed up. They had gotten reports from someone that we were soliciting. We introduced ourselves, and told them we were just doing an interview. Our Hindu friends assured them that we were not bothering them. We were able to continue our conversation, and present the Gospel to them. Upon leaving, we urged them to read the Scripture and ask God to reveal Himself to them. Another seed planted, Dr. and I rejoiced and prayed for our new friends.

I have been preaching through Revelation 2 and 3 in church, and again God taught me an object lesson that made the Scripture very real to me, and drove it home. I thank God for closed doors and obstacles that guide us towards open doors. I thank God that Jesus has the authority and the keys to open and close doors. I thank God that he has promised us that one day those who have stood in the way of what God has commanded us to do will have to acknowledge that we are beloved of God.

Please pray for Campus Crusade, for their leadership, and those who are true disciples of Jesus that they would grow in passion to share the whole Gospel with their peers. We pray for all of the Christians at SMSU that there would be revival-a real move of God that would drive sinners to their knees and to the cross. Pray for us to as we go out. The enemy does not want us to be there!

Peace Vigil

2007-11-14T23:17:00.000-05:00

In our little town, there has been a 'Peace Vigil' since about the 6th week of the war on Mainstreet and College Drive. These are well-meaning people, the peace they are seeking is for an end to war. But I had a different take.

I made a sign that said 'Have you made your peace with God? (Romans 5:1), brought my camera down, and began to march. About halfway through, I asked if I could interview one of the organizers about what they were doing. Camera in hand, I began to interview Darwin and Jeff.

In the interview, I heard them on what they wanted to say about the war. I then asked what they thought of my sign, and asked if they thought they had made their peace with God and if man could make their peace with God. I found out that Jeff is Jewish, and has been in hot pursuit of answering that question for 36 years, not believing that he would arrive until the last day. I asked him if he was still looking for Messiah. All of a sudden, Jeff had to leave.

Darwin had a great answer also. I then stated that the war in Iraq had resulted in 3,000 plus deaths, and I asked him what he thought happened when a person stepped off the earth into eternity. All of a sudden, Darwin had to leave also. He promised to speak with me again next week.

Pray for Darwin, Nora, Jeff, Stewart, and the other passionate people that they would desire to find their peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Witnessing at SMSU

2007-11-10T15:50:00.000-05:00

Our WOTM intermediate class was on the assignment where we were to videotape our one-to-ones. So we went to the local campus and looked for some people to interview. What better place than the local college campus?!

So, we went to the commons area, and set up our camera. The first two young ladies I interviewed were journalism students. They were both raised in the same church, and believed that by believing in God and asking forgiveness they were going to heaven when they died. I took them through the commandments, and put them on trial. They both were willing to admit they had sinned, but they struggled with the idea of putting their whole trust in Christ. Seeds planted, I encouraged them to read ther Bible, particularly the Gospel of John chapter 3 and 4, and we moved on.

Darrin did a one to one with another girl while I was filming. She didn't believe in Hell, and when he mentioned Jesus, she suddenly had somewhere else to be. Another seed planted.

Adam got to speak to Amy, who grew up Catholic and just started reading the Bible when she got to college. She is active in Campus Crusade, and an FCA Bible study as she is a scholarship Athelete. She seemed still to be stuck on doing good works. Adam did a great job sharing with her, and when she left she definitely knew that 'she must be born again'.

Unfortunately, the sound did not come through well for the interviewees, so we will not post these. You'll have to trust me that Windeypants did an AWESOME Job.

Then, we talked to Ellen who was REALLY self-righteous, but a really good sport. She was a 'backslidden' Catholic who was really angry at the church and hypocrisy in the church. With her husband and daughter watching, I took her through the commandments, where she spent a lot of time justifying herself. I almost did not give her the Good News, because it seemed like she was not ready for it. She still seemed really proud. Her mouth was stopped when I called her good works filthy rags. I used the illustration of a gift of a mercedes benz and trying to give the giver pocket change for the gift, because you felt funny receiving the nice car and you wanted to give something for it. I told her the gift giver (God) is rightly insulted when we try to save ourselves, paying with pennies (our own righteousness) what Jesus' perfect righteousness and shed blood already paid for.

Pray for all these ladies that the Good News would break through.

Reverse Trick or Treat or Trick and Tract

2007-11-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

For years, I have hidden inside my house on Halloween instead of participating because I believe that there is nothing good about it, that it is a festival of Satan, one of two of His holy days, etc. Then I got to thinking: What other night do kids come to our door begging for stuff? I set off to wal-mart, got some full size candy bars, tootsie pops, and other candy and prepared for reverse trick or tract.

So last night, Our Church did one of two things in our community:

Most handed out treats and tracts at our doors to the children and families coming to our homes for halloween. This is a practice that lots of Christians around the country do, because it is easy, non threatening, and really fun! If you don't do it, plan now for next year and get some tracts that are kid friendly and some for the adults too.

But, I am a little wierd, so I got dressed up with Windeypants, and we set out with big candy bars and little candy and tricks and tracts and hit the neighborhood. We went door to door, giving big candy bars and tracts to the homeowners. When we saw kids on the street, we gave them candy and did some little tricks using the 'pink and blue' tracts and coins. We would tell the parents that they are doing a great job, and give them a million dollar bill tract.

The reactions were so cool. One lady said that she had been seeing River of Life Alliance Church all over the community, and that God was telling her something, because she was without a church fellowship. Other people were just shocked. Most people thanked us a lot!

Yes, it was cold. Yes, I looked like a fool in my outfit. But the Gospel got spread in a new way in this community. It was so much fun that I can't wait till next year. I encourage you, dear reader, to look for ways to share the good news with others.