"HE SENT ME!"

John 8:39-47                (ESV)

"39 They answered HIM, "Abraham is our father." JESUS said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,

40 but now you seek to kill ME, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from GOD. This is not what Abraham did.

41 You are doing the works your father did." They said to HIM, "We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one FATHER-even GOD."

42 JESUS said to them, "If GOD were your FATHER, you would love ME, for I came from GOD and I am here. I came not of MY OWN ACCORD, but "HE SENT ME".

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear MY word.

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe ME.

46 Which one of you convicts ME of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe ME?

47 Whoever is of GOD hears the words of GOD. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of GOD." 

Recently I kneeled to pray and I began something like this: "Heavenly Father, thank you so much for PROVIDING a way for me to even approach YOUR throne"!  Immediately I was caused to stop and consider that GOD is the ONE Who draws us to HIM (John 6:44), and HE provides for us (Hebrews 13:20-21) ,and HE even sent JESUS to earth for our ransom.  Since HE did (and continues to do) all of this, don't you think HE has our best interests in mind when trying to get us to TRUST HIM?  

One thing that must not be overlooked was the hierarchy (scribes and Pharisees) of the Jewish culture were attempting to catch JESUS in a trap!  The Jewish leadership was unsupportive of JESUS CHRIST, so much so they wanted HIM removed from "this world"!  Satan is always trying to twist words and manipulate conversations to his advantage (John 8:4-5).  But JESUS "knew their hearts" and simply turned their own words back on them.  It doesn't get much sweeter than hearing the enemy being tripped up by his own words!  

When we TRUST HIM for our very existence we are admitting that we are HIS servants, but HE is able to PROVIDE our needs (Philippians 4:19) and get glory from our lives!  The purpose of our existence is NOT TO LIVE A LIFE OF COMFORT AND LEISURE, regardless of what is taught by some "religious hierarchy" (John 8:44)!  We are created to glorify GOD in heaven and HE will PROVIDE what we need to accomplish HIS will!

GOD continues to PROVIDE our needs.  HE PROVIDED JESUS as an avenue for us to come to HIM.  JESUS says HE "came not of MY own accord, but "HE SENT ME"!  GOD knew before HE created "this world" that JESUS would be required for the redemption of mankind.......and HE created us anyway!  Is it too much to ask for us to praise and worship GOD for all HE has done for us?  JESUS had a purpose when HE came to earth.  We have a purpose also!  JESUS said "HE SENT ME", and I am so glad HE did!  What is mine and your purpose???

"BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS!"

"People believe in the Bible (that is it's literacy), but not the GOD of the Bible and the reality of HIS is-ness! (Heb.11:6)."  Bishop Robert E. Smith, Sr. --- Facebook comment 08/31/2015

"And without faith it is impossible to please HIM, for whoever would draw near to GOD must "BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS" AND THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO SEEK HIM." - Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

Bishop, the Spirit of GOD has been dealing with me lately about this very subject....acknowledging GOD for what HE is, what HE has done, what HE can do, and what HIS Word says HE is going to do!  Let alone what others believe, if 'I TRULY' exhibited that I believe that GOD is on HIS throne AND was in CONTROL, why should I worry?  

The enemy may be cornering me near a Red Sea in my life, but the same GOD who parted the Red Sea for the Children of Israel is in CONTROL!  Why should I be concerned?  Why should I fret?  When you SLOW DOWN (the enemy loves to get us so busy that we don't recognize WHO GOD is!) and remember that GOD is the ONE Who created everything, and HE loves us SOOO much HE sent HIS SON as a sacrifice for our atonement, we should REJOICE EVERMORE (Thessalonians 5:16)!  

C.S. Lewis offered a quote that has been instrumental in changing my life.  He said "You don't have a Soul.  You ARE a Soul.  You have a body"!   Allowing the enemy to masquerade himself as keeping us "too busy" to follow the ONE Who created everything could be one of the most absurd things mankind has ever fallen for!  Our GOD desires, AND DESERVES, our praise, reverence, and adoration!  GOD didn't only inspire HIS Word (The HOLY BIBLE), we must "BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS"!!!

"TO THIS DAY!!"

Genesis 32:22-32                     (ESV)

"22 The same night he arose and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.

23 He took them and sent them across the stream, and everything else that he had.

24 And Jacob was left alone. And A MAN wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.

25 When THE MAN saw that HE did not prevail against Jacob, HE touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with HIM.

26 Then HE said, "Let ME go, for the day has broken." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

27 And HE said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob."

28 Then HE said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with GOD and with men, and have prevailed."

29 Then Jacob asked him, "Please tell me YOUR name." But HE said, "Why is it that you ask MY name?" And there HE blessed him.

30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "For I HAVE SEEN GOD FACE TO FACE, AND YET MY LIFE HAS BEEN DELIVERED."

31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, LIMPING BECAUSE OF HIS HIP.

32 Therefore "TO THIS DAY" the people of Israel do not eat the sinew of the thigh that is on the hip socket, because he touched the socket of Jacob's hip on the sinew of the thigh."

To those familiar with the story, there is little doubt that Jacob (later known as Israel) encountered a Divine Being that night near the river called Jabbok.  Although scripture doesn't identify the "MAN", most have the opinion that it was GOD THE SON.  One commentary says the following:      

As we read, the scripture does not say that this wrestling match was with an 'angel' but                 with a 'man.' Although the man does not give his name, Jacob understood that he had struggled with God and that he "saw God face to face" (Genesis 32:30). Because of this, many believe the person who fought him was actually God the Son - the same One who had appeared to both Abraham (Genesis 12:7; 17:1; 18:1) and Isaac (Genesis 26:1, 24) in the form of a 'man.'  

Regardless of WHO it was that Jacob/Israel wrestled that morning, his life was forever changed by the Divine encounter.  Israel presumably "limped" the rest of his life because of struggling with GOD.  He had visual evidence that his life had been altered by GOD. 

When we experience GOD HE leaves HIS impression in our lives.  Although some people observe our lives from a worldly view, they CANNOT SEE the impression.  In Matthew 13:13-14 JESUS says "This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'seeing' THEY DO NOT SEE, and 'hearing' THEY DO NOT HEAR, nor DO THEY UNDERSTAND.  Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive".  BUT Spiritually, our lives are irreversibly changed for HIS GLORY!

Israel limped because of his encounter with GOD.  The people of Israel would not, "TO THIS DAY", eat the muscle (some say tendon) of the thigh because GOD impaired Jacob/Israel's leg.  

Can people SEE the impact GOD has made in my life?  Has my life been altered so greatly that people notice something different when they see me?  My desire is for my life to reflect the Glory of GOD and display HIS mercy for all to plainly SEE "TO THIS DAY"!!!

                                                        

"A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART!"

Psalms 51:15-17           (ESV)

"15 O LORD, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 

16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 

17 The sacrifices of GOD are a broken spirit; "A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART", O GOD, you will not despise."

Seeing things from another persons point of view isn't always the easiest thing to do.   Everyone sees things from a viewpoint of where they are looking from.  A millionaire with a bank account balance of $100 might be in bad shape, but the same $100 would represent great wealth to some.  Being able to see things from where another is viewing them, from their perspective, might be more of a gift from GOD than one could imagine.  

It is easy to praise the LORD when everything is going the way you think it should go.  But seeing things from the perspective of "A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART" when things are running smoothly is not something that comes naturally.  Being able to fix your vision on things above has a way of changing your course, a way of mapping a different direction for your life.  

Psalms 51:10 says "Create in me a clean heart, O GOD, and renew a right spirit within me."   For us to acquire a clean heart there must be Divine intervention.  One definition of "contrite" is "filled with a sense of guilt and desire for atonement ".  To understand that we are a broken people in need of atonement is one of the prerequisites for acknowledging that a HOLY GOD is what we need.  To acknowledge that GOD is HOLY (Perfect) and we are not is the beginning of servanthood.  

FATHER IN HEAVEN, I pray that I will have a sense of how lowly I really am by having "A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART".  At the same time, cause me to grasp just how majestic YOU are and to realize that there are no limits to what YOU can accomplish.  Accepting "A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART" is tremendously easier to accept when I understand the sacrifice YOU made to REDEEM my soul!  

"BUT YOU DO NOT ANSWER!"

Psalms 22:1-6                    (ESV)

"1 MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? 

2 O my GOD, I cry by day, "BUT YOU DO NOT ANSWER", and by night, but I find no rest. 

3 Yet YOU are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. 

4 In YOU our fathers trusted; they trusted, and YOU delivered them. 

5 To YOU they cried and were rescued; in YOU they trusted and were not put to shame. 

6 But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people."

If Psalms 22:1 seems very familiar to you you may recall when JESUS was hanging on Calvary's cross in Matthew 27:46 HE cried out to GOD a similar request.  The fellowship between GOD and JESUS had never been broken until JESUS freely took on my sin, because I could not PAY the sin-DEBT I owed!  The weight of owing a DEBT is a burdensome thing.  Until that DEBT is wiped clean by someone with the capital to cover the DEBT, a person can feel abandoned!  

King David must have felt abandoned when writing this Psalm.  He must have felt GOD had left him with his problems to figure them out on his own.  Like a debtor with insufficient funds to pay his DEBT, we have no capital to cover the amount we owe.  The experience that JESUS must have been subjected to in Matthew 27:46 was something HE had never experienced before.  GOD cannot fellowship with sin and all my sin was placed upon JESUS while HE hung on that cross!  

GOD's Word promises to NEVER leave us (Deuteronomy 31:6;8 and Hebrews 13:5), but GOD is HOLY and HE cannot abide sin!  How then, did King David write that GOD had forsaken him!  Why did he feel as though GOD had abandoned him when he needed GOD?  Might it be that GOD is silent at times to allow our FAITH IN GOD to increase?  

When we are delivered from catastrophic circumstances, we develop a know-so FAITH compared to the believe-so FAITH we formerly had!  "BUT YOU DO NOT ANSWER" doesn't necessarily mean that GOD has abandoned us.  It may mean HE is developing our FAITH in HIM so HE CAN BE GLORIFIED!!

There are times when I get a telephone call and I choose not to answer it AT THE TIME it rings!  I may be in a meeting with someone, or I may be busy with something.  But if that person calls me back several times trying to get me to answer, I will probably get worn down and finally answer the call and see what it is they want!  GOD may need us to continue praying, not to get on HIS nerves, but to develop our FAITH that HE is able to provide what is needed to glorify HIM!  "BUT YOU DO NOT ANSWER" may be a signal we need to keep calling!  

"YOU WILL BE HATED!"

Matthew 10:16-23       (ESV)

"16 "Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues,

18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for MY sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles.

19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour.

20 For it is not you who speak, but the SPIRIT of your FATHER speaking through you.

21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,

22 and "YOU WILL BE HATED" by all FOR MY NAME's SAKE. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

23 When THEY PERSECUTE YOU IN ONE TOWN, FLEE TO THE NEXT, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the SON of MAN comes."

Being formerly a person who always wanted to see progress, my mentality was if something wasn't being done to advance my cause then I wasn't trying hard enough!  Offending others was part of the risk of getting things done, but my view was at least something was being accomplished!  In preparing for my Sunday School lesson recently I came across these verses and my eyes were opened to a NEW (to me) TRUTH.  

JESUS was hated by "this world" because of WHO HE was and what HE stood for.  HE didn't have to do ANYTHING that offended, being "HOLY" was enough!  One cannot please everyone (Matthew 6:24) and it shouldn't surprise us when our behavior offends "this world".  CHRIST lives in us and "this world" and CHRIST were diametrically opposed.  "This world" wants to show what they have accomplished while Believers in HIM desire to GOD be glorified!  

My pastor recently shared with our congregation a list of things named "Proud People vs. Broken People" (http:familylife.com/articles/topics/faith/essentials/repentance/proud-people-vs-broken-people).   "YOU WILL BE HATED" is "this world's" way of separating themselves from Believers (or Broken People!).  When we "choose you this day" (Joshua 24:15) so serve the LORD we set ourselves against the "Proud People" and their ways!  And all we have to do is live for HIM to attract such venom!  

Matthew 10:22 says ""YOU WILL BE HATED" by all FOR MY NAME's SAKE"!  The simple fact of having the Spirit of JESUS living inside of my body is enough to offend most of "this world"!  The Spirit of the Living GOD and the spirit of "this world" have been opposed to each other since "the beginning"!  The most offensive thing I could ever do to "this world" is allow JESUS to reign and rule in my life!  There is a reason "YOU WILL BE HATED" in my life.  What is the reason for you???

"EVEN ONE THING!"

John 3:25-30                       (ESV)

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

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

27 John answered, "A person cannot receive "EVEN ONE THING" unless it is given him from heaven.

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

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

30 HE must increase, but I must decrease." 

Recently I wrote something that may have been misunderstood.  I wrote "By my latest calculations there are 20+ men and women vying for the office of President of the United States of America in January 2017.   There will only be one elected to the position.  Have you prayed about who GOD would have you vote for?  Or are you waiting to see who the media says the "front runner" is?  

In case you haven't noticed, the media "front runner" doesn't have a stellar track record over the past 100 years! It may be time to ask The Creator, the Giver of LIFE, who HE prefers?  Of course, first we have to acknowledge HE exists!!!!"

My words were only meant to cause people to grasp that ONLY GOD can select the "correct" person to lead us.  To make the choice that is from Heaven, we must live with the servant mindset that only comes from living our lives for JESUS.  John makes it ABUNDANTLY clear that "a person" cannot do "EVEN ONE THING" unless it is given to them from heaven.  Why do we not inquire more of Heaven about the direction our lives, and the direction our nation, is taking?  The GOD Who created the "Heavens and the earth" is ignored as we speed toward damnation and destruction.  Even I get caught up in the pace "this world" is moving in and attempt to change people's hearts and minds when only GOD can change "EVEN ONE THING" about the path we are on. 

There are over 20 references in scripture, including Matthew 24:35, that say Heaven and earth WILL pass away, but the Word of GOD will not pass away!  There is no need to fret or worry as the only thing we can do to change is to turn OUR lives MORE to HIM.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says "If MY people who are called by MY name humble themselves, and pray and seek MY face and turn from THEIR wicked ways, then I will hear FROM heaven and will forgive THEIR SIN and HEAL their land".  GOD's people need to humble themselves and turn from their wicked ways, not the pagan's!!!

We can continue trusting in our own intelligence and instincts to select our next leader, or we can humble ourselves and seek HIS face, and turn from OUR wicked ways!  Only GOD can change "EVEN ONE THING" in "this world" and we need to slow down and realize that fact!