“IF?”

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

THE TRUTH Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews WHO HAD BELIEVED HIM, ““IF” YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD, you are “TRULY MY DISCIPLES”, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

Once again, this passage of Scripture is SPEAKING to me.  Three verses from the Book of John are filled with LIFE ALTERING WORDS, especially when I SLOW DOWN and receive what GOD has to CHANGE my life!

JESUS says “”IF” YOU ABIDE IN MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES!  There are many translations of Scripture that use differing words, but all of them that I can see use the word “IF” in their variants of the Scripture!  “IF” is used as a pre-qualifier of what comes next following the word “IF”!   So “IF” we abide in MY WORD, then we can consider ourselves TRULY MY DISCIPLES!!!  

I was CHOSEN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (Ephesians 1:4) to be used to GLORIFY THE NAME of JESUS!  I have done NOTHING WORTHY to have been CHOSEN by HIM, but that doesn’t make HIS decision any less valid!   JESUS said in John 14:6 “I am THE WAY, and THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME!”  

Accepting that JESUS CHOSE me, knowing that I would be so full of flaws and weaknesses plainly displays HIS GRACE and MERCY!  “These Jews” were NOT CHOSEN, and regardless of their religious accolades, they were NOT going to Heaven!  Being CHOSEN definitely has its benefits!  “IF” these Jews could only SEE TRUTH???

“WHO HAD BELIEVED!”

 

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

THE TRUTH Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” HIM, “If you abide in MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW THE TRUTH, and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

There are times when I CANNOT “let go” of a piece of Scripture that GOD is SPEAKING to me through.  A pastor friend of mine was commenting on social media about how THE TRUTH was being distorted by a lie offered by “this world”!  Another pastor friend was commenting on a different post about how exposition of THE TRUTH might be mistaken as criticism.  Basically, some people are unable to SEE THE TRUTH, especially when it causes them discomfort in their current lifestyle.  

“The Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” HIM, abide in MY WORD” were being identified by JESUS as unbelievers, AND IT WASN’T COMFORTABLE!!  Although they were unable to SEE THE TRUTH, they were about to expose themselves as people who were NOT CHOSEN!  Their response “We are offspring of Abraham and have NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED to anyone” displayed their ignorance and arrogance!  They DID NOT SEE their need for a SAVIOR!  They actually believed that they had NEVER BEEN ENSLAVED???

Maybe my ancestral background permits me to SEE that I am a worthless wretch in NEED of a SAVIOR?  These Jews “WHO HAD BELIEVED” JESUS were unable to get past being Abraham’s descendants!  But wasn’t Ishmael THE FIRST descendant of Abraham to Hagar?  That is something that is never brought up, maybe because it takes away the fact that BEING CHOSEN is what we should be looking for???  

There is NOTHING that can “fill the gap” of “the Jews” syndrome in most of mankind, both in the time of JESUS and today!  We ALL need to STOP with being a part of the problem and realize that we NEED A SAVIOR, and JESUS CHRIST is “the WAY, TRUTH, and LIFE” (John 14:6) and NO ONE comes to THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH JESUS!!!  

“THE TRUTH!”

 

John 8:31-33                 (ESV)

“THE TRUTH” Will Set You Free

“[31] So JESUS said to the Jews who had believed HIM, “If you abide in MY WORD, you are TRULY MY DISCIPLES, [32] and YOU WILL KNOW “THE TRUTH”, and “THE TRUTH” WILL SET YOU FREE.” [33] They answered HIM, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

People are so very quick to explain “I saw it myself”, as some sort of supposed “evidence” of a happening.  But, “THE TRUTH” isn’t limited to what the physical eyes can see, nor anything explained by the things of “this world”!!  

I KNOW “THE TRUTH”, and that makes absolutely no sense within the limits of humanity.  Limits are placed on everything in humanity, for that is “how we do it”!!  When anything happens OUTSIDE OF THOSE LIMITS, the term “MIRACLE” is used to describe the aforementioned things!  

On September 25, 2007 I went to my doctor for the first time since my release from the rehabilitation hospital that I was released from on August 30, 2007.  My doctor wrote in his medical record of this appointment, “However, he has had a remarkable recovery that could only be defined as a MIRACLE FROM GOD”!!  

I continue to experience this MIRACLE FROM GOD, with every breath I take!  But, DON’T WE ALL???  Every time we INHALE, oxygen is consumed by our lungs and it supplies our blood with the oxygen we MUST have to be able to live!  Our bodies are so finely “programmed” that, for the most part, they function WITHOUT any human intervention!  According to one website, “Estimates of "the total number of people who have ever lived" published in the 2000s range approximately from 100 to 115 billion.”  

Yet GOD continues to provide enough oxygen for each individual to survive, without having to reprogram HIS CREATION!!!  HE also PROVIDES MIRACLES every time humanity needs another BREATH (Genesis 2:7; Acts 17:25; Job 34:14-15, etc.)!!! The GOD WHO CREATED everything THAT IS can DO ANYTHING HE DESIRES, and we need to understand that HE DOES AS HE PLEASES (Psalms 115:3)!  We don’t have the vastness in our minute brains to comprehend some events or happenings, because we are simply HIS CREATION………and HE IS “THE TRUTH”!!!

“SHARE CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS!”

 

1 Peter 4:12-16                 (ESV)

Suffering as a CHRISTIAN

“[12] Beloved, “DO NOT BE SURPRISED” at the FIERY TRIAL when it comes upon you TO TEST YOU, as though something strange were happening to you. [13] But rejoice insofar as you “SHARE CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS”, that you may also REJOICE AND BE GLAD when HIS GLORY is revealed. [14] If you are insulted for the NAME OF CHRIST, YOU ARE BLESSED, because the SPIRIT of GLORY and of GOD RESTS UPON YOU. [15] But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. [16] Yet if anyone suffers as a CHRISTIAN, let him not be ashamed, but LET HIM GLORIFY GOD IN THAT NAME.”

We are all so disgruntled, even taken aback, when trials and tribulations come our way, for the most part!  It seems that our mentality is display “this world” has made us and not what GOD has permitted us to enjoy.  But Peter has a completely different perspective about living a life in support of the NAME JESUS CHRIST!!!

Enjoying rest and relaxation can be an enjoyable experience. But that isn’t listed in Scripture, at least not that I have read?  JESUS, WHO LIVES INSIDE OF US (Galatians 2:20), was NEVER adorned with “material wealth”!  HE was even born in a cattle barn, and STILL was THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE???  HE didn’t show off HIS wealth and possessions, yet HE was and is THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD!!!

When I “dream up” how I would display HIS GRACE and value to “this world”, grandeur and beauty immediately comes to mind.  But JESUS left HIS HEAVENLY HOME and came to earth in obscurity, WITH NO WEALTH, and payed the SACRIFICE that was required for me to LIVE with HIM!  

I am not the son of a MONARCH!  I am not ROYALTY!  I don’t have many worldly possessions to adorn my earthly abode!  But PRAISE GOD I have been REDEEMED by the SACRIFICE of THE KING OF THE AGES!!!  For HIS GLORY, I will “SHARE CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS” because HE CHOSE me!!!

“THEY RECOGNIZED HIM!”

Luke 24:28-35                 (ESV)

“[28] So they drew near to the village to which they were going. HE acted as if HE were going farther, [29] but they urged HIM strongly, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.” So HE went in to stay with them. [30] When HE was at table with them, HE took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. [31] And THEIR EYES WERE OPENED, and “THEY RECOGNIZED HIM”. And HE VANISHED FROM THEIR SIGHT. [32] They said to each other, “DID NOT OUR HEARTS BURN WITHIN US WHILE HE TALKED TO US ON THE ROAD, WHILE HE OPENED TO US THE SCRIPTURES?” [33] And they rose THAT SAME HOUR and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, [34] saying, “The LORD has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” [35] Then they told what had happened on the road, and how HE was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Cleopas and an unnamed man were walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, an approximately seven mile journey.  Speculation has it that Cleopas was a relative of JESUS,  but we mustn’t let that overshadow the MESSAGE that is being sent by “this encounter”!  

JESUS had been brutally tortured and crucified only a few days prior, and Cleopas and the unnamed companion were reminiscing about the events of THAT DAY!  While in the walk to Emmaus, JESUS “drew near” and “went with them”.  JESUS asked them what they were discussing, and Cleopas said “Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”  It is VERY OBVIOUS that Cleopas and his friend DID NOT know WHO they were walking with at the time???

In verse 31 it PLAINLY says “And THEIR EYES WERE OPENED, and “THEY (Cleopas and friend) RECOGNIZED HIM”.  And HE VANISHED FROM THEIR SIGHT!”  Why did JESUS make HIMSELF known to them?  Why didn’t they recognize that there was something different about HIM?  Why did HE wait PRECISELY for this time to make this REVELATION known to them?  Why didn’t JESUS go to HIS Disciples first?  

I’m sure that the Disciples wondered all of these things, AND MORE, when they were notified of this event?  The thing that MUST not be neglected is that JESUS orchestrated that “THEY RECOGNIZED HIM”, telling us that JESUS has CHOSEN precisely every person who is CHOSEN!!!  “THEY RECOGNIZED HIM”, ONLY because JESUS CHOSE them to SEE TRUTH!!!

“THE GIFT FROM GOD!”

Ephesians 2:8-9                 (ESV)

“[8] For BY GRACE you have been saved through FAITH. And this is not your own doing; IT IS “THE GIFT OF GOD”, [9] NOT A RESULT OF WORKS, so that no one may boast.”

In the period of time that the book of Mark was penned, about 65-70 AD, many people “believed” that “Gentiles” were thought to be people who were NOT CHOSEN by GOD to be a part of HIS KINGDOM?  Most “Gentiles” (people born outside of the Jewish faith) were considered to be “unclean” with NO HOPE of redemption.  

The caption A GENTILE MOTHER’s FAITH was used in this week’s Sunday School lesson.  It must have been a title used by the societal elite to place others “in their place”?!?  FAITH 

Suppose if I were born in 65-70 AD?  A child fathered by a man who left his family and moved out of the country to avoid paying child support?  I had NO INPUT into my ancestors.  HOWEVER, GOD doesn’t issue limitations based on your lineage.  HIS OWN SON was born in a cattle “stall”, certainly not a place where THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSES should have to experience?  

Then JESUS, GOD IN FLESH, CHOSE me, BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD, to be a follower of HIS, as pitiful and pathetic as I am!  I have NOTHING to offer HIM, only MY ALL!  It is SOLELY “THE GIFT OF GOD” that HE CHOSE me!!!

“QUICK TO HEAR!”

 

James 1:19-21               (ESV)

Hearing and Doing the WORD

“[19] Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be “QUICK TO HEAR”, SLOW to speak, SLOW to anger; [20] for the anger of man DOES NOT produce the righteousness of GOD. [21] Therefore PUT AWAY ALL FILTHINESS and rampant wickedness AND RECEIVE with meekness THE IMPLANTED WORD, which is able to SAVE your souls.”

Mankind seems to be “wired” to act and react extremely abruptly to anything that enters our minds?  It is very common for me to be “quick on my feet” with a response to whatever is placed before me.  

Directly following the Brain Hemorrhage my ability to react to adversity in my life was greatly affected, maybe even “retarded”.  I can NOW SEE that this inability to quickly respond to an adverse situation “might” have been DIVINELY orchestrated by OUR CREATOR???

In the Scripture above, the LORD is telling me to TWICE to be SLOW!  HE also instructs me to be “QUICK TO HEAR”, and in my case I need to be “QUICK TO HEAR” from HIM before my lips engage with a response!!  How many times did I have “forge ahead” with someone or something WITHOUT being SLOW to SPEAK and SLOW to get ANGRY???

LORD, please forgive me for NOT being SLOW to SPEAK and SLOW to be ANGRY, but MOST OF ALL for NOT being “QUICK TO HEAR” from YOU to guide me to GUIDE and DIRECT my steps!!!