Kingdom Bible Commentary

You're Being Played!

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:24:00 +0000

Genesis 3:1 NIV Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Satan's job from the beginning has been to introduce doubt to what God has said. He incites man to think of alternatives to what God has said, getting man to consider the alternatives better than what God has said.

Now why did Satan approach the woman? Satan was out to upset God's created order from the get go. He knew if he got to the woman, being weaker, he could get the man to follow. Ever since, Satan's attack has always been from the bottom up, or should we say, from the weakest link of the chain.

God had open fellowship with Adam and Eve before the devil instigated them against Him. Satan has since then been lying to mankind, telling them they won't die when disobeying the Word of God. Because man fell from God' glory, the Lord promises a Savior that will come to redeem their fallen state. God prophesies Satan's defeat and Jesus' victory. The "seed" or "offspring" being referred to in Genesis 3:15 is the Holy Seed (Messiah) that will come through mankind - Jesus, the Savior of the world.

Genesis 3:5 NIV "For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Notice Satan tells a half truth, which is why he’s successful in deceiving the naïve. Satan appeals to the flesh; to the lazy, the easy, the indulgence – the passions of the hearts of men.

Satan makes it appears God did not want man to have the same privileges. As if God was keeping man from something, keeping him down or subservient. Satan makes God’s relationship with man seem what it is not. This is the second way he exploits the passions of the flesh and drives enmity between God and man – by appealing to our pride and arrogance.

Your Eyes Will Be Opened…

If you’re a parent, you can most certainly distinguish between the state of innocence of your children and when their “eyes were opened”, being exposed to their sin or the sin of others. You can see the change in their demeanor, manner and attitude when sin bit them and they clearly saw the truth between good and evil. They lost their innocence, their trust, and their heart’s appetite for sin began. It was a work in progress that could not be stopped, only mitigated with love, wisdom and the pursuit of holiness in Christ Jesus.

The opening of our eyes was the worst thing that could happen to mankind. We didn’t need them opened. We didn’t need to know about evil. But Satan capitalizes on our FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and tries to sell us something we never wanted – our own demise because of our greed.

Thankfully, in Jesus we can overcome this and have our innocence reinstated through the powerful blood of Christ!

You will be like God…

Can we really be like God, knowing good and evil? We cannot – we are so weak and pathetic in our flesh we cannot handle the truth of good and evil. Our current state of spiritual, mental and emotional affairs testifies to this fact. We need to trust the Lord God as His creatures and seek Him as our refuge and not lean on our own understanding or trust our own hearts (Proverbs 3:5-6; Jeremiah 17:9). We cannot and should not be like God in knowing good and evil – this lie from Satan was a total farce – spoken to drive a wedge between our benevolent, merciful and kind God and our wicked, greedy selfish selves.

The Cost of Looking Ahead to a Better Reward

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Fri, 05 Jan 2018 20:37:00 +0000

Hebrews 11:26 (NIV) He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

Moses accepted all the disgrace that eventually came to him because He knew God’s promise of the Messiah was of greater value than all he had come to know in Egypt. Egypt no longer attracted him – it was a cheap cartoon of the reality in which he had chosen to invest. This is what happens with people of faith who develop loyalty to God because they have come to taste the goodness of the Lord.

When I was a young man, Manhattan took my breath away. I was awed by what man could do. I felt the energy through my mind and body when I was there in the middle of the action. I felt alive! I did not have faith, I was in the world. That’s what I knew and that’s what I loved. Now that I have been in the faith some 30 years, I can identify with Moses. When I go to Manhattan I see death, I see shame and I see the that, what man calls its best, is really a cheap, denigrated, poor excuse of something made by those created in God’s image. Choosing such things would be like choosing soot over honey, sewage over pomegranate juice and tinsel over gold. It is a mockery of what mankind was intended to be. A man of faith recognizes this and chooses disgrace to be identified in Christ because he knows the world cannot offer any real, everlasting value. At best it will deceive you with its chintz. We are no paupers, we are children of the king! We ought to be arrayed in real everlasting majesty! We need to be found doing the work of the Lord here, that’s how we will be worthy of the image in which we have found redemption through the blood of Jesus. Don’t let Satan deceive you into thinking you are a cheap pauper worth nothing more than to be clothed in the chintz of the world, going about its dying business.

1 John 3:2-3 (NIV) Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Don’t look ahead to whatever value you think this world can offer, which passes away – but to the real value of what you have not even come to know yet, face to face, because you need to be clothed with immortality to be able to palpate it! That’s how valuable it is – so much so, our perishable nature and environment is not worthy or receiving or seeing it.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV) Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

The more you earnestly pursue the Lord Jesus, the more you will gain sobriety into discerning the real treasures you have in Him and the masquerade of the world will dissolve away to reveal the rotted truth of what the world is and tries to offer those drunk with its ways.

God Transcends Us...

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 01 Jan 2018 21:04:00 +0000

Genesis 1:1 (NIV) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Our Creator, God, is transcendent. He is radically different from what He has created. Many call forces they cannot understand: "mother nature, the universe, the spirits" and in doing so think they are spiritual or have a spiritual understanding of some kind. Some even revere nature above the Creator Himself and think they are spiritual.

"The tendency to confuse God with His creation or your presumptions is an intellectual mistake — indeed a SPIRITUAL mistake — fraught with the most tragic consequences. When nature is worshiped at God’s expense, not only is God dishonored, but nature is dishonored also. As long as we are false to God, we can never be true to nature." - Gary Henry

In addition, you are far from not only from discovering true love and peace in the gift God has given us in Jesus, but you are also from really knowing who you are at the very core of your humanity, for you were created in the image of God.

Jesus came to show us God's brand. He is the LOGO of God. He is what we need to be - our full realized potential. Instead of developing loyalty to man-made brands that at best perish and become faulty in time, invest in getting to know your Creator and realizing your full potential in the Savior He sent to redeem us from our limited and underdeveloped potential caused by our sin. Read the Bible this year, AGAIN!

Happy New Year!

Are You As Devoted to our God as He is to You?

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Wed, 25 Oct 2017 18:09:00 +0000

1 Chronicles 28:9 (NIV) “And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever."

Acknowledge...
Believe He is there and that He will reward you for your loyalty to Him. Understand He is there to support you, help you and prosper you. Without Him, you can't do anything.

Wholehearted Devotion...
We ought to serve God with all of our being: heart, soul, mind, and strength. Nothing in our lives should be outside of the purview of serving God and diligently seeking His approval in everything.

Willing Mind...
God moves us to act and to will according to Him. We ought to be understanding and agreeing with every motive behind every thought of God's words and contrasting that with any thought or presumption that may rise above this knowledge of God. This involves us being deep into God's word, seeking to understand and be of the same mind as Him.

In our society we are doing the impossible, what cannot be done, which is why many are met with mental, physical and emotional challenges; finding life unsatisfactory, even though they should be materially content.

Why is this? Well, first because they are not seeking to acknowledge the goodness and holiness of our God, but, without knowing it, seeking approval from the evil and unjust ways of people. So their feedback and experience are never positive because people are not perfect. Whereas, if they would be acknowledging God, they would see their experience through His filters and deriving positive feedback, even from negative situations.

Secondly, because of negative experiences with their acknowledgment of people's imperfections, they lose wholehearted devotion to anything. Because the feedback they receive is negative, they trudge through their day with half-hearted commitments. They lose their ability to be loyal and faithful when their hope and acknowledgment rests on people.

Thirdly, because of their half-heartedness, they are not willing. They are not willing to change, to try, or to do. They stick to what they know and they dare not set off outside those boundaries for fear of being hurt.

In light of this, their life is lost, not won, all because they are focusing on people/society/the world instead of seeking God first and foremost! They are the walking dead, giving up on life because they have not found it. We need to show them Christ in us and point them to God for the source of life - that they may truly find their life and purpose for what they were made.

The Noise in Your Life Will Harden Your Heart

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 19:22:00 +0000

Hebrews 3:13-19 NIV But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called "Today," so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. (14) We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. (15) As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." (16) Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? (17) And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? (18) And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? (19) So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

As the Israelites were wandering in the desert, they were probably envious of the other neighboring tribes/groups of people they came across. Seeing their possessions and the supposed things they were enjoying made them probably think they were missing out on something while they were wandering around for 40 years. This made many of them turn their hearts back on God and question Moses and his leadership. They probably thought Moses or God or both were holding them back and preventing them from being the nation they were supposed to be in their own minds! While God wanted to make them holy so they could worship Him they thought they needed to be something else. That discrepancy is what generates so much noise in our lives.

Others who didn’t have much vision to begin with, just kept daydreaming about what they left behind in Egypt, not believing God was going to take them someplace better; that He wanted to make them something better. While their minds were flirting with fantasy they were not able to worship God, so this is why they had to be purified in the wilderness – taught to rely on God and to trust God in everything. Some of us are in a sort of wilderness now, in an exodus, following Jesus, but with wandering minds, still not bringing ourselves to fully trust God on this journey we’re on. Some of you secretly desire to be back in Egypt, or are allowing your pride to dictate your steps. If your heart is wandering you won’t enter God’s rest. His oath has said so (Heb 3:11). You won’t be people who are worshiping God with that mindset and so you will be denied Heaven!

Have you ever thought that maybe God is holding you back from what you really want to do/be? That the church or your mentors or your brothers/family are holding you back from your “dreams” (the desires of your heart)? I often thought about that while I was a young Christian, full of verve and illusions about what I wanted to do with my life. I saw my mentors as “getting in my way” of what I really wanted to do, especially if it was concerning who I wanted to court and what career/job I wanted to have or what possession I wanted to buy. It was really God I was blaming for “getting in my way”! Perhaps that is what was going through Achan’s mind as well when he stole those gold bars that were supposed to be devoted to the Lord (Joshua 7)! “Whose gonna tell me what to do!” is what the proud heart yells. You know Achan’s end – him and his whole family paid the price for his noise (Joshua 7:25). God in his oath, declared that none of those who have unbelieving hearts will enter His rest (Heb 3:19). Let your noisy soul be a warning that you are in danger of forgoing God’s rest as well!

That hard and unbelieving heart, manifested as pride, is the reason you have to be broken – that pride is the cause of the disintegration of your soul – and not just that, your marriage, your family and your salvation. If peace is something that is still fleeting to you, something unattainable and imaginary because you just have to much noise, is it because God is unable to fulfill His promise of allowing you to find peace, or because you are choosing unbelief? To not fear God and obey His commands is unbelief. It’s not that you’re not believing, is who/what you are believing. If you’re rejecting God’s word you are believing something else – something that’s not what God said, and your fantasy is what is generating all that noise in your life. It is keeping you from hearing God’s voice and finding His peace – which is not like the peace the world gives (John 14:27; 16:33). You try to protect yourself by hiding, pretending or simply getting disconnected from reality, but none of that will work. You’re just digging yourself deeper into the noisy pit. Come to Jesus, take His yoke upon you and learn from Him, for He is gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your soul!

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Make Every Effort to Enter God's Rest

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 17:18:00 +0000

Hebrews 4:9-11 NIV There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; (10) for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. (11) Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

Unless we are making every effort to enter that rest, following Jesus’ footsteps, any distraction that causes us to veer from the straight and narrow gets amplified through our example and we will broadcast that lack of faith to others around us without even realizing it. Those closest to us suffer the greatest impact of this noisy broadcast. It won’t be a pure faith we broadcast unless we are shunning evil and fearing God in every decision we make (Prov 3:7; 14:16; Job 28:28). For example, if I decide as a parent to discipline my child to my own liking, neglecting the words of wisdom from God that teach me if I love my child I will discipline him with a rod to save them from death (Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13-14; 29:15), what am I inevitably passing onto to my children and the future generations? What message am I sending the families around me, and those in my community? That God’s words are not to be really trusted? That it is OK for me to pick and choose which ones I follow and which ones I don’t? Is this what the fear of God looks like? Is this to tremble at His word? This is valid with any scripture you decide to ignore, not just how to disciple a child.

Do not be deceived! Make no mistake! You reap what you sow! Look at those in the Israelite camp who didn’t believe God when He said “go in and take the land” (Numbers 13 - 14). They negated every promise God had made because they were afraid of the wrong being. Instead of fearing God they feared man and it was a snare to them, as Proverbs 29:25 NIV says, “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” They ended up paying for 40 years in the wilderness and eventually perishing. Many followed their example of disobedience. You know, for the flesh it is easier to follow examples of hypocrisy and disobedience than it is to follow obedience. You are making it a lot easier for your children to be disobedient when you establish a pattern of hypocrisy and disobedience yourself. This is why Jesus told the Pharisees they made their converts twice the sons of hell they were!

Matthew 23:15 NIV "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.”

This is why the Hebrew author exhorts us and admonished with these urgent words throughout the letter. Don’t lose sight of the eternal rest to which we are headed as we follow our Lord and Savior, Jesus!

The Purpose of Suffering

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Tue, 20 Aug 2013 19:21:00 +0000

Hebrews 5:8-9 NIV Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered (9) and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…

Many blame God for the suffering they encounter in this world. Many even use suffering as an excuse as to why they won’t believe in God. They don’t realize suffering is God’s tool to help people develop a faith that can save them from eternal death. God doesn’t intend for suffering to mock us or hurt us. Satan wants us to think we suffer because God doesn’t care. That is the lie humanity has bought and they are suffering for it, even though they don’t agree with suffering! Pathetic, isn’t it? But God used His only Son, Jesus, to illustrate the workings of this spiritual law for our own sake. Jesus showed us suffering is the only way we are going to make it to Heaven. No one will escape suffering in this flesh, so why not embrace it and let it work its purpose? It is God’s workshop towards salvation for those who love Him and obey Him.

Our flesh despises suffering. We want to avoid it at all costs and give in to cowardice, lies and manipulation to avoid it coming close to us. All these fleshly responses are the opposite of love; they are responses of fear. Someone who does not accept suffering to let it work its purpose cannot love with the love of God because they cannot mature to the point of loving with the love of God. Because of His love for us Jesus took on a monumental amount of suffering; and being the Son, needed to still learn obedience through the suffering assigned to Him. What makes us think we are different? If Jesus had to be perfected how much more do we need this workshop? By accepting His lot Jesus was able to become the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. That’s right, for all who OBEY. And how will we learn to obey? We learn to obey through the suffering assigned to us. Instead of responding with complaints, criticisms – or just plain running away from it; if we really believe God will answer us and deliver us from death (in the same way Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission – Hebrews 5:7) then we will trust God through the trials and suffering that will come, that our faith may reach a maturity that shows by obedience unto salvation. Through these trials we will be joyful (James 1:2), not act as victims or blame others for them, seeking justification by man and for man instead of crying out to God and trusting He will save us and see us through it – trusting that this very suffering is achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17).

So when you’re in a difficult situation, a situation where your heart is wrenched, a situation that you do not look forward to because you know it will involve closed hearts, despair, lying or plain justification instead of accountability, don’t despair. By facing the situation you are subjecting yourself voluntarily (and out of love for others) to the purpose of the suffering – to perfect your obedience by giving in to patience, kindness, grace and peace-making for the sake of Christ and your brothers. You will be a vehicle of God’s grace in the same way your Savior is when you volunteer to suffer on behalf of those who don’t understand the purpose of it. Now Jesus did not just stand there and take it – He used his trials as a tool to deliver the truth to those unwilling to hear it. His suffering was the constant trademark of the Truth, and likewise, if we love the truth and rejoice in it – we will suffer for it. We will suffer at the hands of the mockers, the posers and the lovers of self. We will suffer at the hands of the sin-enablers, the false teachers, the truth compromisers and those who put tolerance above real peace between us and God. As a matter of fact, the suffering you will encounter at the hands of these is God’s gift to you that you are following in the footsteps of Jesus. In light of your trust in God’s grace this suffering becomes joy.

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The church of Jesus, God's vehicle of grace, is like a rock tumbler/rock polisher. All the rocks are us, the living stones, as Peter says in 1 Peter 2:5. The grit in the tumbler, which is meant to strip off the dirt and grime from the rocks, is the blood of Jesus, which strips away our sin and ugliness and polishes us, making us bright, clean and blameless before God (1 John 1:7ff). Rocks that submit to the process will come out shining like jewels. Rocks that don’t have what it takes will crumble and fall apart. They will come to nothing. They will only be good for the trash bin and to be trampled upon by men.

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” – Matthew 5:13 NIV

The blood of Jesus is only available to us when we become members of His body, the church. It is by the blood we enter into the church, the rock tumbler, to be washed and made effective by God's grace through suffering.

1 Corinthians 15:10 NIV But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Wed, 07 Aug 2013 19:14:00 +0000

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ “ ‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’ “Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ “ ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied. “He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’ “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. - Luke 16:1-8 NIV

How was this dishonest manager shrewd? When he found out he was going to get fired he quickly made adjustments to the accounts of other people who owed his master because it was in his power to do so. He did this with selfish motives, to have “friends” when he found himself on the streets. In the same way, God has given us power over many things - the power to use the resources we have at our disposal. Instead of using these things for our own gain, we should use them to influence others to follow Jesus. This manager, although dishonest, was called shrewd because he knew how to influence people who thought like him. How are you using what you have at your disposal to make friends for eternity?

The Works of God

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:47:00 +0000

The Works of God: A Consideration of John 9:1-4 & John 11:8-10

Introduction: Jesus often taught His disciples a valuable lesson concerning the focus and direction of their lives. These disciples needed to be reminded (and we do as well) to keep their priorities right. Jesus said to them: John 9:4 NIV “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work”, and John 11:9 NIV “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light.” There are several important facts to note here:

A. We must work.

1. Jesus described Christians as vine keepers (Mat 20:1-16); traders and merchants (Mat 25:14-30); slaves (Luke 12:42-48); builders (Luke 14:28-33), and a host of other illustrations.

2. All of these involve work - hard work!

a. Our flesh often does not like to work – but if we have a sense of responsibility we know we are obliged to work.

3. I have yet to find an illustration of the Christian vacationer or retiree.

B. We must work the works of Him.

1. Jesus knew His purpose was to work for God. He said earlier that (John 8:29 NIV) “The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him”; and (John 4:34 NIV) “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”

a. Do you live to eat or eat to live? There is a great difference of mindset and attitude between each of those questions. One loves for pleasure and feeding the flesh, which ends in death, and the other sees the body as a mere tool to accomplish a purpose.

b. That which satisfies us is doing God’s work. Nothing else will satisfy us!

2. So also it is our responsibility to work for God. Paul said that (Philippians 2:13 NIV) “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”

a. There is a work God wants to accomplish through us and in us.

b. A work that is not of your own invention, but will come to fruition through you by His will.

c. It requires a mind that wills to do God’s work and sees to it that it gets done. In order to reboot our new life of service to God we crucified and buried our old nature, which was a slave to our desires and have been reborn in the likeness of Christ, ready to have His will and work be fulfilled in us.

d. Ephesians 2:10 NIV For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

i. We ought not to think of ourselves as products of our society, or our upbringing, or the streets or of anything else. That is Satan’s’ lie to keep you down and oppressed under a slave mentality.

ii. Our purpose is not to live out the American dream, or fulfill the desires of our heart (which we have no clue of what they are), or run a rat race dictated to us by peer or societal pressure.

iii. There are good works, God’s work, which we have been made specifically for doing in Christ Jesus.

e. Titus 2:14 NIV [Jesus] (who) gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

i. The reason Jesus came to us was to cleanse us from all the wickedness we were in and to purify us for Himself.

ii. This works for those who are eager to do what is good. Not what you think is good to do but what Jesus wants you to do.

iii. We must devote ourselves to do what is good; what is excellent and profitable for everyone – Titus 3:8

iv. We just discussed in Bible Class that the process of sanctification (purification) involved unyoking ourselves from associations that have unequal interests in Christ – 2 Co 6:14ff. Being yoked together with unbelievers is not what God wills for you or wants to have you do. Our lives here is not about being friends with the world but to be the light of the world. There is no fellowship between light and darkness.

v. Those who are eager to do good will not walk in darkness any longer.

3. James 2:14-26 NIV What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? (15) Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. (16) If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? (17) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (18) But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. (19) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. (20) You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? (21) Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (22) You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. (23) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. (24) You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. (25) In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? (26) As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

a. James 2:14 NIV What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?

b. James 2:19 NIV You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

c. James 2:22 NIV You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.

C. We must work the works of Him as long as it is day.

1. John 9:4 NIV “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work”, and John 11:9 NIV “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world's light.”

2. Jesus lived in a time with no electricity. When the nighttime came, people generally quit working.

3. Spiritually speaking, there is a nighttime, and all the power man can muster cannot stop that blackness. It is the nighttime of judgment. It will be too late to attempt to work for God then.

4. You and I, at this very moment, are enjoying the daytime of our lives. Jesus reminds us to use that daylight wisely. We have “twelve hours in the day” to work before those nighttime twelve hours arrive when we will not be able to work.

5. If we will “walk in the day”, doing what we need to be doing and going where we need to be going, then we will not stumble. We will, perhaps soon, be facing the darkness (cf. Rom 13:11).

6. Paul said we ought to “always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord” (1 Cor 15:58) and to “devote yourselves to what is good; since these things are excellent and profitable for everyone” (Titus 3:8).

Conclusion: Jesus went on to Bethany, knowing that such a trip would lead to His eventual death. But there was work to be done, and His priorities were to get that work done - regardless of the cost. We are called to do no less.

Romans 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship. (2) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

-- World Video Bible School Commentary/Pedro Gelabert

John Chapter 11: Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 19:05:00 +0000

Death was never part of God’s plan. Death came into the world as a result of sin. Rom 5:12 confirms this: (NIV) “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned…”

We all know that death is a part of this temporal life. We see those whom we love pass on, and immediately our thoughts are filled with questions. Where are they now? How are they now? When will my time be? What comes after death?

If you are like me, I believe I have had some glimpse of the possibility of things to come through my experience in dreams. I tell my children, “we are but sleeping now, and soon we will wake up.” This life is but a test and it will soon be over. Are you ready for real living? In one sweeping statement in this chapter Jesus tells us two important truths about Himself and the future: John 11:25 (NIV) Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…”

The abundant life Jesus promises His disciples in John 10:10 does not necessarily refer to the current, temporal life we are now experiencing. It just cannot. For what is coming is something not even your wildest dreams can cook up, for (1Co 2:9 NIV) “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”-- the things God has prepared for those who love him.

In this chapter we come across Lazarus’ death and resurrection. It is a glimpse of the future that will come to all men for all will be raised on the last day: John 5:28-29 NIV “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice (29) and come out--those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.”

Lazarus was sick and then he died. We all suffer from a sickness that ends in death. All efforts to try to live longer are in vain and misguided. Yes, we are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance to these earthly tents that we may render acceptable service to God as His priests; but we know these tents will fail and perish. Our heavenly home is where we ultimately belong and that is where we set our goal: to be with our Lord forever. That Jesus took His time and did not heal Lazarus before his death was as purposeful as all the spiritual lessons He wants us to learn: the flesh is temporary – the reality is in the hereafter: John 11:15 NIV “…and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe.” He wants us to put our hope and focus; lock, stock and barrel, in Him and what’s coming! Without fellowship with Jesus there is no hope, no future, no life. You have to be in Him!

Jesus and the Future Life

John 11:25-26 NIV Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; (26) and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

A. Jesus is the resurrection.

1. Jesus has the power to give physical life to those who have died.

i. He is the Day Spring! The first light of Day!

ii. He is the Day and the Spring! Think about all the good things that come with the Day. Think of what the Spring means to you.

iii. Winter does not have to be the end for you! In Jesus we are like the evergreen tree, enduring the roughest of winters here on Earth to be welcomed to an eternity of springtime!

2. He promises He shall raise all who are in their tombs (5:28-29).

i. Just as the dry bones were lifted up in the desert valley (Ezekiel 37), Jesus can breathe not only new life into your heart and mind, but He gives you a new Spirit.

ii. Sin gives birth to death. Sin dries you up in more ways than you think. Its fruit is easy to spot and does not promote the LIFE in Jesus.

iii. Are you drying up or dried up? That’s the result of sin!

A. Dried up relationships, marriage, zeal and awe.

B. “No le huelen ni las azucenas” is a Spanish saying meaning, “This guy is so dried up and consumed by his sin that he can’t even smell gardenias!”

3. All of the powers of Satan, especially seen in death, are so easily crushed by Jesus.

i. Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- (15) and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

ii. 1Co 15:54-57 NIV When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (55) "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (56) The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. (57) But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

iii. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil. If you are in Jesus His life qualities will be seen in you as opposed to the deeds of the flesh: 1Jn 3:8 NIV The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

A. You will be a peacemaker

B. You will confront with care

C. You will speak the truth in love, etc.

D. The devil’s plan is to kill us through our appetites.

E. They distract us, paralyze us and cloud our judgment.

F. Without the self-control weapon offered through the spirit those out-of-control appetites will kill you!

iv. He has given us weapons to defeat the devil’s work: 2Co 10:4-5 NIV The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. (5) We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

A. Stop feeding the negative thoughts and let the love of God flow!

B. Arrest those peace stealing thoughts and know that God is in control!

v. We can overcome evil with good: Rom 12:21 NIV Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

A. Stop watering the weeds in your life and water the flowers!

B. Be self-controlled instead of manipulative!

C. Serve instead of complain

D. Get involved in the work instead of being critical

E. Follow the Spirit instead of trying to lead on your own effort and judgment.

4. Death is all around us; it surrounds us. No wonder we are in the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). But we have the confirmation of Scripture that death does not end one’s existence. We will all be resurrected!

i. As your birth signaled the end of your life in the womb and the beginning of this life, so death will signal the beginning of forever!

B. Jesus is the Life.

1. This refers to more than making one to live again. John told us that “In Him was life” (1:4) meaning that He has, as a natural attribute, the ability to bring things to life; to impart life on that which has not.

i. He is the vehicle of creation: Col 1:16 NIV For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

ii. He gives the breath of life: Acts 17:24-25 NIV "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. (25) And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.”

A. You don’t have to surrender to death’s manipulation, instead, impart LIFE to those around you with the power of the Spirit.

iii. He gave His own life as payment for our sin: Rom 3:25 NIV God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood--to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished…

A. Jesus’ sacrifice was meant to appease God’s wrath. If it appeases God’s wrath, and because of that we are saved – why give into the things that brought up the wrath in the first place? That’s Paul’s argument in Romans 1.

2. Jesus said that He has “life in Himself” (5:26).

i. This is certainly referring to a future life - the “eternal life” (5:24). Only Jesus can give this everlasting life. No other “lord” or “savior” can do this. Jesus only is the way the truth and “the life”. John 14:6 NIV Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

ii. He has given us new birth through the word of truth – James 1:18 NIV He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

A. Being we are born again in Jesus, our lives in this mortal body is all about serving Him since we have given up our old life on the cross with Him when we were baptized. We have buried that old life, never to see it again because it summoned God’s wrath in the first place!

Conclusion: Jesus tells Martha that “The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” Thus He qualifies those to whom He will give this life. One must believe in Jesus. This is a clear teaching of Jesus. He said: John 5:24 NIV "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” Will Jesus be the resurrection and the life for you? If are believing in Him (depending on Him, obeying Him, etc.) then He will be!

Because we believe this we are of the same thought expressed by Paul in this passage:

1Th 4:13-18 NIV Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. (14) For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. (15) According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. (17) After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. (18) Therefore encourage one another with these words.

John Chapter 10: Jesus is the Good Shepherd

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 21:14:00 +0000

Jesus continues describing the church and His relationship to it using the metaphor of the shepherd and his sheep. The relationship between sheep and shepherd is tight, deep and lasting. Have you ever been to a petting zoo or a farm that may have a sheep pen? These modern examples are a far cry from the shepherding customs in the bible. When I see a sheep pen, or any other farm animal pen for that matter, I see a dirty, smelly place where I don’t want to stay longer than I have to. Sure, sheep, like other animals God created, are wonderful and amazing. Sheep in particular are soft and cuddly, and when they are babies they are particularly cure, as any other creation God has made. I like their eyes, which have an unusually shaped pupil, like a slat instead of a circle. An interesting characteristic of sheep is their ability to be easily confused and get lost. They usually roam in herds, as other animals like it, but without a proper leader they can get lost and confused, not even sensing danger within their own herd. Jesus capitalized on these traits when speaking of his people as sheep without a shepherd and when using the parable of the lost sheep to make a point about how the shepherd won’t rest until it finds it and how happy he is when he does. Now picture yourself as these sheep: In a pen, so dirty and filthy, yet you think you’re fine and clean; you don’t even really know what your surroundings are or how to get from place to place. Your only worries are about food and shelter. Yet when you hear the shepherd’s voice you get beside yourself to the point that you pee on yourself. You know when you hear that voice that your worries are over. You will get to go out and into awesome and sweet pasture, under the watchful eye of the Good Shepherd. His rod and His staff are a comfort to you, since you know if you get lost He will not stop until you are found. Even though you walk through dangers you fear no evil because the Good Shepherd is with you and nothing escapes His notice.

Unfortunately, even in the sheep pen there are some sheep that get into the mix which do not listen to the Master’s voice and often wreck the peace found in the pen. I’m not talking about the stress and growing pains we experience in our one another relationships – we are people, and like sheep do to each other, often we rub each other the wrong way and we have to deal with that – that’s part of loving one another and the brotherly affection we owe each other. No, we’re going to see that Jesus talks about those who have been entrusted supervision but think they are above the Good Shepherd. These custodians, so to speak, have taken advantage of their position to lord over others, bully and intimidate the flock, and ultimately aid in scattering the flock by becoming stumbling stones. Not only can this come about by a so-called leader of the church, but by anyone who decides to put a tumbling block on the path of his brothers and sisters.

1. Jesus is the Good Shepherd – John 10:11 NIV I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

a. What is this if not a prophecy of the cross? While it was true that shepherds were known to lose their lives in defense of the sheep, there have been none other than Jesus, who has given up His life for us, the unrighteous sheep (Romans 5:6-8). Jesus willingly gave himself up to die for men.

b. This is also the quality of a good leader, or church "shepherd", who is willing to give his life for Jesus’ sheep, the members of the congregation. He is willing to put himself into a very dangerous situation; even giving himself up to "keep safe" his sheep (see John 10:9 NIV I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.).

2. The Hired Hand – John 10:12 NIV The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.

a. Now we will contrast what we learned from the Good Shepherd about what he does with what others in the world may do concerning the church.

b. Hired hands - referring to the Pharisees but also applicable to any church leader with no interest in preserving the unity and devotion of the flock to the Great Shepherd, Jesus.

1- A hired hand has his own interests in mind and leads the sheep to be devoted to himself instead of Jesus.

2- The hired hand ultimately helps the wolf attack and scatter the flock.

c. Wolf – Satan and his minions – the forces of evil with which we war.

1- We don’t war with each other (Eph 6:12) – we ought to love one another

2- We spur one another one to love and good deeds in the likeness of our shepherd (Hebrews 10:24).

3- The wolf’s influence scatters – the shepherd’s influence unifies.

4- The wolf causes us to be fearful and disconnected from each other – The love of the Good Shepherd produces at atmosphere of peace and unity that promotes trustworthiness and good deeds done in love.

d. John 10:13 NIV The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

1- Even though the hired hand (servant, minister) could run away, Jesus comforts us with His promise of never leaving; especially in the midst of a wolf’s attack.

2- Men come and go but Jesus is with us until the end of the age. Your future in the kingdom depends on who you are trusting: if in God and Jesus, then peace, unity and good works will be your fruit – if in man, then division, hatred and suspicion will dominate your life.

3- Just look into your life right now, not just your church life, but your work life as well. Is your fruit consistent? Who do you believe is in control?

3. Intimacy and Fellowship are the fruit of being under the Good Shepherd. – John 10:14 NIV I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me…

a. This passage illustrates the depth of the relationship that Jesus wants to achieve with us. Just as He knows the Father He says that we will know Him!

b. Regarding the personal relationship of Jesus with his sheep: It struck me very different as I'd normally be distracted by the thought of a nasty dirty sheep pen. A place I'd probably not want to go into for any extended period of time; much less hang out with them and give them names (John 10:3). However, when I consider the thought from a child’s point of view, I remember when my dog had a litter of puppies or when we had a bunch of chicks: we named them all and each was special. We cared and loved each of them individually. Our hearts were broken when one didn't survive. – John S.

c. John 10:15 NIV just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.

1- John 10:17 NIV The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again.

2- Laying down His life is the ultimate expression of love - for His Father and for His children. There is no greater name under Heaven than the name of Jesus!

3- John 10:18 NIV No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.

4- Jesus here expressed his absolute freedom and authority both to die and to rise from the dead. There are three differences between Jesus' laying down his life for the sheep and that of the shepherds' doing so in the metaphor.

1. Jesus' death is altogether voluntary, but not like the shepherd's involuntary death while fighting against a robber. The shepherd might indeed die, but not willingly.

2. Christ's death actually saves the sheep eternally, whereas the death of a shepherd would only hasten the death and destruction of the sheep.

3. Christ will lay down his life, but with a purpose of taking it up again, something no earthly shepherd could do.
- Coffman

5- Laying down our own agendas, desires and goals for the sake of others is what pleases the Father. This is what conforming to Jesus is all about. We are not about conforming to any other person other than Jesus Christ, which is why we need each other's encouragements to make sure we are not distracted by egos and hired hands who have their own agendas to accomplish. To be unity in mind and though means most of us have to let go of our agendas and act in unison. That requires a desire for accountability.

6- The Lord compared His relationship with the sheep with the relationship that existed between Himself and His Father. The same union, communion, intimacy, and knowledge and accountability that there is between the Father and the Son also exists between the Shepherd and the sheep.

d. John 10:27 NIV My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

1- To listen to the voice of the shepherd requires an acceptance of who and what you are: a dirty sheep.

2- You also need to recognize the dangers in and out of the sheep pen. Knowing what you are and who Jesus is, protects you from being led astray.

3- You will end up following whoever you think is your Shepherd.

e. John 10:28-30 NIV I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. (29) My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. (30) I and the Father are one.

1- If we safeguard our souls in Jesus we will never be snatched out of His hands by Satan. Only if we wander around outside of the teachings of Christ will we be snatched! (Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. – Phil. 3:1 NIV).

2- Nothing can take us out of God's hands except ourselves. (Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? – Rom 8:35-39). This also shows that our salvation can be lost if we are not careful to follow our Master's voice.

3- In Jesus’ Hands vs. On Your Own (graph)

4. John 10:16 NIV I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

a. He is speaking of the Gentiles. They and the Jews will be one flock. This is evidence there is but one church, one body.

b. Even though Mormons claim that these sheep were the people in America that were "saved" through “Moroni's” revelation, we know Jesus is referring here to the Gentiles who would later come to know their Lord when the Spirit was poured out on all nations. See Joel 2:28; 3:2, also Isaiah 2:2-4 and Eph. 2:11-18.

c. This passage makes me take issue with those who want to raise their own name above the name of Jesus. Such "ministers" who name their own ministries after themselves or establish churches with names alluding to something or someone other than the name that is above every name – what are they calling attention to? Themselves or Jesus? What drives them to make a distinction? What drives you to want to get your own opinions across or to do your own thing apart from the flock? Who is the motivation behind that when you know Jesus works toward unity?

Invitation: Who are going to follow? Your own heart, thoughts, plans… or will you follow the One who gave Himself that you may have True Life?
John 10:27 NIV My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.

“Take Care, Church”

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:37:00 +0000

The phrase “take care” is often used in our everyday speech when parting ways as a generic way of saying good bye. However, I recall in the days of my youth when my parents also used it to as a reminder to “take heed”. These timely reminders in their strong Ghanaian accent came when parting for school. They would say things like: “take care and study hard so that when you grow you will not become useless”, “take care not to hang out with those bad boys who have no respect”, “take care not to do drugs because your mind will go mad”, and on and on. As a child, those reminders became somewhat annoying. But in reality, they were shared to both put a little fear in me, and to safeguard me from the pressing evil that surrounded me. Of course, I wish I could say I obeyed well in each of those areas; however those warnings kept me from further straying.

Our God of even greater wisdom than our earthly parents uses the Hebrew writer to remind us in Hebrews 3:12-13 in a similar manner to “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is [still] called "Today," lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (NAS95). We still need these reminders today and shouldn’t take them lightly because of the imminent threat and relentless pursuit by Satan through crafty schemes to pull us away from God and each other. Satan’s schemes may come in the form of an untimely spousal argument due to lack of quality time together, the management of finances or child rearing. Satan may also use unfulfilled desires or passions in life, afflictions that threaten our health, an offense taken due to godly correction from brethren, and sometimes the handling of church matters or other issues. These along with many other things not listed can victimize us to the point of no return if we do not “take care”, church. Unfortunately, my heart has been victimized on several occasions but I am thankful not to have been hardened to the point of separation. When victimized, I’ve found myself giving my wife the silent treatment after disagreements, or running ahead of God without seeking godly counsel on some major life issue, or not wanting to be patient and obey because of a strong desire. There were times I’ve questioned God because of a persistent trial, and complained about situations not fully understood. These are all signs of being hardened by sins deceitfulness which need to be eradicated from our lives.
In Jesus final days here on earth, he prayed earnestly for the church in John 17:11(NIV) saying “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name-- the name you gave me-- so that they may be one as we are one.“ We fulfill Jesus prayer by walking in the light as he is in the light and having true fellowship with one another as it is written in 1John 1:7. We must not allow our hearts to be hardened but rather purified by the blood of Jesus. We do this by reconciling with our spouse or brother immediately after a disagreement by each acknowledging faults and repenting if necessary to ensure that you “…do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil” Eph 4:26 (ESV). Furthermore, we need to learn to become more vulnerable to the Lord and each other by praying not only to be healed from our afflictions but what we can learn from them, and that our desires come from pure motives. “He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them” Ps 145:19 (NIV). The church has been created as a safe haven to help us succeed at faithfulness to Christ in whatever life brings our way. We can only excel in faithfulness if we “take care” and keep our hearts tender which requires that you and I “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” Heb 13:7 (NIV). Until Jesus comes again I pray that you “take care”.
Victor Quaye

Hospitality

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 16:34:00 +0000

by Claribel Rodriguez

I am zealous for my family. I want to give them the best and spend as much time as I can with them without interruption. God challenges me to open my heart when it comes to hospitality: Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. – 1 Peter 4:9. In the past, when my Pedro invited people to my home, I was not initially encouraged by the idea. I realized I needed to accommodate myself to Jesus’ idea of a hospitable wife.

What should my attitude be about hospitality?
If you are prone to complaining, people won't want to come to your home. No one wants to hang around misery and negativity. For example, I hadn’t seen my cousin from CT for 20 years. She called me and then gave me a surprise visit the Thursday before she was supposed to come. I tried not to complain because my home was not ready for visitors; I had lots of laundry to do. I remembered I don’t need to complain, I don’t have to trust my heart, so I was excited to see my cousin and her family. Another example was when my husband told me about our Christian family from the Ukraine who would be staying in my home for 5 days. I tried not to complain because my heart was again trying to deceive me. So they stayed at my home and when they were leaving our sister told me I was a great hostess, praise God!

The Bible helps me understand the importance of a good attitude and right living and how these impact others: The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. – Proverbs 3:33

So the Right Attitude is: be full of kindness, positive thoughts of serving Jesus, humble, without complaint, etc.

How we can practice hospitality?
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. – Rom 12:13. This verse teaches us to look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes. It is an active conviction we must desire to possess and not just a passive challenge that is given to keep in the back of our minds. What makes a difference to others is not the food you serve or how nice your home is, but your kind and loving hearts and your gentle disposition. Attract them with the same love and gentleness the Lord won you over. Strangers as well as Christians ought to be accepted into your home for that is the crucible the Lord will use to impact their hearts with love.

Have your whole family participate in this hospitality, no matter if they are kids and especially if they are teenagers. Hospitality is everyone’s responsibility as a family. My boys want to help me serve all my visitors and brothers. They also want to help me cook. Wives, make it your goal to buy food, cook it and serve it to assist your husband's desire to invite people and study the bible at your home. Singles ought to participate in this example of hospitality as well. For example, at work invite your fellow co-workers to study the bible at your home and also invite brothers and sisters to help and encourage. You and your church family can impact these friends with your hospitality.

Going to the store presents another opportunity for you to tell someone about Jesus. You can share the message of Jesus or give them the Gospel DVD. Hospitality is about turning your home into one that is known for the sowing of the seed of the word of God, kindness, generosity and peace.

John Chapter 10: Jesus is the Gate

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:01:00 +0000

“I am the Gate” is Jesus’ third divine declaration in John’s Gospel.

When I think about a gate, I think about security, protection and the way in to somewhere else. Usually it is the way into an awesome place (since the gate is put there to keep some people out) and the way out of whatever is common, blasé or so yesterday. I don’t know about some of you but many of us here are the kind of people who are usually outside those gates; in other words, gates and doors are there to keep us out, since not many of us are wise by human standards, not many are influential or of noble birth, as Paul said of the Corinthians in 1 Co 1:26. Just a reality check. J Jesus, however, desires to bring in as many people as possible through Him, the Gate of gates, into awesome, wonderful, eternal life! The more marginalized you are by the world, the better; for Jesus Himself was rejected by the world.
Jesus’ analogy when He describes Himself as a Gate is of a sheep pen, as He sets the metaphor in verse 1. The pen was surrounded by walls or a fence with only one entrance. The walls and fences were designed to keep the sheep protected from wild animals. It is not designed to keep the sheep in, but to keep them protected from whatever is outside. This is evidenced by the fact that the sheep are led out under the protection of the shepherd.

1. Jesus is the Door (Gate) – 10:7 – “I am the gate for the sheep.” At the beginning of the chapter Jesus begins by saying there is one way to enter the sheep pen and that is by the gate. He also says anyone who tries to climb in any other way is a thief and a robber.

a. The church is this sheep pen Jesus describes here. Jesus uses the metaphor of a sheep pen to give us insight into the church, or God’s kingdom.

b. There’s only one way into God’s church. Jesus showed us the way in Himself (when He was baptized – 10:2 - “The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep”; Luke 3:21-22) and that way was proclaimed as the promised way for “you, your children and all those who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call” – Acts 2:38. God Himself, the Gatekeeper, opened the way for Jesus (10:3) and all His sheep will follow His voice into this sheep pen.

1- John 10:8 NIV All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. Many have come trying to impersonating the Gate, but they have all been thieves and robbers. Jesus being the Gate is all about showing us the way into the Kingdom as well as opening the way into the kingdom. Jesus is the way in! There is no other way into the kingdom and anyone trying to tell you there is another way (we’ll be talking about this way, the Gospel, shortly) is a thief and a robber! Jesus’ sheep will not listen to anything else but His genuine message! They are not easily duped!

2- Many false messiah's came before Jesus claiming to be able to free the Jews, only leading rebellions against the establishment but not providing true freedom that only God can bring. Since then, many others (antichrists) have come promising but not being able to deliver. They are thieves and robbers. Jesus' sheep are not fooled. They know their Master's voice.

c. There are many congregations but only one church. There is only one sheep pen and one shepherd. As we learned in the chapter 8 those who hold on to Jesus’ teachings will know the truth and the truth will set them free (John 8:31-32).

1- It is Satan who is here to rob you of the truth and cause doubt. He promotes doubt. Jesus promotes truth.

2- The devil also promotes grayness, or half-truths. Half-truths are very effective at creating doubt and alienating you from truth in Christ. The wolves out there get the sheep by separating them from the protection afforded by the flock and the shepherd.

3- Jesus’ real sheep don’t listen to anything that may promote doubt or grayness, especially not their own pretensions that rise against the knowledge of God they have received. They know how to use the weapons from God that have divine power to demolish strongholds (2 Co 10:4-5).

4- Examples of cults that have risen because people have not been grounded in the faith like

1. Joseph Smith, claimed to witness an angel telling him about another Gospel. The Spirit teaches in Gal 1:6-9 there is no other Gospel.

2. Muhammad, who claimed to be a prophet of God by listening to a so called “angel” who told him about another Gospel.

3. Many other people who have proclaimed themselves prophets, and yet have never shown the proof positive of deity as Jesus Himself did with the signs and wonders He performed to verify His claims.

4. Many millions more believe any old way of getting into the sheep pen except the way Jesus declared, the oldest way – His way – by believing and being baptized (Mark 16:16).

d. There are many members but only one body – 1 Co 12:12

1- There are many saints scattered throughout the world, but one church. The church does not need a human “see” or central council to “watch over” the saints for it is Jesus’ church, and who can better watch over her than He Himself?

2- There is no official directory of the members of the Lord’s church. There is only one official roll call and that is the Book of Life spoken of in Revelation 21:27.

e. John 10:16 NIV I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.

2. He calls His sheep by name – 10:3-5 – The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.

a. There is a sense of family, ownership and deep trust in the sheep pen. All the sheep move in one direction, following the Master’s voice and plan for them.

b. The shepherd led his sheep but did not drive them, and a very intimate and loving relationship existed between the shepherd and the sheep, even extending to the shepherd's habit of giving each sheep a name and teaching them to respond to his voice and commands. At night, he usually led them into a safe enclosure, often lying across the entrance and thus forming literally the door. Flocks from several shepherds often occupied the same enclosure, the separation taking place next morning when each shepherd went his way, calling his sheep to follow, the sheep invariably following their true shepherd. Such shepherds were devoted to their sheep, risking or even giving their lives in defense of them against marauding beasts or thieves and robbers. - Coffman

c. The sheep don’t follow each other nor do they elect a representative to speak for them. They all can hear the Master’s voice and they trust each other because they trust the Shepherd.

d. The sheep feel safe in the pen. They don’t have a desire to venture outward unless it is because they are following their Master out.

e. The sheep in the pen recognize the voice of their master. They can tell when it's not their master talking (when it does not come from the Word [Jesus]). Jesus calls you by name! This implies ownership. He’s not interested in just getting numbers, but interested in fellowship – in having a personal unique relationship with you and having you, by name, own this life He gives. He is with you throughout your earthly walk. He will lead you out to green pastures and still waters. He will restore your soul (Psalm 23). Throughout our Christian walk we need to make a habit out of listening to our Master's voice, lest we stray from the path and be devoured! (1 Peter 5:8 – Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.). Learn to recognize His voice so you are not lead astray by the noise of pride and the din of man's opinions. Be particularly aware of the smooth talk and flattery the wolves employ to alienate you from the sheep pen and the shepherd (Rom 16:18).
Who are His sheep?

1- Those who hear His voice (v 3)

2- Those who follow Him (v 4)

3- Those who know His voice (v 5)

f. Jesus' sheep know not to follow any other voice not coming from the Word. They know His word and therefore His voice. When we make it a habit to be led by Jesus's voice (The Word), we will literally run away from any situation or person not carrying the Lord's message. When sin is at the door you will flee to God! (James 4:7-8)

1- Since Jesus calls you by name and desires for you to know His voice, this means Jesus is a stranger to those who do not believe. Many people can know something about Jesus, but knowing about Him is as good as a platonic relationship. Knowing about Him can get you started on the right path but only if you believe.

2- The voice of strangers brings philosophies, theories, and speculations; but only the voice of Jesus brings salvation. People who really desire salvation are rebuffed by human pride and sophistication, and they will flee from every voice except the authentic one. – Coffman

3. Salvation comes only Through Jesus - John 10:9 NIV I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

a. Entering Through Jesus – No other message is as complete and thorough as Jesus’ message of salvation. Just by studying and being in awe of this great message we can easily conclude that no man could have ever come up with it. I will show you some slides as to how Jesus is the Way INTO God’s kingdom in a moment. Let’s first get some insight into this coming in and going out:

b. Coming in and Going Out

c. The pasture Jesus is looking for us to enjoy is not found in the world, only in the kingdom. This pasture is akin to the meadow described by David in the 23^rd Psalm: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quite waters, He refreshes my soul.”

d. Though our bodies still walk in the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil because God is with us – He has given the Spirit to those who obey Him and have entered the Kingdom through Jesus. No longer are we influenced by the negatives of this fading virtuality for we have all positives in God’s light!

e. Can you see why holding onto the things of the world makes no sense? Can you understand why Paul considered all his worldly accomplishments rubbish in sight of heavenly prize in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-15)?

4. Full Life is Jesus’ Genuine Brand – there is no other! - John 10:10 NIV The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

a. "To the full" = 'perissos' means "exceedingly abundant, beyond the norm". Not only abundant physical life (Phil 4:19 NIV And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.) but abundant spiritual favor and life eternal (2 Co. 9:8 NIV And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.). We therefore will show this abundance by the good works that will abide in us abundantly and the streams (rivers) of living water that flow from us by the Spirit (John 7:38)!

b. As I mentioned before, those operating under the influence of evil, the thieves and robbers, are only interested in stealing your identity, the truth and the fruit of the Spirit in your life (peace, joy, kindness, etc.). Their aim is to kill and destroy.

c. You have to ask yourself the question: what fruit am I producing in God’s kingdom, family, workplace? Am I about spreading doubt, discouragement or dissatisfaction? Am I discontented? These attitudes are a result of focusing on people pleasing, or self-pleasing. You won’t get anywhere with that, certainly not building anything in the Spirit. Those under the influence of evil are exposed and dealt with by God, as He did with Koran, Dathan and any others who’ve opposed God’s work.

d. The full life in Jesus cannot be lived unless we have pulled out all the stops in our flesh and have surrendered our wills to Jesus and live transparent lives fully committed to His will. Only then are we open to receiving the direction as God arranges and organizes His body to be able to work as one man, with a united mind and heart. So the test for all of us is this: Am I willing to compromise my own heart for the sake of unity? Am I able to come to consensus when it comes to building together for the Lord as opposed to wanting to do things my way?

e. Full life is when we all are working together, despite our differences of opinion. Full life is when we all worship Jesus in spirit and in truth, and confront one another when we stray, proving our love for one another. Without this openness and sincerity there is no protection from the evil schemes from the dark forces that surround us. Without this brotherly love from the heart there will be no chance to experience the fullness of life Jesus has prepared for us, for that is the way of life in the hereafter!

Let’s sum this up by recalling Peter’s encouragement to the churches:
1 Peter 1:22-23 NIV Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Sincere love for one another, displayed in our openness, transparency and how we honor one another is the crowning fruit that we are in God’s sheep pen and have entered through Jesus.
2 Peter 1:5-11 NIV For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 10 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Invitation: Do you want the Full Life Jesus has secured for you? – John 10:10

John Chapter 8 & 9 – Jesus is the Light of the World

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:31:00 +0000

When Jesus proclaimed He is the Light of the World in John 8:12 this made his second of the seven Great “I AMs” of John. Just as the earth or anything in it cannot survive without the sun, humanity cannot do without Jesus. Even now, though many live oblivious to His sustaining power in all things, He is nonetheless Lord and King of all! He is as vital and necessary as the sun itself is to the physical world. As all energy and life is given by the Sun, our light here in the physical world; so it follows that all energy and life, physical and spiritual, derive from Jesus. He is The SON! Let’s look at some of the things Jesus reveals about Himself and us through His statements on Divine Light.

1. Jesus is the Morning Star, the Dawn upon the darkness. John 8:2 – At dawn He appeared at the temple courts – Jesus is the true light. All the people gathered around Him and He taught them. Those who refuse the clarity of light prefer darkness – preferring ignorance and reliance upon their pitiful thoughts and ways.

2. Jesus exposes sin and deals mercifully with us. 8:3-11 – Light exposes darkness. Nothing can escape its illumination! True light exposes sin to give it opportunity to change. In this passage the teachers of the Law and Pharisees thought they were being “light” by bringing a woman accused of adultery before Jesus; but they exposed her to test him, or to humiliate her, or to appear “righteous”. Whatever the motive it was not a true, genuine, loving motive. The Morning Star, our Lord Jesus, exposes sin that we may repent and shine with Him! Jesus being the light of the world teaches the sinless and undefiled nature of Christ, light being the only thing that may fall upon rottenness and corruption and itself remain uncontaminated. The Light of the world shines upon the wretched ugliness of our shameless world, saves it, changes it, and lifts it up, but is not himself contaminated. No matter how dirty the room in which the light shines, the light remains pure.

a. Peter wrote: 2Pe 1:19 NIV We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

b. Although Jesus is the Light of the World and can see all things, He chooses to give mercy as opposed to condemnation. He does not do it to tolerate sin, but to obliterate it. Jesus expects us to sin not more, as he told this woman when He forgave her (8:11).

3. Jesus is the Light of the World. 8:12 – NIV "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." This metaphor reveals Jesus as God. Only of one identified with deity could it be said of him that He is the light of the world. The Old Testament made it clear that only God is light: "The Lord is my light and my salvation" (Psalms 27:1); and an apostle identified God as "the Father of heavenly lights" (James 1:17). Therefore, when Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," he forever lifted himself above the category of mere mortality. Only a lunatic, or the world's true Savior, could sincerely have said such a thing as this; and the receding centuries have left no doubt that the Redeemer said it and that he is indeed the world's light. He is God come in the flesh. He wants us to have life in His fellowship – that is the light of Life!

a. Jesus also said: John 12:46 NIV I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. By obligation, whether we believe or not, we can only walk in the light. You may forgive someone who stumbles around in darkness, but if he does so in the light there is a problem, unless the person is blind. When light is shone we are obligated to look. If we reject what is clearly shown we sin against God and reject the goodness clarified by the light. If you stay in darkness you have chosen to remain ignorant, limited and irrelevant. Many charge Christians to be irrelevant to the “modern” dictates of our culture but in the end, it is those who chose to remain in darkness who will be irrelevant to the eternal life to be revealed.

b. Jesus is the light of the world eternally, for even in heaven, "the Lamb is its lamp" of the eternal city (Revelation 21:23). Chris Tomlin’s hymn catches the mystery of this thought perfectly: Light of the world you’ve stepped down into darkness; opened my eyes let me see…

4. Divine Light Exposes the Unseen. 8:15-16 – NIV You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. (16) But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. The Light of the World, Jesus, doesn’t pass judgment (not yet anyway. We’ll read more about that in chapter 12). True Light doesn’t judge by human standards. Humans judge by outward appearance, just like physical light lets them see; God judges by the heart (1 Sam 16:17).

a. Humans are quick to judge. They usually don't discern in their judgment. Thank God His judgments are true! His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways (Isa 55:7-9).

b. This metaphor is an apt figure of the universality of the gospel, there being no place on earth where light cannot reach. Similarly, the saving message of Christ shines throughout all the earth. The witness of the calendar week (7 days of creation) and the measurements of time (B.C and A.D.), of the Gospel trifecta, of the witness of history, of the progress of civilization, etc. - imperfect as the witness surely is, it is nevertheless undeniably universal they all point to Christ as Lord of all the universe. As John said of Jesus, He is "The true light that gives light to everyone" (John 1:6-9).

c. I am the Light of the World. 9:5 – When Jesus says this in chapter 9 he said it in the context of his disciples judging sin by mere appearances. The light from God helps us see the works of God displayed in the imperfect and broken things of the world as Jesus said, “…but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” – John 9:3. Therefore we should judge nothing before its time for we may not be seeing the completeness of what God is accomplishing. 1Co 4:5 NIV Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

5. The need to be children of Light (John 12:36). NIV “Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” I believe Jesus is asking of us, just like He was asking of those people to simply walk according to the truth even if you don't completely understand where it came from or its purpose. Jesus was teaching them to take advantage of His presence among them to learn His ways, lest they be overtaken by darkness. As a very famous green little person said: “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” ~ Yoda. While I have Jesus (the Word) in front of me I have to take advantage of His presence or sin can overcome me. Let's impress Jesus upon our hearts so we can be sons of light and shine brightly! Being sons of light means:

a. Working wholeheartedly in God’s Kingdom: John 9:4 NIV As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. There was work Jesus had to do - since He was in the world and is the Light of the World, there were things to do before night came (He would leave the world) and no more of this work could be done. Without God’s light we wouldn’t know how to work, the right attitude to go about it or why we should do it. As our Light, Jesus shows us that the work we ought to do, for we do not do it for men but for the Lord (Col 3:23 NIV Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…).

b. Doing it all with a positive attitude and with gratefulness: – our goal is to please Him (2 Co 5:9) and that is why we do our very best! Children ought to please their parents because in doing so they please God – Col 3:20. Workers should do their best not to please their bosses but to please Jesus (Col 3:22). What we do and why we do it ought not to depend on other’s reactions or promises to us, but on our commitment to please the Lord. We are not lead by our emotions but engage our emotions in our conviction. That is the life and the power the Holy Spirit gave us (2Ti 1:7 NIV For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.).

6. Jesus lights up God’s Character. 8:24, 28, 58 – Jesus is “I Am”! "I am" in the Greek is ego eimi: I am, I have been, I will always be. When Jesus says “I am He” in the Greek it’s really saying “I Am” or “I am the One”. Jesus declares himself to be The Lord Almighty (see Exodus 3:14). Philippians 2:9-13 NIV Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, (11) and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (12) Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, (13) for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

a. When I understand Who Jesus is, I am rightly motivated to will and to act according to God’s kindness and generosity, not according to how I feel or what I think.

b. When I understand Who Jesus is, I am motivated to live as His child not by fear but by His love – His love makes me Revere Him – honor Him and respect Him by humbly obeying and accepting His will.

c. I will either bow down and confess Him now willingly became I recognize His name; or I will do it later by obligation with eternal regret.

7. The Light Enables us to Worship in Spirit and Truth. 9:38-39 – When the blind man received his sight at first all he saw was the world he was missing. He didn’t yet know Jesus, although he was willing to defend Him against the accusations of the Pharisees. At the end of chapter 9 Jesus asks him if he believes. The man believed and worshipped Him. Those who see the light worship Jesus. There is no one else to worship or pay homage to. Jesus has come for judgment, to expose those who think they see and to help those who don’t see.

a. John 8:31-32 NIV To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (32) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Jesus addresses those who were believing in Him and is now going to tell them how to make that belief work. It is not enough just to intellectually admit or believe – belief has to mature as faith expressed in obedience and full trust. Holding to Jesus' teachings is how we show we are His real disciples. Holding, abiding, continuing – depending on the English translation this word is from the Greek meno, which means to remain, not to depart, to continue to be present; to keep, to endure and to become as one, not becoming another or different (Thayer's Lexicon).

i. A contrast is made between real and false disciples. Who are false? Those who believe but who do not honor Jesus' teachings by their lifestyle. Those who are "Christians" in name only. We call them "Sunday Christians" or "Christmas Christians". They may observe traditional "Christian" customs (most which are not even really biblical but man-made) but they are not disciples of Jesus at heart.

ii. Jesus did not say to those believers: "You have believed on me, therefore you are saved"; but he said in effect, "Now that you have believed, if you really want to be my disciples, do what I have commanded." The ultimate salvation of those "believers" depended then, as it does today, upon their obeying the gospel of Christ. If they had been among the three thousand baptized on Pentecost, then they would have been saved. - Coffman

b. We know it is God's Word, Jesus, who judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb 4:12). Those who say they really see but don't accept Jesus are really blind. Those who acknowledge their blindness will receive their sight. Those who acknowledge themselves as blind receive healing (Matthew 5:1ff). Those who are arrogant cannot see the glory of God. They have no part in God's grace since they cannot see the very thing that can bring them healing. They too think they can see, like the Pharisees.

c. Men are commanded to respond to the light. They should believe on the light and become sons of light (John 12:36); they should walk in the light (1 John 1:6-7); they should put on the whole armor of light (Romans 13:12); and they should arise and shine in the reflected glory of the light (Isaiah 60:1). The import of all this is that all men should exhibit an obedient faith in Christ.

John 12:46-48 NIV I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. (47) If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. (48) There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
Jesus did not come to the world to judge us but to get us on the right path. He came to give us hope, as hopeless as we may seem to be. He did come to tell us there will be a judgment, on the last day. Time is short and we must make sure we take Jesus’ invitation to correct our course and lead us to the light and to stay in the path of light if we’ve deviated. We must continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling indeed!
Mal 4:2a NIV But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays.
Invitation: Will you follow Jesus into the light of life and step out of the darkness? – John 8:12

John Chapter 7 - Jesus Brings Living Waters

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:06:00 +0000

Water is the building block of life. Without it, life cannot literally flow. All the major interactions and processes your body needs for life need to take place in water.

Jesus speaks of the Spirit in John 4 as the Living Water, to the Samaritan woman, when He says: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:10). Without Him, the Spirit, you have no life and will be parched to physical and spiritual death. Your life will stop without the Spirit or God around and in you. So important is the Spirit in your life, more so than the air you breathe, that Jesus’ mission to rescue your soul and shed His blood was so that you would be able to receive the Spirit of God. It is the Spirit of God that gives you the breath of life, which right now sustains your body. But in order for you to have eternal life you need the Spirit of God in you. Jesus spoke about the Spirit, calling Him the Comforter, or Advocate, in John 14 and 16. As living waters are clear and refreshing, able to sustain life, so it is with those who have the Spirit of God, giving glory to God in honest and clear speech, as we have studied in Corinthians (2Co 3:18; 4:2-5). It is He who clears up the muddy waters that is a life burdened by sin. Jesus speaks about this here:

John 7:16-18 NIV Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. (17) Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. (18) Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.

Honesty is God's Policy

Dishonesty is the fruit of one who seeks glory for himself. When we teach and serve for the purpose of glorifying God and loving one another we don't need to hide, manipulate or be deceptive. Honesty, vulnerability (an open show of emotion and care) and speaking the truth in love mark the ways of a disciple of Jesus.

Those who seek God and not their own purposes are filled with truth and sincerity. Others hold on to a make-believe Spirit. They've conjured up a Jesus in their own minds and think that by following this Jesus they can be saved. As we see in the John 7:16-17 only by choosing to do the will of God will you find out the true Jesus that can save you. You need to believe in the One whom God sent, not the one you’ve conjured up in your mind for convenience and sin’s sake. See John 5:36-47; John 6:27-29; John 12:44-50 and 1 John 5:1-13. Only from the Jesus God sent can we receive the Living Waters, the Holy Spirit.

Without the Spirit we are Ghostly Ruins

Without God’s Spirit in our lives we are at best fading and crumbling ruins. Sometimes when I read books from “learned” or "authoritative" Christian writers I get discouraged because I recognize ghostly ruins – when it’s all about heightening doubt and expressing human opinion over godly significance. In the name of academic pursuit or theological significance they have failed to simply let their heart pursue the pure word of God and have allowed man's glory to distract them (John 5:39-47). They have become ghostly ruins, irrelevant to truth and righteousness, which can only appeal to another ghostly ruin. The person who seeks God's authority can see this haunted edifice and is not fooled by that dark "glory" of man since God's glory outshines the sun.

How can someone become ghostly ruins? (Luke 11:24-26):

1- By abandoning the pursuit of godliness – If you have given up your diligent pursuit of truth and righteousness from God’s Word and are no longer content with being filled by God, then evil forces will seek to fill it by default. Empty it will not remain! It will be filled by one or the other! I remember my former boss once asked if meditation was a good thing to practice for he sought to try to empty his mind and achieve nirvana (a supposed state of bliss). To seek to try to empty your mind is worthless and dangerous, for it will be filled with evil unless you fill it with God’s righteousness. This is why the exhortation is given in Col 3:2 and Php 4:8 to set your minds on things above and to meditate on the lovely, the good and the right things; not the temporary but the eternal (2 Co 4:18)! As a glass of water that is emptied will remain filled with air, a man’s mind, unless filled by God’s word will be filled with the dark and evil influences of the world.

2- By being filled up with man’s futility – Turning away from truth and godliness means turning to myth (2 Ti 4:4; Titus 1:14). If you seek to fill yourself with the world, with the futility of the mind as the Spirit calls it – delighting in man's glory and achievement over God's truth – not only will the heart be blinded and the understanding darkened, but ultimately you will be alienated from life in God as the Holy Spirit teaches in Eph 4:17-19. People who don’t know God live according to the futility of their thinking. If your thoughts are not in pursuit of the Spirit whatever it is you are thinking is futile. This leads to the next stage of plunging into ghostly ruins:

3- By becoming desensitized by sin – When a godly motivation and a pursuit of holiness is abandoned, you will have no choice but to be given over to your fleshly passions. You will give free reign to sin in your life and will be totally controlled by it once again. Did you know this is Satan’s Master Plan of attack? That’s what’s described in Ephesians 4:17-19. This is the vicious circle he has everyone trapped in; everyone except those who have been saved from the destruction of body and soul by the blood of Jesus! Likewise if you decide to remain neutral (lukewarm) and go about your business, not caring either way about godliness or the warning of scripture, you fail to take a stand and give opportunity for the work of evil to be done in your heart regardless. Understand the default operation of the human heart is to lean on selfishness, pride and delusions of grandeur. You have to grow in faith for your heart to actively pursue God's glory and take a stand on the side of truth as Jesus encourages in Mat 5:37 and James repeats in James 5:12.

To do nothing is to deteriorate. Either we choose to seek God diligently or our hearts will fall into darkness, decay, and finally . . . death... condemnation!

“A house with no one living in it deteriorates rapidly. The soul that does not celebrate God becomes a dark, ruined, deserted place” (Pseudo-Macarius).

This is what Jesus saw during His life on earth and was witnessing during the great feast. His love for us prompted Him to do the following:

John 7:37-39 NIV On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. (38) Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." (39) By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

The Festival: The Feast of Tabernacles or feast of tents

It was called the Feast of Tabernacles from the tents or tabernacles which on that occasion were erected in and about Jerusalem, and was designed to commemorate their dwelling in tents in the wilderness, Nehemiah 8:16-18. During the continuance of this feast they dwelt in booths or tents, as their fathers did in the wilderness, Lev 23:42-43. The feast was continued eight days, and the eighth or last day was the most distinguished, and was called the great day of the feast, John 7:37; Num 29:35. The Jews on this occasion not only dwelt in booths, but they carried about the branches of palms; willows, and other trees which bore a thick foliage, and also branches of the olive-tree, myrtle, etc., Neh 8:15. Many sacrifices were offered on this occasion Num. 29:12-39; Deu 16:14-16, and it was a time of general joy. It is called by Josephus and Philo the greatest feast, and was one of the three feasts which every male among the Jews was obliged to attend. – Albert Barnes

In connection with the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, or feast of the tents, there was a ceremony emphasizing water. The priest would take a pitcher of water while Isa 12:3 was being repeated, lead a procession from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple. The people would sing the praise Psalms (113-118) and pray for rain. The priest would then pour out the water into a vessel (which represented God’s people). The pouring out of the water was a symbol of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit – which was to be a part of the Messianic age (Joel 2:28-36). – World Video Bible School Commentary

Jesus saw great religious activity by all those who professed to know God or pursue righteousness but in their treatment of one another he didn’t see anything that was different from other people in the world. The love of God was absent and they had fallen to ghostly ruins. They needed God's spirit to revive them!

In such a context, Jesus' cry for men to come unto him and drink was the equivalent of his promising the Holy Spirit to all who would follow him. – Coffman

This passage explains John 4:14 – “…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” We must “drink in” Christ, must believe on Him, and the word will produce new life in us. – World Video Bible School Commentary

The only way to prevent your soul from falling to ghostly ruin and become irrelevant in the next life is to drink deeply from the Living Waters of Jesus.

Jesus said: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. – Mark 16:16. This is because the Spirit is given to us when we decide to join Jesus in His death, burial and resurrection – being cleansed by His blood and readied for the reception of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). Without being washed from sin by Jesus’ blood we are not able to receive God’s Spirit. This is why God send His Son into the world to save the world by Him, for everyone who believes shall not be condemned but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

Invitation: Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. – John 7:37b

Do you Have an Open Mind?

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:56:00 +0000

Open mindedness

Most of the people in my circle of friends and family outside of Christ would tell you I am closed minded. My dad says I have narrow vision. I guess you can say that when it comes to closing my mind to any other gospel (good news) out there and narrowing it down to just the words of the Holy Spirit in the Bible. When I look back to my days before I knew the truth, I have to say my mind was as closed as a double-locked door. I believed in anything that was thrown at me for lack of a standard in my life. I was ready to accept whatever good news you were willing to sell me. How in the world was my mind opened to receiving such an intense message as the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? In reality, all of us in Christ have had to do something that is impossible for anyone to do unless Christ has enabled you to do it: have an open mind to accept His truth only. Only an open mind is able to understand the Scriptures:

Luke 24:45 NIV Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.

You have to let the Lord enable you to get this kind of open mind:

John 6:65 NIV He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."

Many a times I've had the classic discussion with your run-of-the-mill agnostic concerning the possibility of life after death. Atheists and such advocate that nothing can really be known that is not otherwise proven scientifically. On the other end of the spectrum, those who claim open mindedness by accepting any cockamamie thought that pops into their head or by accepting these thoughts from someone saying things that sound somewhat intelligent but are empty and devoid of any sanity or logic, will actually close their mind to the sanest option of all - the one that has the most sane, loving and logical testimony: the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How much more open minded do you want to be than to accept life after death? Eternal bliss and joy free from sickness, tiredness or evil? Isn't the world closing its mind when it refuses to believe in Christ's death, burial and resurrection? As Peter tells us:

2 Peter 1:16-21 NIV We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The words we have are eternal words, penned by men used by the Holy Spirit of God. Words of truth, words that change.

Many books can inform but only the Bible can transform!

John Chapter 6 – Jesus is the Bread of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:23:00 +0000

Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. – Matthew 4:4

You eat three times a day, right? How often do you spend meditating on God's word? Not just glancing at verses on FB or reading text just to say you did your reading. I mean meditating. It’s like some who enjoy their meals, savoring every bit, as opposed to wolfing down their meal looking for the next thing to do. I know when I'm going to enjoy a meal because my taste buds tingle. They’re curious to savor the taste of the meal. My nose gives them a preview and the brain says bring it on! The same goes for God's word. I just can't get away from it. I am driven to look into it because it is LIFE! Even angels long to look, don’t they? (1 Peter 1:12).

Curiosity does not necessarily translate into belief. In fact, curiosity can get you in trouble sometimes! Think about how Satan got Eve curios about the tree of knowledge and its fruit! God has also used curiosity to attract people to Him. Moses was curious about the bush that didn’t burn, and many people who went to see Jesus were often moved by their curiosity, even Zacchaeus. But some people look for Jesus out of selfish reasons – they see Jesus provided what they needed or wanted. They just wanted to move on to the next big thing for themselves. Simon the magician, though drawn to apostles out of curiosity, also saw something that he wanted to have and that got him in trouble! Our instinct is to keep our flesh alive and pleased. Our selfishness is always looking for the next source of entertainment or idleness. This is at odds with the kind of sustenance Jesus wants to provide for us. Jesus says He is the true bread of life - Who feeds our soul!

When we look into John 6, we see the feeding of the 5000. Jesus had fed these people with a few loaves and fish. Then that night he walked miles across the Sea of Galilee before catching up with his disciples in their boat.

The crowd he had fed followed him to Capernaum. They knew something amazing had happened to them and they were looking for the next big thing. Last evening they had seen Jesus send his disciples away in the only boat available. Now here he was! Only a miracle could have gotten him there that fast. Another reason he should be king!

But just as the momentum was building to make Jesus king by force, Jesus squashed it. To his adoring fans he said,

John 6:26-27 NIV Jesus answered, "Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. (27) Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Confused, they asked him how they could work to please God. He replied, “The work of God is this: to believe in the One he has sent.” (v. 29).

(Note to self: God is not looking for workers, he’s looking for believers.). Many work without believing, mostly because they think their work will earn them something. Work, work, work! We gotta keep working to move onto the next big thing! That’s the paradigm we’ve been taught to believe. Our work must lead us on to greater things! Often the stress leads us to the next big heart, stress or panic attack! Honest work is good work, and those who believe in Jesus will work for Him, not for man, which includes yourself.

Jesus was a hero to the crowd because he had fed them, just like Moses! But Jesus discerned something very wrong about their enthusiasm. They were excited about eating “bread from heaven.” And indeed, Jesus had come to give them bread from heaven; but not the kind of bread they thought it would be. Just like Naaman the Syrian, they were disappointed because their expectations were fleshly, not spiritual. Jesus had not come to give them perishable food for their perishable bodies. He had come to give them imperishable food for their imperishable souls.

Many believe money or a job or a change of environment will provide them with the next big thing. They think it is the material things that will save them from whatever situation they are in. The devil has given convincing evidence of this because we all know “money makes the world go round”, right? Wrong! It will make you go round and round and round until you die with no hope. What makes a difference? The perspective Jesus gives us to triumph and the real saving hand of God. You see, God wants to squeeze all the sinful pride out of you so you can learn to depend on Him and glory in Him, not depend on fleshly sustenance.

I'll give you another example how our passions deceive us into thinking we are leaning on Jesus but we’re really being like that crowd who was looking for Jesus, but rejecting His teaching. Most of us here are attracted to sweet things. We often, at an early age, unless we are taught better, overuse sweeteners. We think they are helping our taste but they really create a dependency and degrade our taste. We exercise and try to eat right but when it comes to our coffee or other drinks we heap on the sugar, whether you do it by adding it to your drink, or using super sweet drinks like beverages that contain excessive high fructose corn syrup or by eating sweets in excess. So you’ve not really changed your core values when you continue on with this kind of lifestyle which leads to crash diets, unhealthy swings in body weight and moods and ultimately disappointment. In the same way if we don’t really die to core values that we held dear in the world we will be denying the Spirit’s work in us and end up frustrated and grieving the Holy Spirit of God. We will be church going people, perhaps even described as religious, but without any power or real hope.

I really think that our former generation, the so called, baby-boomers, established a pattern of self-seeking derived from the many blessings they experienced as children growing up in an economic, social and amoral boon. I have seen it at work in the generation of those before me and it is interesting how that trend runs deep even amongst some who say they are Christian. That generation was richly blessed with many means and, shall we say, “spoiled”?

Anyway, as Christians from whatever generation we are we need to allow the Spirit to fundamentally break us from these heart-trends that will result in condemnation, for it is the sin in us that is being judged that our souls may be saved. As the Scripture says:

1 Corinthians 11:29-32 NIV (29) For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. (30) That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. (31) But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. (32) Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

So, back to the crowd that was looking for Jesus. To reveal the food they were really after Jesus began to make statements that sounded very strange. He told them that He was the true bread from heaven that gives life to the world and whoever eats this bread would live forever. He said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” (v. 51)

This sounded weird. It sounded like cannibalism. The crowd balked. And he pressed it even further:

John 6:53-55 NIV Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. (54) Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. (55) For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

The “Jesus for King” campaign evaporated. The people walked away shaking their heads. This man wants us to eat his flesh! They completely misunderstood what Jesus was saying. Jesus was attempting to change their core values but only someone with spiritual desires and insight knew what Jesus was talking about. Someone who yearns for the city without foundations, as Abraham and Moses did, looking to the reward that is coming to the obedient in faith (Hebrews 11:10, 26).

So what did he mean? We will study the clues:

Just ask yourself: How do you labor for the food that endures to eternal life? To answer this question you need to examine what your appetite is and how you satiate it.

It is simple, yet profound. Remember Jesus said:

· The work of God is to believe in the One He has sent – Jesus! (v. 27, 29).

· John 6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

· John 6:40 NIV For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."

· John 6:47 NIV Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.

For Jesus, eating is believing; drinking is believing. He promises eternal life to those who believe in him.
Believe what? Well, believe everything he says. But, specifically here, believe that His death—the breaking of his body and spilling of his blood—pays in full the penalty for our sin and that His perfect righteousness is freely given to us in exchange for our unrighteousness. That is what John 3:16 means:

John 3:16 NIV For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Of course, it is often hard to transition from intellectual belief to faith. Often, everything must be removed from our life to make that intellectual believe mature into real faith. Real faith is real because it is tested, tried and true. Your dependence from your fleshly appetites must be severed for the strength of your faith to be tested. The fruit of it is unmistakable. Just like you know when you’re on the right track with lifestyle changes and your health improves, you know the Spirit is at work in you when the fruit is evident, not necessarily by your own testimony, although that is good, but when others praise God because of you it is tested, tried and true – giving glory to God!

Believing this is how we “eat” Jesus’ flesh and “drink” His blood. This is precisely why He instituted the Lord’s Supper: He did not want us to forget the very core of what we believe about Him. The moment you lose the spark of faith and curiosity when you celebrate this feast every Sunday is the moment you are looking for the next bigger and better thing and you will miss out on the resurrection.

Childlike faith is all about being filled with wonder and amazement of God. This spark of curiosity and desire coupled with the power of freedom from sin and guilt is what powers our faith to shine and grow.

When the crowd took offense at His hard words, Jesus said, “The words I have spoken to you--they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” (vv. 63-64). Some of the Lord’s hard words are designed expose unbelief. They are designed to rock your boat and to move your cheese. Those who are hard-hearted respond the same way those people did: with mockery and insult and disrespect for God’s word: Are you trying to say…? Easier said than done! Easy for you to say! But you don’t really know what I’m going through! Etc, etc.

Peter likely did not fully understand what Jesus meant at the time—just like there are plenty of things we don’t fully understand. But Peter didn’t walk away or mock Jesus or made a sarcastic remark. Listen carefully because your very life depends on learning why and how Peter responded. He said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” (vv. 68-69). This is the work of God!

Let’s you and I imitate Peter.

God's work is to believe in the One He sent to us - Jesus. Believe His work and follow Him. If we believe we will follow.

The work of God, as opposed to the work of man, is to believe. To believe is to have living, working, faith. The kind of faith that was commended by the Spirit here:

1Th 1:3 NIV We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul speaks of three key aspects of the Christian walk:

1- Faith - Faith that lacks works is a dead faith (James 4:14-22). Faith that is alive is active. An active faith is a shared faith, like Paul shared with Philemon; one that enables us to realize all good things we have in Christ (Philemon 1:6). One that does not end up moping, regretting and producing fleshly fruit.

2- Love - True love, agape love, is one that is not defined or crippled by emotions. This love works hard because it is achieving for us the goal of eternal love (Phil 3:13-15); and not just for us only, but for those to whom we direct this kind of love. God's grace is not without effect in the life of a disciple (1 Co 15:10) and the effect is faith expressing itself through love (Gal 5:6). Not emotions or good intentions, but actions done in humility and service for the good of the body of Christ!

3- Hope (Confidence) - What confidence we have in Christ because of the hope we have in His salvation! There is nothing in this universe that gives us the confidence we have in Jesus. This confidence is born out of the fact that we know what we are and Who He is. Therefore our confidence in this hope needs to be enduring to the end. It grows through trial and in the middle of adversity for it is then we show in Whom we stand and in Whom we hope!

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - 1Co 13:13

Special Lesson: What Kind of Food Are You Looking For?

1- Food That Spoils

We are driven (drawn) to look after:

1. Things you eat and drink and other un-satiated fleshly appetites.

2. Other forms of sustenance like relationships, recreation, entertainment (emotional stimulation)

3. Exercise, Adventure, Sports (Physical Stimulation)

4. Academia, Tasks, Projects (Mental Stimulation)

5. Even though we pursue all these things we don't believe in them fully, which is why we are constantly changing them around or getting tired or bored with them. We see plainly what they are as we get older.

6. Grumbling is a sign you are focusing on the food that spoils, the temporary (John 6:43).

Jesus says John 6:44 NIV "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

To be drawn by the Father is to have a heart that responds to the love of God shown on Calvary and the empty tomb.

2- Food That Endures - Jesus is The Bread of Life - John 6:35, 48

John 6:35 NIV Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

The first of the 7 "I am" statements. See 8:12; 9:5; 10:7, 9; 10:11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5.

He is the true bread from Heaven, as opposed to the manna the Israelites were fed in the dessert. Jesus is the true extension of fellowship from God, the fulfillment of the Bread of the Presence that stood in the Holy Place in the tabernacle built by Moses and later on in the temple built by Solomon as you can see in these illustrations:

See the full gallery on Posterous

The table of showbread was a small table made of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. It measured 3 feet by 1.5 feet and was 2 feet, 3 inches high. It stood on the right side of the Holy Place across from the lampstand and held 12 loaves of bread, representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The priests baked the bread with fine flour and it remained on the table before the Lord for a week; every Sabbath day the priests would remove it and eat it in the Holy Place, then put fresh bread on the table. Only priests could eat the bread, and it could only be eaten in the Holy Place, because it was holy.

“Showbread” also was called “bread of the presence” because it was to be always in the Lord’s presence. The table and the bread were a picture of God’s willingness to fellowship and communion (literally speaking, sharing something in common) with man. It was like an invitation to share a meal, an extension of friendship. Eating together often is an act of fellowship. God was willing for man to enter into His presence to fellowship with Him, and this invitation was always open.

Jesus exemplified this when He ate with tax collectors, prostitutes and the sinners of Jewish society. But this was more than just a gesture of friendship on earth. Jesus came to call sinners to Him, make them right with God, so that they could enjoy everlasting fellowship with God. -- The Tabernacle Place.com

John 6:53 NIV Jesus said to them, "Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

1. Jesus' Flesh is true food and His blood is True Drink (v55)

2. He is approved by the Father (v27)

3. All you have to do is believe in Him – sell yourself and your appetite only to Him! (v29)

a. He is the true bread from Heaven - He gives Life to the world (v33, 51, 53)

b. If you go to Him you will never go hungry and if you believe you will never go thirsty (v35)

c. You won't be driven away (v37)

d. You won't be lost (v39)

e. You will be raised up from the dead (v40)

4. Make sure you are driven to the Father (v44). Be drawn by His glory, Majesty and love for you. This is the same encouragement to husbands to be drawn to their wives and none other!

a. Eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood is a graphic representation of how our appetite can only be met in Jesus. It shows how deep our belief in Him needs to be – being in the word and letting His words feed you – minister to you at your deepest level.

b. He alone needs to be our sustenance that no other parasitic belief may take root and damage or shipwreck our faith!

5. Don't be drawn to people, things or places - Only to Jesus (v45)! Don't be impressed by people or the flesh.

a. Many times your speech betrays your pride and your self-reliance. As James warns us not to say we’re going to do this and that and go here and there, but instead we should say “If the Lord wills we will do this and that and go here and there.”

b. How you exalt yourself or your deeds betrays your pride. What you do and what you have become your source of conversation and pride when you are self-reliant.

c. Unity and a desire for all of us to do together and be together in harmony shows a spirit of cooperation and belief in the body of Christ.

6. You need to remain in Him - your focus and attention needs to continue in Him (v56) - Your attraction to Him needs to be more than your attraction for other forms of sustenance listed above. You need to continually feed on Jesus (v57)

7. We need to be enabled by the Father so we need to continually reach out to Him and allow Jesus to mediate on our behalf for our very soul. Pray you may not have seeds of unbelief in you. (v65) You know the saying: “You are what you eat”. In this case, it is also spiritually true. If you crave non-Bible sources, whatever they may be that’s what you’ll become. This is why I take man-made written material with a grain of salt. I do not want to become molded according to their perspective but according to the Word of God. I can assimilate perspectives which I believe will help me mold myself better to God’s word, though.

8. Your conviction needs to be like the apostles: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (v68) - We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. (v69) They proved they believed by not abandoning Jesus or grumbling about His sayings like the others did.

Often we do things without thinking about it. That’s how things become tiresome and pointless to you after a while. But eating? Do you get tired of it!? Absolutely not! However even in that you can lose your focus. I was amazed when I was watching Dr Oz and heard one man say he had been taking supplements for his health but he really didn’t know if they worked or not. He wasn’t entirely convinced, but yet he did it. What amazed me is that he also didn’t know if these supplements were working for him. Did he understand what he was taking? Was he just taking supplements but not changing his fundamental lifestyle so these supplements would work? Perhaps he had hypertension and he read he should take these supplements. Yet he didn’t start exercising, eating an anti-inflammatory diet and also eating less calories per day to lose weight if he was obese. No supplement will work under those parameters, not even prescription medication. The body God gave us is amazing and has a lot of self-healing power but you need to exercise wisdom to unlock it. You see, if you don’t address your fundamental routine, change your perspective, adapt to the information, etc., then you are not learning anything. You have knowledge that is inactive, just sitting there for you to say it but not benefit from it. It’s like trying to run the application “Christian” on the Self OS instead of uninstalling Self and installing “Christian” as the OS and from that OS running all other apps. Do you get that? It’s just like the Pharisees who knew the law but were not practicing the spirit of the law. Similarly there is a divine power God has given us for this life and for godliness. Many of us at times have just added to our knowledge the things of Christ but we treat that knowledge as something extra to carry with us, not uprooting all else we knew and were before and letting this knowledge really become the foundation of all we believe – true faith, which takes root and grows! We don’t want to be like the rocky or thorny soil that wasn’t cleared up so the seed could grow! When we add to that growing and child-like faith goodness and knowledge and all else that Peter mentions (2 Peter 1:5-8) on a foundation that does not have thorns or rocks then we will take off! You need to uproot the passions of your heart that war against you.

Invitation: What kind of food are you looking for? – John 6:26 Are you working hard for the food that spoils or for the food that endures?

JUAN CAPÍTULO 4 - ROMPIENDO LAS BARRERAS

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:35:00 +0000

Rompiendo Barreras: Introducción a Juan 4

Lee Juan 4:5-42

Al llegar a la mujer samaritana, Jesús demostró Su disposición para salvar a todos. ¿Algo te impide predicarle a los demás? Tal vez algunas de tus excusas son el tiempo, la adecuación, el prejuicio ¿o la presunción? En pocas palabras: ¿Estás buscando una excusa o simplemente estás tratando de ser utilizado para el Reino de Dios? Ten en cuenta las barreras que Jesús derroto con el fin de dar esperanza y salvar a la mujer samaritana. Cada barrera rota muestra cómo el poder de Dios triunfa sobre los poderes mundanos o las influencias de la carne.

Efesios 2:14-16 NVI Porque Cristo es nuestra paz: de los dos pueblos ha hecho uno solo, derribando mediante su sacrificio el muro de enemistad que nos separaba, (15) pues anuló la ley con sus mandamientos y requisitos. Esto lo hizo para crear en sí mismo de los dos pueblos una nueva humanidad al hacer la paz, (16) para reconciliar con Dios a ambos en un solo cuerpo mediante la cruz, por la que dio muerte a la enemistad.

A. Jesús rompe la barrera social.

1. Esta era una mujer común (tenía que buscar su propia agua, etc.)

a. Ella no era rica

b. Estaba atrapada en pecado

c. Estaba atrapada en un círculo vicioso - el adulterio, la violencia, adicciones, etc.

d. El mundo no le dio mucha esperanza.

2. Jesús es el Creador del mundo (1:3).

a. Se hace llegar a todo el mundo

b. El entiende lo que es ser común, ¡incluso la miseria!

c. Él sabe lo que es ser ignorado (3:18-19).

d. ¡Él puede romper el ciclo que te atrapa!

e. Él ha roto todas las barreras que te mantienen prisionero al pecado!

3. Necesitas permitir que Jesús rompa las barreras sociales y de otro tipo que te rodean.

a. Cambia tu punto de vista sobre los demás – y cambiaras como ves a Jesús.

b. 2Co 5:14-17 NVI El amor de Cristo nos obliga, porque estamos convencidos de que uno murió por todos, y por consiguiente todos murieron. (15) Y él murió por todos, para que los que viven ya no vivan para sí, sino para el que murió por ellos y fue resucitado. (16) Así que de ahora en adelante no consideramos a nadie según criterios meramente humanos. Aunque antes conocimos a Cristo de esta manera, ya no lo conocemos así. (17) Por lo tanto, si alguno está en Cristo, es una nueva creación. ¡Lo viejo ha pasado, ha llegado ya lo nuevo!

c. No te dejes engañar por los prejuicios en cuanto al género, las clases sociales, las diferencias económicas, de educación o de inteligencia. Estos prejuicios no sirven para nada. ¡Sólo te presentan más barreras que te atrapan!

d. Muchos de nosotros no estaríamos juntos a menos que fuera por causa de Jesús que nos hace uno en El. ¡Qué gran testimonio de Su Espíritu en nosotros!

4. Tenemos que usar la sabiduría cuando se rompe a través de algunas de estas barreras, sin embargo.

a. A pesar de que Jesús rompió a través de una barrera resistente, la barrera de género en ese momento, tenemos que ser cuidadosos en nuestra época en cuanto a cómo lo hacemos. Aviso legal:

b. Si usted es un hombre casado, tenga cuidado de cómo llegar a otras mujeres. Sea sabio y entendido, sobre todo si usted es mayor de lo que son.

c. He hablado con chicas antes y siempre hablar de mi esposa y familia para que puedan entender de dónde vengo desde. Tan pronto como me puedo presentar a mi esposa y si estudiamos la Biblia que será mi esposa y yo, que lo hará, o mi esposa y la hermana de otro.

d. Los hombres solteros también tienen que tener cuidado, ¡y punto!

i. No hables con ellos a solas, sobre todo a puertas cerradas!

ii. Cuando era soltero mi política era que nunca se encontró a solas con otra mujer. Estudiar la Biblia en lugares públicos abiertos

iii. Lo mejor es tener las damas de estudio con las mujeres y los hombres con los hombres. Muchas hermanas que se reúnen aquí algunos hombres pasan a lo largo de la información de contacto a otros hermanos a seguir.

B. Jesús rompe la barrera racial.

1. La mujer se sorprendió de que Jesús habló con ella, una samaritana, ya que “los judíos no usan nada en común con los samaritanos” (v. 9).

a. Los judíos despreciaban a los samaritanos, y los consideraban impuros.

b. Los judíos creían que beber de un vaso samaritano los contaminaba.

c. Era peor lo que pensaban de los gentiles. Los gentiles eran un caso perdido e imposible para ser salvo, hasta que Dios les mostró diferente en Hechos 10 y 11.

2. Esta es una barrera que muchos de ustedes han experimentado. A veces tiene que ver con el color de la piel y, a veces no. También puede manifestarse por causa de tu idioma, religión o cultura.

a. Por ejemplo, como estoy al tanto de la comunidad sorda, veo cómo algunos tratan a los sordos con el mismo prejuicio como lo harían con otra raza. A veces es pura ignorancia que produce temor de involucración, como a veces lo hacen en presencia de personas con incapacidades.

b. Puedes decir que soy puertorriqueño, y sin duda domino el español, pero porque no lo parezco, según algunos, he experimentado todo tipo de divertidas barreras raciales – la mayoría aquí en los EE.UU., ¡ya que en PR vivimos todo tipo de colores! En PR he experimentado mayormente las barreras sociales, no necesariamente raciales.

c. ¿Haz dejado alguna vez que esta barrera sea una excusa para no compartir el Evangelio con alguien?

d. ¿Alguna vez has experimentado prejuicios porque eres es un "cristiano" diferente, aparte de lo que se reconoce socialmente?

C. Jesús rompe la barrera de lo políticamente correcto – los protocolos mundanos

1. Algunas personas creen que nunca se debe hablar de política o religión

2. Algunas personas le gustan hacer reglas sobre lo que se debe hablar o no hablar en la escuela, trabajo o lugares públicos.

3. Nuestra fe es desafiada por estas barreras. La mía es desafiada a diario. ¿Qué hacemos?

4. Tuve que romper muchas barreras en mi último trabajo.

a. Barreras entre empleados y empleadores

b. Barreras entre maestros y estudiantes

c. Barreras entre amigos y compañeros de trabajo

d. Mi identidad como empleado frente a mi identidad en Cristo estaban en constante desafío.

e. Uno de esas identidades, la mundana, no desea romper nada, pero la otra, en Cristo, esta destinada a romper todas las barreras mundanas.

5. Jesús le habló a la mujer acerca de su necesidad de cambiar

a. A nadie le gusta que le digan que están mal

b. A nadie le gusta que le digan que tiene que cambiar

c. Una queja común - "No quiero que me digan lo qué tengo que hacer"

6. Jesús habló sobre lo que es la religión – o más preciso – lo que es verdad espiritual

a. No se trata sobre lo que se debe o no se debe hacer – una lista de responsabilidades a seguir sin razón o sabiduría; se trataba sobre una relación con Dios

b. Se trataba sobre verdadera libertad – lo único que satisface el hambre y la sed profunda

c. Jesús nos da esperanza y vida; no otra iglesia para pertenecer u otra religión para corresponder. Él es la iglesia – el camina, la verdad, la vida.

D. Jesús rompe la barrera espiritual.

1. Jesús es el Hijo de Dios, la samaritana era una mujer pecaminosa.

2. La mujer era samaritana, Jesús es el Camino, la Verdad y la Vida

a. Aparte que los samaritanos pertenecen a una raza diferente, también creían de manera diferente acerca de Dios, como vemos en el texto de este capítulo.

3. La mujer pensó que sabía la voluntad de Dios; Jesús es la voluntad de Dios encarnada

4. Tú, como discípulo, cruzaste esta barrera cuando Dios vino a ti a través de Sus siervos y respondiste a Su mensaje.

a. Habías sido engañado a creer que pertenecías/o que no tenias que pertenecer a un "grupo espiritual"

b. Tal vez pensabas que tu destino estaba sellado de una manera u otra

c. Tu fe no era más que una superstición barata, la "fe" que rige a los ignorantes.

1. Jesús demostró ser verdaderamente el Salvador del mundo. ¿Abrirás la puerta de tu corazón a Él?

a. Jesús llenó el vacío

b. Estábamos muertos, en El podemos vivir

c. ¡Él es el Agua Viva!

Invitación: ¿Dónde puedo obtener esa agua viva? - Juan 4:11

Do You Want to Get Well? - John 5:1-9

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:33:00 +0000

Jesus approaches a lame man who had the opportunity to get well but choose to do little or nothing for 38 years. Jesus asks him: "Do you want to get well"? At first the question may imply an obvious answer: "Yes!" Who doesn't want to get well?? But when Jesus presents us with this question we need to think deeper.

All that Jesus says to those who were having trouble accepting Him as God's Son after the account of this man's healing is of the same thought and pertinence to the question Jesus asked the paralytic. It is as if He's asking the very Jews who were against Him: "Do you want to get well?" Jesus still asks the question to all those who are more willing to receive man's foolish religious paradigms than God's testimony of His Son in His word. Still the words of the Master resound in our ears today: DO YOU WANT TO GET WELL?

Some may not want to get well. Some use illness as an excuse to continue in mediocrity and sin. Some use their own unfortunate incidents and trials or tribulations to excuse their sin and say there is no getting well - there is no hope for me – there is no hope for anyone. They have given up on the search for truth, healing and wellness and sit a few feet from the healing waters of the Holy Spirit for a very long time.

Receiving God's healing involves a deep desire to be healed and an acceptance of our pitiful condition that can only be redeemed by Jesus. It is also a realization that we cannot get to the healing on our own accord. We need help to even understand how to get well and that help comes through those whom God sends us. We need to trust His word and His testimony of Jesus (the Gospel) in others.

Some of us are ill and don't know it. We subscribe to a man-made religion we think makes us well and it never allows us to get to the living water we so desperately need. It is a weak and condemning placebo!

Others are more willing to accept man's testimony and glory, as Jesus points out to the Pharisees in the rest of John 5; and think they are healed by their eloquence, wisdom and human prescriptions; yet they do not accept the Father's testimony about His only Son. Without Jesus nothing heals - nothing works. You cannot accept man's glory and Jesus' glory at the same time.

If we honor man we are not able to honor God. If we do not honor the Son we are not able to honor God. To honor the Son is to obey Him and love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength. There is no other room for anyone or anything else. Getting well is about discarding our old self and wholeheartedly embracing Jesus and the new creation in us when we are born again.

Getting well is about hearing the word and believing Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It is not about memorizing the word or knowing it only, but about living it - embracing Jesus as the Word Himself for He is Life! It is not about diligently following instructions as much as it is about honoring Jesus in everything! Obeying Him only!

Do You Want to Get Well? John 5:1- 9

Introduction: This question, asked to the paralyzed man, is a critical question in the Gospel of John. There are some important truths that are relevant for today:

A. Many don’t know they are really sick.

1. This man knew he was physically sick, but did not appreciate the greater spiritual sickness he had due to his sin.

2. Sin is eternally fatal.

3. Many today are hardened by “the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb.3:13).

4. Others foolishly ignore or deny sin in their lives (1 Jn 1:8-10).

5. Jesus later encouraged the man “do not sin any more” (5:14).

B. Many don’t really want to get well.

1. The lame man may not have wanted to get well because: a. It would mean having to go to work, and b. It would mean no more pampering and attention. No more “easy street.” Some like their welfare so much they don’t want to “get well” because then they have to bear the full brunt of responsibility.

2. There are those today who do not want to get well spiritually. a. They “love the darkness” (Jn 3:19). They love the sinful lifestyle. b. They do not want their deeds exposed (Jn 3:20). c. They enjoy the “pleasures of sin” not realizing they are temporary pleasures (Heb 11:25).

3. “The first essential towards receiving the power of Jesus is the intense desire for it. Jesus comes to us and says: ‘Do you really want to be changed?’ If in our inmost hearts we are well content to stay as we are there can be no change for us. The desire for the better things must be surging in our hearts” (John Barclay).

C. Many don’t know that only Jesus can make them well.

1. Consider all of the “alternative” ways today: Islam, Hinduism, New Age, denominationalism, etc. They think this state of spiritual darkness is all that life has to offer. They don’t know any better. But in this case ignorance is not bliss, it is damnation!

2. Jesus is “the way” to the Father (14:6).

3. One has to be baptized in the name (authority) of Jesus - Mt 28: 18ff; Acts 2:38; 1 Pet 3:21; Rom 6:3-4; Gal 3:27.

4. “The answer to his (the invalid) problem was not to be found in the bubbling waters of the pool. His only hope was in the healing power of Jesus” (Owen, That You May Believe, p. 46).

5. Getting physical healing, or emotional healing in this life is only temporary itself. We need to be made spiritual well to enter the kingdom of Heaven.

D. Many don’t realize the value of persistence.

1. The man had, for 38 years, dealt with his paralysis. Yet, he continued to come to the pool. We have to give him credit for that.

2. Chrysostom uses this to teach a moral truth: “And he had failed not through any carelessness of his own, but through being oppressed and suffering violence from others, and not even thus did he grow dull; while we if we have persisted for ten days to pray for anything and have not obtained it, are too slothful afterwards to employ the same zeal” (Homilies on St. John, XXXVI.2).

3. Sometimes, however, our persistence turns to acceptance. If that happens we won't see the opportunity when the Lord presents it.

E. Many don’t realize the responsibilities that come with being healed.

1. Jesus commanded the man to “sin no more” because if he did, “something worse” would happen to him (v. 14).

2. While there are great blessings that come with the healing of Jesus (all spiritual blessings - Eph 1:3ff), there also comes the responsibility to no longer live a life of sin (Rom 6:1; Jas 1:27; 4:4; 1 Jn 2:15-17).

3. Just as Jesus released him from the physical shackles and commanded him to walk, so also does He release us from the works of death and commands us to walk in newness of life (Rom 6:3ff), to be fully committed to the good works He’s prepared for us to do (Eph 2:10).

Invitation: Get up! Pick up your mat and WALK! – John 5:7

The Development of Faith - John 4:46-53

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 18:49:00 +0000

Introduction: Where does faith come from and how is it that it saves? For many faith is akin to a wish, like “I wish, I wish upon a star”. Some say faith is superstition or mythical, like believing in legends or bedtime stories.
A Christian does not automatically have the kind of faith God desires. Faith is something that must grow, just like a plant must grow in order to bear fruit. You can't hurry a plant or demand fruit from a plant that has just been sown. Many want to hurry up and grow. My son is 9 going onto 18. I ask him why is he in a hurry. He wants to be able to do what he wants and buy what he wants and go where he wants. In order for faith to grow in righteousness and not just into superstition it must be accompanied by experiences that result in maturity. It is not just time that matures, but experiences and what you chose to do with them. These are the opportunities God gives us to really grow into a faith that is pleasing to Him – a faith that results in righteousness because we are in Christ and following Christ. If you chose to be like your old self through these opportunities presented to you then your faith shrivels. If you choose to respond like Jesus you will grow. Your faith will grow as you own it and live by its hope, conviction and earnest desire to please God who justified you by His Son’s blood. Depending on who you earnestly seek to please your faith will grow or shrink back.
John 4:46-53 affords us a look at some of the stages of faith. Read John 4:46-53. Notice how the royal official’s faith grows:
A. Stage one - a basic belief (v. 47).
1. The official simply believed in the power of Jesus, absent from any personal experiences to justify his faith.
2. He simply demonstrated that he believed Jesus could “come” and heal his son.
3. His faith, at this point, required the visual presence of Jesus.
4. Most people’s faith, that is, what they commonly believe in every day remains at this stage. You get into an airplane and fly because you’ve seen other people do it. You may not understand how an airplane flies but you have faith it will take you where you want to go.
5. Many people use Jesus as their amulet – which is not real faith but superstition, such as people have with “horrorscopes”. It is a faith that depends on what is seen. It is OK to start at this point, since this is the beginning of faith.
6. If you remain at this stage of faith you may find it too hard to obey God because of ignorance or bias.

i. The Spirit, through Paul, begins defining true faith (righteousness by faith) in Romans 10:6. He paraphrases Deuteronomy 30:11-14 to point out the lack of faith the Jews had concerning the Messiah. This superstition asks questions like: “Who can go to Heaven? Who knows where God is? Who knows if Hell is real? Etc. It is not faith but doubt that is being expressed.

ii. Paul goes on to say that righteousness that is by faith is not far away or impossible to achieve but rather it is quite near. It involves keeping God's word in your mouth and in your heart. We know faith comes from hearing the message and the message is the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). The Saving Gospel Message.

iii. This reminds me of Acts 17:26-27 NIV From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. (27) God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

7. At this stage of faith people need to get rid of their preconceived ideas to get to the next stage of real faith – the kind that grows to please God. We know in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13) that three out of the four soils were able to receive the seed of the word of God. Although three received it, only one grew enough to bear the fruit of salvation.
8. To grow into a saving faith this stationary faith must be challenged. Remember John 8:31-32? Jesus was speaking to those who had believed and issued a challenged to their belief. If they indeed wanted to be disciples they needed to abide in His word and they would know the truth and be freed.
9. A disciple takes his faith to a whole new level of growth and commitment.
B. Stage two – Stepping Out of the Boat/Into the unknown (v. 50).
1. Jesus tells the official to go. His son will live. Should the official insist Jesus come with him? Should he express his concerns that the absence of Jesus might result in his son’s death? His faith was challenged in the same way Naaman’s faith was challenged when he was told to do something he didn’t expect.
2. His faith was provoked and he accepted the challenge. He had to trust Jesus’ words. That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?
3. His faith was simply in “the word that Jesus spoke to him.” The man took Jesus at His word, similar to what the faithful centurion did in Mat 8:8 NIV The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.”
4. Naaman also went through this when Elisha’s messenger told him to do something he was not expecting (2 Kings 5:11).
5. God has already given us the tools to live by real faith. They involve the mouth and the heart: Rom 10:9-10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

i. What comes out of your mouth? If you live by faith only Jesus will come out. If you live pleasing the flesh then all kinds of evil and deception will come from it for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks (Mat 12:34).

ii. What is in your heart? Are you full of unfulfilled desires that will come to nothing in the end; which will be the death of you? Are you full of longing and persistent in seeking the glory, honor and immortality in Christ Jesus (Rom 2:7-8)? You will get what you want so be careful what you hope for.

iii. Rom 2:6-11 NIV God "will repay each person according to what they have done." (7) To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. (8) But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (9) There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; (10) but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. (11) For God does not show favoritism.

C. Stage three - faith based on more concrete evidence (vv. 51-53).
1. The servants presented two important facts which led to a concrete faith.

i. They told him that “his son lived”, just as Jesus had earlier said. “Go; your son will live.”

ii. They told him that his healing occurred at a definite point in time -“the seventh hour.” (or one o’clock as the NIV says)

2. The man, doing his mental calculations, realized that it was the very hour Jesus said to him, “Your son will live” (v. 53).

i. He knew it was how Jesus said it would be (his son would be living).

ii. He knew it was when Jesus said it would occur (at a certain hour).

iii. All of the sudden he owned his faith by this evidence! It was a like a bulb going off in his head! It was real, tangible!

3. Those who live by this faith see God's hand everywhere. The more they hold onto His words the more they earnestly seek Him and their belief is strengthened by the evidence of what is unseen.

i. This has not just been a one-time thing for me, but constantly the Lord is amazing me by providing this kind of solid evidence as I study the word, as I share His word and as I see His Spirit molding me and my family and changing other people’s convictions.

ii. Asking God to not be corrupted by greed, hatred and pride at a young age

iii. Being presented with the truth shortly after praying

iv. Being able to graduate college

v. Finding a great job after being dismissed in the last one

vi. Meeting my wife

4. You begin to see this evidence of the unseen, of what you really hope for, everywhere in your life. Your eyes of faith are enlightened, as the Spirit says in Eph 1:18-21 NIV I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, (19) and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength (20) he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, (21) far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
5. Those who live by this faith realize they have a mighty power that comes from the message they treasure in their hearts. A power that enables them to pursue growth in this faith because they believe they have overcome the world as Jesus overcame: 1 John 5:3-4 NIV In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, (4) for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.
6. This is why we make every effort to add to your faith, as the Spirit admonishes us through Peter in 2Pe 1:5-8 NIV For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; (6) and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; (7) and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. (8) For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7. We believe and are moved by the fact that Jesus died for us; so we die to the world and to ourselves and live for Him (2 Co 5:14-15)!
D. Stage four - the victory of faith.
1. The man now had convincing evidence to believe, and he realized that he was rewarded for coming to Jesus.

i. He believes in Jesus’ goodness, love and faithfulness

ii. He knows Jesus wants to save him, not condemn him!

iii. He knows he is welcome to come before the throne of grace with confidence!

2. Heb 11:1 NIV Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
3. Heb 11:6 NIV And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
4. This is the victory of our faith – we have overcome as Jesus overcame and now sits at the right hand of the Father, interceding on our behalf.
E. Stage five - the spread of faith (v. 53).
1. The man’s actions led to the eventual faith of his family.
2. This belief leads one to act. The conviction moves us from within our soul to spread the Gospel to those around us.

i. John 1:12-13 NIV Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God-- (13) children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

ii. John 3:36 NIV Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them.

iii. 2Co 5:14-15 NIV For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (15) And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

3. When we are full of God’s love we live for Christ and His love is manifested in us by the message we carry for others to believe and accept.
Conclusion: This episode describes the growth of faith and the nature of faith. When the nobleman realized that Christ could be trusted with his son, he committed himself and his family to Jesus. The Gospel of John was written to establish this kind of faith (John 20:30-31). This man’s steps of faith were rewarded. Jesus proved worthy of his faith. So it is also with us. If we believe, we will receive eternal life.
Invitation: Take Jesus at His word – John 4:50

John Chapter 4: True Worship

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:21:00 +0000

Worship God’s Way: A Study of John 4:23-24

Read John 4:20-24

A. God seeks true worshippers.

1. The word “true” (Gk. alethinoi) is a rare usage, and has the force of “real, genuine and authentic” (Bultmann, TDNT, 1:249,250).

2. All worshippers are not acceptable to God. There are genuine and authentic worshippers, and there are play-actors (pretenders – hypocrites).

3. The Father “seeks” – actively! – His seeking us out is in hopes that we would seek Him out as well: Acts 17:26-27 NIV From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. (27) God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

4. Worship (Greek: proskuneo) carries the idea of appeasing. [(meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, that is, (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore): - worship.] We all have a built-in sense of appeasing someone, even ourselves. God has set eternity in our hearts so we are constant seekers.

i. Of knowledge

ii. Truth

iii. Identity

iv. Belonging

v. Love

5. You worship what captivates your heart – what/who you think needs appeasing.

i. Example of Moses –Exodus 34:5-8 NIV Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. (6) And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, (7) maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." (8) Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.

ii. Jesus’ disciples – Mat 14:32-33 NIV And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. (33) Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

iii. True worship is knowing and being captivated by the object of your worship.

6. Those who want to worship themselves or their own ideologies will remain tied to vain and idle worship! Col 2:22-23 NIV These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. (23) Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

i. True worship sanctifies, false worship desecrates.

B. God seeks worshippers who will submit to worshiping in His way.

1. Note carefully the wording of v. 24: “they that worship Him must (dei) worship in spirit and truth.”

2. Worship is not a matter of opinion. People tend to worship (appease, bow down to) whatever pleases them. They are not seeking God. God says it must be done His way.

3. Worship is not a matter of what you were born into. “I was born ________ and I’ll die _________” is an ignorant, insincere and irrational statement.

4. No one is born knowing true worship; it has to be learned from Jesus’ words. It has to be taught. Flesh doesn’t know worship. Flesh gives birth to flesh.

i. Rom 10:12-15 NIV For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, (13) for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (14) How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (15) And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

ii. We mostly worship what we don’t know, as the Samaritan woman, unless we’ve heard it straight from the Scriptures!

iii. It does not suffice that you’ve seen the preacher use a Bible; you need to use a Bible and live by it! John 8:31-32 NIV To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. (32) Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

iv. Only knowing God enables you to really worship Him! Otherwise you are worshipping in vain, as Jesus told the Pharisees in Mark 7:6-8!

5. God is Spirit; therefore only by being born of the Spirit can we qualify as spiritual people who can worship in spirit.

i. Being spiritual has nothing to do with how you feel. There is no spiritual feeling. It is mostly how you have obeyed God that qualifies you as spiritual, beginning with accepting the Gospel. 1Ki 8:57-58 ESV The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, (58) that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers.

ii. Joshua 24:23 ESV He said, "Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel."

6. Worship is not confined to time and space

i. Rom 12:1-2 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God--this is your true and proper worship. (2) Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.

C. God seeks worshippers who will worship Him in spirit.

1. The basis for this is God’s fundamental nature: God is spirit (pneuma). God is not flesh and blood, nor is He bound to this place or that place (cf. Acts. 17:24ff).

2. “God has brought men in the unfolding of his divine plan to the point where spiritual worship everywhere is what pleases him, without regard to any sacred spot” (Frank Pack, John, p. 76).

3. To worship God in spirit, then, is to de-emphasize the physical, material things of worship, and emphasize the spiritual aspect of worship. It concerns denying yourself (flesh) and carrying your cross, as Jesus indicated.

i. Jacob’s experience when he fled to Haram (Gen 27:41-45). He dreamt of the stairway to Heaven.

ii. When the holy penetrates the ordinary we are awakened to reality

iii. The sacred and the profaned are joined in worship

iv. Knowing who and what you are and seeking to know God as you appreciate the contrast between you and Him enables you to worship in Spirit

4. God is concerned with where the worshiper’s heart is, not where his body is. He is concerned with his spirit, not with the prejudices and presumptions of his mind. Having a good conscience or good motives or intentions is not enough to satisfy God’s brand of worship.

5. Antithesis to Spirit is flesh, or human mind/emotion.

i. Seeking what pleases the flesh is not worshipping in spirit.

ii. Going after the world is not spiritual

iii. Being superstitious is not spiritual

iv. Being hypocritical is not spiritual

v. Having a good conscience is not spiritual

vi. Having good intentions is not spiritual

D. God seeks worshippers who will worship Him in truth.

1. The word truth means “according to the divine standard” (cf. Jn 17:17).

2. “If aletheia is added (to pneuma), this is an indication that such worship can take place only as determined by the revelation accomplished in Jesus (v. 25ff.), and consequently as determined by the Revealer who is the only way of access to God (1:18; 14:6)” (Bultmann, TDNT, 1:246, 247).

3. Antithesis to truth is opinion: will-worship

i. Paul described that in Colossians 2:20-23 NIV Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces (basic principles or attitudes) of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: (21) "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? (22) These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. (23) Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

ii. It is a vain worship without focus since it is following man-made teachings (Mark 7:6-8) and appeasing the conscience of the individual as opposed to honoring God.

iii. It values and enables the flesh instead of restraining it.

iv. Using the Bible to coerce others is not worshipping in truth

v. Pretending to be a good teacher or leader or Christian while your household is in ruins is not worshipping in spirit and in truth.

vi. Forcing, guilting, criticizing, antagonizing and bullying are not ways to accomplish truthful worship.

vii. The fleshly fruit is to try to be in control (will-worship) whereas spiritual worship surrenders.

4. Only God’s love is able to accomplish truthful and spiritual worship in those who come to Him because of love, desiring to lay down their guilt-ridden selves at the cross to take up their new lives in power and glory.

“. . . to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices” (Mark 12:33).

Invitation: Will you let the Messiah explain everything to you? – John 4:25-26

"Be still, and know that I am God” – Psalm 46:10

John Chapter 4: Breaking Down Barriers

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 19:14:00 +0000

Breaking Down the Barriers: A Study of John 4

In reaching out to the Samaritan woman, (John 4:5-42), Jesus demonstrated just how far He was willing to go to save all. Does something stop you from reaching out to others? Perhaps some of your excuses are timing, adequacy, prejudice or presumption? Bottom line: Are you seeking an excuse or are you just seeking to be used? Notice the barriers Jesus crossed in order to give hope and save the Samaritan woman. Each barrier broken down shows how the power of God trumps seeming worldly powers or influences.

Ephesians 2:14-16 NIV For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, (15) by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, (16) and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

A. Jesus crossed the social barrier.

1. This was a common woman (she had to draw her own water, etc.).

a. She wasn’t affluent.

b. She was caught in sin

c. She was caught in a bad cycle – adultery, violence, addiction, etc.

d. The world didn’t give her much hope.

2. Jesus is the Creator of the world (1:3).

a. He reaches out to everyone

b. He himself understands what is to be common, even destitute!

c. He knows what it is to be ignored (3:18-19).

d. He can break the cycle you’re stuck in!

e. He alone has broken down all barriers that keep you a prisoner of sin!

3. You need to allow Him to break the social and other barriers surrounding you.

a. Change your view of people – change your view of Jesus.

b. 2Co 5:14-17 NIV For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. (15) And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. (16) So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

c. Don’t make it about gender, class, economics, education or intellect. These afford you nothing. They only present you more barriers that can trap you!

d. Many of us here would not be together unless it was because of Jesus making us one in Him! What a great testimony to His Spirit in us!

4. We need to use wisdom when breaking through some of these barriers, nevertheless.

a. Even though Jesus broke through a tough barrier, the gender barrier at that time, we need to be careful in our day and age as to how we do that. Disclaimers:

b. If you’re a married man, be careful how you reach out to other women. Be wise and discerning, especially if you’re older than they are.

c. I have spoken to ladies before and I always mention my wife and family so they understand where I’m coming from. As soon as I can I present them my wife and if we study the Bible it will be my wife and I who will do it or my wife and another sister.

d. Single men also need to be careful, period!

i. Don’t speak with them alone, especially behind closed doors!

ii. When I was single my policy was to never be found alone with another female. Study the Bible in public open places

iii. The best thing is to have ladies study with the ladies and men with the men. Many sisters here who meet some men pass along the contact info to other brothers to pursue.

B. Jesus crossed the racial barrier.

1. The woman was surprised that Jesus spoke with her, a Samaritan, “for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans (v.9).

a. The Jews despised the Samaritans, and regarded them unclean.

b. The Jews believed to drink from a Samaritan vessel would have been defilement.

c. It was even worse what they thought of the Gentiles. Gentiles were a hopeless case and impossible to be saved, until God showed them different in Acts 10 and 11.

2. This is a barrier many of you have experienced. Sometimes it has to do with the color of skin and sometimes it doesn’t. It can also manifest itself because of your language, religion or culture.

a. For example, being privy to the deaf community, I see how some treat deafness as they would another race, with the same prejudices and presumptions. Sometimes it is sheer ignorance that produces a fear of approach, as you sometimes see people behaving when in the presence of those with developmental disabilities.

b. You can say I am Puertorrican, and I definitely am fluent in Spanish, but because I don’t look it, according to some, I have experienced all sorts of amusing racial barriers – mostly here in the US, because in PR we know we come in all different sorts of color! In PR I experienced mostly the social barriers.

c. Have you ever let this barrier become an excuse for not sharing the Gospel?

d. Have you ever experienced prejudice because you’re a different kind of “Christian” other than what is socially recognized?

C. Jesus crossed the politically correct barrier – worldly protocols

1. Some people believe you should never talk about politics or religion

2. Some people make rules about what you should talk about and not talk about at school, work or public places.

3. Our faith is challenged by these barriers. Mine was.

4. I had to break through many barriers in my last job.

i. Employee – employer barriers

ii. Student – teacher barriers

iii. Friend – co-worker barriers

iv. My identity as an employee vs. my identity in Christ was in constant challenge.

v. One didn’t rock the boat but the others one was destined to break down all barriers in Jesus.

5. Jesus spoke to the woman about her need to change

i. People don’t like to be told they are wrong

ii. People don’t like to be told they need to change

iii. Common complaint – “I don’t want to be told what to do!”

6. Jesus spoke about religion – or more correct – spiritual truth

i. It wasn’t about to do’s or to don’ts’; it was about a relationship with God

ii. It was about being freed; it was about satisfying deep hunger and thirst.

iii. Jesus gave hope, not another church to go to or another religion to become a member of.

D. Jesus crossed the spiritual barrier.

1. Jesus was the Son of God; the Samaritan was a woman of sin.

2. The woman was a Samaritan; Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life!

a. Aside from Samaritans belonging to a different race, they also believed differently about God, as we see form the text in this chapter.

3. The woman thought she knew God’s will; Jesus is God’s will incarnate!

4. You, disciple, crossed this barrier when God came to you through His servants.

a. You had been fooled to believe to belong/not belong to a “spiritual group”

b. You thought your fate was sealed one way or another

c. Your faith was but the cheap trinket of superstition, the “faith” which rules the ignorant.

5. Jesus proved Himself to truly be the Savior of the world. Will you open the door of your heart to Him?

a. Jesus bridged the gap

b. We were dead, in Him we can live

c. He is the Living Water!

Invitation: Where can I get this Living Water? – John 4:11

John Chapter 3 – “He Must Increase, I must Decrease” – John 3:30, ESV

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Chapter two ends with an insight into what Jesus knows about us. We are imperfect and yet He chose us to make perfect witnesses. As hard as some human hearts can be and as proud as sin can make us, the flesh cannot stand before the evidence of God’s love in Jesus.

What is more amazing still is that the dysfunctional testimony of man is what God uses to spread the good news of Jesus. John presents the characters involved in spreading Jesus' good news. All the disciples were unlearned and very much prone to error, mediocrity and failure; yet all the characters we will see in each chapter who believe Jesus and aid in spreading the Good News, all suffering from sin and imperfection, God uses to deliver the perfect seed of God's Gospel – the seed that can transform us and save us through our fellowship with the Father and Jesus!

What is required? Obviously not perfection. We know love covers a multitude of sins (Prov. 17:9). We’ve all experienced hurt and fear in our relationships with one another. Satan knows the best way to defeat our ability to accept God’s gift of live is to inculcate in us fear. That way we won't reach out but cower in the dark and lonely places in our mind and heart. We fear rejection, condemnation and judgment to say the least. But God has come ever so gently to offer us freedom from all that sin – freedom to accept him in love and learn to live in love despite all the hurt we still must endure. Only in Christ are we made stronger and better in this regard – for the one who lives in fear cannot be perfected in love (1 John 4:18).

In this chapter of John we learn two important principles that we may be perfected in the love of Jesus:

For Him to increase in me, I must decrease – John 3:30
I must be born again (John 3:3, 5), which implies something needs to die (John 12:24-25)

He Must Increase, I Must Decrease – You Must Be Born Again

Introduction: John’s attitude was not the common “me first” attitude.

A. He wished for Christ to increase.

1. Subject Yourself to Jesus!

a. We all want to do well and excel. We also live in a “claw your way to the top” world. But while everyone else was trying to get the top spot in the Messianic kingdom, John was busy lifting up Christ.

b. Cease to compete! Are you trying to compete for “top spots” in the kingdom? What are the “top spots” anyway?

i. He who humbles himself will be exalted

ii. Don’t take the honor seat first – wait to be asked

iii. Just consider yourself a blessed servant who’s only done what’s been asked

2. Properly Glorify the Son!

a. Have you made Him Lord?

b. Have you made Him Savior?

c. He said Christ must increase. Why?

i. He is The Gift of God! The Bread of Life!

ii. Because He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29).

iii. Because He is one of higher rank (1:30).

iv. Because He is the Son of God (1:34).

v. Because John knew that He provided eternal life and that rejection of Him brought God’s wrath (3:26).

B. He wished for himself to decrease.

1. Who are you promoting?

a. John saw no value in promoting himself. What good would there be in his rising to the top?

i. Do you promote yourself or the welfare of the church?

ii. Have you learned to concede or do you always want to be right?

iii. Have you learned to put aside your opinion even when you may not agree?

b. John said he must decrease. Why??

i. Because his increasing would cause people to focus on him, instead of the one who could really help them.

ii. Because his increasing would encourage others to follow him instead of God’s chosen One.

iii. Because his desire to increase would mean losing his special place as a servant of the Lord.

2. Is it your views and voice you wish to be heard?

a. We will see in chapter 10 how men who promote their views and self are the thieves and the robbers who point people away from the door to the sheep pen, who is Jesus. Jesus called them twice the sons of hell (Mat 23:15).

3. How did John intend to decrease and cause Jesus to increase?

a. This is the new birth Jesus spoke of to Nicodemus. Read John 3:1-21

i. You must be born again – John 3:3

1. For something to give birth the enclosure must die – metaphor of the seed – John 12:24-25

2. Jesus’ teachings often get misunderstood – John 3:4

3. Jesus’ aim is to enrich us spiritually – John 3:11-21

ii. Born of water and Spirit – John 3:5

1. What Men Say

2. What God says - Mark 16:16

3. Men more readily accept other men’s testimonies than God’s – John 5:44

4. Remember Mary’s admonishment in John 2:5 – “Do whatever He tells you”.

iii. Flesh gives birth to flesh but spirit gives birth to Spirit. The flesh cannot inherit the kingdom – 1 Co. 15:50

iv. The flesh needs to decrease and the Spirit needs to increase.

b. Life in the Spirit is evidenced by:

i. Having a servant’s attitude – Whoever would be great among you must be your servant (Mt 20:26-28).

1. Looking to serve as opposed to being served – Mat 20:28

2. Making God’s grace effective in you (1 Co 15:10) as opposed to being a black hole that sucks the life out of everything.

a. This is the evidence of those who have Living Waters (John 4:14)

3. When the church is you, not somewhere you go. (You can’t go to church)

ii. Being humble (1 Pet 5:6).

1. Open to correction

2. Open to learning

3. Being transparent (1 John 1:7-10)

4. Seeking direction as opposed to wanting to give it.

iii. Denying self (Mt 16:24).

1. This means doing all of the above especially when you don’t want to do it

2. Being willing to carry your cross and someone else’s.

3. Accepting blame even though you are not to blame

Conclusion: John had his chances to exalt himself, and inflate his own worth (John 1:19-27), but true greatness awaits those who are willing to take up their cross and follow Jesus (Mt 10:38).

Invitation: 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 3:36

John Chapter 2 – Saving the Best for Last: “You have kept the good wine until now.” – John 2:10, ESV

noreply@blogger.com (Kingdomsaint) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Jesus' first miracle (John calls them signs – emphasizing the significance of the action rather than the marvel) reported by John would be considered somewhat of a mundane occurrence, but the goodness and kindness of the Lord is revealed in His approval of the celebration of marriage. What better way to support and bless the sacred union of a man and a woman that by having our Lord grace this wedding by His attendance! All miracles were to be a demonstration of His glory and God's approval to give a believer just cause to accept and believe that He is God’s gift to us.

While the remark “you have kept the good wine until now” demonstrates the quality of Jesus’ wine, this miracle serves to illustrate a deeper spiritual meaning, as all His sayings and doings affirmed. In this case:

The superiority of Christianity (new wine) over that of Judaism (Mat 9:17; Luke 5:37-39).
The superiority of the Christian salvation/redemption of man compared to that of paganism or of Judaism.
That God has kept the best plan for man until now – revealing and fulfilling His love through His only Son.

Manifesting His Glory: The Miracle at Cana: Water to Wine

A. The miracle demonstrates Jesus’ sensitivity.

Marriage feasts would begin on a Wednesday and often would last one week. This would obviously require a great amount of wine and food, especially for large wedding parties such as this one.
Scholars have pointed out that ancient customs were quite different from those we are used to. For example, legal action could be taken against the bridegroom and his family if sufficient supplies were not provided for wedding guests. Thus, the gift made by Jesus was especially important.
Although He and His disciples were invited, their number would have contributed to the shortage of the wine.
Mary wanted to involve Jesus and He delivered, even though it may not have been in His plan to do so.
Are you involving Jesus in every aspect of your life? Is there something going on in your life that you would not want to invite Jesus to? Perhaps you have not involved Him and he’s waiting for you to ask (Mat 7:7). Or perhaps you’ve asked Jesus to come be a part of your life and you don’t understand Who He really is or what He wants to do with you?
Jesus will get involved as good parents also oblige their children when they ask them to get involved.

B. The miracle demonstrated Jesus’ power over time.

The process of making wine required time (grapes needed to be sown, grow and mature; and then fermented, etc.). Jesus was able to do this instantly.
His ability to do this showed His divinity. John had already stated in the prologue that “All things were made through him” (1:3). This miracle offers support to the truthfulness of that statement.
How willing are you to entrust yourself to such a loving and powerful God who is above time and place and yet subjected Himself to a time and place to die for your sins?
My God, my Jesus, is so powerful that if I pray for an event that already happened He could change things that already happened and you and I wouldn’t even notice.

C. The miracle demonstrated Jesus’ power over the creation.

In order to make wine, one needs a number of materials, such as good soil, seeds, water and sunshine, as well as time. Or, at the minimum, one would need the grapes.
It is noteworthy that these materials (e.g. grapes) were not available to Jesus. Thus, He had to “create them” in the water. Note also the amount of wine Jesus created: between 120 and 180 gallons!
Only God can bara – create from nothing at all. Jesus did not merely perform a molecular transformation, which alone is beyond our science – He created from nothing at all, as He also did in the distribution of bread in chapter 6 which we will study later.
Jesus’ desire is to recreate you from within by giving you the Holy Spirit, the Living Waters we will be talking about in chapter 4. Regarding the Spirit Titus says: Titus 3:5a-7 NIV He (Jesus) saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, (6) whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, (7) so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

D. The miracle demonstrated the quality of Jesus’ work.

The Gospels continually emphasize the quality of Jesus work. He was able to successfully do what He intended. He never fails (Love never fails/ends – 1 Co 13:8).
For example, Matthew emphasizes that Jesus knew no failures as a healer. Jesus was able - again and again - to “heal all who were ill “(Mt 4:23ff; 8:16; 9:35; 12:15; 14:14, 35, 36; 15:30; 19:2).
The quality of Jesus’ work is noted in the fulfillment of Isa 28:16: “Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame” (Rom 9:33; 10:11; cf. 1 Pet 2:6).
When Jesus invites you to come to Him the invitation comes with a promise of quality apprenticeship “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me”; quality relationship “for I am gentle and humble in heart”; and quality results “and you will find rest for your souls”. Not to mention the quality work he engages us in being that: “His yoke is easy and His burden is light.” (Mt 11:28-30). Can you beat that?
Therefore, we are not surprised at the statement of the headwaiter concerning the wine Jesus made: “you have kept the good wine until now” (2:10). Jesus is the best!

E. The miracle demonstrated Jesus’ giving nature.

Certainly this was not a miracle Jesus had to perform.
Yet, from the moment He left His glorious position with the Father (cf. 17:1) Jesus came to give.
He did not come to be served but to serve (Mat 20:28)! The Master of all Creation, the King of Kings, left His celestial abode to be born, live and die in places and ways that would make us cringe – and all this to give His life up for us – to serve us and wash us from sin, if you so welcome Him into your life.
Surely One who supplies so abundantly in the physical realm will not be less generous in the spiritual – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” – Ephesians 1:3

Invitation: Do whatever He tells you – John 2:5

Portions taken from the World Video Bible School Commentary on the Whole Bible