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Proverbs 19:1-10
1 Better is
the poor who walks in his integrity Than one
who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.
2 Also it is not good for a soul to be
without knowledge, And he sins who hastens with his feet.
3 The foolishness of a man twists his way, And
his heart frets against the LORD.
4 Wealth makes many friends, But the poor is
separated from his friend.
5 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies will not escape.
6 Many entreat the favor of the nobility, And
every man is a friend to one
who gives gifts.
7 All the brothers of the poor hate him; How
much more do his friends go far from him! He may pursue them with words, yet
they abandon him.
8 He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who
keeps understanding will find good.
9 A false witness will not go unpunished, And he who speaks lies shall perish.
10 Luxury is not
fitting for a fool, Much less for a servant to rule over princes.
Father God, those of today’s lesson proclaimed they
believed in your Son, but your word states otherwise. Some believed with their
mind only and fell away quickly. If we are deceived and believing with our mind
and not our heart, we ask your Spirit to reveal this to us so that we can amend
our ways. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Gospel of John 8:21-32 NKJV
Note: I will not have a lesson for next week due to
Thanksgiving. Will continue November 30th.
This week Jesus continues to teach in the temple on the
topics of who He is, where He came from, where He is going, abiding in every
word of God, etc. We humans have a very difficult time believing with our heart
which was the same for the Jewish people of Jesus time. I was that way before I
got saved, I believed with my mind. I knew who Jesus was and what He did for
me, but not fully understanding the mystery of it all. We need to clear our
mind of what we know, our heritage, and religion we are brought up in and
listen with child like innocent ears, to what Jesus is trying to teach us.
21 Then
Jesus said to them again, "I am going away, and
you will seek Me, and will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."
Then
Jesus said to them again, "I am going away; Jesus is referring to His death,
resurrection, and ascension to the right hand of His Father; Heaven where only
those that place their faith in Jesus and what He did on the Cross for them go
when they die.
And you will seek Me; Meaning
these Jews that have rejected Jesus for who He was, will continue to seek the
Messiah.
And will die in your sin; This
is a pretty harsh statement from Jesus. Some could interpret that Jesus was
judging here. He’s not, just stating the truth, the truth of scripture. Some
would even say Jesus is love and that whoever wrote this verse is wrong,
because Jesus will have mercy on me when I stand before Him and He will forgive
my sinfulness. But the fact of the matter is that He also stated you must be
Born Again to see His Fathers Kingdom.
Where I go you cannot come; This speaks of Jesus going back home to
His Father in Heaven. Jesus isn’t just speaking to His audience, but also to
nonbelievers today. These Jewish people believed in God, but their faith was
not in God it was in worldly things and self-righteousness; they believed with
their mind and not their heart. The vast majority of people today also believe
with their mind and not their heart.
22 So the
Jews said, "Will He kill Himself, because He says, 'Where I go you cannot come'?"
If
these Jews believed, they would know and understand what Jesus was saying. They
didn’t have spiritual knowledge, in other words they were thinking with their
carnal mind and not there heart.
When
a person gives their heart to Jesus through repentance a change takes place
within a person. It starts with the heart and with a snap of fingers spiritual
wisdom fills the heart. That spiritual wisdom is the Holy Spirit that takes up
residence in the individual’s heart.
23 And He
said to them, "You are from beneath; I am from
above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
And
He said to them, "You are from beneath; Meaning the home of Satan; Hell; their
father.
I am from above; Heaven
where God and all that are true believers reside.
You are of this world; Meaning
the unsaved live their lives for their own pleasure; they are self righteous;
they live for materialistic things that give them pleasure; they live to
satisfy their flesh; they live their lives for the pleasures of the here and
now; they aren’t worried about the eternal. This lifestyle is the result of the
inherited sin nature which belongs to Satan, therefore nonbelievers are living
for Satan, without realizing the fact.
I am not of this world; Jesus is not of this world because He
lived a life of Holiness; obedience to the Father; a life without sin. He came
from the Father; lived a life to honor His Father; and returned to the Father.
He rejected the ways of the world and worldly temptations. The only way we can live
a life as Jesus, is through repentance and being Born Again, there is no other
way. We are saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ.
24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for
if you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins."
Again
Jesus delivers some very harsh words here to nonbelievers. No one likes to hear
these words that if they aren’t saved they will be going to Hell. This still
applies today because God doesn’t change, only humans change. How many times
have you heard this, “That’s the way it is now days and it is acceptable.”
Society has changed and believes God has changed. Society now believes it is
acceptable to live together without being married; murdering babies is a females
right; adultery is ok; having relations out of wedlock is ok; homosexuality and
lesbianism is ok; etc. God hasn’t changed and views these actions as sin that
will send a person to Hell, unless they repent and get saved.
One
other thing to take note of with this verse, Jesus makes no reference to a
place (Purgatory) between Heaven and Hell.
25 Then they
said to Him, "Who are You?" And Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning.
Then
they said to Him, "Who are You?; This
question could be interpreted as, how dare you say such a thing to us, or who
are you to condemn us. What Jesus said had to cut clear to the heart, as it did
then and does now. Sadly, self pride keeps people from believing and the human
nature (sin nature) inside a person kicks into high gear with all types of
justifiable actions.
And
Jesus said to them, "Just what I have been saying
to you from the beginning; Do you suppose at this time Jesus is
getting somewhat frustrated repeating Himself. If it was you or me, would we be
pulling our hair out and getting angry? What Jesus is saying here has reference
to verse 12 (John
8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again,
saying, "I am the light of the world. He who
follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.")
26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He
who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from
Him."
I have many things to say and to judge concerning you; Omniscient as
Jesus was, He knew the heart of these people and their actions; their lives and
conversations; all their sins and transgressions; which He could justly charge
them with, and condemned them. But this was not His present business, He came
not to judge and condemn, but to save. He waved these things, and took no
notice of them, leaving them to his Father, who would call them on, and punish
them.
But He who sent Me is true; God is true, past, present, and future. The truth will set
you free. Jesus is part of the Trinity; therefore He is true and speaks the
truth.
And I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him; Albert Barnes
has this to say about this phrase when spoken a little differently: “I have
indeed many things to say blaming or condemning you. I have already said many
such things, and there are many more that I might say; but I speak only those
things which God has commanded. I speak not of myself I come to execute his
commission, and he is worthy to be heard and feared. Let it not be thought,
therefore, that my judgment is rash or harsh. It is such as is commanded by
God.”
27 They did
not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.
These
Jewish people no doubt understood what was taught of God, but they were
unwilling to acknowledge that He really came from God, which was the main point
of disagreement.
28 Then
Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of
Man, then you will know that I am He,
and that I do nothing of
Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.
Then
Jesus said to them, "When you lift up the Son of
Man; Meaning of
course Himself, who was to be lifted up upon the cross, as the serpent was upon
the pole, in the wilderness. To look upon the serpent resulted in physical
life, whereas looking upon Jesus on the Cross results in Spiritual life. Numbers
21:8,9
Then you will know that I am He;
”Am He,” meaning the true Messiah and not an impostor. They will know
just as the centurion, and those that were with Him, when they observe the
earthquake, the things that were done at and after His death; resurrection; ascension
and the pouring forth of his Spirit. They will know!
And that I do
nothing of Myself; Jesus
will was the Father’s will and what He did was not of His own. Jesus was led
totally by the Holy Spirit, John
5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to
them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can
do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does,
the Son also does in like manner.
But as My Father taught Me, I speak these things; Jesus was
human while on earth and learned as we do by being taught. What He was taught
was original, authoritative, and divine from God. It was not of human doctrine,
or a device of man’s; or His own as man, but divine. John 7:16 Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. We are to
abide by the Word of God, like Jesus did, and not by the word of Denominational
Religion or self!
29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me
alone, for I always do those things that please Him."
This
relationship of Jesus and the Father is beyond comprehension to human beings.
They were of the same spirit that is, indivisible. The Holy Spirit was with
Jesus constantly leading His every thought and action. Jesus pleased the Father
without fail, something no other human being can claim.
30 As He
spoke these words, many believed in Him.
The
words spoken by Jesus were of such authority and of a convincing nature, they
believed He was the Messiah and received His doctrine. While there were many
that became more obstinate and hardened under His preaching, there were many
who by the same truth were made repentant and believing. Jesus words will
either harden or soften ones heart. The same sun that hardens clay, softens wax.
31 Then
Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you
abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.
Jesus
is issuing words of caution here to those proclaiming to believe. He uses the
word “if” because not all new believers that proclaim to believe actually
believe or have roots wrapped around Jesus. A new believer is like a baby that
lives on milk and not solid food. Their digestive system doesn’t have the
capability of digesting the food. In a sense the same holds true with a new
born believer. They don’t have the knowledge and understanding of Scripture
after birth to be able to discern truth from deception. It takes some time in
study and reading the Bible to gain Spiritual Wisdom.
New
born believers would be represented in the parable of the sower where some seed
fell on rocky ground and some seed fell on fertile ground. Those on rocky
ground may find it to difficult to abide in Jesus word when trials and
tribulations come along and leave, due to lack of spiritual wisdom and
discernment.
If
you notice Jesus also said, “abide in my word” not bits and pieces of it, those
that live on scripture that fits their lifestyle and reject the rest, is like a
person living solely on junk food, both will bring death, one spiritual and one
physical.
32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you
free."
Jesus himself is the truth
that sets us free (John 8:36). He is the source of truth, the
perfect standard of what is right. He frees us from continued slavery to sin,
from self-deception, and from deception by Satan. He shows us clearly the way
to eternal life with God. Thus, Jesus does not give us freedom to do what we
want, but freedom to follow God. As we seek to serve God, Jesus' perfect truth
frees us to be all that God meant us to be.
Looks like a good place to stop here. The next lesson will
continue with the Jews claiming they are not in bondage or have ever been
slaves. To their surprise the Jewish people of Jesus time and before were in
bondage, not just slaves, but also the bondage of sin.
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful
lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John
3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;
10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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